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New Blog Button and Potty Training Cry For Help

What do you guys think?  It's one of my favorite pictures with my coconut.  It's blown up a little on this post, so please put the resolution aside.

If you want to blog swap with me feel free to grab a badge from my left sidebar, and let me know so I can do the same :)

As soon as we settled back into a routine, after our trip to WA, I decided to potty train the coconut.  It is hands down the hardest thing I have done as a parent.  I've been trying to get him interested since the summer.  I got to the point where I said no more diapers and made him wear underwear.  I swear I went through two packages of underwear a day. Underwear that was soaked in urine or pooped in like a diaper.  Ugh.  I was finally able to get my son excited to go potty and with his own free will.  He pees sitting down and aims while standing like a pro.  He tells me he has to go potty, and hasn't had a wet diaper in almost a week.  However, and this is a big however, he will NOT drop the kids off at the pool.  Mama is sick of cleaning up poopy underwear.  Today I started putting him in PullUps.  Luckily, he's staying on track and keeping them dry...except when he drops the deuce.  That's where you readers who have potty training experience come in.  I NEED HELP!  Any tips on getting a boy to poop?

On a completely random side note: I recently learned I only like extra bold, dark roast coffee unless it happens to contain espresso.  The flavor is just so much better and less watered down.  I guess I like it strong!   What's your favorite coffee?

Kale Chips

Raise your hand if you binged on Thanksgiving?  Raise your hand if you binged on Thanksgiving leftovers?  It's okay guys.  Ain't no shame!  It's so hard to eat healthy during the holidays.  Everywhere you turn there is a holiday party, appetizers, drinks, candy cane Oreos/chocolate/mochas....you get the picture.  You know what?  It's okay to enjoy food, but make sure to balance it out.  That's where my kale chips come into play.

I have tried a handful of kale chip recipes only to end up with burnt or bitter greens.  I decided to play with the temperature until I found the result I liked.  The end result is flavorful and crunchy.  Perfect to satisfy my chip cravings!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch Kale, ribs removed and broken into pieces
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste 
• parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 280 degrees
2. Throughly wash and dry your kale
3. Lay kale on baking sheet in a single layer
4. Evenly drizzle olive oil over kale
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste
6. Bake for 20 minutes (turn leaves half way through)
7. Let cool for at least 5 minutes
8. Optional: add freshly grated parm on top of kale chips

I hope you guys enjoy this healthy snack!

My Trip Home To Olympia

I hope everyone had a great Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  I didn't hit any of the stores early, except for Target later in the day.  After cooking all day dealing with crowds was the last thing I wanted to do.

I am so happy I was able to visit home for two weeks.  I definitely did not have enough time to eat everywhere I wanted to eat, see everyone I wanted to see, or go everywhere I wanted to go.  Guess I'll have to go back!  

Here is a little catch-up sesh of my trip.  If you follow me on instagram (glamhungrymom) you may have seen a couple of these pictures before.  I seriously LOVE instagram.  I am always on there!

One of the first places I wanted to eat at was Fuji Sushi in Seattle's International District.  It is hands down one of the best lunch spots in Seattle.  The food is always fresh.  My go-to meal is the bento box. I love a little variety in my life!

Salmon and croquette bento box at Fuji

A place I stopped to eat more for lunch was Anthony's on the water.  I also hit the Hearthfire, which is owned by the same company and is also on the water, but I forgot to take pictures of my yummy food there.  At Anthony's I decided to eat chowder and a crab salad.  I am so much more of a crab girl than a lobster lady.  Lobster is so much cheaper out here.  I like it and all, but crab is just better.

Dungeness crab salad with avocado and grapefruit with a bowl of clam chowder

Our view from Anthony's.  Damn my hometown is gorgeous!

Before lunch at Anthony's, we took Damian to Percival Landing Park/Playground to get the sillies out. They re-did the park from when I was there last and it's beautiful.  I tots wanted to sit on the swing and gaze at the water, but Damian was more interested in the slide.  Sigh.

My hearts

I could kiss this face for an eternity

I had to make a Costco run for a few things, and Damian loved jamming on the piano.  Taking after his mama!  I'm getting him into classes when he's 3 1/2-4.  I hope it is something we can really bond with as he grows. 

Damian has been really into Doc McStuffin's.  He has a little doctor kit and calls himself Dr. Damian.  My favorite part is how he says "What's my diagnosis?" or "I have a diagnosis!"  Seriously?!  You're not even 3!  Freaking cutie.

The Hands On Children's Museum in Olympia, WA re-opened in a new location.  The new 2-story building, located on the water, makes me wish I was a kid again.  It is beyond.  Go check out their website if you live anywhere near Olympia, WA and have kids.  

Captain Damian

Mayday!  I hid from my mommy after this picture.  Heart attack alert.

You can't see him, but he's driving the police car.  I love the mosaic of downtown.

There was a two-story climbing section with a bridge.  How sweet!

I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but I saw a few awesome friends!

The most touching was stopping by my Grandpa and Great-Grandma's grave.  My early childhood was living in a house with them and my Grammy.  You think since so much time has passed that I wouldn't cry at the grave.  I still do.  It's hard not to miss two very special people.

My hero and playmate

I got to see one of my favorite men..my dear friend, Jon!  When we were younger, we used to talk on the phone about life and cute guys.  What's not to love?!  We took a stroll in Preist Point Park and did a nice catch up sesh.

 Sandra is hands down one of the best friends ever in all of everdom.  She is sweet, loyal, beautiful, funny, and the love we have for each other is unconditional.  We can be honest without getting upset, offended, or judgmental.  On top of all that warm fuzziness we have had some crazy paranormal experiences together.  Dead serious.  If she didn't experience the stuff with me I would have admitted myself into the looney bin.

I haven't seen my friend Stephanie since I moved to the Boston burbs.  It was SO good to be able to see her and spend some quality time with her.  We were best friends in high school (we called ourselves ASKK GLLN...don't ask), and it felt like we never lost touch when we were together.  Don't you love that?!  I am not losing touch with this lady again no matter how crazy life gets.

It was so hard juggling spending time with friends and family, but I am so happy Damian and I were able to spend time with my wonderful in-laws.  My father-in-law set up his Lionel train set for Damian to play with.  It looked awesome guys!  I am so glad they were able to see how much Damian has grown and what a littler lover he is.

I think that's enough of my boring life for you guys!  Make sure to take the time to really value your friends and family.  At the end of the day no object is more valuable than your relationships.

XOXO

Cliche Thanksgiving Post

Time for cliche blog post time!  I realize this post is a few days late, but it's not like anyone was really near their computer theses past couple days.  It's been all about the family!  

Thanksgiving was all about cooking, enjoying the family, and being thankful for everything we have.  I am the first to admit sometimes I get into the "I wish I had" or "I want" mindset.  It was nice to disconnect from everything and be thankful for everything I have.  

I am so thankful to have the most perfect little coconut in the world.  I am thankful he finally is starting to take to potty training.  I'm thankful that he is such a mommy's boy.  I'm thankful that he is always happy.  I'm thankful that he changed my life for the better.  I can't even remember what life was like before him.

I am thankful to have a husband who is loyal, caring, and my best friend.  I'm thankful that I can totally be my weird and disgusting self.  I'm thankful that he gets my jokes no matter how inappropriate they may be.  I am thankful that says I look beautiful when I feel like an obese troll.  

I am thankful for my Grammy.  She is the best mother and father I could have ever asked for.  She had to be not only my Grammy, but my mother and father too.  She did more than an amazing job.  I am thankful that she taught me how to appreciate what I have.  I am thankful that she showed me the importance of volunteering and helping others.  I am thankful she taught me how to spot a good sale.  I am thankful she showed me the world.  I am thankful for her showing me what selflessness and unconditional love truly means.  I am thankful for her being the best example of what a mother is.

I am thankful for my readers and blogging.  It really means a lot to me that people actually read this little blog.  I love to do blog, so it is awesome that people like to read it.  I have made so many awesome friends in the blogging world.  Some seriously awesome, cool, and interesting people blog.  I don't find myself to be any of those things, but my daily reads for sure are.  

Now on to the good stuff....the food!  I made everything from scratch.  Everything.  Phew!  It was a lot of work, but the flavor pay off was worth it. The pictures aren't anything crazy.  I just took some quick shots with my iPhone right before we ate :)

I had to taste test the pie the night before.  It was only right, right?

For the morning I baked pumpkin cranberry scones from TJ .  Perf.

Turkey time! 

Mashed Potatoes (made the night before and heated with butter on top for the big day)

My cranberry sauce cooking away

Homemade gravy from the drippings...yummmm

I made a stuffing made out of a white bread and cornbread (which I pre-baked)

I was going to make the sweet potatoes with marshmallows but I didn't have any.  A brown sugar and pecan crust was a bomb replacement.

The only thing not totally by scratch was the green bean casserole.  I definitely used the french fried onions from the store.

Plated family/buffet style

How did you guys spend your day?  What was your favorite dish?

Happy Birthday Hubs!

I'm baaaaccccck!  I've been tweeting and instagraming while on vacay, but I'm sad to say I haven't blogged.  Thankfully, I had awesome guest bloggers to entertain you guys.  How great were their posts?!

I would love to say I feel bad I neglected my dear blog, but spending time with my Grammy, in-laws, and friends was #1.  I wish I had more time back in beautiful Olympia and Seattle, Washington.  I'm hoping to go home for a whole month (or so) next summer.  *fingers crossed*

My trip was awesome right until my departing flight.  It was originally scheduled for 11:45 p.m.  Then it was delayed until 1:45 a.m.....2:00...2:30....3:00....3:30...  We finally boarded at 4 a.m. but couldn't take-off until 5 a.m.  Want to know why we were delayed?  Because some selfish idiot decided to tamper with the smoke alarm because they wanted a cig.  What a bastard. By the way those were my exact words after Jet Blue told me what happened. Seriously though...who does that?!  I fancy myself to be a world traveler, and I have never had someone actually touch the smoke detector.  Damian was awake until 3:00 a.m., and made me walk the entire main concourse of Sea-Tac three times.  Ugh.  At least there was a play area to entertain him for a couple hours.

It wasn't Jet Blue's fault that some whack job decided to ruin the flight.  Jet Blue rocks.  You know why?  They refunded our tickets, with an extra inconvenience/service fee, to a Jet Blue travel account to use for a future flight.  This is why I love Jet Blue.  The staff was beyond apologetic and went above and beyond.  I've been on a thousand delayed flights, and this is the first time an airline really showed they cared about their passengers.  Bravo Jet Blue!  Bravo!

I promise I will be posting more pictures, recipes, youtube videos (flawless face coming soon), and all sorts of goodies soon.

Now it's time for the title of this post to come into fruition.  It's my husband's birthday!  He really is the best friend and father to my child I could have asked for.  He's 28, but his baby face screams 22.  Bwahahaha.  Wait.  I have a baby face too.  Damn it.  Well I decided post a few photos of us taken in the past six years.

Santa Monica Pier (Valentine's Week) 2007

Vancouver, CA 2007

New Years Eve 08

Spring of 2009

Wedding Day

Christmas 2010

October 2012

And to think this man used to look like J.T. in the early NSYNC days ;p

Guest Post: Jessica Who?

I am super stoked to have Jessica from Jessica Who as my guest blogger today.  I'm sure I'm not really introducing her blog to you, because you probably already know how fab she is.  She is beautiful, witty, funny, and lives in Hawaii.  I hate her.  By hate I mean totally love and jealous.  I want to live in the sunshine. The hurricane and nor'easter ish is really cramping my style.  Next time I go to Hawaii (fingers crossed) I am seeing her face.  That's enough chit chat from me.  I'll let Jessica take over from here....

Aloha! I'm so excited that Andrea is letting me take over for a bit today. I'm a big fan of her blog and I know I have big shoes to fill!

So a little bit about me- I'm Jessica and I blog over at Jessica Who?

The title of my blog refers to the constant "Jessica who??" question that us Jessica's get. (You can read more about that here.)

I currently live in Hawaii but I'm a born n' raised (and very proud) Texan! I'm married to a really hot guy and we have the most adorable baby boy. His name is Duke. And I'm totally obsessed with him.

This is us:

But enough about me! Today I want to share one of my favorite things with you... wrap bracelets!

1. Neon Coral Taylor Triple Wrap
2. Tory Burch Logo Stud Bracelet
3. Love Turquoise Suede Wrap Bracelet
4. Michael Kors Leather Wrap Bracelet
5. Snake Wrap Bracelet
6. SusanB Leather Stud Wrap Bracelet
7. Gorjana Two-Tone Leather Wrap Bracelet
8. Alexandra Beth Two-Tone Leather Wrap Bracelet

I'm obsessed with wrap bracelets. (Find out why here.) I can never have enough of them! They're especially great for me because I have what I like to call "infant wrists". They are so ridiculously tiny which makes it hard to find any bracelets that fit and/or don't look crazy on me.

I've been eyeing all of the above. Which one is your favorite? I have #2 in navy and it matches with pretty much anything. Love it!

Come by and visit sometime to see more of my favorites! 

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Guest Post: Rum Cake

I want to welcome Lyndi from The Journey.... to Glam Hungry Mom.  She's treating us with a sweet family recipe today.  After you're done reading her post please check out her blog!

Hi everyone! I'm Lyndi from The Journey... I am so excited to share with you all one of my family's favorite recipes for a rum cake. The holidays are upon us, and this cake is sure to be a hit at Thanksgiving or any other holiday dinner! I first want to thank Andrea for letting me be a guest on the blog while she's away. I hope she is enjoying herself and making lots of memories with family & friends on her visit.

This recipe was given to me from my mom, Queenie. The reason I named this recipe Queenie's Famous Rum Cake is because my mom is now known around the holidays for her rum cakes. It's her signature dessert, and she also makes many to give away as gifts. During the Christmas season she will bake multiple rum cakes a week. I was lucky enough to get my hands on this recipe a few weeks before I got married. She passed it to me at my kitchen shower as part of my gift from her (along with a red, Kitchen-Aid mixer). This past August, my husband and I vacationed in Jamaica and came home with lots of rum! After having the recipe well over a year, I decided it was time to give it a try since I had plenty of Jamaican rum. I made a few minor changes to it myself, but it turned out wonderful! This cake is always a big hit anywhere it's taken.

ingredients. 

cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup dark rum

glaze:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup dark rum

directions. 

cake: Preheat oven to 325, grease and flour 12 cup bundt pan. Combine all ingredients, beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer (I put it all in m Kitchen Aid). Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Flip on to serving tray or plate. Poke holes in top of cake with fork; drizzle glaze over the top of the cake.  *If you use pecans, put them in bottom of bundt pan before pouring cake batter in.

glaze: Melt butter in saucepan, stir in water & sugar, boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in rum. *The rum will cause steam, be careful not to burn yourself. ENJOY!

Thank you again Lyndi!