Sunday, January 31, 2010

Theme Night: It's the Grammy's!

Every so often we do a dinner that has a theme behind it ... the Oscars, The Olympics (Bi-Annually), Chinese New Year, and always THE GRAMMY'S!

Now I love music, not playing it, mind you, nor singing it (though I fancy myself once heck of a singer my kids tell me that is definitely NOT the case) and the Grammy awards are always an event to be celebrated in our house. On our menu tonight, to honor some of our favorites from this year we have:

Louisana Gumbo with a shot o' whisky (Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King)

Southern Style Black Eyed Peas (Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.)

Onion Rings (Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put a RING on it))

Balsamic Glazed Baby Carrots (MGMT, Kids)

Popcorn (Black Eyed Peas, Boom Boom Pow - which is what happens when I make popcorn)

Champagne (Michael Bubbly - oops I mean Buble)

Creme Brulee (Katy Perry, Hot and Cold)

The countdown has started! I'd better get to cookin'!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Hey Junebug

Glad to meet you over the holidays. You are especially squishable, lovely baby. Hoping your mama's interviews are going well~~~

Slow Down!

She'll be one soon. She is taking little baby steps when she thinks no one is looking. She applauds herself when she makes it more than three in a row. She applauds me sometimes when I change her diaper... it is nice to be appreciated. She lunges at her brother and sister when they get close enough to give them great big sqeeeezy hugs. She loves to push this little blue IKEA stool around the house as fast as she can, chasing me, the dog, her dad...anyone. She usually gets stuck in the laundry room, though, those inward shutting doors are tough to navigate. Her favorite toy is her Glow Worm that auntie got her for Christmas... she hugs it and pats it on the back like a real baby. She still sleeps with us, always touching. Sometimes she still climbs up on my chest and presses her little face in mine while she sleeps. It is sweet, but makes it hard to breathe. Today, she learned to bite. It is flying by in the blink of an eye.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sleepovers

G has been sleeping over at her friends' houses since she was 3. The first time she was a bit nervous, but she still stayed the entire night. She loves going over to her friends' houses, but what she loves even more is having her friends come over to HER house.

Today she cleaned for two hours, making sure her bedroom was perfect and the basement playroom was picked up in preparation for her BFF to come stay the night. She has stayed over at her BFF's house 3 times now or so, and so now it was her turn. I took the girls out to a movie (just us girls, no baby, no Little Guy) that they chose - The Fabulous Mister Fox. I bought them each a kid popcorn, soda and candy pack (a special treat for G). After the movie, we went to Trader Joe's to pick out food for dinner and to search for the hidden chicken. Much to their delight the girls found the chicken hidden among the dog food and were able to get treats from the treasure chest.

We came back home and I fixed them the apples and macaroni and cheese that they had chosen for dinner. They ran upstairs and got in their PJs, then played on the Wii and in Little Guy's Bilibo toy, and just generally ran amok until 8:30 when it was time to retire.

I pulled out the sleeping bags and moved Little Guy to the guest room so the girls could have some privacy. I got everyone water and tucked them in... BFF decided to sleep in G's bed instead of camping out, so G went to sleep on Little Guy's bed - something she would NEVER consider doing for anyone else.
A few minutes later G came downstairs asking if BFF could use the phone to call her dad. I said "Of Course" and it wasn't until G came downstairs bawling that I realized the call placed wasn't simply a goodnight call. BFF wanted to go home.

G was devastated. This is the 2nd time a friend has bailed on her at bedtime. Always at bedtime. Time for bed! I want to go home. Ugh. G's feelings were so hurt - Why doesn't anyone want to stay with me? she cried Why won't they stay?

I almost started crying with her... that feeling of rejection is painful no matter what age you are - but at six you can't even begin step out of yourself to see the other side of the story. Maybe BFF really did have a headache. Maybe she was just scared. Maybe she really wasn't having fun (though it seemed like she was)... I don't know.

I remember being a kid and I never skipped out on a sleepover - except that one time when I ended up with a raging fever at 2 am. I was eight. G is just like me in that respect - too afraid of hurting the host's feelings to leave, even if she wanted to.

So I just don't get it - and worse - I don't know WHAT to tell G to make her feel better... except we can try again another time... another time that will be filled with the fear of another bailout.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

holiday card photos

these were on our card this year. there are also a few that were holiday card rejects... just because I couldn't fit everything in and make it look the way I wanted it to this time.








Thursday, January 7, 2010

Mondays

On Monday I drove G to school - the first day back from winter break and Mister (her usual chauffeur) had overslept, so I put on my robe, hopped in the car and drove her to school. When we got there, the place was kinda... dead. I walked her in to the front office thinking we were late - but it turns out there was no school that day. I know this because the principal told us to go home and go back to bed. We were a day early. Ugh.

Whale Sharks

G says "Why do Whale sharks swim in salt water? - Because pepper water would make them sneeze!"

resolutions

this year I resolve to:

1. Learn some family recipes by heart.
2. Tie up loose ends and finish some half completed projects that are languishing around me.
3. Drink more water.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Best of 2009

Every year I keep a "Best of..." list on the side of the refrigerator so I don't forget the things that really strike my fancy. I started this in 2005 with the intention of making a box of best ofs for each of my relatives, but when I started adding mp3 players and companies and the names of children and babysitters to the list, I realized that this would be quite impossible. So, I will share the top 15 of my 2009 list with you virtually instead :)

1. Little L - my precious baby.
2. Hamilton Beach Brew station Coffee maker - Mister and my mom both got me coffee makers this year - hers was the thermal carafe maker that I asked for explicitly and his was the brew station, where it brews a vat of coffee, keeps it warm without burning it from the bottom like regular coffee makers do, then dispenses it a cup at a time like a soda machine does. Ah technology.
3. Cellular Blinds - so I traded the brew station form my mom in for some cellular blinds. I repainted the dining room and now it is a nice, neutral white and picked up these cordless, insulating, soft light-creating wonders from Target. These are a must for anyone with single pane windows and/or small children.
4. Indestructibles books for babies - these books are chew proof, tear proof, machine washable and actually feel like real paper. Quite amazing...
5. Goldenseal, Echinacea and Schizandra extracts & Elderberry Syrup - saved us from the Swine Flu. Seriously.
6. Pampers Sensitive Newborn Swaddlers with the indicator stripe - When my babies were newborns - I am talking the first week to 10 days - there were often worries about how often they peed, since urination and defecation are signs of working internal systems. With G we had to put bits of tissue paper in her diaper to see if she was wetting since the diapers were so absorbent we couldn't always tell. With Little L they had these awesome diapers at the hospital which had a yellow stripe on the outside of the dipe that turned green when the baby hat wet. They were AWESOME - one less thing to worry about. They are available now at your local big box store - under the title of Pampers Sensitive Newborn Swaddlers.
7. Bolthouse Farms Yogurt salad dressings - I am always on the lookout for healthier salad dressing options, and these are the very best yet.
8. The Georgia Aquarium - we became members this year and have been to the "fish museum" at least five times since April.
9. The Entertainment Book - previously a skeptic of this product, in 2009 I went ahead and got one on clearance for $10 in June. Throughout the summer and fall we embarked on many excursions we wouldn't have considered otherwise - like ice skating in July. This year there is a coupon for 30% off Aquarium memberships - a deal we will be using when ours expire.
10. Yellow Pear Tomatoes - these yellow darlings grew in our "garden" last summer. ... I have no idea where the seeds came from since I had never seen this type of tomato before, but they sure were delicious!
11. Bookswim - after racking up enough late fees at the library to but at least 20 books, I found this Netflix-style book rental company. I am currently reading 3 books a month or so - way less than my maximum reading capability, but way more than before since it saves a trip to the library.
12. Lady GaGa - Just Dance.
13. Netflix Queues for individuals - Now we all get movies on our own timetables!
14. Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets at Costco - Kids love em, they are fairly clean, ingredient-wise, and 5 lbs foe $13 is a pretty good deal.
15. Sun Crystals - I am trying to reduce my sugar consumption so this Stevia leaf substitute sweetens my coffee in the morning now.