Huh?

The girls helped me put lunch together today. On the menu: peanut butter and honey on a toasted bagel with a nice side of chilled peaches and milk.

Mia is seated at the table waiting for Ali to "serve" her some lunch. Ali hands her sister half a bagel....

Ali: "Bone out the teeth!"
Mia: "Huh?"
Mommy: "Huh?"
Ali: "You know - enjoy your food!"

pause

Mommy: "You mean "Bon Appetite"?"
Ali: "What? That doesn't make any sense!"

So, whatever you are enjoying for lunch - Bone out the teeth!!

Pink Lightning

Today is "Drive-In Movie Day" at Mia's preschool.

Is it surprising to you that Mia's Daddy and Uncle Tom would stay up late constructing the most elaborate rubbermaid race car they could imagine?

No, it didn't surprise me either.

Note the Goodyear racing tires and custom paint.

Pink and sparkly, of course.

Note the LED tail lights (I don't know what that is, either), custom dual exhaust and authentic racing decals.

I painted "Mia" on the back. That was my contribution.

Note a very pleased Miss. Mia

Tids and Bits

My Grandma P. ("Nana" to the great grandkids) in Washington state just turned 90 years old! If I weren't about to become a Mom again, I would be there to celebrate! Love you Grandma!

(Oh, the picture is from my wedding. That's baby Ali (9 months old) snuggling with Nana.)

As I may have mentioned - still pregnant. Check the ticker at the bottom of the blog to see how much longer. (Then add a week or two. Seriously. My babies come late. Sometimes (like right now) it feels like a curse. And pray for my patience which is virtually nonexistant.)

Not to brag or pat my own back (who am I kidding?) - I just received my grade for the first research paper I have written in four years. I got a 97% and am thrilled beyond belief. Joe is likely getting tired of hearing what a genious I think I am. I would talk about myself to Ali, but she repeats everything to her Kindergarten teacher... Seriously though, I have 3 exams and another research paper to complete before the baby arrives so a late baby would actually be a mixed blessing.

That concludes my random bits for now. Lots of love!

Free!

Well, it happened. Mia "Meatball" turned free (three). What an exciting time it was for her and her big sister. Ali was the first to greet her on her special day with, "Guess what Mia?!! You're three today!! Right now!! This very minute!! I bet there are presents for you in the kitchen!!"

So she opened a couple small presents from Mom and Dad and took some treats to share with her friends at preschool. She had dinner at home and Pop-Pop, Grandma, Auntie Lem, Uncle Matt and the cousins joined her for some birthday cake and ice cream.

Are you thinking "what? no big party? no friends?" Well, this Mom is too darn pregnant to manage much planning and entertaining of "free year olds". But a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's is planned for the near future. We will celebrate cousin James' big day at that time also - one party, two "free year olds".
I had every intention of making Mia's chocolate birthday cake myself. I had the mix in the bowl even. When it came time to preheat the oven and get out the cake pans.... I couldn't find them. And I just didn't have it in me to drop to the floor and start rummaging through all the cupboards. I would never have been able to get back up. So I asked Pop-Pop to help me out by picking up a small birthday cake. Pop-Pop, of course, walked past the small birthday cakes and bought the most expensive 7 layer chocolate torte he could find. Mia appreciated it.

She loved the birthday song. She looked at the table and glowed while we sang to her and she managed the candles all by herself (much to the dismay of her big sister who was primed to "show her how").

Delicious.
"Chocolate torte? What chocolate torte? My Mommy and my Auntie don't give me that stuff, I swear. I'm only six months old."

Party Time

The quiet evening at home I had planned for Joe's birthday was unanimously scrapped by the Cuties - who planned (on their own, mostly) a pizza party for Daddy at their favorite cheap pizza buffet. On the day before his birthday. The plan included a balloon, a present with a yellow bow, cupcakes and lots of pizza. And Coke. They specifically asked to have Coke. And it was planned as a Surprise Party, although by the time we got Daddy to the restuarant, I doubt if there was anything left to be surprised by. ("We got you an outfit Daddy, but it's not for your birthday or anything." "We go pizza party now? (5 minutes later...) "We go pizza party now?" (5 minutes later...) You get the idea.)

Joining us for the "surprise" was Auntie Leslie, Uncle Matt, the nephews and Tom. I think the adults ate too much pizza, the kids ate too many cupcakes, and Daddy had a rockin' good birthday.

A Baby Shower!

Some of the lovely ladies who spend their weekend nights with me at the hospital hosted a baby shower for Baby and I at a great little "Taco Stand". Ali accompanied me and we had a great time.

Yep. It's a Sprinkles cupcake. You're not imagining it. And it was good. Really good. Thank you, ladies.

Going Out?

Mia gets herself dressed.

Feedin' the Cuties

When it comes to parenting we all have areas that could use improvement. But this blog entry is not about my failing to remember to have Ali and Mia brush their teeth on the weekends (ewww) or about how we cram a week's worth of Ali's homework into Sunday night (what? that's how I always did it!)... This is about one of those things I consider a "strong point" when it comes to parenting the Cuties. Joe and I make it a priority to eat at home and consider nutrition when meal planning. We may not ALWAYS buy organic produce and dairy, and we do occasionally throw in a frozen Stouffer's or pizza, but I'd say most days we do a pretty darn good job. Here are some of our ideas...

One of our favorite breakfasts is Cream of Wheat with milk and brown sugar. Lots of iron. Yum.

I may have mentioned before that I have issues with cold cereal (thanks to my dear mother), so we start most of our mornings with a hot breakfast. Toast and sugar-free canned peaches. Yogurt and half a bagel. Unfrosted strawberry pop-tart and a banana. And of course - Mia's favorite - Eatmeal (Oatmeal).

Here's a fun lunch. Monkey Sandwiches. Whole wheat hot dog bun spread with peanut butter and a banana.

I like those 100 calorie snack packs. They're quick to throw in the purse when on-the-go. They're the perfect size and the girls are happy because they get cookies. Other snacks we like are apple slices with peanut butter dip, mozzarella cheese sticks and graham crackers with milk.

We try to keep it interesting at dinner time. I have a great quick home-made lasagna recipe that we love. Lately we've enjoyed Yoshida-marinated chicken breast and rice, and Hashbrown Hot Dish ("hot dish" is what you call a "cassarole" if you're from up-north.)

We know we're saving money by eating at home and we enjoy knowing what's in our dinner! If you're interested in a recipe exchange, let me know! We're always looking for new ideas!

This post is dedicated to Miss. Shanita who fed her baby too much take-out and then wrote a really funny post about his throw-up. I hope this was helpful.