Can't put my finger on it . .

I can't quite name this expression. But I think it's so funny. It could be the, "oh no, here comes that lecture I've heard a million times" face. Maybe this is the face I'll see when trying to pass a fishy story as truth and waiting for the verdict. Maybe it's just a "holy cow that flash is bright!" face. But any way, I loved it. I love Robby too. He's the best. Can't wait to see this face again.

All of us in wonderland

That's what Kate calls Alice in Wonderland. And I just think it's fitting, because Alice isn't the only one who lives in that nutty world. At our house we can from completely composed to utter chaos and back again in 30 seconds flat, sometimes we linger a bit in chaos mode.

While we're on the subject of puns, here's one...

Kate was downstairs, I was upstairs. I hear her yelling for me, "Mom, mom, I made thai food!" I'm thinking, she made thai food? Does know what that is? Then I saw her and realized she did make 'tie' food! I cracked up and took a picture.















Can't leave this post without some Rob. Here he is, showing us his moves in the exersaucer and telling me a story. I just adore this boy. He's the sweetest thing and so easy to love. He just lays his head on my shoulder and snuggles. There's nothing in a million years that would entice Kate to do something so calm, they are so different and i love them both.

Stock up

Just a few thoughts....

Preparing homemade chicken stock is as close as I'll ever get to creating a beautiful painting or designing a gorgeous home. I don't feel too bad because there is something about it that transcends time, in the same way a classic black and white photo will tell a story with similar emotions whether taken in 1900 or 2000. When I'm preparing this stock, I can envision a post-war european finally able to procure meat and herbs to put together a healthful and filling meal. I visualize sturdy homesteaders of the early west using salt like mine to preserve what precious little meat they would have through sweltering heat and bitter winters. When I'm "roughly chopping" the carrots and throwing in handfuls of untrimmed herbs I feel a connection to those who have lovingly and thoughtfully prepared meals for their families for all of time.

Where skill level inhibits my enjoyment of creativity in areas like drawing and painting, cooking has given me license to imagine and explore. Plus who can argue that the satisfaction of a great grilled cheese or a perfectly cooked steak is hard to beat.

eyes wide shut

Besides the moment of exhaustion at the end of the day, the words , 'say cheese' are the only other stimulus to which Kate will voluntarily close her eyes. Our pictorial records are going to reflect something completely opposite of the little girl who heads through life with eyes wide open. She's a noodle when it comes to pictures. Proof:

Do you don't like it?

That's kate's favorite question to ask Robby. Roughly translated it means, "are you okay? you seem a little tense." She asks it of him even when he's cool as a cucumber, but she's just checking in. (In the 2nd video below, she says the phrase correctly, but I wish she had said it as she usually does as printed in the title above.)

These two are my peanut butter and jelly; their constituents are completely different but somehow just work together. It's so enriching to have that contrast in our home; Kate's the jalapeno and Robby's the milk. I guess the third will just have to take a role as the dessert. (Do you like how all my analogies are food-related? And once again, I am not pregnant)

Here's a little demonstration of their interaction thus far, and this video is not atypical. What a treat to watch their little relationship develop.








By the way, kate's not in emo training, we're just trying to let her hair recover after the recent "friendly fire" incident. As a result, her hair is a little scraggly.

Unexpected

No I'm not pregnant. But I did want to give a shout out to the (older) man in my life for enabling one of the best weekends I've had in ages and it was all so unexpected.

1. Happy Hour at Chevy's with the girls, Robby and Ry

Yummy, cheap (we got out for $11), and fun because they give the kids tortilla dough to play with and we had good company with my sisters.

2. Shopping sans kids

After our happy hour with the girls, out of the blue, Ryan offered to watch the kids so I could go do whatever I wanted. Whatever I wanted .... I seriously had to think for a few minutes because usually free moments are filled with calls to insurance, emptying the dishwasher, or vacuumming my stairs,and those are definitely not things I want to do. Well those moments of pondering how I would spend that free time led me to one thought: I love to shop. When I hear someone say, "I don't like shopping" I just feel sad. But I don't love shopping with kids. It's not fun and not rewarding at all. I have abandoned ship and left full carts in the middle of grocery stores before. I don't even attempt clothes shopping unless they show movies, or have a built-in babysitter, or they're both sleeping in the cart which doesn't ever happen and that's why I never go.

So I went shopping with Audrey at Nordstrom Rack (not kid friendly in any way), found some killer deals and made Audrey stay until we were the last customers, not a moment was wasted.

3. Grammy babysits

Ryan's mother watched Kate for several hours and allowed Ryan and I some much needed cleaning time. Not exciting, but needed. We have almost cleared our house of all junk, although Ryan may not agree as he labeled half of Kate's toys as junk. It felt good.

4. Bill Cosby

We got a surprise call from Ryan's mother saying she had an extra ticket to see Bill Cosby in a stand-up show. Um, maybe second to shopping on my list of things I love is Bill Cosby. Okay that's a stretch, but I really do have a deep and abiding love for the Cosby show, I crack up every time I watch it. And I got to see him, live!

It was painful. By that I mean I was in pain from laughing so hard. I cried and doubled over, slapped my leg, threw my head back, all of those uncontrollable gestures that come when something is truly funny. I got to see his "at the dentist routine." It was the best.

5. Family Dinner

Yogurt marinated chicken and veggie kabobs, bacon and red onion potato salad, strawberry spinach salad, tres leches, and gougeres (french rolls to die for). I think every world culture was represented with our dinner menu and it was delish.

Thank you in every way to my husband for his generous donation of time and love to our kids. I felt so rejuvenated and loved as well. Thanks to Karen for all her kindness and generosity as well. And thanks to Audrey for sticking it out to fill a shopping desire long-abated.

I had to laugh when my brother asked Ryan how his weekend was and he said it seemed kind of long...

My new bff

Mmmm with triscuits. Yummy with pears. Mouthwatering to look at. Tasty off your finger. Snofrisk cheese from Norway. You'll like it too. (Although not helpful in a calorie-counting situation.)