Muffins

This Pinterest website has been taking up way too much of my time.  Sometimes it's productive, like finding teaching tools and ideas or recipes.  Working with that productivity, I found a good, healthy recipe for muffins.  Muffins are one of Sam's favorite breakfast foods and sometimes the only thing we can get him to eat.  When we have exhausted all possibilities in the house and then I have to rush to work, I tend to give in and get him a muffin if I pick up a coffee.  I hate the idea of dropping him off hungry, basically because we're trying to feed him five minutes after he wakes up, when he's really not ready to eat.
I realized this may have become a habit when he was driving his little men in a toy car the other day, and when I asked, "where are they going?"  and he answered, "Drive.  Coffee n' muffin!"
 I finally realized that the alternative to this would be to make healthy, "nutritious" muffins and freeze some, so we always have a back-up.
Here is the healthy recipe that I then tweaked and make less healthy ; )

3 large bananas, well ripe

2 teaspoons of butter

1 bigish egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cup wheat flour 
1/2 a cup of oats1/3 cup applesauce 


Step 1:  Mash bananas, add cinnamon and egg - beat it a little. Add apple sauce and mix. Top with the dry, mix together, mix into the wet.   

Step 2:  Scoop batter into muffin trays.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.


I was so tempted to put chocolate chips in them, but restrained myself!  

Exploring Snow

The brief time the snow was on the ground was a great time for exploring, with all of our senses!

                                       What does it feel like?

                                            What does it taste like?
(I don't usually think Sam looks like my side of the family, but I definitely see my brother in these photos.)

Snowballs

Yesterday the weather warmed up, and after Sam and I got home there was still enough daylight to be outside.  We stayed in the front of the house, where the sidewalk had been cleared, since he didn't have his boots on.  The melting snow was the perfect consistency for making snow balls, so I showed him how to make and toss them.  He was delighted with this new thing to throw.  We threw them on the sidewalk, at the fence, I tossed one at his belly, and we threw them high into the air to watch them "fall down!!"
Then a car drove by. He looked up at me mischievously, "I throw snowball car!" and pulled back his arm.
I cannot understand where that connection even came from!  Another innate "boy" thing... I swear that never would have crossed my mind!

Snowy Day

     
After the snow of last year, this winter has been relatively mild and warm.  At this time last year, we had over 42 inches of snow, most of which was still in heaps on the ground.  It was snowing about once a week.  This is the third snow this year, and the first two didn't leave anything that lasted long.  Sam was delighted with the snow earlier this week, "Sammy walk on snow!"  It took me about 5 to 10 minutes to get him into the car each time we went somewhere (like work/daycare).
Today, we have about 4 inches.  Chris is out shoveling and plowing and Sam "helped" him as we left for music class this morning.  We spent a good hour at Starbucks after class, watching plows and snowy cars, and people running into the attached Whole Foods.
Sam's observations, "oohhh!  Man run!  Man run get coffee!!!" (wonder why he would make that connection?)
"oh!  Snow plow!!!  More snow plow?  Sammy stand up (on chair), Sammy see snow plow!"
"Sammy no stand up on chair.  Sammy no fall down.  Sammy no bang head, doctor."
"Snow dirty.  Mama, snow dirty."
"Man shovel snow.  Man shovel!  I shovel.  I help!"

                     

Chalkboard Buses

drawing and erasing

Dress Code

Sam has become very particular about what he wants to wear.  It started as him just pitching a fit when we tried to get him dressed in the morning, so I finally would pull out two acceptable items and offer him a "choice."  Then it morphed into Sam only wearing khakis or light grey pants (no jeans, dark cords, navy, etc).  On top he prefers anything with trucks, engines, heavy construction equipment.  This limits things, until you build a wardrobe of serious vehicle attire, which we now have.
The problem we are encountering (other than drawers full of unworn clothing), is that it is now cold out and khakis are usually spring wear, so not designed for cold weather use.  Chris also bought Sam a cool pair of fire engine pajamas, that if he sees he has to wear, day or night.
Most of our Christmas photos involve these jammies.  The only way to make them warm, is to layer, but the pajamas have to be visible.  Today he kind of looks homeless.  Fire engine pajama bottoms, with khaki  shorts over them, a onesie, and a t-shirt with monster truck.  I'm not really sure what look we're going for here.  And this kid isn't two yet.  I'm just thinking that if he was a girl, I'd be in trouble when he was  teenager.  I figure if he's warm, I'm not fighting this battle, particularly in the morning before work.  Please excuse his fashion sense.

Sam's Christmas Eve outfit.  Fire engine pajamas with khaki pants rolled up over them.

Boys on the Bench

"Maybe if we stand here we can throw all of Nana's decorations on the floor."

More Tree Trouble

Our tree is finally up and decorated.  It was a process, that required a new tree stand, new lights, and then trying to accomplish the completing of the decorations with a 20 month old who was only interested periodically.  He also had to be taught that the bulbs were not balls.

I had a conversation with my mother the other day, that was along the lines of, "oh no, Sam is really good around the tree.  A full size tree should be fine in the living room on Christmas day."
So they put up their full size tree.

I picked Sam up at daycare yesterday and the daycare teachers told me that Sam and two of his friends had knocked down the Christmas tree.
Not to be a mom in denial (we have lots of those at school), but it sounded like it really was more the other boys and Sam was kind of there.
She showed pointed out how the lights on the upper half of the tree were no longer working.  Meanwhile, Sam and his friend Joey we completely avoiding looking at the adults (the third boy was sleeping).
From the snippets of what Sam has volunteered,
"Joey, Sammy JUMP!!!"
"twee down.  CRASH!  Oh, mess.  Sawah (Sarah the owner) fix wights!"
"Oh, twee down!  Joey cry."
Sam tells us this all very matter-of-factly, in the same conversations as "play cars!"
On the other hand, why is there a tree that is capable of falling down at daycare where the kids are playing?  Perhaps that is the greater concern.

I don't know how common it is to have falling Christmas trees, but Sam's auntie infamously knocked one down she was about five.  It was around the same time we were watching a lot of the Muppets, and Miss Piggy would karate-chop when she was angry.  Tess karate-chopped the tree, and the tree fell.  My friend and I were supposed to be babysitting.  So I fully blame this incident on his auntie.