Random Thangs

I don't think any of this really warrants a whole post, but I've got some general randomness to share today!  (With the tens of people who read this little blog:)

1) I am LOVING Elf makeup as of late.  Late this summer, I discovered this blush/bronzer set and LOVE it.  It is supposedly a dupe of some Nars product.  Can't really speak to that as I've never tried the Nars, but i do happen to love this set.  And its only $3!!! 

2) After one good experience with Elf, I decided to give it another try.  I bought this eyeshadow palette for I think $5 and it is fantastic!!  I may keep buying foundation and powder from the higher priced companies but I think I'll stick with the Elf eye shadows and blushes for a while!

3) Soooo, I made a little discovery last night/this morning.  Wyatt got sick last night about an hour and a half after he ate dinner.  This is the 4th time this has happened and it always follows the same pattern so I've suspected a food allergy but didn't know what it was.  I've kept a food log ever since the first occurrence and after last night I figured out the common link.  Salba grain!!  I've been giving him 'baby' food recently as a) he loves these squeezable pouches and b) its a good way to pump some fruits/veggies into him and there are several brands out there.  Only one of the brands contains this super-grain ... Happy Tot.  Isn't that crazy?  He has no other food allergies (that we're aware of) just to this random grain. 

4) As a result of him puking his guts out until midnight last night I was a little leery of giving him any milk this morning so I gave him a sippy cup of Pedialyte with his breakfast this morning. He CHUGGED it (and I'm sure he was thirsty, but still).  I gave him a second cup.  Chugged again.  I think he thinks its a treat since he really only drinks milk and water?  Poor baby.

5) I've had these shoes for a very long time.  I LOVE them and don't know where to find a new pair so I've resisted getting rid of these.  But they're just looking way too ratty to keep wearing, I think.  Guess its time to part with them???

6) We've started referring to Wyatt as "the badger" as of late after watching that honey badger you tube video.  (Have you seen it?  Its hilarious.  Worth your time to watch.  Swearz)  See what I mean? Wyatt is totally a badger ...

7) Last bit of randomness for you today.  I have another irrational hatred (similar to my hatred of cooked carrots) ... 3-series BMW's.  Have you ever noticed that when someone cuts you off in traffic or does something generally obnoxious or rude, they tend to be driving a 3-series?  Its true .... don't be rough!!

Burt's Pumpkin Farm

I took the day off work this past Friday to take Wyatt up to Burt's Farm along with my mom, sister and her family.  I haven't been to Burt's before, so this was my (and of course Wyatt's) first experience.  Apparently it is VERY crowded on the weekends so we decided to go on a week day to avoid some of the crowds.

I've got to say that I really like this place.  Some of their pumpkins are HUGE!  (And I would have taken home every single one if I could - slightly obsessed with pumpkins this year).  Mom, Wyatt and I got there a little bit before Kimmie and her clan so we started out taking pictures of W in the pumpkin patch.  He was in awe at first and actually cooperated with us.  Then he very quickly realized that it was more fun to run around than to smile for pictures! 

Wyatt was so happy to see Ellie when she got there!  They just ran up and hugged each other and immediately started "talking".  We did get them to pose for a few pictures.

Then we put Garrett and Meme into the mix.  Tough to get a 'good' picture of all 3 kids at once but I guess this one will do!

This was the best one we could get of W and I.  At this point he wanted to run around and had no patience for standing in one place!

He did cooperate for the wheelbarrow ride.  Unfortch, the sun did not cooperate and this picture is a little dark! Oh well ...

I think in this one he was trying to say "hey ... no pictures please!"

After we finished up pictures, we roamed around and looked at the smaller pumpkins.  Wyatt is a bit confused and thinks the really small ones are balls, so he likes to pick them up and throw them around.  The pumpkins at our house don't stand a chance of making it until Halloween ....

Ellie liked toting them around as well.  I think this one was a bit too heavy for her!

For some reason, I had picked Ellie up and was carrying her for a minute when someone decided he was jealous ...

After we were finished with the pumpkins, we went on a hayride which Wyatt loved!  He just relaxed and ate his snacks the whole time.  I think he almost fell asleep.

Then it was lunch time, so we had a little picnic by the stream and afterward I taught Wyatt how to throw rocks in the water to make a big splash!  I think he could have done this all day long.  (Oh and somewhere in there we had to have a little wardrobe change!  That red mulch got ALL OVER his white shirt.  Thanks to Shout, Tide Stain Release, and Resolve along with 3 rounds in the washing machine it came out though!)

We had a fun day at Burt's and look forward to going again next year!

Apple Pickin'

This past weekend, we headed up to Ellijay, Georgia with my family to go apple picking.  This is a tradition started by my parents and sister/Dave but Ben and I have always had a conflict whenever they went in the past.  Soooo, now that Wyatt is old enough to enjoy this type activity they made sure to plan around us being able to attend.

Apparently there are several orchards up in Ellijay and we went to Hillcrest.  There was much more to this place than an apple orchard -- petting zoo, tractor rides, etc.

When you walk into the place, its kinda kitchy, but they did have a bunch of old antique tractors that are there for kids to climb on and take pictures, I suppose.  Wyatt LOVED this blue tractor because he could reach the wheel!  He was a little overwhelmed by everything at first, but really enjoyed sitting on this tractor and posing for pictures.

We also posed for the obligatory family picture in the wagon. 

Then it was off to the petting zoo.  As you can see, Wyatt wasn't quite sure what to think of all the animals.  All he wanted to do is run around!

After the petting zoo, we tried out the slide.  Wyatt didn't really care about this one way or the other but Ellie sure did!

At this point *someone* in our group was just famished so we took a lunch break.  (I'm not going to name names here, but I'll give you one hint that it wasn't one of the babies ...)

After lunch we walked around the orchard for a bit until it was time for the pig races. Yes.  You read that correctly.

Then, Wyatt discovered a new escape route from his stroller!  Guess we can't be so lax anymore about buckling him in.

We went on a little tractor ride all around the orchard, which I was nervous about because Wyatt doesn't really like being held in my lap -- he wants to run.

Despite my concerns, he was very happy during the ride especially when Meme started making him laugh.  (Who knew, saying "e-i-e-i-o" was so funny ...)

After the tractor ride, it was well past W's naptime so we walked around the orchard a little more and let him play. (Rereading that sentence, it makes zero sense!  But, generally if he is outside and running around he's happy even if he is sleepy)

He was so happy running around and picking up "balls"

It was a fun day, but at this point it was well past nap time and we loaded up the car to go home.

Wyatt was zonked before we pulled out of the parking lot!

Crock Pot Cooking

I loooove to cook, and I love to try new recipes.  Things other than pork chops, and beef aren't usually met with such enthusiasm in my house but that is a whole nother' conversation for a whole nother' day.  Anyway, so yeah.  Cooking with a 15 month old running around?  Not quite so easy.  We've adapted and somehow I'm able to get a meal on the table each night.

One thing I've attempted in order to combat the whole toddler thing is to use my crock pot for our main course and then its usually pretty simple to throw together a side dish or two.  But you know something about crock pot cooking?  Everyone talks about how foolproof it is, and its so wonderful and all but I seriously can't figure out how to make it work for my situation.

I have only one. ONE recipe that I know will work for me in a crock pot.  ONE.  I've tried dozens and there is only one that actually works for me.  Its a BBQ recipe and its awesome. 

Anyway, here is the thing - although I have a smart crock pot, most recipes need to cook for about 6 hours.  That is fine and all, but I leave my house at 7am and we don't eat dinner until 7 or 7:30 each night.  So, when the 6 hour cooking is complete, the crock pot shifts to a 'keep warm' setting and my food sits like that until dinner time?  My main problem with that is that it ends up overcooking the meat but I also find it pretty gross that my food has basically been sitting under a warmer for 6+ hours after it has cooked.  

Am I the only one with this problem?  Does anyone who works full-time have success with crock pot cooking?

Monterey - Day 4

Sad panda.  This is the last day of our trip :(

In all honesty, this was probably the perfect amount of time for a trip.  We were probably on the verge of overstaying our welcome at Carrie and Burke's and Ben and I were definitley ready to get back home to Wyatt.  (Who had changed so much in the time we were away!)  

Ben and Burke had an early tee time so they got up and went out golfing.  While they did that, the rest of our crew went to this massage place called Happy Feet.  Its not what it sounds like.  (Doesn't that sound like its an Asian Massage place?  Well, actually it was.  But not that kind) (At least I don't think so)  Anyway.  The place was a far cry from Pebble Beach or Bernardus, but for the price it was a really great massage!

After our massages and golf, we all headed back to the casa to get showered and dressed for the day.  The guys hadn't had a chance to see the seals or Cannery Row so we decided to walk down there to have lunch and do a couple more wine tastings that afternoon.

Of course I made everyone stop on the way to take pictures.

Forced Ben to pose for this cheesy picture. 

Then we went to lunch at a place on the water called Schooner's.  It was a gorgeous day, and we were able to sit outside.  I could seriously get used to lunching like this every day.  Here is Ben with his mojito! 

You need to see a closeup of that mojito.  It was sooooo good.  If I were into day drinking, I would have ordered one for myself.

And, this thing?  Was ridic.  It was called a Mint Chocolate Chip Mud Pie -- not really sure that I would have called it a mud pie, but regardless it was killa.

Ben and I walked around taking more pictures after lunch while everyone else got annoyed waited for us.  

We had avoided Cannery Row on our way to lunch mainly because we were hungry and didn't want a bunch of tourists to slow us down in getting there so we did walk back down through Cannery Row to a couple of wine tasting rooms.

We had big dreams of stopping in at Ghiradelli and/or the frozen yogurt place but after our huge lunch and desserts, we just couldn't do it.  We did stop to take a picture with this poor guy dressed up as an ice cream (?)

So, the thing in Monterey is not to go to actual wineries -- instead you go to tasting rooms.  In the case of the first one we went to on Sunday, Taste of Monterey, they actually just bring in a selection of wines from various wineries all over Monterey.  That way you're not really as limited to one bottler.  We had pretty much ruined our palates with the dessert, so none of us were over the moon about anything we tasted there.

Next stop: Scheid.  We all ate a bunch of crackers once we got there and I guess it cleared up our palates, because we all liked several of the wines we tried there.

These are wines that you can't really find outside of Monterey, so we ended up buying a few bottles to bring back home.

Also, the pours at Sheid are pretty generous.  That resulted in a few of these pictures ...

Paging team donkey ....

I don't have photographic evidence of this, but it also resulted in Becky asking tens of random strangers to give her a high five.  (And most everyone did ...)

We came back home to get dressed for dinner.  It had been like 5 hours since our last meal so it was time to eat again!  (Is it obvious that we ate well?)

Before dinner though, we stopped off at Pebble Beach to buy some things in the Pro Shop

Of course I had my camera and insisted that we get a group picture.

Then off to dinner at a fabulous Italian place in Carmel.  I can't remember the name but it was sooooo good.  Legit too, they made all their own mozzarella, prosciutto, pasta, etc. 

We had very early flights the next morning, so that pretty much wraps up the trip.  Thanks again to Carrie and Burke for hosting us.

And thanks again to my parents for keeping the little dood ...