help with a translation

Conversation between Ava and Daddy this morning while brushing teeth.

A: Why do we brush teeth?
D: To keep our teeth healthy and our breath smelling good.
A: I don't like you ice cream butt, Daddy.
D: (WTF?) Be quiet.

Your guess is as good as mine.

good friends, good food, and scategories

Last night was a blast. TP, KP, and KP came over for dinner and we ended up playing scategories (I forgot how much I love that game) until 11:00, that's late man, for real. B even got in on the fun and I think she had a good time. It occurred to me that we are extremely lucky to have found such great friends so quickly.

TP also delivered a special package from Anne; tri colored orzo pasta. How great is it that someone I have only met one time IRL thought about me and my need to find another supplier of specialty pasta? Amazing!

Coincidentally I made my orzo for dinner along with chicken on a stick (minus the stick - too lazy), london broil, and a hella lotta fruit. TP and KP brought some very yummy sides and an apple pie that we ate with a three year old sharp cheddar. I think everyone was pleasantly stuffed.

After a little digging I was able to find the pasta people I used to get my orzo from in CO at the farmer's market. Surprise, surprise they now have an online store!


Be advised, it's expensive and good. Proceed with caution.
http://www.pappardellesonline.com/servlet/Search?category=Dried+Flavored+Orzo+Pasta

Some of our faves are...
-Dark chocolate pasta combined with spicy thai noodles served with the thai peanut sauce. Worth every penny, not even kidding.
-Autumn harvest orzo (Chestnut, sage, and pumpkin)
-Portabella mushroom ravioli with sherry, garlic, and onion

those eyes!

I always thought my girls would have my blue eyes. I'm not sure why I thought that exactly, considering my husband has hazel eyes. Of course when they were born they had blue eyes. At a year old they still had mostly blue eyes but something in them was changing. Jer kept telling me they were turning green and I'd keep telling him they were blue. So on and so on.

Sometime during their second year they really changed and have been that way ever since. Their eyes are dark blue around the outside and gradually turn green in the center. They are a perfect mix of my husband and I, and I love them.

girls just wanna have fun

We had a great day yesterday.

In the morning we went and bought a plastic pool. On the way out the door an old guy was getting twine from an employee. He looked at us with our big pool and we had a little conversation about how he bought one too and his wouldn't fit in his truck. I expressed my concern for getting the damned thing into my minivan. He asked where we lived and then offered to throw it in his truck and take it home for us if it didn't fit. I love old guys, they're just swell. Turns out it did fit so we thanked him for his offer and headed home.

We spent most of the day outside "swimming" and lounging.

Then it was time for lunch and naps. I usually try to do something fun with B when the girls are napping. Yesterday I pulled out every beauty product I could think of and we had a spa day. I gave her a mani/pedi and a facial. I have a great picture of B with a green face mask on but I promised I wouldn't put it on the internet. Lily woke up half way through our spa day and then she wanted her own mani/pedi and facial. Luckily I was able to talk her out of the color Midnight in Moscow (black raspberry) in favor of Cha Cha Ching Cherry (red).

Soon all the girls were in on it and we all ended up with fancy fingers and toes. Lily is blowing on her toes to get them to dry, in case you're wondering.

Then when Daddy got home he took us all out to eat at Applebees cause we were so fancy. Okay, so maybe it had more to do with the fact that I said I didn't want to cook, but still it was cute.

sad news

I received an email yesterday from one of my best friends. (The one I posted about having a top secret pregnancy.) She lost her baby.

Understandably she is heartbroken. To make it worse, she is in California on vacation with the kids and her husband is back home in Australia. He will be joining them soon, but for now she is dealing with all of this on her own. It's times like these that I wish I had unlimited resources and could just jet off to be with her and stay as long as she needed me. Unfortunately that isn't the case so all I can do is listen when she is ready to talk and keep her in my prayers.

If we were both back in CO there would be a lot of alcohol, chocolate, and hugging. There would be a constant delivery of casseroles and brownies and wine. There would be lots of free babysitting and kid sleepovers and eventually retail therapy of some sort.

Since we are apart and I'm in WI this week the ladies and I made a little pilgrimage to Holy Hill in honor of my friend J and her angel baby. I cried like an idiot in the beautiful church and said several prayers for my friend.

J, I'm here for you when you need me and I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm baaaack

In WI that is. The girls and I made awesome time and got here right after lunch.

On the agenda this trip...

-Attend cousins grad party in MN on Saturday
-Hold my new baby niece as much as her mother will let me
-Go to Johns Root Beer with the ladies
-Dinner with the IL's
-Visit my grandmother even though she will probably not know who the hell I am
-Go to Holy Hill if weather permits
-Pick up Jer's niece and return to the wonderful state of Ohio, possibly with pie.

how about a song

Just to make your day, one of my favorite songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcRoYuV2Q0

food boredom defeated

I am officially over my period of food boredom. I think I successfully kicked it on Sunday when I made chicken on a stick and spicy thai noodles with peanut sauce. Yum. I don't think I've ever eaten that much chicken in one sitting before in my life and it was great.

Monday I made tuna cakes, spinach, and packaged noodles. The tuna cakes were great, the noodles nobody touched. Serves me right trying to take the easy way out. Ava ate two tuna cakes herself and a huge helping of spinach. I love it when my kids eat without complaint.

Tuesday we had squash casserole. I think I may be addicted. I took a picture this time just so you'd get a different image popping into your head when I say the words squash casserole. I know, I know, it doesn't sound that great right...try it. Try it and you may I say.

Dinner tonight will be Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and onion parm dinner rolls.

In Other News:

-Tomorrow night our friends will be here. My house is not clean. My laundry is done however, so that's something.

-My bathroom is still not painted and every time I try to make myself do it I just can't. You'd think I'd be so excited to be done with the darn thing. And I am don't get me wrong, but it's just so hard to paint something that's new and perfect. I don't want to screw it up.

-You can add another friend to my long list of good friends who are pregnant while I'm not. It's a secret so I won't name names but she doesn't live in Ohio and wasn't at GW. I am thrilled for her (and all of my other friends) but sad for us. Anybody who has dealt with infertility knows how horrible it is to not have control over your reproduction. I am happy I have my girls. I know not every couple who is infertile gets to realize their dream of having a child. But it still stings.

-Ok, when I said my laundry was done I just meant that it's clean and folded, not put away.