Young At Heart Mommy

Managing Motherhood Through Love & Laughter

Yummy American Macaroni Salad Recipe

Whenever I am at a party or family gathering I always manage to steer clear of the macaroni salad dish someone made. I’m not sure if it’s because its cold macaroni and it seems odd to not eat it hot & covered in cheese? I think it’s really fear of the unknown … the unknown ingredients lurking within! Since I was a child I have always been an extremely picky eater. If I don’t know what’s in it or it smells a little funky, you will not catch me putting it in my mouth. Over the weekend my mom and I were looking for a macaroni salad recipe we could make and found a delicious one straight from the Food Network website. To me it’s not your typical macaroni salad. While it probably contains the same ingredients as most, it has a certain tangy flavor to it that adds something special to each bite. With a few simple ingredients and Toodie’s amazing stirring techniques we came out with one tasty dish.

     Ingrediants

  • 2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed, and drained
  • 1/3 cup diced celery
  • 1/4 cup minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained
  • 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup diced vine-ripened tomato (optional)
  • 1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise
  • 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper

    Directions

    In a large bowl combine the macaroni, celery, onion, parsley and tomato, if using. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, vinegar, sour cream and salt. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Store covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. 
    You can find the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/american-macaroni-salad-recipe/index.html

The Day Is Almost Here..

I usually look forward to Monday’s and the start of a new week but I have been dreading today all weekend. I haven’t felt like myself today and my mood has been completely off. I knew that eventually the day would come that Toodie would start school but I didn’t think it would creep up so quickly. Tomorrow will be her first day going to daycare and I am a total mess about it! My stomach has been in a knot all day, i couldn’t sleep last night, and all I keep thinking about is how she will be without me. I am very fortunate that since she was born I was able to be a stay at home mom and experience all of the milestones first hand. I don’t think I ever missed out on one smile, new word, or silly moment. There is no doubt that I am extremely thankful but I also know it is time for her to take the first step to being a big girl.
This past weekend we made our trip to Target to pick up the few things she needed before her big day. When we reached the aisle with all of the bagpacks and lunchboxes I showed her all of her choices to choose from – Tangled, Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty, and Barbie. I really thought she was going to pick Rapunzel from Tangled since she has been crazy about that movie for months now. Surprisingly she immediately went for the hot pink Barbie bagpack covered in sequins and sparkle. She is such a “foo foo” girl as my mom would call her. She loves anything pink, girly, and covered in glitter! Just the simple act of picking out her supplies for school made her so happy.  I know in my heart she is ready to meet new friends and make memories. Guess I am just scared to let go and cut the cord. I have even stopped to ask my own mom if I am doing the right thing. Everyone tells me of course I am and this is going to be wonderful for her. She needs the social interaction with other children. While it’s only going to be for a few hours, two days a week, I am going to probably be on the edge counting the minutes until I get to pick her up tomorrow. Monday sure has flew by and tomorrow morning will only begin a new journey for us … Hope there are not too many bumps in the road getting there!

Sunday Funday Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday. I can’t believe how exhausted I am after this past weekend! We woke up bright and early yesterday morning and regardless of how much sugar munchkin had, she knocked out as soon as her head hit the pillow last night. I already made sure to ration out all of her candy because we definitely have enough to last us for a few months. I don’t remember there being this much candy in our house since Halloween! All in all we had a GREAT Easter and I am so thankful to have the family & friends that I do. Hope yours was just as memorable..

Happy Easter!

It’s 12:30 AM here in South Florida and the Easter Bunny has officially made his stop at our house! My little one took forever to pass out tonight. I think it was a mix of sugar and excitement for tomorrow’s surprises. Luckily she managed to fall asleep in my bed while watching Little Einsteins. I didn’t even bother moving her to her own room because it was easier to set up her Easter basket on her bed with the bunny trail behind it.  I tried to do something a little different this year instead of just leaving her basket by her bed. I found really cute bunny feet decals to lead to her room from our front door. I even left a mini trail of grass and a few Easter eggs leading to her room. I thought that now she is three she would really appreciate those extra touches! I can’t wait to see her face when she wakes up tomorrow morning 🙂 I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday with their families. 

Hoppin & Huntin For Eggs At The Park

This morning one of the parks around the corner from my house was having a huge Easter Egg Hunt. The park was divided into different sections by age group and each area had tons of candy filled eggs scattered on the ground. I expected there to be quite a few kids there but I had no idea it was going to be as packed as it was. Between this location and another park in our city there were 52,000 eggs! It’s a good thing because there must have been hundreds of people at this one park alone. Not only did they offer a free egg hunt for the community but there was also an appearance by the Easter Bunny, balloon animals, bounce houses, and face painting. 
When it was actually time to run around and collect the eggs, Toodie totally went blank. The only thing I can compare it to is the “deer in headlights” look. I think she was fascinated by how many children were around her and she was trying to take everything in at once! This is where mommy had to come to the rescue. I started collecting the eggs for her and she soon got the hang of it. She picked up her first egg and tossed it in quickly before searching for more. The egg hunt was over in minutes and she came out with a full basket! She was one happy girl.
Since we’ve been home she has made me re-hide the eggs around the house over a dozen times. From her bedroom to the living room she just cannot get enough of egg hunting! I think now that she has actually been to her first egg hunt with other children, the whole concept is exciting to her. I can’t wait for tomorrow morning when she ventures through the backyard on a search for the eggs the Easter Bunny has hid for her. As she is getting older the holidays are really becoming more enjoyable. Three years down and many, many, many more to go! 

Easter Egg Dying FAIL!

Easter weekend has finally arrived. Time to dye your eggs, plan your Easter egg hunt, and prepare the baskets with goodies! Toodie and I always look forward to coloring our eggs and decorating them together. I had all of the eggs boiled and ready to go so we could get started right after dinner. As you can see from the pictures Toodie was prepared in her apron and ready to get those eggs colored! 
Everything was fine and dandy until we went to take the eggs out of the coloring cups. Instead of having a vibrant beautiful hue to them, they were covered in a thick stringy sludge. It was almost like we dipped them in slime. I’m not sure what in the heck happened to our delightful coloring experience but it was not good! None of the color was eve sticking to the eggs. It seemed like the longer we left them in, the more gooey slime coated them. It was disappointing and frustrating considering we have used the same brand every single year with no problems.Guess we’re going to have to start from scratch on Sunday.
Regardless of the mishap Toodie enjoyed eating the eggs and soon forgot about the not so pretty outcome! Has anyone else had this problem before? Maybe I had a bad batch of color tablets.

Instagram Finally Makes It To Android!

 
If you have an iPhone than you probably already know how popular the Instagram App is. I was so excited to see it finally hit the Android market this week. If you often use your phone to take pictures and post them to your social sites than you will enjoy using Instagram. Once your photo is taken you can change the visuals by cropping and altering with a variety of filters. I know I am not the only one enjoying it. According to CNET it was downloaded a million times in just an hour! This App makes you want to take a photo of everything. You could probably make a lint ball look beautiful with its features! It’s very addicting and a fun way to share your personalized photos.

Wordless Wednesday: Pug Love

 Looks like Victoria isn’t the only one that enjoys the Mickey Mouse couch …

Even though there are quite a few doggie beds placed around the house, Chloe would rather snuggle up here. Someone looks pretty comfy if you ask me!

Tissue Paper Easter Egg

I feel like I have really been on a roll with the crafts lately! I guess I can thank the wonderful world of Pinterest for that. Here we have what I like to call the “Colorful Tissue Paper Easter Egg.” I found a similar idea online and decided to add my own twist to it. The best part of this Easter time craft is you don’t really need much. All of the supplies you can get from just about any craft store, Walmart, or Target. You will need a large sheet of white poster board, Elmer’s glue stick or liquid, hole punch, ribbon, colorful tissue paper squares, and glitter ( which is optional). 

If you are like me and NOT a Picasso then I suggest you find some sort of Easter egg outline to trace. Luckily I had a felt Easter Egg chair cover on hand that my mom had purchased last year. I went ahead and roughly traced it, cutting out the Easter Egg shape. Remember, it really does not have to be perfect because most of the edges will be camouflaged by the tissue paper. Next you go ahead and cover small areas with the glue stick so they can stick the tissue paper squares on. We did it in sections because Toodie liked to take short breaks here and there. When the egg is finished and covered you can punch two small holes in the top so you can string the ribbon through. This will allow you to hang up your masterpiece when finished. Since Toodie is just like her mommy and loves sparkle, we had to add some glitter! 

The only thing I would probably do differently with this craft is to cut out a smaller egg. As you can see from the picture this thing was huge! Half way through I could tell Toodie was getting tired so we took a break and came back later to finish. If you have more than one child than the larger egg would probably be a great craft for them to work on together. The next day we decided to make mini eggs to give to family members and it was a much smoother process. Even though it took longer than expected I have to say that when finished it did make a beautiful front door decoration for everyone to enjoy.

Where Has The Time Gone?!

Ever look back and ask yourself where in the world has the time gone? I don’t think time has ever passed so quickly until I became a mom. I’m sure I am not the only one that feels that way. When we want time to speed up it drags but if we want it to slow down there is no stopping it. If there is anything I have learned, it’s that you should always cherish every single moment you have with your child. The years pass by quickly and you can never get those precious memories back. I would give anything to go back to the those first milestones! There is nothing I love more than looking at all of Victoria’s baby pictures and seeing how much she has changed over the years. It only reminds me how much i love being a mom and that I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. Don’t take any moment, memory, or smile for granted! Hug them, love them, kiss them, and always remind them how special they are.

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