Thursday, July 30, 2009

Sun, Moon & Stars :o)

The sun, moon & stars aren't as impressive as yesterday....I decided that Friday should be 'Happy Friday' and so I made oreo truffles for all of Brian's teachers/therapists. Last Friday I took in the pretzel dragonflies to them and they were so excited.....They are so good to Brian and Brian absolutely LOVES all of them. They're mainly summer staff, which makes me very sad, and almost an entire new set of teachers/therapists will start in the fall. I adore his teacher, Sue, and the teacher assistant, Jen and both of them will be gone in the fall. :o( I haven't learned all of the aides' names yet but every last one of them is super sweet and it reassures me that I'm leaving him in excellent and caring hands each day. :o)

Brian will be happy that there is so much cheese in his lunch! :o) We might have to drink some prune juice this weekend.... ;o)

I hope everyone has a Happy Friday tomorrow! I know we will because when I pick up my little man from school, I'll have two full wonderful days with him. :o)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Plyo push-ups

Dearest Jillian,

I printed off my circuits for tomorrow and noticed that I get to attempt the plyo push-ups again....I mean seriously, did I not embarrass myself enough the other day? Two....two measly ones...and they were pretty pathetic! It's a good thing I know about the super secret room at the Y so I can do our workouts entirely in private without an audience watching my hilarious attempts at some of your exercises. Those straight legged squat thrusts were another jewel.....Lets just say that didn't happen! Can I blame my hamstrings? I have really tight hamstrings! ;o)

The food.....I have steered clear of cottage cheese since the first time I tried it...which probably coincided with my sister's decision to become a vegetarian in high school when my mom cooked an array of delightful tofu dishes. Ha! It's the consistancy, Jillian....who wants to put something like that into their mouth? Just for you.....I tried it again today. I was rather surprised that it didn't have a strong taste at all.....but the consistancy.....It still hasn't changed....and it was still hard for me to eat! The last time I was visiting Huntsville, I remember having a conversation with my dad about some foods he didn't like due to textures and consistancy....I think coconut is one of his dislikes due to texture....I didn't think I had any food aversions based solely on texture or consistancy but I now realize I do! I bought two containers of it....so I at least have to finish those...Who knows....I might just find a way to get over it....probably not!

I am happy to report that I haven't had my Diet Dr. Pepper in 3 days! It's been several years since that has happened! You're insisting on banishing the processed foods, artificial sweetners, dyes, etc...and so I think I'm not doing half bad for my 1st week. I still use sweet-in-low in my coffee in the mornings....and it will be a long while before I give that up....

I was so happy to have a day off today! Your workouts are killing me! I love them and you really make me miss Carol, Shelly & Brandy!

Off to rest up for another hard am workout! :o)

Walking stick & Beach bears :o)



The beach bears are an 'Amy original'.....Here are the instructions if you want to make one:

Take a graham cracker and cover the entire thing in peanut butter. Put a little peanut butter on the bottom back edge of the cracker to help attach the 'water'. The water is strips of 'Fruit by the Foot Flavor Kickers - Berry Blast'. I cut 3 or 4 pieces and wrapped them around the bottom of the graham cracker and attached them to the back with the bit of peanut butter around the edges. I then 'glued' the goldfish to the water with peanut butter. The teddy graham bears have gummy lifesavers around them for a float. I attached these with peanut butter as well. I cut a piece of 'Fruit by the Foot -Variety Pack/Color by the Foot' for the bear's beach towel and attached that to the peanut butter that was at the top of the cracker and attached the bear to the towel with P.B. as well. I then crushed up some bears to make the sand and pressed that into the P. B. around the towel. :o)

The walking stick is from 'Better Homes and Gardens' and the instructions are here: http://www.bhg.com/recipes/walking-stick/

Enjoy! :o)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Circle of Life :o)

Andrea sent me a picture of a butterfly sandwich...Thanks for the idea! I decided to make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich decorated with raisins and cheerios. As I was making the butterfly, I thought about Brian's 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' book and decided to add the caterpillar and cocoon. My marshmallow cocoon is a stretch...ha! I was trying to get it made before his bath and I was pressed for time. I hope he eats his sandwich & caterpillar and aren't too scared by them! :o)

My mom used to write us notes in our lunch and it's a very fond memory I have of my childhood. She wouldn't write a note everyday, but that was always the first thing I looked for when I opened up my lunch bag. I decided to write notes to Brian when he started preschool. I know they probably think I'm crazy since he doesn't read....but I really hope they read them to him. I've started including what some of his treats are in case they can't tell due to transportation problems....haha!


Monday, July 27, 2009

Alfalfa & Penguins



The cute little penguins are from www.allrecipes.com....Thanks Brenda! :o) The ham and cheese sandwich is an 'Amy original'.....Green bean ears, alfalfa hair, and cheese & ham for the face. :o)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

My 1st order!!!! :o)

I'm so very excited! I finally have my 1st order for my 'yet to be named' cake business. :o) I'm doing 'Yo Gabba Gabba' cupcakes for the triplets' birthday. :o)

Hotdog Octopus :o)


While searching the internet for ideas, I've come across these 8-legged creatures a few times so I decided it was time to make one for Brian. I know everyone was a bit turned off by the squid-dogs...haha! The octopus isn't quite as bad... ;o)

Carefully cut the hotdog to make the 8 legs making sure to leave at least 1.5 to 2 inches of hotdog for the head. Boil the hotdog until the legs curl up. I then made two small slits for the eyes and quartered a raisin. Take two of the quartered pieces and insert into the slits for eyes. I have it over orzo pasta because that's the only pasta I had on hand.

Today was a really lazy day for us. Ryan & Michelle took me and Brian to Tin Pan for breakfast as an early bday present....Thanks so much! :o) Then I met up with Katie to buy her old jogging stroller...YAY! After that we headed home and I haven't done much because I feel really icky! My throat has been hurting for a few days and I think being out in the sun all day yesterday is contributing as well. I'm off to bed in a few minutes so I can catch up on some sleep.

Have a great night! :o)

Saturday, July 25, 2009

My sweet little fireman


I love this little guy more than anything!

More lunch treats







The fruity smile, octopus and helicopter are 'Amy originals'. The fire truck idea came from the 'enchanted learning' site. The dragonfly idea was from 'Delicious Desserts'. I just thought to put swedish fish into blue jello jigglers...but after googling it many other people thought to do the same thing. :o)

Thompson Zoo & Splash Park









Luckily the meteorologists aren't very accurate in this area! I thought this afternoon would be full of rain but it's been an absolutely gorgeous day so far. We started the morning by meeting some friends at the Thompson Zoo and wandering around for a bit. After loading my pictures, I realized I didn't really take any of the animals. People are my favorite thing to photograph so that was no surprise. Lola, the otter who is on exhibit (ok Tania....who vs. whom), entertained all of us and I tried to get a picture but wasn't successful....after all I was chasing around Brian and blocking an area where he wasn't allowed to go. So I scooped him up, took the lens cap off the camera, and was trying to juggle zooming the lens while trying to pacify Brian. Once I had those things mastered, Ms. Lola decided to hide from me.....so no otter pictures. :o( She will have 3 friends joining her soon and we'll have to go back to see them.

We came home to rest for a bit and put on Brian's swimsuit. We then headed to Ft. Drum with Holly and Landon. Everyone that knows me well knows that I'm a super duper rule follower (Morgan teases me about this all the time). Today I broke a rule....shhhhh! Apparently you're only allowed to go to 'Splash Park' if you live on Ft. Drum but I've been depriving my little man of water all summer long and I knew he would love this place. We did run into my friend, Brenda, while we were there and she is a resident.....She was our cover! ;o)

Brian LOVED it! He was so happy that he just stood in one spot for probably 15 minutes or so just taking it all in as the other kids were running by and splashing him. There's a skatepark right next to the water area and Brian got absorbed watching the skateboards and kept insisting on climbing the wall and trying to crawl under the ramps. I kept telling him no.....he kept being stubborn...so we eventually had to leave. :o( He gets his mind set on something and he will not be deterred. We have to work on that! We had a wonderful sunny day with friends. :o)

Friday, July 24, 2009

Suggestions welcome!

I'm getting several suggestions on facebook about fun and creative snacks to try for Brian. Feel free to leave suggestions or websites and I'll be sure to try them in his lunch! :o)

Proof that I NEED a maid!

I was changing Brian's poopy diaper tonight and I noticed one of my long hairs coming out of his butt......DEFINITE proof that I NEED a maid.....I'm just saying! ;o)

More previous creations




You will all have to give me time to figure out this blogger site and how to post pictures where I want them to be on the page. Here are some more treats that have made it into Brian's lunchbox.

The giraffe sandwich is an 'Amy original'....Cheese spots with chocolate accents. :o)

The kites were an idea I ran across while I was surfing one night but I don't remember the site.

The watermelon/orange hearts were a www.familyfun.com idea.

Previous creations for Brian's lunch







I'm not sure what made me decide to start doing this.....When I thought about sending Brian off to preschool, I never once thought about his lunch, besides reminding myself that I would have to pack one every day for him. I thought mainly about taking him to a new place and then turning around and him watching me walk out the door. I thought about what would be going through his mind....Would he think I was deserting him? Would he wonder how long he'd be there? Would he resent me for deciding to start him in preschool so soon? Or would he just be thrilled to be around other kids and learn new things? Luckily for all of us it was the latter of the above and he has just seemed to thrive in the 3 short weeks he has been attending preschool at JRC. Morgan and I discussed preschool a lot and decided on an early start due to Brian's slow progression. We had a choice between two local preschools that offer the services that Brian needs. I visited both and sat in on a classroom to observe teaching styles and the overall flow of the program. I felt an immense amount of pressure on my shoulders to choose the right school for Brian, and I feel like we made the right choice. This was one of those times when I really missed having Morgan around to help in the decision process. I involved him as much as possible and I'm really looking forward to him being able to go to JRC and see where Brian spends his days.

Ok...back to the lunches. I wanted to include a variety of foods so he had exposure to different tastes and textures. I've discovered that Brian isn't so much of a picky eater. He actually enjoys a wide variety of foods, just in very small quantities. I figured if I made lunch new and exciting, he might be willing to eat more of it. Thus began my new journey of finding or creating ideas for my little guy's lunch.

So without further ado, here are some of the previous creations that made it into Brian's Lunchbox. The fish sandwich was my own creation.....The other ideas, I found while surfing the web or on www.familyfun.com. Enjoy! :o)

The start of something new

This blog is going to serve many purposes, mainly sharing pictures of our sweet little man with both sets of grandparents who are resisting the facebook sensation. My stepmom, Nancy, does have a page and Brian LOVES getting messages from his Grandma but alas my dad is holding strong in his resistance to join the rest of the world. ;o) Hence the creation of 'Brian's Lunch and Other Stuff'. I will share pictures of the little creations I make for Brian's lunch as well as cakes, cookies and other treats I tackle as I pursue my own business venture into the cake business. I hope you all enjoy this blog and I look forward to hearing from all of you! :o)