He will no longer drink water.

He will drink milk. Only warm milk.

He used to drink water all the time, because that is what I introduced to him at a young age. He did not receive juices or sugars until he was at least two. Then all hell broke loose. Everywhere, literally.

Now he is a V8 Splash-juice-Gatorade drinking fool who will only drink warm milk in the evenings.

If you know me at all, then you are probably wondering how in the world I let this happen. This child was raised on all sugar-free and organic foods, with pureed vegetables and meals. Well, I gave in at some point and it clearly spiraled out of control. Lately, I have been having him go longer between drinks and I am putting 1/2 to 3/4 water in all cups before any other beverage goes in besides milk. I do not put water in his milk. Blech!

Warm milk, well he likes it and that is fine by me.

But how do I get this child to like water again?

We started today off with a fun project that he was able to do the majority of and of course getting him involved he is sure to like it, right?

I filled this egg mold container with half water and laid on the kitchen counter, eventually on top of some paper towels.

I got out the food coloring.

Red, blue, orange and green.

Reed had fun squirting the water from the water bottle into the eggs and dropping food coloring into the eggs. He would stir them then add more water and add more color, then REPEAT.

I continued to pour off the water and let him do this until his water bottle ran out of water.

Then we froze the egg-shaped ice cubes and waited patiently for our colored egg ice cubes to freeze.

When they were done, I let Reed carry them into the kitchen and he was very proud of his creation. He kept putting his head down to lick them.

Then he wanted play with them.

He was excited about putting them in his cup, but he wanted all of them in his cup. He filled it as high as it would allow with egg shaped ice cubes.

I poured in the water.

He took a drink.

Said he liked the water.

Then wouldn’t drink anymore.

Oh well – it’s a good thing though! You must know that I do realize that I had just substituted my child’s juice which is filled with antioxidants (the V8 Splash) with artificial DYES. sigh. I am sure you were sitting there laughing at me the whole time, but I already knew it.

I was just desperate.

Genius mom.

Genius.

Rockwall County Tornado. (Credit: CBSDFW.com)

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – On Tuesday, 14 confirmed tornadoes ripped through at least nine North Texas cities.

Now, the region needs help. Whether you were a victim of the violent weather or just want to volunteer or donate, we hope the information below helps you.

RED CROSS DFW

Start with the American Red Cross. First of all, two shelters are currently open:

Lancaster Recreation Center
1700 S. Veteran’s Parkway
Lancaster, Tex. 75134

Tommie Allen Shelter
701 Bonnie View Rd.
Dallas, Tex. 75241

On Wednesday, the Red Cross and CBSDFW raised over $36,000 in 3 hours for relief efforts.

If you want to donate, there are three ways to do so: Call 1-800-REDCROSS; visit this website; or text REDCROSS to 90999. You canfind that information on their website, too.

If you want to donate supplies, head to the site and snag the phone number to the nearest Red Cross chapter near you and see what they need.

SALVATION ARMY

A Salvation Army mobile kitchen is roaming the Kelly Elliott area of Arlington and the Salvation Army Community Center in Pleasant Grove is also open. Here are addresses:

Arlington Community Center
712 W. Abram Street
Arlington, Tex. 76013

Salvation Army Pleasant Grove Community Center
8341 Elam Rd.
Dallas, Tex. 75217

AFFECTED CITIES

Anyone who needs additional information from Forney can find it atcityofforney.org.

Information from the City of Lancaster is at lancaster-tx.com.

Kennedale officials are asking for volunteers who can provide and operate small to medium sized equipment such as chainsaws and Bobcats.  For more information, check out cityofkennedale.com.

Arlington has created a page on the city’s website with the latest tornado information at arlingtontx.gov/tornado.

VISIT H-E-B OR CENTRAL MARKET

As reported earlier, H-E-B and Central Market are each accepting customer donations to help tornado victims. Head here for a list of locations ­­­–– if you live in the Metroplex-proper, look for a Central Market. If you live in a surrounding county, H-E-B is your best bet.

VISIT TOM THUMB

Add a dollar to your grocery total through April 15 and it’ll go to the American Red Cross. Every Tom Thumb location in the region is participating.

FOOD TRUCKS HELPING

A few of DFW’s hip, mobile eateries have offered their hand in the rebuilding effort.

As reported by D Magazine’s SideDish blog, So-Cal Tacos is near Arlington and Kennedale volunteering along with The Butcher’s Son.

Enticed Shaved Ice is parked at the Walgreens at Midway and Frankford and is donating all of its sales Wednesday night to the Red Cross.

If you want to help, head to that D Magazine link –– oh, what the heck, we’ll link it again. Just leave a comment to get in touch the food trucks to hand out hot meals and help clean up the wreckage.

INSURANCE INFO

Nationwide Insurance and Allied Insurance have dispatched claim representatives to the region. If you’re a policyholder, call the hotline at 1-800-421-3535.

For those with AAA, visit any area branch or call 1-800-572-5246 for help.

USAA, a leading insurer for military service members, has also sent a gang of their so-called Disaster Experts to help with the tornadoes.

They’ve got claims locations in Arlington at Bankston Ford –– 1400 West Interstate 20 –– and in Lewisville at Huffines Auto, located at 360 Bennett Lane.

They’re open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

PETS

A sad reality of the severe storms is that some of the smallest members of the family come up missing after the weather subsides.

Currently, Fort Worth has six Kennedale dogs. They’re being housed at the Chuck Silcox Animal Shelter. Head here to see photos of the animals and if one is yours, call the city of Kennedale at 817.478.5416.

For those closer to the Lancaster area, visit Lancaster Animal Services at 690 East Main St. They say they’re also in need of blankets, food and bowls.

Its phone number is 972.564.2351.

For those affected near Forney, contact the Forney shelter at 972.564.2351. In Arlington, give Arlington Animal Services a ring at 817.459.5898.

This is a Press This or Reblog of CBS Dallas/Fort Worth in a effort to only spread the word of ways North Texans can be assisted or give assistance.

My home was not destroyed, nor do I know anyone directly impacted by these storms as of yet.

Many homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged.

Actually hundreds of homes were damaged and Tuesday’s storm left thousands without power.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

These people’s lives were literally turned upside down. I watched the television in awe at the good spirits of survivors standing in the middle of their destroyed homes with big smiles on their faces and calm in their voices.

Smiles? Calm?

They were calm and smiling because they were alive and their families were safe.

They were thankful.

The rest was just stuff.

It was a blessing to see so many people who could be screaming, shouting, stomping and cursing because they lost their homes, instead praising God for miracles that happened around them.

As of now, there have not been any fatalities reported, some injured and hurt, but thank goodness no fatalities. I am praying the injured can be treated and walk away with-out life altering changes.

Miracles indeed can happen.

He showed us all today.

Photo Credit: Teddizzle on Flickr

When Jace was around 6 or 7 my dad started taking him up there for a night or two to see how he would do and it soon became a tradition between grandfather and grandson. Every year on Spring break Jace went fishing with his Papa. My Aunt Sherma, who is an angel from above, would “mother” him and take care of him along with her daughter, my cousin and friend, K.D. He was in great hands and always had a great time and has made so many memories along the way.

Now that Reed us three and understands what they are doing he is a little disturbed that they will not let him come along. He is just too young to be out there with out me. This year, Mommy packed us (Reed and myself) up, made some snacks and drinks, put our boots on, took so bologna for bait and off we went to the pond on my parents’ property. Reed was so excited, he was singing and hopping and dancing the whole way there (it’s not far).He kept saying “Thank you Mommy, Thank you” and hugging my legs. Sweet, priceless, unforgettable memories right there. I brought along a little chair for him to sit in but there was no sitting to be done. We got all set up threw our line in there and within seconds we had a bite. I helped him reel it in and Reed Stanford Seymore caught his first fish. He was jumping with joy and I was so glad I decided to take him and that I was there to witness such a sweet priceless, unforgettable memory.

When the holiday is approaching you can generally find costumes at every retail store there is. Adult Halloween Costumes can often be more difficult to find when you are wanting to be unique and stand out from the crowd. You will not believe the assortment and arrangement that Halloween Mart has. From Couples Costumes, Arabian Costumes, your ever-so-popular Sexy Costumes, Geisha, Gothic – it’s crazy how much they have to make your perfect Halloween costume. They also have  plus sizes, large assortment of children’s costumes, costumes for pets and even ones specifically for teens. They have everything you can possibly imagine and not just for Halloween, but Easter bunny costumes, Fourth of July, Cinco de Mayo, you name it and I am betting you won’t be disappointed.

When planning your next costume party don’t forget to try out Halloween Mart for all your party needs. Oh and to put a little icing on the cake they are having a Huge Blow-Out Sale right now, with items marked down to 75% off the original price. Wowser! If you have a child that has been planning their Halloween costume sine last year, now is the perfect time to head over and pick it up with huge savings. I especially love the Colorful Clown Yarn Baby/Toddler Costume in the Kids Halloween Costumes department….adorable.Whatever your needs are head on over and save those nickels and dimes and this case dollars.

*photo credit to Halloween Mart 

He even has a girlfriend – her name is Chick. Yes, that is her name and she hangs out with us quite a bit.

Quite the imagination my boy has.

Here is a conversation we had last night..

Reed: “NeeNee, Papa, my friends are coming to your house tomorrow”

NeeNee: Oh really? What are you going to do?

Reed: We are going to play baseball and eat in your kitchen. My friends mommies and daddies are going bring them. They will be here at 2. They are going to spend the night. They will all sleep with my mommy but Vinny will stay in Jace’s room.

NeeNee: Oh, okay. What do you and your friends want to eat?

Reed: hot dogs and carrots and gatorade.

That was a very small snippet of the conversation, but he had everything planned out, from what toys they would play with, their arrival time and when they were going home. My dad will dig deeper and the two of them will carry on one of these conversations for a very long time. I keep trying to remind myself to record one but usually once we are in the moment, I am so mesmerized by his details.

Crime and Punishment 

If he falls down, then he responds with something like, “my friend pushed me down, but it was an accident. Mommy please don’t be sad at him. He didn’t mean to” or “mommy, my friend pushed me down. He needs to go to time-out” and then I’ll put his friend in time out with the timer on until it’s time to get up.

Now I know some people do not like the “imaginary friends” and  some even find it disturbing or as one relative told me “creepy”.

Understanding Imaginary Friends

I for one am not the least worried or bothered by it. Kids with imaginary friends have an active imagination, a stronger vocabulary and a great capacity for independent play. I of course encourage interaction with real friends and he does great with other kids. I don’t encourage or make fun of his imaginary friends, instead I allow him to play with them freely and if he wants them to sit at the table with us, then I oblige. I don’t offer up an entire conversation with “Owen Michael” but if Reed tells me Owen needs help with something or is talking to me, then again I oblige. You would never want to make fun of or mock them for using their imagination – that will only increase insecurity and they are clearly showing signs of independence, creativity and confidence. Allow them to carry this phase out and form their own identities.

Another way to look at this is as a teaching opportunity. If your child’s friend makes a mess or pushes or trips someone, then reinforce the rules and discuss it with your child. While it may appear they are just trying to get out of trouble, it will likely be a better time to explain to them, because they are more likely to listen to you since the spotlight is on “said friend.” I have used this technique many times as a teaching opportunity and will often see him discussing it with his friend afterword.

As children mature and develop and gain the social, cognitive, and emotional skills needed they will soon realize or accept these friends are just pretend. Until then, help your child grow, learn and explore the world around them. Take a note and check back in 15 years, I bet you will have quite a talented, creative, smart young adult on your hands and you can thank Owen Michael for that.

Shrimp is tasty – I *heart* shrimp and it makes me very happy to add jalapeno to this recipe. It’s just one big happy well rounded wrap.

Ahh! These babies are good and will have you craving them time and time again.

Some call them Shrimp Diablos, but I call them what they are – Bacon-Jalapeno Wrapped Shrimp.

These are divine!

Oh so delicious!

This is a recipe I have been making for quite some time and have started making it with my fourteen year old. I will get everything ready to go (i.e. cut and remove seeds of jalapenos, veggies, etc…) and set up an assembly line of sorts while Jace peels and deveins the shrimp (aka the icky part), passes to me to wrap and season.

We have a system.

Ok, enough with my bad jokes and rounded worlds let’s make some bacon jalapeno shrimp and vegetable kabobs.

You ready for this?

Here we go!

Bacon-Jalapeno Wrapped Shrimp Ingredients:

20 Jumbo Raw Shrimp – peel and devine ( increase, decrease to serving size. either way there will NOT be any left.)

Equal Thin Bacon (may need to cut in two depending on shrimp size)

10-15 large jalapenos or equal number to shrimp if not very large. ( cut these in quarters or halves)

Robust Italian Dressing

Tony Chachere Cajun Seasoning

Bacon Jalapeno Wrapped Shrimp Instructions

Have 14 year old son scrub his hands and peel and devein shrimp. Rinse.

Cut jalapenos in three parts or halves depending on size of shrimp.

Place shrimp in jalapeno.

Wrap in bacon.

Repeat until all shrimp is wrapped in jalapeno and bacon.

Place bacon-jalapeno wrapped shrimp on skewers on a foil covered cookie sheet.

Cover with Italian Dressing.

Season with Tony Chachere Cajun Seasoning by liberally pouring over wrapped shrimp.

Veggie Kabobs

Place assorted vegetables (zucchini, cherry tomatoes, squash, purple onion and mushroom) on skewers.

Cover with Italian Dressing and more Tony Chachere‘s if desired.

Spray grill with cooking spray and cook Bacon-Jalapeno Wrapped Shrimp until bacon is done and shrimp is pink. I recommend using thin bacon or it will take too long to cook and then all sorts of things go wrong. Char-coaled shrimp and grill fires just to name a few.

Cook Veggies until done or they begin to shrivel up.

Serve with brown and wild rice or the chicken flavored brown rice I showed you before. Toss it with some green onions and have your nice meal.

Enjoy!

True story.

I love to cook with rice, whether as a side dish or incorporated into the main course. I serve it alongside many dishes.

One thing though, I do not prefer plain white rice. I like it and I will eat it, but I like me some flavor.

Flavor people. It’s all about the f-l-a-v-o-r.

Brown rice, wild rice, white rice, brown jasmine rice, saffron rice. Mmm! I like it all.

Ha! I just sounded like Bubba from Forrest Gump talking about the shrimp business.

Lately I have been on a brown rice kick and not only does it have a different taste but it seems to boost with flavor.

How to flavor-boost your rice

Let’s say we are use a minute rice or fast cooking rice. I suggest using brown rice, not only is it a healthier option it is yummier too!

When boiling your water add 1 cube of chicken bouillon per 1`cup of water and salt and pepper.

Then cook rice as instructed.

You can also replace the water with Swanson Chicken broth – but I prefer the cubes.

This way alone is my favorite and if you like rice anyway then you will especially love this.

Optional ingredients to add to your brown rice

• chopped green onion
• dash or two of soy sauce
• Pico de gallo mixture – unbelievably delicious. I actually turn this into a meal at times.
• eat with edamame
• grill up or saute some grilled vegetables

There ya go! An easy, simple and delicous way to add some flavor to an otherwise boring dish. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and experiment. That is what is fun about cooking.

Photo Source Credit: Maya Picture

No lie!

The recipe I was given called for only 10 tortillas but it makes much more than that and I use anywhere from 15-20. It is a spread and is lovely by itself or on crackers, wheat thins or my favorite Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits…yum! I just had to throw that in there.

There is one ingredient in here that I think is key to these roll-ups, otherwise they will just taste like any other roll-up or possibly a blob of sour cream and cream cheese…Accent Flavor Enhancer. I have never used this before trying in it this recipe and I was impressed how much it added flavor to the mixture.

Tortilla Roll-Up Ingredients

• 10-20 tortillas
• 1 Package of Cream Cheese
• 1 8oz Sour Cream
• 1 bunch of green onions (cut off & chop green parts finely)
• 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped very finely)
• 1 small can of chopped black olives
• Thinly sliced ham (thinner the better)
• 1 teaspoon of Accent Seasoning *this is key, it makes the flavor Oh! so delicious! Don’t be afraid to use more.

Tortilla Roll-Up Instructions

1. Place tortillas and ham aside
2. Mix all ingredients together in serving bowl
3. On parchment paper or a plate place about a teaspoon of mixture on tortilla
4. Lay ham on top
5. Roll in form of an enchilada
6. Leave whole and put in casserole dish or other rectangle container
7. Repeat until finished
8. Once you have rolled all the tortillas then place the whole roll-ups in the refrigerator
9. They can be left overnight, but atleast for an hour
10. Then cut in horizontal, bite size pieces.

Thank me later.

Enjoy!

This is so easy to make and also very delicious.

I generally serve the soup and then the next night we make chicken tacos out of it.

I originally obtained this recipe years ago and have adapted it and changed it to fit our liking.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients

• 4 Chicken Breast (thawed is best, but you can put in frozen)
• 1 14oz box of chicken broth. I use low sodium because I do add sea salt and in my head hope it makes up the difference without being too much.
• 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (if you like spice or flavor, get the ones with garlic,, onion, peppers, etc…)
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes
• 1 cup of Salsa of your choice (depending on your spice preference; I love Herdez Salsa Casera, found by the green chiles and jalapenos with other salsas, but generally grouped separately)
• 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 2 Garlic Cloves halved or chopped
• 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Instructions:

1. Turn crock-pot on high and complete first to steps while gathering ingredients.
2. Pour olive oil in bottom of crock-pot
3. Add chopped or halved garlic
4. Once ingredients are gathered and you have completed prepping add chicken broth
5. Place chicken breasts inside
6. Then add cans of tomatoes and Rotel (DO NOT DRAIN ANY)
7. Pour in salsa and cumin
8. Add Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to taste or you can wait until end.
9. Top with chopped cilantro ( I put enough in there to cover surface of liquid)

Cooking options

1. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, if unattended an additional broth just in case.
2. If present, I cook on high for two hours then turn to low for remaining cook time.

I prefer the chicken to be falling apart, basically shredding itself.

Pull chicken apart or dice then add back into soup.

Serve with sour cream, tortilla strips, Monterrey Jack cheese, avocado, black olives and green onions if desired.

This is a very easy and delicious chicken tortilla soup recipe.

* You can also add big chunks of bell pepper and onion towards the end just because I like it. I have added corn, black beans, zucchini and other vegetables as well.

* For vegetarian options – use vegetable broth and omit chicken and chicken broth and amp up the veggies.

* When I have vegetables in soup, I can get even my pickiest eater to eat them.