Piggy Back Rides!

Dash has become the master at piggy back rides and the girls love it! You should hear them giggle as he runs around the house. It is quite cute. Both girls adore him and love to play with him. Can't wait to throw Bebo into the mix! :)

Tasty Tuesday

Eggnog Cupcakes

Ingredients:
 1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum extract
3/4 cup eggnog
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cooking Instructions:
 
Step 1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 2. Cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and rum extract and beat until smooth. Alternate adding the flour mixture and eggnog, beating well with each addition. Continue beating for 1 more minute.

Step 3. Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Rum Frosting

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp rum extract
1-2 tbsp eggnog

Instructions:
Beat the powdered sugar, butter, shortening, and rum extract on low speed until blended. Add the eggnog 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.Wait until cupcakes are cooled completely to frost them.

She's Done!

When we came home from China almost two years ago we had no idea Twink loved her paci! They told us in the Civil Affairs building on adoption day that she liked a nipple but we had no idea what they were talking about. We tried the bottles and different types of pacifiers but she didn't want any of them. Looking back I think she was just plan mad that day. Twink would down bottle after bottle just to comfort herself while in China as we did not have any clue she had a strong desire to suck.

When we returned home we developed the pictures we sent to her orphanage the first thing we noticed was she had a paci in her mouth in almost all of the pictures. Jet lagged we went out to find a paci that looked similar to the bottle nipples we were using. We found some and have being using them ever since. The first couple weeks we were home we let her have them whenever she wanted them. Then we noticed she really only wanted them when she went to sleep. Twink has used her paci to help soothe herself to sleep for the last two years here and probably a year plus in China. As you can see though she has been chewing on them to the point where all I have to do is pull on the tip and it comes off.

She has been paci free for three nights. The first night she cried maybe five minutes but we gave her a silky blanket to love on and she has been fine since. She does "ask" for one but as soon as you give her the blanket and run her hand over it she is fine. Now we had to hide them because her big sister Spitfire has become her best friend and protector. She would search high and low for one and when found give it to her! So today I am throwing all of them away! WooHoo!

Maybe we'll have to tackle potty training soon. LOL

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

Moo Shu Beef

Ingredients:

1/2 pound deli roast beef, cut 1/8 inch thick

1 tablespoon dry sherry

3 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided

2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup beef broth

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded carrots

1 can (8 ounces) sliced bamboo shoots, drained and cut into thin strips

3 green onions with tops, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Hoisin or plum sauce

8 flour tortillas (7 to 8 inches), warmed

 

Cooking Instructions:

 

Step 1. Cut beef into thin strips. Combine sherry, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ginger, garlic and sugar in large bowl; stir until smooth. Add beef and toss to coat. Marinate 10 minutes.

Step 2. Stir water, broth and remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce into remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch in cup until smooth; set aside.

Step 3. Heat wok over high heat about 1 minute or until hot. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil into wok and heat 30 seconds. Pour egg into wok; tilt to coat bottom. Scramble egg, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Remove from wok.

Step 4. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to wok and heat 30 seconds. Add carrots; stir-fry 1 minute. Add beef mixture, bamboo shoots and green onions; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir broth mixture until smooth; add to wok. Cook and stir 1 minute or until sauce boils and thickens. Cook 1 minute more. Stir in egg.

Step 5. Spread equal amount of hoisin sauce on each tortilla. Spoon beef mixture over sauce. Fold bottom of tortilla up over filling, then fold sides over filling. Transfer to serving plate.

 

(I found this yummy recipe on-line at TLC Cooking.)

Inspiration

There has not been much talk about Twink and her progress or lack of progress in sometime on the blog. Basically there was really not much to blog about. She had been holding steady at the level she was at until recently.


If you've been following Twinks story for sometime hang in here with me for a few minutes as I recap a bit. During the summer Twink transitioned out of EI (Early Intervention) and into our local school district. They have been wonderful so far. Twink started an inclusion preschool this past summer. During that time it was more of a transition time. We really did not see much growth and I was frustrated. In September she started back to the same school, different class, and few of the same therapists. She receives ST 4x a week, OT 3x a week and PT 3x a week. We are now seeing amazing results!

Twink receiving speech therapy 4x a week is definitely helping. She is really starting to talk! Whenever we have to do something that requires us to hold her (brush her teeth, wash her face) she will tell us to "let go". This does not happen once, she will tell us this over and over until we let her go. LOL She tells us when she wants to eat and when she is hungry. She says her name all . the. time. She tattles on SPITFIRE by name and tells her to "go". ;) On Halloween I gave her a piece of candy and she walked over to Daddy and said "I got candy". I asked him if he had heard what I heard and he said yes. I often wonder if I hear words coming from her that are just something I want to hear. So if someone else is around I'll often double check if they heard the same thing. They always hear the same word or phrase. We asked Twink to repeat the sentence and she came out with jumbled words. I did give her another package of smarties and she repeated the sentence "I got candy"! I must say it brought tears to my eyes. There are times when she just busts out with a new word or a sentence. She amazes us.

School asked me to stop in yesterday as her new brace for her arm came in and they wanted to show me how to put it on. Unfortunately the lady that brought the brace in came earlier than expected but luckily it is much like her old one so I already know how to place it on her. When I arrived at school Twink was working at a table with her brace on. I was afraid she would not be able to use her right hand as well as she did previously. The brace is to help keep her hand open and in the correct position. We do not want her hand to contract in a closed position. Twink is still able to take the tops off makers with this brace on. She holds the maker in her right hand (affected) and will pull the top off with her left hand. She never even used to use the right hand. Oh and did I tell you Twink was writing her name with those markers?!?! She can't make the A yet but she can make the LI. Short names people, short names! LOL :) She loves to do anything with arts and crafts.

I was also able to talk with her PT. She would like me to talk with our developmental doctor next month but she thinks it would be a good idea for Twink to be fitted with a brace for her right leg. I've questioned her leg for many months (over a year) but they always wanted to hold off. Actually the dev. doc did have a PT in her office that wanted to see how Twink was doing at her next appointment way back when but she ended up quitting. We will see how things go next month after our visit with her doctor.

To think about all Twink has been through and all she still has to go through is mind boggling. We are her family and we will do everything humanly possible to help her through whatever struggles she faces. She is our inspiration.

Our daughter WILL talk clearly one day! The odds were against her and she is beating them everyday!

Wordless Wednesday