The Daily Dover

I’m always wondering what temperature demands long sleeves?  A jacket?  How about pants?  It’s always unclear and some stupid mom always comments on me having my kid dressed too warm or too cold.  I found this chart online and found it well worth sharing!  I’m gonna LOVE using this! (click on image to enlarge)  Stick it to that anal, loud, mouthed, concerned mother.  It’s not like we intentionally try and make our kids uncomfortable.  But now, I have a chart.  So, done.

How great is that?!

Baylor had his first experience in the swimming pool last Sunday.  My Grandma had her 80th Birthday party at my parent’s pool.  Baylor screamed at our first attempt, so I took him inside, let him nap, then tried it again later.  This time he loved it…as long as Mommy was nearby.  He swam with me for about 30 minutes and loved every minute of it.  I think I have another little fish on my hands.  He was smothered in sunscreen..even in his hair because this pro-mom forgot his sun hat.  We also didn’t have any size appropriate swimmies, so he was wearing 4 pounds of a diaper too.

Alright.  This is one for the recipe books.  It’s a keeper.  They literally disappeared when I took them to my parent’s house.  You really need a food processor for this recipe so that your Oreos are very fine, no lumps.  I got the recipe from The Cottage Sisters but I decided to dip them in butterscotch and milk chocolate instead of white chocolate.  So glad I did…they were nummy!  I doubled the recipe, so my pictures will reflect that.

Ingredients:

One regular size package of Oreo cookies (not the Double Stuff)

1 Large package of butterscotch morsels.  (or white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate.)

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened.

Preparation:

Grind all of your Oreos up until they are a fine powder, no lumps.

Add your softened cream cheese and blend until fully blended and moist.

Roll into balls.

Melt your butterscotch according to package directions.

Dip and Roll your Oreo Balls into the butterscotch mixture.

Lay out on a non-stick surface to dry.  (I LIGHTLY greased some aluminum foil.)  The butterscotch will dry on it’s own.  You may have to refrigerate the chocolate dipped balls for half an hour to get them to harden.

I then dripped decorative chocolate/butterscotch on top of each one.

***Tips:  Dipping them is a mess.  If you can just get them covered, you can make them pretty by doing  a “swirly” motion with your finger on the top of the ball.  I wish i had thought to save some of my oreo crumbs, because it’d be pretty to sprinkle the top of the truffle with oreo crumbs!

I love love love Laura Jones.  I’ve just begun getting to know her, but I’ve figured out that she is the disciplined version of me.  The things I aspire to be and do…is what Laura Jones is doing.  She’s pretty amazing.  We had the honor of hosting her baby shower recently.  It turned out great, thanks to the superior hostesses that helped out!  (Thanks Tosha, Angie, Jill, Cassi, Christy and Alisa!)  We had Gigi’s cupcakes.  I recommend the one with yellow cake, raspberry filling, buttercream icing…topped with coconut.  Tiger something.  Yum.  Fun night.  Great group of girls!  Some of my besties!  Did I mention this is Laura’s 5th child?!  Like I said…amazing.

Mason began Mother’s Day Out again!  Can you tell I’m just a bit excited?…and not for the obvious reason.  I’d actually prefer to keep him home so we don’t have to wake everyone up early, get ready, rush to school just to do it all again that afternoon.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having some time to myself, but with two kids…it’s a whole notha’ ball game.  It’s actually MDOWTB <Mother’s Day Out With The Baby>.  The reason I am really excited is my sweet little Mason.  He’s been talking about “school” for months and he runs around the house dizzy with excitement when he gets to go.  I, being that mom who always pulls out the cam of course, took some cute pictures.  Our first day sans Mase included some shopping for my new dining room redo (titled Poppy Love…revealed a few days ago), cleaning, a nap and a shower.  BUT!  I did get to shave my legs and cut my toe/finger nails.  That is something I usually don’t have time for…so thanks MDOWTB.  I appreciate you.  I was told Mason did great of course because he’s the best kid ever but they said he did pull down his pants and scream, “I gotta go!”  It was too late.  Extra clothes packed…for the win.  There is another child named Maisen in his class.  A girl.  Don’t get me started. So, it’s official.  My kid’s lives are flying by and they are growing faster than I can keep up.  Sad.

There are certain things that are hilarious when OTHER people’s kids do it.  Then you become a parent and realize how that parent felt.  The list is blog worthy.  Feel free to chime in with your embarrassing moments.

• Back-talking you in public. Oh yeah.  It happens to all of us.  When it happens and those scoffers look at you…and laugh, just think to yourself -Stay calm.  Don’t totally humiliate the child.  Don’t totally humiliate yourself.  Remain in control…..and breathe.
• Goes for someone else’s boob. My boys never did this but I’ve seen it happen and it’s funny.
• Pooped somewhere other than a toilet. Mason chose the church indoor playground.  3 times.  3 weeks in a row.  Not sure why.  Everyone else thought it was hilarious.  Well, everyone except for me and the workers that had to clean it up.
• Discovering themselves. Moms of boys.  You know what I’m talking about.  Sometimes it’s, “Look mom!  It’s hard!”  Other times it’s that confused and accomplished look on their face as they poke at it.  Either way, it’s funny….when it’s not your child.
• Says your food is yucky. This is the last thing you wanna hear as you are serving your meals.  “Yuck.”  Thanks son.
• Runs away from you in public. There’s nothing quite better than screaming down the halls at church, “Mason…STOP!”  They just get excited but must they always draw attention to us?!
• Sprays you. Another boy hurtle, fortunately they grow out of it but it’s much funnier when it happens to my hubbs instead of me.
• Hollers that familiar saying, “Mommy!  Come wipe my butt!  I’m done!”  This has not happened to me anywhere but at home yet, but I’m sure it’s coming…

I try to not take these too seriously.  I’m actually pretty good at laughing at myself but it’s still a little embarrassing.  Please share your additions…I’m certain I didn’t cover them all!

P.S.  Mary’s comments  are SO WORTH posting!  Thanks Mary:

1. Mary Kelso Says:
   August 29th, 2010 at 5:00 pm editTalks to you about your accomplishments in the potty in the public restroom. “Did you pee? Good job mommy!” It can get worse…much, much worse. Thankfully there is at least a half wall between the audience and your own red face.

   Talks about someone in the grocery aisle or a restaurant. “HE ONLY HAS ONE ARM MOMMY! MOMMY, WHY DOES HE ONLY HAVE ONE ARM?” Yes, he was yelling.

   Much funnier when it’s someone else.

The winner of our Lifeline Designs Personalized Giveaway is…

Lori Werl!  Comment #13 Read more…

Meet my new dining room.  But first, say goodbye to my old dining room.  Goodbye.

Here’s the breakdown.  I have defied many of my own No-No’s in designing this room.  Two of which are a) Red and Green are only compatible at Christmas time. and b) Black and Brown do not go together. This room showcases Red & Green with Black & Brown all over.  I’m so scandalous.  I was complacent with my old dining room.  I love the chocolate below our chair rail.  I love the furniture.  And I also love the curtains.  Basics….Check.  But that’s about where the goodness ended.  Everything else was purposed to simply fill the space.  This is where the new fun came in.

I found these 2 Poppy paintings at Trees N Trends for $35 each.  I really had my eye on this large gorgeous painting, but couldn’t swallow the $249 price tag.  Plus Mason informed me, “Mommy, you can’t have that one because it’s too high and you’ll fall and bump your head.” So we came home with poppies.  (Normally $79 each).  You can’t tell from the pictures, but they have a really glossy finish that actually reflects the light.  Bonus!  I found the glass hurricanes on the clearance rack for $8 each and picked up the red candles for $4.99 each.  Another trip to Target and Kohls scored me the Glass Beads ($4.99 each, bought 2) and the new red napkins ($1.39 each).  The next day, I mosied around HomeGoods till I found my quaint little centerpiece.  The decorative spheres balls were clearanced at $9.99.  I love them because they accentuate the color of the glass beads, mimic a similar (but muted) shade of the poppies, and have a beige floral design on them!  Fabulous!  I found the platter that is displaying the spheres balls in the bathroom section of HomeGoods.  Not sure what it actually is, but it’s working pretty good at being a decorative display.  I already had the two tall, chocolate, glass candle holders which I am a big fan of -as they move around my house frequently.  The original placemats are now pretending to be a table runner, lined up, anxious to display my new centerpieces.  I stole a few of the cherries from my delicious decor display in the breakfast nook here for each napkin ring.  I am very pleased with the new dining room.  Do you love it?!

And on a side note, my paintings work great as an Olan Mills backdrop too…Look!  I’m laying in a field of poppies!

Click here to enter our current Lifeline Designs Giveaway!

Oh my!  I did a DIY!  -Not usually my style, because of my lack of patience, but this one was so easy and fun, how could I resist?!  Remember my new desk? If not, read here. The top of my desk came with a little imperfection in it, so I called Sauder and they sent me a new desk top.  So, I was stuck with an extra large chunk of espresso wood.  I usually just (here’s where you DIY’ers gasp) throw stuff out, but something inside me wanted to wait and see if I could think of a way to re-purpose this piece.  You DIY bloggers are getting in my head. The main obstacle was the big hole on the right side of it.  Maybe it was the way it was leaning up against the door.  Or maybe it was the way my front door looked when we refreshed our entry way and door hardware here.  Wherever the thought came from…I embraced it.  I decided to make a little people door to hang up in the kid’s playroom!  I’d cover the hole with a door knob, put a metal kick board, add some door hinges and  hang a small wreath on it.  Then I hung a sign above the little door that says:  Little people live here. I.love.it.seriously.  This was the easiest project ever and only cost me $30.  I found the doorknob, tin sign and the wreath at Hobby Lobby.  The kickboard is the back-side of a tin wall sign.  I found the door hinges at Home Depot for $3.  Even my hubs loves it, and he doesn’t usually notice this stuff.  What do you think?!  I think you need one.  Click here to enter our current Lifeline Designs Giveaway!

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Mexican Layer Dip

Need something easy to not-cook for a gathering?  Go for the Mexican Layer Dip.  It’s always a hit.  It’s simple.  It’s quick.  It requires no cooking.  And you could even assemble it at your destination.  Here goes: this recipe will make 2 small platters of dip.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Refried Beans
• 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar (or Mexican) Cheese
• 2 Cups Shredded Lettuce
• 1 Can Sliced Black Olives
• 3 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
• 2 Green Onions (sliced Thin)
• 1 Small Sour Cream
• 1 Large Bag of Scoop Fritos

Preparation:

1. Spread the refried beans thin on the platters.
2. Top with Cheddar Cheese.
3. Top with Shredded Lettuce.
4. Top with Tomatoes
5. Top with Olives.
6. Scoop Sour Cream into center of platter.
7. Top Sour Cream with Sliced Green Onions.
8. Serve with a bowl of Scoop Fritos.
9. Done.  Eat.  Yum.

I told ya!  Enjoy!

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