Andrew Braves Rocket Hill

Woah! Downhill

I took Andrew sledding at Rocket Hill for the first time Saturday. I think he’s going to be a daredevil!

So Long

It’s been fun posting here on Diegoland but now that I twisted Josh’s arm into designing me a new custom theme, I’m outa here.

Come find me here:

Sweet New Site

Lemon-Flavored Mini Cupcakes

I had some blackberry frosting leftover from another cooking adventure and wanted to try out these mini cupcake pans I got from the thrift shop.  Mini cupcakes are perfect for me or anyone else who likes sweet stuff but not a ton of it all at once.  With a mini cupcake you get your fix but not an additional 400 calories.  Nothing wrong with that I say!  The recipes are from this gorgeous post.

How to Keep a Toddler Occupied All Day

I first saw this idea in a magazine for Martha Stewart kids crafts.  Since my soon-to-be 3 year-old has been obsessed with car washes lately I thought we could try some variation of it. I purchased the brushes and the plastic organizer basket thingy and then basically let him figure it out. I also emptied out the last few drops in a spray bottle of organic cleaning product and filled it up with water which he thought was fun. So he sprayed the cars and put them in there. He played with it for quite a while. I know the Martha version is way more creative but I’ve got this 2 month old attached to me pretty much non-stop so couldn’t exactly get out all the crafting gear. .  .

After all this, we made Bakerella’s recipe for Cowgirl cookies.  Only we didn’t have the pink m&m’s.  Not to worry though!  We used what we had and they still turned out amazing.  The best cookie recipe I have ever come across.  Can’t wait to make the real deal for gifts.

Even Chloe enjoyed watching all the cookie-making action.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Received 2nd place in a contest at the fair.  Recipe courtesy Macheesmo, pink mini cups purchased via Bake It Pretty.

Andrew Driving

andrew driving , originally uploaded by Kristine Leuze.

The little dude actually thought he was driving this thing for real! He was being very careful not to go over the edge when he was on the top section. I can’t wait to show his girlfriend these when he’s sixteen. . . .

See more pics from the fair on my Flickr page.

Chloe’s Toes

toes ethereal, originally uploaded by Kristine Leuze.

Chloe is getting bigger. . . and cuter!

Andrew rides a roller coaster

Andrew’s been all about rides lately and has been on some bigger ones that I was surprised about.  Unfortunately he wasn’t quite ready for this mini roller coaster.  He grabbed on and made all kinds of strange noises.  I felt terrible for him!  Made up for it with a giant ball of sugar though . . .

It’s County Fair Week!

For me, the start of the county fair kicks off my favorite season.  It’s that time between the fair and Halloween, when all my favorite things happen- the county and state fairs, going back to school (yes, I enjoyed it when I was in it and I still enjoy teaching it), Andrew’s birthday, my birthday and then my favorite holiday which is of course Halloween!  Two months of fun and perfect weather.

I’m starting a tradition with my children by entering items into the fair- craft, baking, horticulture, etc.  Last year we did pretty good for my first time entering as a non 4-H person.  We entered a little over 20 items and got mostly blue ribbons and even one champion reserve for some wheat brownies.  This year we entered everything from pumpkins to fortune cookies but not a lot of produce since the weather has been strange.  I was so busy getting it all together and then transporting it down to the fairgrounds I forgot to snap pics and will have to do it there tomorrow, through the glass- blah.  We won’t find out how we placed until tomorrow after 3:00.  I hate waiting.  It’s like waiting for Santa to bring toys.

When I was young I was in 4-H but because I didn’t live on a farm I never got to SPEND THE NIGHT at the fair in a camper while showing my animals.  I was so jealous of my cousins and friends that got to do this. I was Amazed that my 13 year-old friend was staying in a camper by himself so he could keep an eye on his pigs or whatever.  Even more amazed that the thing had a fridge stocked with beer but that’s another story and I’m sure times have changed and things are different now.  At least I hope times have changed.

Even though I didn’t get to stay in a camper by myself the fair still meant freedom.  I usually got 20 bucks and that lasted me the whole week.  Rides, junkfood, coke mirror prizes so I could proudly display all my favorite hairband crushes all over my bedroom walls. . . doing whatever I wanted in public because my parents weren’t there.

Unfortunately I am so old and bitchy now that when I see a 14 year-old at the fair smoking or using profanity loud enough for my kids to hear I scowl and wonder why “those kids” need to act that way!  They are ruining my family outing dammit!  Then I look a little closer and I see it’s me.  Metallica mirror in tow, thick black mascara, Marlboro fumes exhausting, jeans too tight, shirt too cropped, all  while I try to act as cool as I can by using the F-word as many times as possible in one sentence.   So I try to press on without getting too upset. . . We were all 14 and stupid once. . .

It’s a whole other ordeal taking your kids there.  20 bucks sure as hell doesn’t last the whole week.  More like 2 hours.  A ride back then was about 50 cents and now it’s 3.00.  All the junk seems to be between $3-5.00 (maybe that’s a good thing).  Back then it was cotton candy and snow cones for me.  Now it’s cheese curds and diet coke.  Okay and maybe still cotton candy but it’s hard forking over 4 bucks for sugar and air.  My brother “won” or “got swindled” for a Bart plush last year to give to Andrew.  I think it was $20.00 maybe $40.00 . . . jeeze I hope it wasn’t $40.00.  I remember it was a lot.

Andrew got this treat for $1.50 today at the 4-H restaurant.  I would say that’s an okay price, but the fancier cone he’ll get tomorrow from the local dairy dude (booth wasn’t up yet today) will be $3.00.  So after Andrew gets his cone tomorrow we will probably head on over to the show barn and watch the kids wrangle their cattle so I can reminisce.  Who knows what Andrew will be thinking but I will be thinking about being thirteen again. 

Weiner Dogs Can Be Cute

I went to the Twin Cities yesterday to meet up with some fellow St. Cloud State allum.  I brought my new baby and there was another there Chloe’s age as well as some other small children but for me the cutest non-adult creature was this dog, Daisy.  I never used to like weiner dogs but this one won me over.  She wasn’t barky either.  Just cute!