Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Wee Bit of News

There's going to be a wee bit of baby coming to Chancellor Manor soon!


I'll try to answer all the questions all at once :)

Baby "Cashew" (remember Cadence is baby Peanut...) is due at the end of August, which means I am four weeks now.

Yes, we're very excited!

We kind of want a boy, but are seriously fine with either one. Good thing, since we don't get to pick!

I haven't been sick yet, but I didn't get sick until seven weeks last time, so we are praying really hard...

We do have some names we kind of like, but they are tentative, so we're not telling :D

Yes, we told Cadence. No, of course she doesn't get it.

It was very funny. I said "There's a baby in Mama's tummy" She busted up laughing. Then she started digging in my belly button and signing "Where" looking for the baby. She was determined she was going to find it in my belly button!

This is probably TMI, but for those of you who know how often I go to the bathroom on a good day... now it's every thirty minutes. Tony is going to shoot himself.

That's our excitement for the day - thanks for sharing our joy!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Little Slave Part Two

Back when it was warm.... We gathered up a bunch of brush to put out for big trash day. Cadence slaved away all morning carrying one stick at a time to the pile out front. It was great.


Monday, December 6, 2010

Oh Yum!

I decided to be brave and venture out and try something new... Oh! Oh my! I must share - except, not the actual food, only the recipe. The food is for my mouth alone. I'm going to be three million pounds.

Mozzarella Sticks


2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup water

1 ½ cup Italian bread crumbs

½ tbsp. garlic salt

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup corn starch

10-12 mozzarella sticks

1 quart oil

Heat oil in heavy saucepan. Mix together eggs and water. In separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs and garlic salt. In separate bowl, mix flour and corn starch. One at a time, dip mozzarella sticks in the flour mix, then egg mix, then bread crumb mix. Fry in HOT oil until golden, about 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels.

Prep: 10 min. Cook: 10 min. Serves: 8 Mozzarella

Notes: It is worth it to wait for the oil to get hot enough. I just used a block mozzarella cut into sticks. Also, if you like yours bready (I do!) dip it in order, then dip in the egg and bread crumbs again. Oh Yum!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I've Lost It

You know, the little thingy ma-jig-er that goes on top of the tripod? That connects it to the camcorder? That without it you can't use the tripod?

I put it in a safe place. You would think I would put it in a "logical" place, but no, I wanted a safe place.

I once lost the camera for two months by putting it in a "safe" place.

I'll let you know if I ever find it.

On a completely different note:

1. Cadence opens the fridge or pantry door, crosses her arms, and says "Hmmmm..."

2. Only three Christmas presents left to make, and we're completely done!

3. Did you know there are only 10 more Sundays until Cadence is two? AAAAACK!!!!!

4. Cadence loves ice. And picante sauce. But not together.

5. Grace gets really hyper after her bath. She actually ran into the wall yesterday.

6. Grace also thinks she's a cat. It's so sad. I thought I was getting a dog for my birthday. But I got a cat.

7. I have changed the sheets on the bed every Monday since April, in an effort to be more like Nonnie. Unfortunately, the rest of the house has not followed the beds inspiration.

8. Chancellor Manor's new slogan is going to be: "Where the laundry is always washed, but not folded!"

9. I have a lot of laundry to fold. In case you didn't figure that out. You can come do it for me. I don't even care if you fold the towels a different way. I wouldn't be picky. I promise.

10. I may or may not post again before Christmas. I have tons of cute pictures I want to put up, but we'll see. You've been duly warned.

Love you all! Like you most! Ok, just kidding, I like you all. Unless I haven't met you, then I don't know if I like you, but I'm sure I would, given the chance.

Just in case - Merry Christmas! I hope your holidays are full of love and joy!

Sally

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Not a Box

This is not a box.

It's a train.

It's a chew toy.

It's a reading nook.

It's a picnic table.

But it's not - oh! Wait, could it be...?

Nope, not a box. It's a play room.

  
Note: I love the book "Not a Box" by Antoinette Portis. I will review it soon on Manor Books, with some fun activity suggestions.

Monday, November 22, 2010

The Annual Week-Before-Thanksgiving Organizing Frenzy

Over the last few years, this last week has turned out to be the week I panic and start organizing so I'll be "ready for Christmas." Right. Like I could ever be organized enough things wouldn't be messy by the end of the holidays! But, this helps things go a lot more smoothly.

Some of the goals of this organizing session:
1. Create space in the pantry and fridge for goodies from neighbors, as well as Tony's students and co-workers.
2. Create spcae in the fridge for cookie and sweets ingredients, and a space in the pantry for the same.
3. Designate a place for gifts we recieve and don't know where to put yet. This year we have half a shelf in the linen closet for this purpose. Some years we have a laundry basket tucked away somewhere.
4. When I do the entry again, I will make an outgoing gifts area, with all our gifts and wrapping supplies.

My first task was cleaning out the very full and disgusting fridge. Here is the after, where you can actually see everything. That is my rule of thumb: Get everything in sight and easy reach, then stop.


Next was the pantry. Again, I got everything in sight and reach, then stopped. No need to go further. It would maybe look nicer with all matchy containers, but this works, and is a lot cheaper.




The horror, the horror! All of this stuff was crammed into our corner cabinet. We could never find anything. We had to take everything out to get to what we wanted. Things were getting smashed. It was awful!

Since we couldn't afford to remodel the kitchen, which is what I really wanted to do, I grabbed a bunch of boxes instead. I sorted things by type and frequency of use into boxes, then slid the boxes in.

Not everything needed a box - the oil is just lined up where I can easy grab, since it's a most frequently used item.

This is where we store all our extras I find  really cheap or free.



Now if I want something behind the boxes, I just pull the box out instead of having to unload the entire cabinet, one item at a time. It's just like having drawers! I'll post back in a couple weeks and let you know how this is working out.

Since I was at it, I did the pots and pans too:

I'm also redoing the entry closet, to make room for incoming and outgoing gifts.

I'd love to hear when you find yourself doing the most organizing. Is it before a major holiday? When the weather is nice? When you find a spot you just can't stand anymore? Are there places in your house  you have to work over and over again before you find something that works?

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Karlea's Birthday Party and Trick-or-Treating

Here is the long awaited, much anticipated sequel to last week's post. Last year I entered a drawing, and won, for the very first time in my life! The prize was a birthday party to 15 at Alligator Andy's. Woohoo! I figured Karlea was the family member who lived in town who was closest to the right age to enjoy this sort of thing, so we celebrated her birthday there. We all had so much fun!

Eating pizza:

Blowing out the candles:
Playing b-ball with Daddy:
Skiball:
"This is so much fun!!!!"
Whoops, sideways :) Cadence spent a lot of time just climbing back and forth, back and forth, over these seats.
Miniature golf:
With all the commotion it would up being more like throw the ball and run around shrieking golf, but the point was to have fun, so thats ok!
I love, love, LOVE it when she walks around with her arms crossed.

Last on our agenda for the day was Trick-or-Treating. We pretty much just go to Nana and Papa's, but it's fun for her to get to wear her costume and carry her beloved bucket around.

She has recently perfected knocking:
The chef got candy!
Here are some less blurry pictures of Cadence in her costume before the actual event. I couldn't seem to get a good one while we were out :)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Gracie


Tony got me a puppy for my birthday! She is a registered Labrador Retriever, pure black. She is sweet, shy, loves to play and learns quickly. She loves Cadence, and Cadence tolerates her :) It has been a big adjustment getting the toddler and the puppy used to each other, but is going well over all. Cadence does love the puppy, she's just used to having her space :D

Playing in the dog's kennel:


She spends a lot of time sleeping, and a lot of time whining. 


Grace Ann Chancellor


 Having fun playing - her favorite toy is the ball.