Maddieism of the Day

"I have a booger in my nofe."

(She has the cutest tendency to make her "s" sound like an "f". Like mouse is moufe. And house is houfe. And nose is nofe. Utterly heart-melting.)

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Remember my post about things being pretty relaxed and running smoothly around here lately? Well, what goes up must come down. Taylor seems to be developing asthma, and the grand part of all this is that her insurance covers nothing. Zero. Zilch. That is, until we spend $3500. It's that old embedded deductible thing. I've complained about this a lot here, what with my recent medical happenings. $135 per week doesn't buy you much medical insurance these days. I can't wait until January when we can change our medical insurance. You know, where you pay $40 to go to the doctor. And $20 gets you the prescription you need. And that old deductible stuff doesn't even come into play unless hospitals are involved. She is now on an albuterol inhalation medication (Ventolin HFA) as needed, and the best part is the equipment we had to purchase seperately, the AeroChamber. This is a piece of plastic shaped like a tube that cost $50. I asked if I can just wrap a toilet paper tube in saran wrap, would that work? Ha.

Ebb and flow, baby. Ebb and flow.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This general recipe comes from my mom, but being the kind of cook that I am, I may have changed things up a bit. I'm also not the type to follow a recipe by measurements, I tend to add something until I think I've added enough. So I hope you can follow this recipe and enjoy these like we did1

Clean out the peppers, how ever many you think you need. You can also use red/orange/yellow peppers, but I am rather cheap so I use green. Try to find the ones with wide bottoms, so that they will sit up. After you have removed all of the inside gunk, pat dry inside and out and sprinkle parmesan cheese in the bottom of the pepper. I used the shredded because that is what I had in the fridge, but you can use the regular grated if you want.

Brown ground beef and chopped sweet onion together, drain grease. Add one can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup minute rice (I use brown), some worchestire (I use a lot of that but the recipe says 1 tsp). Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Add shredded cheddar cheese, and I also added some shredded Romano because I had it in the fridge. Stir. Fill the pepper cups and sprinkle some extra shredded cheddar on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Now, I took this picture before the baking. I took another one after, but as you will see when you make this, they don't look as pretty after they are done baking so I'm going to use this one!! Also, the Velveeta in the background is not in this dish, I used it to make homemade macaroni and cheese as a side dish, which goes great with it by the way. Also, if you like your green pepper softer, you can boil it for a litte bit before you assemble the peppers. I don't like soggy veggies, though, so I didn't.

Color Her Purple

Taylor loves purple with a passion. Clothes, food, crayons, anything that comes in a color needs to be purple. She has had purple curtains and a circular purple shag rug in her room for a couple of months now, and we have been on the hunt for a comforter that would match. I, for one, was wanting something pretty, feminine, little-girly, with just a touch of purple that would tie in the curtains and rug. As it turns out, Taylor had entirely something else in mind. Behold...the blinding purple satin comforter...

I gave in, since it is her room after all. Sigh.

Maddieism of the Day

"Put clip in my hair."

five seconds later...

"Take it out."

Insert more offensive bragging...Did you know that it is considered normal for a two year old to just begin using 2 word sentences? (as per "Parenting Magazine"). My slightly-under-two year old used a 5 word sentence today. And you know what? That is not uncommon. Well, usually her sentences are only 4 words. I'm so proud...

Recipe for Turkey Burritos

Ha! I'm just kidding. There is no recipe. These two girls have been, uh, having trouble with their behavior this past week. Let's just say that they are disinclined to acquiesce to my requests (I love to use that quote, it's from "Pirates of the Caribbean". Makes me feel smart!). "Turkey" is the kindest word I can think of to describe them right now. But in case you need a few more, "brat" and "hooligan" would be accurate as well.

9/23/10..That's All

Can those eyes be any more blue? No photoshop here!

Do you know that saying "no news is good news"? It seems like (to me, anyway) I mostly blog about the problems and annoyances in my life. When nothing is really happening around here, I feel like I don't have anything to blog about. Other blogs seem to garner attention and traffic when something big/awful/tragic is going on in the authors' lives. Illness (especially in babies), financial problems, high risk pregnancies, etc. All of you other mommy bloggers out there know what I am talking about. Fortunately for me, I have no major difficulties or drama in my life right now. So, I guess "no blog is good blog". Huh. That was really stupid. See what I mean? I have nothing to blog about.

Nothing Funny Here, Just Move Along

"Sit on Gretta. Sit on Gretta."

Those were Maddie's words as she squashed my cat with her backside. Although, to be fair, the cat should not really be sleeping on the booster chair at the kitchen table. I did dress her today, by the way. She now undresses herself repeatedly.

Maddieism of the day: "See you later baby." (She hears my husband and I say this to eachother often.)

***edited to add: As I published this post, there was an ad on the left sidebar from Chili's that said to print this coupon for free chips and queso. That is so unfair! Chili's rocks, and I'm not allowed to click on my own ads. Boo.

Maddieism of the Day

"Moof outta my way"
(translation: "move out of my way")

***Is it offensive bragging to tell you all that she was walking around the house this morning counting from one to ten out loud to herself? Ok. Well then I won't say it.

Requesting Your Feedback

Internet friends and loved ones, I need your help! Can you please tell me whether you like the new picture or not? I realize that it is huge, and also slightly scary when the page loads and faces fill the entire screen. Is it too overpowering? Should I revert to the colored box simply stating "The Gogg Blog" with one line of text? Please leave me a comment and give your two cents!

**edited to add: I can't make it smaller, so it is either ginormous or not there at all..

Cook, Clean, Cook, Clean, Cook, Clean...

Seems like all I do. Oh, and with loads of laundry thrown in there at least every other day. I cannot describe how tired I am of cleaning the kitchen floor (mainly around and under the table) after every. single. meal. and. snack.

Momma said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this my momma said...

Ahem. Sorry about that.

This is what everbody is doing right now. Maddie is absent because she is napping.

More Silly Ways to Pass the Long Hot Days

Here are some action pictures (hence the blur) of Taylor and Maddie having potato sack Kohls sack races.

My Little Carnivore

Madison loves meat. She and Tayor both eat tons of fruits and veggies, but she likes meat more that Taylor does. Anyway, I debated about posting these pictures because I'm sure they don't exactly enhance the image of a "good" mother that I am trying to portray here on my blog. Then I realized that I don't need others to think that I am a perfect mother, because of course I'm not. Nowhere near in fact. So here you go. My little carnivore, gnawing on a large ribeye steak bone at the dinner table last night, without a shirt on. Around here we try our best to be perfect ladies and gentlemen with impeccable manners. Ahem.

Ride'M Cowboy

The girls were riding "horses" today, complete with the Bonanza theme song. Sigh. The things we do to get through the long, hot, long days.

Thank Goodness for Two Things

We have had so much rain this week that I am supremely thankful for two things. Grandma (who of course is not a thing but rather a person) and Playdoh.

Grandma kept Maddie and Taylor at her house Monday night through Wednesday, lavishing them with love and giving me a much needed break. And two new packages of Pladoh? 'Nuff said.

Sunday

Ahhh, Twister. An oldie but a goodie.

And just in case you were wondering? Totally worth it. The huge grins on their little faces and the uncontrollable belly laughs are totally worth the sore muscles and yes, even looking completely ridiculous. Though I'm pretty sure my beloved and I don't fall within the recommended age bracket for this game. Where's the heck is the Trivial Pursuit?? Geez I'm showing my age.