Tasty Tuesday!!!

When Easter gives you hard boiled eggs make egg salad!

Like so many others I had left over hard boiled eggs that we colored for Easter- you can only eat so many  before you just want to toss them all.

Don't be wasteful!! (my use of a paper plate should totally be ignored!)

Follow this simple recipe for instant egg salad goodness.

6- hard boiled eggs
3- tablespoons mayo
1-tablespoon relish
1-tablespoon mustard
1-Pinch of Pepper



Peel and finely chop eggs and add to bowl- mix in mayo- mustard then relish and pepper. Mix all ingredients together and voila! You and hubby have lunch for 2 days!
Simple.good.convenient

enjoy :)

To the Zoobilee Zoo! .........(along with 2 million others)

So we took Emerson to the zoo this weekend and apparently we weren't be only ones who thought it was an awesome day to go- we had to park in overflow parking and passed cars parked along the highway! So busy- almost not fun busy! But it wasn't worth a 2 hour drive back home....so we stayed and made the best of it.
I hate that people are so inconsiderate..and a large amount of people with the same objective sure seems to bring out the best in everyone! Shane made sure his baby girl got an up close view of all the animals though..what a good daddy.- Ok mini rant over-

She loved the carousel and she even got to go on the giraffe deck and feed a giraffe...what an experience for a 1 year old :)  As you can tell by the tone of my voice in the video, people were most annoying on said deck.. so do yourself a favor and watch it in silence! (and sorry I flipped it sideways...I keep forgetting its the camera and not my iphone!)

Go Here to watch how close her and dad got :)

 

 



Polar bear



Little Bunny Em Lou

Today was a fun little family day. I will admit I woke up in a bit of a funk.... I hate being rushed, and get psychotic when we are preparing to leave the house and I can't find something that I need to bring with us. Someone get's grumpy and unfortunately someone, (oops! ok it was me..)had a rough morning....I actually even had a whole nasty little routine down... complete with eye rolling, hands on hips, big sighs of frustration, and some foot tapping(ok so there was no time for foot tapping, I took it a little too far). But you get it...I was huffy and annoyed.

BUT thankfully once we were in the car the day instantly got better. We were on the way to my parent's house to eat an early lunch, color some eggs, go on a hunt, and have Emerson dig into her Easter basket(s).




How can those thoughts NOT make you smile?!

I knew today was going to be super sweet...and not because mom would have tons of Easter candy, all my fav's..reece's peanut butter eggs...snickers eggs...ohh so good...but because this would be Em's second time getting to celebrate this holiday.

 I love comparing pictures from last year...and see how she has changed. I can't help but wonder what next years will look like?! ehhh wait....yes I can. Slow down little lady mom wants to savor every second of your baby chub rolls that are already starting to fade away :(

She picked up on the whole Easter egg hunting deal after showing her how it worked with the first one. I filled them with cereal, goldfish, and an oreo (I couldn't be THAT mom who denied her kid sweets on Easter). She got a stuffed bunny, sunglasses, a hat, a pair of leggings, a book, a bubble machine, and a big chocolate bunny that I will eat just throw away.

So today started pretty sour but ended perfectly sweet.

My grandpa's.....

Stinkin sweet.. Grandpa got Emerson this shirt over the weekend. He just loves her :)

(he is a pilot for Delta)

Emerson's favorite food..yes, a whole post dedicated to broccoli

Emerson knows what she likes and when she finds something she likes....she really loves it!
So I decided to let her help make some for dinner.. We washed and cut the broccoli, she just loved chomping on the raw stalk...I didn't see the hurt in it so i let her have at it. We steamed it up and sat down to enjoy. After her first helping, alls she could say is more...moooooore? I think she would eat it 24-7 if I let her. I have no idea where that love has come from. Before I had em I had never made before- it's on the top of my most hated food list. I hope this love of hers lasts!

She is always so excited to "help" mom in the kitchen...I am glad we share a love for making things..cant wait till she is actually big enough to participate.. I want her to have those times we spent baking in the kitchen to remember as she gets older. I am excited to make her, her very own first apron too.

This post has given me an idea..I think I will be starting "TastyTuesday" weekly blogging about what we cooked/baked. We make some fun stuff, I promise- no more boring broccoli.. I will say that I mostly bake so it will probably be lots of baked goods to drool over.

Ladies and gentlemen introducing.....

The most daring of devils, a one year old......blonde haired blue eyed princess in disguise, today mastering her newest feat......... the amazingly mischievous.....Emerson Mckenli....

Her feat as you can see.....Climbing the chair or bench to get on top of the table to play with the bowl of oranges. Even when mommy moves the chairs away from the table, she pushes them back.....and climbs right on up! I have a busy little bee on my hands....

ETA- Any suggestions other than moving my chairs/bench to another room would be appreciated!
AND  though it may seem like she was up there for a while as I casually grabbed my camera, I assure you she was immediately taken down. I find it better not to yell and startle her when she is in a precarious situation, instead to prevent excitement and a possible fall this picture was taken with my phone in hand on the way to get her down.

Tornado

We had some 65 'naders touch down in N.C. on Saturday. I think they said the last one to touch down in my town was in the early 1980's. This weekend our city was rocked pretty hard in some areas- so totally surreal to see the houses and buildings in ruins as you're driving your regular routes.
I had to run to Hobby Lobby to grab some ribbon that afternoon and while in line the manager said that the Lowes in Sanford(about 30 min away) had just been demolished..the sky was grey, and I knew I had to get home quick. I got in my truck and every station was emergency broadcasts telling you how to survive a tornado when in your vehicle. So I am looking for sturdy buildings and ditches I can hop into in case I see one....eeek! I had a 35 minute drive home and 2 minutes in all the power goes out in town...stoplights and all, my only thought was all these dang left turns I had to make....people in fayetteville are known for usually driving like either your 96 year old Grandma, or a 16 y/o lead foot fresh out of the DMV...but I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how (most) people were considerate enough to drive like the stop lights still mattered. Anyways, I finally got home and the word spread that the storm had hit across the street from my moms neighborhood and was now headed towards my best friends parents area. The winds at my house were ridiculous and eventually subsided.... We never saw the funnel, and thank you very much for that! Emerson slept through it all and our power was out for about 5 hours...Shane made us hotdogs and baked potatoes on the grill for dinner since that was pretty much our only option...and we sat around playing and talking while I worked on some crafts. It wasn't until the power came back on that we really knew how bad and how close to home it all was. This was an event we will never forget.

All muffed up

So while on vacay em was running around the pool, which of course is a no no..but really how do you stop them once they take off?! Anyways they recently locked all of the chairs together creating mini trip wires between each chair.Annnnd you guessed it, Emerson kissed the concrete. So sad to watch! I was in the pool doing laps with her making sure she didn't jump in...and my mom and sister weren't able to stop her in time. Her poor face was all muffed up :(

My must haves for road trippin!

If you have been following along you know we just took a 9 hour drive to Florida to visit my sister. I was so worried that my normally happy car rider would be restless and I would be trapped in the car with an unhappy monster. I put a lot of thought in to scenarios and tried to plan for them as best I could.

So if you are planning a long road trip in the future and need some helpful tips for travel....take a peek!
Keep in mind these are all recommendations for items you may need while travelling to your destination.

1.) DVD player - Highly recommended for children 1 and older on longer trips. Suggestion, bring more than one of your child's fav DVD!!!! I am ready to knock Muno's block off, and will poke my eyes out if I have to see Elijah Woods dancey dance one more time!!!!!
TIP- Don't want to spend the $ for a portable player? Do you have a laptop? If my frugal mommies answered yes, buy one of these converters(about $25) and use your laptop in the car as a portable DVD player instead!

              


2.)New toys- I bought a few little things and had them in a special bag waiting for the perfect whine fest opportunity. Worked every time!!! I had a bounce and giggle cow, light up egg wand, a new pirate rubber duck(she is obsessed with ducks) and bubbles.

3.) Blanket- super soft cozy one to cuddle..in the car and at your destination.(see next picture)

4.) A favorite toy or two- We brought her pal Violet, because she likes to play with her everyday and it provided that familiar feeling in new places. We also packed a book for her to chew/read.
TIP- I recommend the indestructible's I bought at target. Baby can chomp, crinkle, and try to rip but to no avail..those books are awesome- even more so bc they are non toxic and washable!!





5.) Snacks- Variety is key! We had organic gummy fruit snacks, dried fruit, gold fish, granola, some teddy grahams, and lunch/dinner item's depending on planned travel times.




6.) Small Cooler- I packed a thermos of her juice, 2 sippies of milk, and a bottle of water to mix with her juice.(I had 2 soda cans for me in there too). This conveniently compact cooler was perfect!





7.) Diaper disposal bags  When I had to change her in the car the disposal bags came in handy- and doubled as trash bags for left over lunch crumbs and wrappers.



8.) Changing pad/receiving blanket- You never know when or where you will end up changing a diaper. I saw some horrific things in those public restrooms. Don't risk getting stuck in a dirty bathroom fresh out of changing table covers!




9.) Pacifier clip- If your kiddo uses one of course..I forgot mine and I can't tell you how many times I had to  reach break my back/arm/neck trying to find it- learn from my mistake!


10.) Umbrella stroller with optional canopy- Let's face it you are going to need the space for all the over packing you did. Annnd you never know when you want to make a pit stop. Came in handy for us!
Tip- they don't cost much to begin with so spend the extra $10 and get one with a canopy. I can attatch or detattch it so easily depending on the weather.

Please excuse the fact that my daughter picked out Yoda of all the stuffed animals in the bin!

Play date

So when I was pregnant I joined the What to Expect (WTE) website. There you can post questions, helpful info, vent and just share your pregnancy milestones with others going through the exact same thing. I became a member of the January 2010 moms (of course) when I was about 8 weeks along...and have kept in daily contact with most moms on a private board we made. I love those ladies!
Well while in Florida on my vacation I was able to meet up with Veronica with her 3 girls Shiloh, McKenna, DeLaney and Jessica with her daughter Elora ...it was awesome to get to finally see them! Especially those nuggets. I had been waiting forever to pinch those cheeks and give them a squeeze :)
We went to lunch at Beef O' Brady's and then took the girls to Ollie Wallies, a bounce house place that Em absolutely loved. Any place she has the ability to run free is always a good time.
Great to meet you ladies!!!!

Shameless "Once Upon a Ruffle" plug

We have been kept pretty busy lately, thanks to all of our fans! I can definitely say that I love what I do and I think it shows in our work.....toot toot! I adore everything I have ever shipped. I just wanted to post some of our latest creations.
Stop by our Facebook page HERE (and "like" us while you're at it!) to place an order for 4th of July accessories and outfits! Or send us an email to OnceUponaRuffle@gmail.com if you have any questions :)
We look forward to working for you!

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