Advanced

I can't find any information on the developmental stage that involves making fart noises with your mouth, but I'm pretty sure Max is advanced for his age.

Just in time for the holidays too.

Surprise

I did not know I could still screw up a diaper change so bad. It's not like I'm new to the diaper game. Anyone who's been around little ones knows that by the time you have a 17 month old (or close enough) you've changed a heck of a lot of diapers.

It started normally enough. Max had a stinky diaper, so I took him upstairs to change him. He frequently screams, cries, and tries to get away the entire time that you change his diaper now, so I wasn't bothered with the way he was carrying on as I went to change him. But he managed to thrash around and get a foot in his dirty diaper, so I had to clean more of him than usual.

Then in the time that it took me to reach over and grab the new diaper he peed all over the changing pad. I grabbed a clean cloth diaper from the drawer and slid it under him while I cleaned him up a second time. He was thrilled with this process. Once he was clothed I cleaned up the changing pad and put on a new cover.

Then as I was trying to dump the poop in the toilet it just went all wrong. Somehow the clump split four ways and rolled off the cloth in every direction except down into the water, so I had to pick poo off the floor. I have no idea how it happened, but the string of "uh-oh"s from Max at least added some humor to the situation.

It could have all been worse, I know, but still... you'd think I'd be better at this by now.

Question of the Season

What do you want for Christmas?

Mmmmummies

I am either a little late or quite a bit early with this illustrated guide to making Mummy Sausages. These are regular sausages, made to look like mummies, not some sort of disgusting science project. They were incredibly fun for Halloween, but you can have mummies any time in my book. So go ahead and bake some up tomorrow. I think these sausage wraps come out better than the ones I've had where the bread dough more completely covers the sausage. The bread has more golden yummy surfaces, the meat seems to cook a little better, and with little gaps for moisture to escape the inside dough didn't seem to suffer from being as soggy as usual.

You bake the sausages at the temperature and time according to the directions on your biscuit can. In my case I found they needed to cook a lot longer, but just go by looks. The sausages are fully cooked when you buy them, so you don't have to worry about food safety in that respect. Also, remember that these are similar to hot dogs, so if you would normally cut a hot dog for your little one make sure you cut these as well. With the smaller circumference I was able just to cut the sausage in half and Max handled it with ease. I actually cut them before wrapping and baking for him, and they came out just as well as the uncut.

Get Some Canned Biscuit Dough

And Some Pre-Cooked Sausages

Roll Out a Piece of Dough So it's Thinner & Wider Then Cut Into Strips

Wrap Around the Sausage, Leave a Gap

Repeat Several Times

Bake Until They Look Yummy

Add Mustard (or Ketchup) For Eyes

That's it. I'd say it was as easy as pie, but it is a lot easier than baking a pie. For a festive presentation you can skewer the mummies after baking and stab the skewers into a pumpkin. We did this for a get together before Halloween and it was a big hit.

Blinding

I don't really have anything to say, but I love when Max gets all up in the camera lens. Although when the flash is on, it can get a little bright.

Just Now

Maybe a Day Late

I suppose this post would have been more timely if I'd posted it on Nov 2nd, it being about voting, but then again we actually voted during early voting last week, so let's not get too hung up on our time lines. It's not like I'm going to tell you who to vote for anyway.

Voting is Serious Business

I'd like to get Max excited about voting, but when you don't actually get to vote what incentive is there for you to be into it? I'm voting donuts. We had donuts before heading over to the grocery store to cast our ballots. I think we should make this a thing that we do. If nothing else, I really like donuts.

Enough Pictures Already

I hope that you voted, that you made your voice heard. If something kept you from the polls this time, don't dwell on it, but make sure you get out there next time. It doesn't hurt as much as you think it does.

Windy Day

Last week at the park.