The Cereal Bandit

So there I was at the table minding my own business, munching on my Kashi Blueberry Clusters. Suddenly I was approached by a rather short person of the female variety. She looked up at me with big brown eyes and a sweet innocent smile and lifted her little arms. I must admit I couldn't resist such a precious little face and in a moment of weakness I lifted her onto my lap. I should have known better! Oh she began innocently enough, leaning towards my bowl and opening her mouth for a bite. And, again, I was weak and spooned a bit of cereal into her mouth. It was a mistake! Before I knew it this sweet little child had robbed me blind! Or at least cereal-less. With my spoon clutched tightly in those little baby fingers she gleefully helped herself to my breakfast until alas there was but a few soggy morsels floating in a milky sea. Then with one last big grin and a milky kiss for restitution the little thief scampered off to play. And my tummy rumbled.

TV In The Office

Posted by Darwin Garza

It seems to me like adults these days cannot go five minutes without having access to a television or at least television programming. If the TV at home is not on then probably most of the family is on their laptops surfing the internet and watching some television programming online. Sometimes I get annoyed by this. The other day I went to an appointment at a business where they were a very conservative and formal. In the person’s office they had a flat screen television on the wall with Sports Center and stock market programming split screened. The whole time I was having the meeting with this person they were half listening to me and half watching what was going on over my head. I was in this meeting talking to this business professional looking at spending a large amount of money with his firm and he didn’t even have the common decency to pretend that he was as interested in what were talking about as he was the TV. If you want TV in your office and have enough sense to pay attention in a meeting check out http://www.directstartv.com/ for more information.

Jesse The German Shepherd: An Update

A while back I wrote about adding a four legged family member named Jesse. I just thought I'd update you on how she's faring. As any dog owner knows there's an adjustment period when you bring a new dog home. They're trying to get used to new people, a new place, new rules and new potty locations. You're trying to decipher their personality and potty cues. I must say this went pretty well with Jesse. Our only issue, aside from the usual puppy lessons, was a delay in potty training due to some intestinal issues she had. Once she recovered from that, she did very well learning where to go.

Jesse is a smart dog and picks up commands pretty easily. Funny story, my 15 month old daughter decided that she was going to tell Jesse what to do. So, she balled up her little fist, pointed her little finger at Jesse and in the sweetest little voice commanded "Seet! Seet Jesse!" That's sit, in case you don't speak toddler. Once Jesse sat, my daughter decided to take her own advice and sat on Jesse. Our good girl didn't even bat an eye at being used for a chair. Jesse loves the kids and considers herself one of them. And of course the kids love her, especially my daughter who is convinced Jesse is HER dog and she merely allows everyone else to play with her. She has to be the one to feed Jesse and has a fit when anyone else tries. She's also very generous about sharing her own meals with Jesse and will smile innocently at us as she drops food from her highchair. My boys love having a dog that they can race with and who won't break if they wrestle a bit. Oh and she makes the perfect Perry when they're pretending to be Phineas and Ferb and a great Koopa when it's pretend to be the Mario Brothers time.

Jesse has a couple of problems though. I suspect she may eventually need rehab for her ice addiction. Ok, I'm kidding about doggie rehab. Mostly. But seriously, she can hear a glass click against the ice maker from a mile away and is right there before the first cube falls. She loves to chase the cubes as they skid across the hardwood floor. And when she's decided its term as a hockey puck is up, she gobbles it down as if it's the best tasting thing in her world. Hey, cheap toy and treat all in one right? In addition to her ice habit, she also has developed an obsession with balls. Or anything that resembles a ball. Or anything slightly spherical that can be used like a ball. My husband once expressed a desire for a dog who would fetch. He most definitely got his wish as the only thing Jesse likes more than her balls is ice. And before I get any shocked and angry comments, no, I don't actually consider these things problems.

We recently traveled out of town to visit family and of course Jesse went along. Despite being in strange places with new people, she did really well. She was a bit excited but that's to be expected. Jesse is the kind of dog who likes everyone and fully expects everyone to like her so she had no problem making friends with everyone. My uncle quickly became one of her favorite people when he snuck her pizza crust and chips then topped it off by rubbing her belly. She also encountered her first cat. It was kind of comical to watch my big German Shepherd cautiously creeping closer to this cat who was about 1/6 of her size. The cat, by the way, was unimpressed.

All in all things are going great. Jesse is sweet, smart, energetic and sometimes goofy and she fits into our family perfectly.

Easy Stuffed French Toast

Anyone else love delectable, and nearly sinful, stuffed french toast? Yeah, me too. Does just thinking about the calories and fat in this little dish of yummyness make you cringe? Yeah, me too. Is there a super healthy way to make this warm and delicious treat? I don't know. But, I do have a way that's probably a little healthier than a breakfast joint's version. Probably. Maybe. Anyway, it's easy enough that anyone can make it at home and that's a plus right? And even better, it's yummy.

Ingredients

• A loaf of sliced bread
• 1 container of cream cheese
• Your favorite jelly/jam/preserves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• Powdered sugar

Heat a frying pan and coat with cooking spray. In a decent sized but shallow bowl or dish, whisk together the eggs, milk and cinnamon.Grab a slice of bread and spread on a layer of cream cheese. You want it thick enough to be noticeable but not too thick. Next grab a spoon and spread some of your favorite jelly/jam/preserves on top of the cream cheese. I'll leave the amount up to you as the jelly is really what determines the sweetness of the dish. Grab another slice of bread and place it on top. Dip the entire sandwich in the egg mixture then fry until golden brown. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve.

Smoothie Pops

It's getting warmer and that means the temptation for cool treats is growing. I'm not above letting us all have a yummy DQ treat and we've been known to flag down the ice cream truck too. But, as a mom I'm always looking for healthy options as well. The selection in the grocery store freezer can often be displeasing. If you do find something kinda healthy, it usually costs a pretty penny. But one day while making my kids a smoothie inspiration struck. Why not turn their beloved smoothies into beloved popsicles? So, I did. And they loved them. Here's what I used:

Ingredients

• 1 small container of vanilla yogurt
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup frozen Maine blueberries (they're sweeter than the bigger berries)
• 2 cups of milk  

Toss everything in the blender and blend. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until frozen.  

Easy peasy right?