Still Our Little Slave

I love my daughter - she is sweet, funny, and very helpful. Every morning she plays in her room while I take my shower. It is the only time she gets to play in her room, that way the novelty doesn't wear off. After my shower she cleans up all her toys. About once a week I give her a rag and she dusts everything she can reach. Today while we were cleaning up I said, "Yuck, I need to vacuum this carpet!" When we were done, she headed straight for the hobby room. I had no idea what she wanted, but I let her in just to see. What did she grab? Not a toy. Not some pens and paper. Not something fun. The VACUUM.

And she vacuumed her whole room.

It's a....

BOY!

He has all his limbs and vital organs, four chambers in his heart - in short, he is perfect!

So far, we know this about him: He likes to sit cross-legged, kicks when someone pushes on him, and sucks his thumb when you try to take his picture.



Looking forward to another wonderful adventure!

Words & Phrases I never thought I'd use to describe my two-year-old:

Diligent worker

Helpful

Dependable

Nurturing

Sensitive

Loves to clean

Gentle

Careful

Shy, but… a performer??

A Menu and Grocery List

Ugh - well, it's done. I actually forced myself to make a full menu and grocery list for this pay period. I know this will keep us from eating out randomly, which we desperately need right now because of all the unexpected expenses recently. Ok, we knew about Grace needing 'fixed'... but the microwave (grrrr...)? And the camera (grrr....)? Not so much. Anyway, since I sat down and did it, I thought I would share.

Menu

Trying to be Cheap

Dish - Sides - Notes
Ham - Au Gratin Potatoes - Chop and save back three portions for later

Tuna Helper - Salad

Ribs - Potatoes & Beans - Grill and serve with salad, beans, potato salad

Creamy Ham and Potatoes - Vegetables - Also good with salad – use reserved ham

French Toast - Bacon - Reserve two portions of bacon for later

Smothered Chicken - Ranch Style Beans - also good with salad – use reserved bacon

Tuna Casserole - Salad

Grilled Pork Chops-  Baked potatoes - Reserve leftovers for fajitas

Brown Beans - Corn bread - Use reserved ham

Chicken Enchiladas - Chips & salsa - Also good with cheese sauce

Salad with Ham - Bread / rolls - Use reserved ham to make a yummy salad

Bean Burritos - Chips & salsa - Also good with cheese sauce

Egg Sandwiches - Use reserved bacon

Pork Fajitas - Homemade “chips” - Also good with cheese sauce

Grocery List

Meat:
Ham
Chicken
Bacon
Tuna
Pork chops
Ribs
bacon

Staples:
Brown sugar
Oil
Tuna helper
Potatoes
Cream of celery soup
flour
tortillas
rotel
dry pinto beans
BBQ sauce
bread
refried beans
cream of chicken soup
cream of mushroom soup
vanilla
egg noodles
peas
potato chips (crushed)

Seasonings:
garlic
season all
pepper
cumin
onion
salt
chili powder
cinnamon

Refrigerated/Frozen Goods:
Cheddar cheese
Potato salad
eggs
Velveeta
Milk
Sour cream

Canned Fruits & Vegetables:
Pineapple
mushrooms

Fresh Vegetables:
Onion
Salad
Bell pepper
tomato

Side Item Suggestions:
Au Gratin Potatoes
Mac and cheese
Ranch style beans
Tortilla chips
baked beans
bread / rolls
corn bread

Most of these recipes are in the file I posted with the first menu. For the ribs and grilled pork chops, we just use our favorite seasonings and BBQ sauces and throw them on the grill. For French toast, I beat a couple eggs with cinnamon and vanilla, dip the bread in and toast it on a griddle. The fajita recipe is the recipe from the red checkered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The tuna casserole we haven't tried yet, here is a link to it: Best Tuna Casserole I'm rather confident you can figure out the tuna helper ;)

Two Year Pictures

These were so much fun to take! We decided to do it at home this time to save money. I wish the lighting in our house was better, but Cadence is still cute ;)

Later (read: next time I have energy!) I will take some of her with Daddy and some of her with me, and some family pictures... really looking forward to those, especially the ones with Daddy!

In the meantime, here are her solo pictures - keep in mind I weeded out about 200, so really, 24 isn't all that many to look at, is it??

This is when I started bribing her with gum - she wound up having three sticks by the time it was over, doled out in small bites each time she was still for me...

The Second Second Birthday Party

The second day of partying was an all afternoon event. First we took some pictures of Cadence in her outfit:

Then Uncle Alex and Gramma and Auntie got here!!!!

She was, once again, thrilled to be so close to cake, and did a great job blowing out her candle (with help...).

We let her do the honors of cutting the cake. What a mess! We really needed spoons more than forks when she was done.

Then presents - whoo boy! She was running across the living room, throwing wrapping paper, it was great.

But she did stop to say thank you if prompted :)

Signing duck:

After some play time and a short nap, we all went out to Mexican food. This is Cadence's favorite food to eat out - she gets chips and salsa, cheesy tortillas, and rice. How much better could it get?

After everyone went back to Tulsa, Cadence had fun throwing everything out of her shopping cart...

Playing...

And generally having fun :)