Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

It's official. We no longer have a baby. Our toddler turned one about three weeks ago and I handled it far better than I thought. No tears!! Perhaps it was because the three of us decided last minute to head off to Mexico for the week?! hmm...maybe. Upon our return we hosted a family Birthday Party for Peanut. If I'm being entirely honest, I didn't want to have a party for her but my husband somehow talked me into it. I've always thought that Birthday parties for babies and toddlers are overkill and are really just for the parents. I guess this makes me a hypocrite right? Regardless, we hosted a causal lunch get together on Easter weekend with our immediate families and Peanut had a ball. Thank you Pinterest and the dollar store for giving me so many simple party ideas. We managed to pull the party together with only a few hours of work and without spending a lot.  Including babies we had 18 people here (yup! that's only immediate family!) for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. We decided on a pink and gold "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" theme.

For lunch we served pink lemonade, taco dip, a veggie tray, chips and dip, pickles, and make-your-own sandwiches with a selection of sliced meats and cheeses. Super duper easy! My sister-in-law graciously agreed to be in charge of dessert which included a baby friendly cake for the birthday girl, cupcakes and an angel food cake.

Decorations consisted of balloons, leftover circle garland from Peanuts nursery, framed monthly pictures, precut foam stars, my grandmothers lace table cloths, and curly pink and gold ribbon. The only activity that we had for our guests was filling out a little keepsake questionnaire that I will put in Peanuts memory box for her to read when she's older. Overall I am very pleased with how the party turned out. Here are some pics.

Turkey Lentil Chili

I've never cooked with lentils and after making this chili I have no idea why I haven't. They are yummy little buggers that fill you up. My 1 year old ate this chili right up as did my husband and the company we had visiting for a few days from the States. I served the chili with tortilla chips and garnish fixings. This recipe makes a big old pot that will last a while! Enjoy!

Yield: 10+ servings

Ingredients
1/2 bag dried green lentils - about 2.5-3 cups (soaked for 4 hours in a bowl of water then rinsed)
Splash of olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup chili powder
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans crushed tomatoes

Garnish Ingredients
Sour cream
grated cheese
Franks hot sauce
sliced green onions

Method
Soak lentils for 4 hours and rinse. In a large pot over medium heat warm olive oil. Toss in ground turkey and cook through, about 7 minutes. Add chili powder, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a few more minutes and stir. Pour in diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and lentils. Cover and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes stirring occasionally. The more it simmers the yummier it will be! Serve with garnishes and tortilla chips. Yum!

Can't Live Without You - 6th Edition

My daughters first birthday was a few weeks ago (party details to come!) so it's about time for another edition to CLWY.  It's crazy how much our little lady has grown in the last few months. She isn't a baby anymore -- she has so much personality!!!  Here is the list of our most recent CLWY items.

1. Sock Ons - We've been using these for months and months so they probably should have made the list sooner.  These things seem so pointless and hokey but they totally work! Baby socks are a nightmare - they fall off all the time and babies love to yank them off. They are only $6.00 a pair and totally worth it!


2. Kushi Wipeable Bib - Self explanatory!

3. Vtech Walker - we use this a ton and it's nice that Peanut has a bit of freedom from holding my hands to walk around on her own.

4. Mum-Mums - I totally didn't think I'd buy anything like these however I use them as "car treats". They are the only food I feel comfortable letting Peanut eat in the car since they dissolve super quick and she seems to love them. They also buy us some time when she's starting to get a bit cranky when we are out running errands.

5. Soft coffee table - We purchased a wipeable large storage ottoman and it as been amazing. We can open it up and toss all of peanuts toys in it at the end of the day and our living room is instantly tidy. I also like the fact that it's entirely baby safe. No smashing faces off of hard corners.

6. Mini plastic cutting boards and small paring knives - we cube so much food so its been amazing to have a stock pile of both of these items on hand so I'm not constantly having to wash them.

That is all! I'm going to ease up on the CLWY posts to every 6 months since items are now getting more than just a few months worth of use. Alright, off to work on a few more posts since I've been slacking huge lately. Peace out.