Georgia Aquarium

What a whirlwind of a weekend! We were finally able to take our little one to the Georgia Aquarium.  My hubby and I are huge fans of aquariums and it has been one of our things to do together so we couldn't wait to be able to take Emily.

She had the best time! Constantly making her happy sounds and grinning ear to ear. Absolutely nothing brings pure joy than seeing happiness on a child's face. It melts your heart.

 

{These pictures do not do this place justice.}

The Aquarium was amazing and very different from other ones that I had been to. Most of them have a direct circulation through the exhibitions one right after another through the space and when you got to the end, that's it. At the Georgia Aquarium, you enter into the central common space (after security and all of that) and then all of the different exhibits branch off from that. You exit from an exhibit right back into the lobby. Therefore you get to pick and choose what order you see everything, and if you want to go back for a second round, you can.

Another big difference is that they put their money in big show stopping exhibits instead of several small ones. And I mean BIG. A 6.3 million gallon tank, the biggest in the world.You want to talk about impressive, it is an absolutely amazing site.

How cute are these sea otters?

 Mommy and baby!

Pull "Car" for a toddler

How can you beat a crafting project that uses stuff from around the house and makes your little one happy? And mommy gets to have a little crafting fun during nap time. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Here is very simple pull "car" that was made from a empty diaper box, one of my husband's old ties, patterned duct tape, scrap fabric and a plastic bowl that we never use. The only thing that I purchased for this project was the duct tape. Not bad! (Little girls have to have pretty duct tape, right?)

I simply wrapped the box with the duct tape. One suggestion would be to not put the duct tape right on the edge because as you would pull the box across the carpet, it will roll the tape. (see picture below) Three flaps of the box are folded down on the outside and are included in the wrapping. I went as far as the one roll of tape would allow. The one flap for the "steering" was left free so that I could attach the steering wheel.

Take an utility knife and cut a slit on the fold of the free flap so that you can loop the tie through the handle opening and your cut opening. Tie a knot.

Drill a hole through the middle of the plastic bowl. Attach with a washer on the back. Liberally cover the back with lots of duct tape so that there is no way the washer can come loose and pose a problem for your little one. (I used just regular duct tape)

Tack down the last flap with some tape and take a permanent marker to add some buttons. Lay some scrap fabric on the bottom of the box to make it more comfy.

Use a permanent marker to name your child's new toy!

Try not to wake up your child even though you are really excited to see if she likes it. My little one is still out of it! But I still took her for a ride around the house!

Project cost: $4.99

Vroom, Vroom!

Fortune Cookies

Don't you get excited when you get a cool fortune cookie??

The hubby and I finally had a date night tonight movie and PF Chang's. Side note the movie: The Campaign, very funny. Crude, but funny. Everything you expect from a Will Ferrell movie.

Anyway, how cool is this fortune? My immediate reaction is "heck yeah, let's go!"

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Olympic Fun

Have you guys been enjoying the Olympics? Each time the Olympics come around, I try to learn a new sport. Back in Vancouver, it was curling. Man that was a neat sport! I got hooked even to the point of downloading an iPhone app for curling.

This time, I watched a lot of beach volleyball and then making my best attempt at water polo and horse dressage. Some of it I get, and some of it I do not. Water polo for instance, I get that it is a lot like soccer, hockey and basketball. Mix them up and throw them in a pool, and that is about the extent of my understanding. There were too many whistles but the players were not stopping for them, so I don't understand what they were for.

Beach volleyball, not hard to get addicted to. I got caught up in Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. Did you guys watch them at all? I had no idea that they were such a powerhouse for the sport. And the gold medal match between two USA teams! What a win-win! Even though Misty said that she is definitely done with volleyball, Kerri is starting to look for another partner for Rio 2016.

Horse Dressage, that was interesting to watch. I was amazed at how a horse could move to a piece of choreography with minimal instruction from the rider. My husband called it "horse dancing" which sounds silly, but is actually what it looked like.

Did you guys know that there was women's wrestling? Men's field hockey? And how is it that they get rid of baseball and softball, but BMX bike is a sport?

Well, I have to admit, I have enjoyed having lots to watch on TV these past couple of weeks between all of the channels that were broadcasting the Olympics. I feel like I watch enough of the Americans compete that I did my civic duty! lol What events have you guys enjoyed?

Chicken Quesadilla

I have to admit.... this is one of my favorite meals at the moment! Totally hits the spot if you are looking for a tasty Mexican meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken
• 10 oz. package of Saffron Rice
• 1 package of medium flour tortillas
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 can of Mexican Lime and Cilantro Rotel
• 2 tbs of Taco Seasoning
• 3 oz. of Cream Cheese (softened)
• 8 oz of Monterrey Jack Cheese
• 1 tbs. melted butter

 Onto the pictures! 

First off, start the rice per the instructions on the package. Once that is going, dice up the chicken. Two lbs of boneless skinless chicken was three chicken breasts.

 Closeup of what the pieces look like.

 Cook on medium heat. When the chicken is about halfway done, add the taco seasoning and the Rotel.

 Yay! Rice is done!

 Finely dice up the green pepper. I do not cook the pepper because I enjoy that fresh crisp in the mixture. Adds to the texture.

 Once the chicken is done, put the chicken mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the green pepper and 1 cup of the rice. The rest can be used as a side dish.

Once mixed,  you can add the cheese and cream cheese. I know, it may not look very pretty, but believe me- it's tasty!

 Butter one side of two tortillas, then place about 1-1 1/2 cup of the mixture on one of the tortillas. Butter sides will be facing out. (Secret: use low carb tortilla shells to help on the carb front!)

 Place on a Panini Press for a minute or two.

  Other great additions to this would be black beans and onions.

 Enjoy!