my little ballerina

shelby started her "pre-ballet A" class today. the teacher, mrs. dana, is great with kids. she makes it really fun.

shelby is very outgoing! she was so comfortable in class, it was like it was her fifth class instead of her first. she was even the brightest dressed ballerina out there in her orange and pink tu-tu! it surely fits her personality :) she participated pretty well. most importantly, she had a great time!

the class worked on the first couple of ballet positions. they did ballet walks in a circle around the room. mrs. dana made tinsel wands for the kids that they danced with. they learned to plié and to do an arabesque. it was a great first lesson!

elise and i sat on the side of the room and watched. elise was funny because she did the stretches with the class while we were sitting there. a couple of times she wanted to go dance with shelby, but never went further than a few steps from me. she really liked watching. i think after a couple of classes, she will try to join the class :)

shelby hasn't changed out of her ballet clothes all day! she dances ballet to every song she hears and "ballet walks" all over the house. i love it!

mommy's peanut butter cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. beat in eggs.
3. in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. stir into batter.
4. put batter in refrigerator for one hour.
5. roll into one inch balls and put on baking sheets. flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.
6. bake for 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. do not over-bake!

mommy's lasagna

i've substituted turkey for sausage and chicken for beef. i also use whole wheat noodles. the people who tried this never knew about the healthier substitutions; said they never would have guessed even after i told them. this lasagna is so good!

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet italian turkey sausage
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
30 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.
3. in a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. preheat oven to 375 degrees
5. to assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. arrange one layer of noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. spread with one third of the ricotta cheese mixture. top with one layer of mozzarella cheese slices. spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
6. bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. cool for 15 minutes before serving.

mommy's cincinnati-style chili

my cincinnati-style chili is not strictly by the book. if you order cincinnati chili in cincinnati, it is ordered by number:
two-way:	chili served on spaghetti
three-way:	additionally topped with shredded cheddar cheese
four-way:	additionally topped with chopped onions
five-way:	additionally topped with kidney beans

Ingredients:
2 large onion chopped
2 pounds extra-lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
30 ounce can of tomato sauce
32 ounce can of dark red kidney beans
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) package uncooked dried spaghetti pasta

Toppings:
oyster crackers
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Directions:
in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, saute onion, ground chicken, garlic, and chili powder until chicken is cooked. put chicken mixture in a slow cooker and add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa, tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water. cook on low for no less than two hours.

cook spaghetti according to package directions.

ladle chili over spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice.

eureka!

elise did great today! the only accident today was a small one in the high chair. i believe we discussed this yesterday ;). she still needs a diaper to sleep in, and a pull up at nap time, but she is doing wonderful!

i even walked into the hallway at one point in time to catch her going into the bathroom to go all by herself! can't ask for much more than that!

big sister and big brother have been a big help, too! shelby has been quite the cheerleader and encouragement for elise. she even has her own sticker chart on the wall so she can get stickers when she uses the potty like elise does. how funny is that! nathan will occasionally sit and read and sing to her when she is tired of looking at and cooperating with mommy.

a recurring principle in my life is expectations. when i have realistic expectations, i can handle just about anything. so, here are a few things that i have had to continue resetting for myself this last weekend:

• she is working through more than i am
• i am multi-tasking at the brink of sanity, but i can do that. she is learning to recognize feelings in her body that is instinctual for the rest of us, trying to control those urges, and wanting to feel successful in accomplishing what needs to be done before she has an accident, and wanting to "do it self!"
• it will be okay!
• elise will be potty trained sooner or later. if she's not ready right now, we'll try again when she shows additional interest.
• take it a step at a time and it will be a memory to laugh about (tomorrow)
• maybe it was an accident that i had to clean up (or two at the same time), changing a third barely wet diaper, getting through daily chores while being constrained to the bathroom, feeling like we're starting our bedtime routine over again because she wants to completely undress to potty only after i've put them to bed, etc.

naked baby weekend comes to an end

stephon has given this weekend event a title. it will forever be remembered as the "naked baby weekend!" elise wouldn't keep a shirt on, and shelby kept taking her clothes off so she could be like elise. that made me laugh!

potty training today started out terrible! i'm not a morning person (in case you don't know me) and i tend to have to work a little harder to not get flustered in the morning if things are not going smoothly. and it wasn't smooth!

she peed in her high chair, which i knew was going to happen. it did with shelby, and it should be written somewhere ... "what to expect when potty training: they will pee in their high chair!" they are sitting, relaxed, and half naked... it's going to happen.

here's a little insight... part of the challenge of potty training for the child is getting the potty muscles to relax. this is why they frequently sit and can't do anything until they stand up and go on the floor! at some point, that will be the high chair. hopefully it won't be on mommy's lap! it can be on daddy's lap... i could use a good laugh right about now!

before i could get the high chair apart to clean it (it needed done, anyway, otherwise i have plastic under it so i can just dry, wipe, and disinfect it easily), she pooped in her big girl panties that she was excited to put on! uuugh! it was down her leg, on her feet, on the floor in the bathroom, on the potty seat, on my hands, on the toilet... sigh. okay, i can handle this. clean up the baby. have elise help me clean up the mess. hurry and fold the laundry in the basket so i can get the stuff out of the dryer. move the stuff from the washer to the dryer. wash a load of poo-clothes. finish washing the high chair. re-assemble the high chair.

another piece of good information... have the kid help you clean up accidents. they will see where the poo is supposed to go and will have a little more stake in preventing accidents. of course, this still needs to be done with a smile on your face! don't want to hurt your baby's ego and confidence!

i was really grateful for stephon's help today until he stopped me in mid-flight between disasters and said "she still smells poopy." this may not sound like a big deal, and i feel a little silly now that i'm writing it, but at that moment, my head spun and some poltergeist beast was fighting to come out!

i didn't kill him... didn't say much, really. he's been great this weekend! my sister said she was waiting to potty train until her husband was going to be home, i thought that was a great idea, so i borrowed it :) stephon fixed all the meals this weekend while we sat in the bathroom and helped me in my frenzy to get clean clothes and towels put up for that load that needed washed. potty training when you have help is definitely the way to go!

did i mention that my father-in-law came by for a surprise visit in the middle of all of this!? we were so glad to see him... but i had to laugh at the condition of, well, everything! LOL

the day ended great! elise came to me and used her words to tell me she had to go potty when she needed to go. at the end of the day, i got the best hugs after our potty-dance and stickers. she really seems proud of herself. i'm sure proud of her :)

no turning back now

she went poo poo in the potty today and pee pee in the potty tonight! woo hoo! i think she's going to stick with it!

stephon is feeling sad that elise isn't going to be his baby, anymore... stephon is feeling very happy that he may be done changing elise's nauseating diapers!

so here's a list of supplies that are helpful in potty training. some of these are in every potty training book out there, some i have figured out through trial and error with shelby and elise.

i thought it was important for elise to pick these things out so she would be excited about them:

• potty seat
• stickers for her success chart
• a favorite toy and a book each time we sat on the potty

everything else:

• large t-shirts
  • i used nathan's old t-shirts so she wasn't cold and since i use them to protect their clothes from stains, they are perfect for pitching if elise has an out of control accident!
• success chart
• i printed one from the learning curve website that matched her potty seat
• juice and / or a cup that she is excited to drink out of
• this gave me lots of practice cleaning up pee today, but in theory, it will give her lots of practice making it to the potty later...
• diapers for night time
• pull-ups for nap time
• a warm house!
• this was a good excuse to run my fireplace so elise wouldn't be cold since she apparently prefers to be naked.
• cheap toilet paper
• i know this sounds odd, but elise likes to drop in squares of toilet paper. while i believe the cost of toilet paper is well worth keeping her on the potty, why waste the good stuff!?
• rags large enough to clean up accidents
• disinfectant wipes
• trash bag to put between the high chair and the chair it's attached to