Chicken Fried Rice

• I had the leftover 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken and was wondering what to do with it... I decided on Chicken Fried Rice, only I've never made it before and had no idea how. After a quick Google, a glance at this recipe, and memories of my mom's version in mind I had it all figured out. I cooked some brown rice, chopped zuchinni & onion, shredded carrots, added some frozen baby peas, two big cloves of garlic, two tbsp of lite soy sauce, stirred in some eggs, tossed in the leftover chicken, fried it all up and voila! It was delicious. Cali even tried it without any prompting and said "Cali likes it! Yummmm" and ate about half a bowl. I was thrilled that she actually liked it after all the work I put into making it (by 'work' I mean, keeping her and D happily occupied while I chopped, stirred, answered phone calls, etc.) So I learned how to make fried rice which is exactly how it sounds, you take cooked rice and fry it up with a bunch of other stuff and it tastes delicious.
  

Chick-Fil-A

• Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays. I remembered after we drove there, saw the empty parking lot, and the big red letters on the sign "CLOSED SUNDAYS" that my Mother-In-Law had just told me that a couple weeks ago. That and Hobby Lobby, I went to HL about 5 times on a Sunday before I remembered that they are always closed on Sunday.
  

Petfinder

• Petfinder.com, the best online pet adoption search, even has Guinea Pigs! I would have never thought of that. The founder of Petfinder.com was on Ellen talking about it after her big Iggy ordeal and they said "... even Guinea Pigs". That's great news. I've kind of been thinking of a Guinea Pig pet for the kids (not anytime soon, but I was just thinking) and would definitely want to rescue one if that is a choice over buying from a pet store. So if you need a pet, even if its a Guinea Pig or a Rat or a Snake please check Petfinder.com first to see if there are any adorable animals in your local area that need to be adopted.
• While looking around petfinder, I also found a link to The Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue website, in case you are in the market specifically for a Guinea Pig. If you're in the market for any other specific animal or breed I highly suggest you Google it and you will very likely find a rescue group for your needs too.
  

Crock-Pot Paella

• You can make Chicken Paella in a Crock-Pot, and about a million other things too. I was checking out crock-pot.com for some new recipe ideas since it finally cooled down here and I'm in the mood for some warm, Fall comfort foods. Some other recipes I printed out were Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Feta, Spinach and Tomatoes, and Salsa Chicken. Yes I'm a big fan of chicken.
  
• Also I am learning that Baby D really, really hates to go to bed. Wonder where he got that from? If we're out in the evening he gets a five minute catnap on the way home and refuses to go to sleep til 2 hours later. Fun.

ETA: Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic was DELICIOUS. It made the house smell so good I couldn't wait to eat it and both babies gobbled it up too! Definitely making that one again.

Shut the Gate

• D has discovered the joys of the dog bowl. First it was the water, lots of fun to pull up (big dog, its up on a raised platform) and splash. Today there was actually food in the bowl (the dog usually eats at night so the bowl is empty all day, but he didn't eat last night) and as we were trying to head out the door he managed to sneak a piece into his mouth. Yummy! Time for me to make a habit of shutting the gate to the kitchen again...
  

Hilarious

• D in an elephant costume = HILARIOUS to Cali and her reaction had me rolling on the floor too. She couldn't stop laughing about the fact that "brother has a tail!"

Its Blog Action Day

• Yep, its Blog Action Day:

  On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

  I had no idea. My friend Vanessa clued me in, especially since the subject this year is the Environment and that's my forte!
  

So here's what I want you to do... RECYCLE!! Seriously people, its not that difficult. I really have a hard time throwing things away, and not because I'm emotionally attached but because I hate to think of it sitting in a landfill for hundreds, thousands, or billions of years. I don't know why but that has always bugged me. In college I did my Senior Thesis on Recycling and explored how to bring a feasible Recycling program to my hometown of Fairbanks, AK. Not easy considering the remote location, costs of transportation to Recycling facilities, etc. Unfortunately I did not find an easy solution, but I did find out a lot from my research and I got an "A" on the thesis. I also took a private tour of our local landfill, very eye-opening and a vivid image that remains with me every time I have to throw something out.

Here's something to think about the next time you throw something away.
Average time it take to decompose a...
■ banana -- 3 to 4 weeks
■ paper bag -- 1 month
■ cotton rag -- 5 months
■ wool sock -- 1 year
■ cigarette butt -- 2 to 5 years
■ leather boot -- 40 to 50 years
■ tin can -- 80 to 100 years
■ aluminum can -- 200 to 500 years
■ plastic 6-pack rings -- 450 years
■ plastic jug -- 1 million years
■ Styrofoam cup -- unknown? forever?
■ glass bottle -- unknown? forever?

So, the point is you should RECYCLE. Here's how I do it: I shop at the commissary where they happen to have huge recycling drop off bins for paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum. When I shop I ask for paper bags and that is what I use for my collecting "bins" at home. I happen to have a large pantry so I keep my "bins" on the floor in there: one for paper, one for plastic, one for cardboard and I rarely drink soda but if I do I keep those cans too. When the bags get full I move them to the garage, when I go to do my grocery shopping I load up the back of my SUV and drop it all off in the recycling bins before I go in to shop. Its that simple. Really. I rinse out all my plastic bottles when they are empty and dump them in the plastic "bin". I gather up all my newspapers, junk mail, office papers, dump them in the paper "bin". All my cardboard boxes whether from mail packages or gifts or boxes of cereal, I unfold them, flatten them and stick them in the cardboard "bin". Unfortunately my location doesn't take glass, but I wash and save those too and use them for crafts or tool storage or find someone who needs them, people even buy/sell baby food jars on Ebay! After all this recycling I usually only have two bags of garbage per week. Its amazing how much "garbage" you can reduce by recycling the majority of your waste. My neighbors bins are always overflowing and it doesn't have to be that way.

Your assignment: wherever you live and whatever your situation, take some time this week to research your recycling options. Many cities have pick up service, you just have to call and request a bin (some cities charge a little extra for this service). Maybe you have the ability to recycle at work, do it! If your office recycles paper, save your home papers and bring them in to recycle too (ask your boss but I'm sure they won't mind). Maybe you will find a local recycling center that has drop off locations and some recycling places even pay you back. Please, for me, for the planet, for your children. Take the time to think about recycling and see how you can start recycling in your community, then spread the word to your friends & neighbors too!!

Never Wash the Car

• I decided I'm never washing the car again. I think I washed it twice in the past 6 months and it rained the very next day both times. This time a bird crapped on it first, then it rained like crazy. I guess at least the bird crap got washed off by the rain.
  

Cali ♥ Gymnastics

• On Thursday we went to Mom & Tot open gym at our local Gymnastics studio. Cali LOVED it. They have trampolines, bounce houses, a huge foam pit, balls, slides, blocks, hanging rings, balance beams, you name it. Its a huge facility and there were tons of kids but so much to do it wasn't crowded. She has been talking about it ever since and probably already asked 10 times to "go gym again". I told her we'd go back Monday so she's just counting the days. I'll take my camera next time too.

Date Night

• Friday night is my "date night" meaning just me and the kids go out and have a good time. Our little date ritual the past several Fridays has consisted of feeding the duckys, playing at the park & to top it off a small shared bowl of TCBY. Somebody is a big fan...

I think this little date night ritual is going to be a continuing tradition for awhile now.

Stray AC

• I randomly ran across this blog and learned all kind of crazy things, for example:
  
• You may be asked to remove your underwire bra to pass through security
• Your apartment application can be denied if you have tattoos
• If you live in Belgium, you can get your disabled family members a prostitute
• You can get married at Wal-Mart if you really want to
• The odds of having 3 children born on the same day (different years)? 7.5 in 1 million. The Cotton Family of Marysville, Ohio have two sons and a daughter all born on Oct 2 but in 2003, 2006, and 2007. Crazy!
  

Cormorant Fishing

• In China, they used trained birds - Cormorants to be exact- to catch fish for them... In China and Japan, the practice of cormorant fishing is thought to date back some 1300 years. Fishermen use the natural fish-hunting instincts of the cormorants to catch fish, but a metal ring placed round the bird's neck prevents large, valuable fish from being swallowed. The fish are instead collected by the fisherman. Source: Survivor China, info from Wikipedia.
  

Sad News

On Monday I learned some very sad news. My family's dog, Brandy, had to be put down. She was our family pet ever since I was in the 6th grade. I remember the day my dad brought her home (all the way from MO to AK in our new motor home) like it was yesterday. She was the sweetest, cutest, softest little puppy. My dad is taking it pretty hard, they were very close and he will miss her for a long time. He was the one that had to take her in, my mom did it for our first dog Prissy and she said she could never do that again. They made her a nice grave and headstone in their front yard where they can see it out their front windows. I am so sad she is gone and sad for my parent's loss. The picture was taken last November as she so patiently sat while Cali brushed her with a babydoll brush.

Make Your Own Play Food

• So clever! Why didn't we think of this? This mom simply cuts pictures of food off the boxes and uses it for creative food play! I love recycling and I love cheap toys, I'm going to dig through my recycling bag right now... Source: Instructables by way of Goodyblog

Cellulitis

• I think I have unilateral cellulitis, my right eyelid is swollen for no good reason and thats what came up when I googled "swollen eyelid". I believe it though, Cali had cellulitis in her hand last year and that's what it reminds me of. My eye itself is fine, just the eyelid is getting swollen for no apparent reason. It says I need antibiotics, I don't have time for that. We'll see what happens. Source: http://www.eyemdlink.com

How to spend $1.2 Million in One Day

• In case you ever have so much money you don't know what to do with it, here are some ideas. A headline about a $1,000 pizza caught my eye on Yahoo. Hint: it involves a lot of caviar and gold-leafed ice cream.

What I'm Reading

• How to Behave so Your Preschooler Will Too - Wanted to get some extra insight on the whole discipline thing, its not my forte and how should I know how to do it if I've never done it before right? I've always learned best from reading so I decided to just pick up whatever discipline books they might have at my local library. Its a winner, I really like it so far. As one amazon reviewer put it, its "just right -- neither too hard nor too soft. [The Author] acknowledges that children sometimes need to be punished so that they can learn the boundaries of acceptable behavior; but he's eager to help you become your child's ally and tutor in learning right from wrong." I do disagree about using the bathroom for time-out (which the author concurs is not a good idea for potty-trainers), but that's easy enough to change to our own needs. So far I've learned that I have the right ideas, its just remembering to use them, staying consistent, having patience, and having the proper expectations for her age. I've been trying out the "no whining" techniques this morning and they are working great! First you don't tell them "no whining" because that just plants the idea of whining into their head, what you want to do is tell them what they SHOULD do. For example I tell her "I don't understand when you're whining, please use a nice voice" or "I don't listen to whining, I can help you when you ask nicely." Works like a charm... well as much as any charm would work on a 2 year old. But you get the picture, it helps.

I didn't know that was possible...

• On the way to Cali's checkup, I am explaining where we are going and what the doctor will do...

Me: And the doctor will look at your ears, nose, eyes, tummy, umm.... your toes, your hair...
C: Cali growing more hair!
Me: Yes, thats right your hair is growing.
C: Cali growing more teeth!
Me: Yes, you're right.
C: Cali growing more toes!
Me: Ummm, really?

• Cali is 29 lbs and 35 1/4 inches tall. D is 19 lbs 9 oz. Source: Cali's 2 yr checkup
• D can really crawl, I'm in for it now...

Trivia

• The tallest tower in the world is CN tower in Toronto, Canada at 1,815 ft. See it here.
• "Cordilleras": an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges.
• Timbuktu is in the country of Mali, Africa.
  
• Europe consists of 46 countries, Africa has 53.
• First woman to win a nobel peace prize: Jane Addams, 1931.

Source: Webkinz trivia for 13+, no I'm not kidding. Cali got a Webkinz for her birthday and I was trying to win some Webkinz money to buy her some cool new stuff. Out of 50 questions, this is all I learned.

Sweet Berry Farm Open for Fall Fun

• Yay! I had such a fun time with Cali at Sweet Berry Farm last fall just after Dave deployed, I can't wait to go back this fall. If all goes well we can make a family trip this weekend, Dave included! I can't wait. Click here for hours of operation and see all the fun stuff they have to offer.
  

National Popcorn Month

• October is National Popcorn Month!! Good news for popcorn fans everywhere. You can get two "free" bags of Dale & Thomas Gourmet Popcorn by going here - "free" meaning You have to pay $5.90 for shipping. Source: Goodyblog.
• I learned the "Funky Eagle" and the "Peanut Butter Stomp" from Yo Gabba Gabba!