Pulling Hair and Other Gram Reflections

Today I was looking at pictures with Claire. We came across some of my Grandma. I told Claire with all fondness that that was her great grandma. And she turned to me and said

"Is she the one that likes to pull hair?"

I guess we need to plan a trip to Gram's sometime soon. Claire says that because I always tell her in the midst of tearful hair brushing that 'your great grandma always says : If you wanna be pretty you gotta suffer'. It's sad to me that really that's what she'll probably take with her about her great grandma, it's sad because she really has a Great great grandma. Who loves her

and her brother.

Who loves family and a good time.

Even though sometimes she's not in the greatest mood, I still love her. And really miss being close by, or close enough to pop over for a bit. (to check if she's in a good mood or not) Or share some toast and tea in the morning at that great table that seats barely 5, or 12 depending on the day.

I don't know how to end this because it's getting kinda sappy, and I can hear her yelling 'For God's sake, I'm not dead yet'. So I'll just say that I love her and I miss her. I hope you have a great grandma who imparts great knowledge, or at least hugs and stability in your life.

*Grandma- if you ever go on the internet and somehow stumble across this I apologize for the pictures of you in your pajamas, and anything I may say that puts you in a bad mood. :)

Something to Smile About

Today Nick said the word 'kite', Claire colored 'in the lines' for the first time and colored an entire space instead of just scribbling.
I took some meds for this awful illness that just won't stop and Jim took a nap.
We are kind of low energy today but enjoying a low key day at home.
What do you have to smile about today?

Things my Brain Wastes Space and Time Thinking

The joy of a gift lies in it's novelty.

Even Better

Gelato in a Popsicle!

Do you think I can convince my Italian husband to take me?
Or is this just ruining Italian ice cream?

Pretty Much It

Nick is cutting teeth, and has a head cold to end all head colds that doesn't allow him to breath at night so he's opted to just stay up... all night. :( I haven't been able to cross anything off my list for almost a week now for some unexplainable reason. Not even the kind where you do the thing and then add it and cross it off all in one step. :( I miss my mommy- intensely lately and August can't come fast enough cause I could also use a big hug from my daddy.
But even after laying all that whining out there, I'm not really feeling defeated or down, just tired- mentally, physically and emotionally.
If I can catch some winks today I think I'll lock myself in the bathroom and force myself to stay there till it's sparkling. And then reward myself with a fresh-out-of-the-oven (all-by-itself) chocolate chip cookie. :)

Where Have We Been?

At the beach, collecting seashells.

And building sand castles.

Coloring Easter eggs by the pool.

Meeting the Easter Bunny.

Helping Grandma furnish her new house.

Playing at the pool.

Enjoying a piece of paradise with Daddy.

Reprogramming

So I arrived home from my two week vacation (which I extended by two weeks) to a house full of mess. I couldn't even believe that I had left it like that just a month ago. And even more surprising, I didn't remember leaving it a mess. I was staying in my in-laws newly acquired, barely furnished house in Florida. It was refreshing. and I guess I sort of lost myself there, the way you imagine you will when you are on vacation but never actually do. I am in the process of 'getting back to reality' and deprogramming.

Getting used to my tiny bathroom that only has one sink and no special door to shut myself away when I'm on the toilet, or just need a moment.
It was cereal for lunch when we arrived home from the airport- I couldn't remember where the bowls were.
Sifting through 237 emails... mostly junk.
Dealing with a mountain of mail... also mostly junk (can I categorize bills as junk too?)

It feels like a wave has hit me and I'm still trying to figure out which way is up. But I'll get there. I am energized, motivated and ready to tackle this adventure that I call 'everyday life'.

Right after I'm done mourning the lack of pool or beach and the 72 degree weather.

Weed Whacker

Recently Claire learned a joke.

What is a skunks favorite sandwich?
Peanut Butter and Smelly!

She does pretty well at telling her joke except she leaves off the first line. So when you ask her to tell you a joke she just screams in her 'punch line voice' "Peanut Butter and Smelly!"

This afternoon because we are cooped up inside because of the rain -we decided to learn a couple new jokes.

I discovered she's actually pretty funny. Our conversations went something like this.

M: Why did the chicken cross the road?
C: because he likes roads
M: Why did the crocodile cross the road?
C: because he wanted to eat the chicken

Then we moved on to knock knock jokes:

M: I say Knock knock
M (whispers): then you say 'who's there'
C: Aunt Ami
M: No you just say the words 'who's there'
C: Aunt Mark
M: No... ok I say Knock Knock then you say who's there then I say Rhoda
C: Rhoda Aunt Mark
M: you are silly.
C: Knock Knock
M: Who's there?
C: Weed whacker!
Conversation dissolves into laughter....

She really is the funniest kid I know.

Tweet, Tweet....

Today was the day to have twitter......

I think there is a bird in my walls.

There is definitely a bird in my dryer vent and he's not happy to be in there.

Would it be horrible to turn the dryer on? Would it just kill the bird and stink everything to high heaven?

Maintenance 'might' make it out 'sometime today'?! Did I mention there is a BIRD IN my dryer vent!?!

Dear bird- I can hear you and you are going the WRONG WAY! Fly toward the light....

Claire is yelling at the bird to 'stop making that creepy noise' - that really forlorn sounding song that calls to your friends to 'get you the heck out of here!!' I wish you had better friends.

OMG now there is definitely more than one bird. Dear bird friends she wanted you to help her out, not join her for a crazy dryer vent party.

The squirrels are now wise to the distress of my birds. They are hanging out under the vent making noise and freaking the birds out. Ugh.

The guys came- and they said "those are some BIG birds" apparently they can fly in and out no problem though. I plan to run my dryer all day and night from now on till they decide it's not a good idea to nest in my dryer vent!

Yet another thing done half-assed by the people who remodeled my kitchen. I need to replace my dryer vent with one those stinking birds can't get into.

Thankfully no nest, cause if they build a nest and lay eggs it's against the law to have them removed and we just have to live with them till they hatch and fly the coupe. (it's a $10,000 fine to disturb them)

No birds. YAY! Now who will replace this dryer vent. Ugh!

Wake Up Call

There are a few things I'd like to blog about
1. making new mommy friends
2. unexpected and very welcome visits from sisters
3. laundry and my hatred for stinky things
4. potty training
5. male giraffes

Most of those come with lovely pictures but since my camera cord is MIA I can't share any of them with you thus taking the wind out of my posting sails.
So instead I'll share a quick story about my mom from this morning.

Last night my darling son woke me at 1am- as he has for the past two nights. He fussed, Claire woke and Nick and I moved to the couch where he finally settled down and fell back asleep around 4am.
At 6am the construction started outside, and the window in the living room was open so it sounded like they were in the room with me. And I was too tired to get up and close it but Nick decided that it was time to get up. So he settled in for a rousing puzzle session on my phone.
At 7:30am Nick realized that it was only 4am in WY and figured that would be a great time to call GB and chat54. Thankfully she was on call at the hospital so it wasn't the end of the world.
So Nick woke both his mom and his grandma at 4am this morning.

I know that was not really the most exciting blog post but I needed to update so there you have it a moment from my not so exciting life. :)

E is for..

Elephant!

and no Elephant is complete without a handbag to carry her peanuts.
(This elephant's name is Uncle Alex) :)

I'm really having a ton of fun with these letter animals, and Claire has been playing with them for way longer than I would have thought construction paper animals would last in this house. If I'd known I may have made them from fun foam.

D is for

Daddy and Dinosaur: Jim took some time on his day off to do the Letter of the Day with Claire. It just happened to be D like daddy. They made dinosaurs out of the letter and then played with them for quite some time while I made dinner. It was really sweet to get to listen in on their play from the kitchen. My kids are super lucky to have such a great Daddy.

Dinner: Dinner tonight was stirfry? - any vegetable that was in my crisper with some soy sauce and ginger over rice.

More Productive Procrastination

To everyone outside my world this may seem productive. But really my sink is full of breakfast and lunch dishes and if I'm totally honest there may be some dinner dishes from yesterday there too. My laundry while somewhat under control is in need of some folding. And my floors, well the hardwood that I swear I remember we have somewhere under all the mess need mopping. But -

The frames are on the wall!

There is an extra frame, *thanks for the suggestion/advice Aunt Minnie.
They are NOT above the dining table since Jim saw the previous post and went 'you are gonna put them there? Really?'
They are not level.. I know this, but I did not have time (ha ha ha) to level them. Another day perhaps.
There are some empty frames because we want to leave room for some inspiration.
(the bird-looking thing on the left is a pigeon in case you were wondering)

Let Me Paint You a Picture

Today I looked around my bedroom and decided I had to finish some of my half-done or partly dreamed up projects before I get to start any new ones... So the top of the project box had these frames on it. I got the frames around Christmas from my most amazing aunt. Claire and I were really excited and quickly realized that perhaps we needed to put them in a different place since we had so many and they were so great. So I thought-and thought about it, and they gathered dust in my bedroom project pile box.
And after I decided that they did need to go above the table I then had to figure out how to place them eclectically but still neat and orderly; hip and trendy yet still traditional to go with the rest of our decor. So I thought-and thought about that too.
NOW is the time. I have purchased the hangers for every frame and when the weekend rolls around I will hang them! on the wall!

So here I need some help.

I arranged them in a million different ways, if I were better at math I could tell you the count for the countless possibilities of arrangements.
Instead I will show you some of the ones we like. And by we I mean the 1 yr old, 3 yr old and the designer duck that I consulted with for this project.

Which do you like best? The more responses I get the more likely it is that Monday will arrive with these hung on the wall, and pictures of this completed project on here. So suggest away-

What do you like? What don't you like?

Which do you like best?
I thank you, Claire thanks you, Nick thanks you and the duck thanks you.

Where Was I? OH Yes, Canada!

So we drove for a little bit before we crossed the St. Lawrence into Montreal. (yes that's the lovely picture above that I took of the lovely city on our approach) We arrived at our hotel and got settled after some overflow issues. (overbooking so we got one bed instead of two, and parking further away since the regular lot was full) The kids went right to bed and didn't wake up until 8am. (This was a GREAT vacation) We took some time getting ready and spent a lot of timelooking out our 25th floor window, who knew bendy buses and commuter trains could be so fun?!
After an overpriced buffet breakfast we set out. First stop the Biodome! (a very large greenhouse or similar structure with a controlled internal environment in which plants and animals from regions are kept in conditions similar to nature or much warmer or colder) The biodome in Montreal was a big hit. The animals were right there for the kids to look for and find and there was plenty of room to run around (surprisingly it was not very crowded).

The puffins were the cutest, they would come right up to the glass and follow the kids, Claire was making faces at one of them and every time she would make a face it would puff up it's feathers. :)
Also they had capibaras and I got to sound all informed (thanks Sara!). I was really surprised to see just how big they were. The kids had a blast seeing everything and 'using' the binoculars.

But our adventures weren't over yet. Montreal also boasts the tallest leaning structure in the world. Conveniently it is located right next door to the biodome. So UP we went, WAY up!

In that second picture is the botanical gardens, the second largest if I remember right. But we didn't do that this time, cold weather and all. Largest bonsai collection according to my friend Steph's research.

After this much activity we just wanted to sit down and eat, maybe a nap?

Baguettes for all!

After lunch we wandered around in what we think was the underground city. But everything seemed to be closed (it was a Sunday?).
Time to think about home. Claire really wanted to go back to the hotel and swim, too bad we had already checked out. :(
On our way out of the city we caught a bit of Old Montreal. Just enough to make us want to come back again when it is warm so we could wander the streets and explore the little shops and things.

Home again, Home again. So soon. Even though I was apprehensive in the beginning it turned out to be the perfect little weekend excursion.

French Road Trip

So I looked up brioche, I found a recipe- but also a review that said it was a gooey, messy and fattening bread. While delicious I decided to go a different direction to explore my French-ness. How about Canada! They speak French there.
OK so it happened like this. Jimmy woke up and said 'what should we do today' then he sat down at the computer and about 5 min. later he says 'let's go to Montreal'. Any other person might have discounted this as just a dream out loud. But with Jimmy I knew he was serious. I protested, worried about the long travel time, the not knowing what we would even do up there with two kids and so forth. He persisted and I started packing, because when he gets this way if you don't pack you'll end up in a foreign country with no underwear or toothbrush or worse, no diapers. After a quick google search for things to do in Montreal- and a check of some logistical things you need to do in order to leave the country.
We hit the road! For Canada!
On the way up the kids were wonderful, sleeping, playing together, just spectacular.
And when dinner time rolled around we were looking for a place to stop and I saw signs for Glen Falls, I thought to myself that my friend Steph lives there... oh wait that's Hudson Falls... oh well. The next sign said Hudson Falls! YAY. So we called them up and met them for dinner. It was so good to get to visit with friends and see their little girl, who is adorable. At that point I could have just turned around and gone home, my weekend was significantly full of good surprises. But onward we went.
When we crossed the border the crossing agent was surprised we were coming to Canada... in the middle of winter... when it is -4 with the windchill. But that's how we are.
I missed most of the entry into Canada because it was about 1am and I was fighting sleep; Jim was driving cause he loves me like that :)
This is getting really long. I'll continue our adventures later... I promise the next one will have pictures.

Totellini Soup

For Christmas my loving husband got me a genetics test. (yeah it's kinda like the car seat covers) But I spit in a test tube and sent it away anyway (thanks Ami) and now many weeks later I get the results. It tells me what drugs may work best or not at all for me. It tells me that Nick had only a 22% chance of having blue eyes (and confirms once and for all that he's my son, so Jim will finally let it rest) (I guess it was a gift for me after all) :)
It also tells me where 'My People' come from. This is very important to my husband and his family... and most of NYC. I never gave it much thought before I got married and then I moved here and everyone, and I do mean everyone, wants to know 'what you are'. A question that would offend many elsewhere in the country, but here it's like asking what someone does for a living.
And everyone has an answer.. except me. I admit the first time I was asked I might have pretended not to hear the question cause I didn't know how exactly to answer. Then I went with a simplified 'German/Polish mix' answer... but then they wanted to chat about what that meant.. like what special holidays, customs, traditions we had... and they didn't appreciate the 'dancing in a pig trough' answer and since I have never been to either Germany or Poland I had little to add and felt almost embarrassed.
So now I can just tell them that I am English, German, French, a little Swedish and wait for it....

Italian.

Now I am not convinced of the accuracy of these tests since it also discounts any Native American connections. (If you have info about this I'd love to hear it) (like that I've been lied to for years about my ancestry)
But it's interesting none the less and I have chosen to explore what it means to me though food. So tonight we explored my Italian roots (which this test seems to think comes from my grandmother) (Does Gram Lane strike you as Italian?) (Weinzierl--sounds Italian to me).
I made Tortellini Soup! It was really good. I will make it again.
I think I'll try French next-- Brioche anyone?

#3 Check!

3. Visit the Long Island Children's Museum

Say AHHH

Mommy- what IS this stuff?

They are talking to each other, right after this Claire and a little girl named Kate got into a debate about favorite princesses and best snow activities (Kate thinks snow angels, Claire is a fan of the snowman; they agreed to disagree.)

I did however drop the ball on pictures of Nick making HUGE bubbles, and Claire putting herself inside a bubble. But hey, sometimes you just need to live the moment and keep the memories in your mind :) They usually look better there anyway.

Beef and Barley Stew

I am not a food blogger. But those around and close to me have of late been cooking an oddity for our family, but they look like they are doing a pretty good job, strangely enough. It is not that we can't cook, we can. We cook, we bake, we do it all, we just don't do it often. So after reading their blogs I was inspired to plan some 'real meals' for my family this coming week. We started tonight with a beef and barley stew. Barley was a new ingredient for me, I'm not sure that I cooked it properly as it was bit chewier than I expected it to be, but still good.
Not being a food blogger I have looked at several to help me cover this genre here properly. So I find that one thing they all have are pictures. So I took some, I did not stage all my ingredients as some do because well, I don't get all my ingredients out at once and I put them away as soon as I am done using them, otherwise I'd never have a 'clean' kitchen.
So here's what it looked like as a stew without the barley and then after I added the barley.

I also found in my research that they give great facts about some key ingredients. so here goes;
barley is comparable to wheat products as far as health benefits however it differs by having both soluble and insoluble fiber, while wheat only has the latter.
I used Thyme and Oregano as spices for this recipe but apparently you can use whatever you have lying around. I really like the flavor of thyme, I plan to use more of it in ALL my recipes, how do you think it would taste in pancakes?
After looking at several food blogs I also felt that there was something missing from their coverage of the food.
What was missing is the shots of the people reacting, interacting and enjoying the food. So I'm here to fill that gap.

This stew was particularly good paired with chocolate milk boxes.

After some testing it was determined that putting barley up your nose is not the best way to get more fiber into your system. It is also kind of sticky so it doesn't come out all that easily.

As a general review:
You may like it so much you feel the need to either attack it or bow before it.
Either way it was an amazing stew.

The perfect end to the meal is a homemade chewy granola bar filled with almonds, cranberries, sunflower seeds and peanut butter.

gap filled : you are welcome food blogging community.

A Note About our Uneventful Lives

Other than the recent wedding and the drama that came with it, life here has been rather uneventful, I have not accomplished anything off of my list of things I want to accomplish these next two months, I have not made any interesting foods, bought any girl scout cookies or done any laundry.
With this recent cold snap keeping us housebound I have had to dig deep in my bag of tricks to find new, engaging and stimulating activities to keep us all sane.
We have begun having almost daily car washes in our kitchen

And have enjoyed the occasional Christmas gift as is straggles into our house. That's right folks, the two gifts that got the greatest reaction from my daughter this year were a pair of pink corduroy pants and a box full of empty picture frames. I'm officially giving up on buying her anything for next year.

Nick is keeping busy potty training himself, off and on. You gotta do what you gotta do I guess.

Life is good here, we wish it were warmer so we could at least go for a walk and get fresh air without our lungs getting frostbite but, hey you win some, you lose some I guess.
Keep warm out there.

My 'Amazing' Weekend

So this past weekend my roommate Rachel from college got married. It was an amazing time full of friends who I haven't seen in too long and laughter and most importantly love.


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Ugh. I have such mixed feeling about this weekend and how it all turned out and how some people handled it but on the other hand I got to hug all over the most wonderful baby ever, spend time with girls who can make me laugh so hard I tear up and recharge a little bit.
I guess I underestimated how drained I was from just the stresses and the seclusion that typify my daily life now. I am definitely feeling more relaxed and focused going into this week. (weather that's a good thing or not, only time will tell)

My Three Kids

Some toys just need a video to show just how much fun they truly are.

Dinner Revisited

Remember how I said we had Sausage and Peppers with penne for dinner yesterday. Well Claire was revisited by it this morning. (read 4am)
Now everyone is up, the carpet stinks and I have the feeling it's going to be a long day.
Upside: Claire says her tummy feels better so hopefully all the explosions are over , I am getting lots of laundry done this AM and hopefully the kids will nap this after noon so I can catch some shut eye too.

From the Dinner table

Tonight as we ate dinner around the table (which yes, had some laundry folded on top of it that I am 'planning' to put away sometime well... maybe tomorrow). ANYWAY, after a moment of silence Claire dropped her head to the table and in her robot voice said 'Must sleep at the dinner table'. After she sat with her head down for about 45 second I asked 'what are you doing Claire' and Nick shhh-ed me- with his little finger up to his lips and everything! Claire told me she was sleeping and we we all sat for a bit till Claire 'woke up' and began eatting as if nothing had happened. Has someone been hypnotizing my children?
Dinner was penne with sausage and peppers tonight.

Dinner?

Does it make me a bad mother that my oldest just ate an entire small bag of jellybeans from possibly two Easters ago? And she hasn't eaten dinner yet... Jellybeans for dinner it is then.
How was your family dinner?

"When Nick is a Girl" -Claire

If I ever have another little girl I will celebrate her second birthday with a ballerina party and I'll send out invitations with little frilly tool tutus on them and I'll do a two-two party! How cute is that... why didn't I have this idea when Claire was still little? and why is Nick a boy.. would it be mean to have a two-two party for him? He won't even remember...
OK sisters I have your first born girl's second birthday completely planned... down to the thank you notes and cake.... Love you all!