Monday, June 27, 2011

Fruit Gone Wild: Wiggly Watermelon

On a search for cool things to do with Jello...I stumbled upon Wiggly Watermelon. I immediately fell in LOVE. This is something that apparently has been on the internet forever and somehow had not become apart of my life.

Let me introduce you in case you too have been kept in the dark. This is Wiggly Watermelon. Wiggly Watermelon say hello.



I know, he's charming. Even more charming in person.

You'll have to excuse my awful photos...I should probably learn how to take a better picture. I got the idea from Gourmet Mom on-the-Go. Her pictures are 100 times better.

Anyhow, how much fun is that? It simply is jello that is set inside a piece of hollow fruit. It can be done with lemons, limes, strawberries and oranges too. Imagine these as Jello Shooters for grown up time...everyone will be walking sideways pretty quickly with shots as cute as these. Keeping them alcohol free for the kiddos is fun too.

It's quite the crowd pleaser...



Wiggly Watermelon
Ingredients:
Watermelon Rind
4 Large Boxes of Jello (we used Strawberry)
8 Cups of Water for Boiling Jello
5 Cups of Water for adding into Jello after Boiling
Optional
*1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (we did not use these...we kinda ate them all)
*Alcohol (optional...obviously not for the kiddos)

How To:
1. Cut Watermelon in half
2. Hollow out watermelon with a spoon or melon baller
3. Make jello as directed on label EXCEPT only add 5 cups of cold water - otherwise the watermelon will not hold up (if adding alcohol, this would be when!)
4. Pour into hollowed out watermelon - I set my watermelon in a bowl about the size of the watermelon to avoid spilled jello (which is a pain in the hoo-ha to clean up)
5. Put watermelon in fridge to set for 24 hours
6. IF you want to add in the chocolate chips - use a chop stick and push chocolate chips into jello about 12 hours into cooling (when mixture is firm but not set).
7. When ready slice and serve AND GET THE SOAP AND WATER READY. The kids will get sticky. Or the adults...depending on your crowd.
Enjoy!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Stay at Home Mom

...it's official. I'm officially 2 weeks away from my first day as a Stay at Home Mom.

I remember the day I came back to work after having Patrick. He was 6 weeks old. I ugly face cried the entire way to work. You know, Kim Kardashian ugly face crying. I'm sitting at my desk, calling to check on him as often as possible, eyes red, on the verge of tears and my boobs are leaking. Not remotely adorable. I was a mess. Once I finally got myself together, there was about 30 minutes of quiet that I can admit, was very nice. But then, mommy instincts kicked back in and I sat and watched the clock the rest of the day. Quiet is definately over rated. I wanted my baby.



I mean...can you imagine leaving this face every day?


I know there are a lot of moms that gripe about being a stay at home mom. They never have time off, or sick days, or feel like a slave to there homes...but I feel like thats how ALL moms feel. Working and Stay at Home Moms. Working moms dont get off work at 5:00pm. We start our second job doing what Stay at Home Moms do all day AND we miss the best part of the day: spending quality time with our kids. Cooking dinner, cleaning the house, getting baths and doing laundry doesnt really create a lot of room for 'Quality Time' in a 4 hour time slot. I cant say how many lunch breaks I have spent running home to throw food in the crock pot and a load of laundry in the dryer just so I can have more time in the evenings to play cars with my handsome little man. No Mom's get time off. I never take sick days alone. If I'm home sick from work, chances are my baby is home with me. Right there chillin on the couch next to me. Why? The guilt. Being a working mom I steal as much time as I can with my little man because I feel guilty when I am missing out on time I can be with him.

But the money, oh the money. I could go to Aldo right now and buy a pair of $90 pumps and then stop in bebe and buy a $100 dress and Patrick would never know. It wouldnt be his business. Once our bills are paid, his money is his money and my money is my money. Now...we will be sharing money. His money. He'll be in my pockets at all time. THIS is going to be the biggest challenge I see so far. I dont know how stay at home moms do it. I have always been so independent with my money. AND now, I'm going to be leaning on him to pay the bills, buy the groceries, buy all our boys stuff AND keep me looking and feeling pretty. Thats a scary little leap of faith right there.

When reading this, I dont want stay at home moms to think that I'm saying that being a Stay at Home Mom is easier then a working mom...no, no, no. Not even in the slightest. I think being a stay at home mom is probably one of the most challenging jobs a woman can have. Or any person really...we know men couldnt do it. All I'm saying is that it's a better job. It's work that means something. It's work that feels good. That is personally meaningful to your life. You're not sitting at a desk doing something that anyone could be doing. Working for a company where once you leave they will forget about you in a year. Stay at home moms are making there houses homes and creating memories with there children that will be there forever.

AND I'm over the moon to start my new job. I cannot wait. I know it wont be easy. But it'll be amazing. And I think thats what matters.