Two of a Kind's Ergo Giveaway

Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House is having a giveaway for an Ergobaby carrier, backpack, and front pouch. You have until March 16 to enter.

I'm No Supermom's Great Giveaway

I'm No Supermom and Parenting By Nature are having a giveaway for a BabyHawk Mei Tai.  Giveaway ends March 6.

I don't think I have to tell you how excited I was to see this giveaway.  I'd be so excited to win.  

 

Dinner

I Won an Award: The Passionate Blogger Award

I got an award from Alexia at The Mommy Rambles the other day (well it might be a few days now. I'm a bit slow at getting things done at times) And I wanted to tell her Thank You!

I've never received an award online before. It's the Passionate Blogger Award.





Rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog
2. Write five things you are passionate about apart from blogging
3. Tag 5 people on your lists and let them know you tagged them


My five things:

1. Jesus
2. My Family
3. Reading
4. Board Games - even though I don't get to play that often
5. Spring - is it here yet?


I'm giving this award to:

1. Tami @ Tree Swing Reading
2. Andrea @ The Laughs Will Go On
3. Katrina @ Stone SouP
4. Jessica @ The Dietzel Family
5. and I'll have to think about this last one.

A Bit of New Orleans at Home

Today is Mardi Gras. Happy Fat Tuesday.

We've had a bit of New Orleans in the last couple of weeks. Jambalaya, King Cakes, Beignets and Cafe' au lait from Cafe' Du Monde. Yum!

I made a King Cake from the brioche dough, recipe for dough is found in the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book.

I forgot to take photos of each step but I did manage to get a picture just before consuming it. It was so good. I made 2 and filled one with apples and a cream cheese spread and the other contained lemon curd.




With the leftover dough I made beignets (a french style doughnut) and in the tradition of Cafe' du Monde (a coffee shop in New Orleans), I piled them with powdered sugar. These were delicious as well.




Want to read a bit more about our trip last year to New Orleans during Carnival season?

Here are most of the throws I caught last year. That is a bathtub full of beads.

We Love Stickers

The girls love stickers. I have a large shoe box filled with all kinds. They are an easy craft project, gives them great fine motor practice, and keeps them occupied for a long time. But sometimes the stickers can get a bit crazy in the house. I often find them places I shouldn't. Here's a few of those locations in the past couple of weeks.


Not such a bad place. On paper like they are supposed to be.



On the humidifier. Nope shouldn't be there.



On the stairs.



On an old computer. Nice Pattern



On the wall.



On the washing machine door.



On a remote control.



On the back of a door.



And eventually we see this. On a kid. This kid is Pony.



And one more from 2005 when Buttercup was only 18 months.

I Never Grew Up is Having a Birthday

Make sure to visit I Never Grew Up's Birthday Bash. It ends on Feb. 28.

missing posts

where are my posts? they're lost!!

*Update - They're back. Whew! I thought I lost them all.

Wordless Wednesday: House Guest

For more WW fun visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday

King of the Icicles

A few weeks ago, I was outside walking around the house when I spied a ginormous icicle hanging off the back of the house. I grabbed Buttercup and ran outside for another look, well after bundling her into several layers of clothing. We rounded the corner and there it was. She was amazed at it's size. It was very thick and froze it's way to the ground. It was the King of all house icicles. But alas, he is no more. About a week ago it really warmed up and was rainy. I heard a loud crash coming from that side of the house. He collapsed into a heap and melted away.

Wordless Wednesday: A Visit from the Snarl Fairy

Want more WW? Visit Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom

Empanada Lesson

Every so often, my family and I (mostly my mom and I) get together with my aunt to learn a new recipe. We take turns bringing something to share. One time my brother and mom taught my aunt how to make onion rings. She's taught us how to make alfajores (a popular Argentina cookie). This last time we got together, we learned how to make empanada dough. I also taught her how to make a batch of bread from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book (speaking of this book, I made a King Cake the other day and I'll post photos soon). It was a long day of cooking and dough.

We came with all of our ingredients to make the dough and our filling. Our filling consisted of shredded pork with green chilies. It was very good. My aunt had a ground/shredded beef filling. I'm not sure what exactly was in her filling. The traditional Mendoza style filling has ground beef, green olives, and hard boiled eggs. You really can fill the empanadas with anything you want. Vegetables, fruit, and meat of all kinds make great fillings.

The photos are of my aunt making her empanadas. I didn't think to get the camera out until we were finished with ours.

Our dough was a bit thin after it was all rolled out and cut into circle so it was a bit hard to work with. Next time we will keep them a little thicker.

Filling the dough

Closing the empanada

Here's the hard part. Folding the edges. There's a special technique to folding them. I didn't quite get it figured out. I need a bit more work on the folding. I did manage to make a few that looked decent.

Here's the finished empanada. Isn't it pretty.

Here is our completed (unbaked) empanadas. Don't look too close. Some of them are a bit scary. We did eat most of the mangled looking ones that night. And they tasted good.



And here is the final product. This one contained potatoes, hard boiled egg, and pork.

Rockin Mama's Potty Party

Rockin Mama is having a Potty Party. Are you in the midst of potty training? Head on over to get some advice and see some great potty products. Pony is working on potty training so I'm headed over right now.

Bebe au Lait Burp Cloths

Bebe au Lait is a company you've probably heard about.  I've mentioned them a few times.  They make wonderful nursing covers and many other products as well.  I automatically associate their name with their nursing covers but did you know they also have burp cloths, reversible double bibs and a new product being released soon, hooded towels.  

I received a burp cloth a few months ago and it's the nicest burp cloth I've ever seen.  It's 100% cotton terry cloth on both sides.  And is the perfect length to keep you covered front and back.  There's even a chic fabric swatch on one side created from their exclusive prints.  Burp cloths come in a pack of 3 for $20.   

I haven't used the burp cloth for burping any babies because thankfully the girls are past that age.  But these burp cloths would make a wonderful plush wash cloth.  I'm sure there are other uses I haven't thought of for these cloths once your past that burping stage.  Maybe you could give me a few more ideas.  

Starting tomorrow, if you make a purchase from Bebe au Lait, you will receive a free sample of Mustela No-Rinse Cleansing Fluid.

Make sure you keep an eye out for the launch of their new hooded towels.  They look like they are going to be amazing.  And if they use the same terry cloth they use for their burp cloths, they are going to be very soft.