Sunday, September 18, 2011

Floaters


A few months ago, we were out to dinner with friends.  You know, having some adult time.  And yet, being the parents of small children as we all are, the conversation of course went south quickly. 

To the oh so appetizing topic of pooping in the tub.

See, our friends' daughter is a notorious tub pooper.  And her older brother does not find it amusing.  So each night before bathtime, they have a little ritual where they go around and say: Mommy's not going to poop in the tub, no she's not.  Daddy's not going to poop in the tub, no he's not.  And on down the line. 

So everyone gets the idea that pooping in the tub is not cool.

As they were telling this story, I was laughing hysterically.  I mean, who ever heard of this?   It was something we had never encountered before.

Yet.

I am not kidding, that very week.  I had the girls in the tub.  And you know there are lots of things in the tub.  I mean, besides 2 girls, you've got washcloths, soap, toys, and books.

The girls are standing up, sitting down, switching places.  You know, standard bathtime fun.

Well as they were scooting past each other, toys and books were swirling from one side to the other as well.

And poop.

Poop?! 

Yep.  There it was. 

Several turds.

Just floating along in the bath water. 

Trying to blend in.

There is poop in my tub!

I stared in shock. 

What do I do now?!?

My instinct was to yell: Mom!!!!  Help!!!!

And then it hits me.

Oh, wait.  I'm the mom.

Oh poop.

Get the babies out first.  That's the first step.

Then the toys.  Put them in a bucket.

Then the poop.

What's the best way to get the poop, you ask?

A solo cup.

Do not use toilet paper.  Seems like common sense I know, but in a moment of panic, you might instinctively reach for it. 

Bad idea.  It disintegrates immediately of course, leaving you with a handful of poop.

Once the poop is out of the tub, drain the water.

Break out the bleach.  Disinfect the tub and the toys.

Draw new water. 

Wash the babies (again) and get them the heck out of there before the other one poops!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Recipe: Barbeque Meatballs

Trying something new here: posting a recipe to my blog :)

This recipe, along with many others in my recipe box, comes from my dear friend Kathie Quisenberry, who is one of the best cooks I know.  She has cooked many times for my family over the years, including weekly meals when our twins were in the NICU.  This recipe is Noah's absolute favorite and the girls love it too.

Okay so I even took some fancy pictures as I was cooking today, so you can get the full effect.  Well, not the full effect I guess, since you didn't get to smell how awesome my kitchen smelled today while they were cooking!

Barbeque Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 lbs hamburger
8 oz evaporated milk
2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 & 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder


Mix all together using hands.  Roll into balls.  Place into baking dish.



Sauce Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup diced onion
1 & 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder




Pour sauce over and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

And enjoy :)




















Couple tips:

If you follow the recipe as is, it makes A LOT of meatballs.  So this is great if you have a large family to feed.

But for us, halving the recipe works just fine and makes plenty for the 5 of us.

Also, this is a great recipe for freezer cooking!  Sometimes I will make up a whole batch, then only cook half, and freeze the other half.  If you are going to freeze the meatballs raw, I would recommend setting them on a cookie sheet and placing them in the freezer overnight.  Once they are frozen, just pile them into a freezer bag marked with the date and freeze them for up to 6 months.  The sauce freezes great too.  Just pour it into a freezer bag and freeze.  When you are ready to use it, just thaw it out and cut a corner off the bag to make pouring over the meatballs super easy. 

So that's it!  Let me know what you guys think :)