Heavy Lifting

I spent a chunk of Saturday morning doing some cookin' and the little guy was keeping me company on the other side of the room. I suddenly realized that he was talking up a storm and moving around a lot, too. Although "plums and forklifts" seems like an assignment for the stuff of dreams, apparently they also lend themselves to some creative activity.

This picture is actually a staged "after" shot (you can see the eviscerated fruit!), but I wanted to show that the plums were originally just hanging out on the far end of the table:

He then would poke the forklift spears into a plum, hold it up in the air, and proceed to the opposite end of the table for a landing:

Looks thrilled to be demonstrating the hoisting power, huh?!

Carrie S. arrived shortly afterward to have lunch and hang out for the afternoon. She was treated to the next purpose determined by B for the forklift: trying to help me scoop up the pizza dough. Yeah, go back to the plums, sir. Pizza dough placement is serious business!!

Here We Go Again!

Today marks the first day of the 2010-2011 school year for the BG. To make sure he was prepared fully for the challenges ahead, we ran two quick post-church errands yesterday.

Behold the critical items:

1) An academic year desk calendar.

And...........

2) Shaggy Ball Guy II
For the BG's birthday a few weeks ago, I took the little guy to the classiest of joints, Five Below, to select items by which to honor his paternal unit's increasing age. (I totally recommend this plan, by the way--especially if, like us, you aren't into making a big deal out of birthday prezzies.) One of the treasures that he selected was a green version of this creature. Since a round, squishy object with tentacles is called a "shaggy ball" in these parts, this new addition quickly received the title of Shaggy Ball Guy.

SBG has really become part of the family. He gets taken in the stroller on walks and in the car on rides and B always holds him up to show him things. He even went to the football scrimmage Friday night:

It quickly became apparent that the SBG Version 1.0 was going to remain in the household, but the teacher who lives here had grown to love its rubbery companionship and wanted one for the classroom. Hence our trip to buy Version 2.o-- in school colors, no less!

Anyway, back to that scrimmage. The street urchin and I trekked over there as a dry run to learn whether he's better about sitting still and actually watching the game. (Answer: No.) But since there weren't too many people there, it all worked out and I think he had a lot of fun!

Immediately before the scrimmage began, I noticed most of the coaching staff all lined up on the sideline. See how those two young whippersnappers on the left don't have their shirts tucked in? If you think I didn't say something about that to them at Saturday night's party for the coaching staff and families, then you don't know me very well! Consistency is key, people!! :-)


Oh, and in case you're wondering where the BG is...um, yeah. Here was our view of him:

He's a "scan the whole field and call the plays" kind of Defensive Coordinator. It's a good thing he's not a "yell inappropriate things" kind of coach since, by sitting in the section of bleachers directly under the press box, we could hear everything coming out of his mouth. Brooks kept saying, "I want to go up and see my Daddy saying all those words!"

Hope you're having a great first day of school, Mr. Loyal Lurker of this Blog!

And Now is When I Lose All My Gentlemen Readers...

....because, my friends, we need to discuss the dullest piece of lingerie out there: the slip.

I wore my "it would make even a skinny teenager look pregnant" dress yesterday (which, sure enough, generated a "Wow! You look REALLY preggers!" comment from the BG when he got home), and as I flipped my head upside down to blowdry my hair, I realized the light streamed right through the black dress fabric even with the built-in liner. As the daughter of a good Texan mother, I simply walked over to my dresser drawer and selected the shortest of my 3 beige slips to help block out the offensive light.

Yes, I said 3. I also have 2 different lengths of black ones, and I'm pretty darn sure all 5 were indeed purchased by Sheils when I was in high school. (And, yes, several of them strain credulity on the concept of still "fitting"!) All of these slips in question are half slips only; I never really understood the purpose of the camisole top.

So the question must be posed: what are your slip-wearing habits? Be sure to get in your vote on today's super important poll!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Future Bodybuilder

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Sorry, just had to chuckle for a second there.

I REALLY hope my dear brother hasn't left yet for his weekend jaunt so that he can read my mind and know what line he is supposed to quote in response to this picture.

(Oh, and the yellow-and-red shorts with stars were upon request by the young sir!)

Easy Giggles

Many months ago, I started asking B, "What did you dream about?" when I'd get him up in the morning. I have no idea whether he even knows what a dream is, but he'd more often than not respond with "Choo-choos!" So I continued to ask him every day and enjoy his occasionally varied responses. (Of course, I don't actually remember any of those alternative early answers because, let's face it, I'm pretty much losing my mind memory.)

More recently, I changed it up a little bit because we've learned how much he loves to memorize things. So now I always tell him two random things that he's supposed to dream about. It began as an experiment to see if he would remember the bits of info over his 12ish-hour slumber but has quickly grown into quite the entertaining game for him. He now informs me quite adamantly each night that I need to tell him his two things, and always grins giddily when he repeats them back to me in the morning!

I just got him up from a nap and he cheerfully proclaimed that he had, in fact, dreamed once again about chickens and merry-go-rounds. As I pondered putting this to "paper" since I was blog-less today, I realized I could remember only half of Monday night's combo. So I asked him if he remembered the other thing he dreamed about 2 nights ago besides bulldozers. Duh, he seemed to say. "Goldfish!"

I'm all about cheap entertainment so I just thought I'd pass along this little routine in case anyone is looking for something fun to do. (Why do crafts or play outside when you can just PRACTICE MEMORIZING? Who's a nerd?!) I've settled into a pattern of choosing 2 things that have nothing to do with each other and are generally from the vehicle/food/animal categories.

Dragons & Broccoli. Ostriches & Flatbed Trucks. You know-- normal things! ;-) Happy dreaming!

A Common Sight

I find several of these kinds of shots a day on my camera!! Someone is a bit self-centered when it comes to photography!

Ready for Kickoff!

The BG survived the week of 2-a-day practices (teacher in-service starts today, and classes start next Monday), and B and I trekked over to the school for the season kickoff dinner after practice ended on Saturday afternoon. Brooks was super excited to score his own wee football. He also was super excited to throw it at random people--or the floor--and proclaim, "I'm the quarterback!" Um, right, kid. Like you have anything but soccer in your future as a fall sport! ;-)

Fabulous at Forty

August 22, 1970

We love you, Mumsie & Daddyrags! (AKA Grammie & Opa!)

A Real Squeaker

Closest.Poll.Ever.

BUT.....I didn't vote! So if I add my vote to the ALWAYS category then, my friends, we have a winner! All members of the winning category may send me a check for $50 and I will send you a personalized team T-shirt.

I'm thinking "Watch Me Wear a Watch" with maybe some googly eyes looking at a big wristwatch. Or, you know, something like that.

Whaddya think??

:-)

Friday Tidbits

1) Wow, it's a tight race in the watch poll!

2) The greens in question were Sweet Potato Leaves which are supposedly chock-full of Vitamin A. They tasted much like any other green. You know....healthy! ;-)

3) B rode his first merry-go-round yesterday. He seemed to enjoy it, although no more than the escalators and elevators he also got to ride while we were at the mall!

4) Do you know about Chipotle's fab new kids meals? I first saw them on the menu when I was in Boston, and then Lindsey spotted them in Colorado. They were slow to arrive at our local establishments but they are here finally! The below cheese quesadilla meal (which, granted, included rice and beans that were not touched by the eater but were certainly added to my burrito bowl leftovers) cost $3.05. What a deal!

5) It is an adventure worth taking to drive 24 miles (each way) to "our" brand new Sonic for afternoon bevvies. Even when there's a 30-minute wait just to get into a stall to place an order!

6) Wife FAIL. Tried to bring home a cherry limeade for the BG and keep it cold in a cooler. Here's what we found when I got home:

Oops.

Happy Friday!

Double Question Time!

Question 1:
What is this mystery produce item?? (If for some reason I told you about the interesting addition to our farm share last week--or you were with me when I got it!--you are not allowed to answer!)

Here's a look at it sauteed up with some olive oil and garlic:

Seeing my wrist in the top picture brings me to Question 2. We were at the tot lot the other day and a women asked for the time. She then said that I was the first woman she'd seen in a long time who was actually wearing a watch. I guess most peeps use their phones now? Share your time-telling habits with me by responding in the poll!!! (And yeah, I know it's not a fascinating topic, but sometimes it's good to be interactive! ;-)

So Sweet

(His blood, that is.)

This kid definitely takes after me in the "favored by mosquito" department. Check out the two whoppers on the side of his head:

He also currently has 8 bites on one leg and 9 on the other. And these are just from being outside for brief amounts of time. Anyone have a good rec for a kid-safe bug spray?

From the Kitchen Files

Haven't done a recipe-related post in awhile...

We've now made this Pizza Margherita twice recently since it's a different kind of spin on summer's bounty of tomatoes and basil. Both times, I've made the crust linked from the recipe rather than the other standard pizza dough I usually make. This crust uses a lot less yeast and flour and makes a much thinner, crispier crust which is a nice contrast to the fresh and gooey toppings!

And after making some peach ice cream over the weekend (well, more like vanilla ice cream with icy peach chunks!), we finally did a cobbler. I know I could've just thrown the blackberries into any standard peach cobbler recipe, but I decided to use this one since they were already included! The use of honey rather than sugar is a bit unorthodox, I guess, but it's pretty tasty!

(Note: I made only half the recipe. Peeling peaches is kinda tedious!)

Hope you've all been doing some good eatin' in your kitchens, too!

Cooling Off

We embarked on one more quick adventure Friday before Grammie headed home. After blistering heat earlier in the week, the 75-degree weather brought on by Thursday's rainstorms felt amazing in our fair state's quaint capital city.

A little snap with the state house (or as B decreed, "the Empire State Building") in the background:

We didn't really have a plan but swiftly changed that as soon as we were reminded of the classic greasy-spoon "Delly" on Main Street. Someone needed no convincing to have a chocolate milkshake for lunch:

Since the actual-eaters in the family ordered a cheeseburger and fries to share, the waitress brought us a big thing of pickles while we were waiting. Strangely, they looked good to me even accompanying a milkshake. Grammie then gave me a big DUH and pointed out that I was just being a good preggers girl:

(I was trying to pose with my pickles and ice cream and that same little someone just couldn't part with his icy goodness even for a second...)

And, just for funsies, here's a pic from our original trip to this restaurant in the Spring of 1993 on the way to VA and NC to look at colleges for Geoff:

Grammies Are So Great

We love having Sheils in town!! Turns out she's pretty good with kids. (Who knew?! ;-) I picked up Cady yesterday morning and brought her home for a couple of hours so her parents could do some touch-up painting and cleaning in their now empty house. Cady-bug had apparently gotten some key advance intel and spent the whole car ride talking about how she was going to "Gammie's house."

I don't think she was disappointed.


I know it's hard, but if you look closely, you might be able to find Cady hidden amongst the ballls!

And, for our finale, a picture snapped by the little lady herself. Brooks was ordering me to sing Pop Goes the Weasel so I am clearly in midst-verse and look a bit freakish. The orange scamp behind me is pretty cute, though, so I figured I'd include it anyway!

One more thing about Grammie's greatness: turns out she also babysits at night, allowing us to escape for a delicious sushi dinner (vegetable for me, bien sur) and showing of The Kids Are All Right. Yay for grandparental-child-minders!! Thanks, Sheilsie!

In other news, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning and all appears to be going smoothly. I am thrilled to be 3 weeks into feeling normal (albeit chubby) again, and I'm sure the BG appreciates that my interest in food-preparation has resumed!! We scheduled our 20-week sonogram for the 2nd week of September-- you'll just have to stay tuned to find out what we learn!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

From a Fair Farm to a Farm Fair

We ventured out to pick some fruit yesterday. First up: peaches!

There were lots and lots...

...so we didn't feel too bad about sneaking a bite or two:

Then we moved on to nectarines where B tried to blend in with the scenery:

And finally on to blackberries, because peach blackberry cobbler just sounds pretty good:

Our wee little berry haul since none of us just adores eating blackberries by themselves:

Then we drove down the road apiece to the county fair, where B did a little faux-cow-milking:

And did not want to leave the cornbox (as opposed to a sandbox):

Our treat for being out in the blistering heat? Deep-fried oreos!!

Ah, the simple joys of rural living amidst this bustling industrial corridor!

Dude, You Have A Bed

I knew it was bound to happen at some point. Here's what we found on Sunday during naptime:

Perhaps it came from eating powdered sugar donuts like a maniac?

PS: On yesterday's subject of old men getting older, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO IAN!!!!!

The Birthday Boy

The oldest person in this house is a year older today. For his birthday, he gets.......MY MOTHER!! Hooray for a Grammie visit! :-)

Since someone refuses to be on Facebook where surely he'd get at least a few Happy Birthday! greetings from friends (interesting question to consider: how many FB friends would the BG have? I'm thinking something like 27), feel free to leave words of encouragement here for the old, old man. I'll read them aloud to him since, you know, he's getting a bit blind and generally infirm.

Oh, and PS: I think we can all blame Sheils for bringing with her what is supposed to be record-breaking heat today! Ugh. But, then again, I guess it's fitting for a day o' celebrating the weirdo who loves the stifling weather.

It's Never Good to Say Goodbye, but Parties Help!

The Carlsons are leaving this week to move on to their next stint-- such is the military life. I have only known motherhood with Lindsey a part of it (well, okay, we didn't meet until the kiddos were 10 weeks old, but that's almost the whole time), and I'm not exactly sure how we're going to get by without them. I guess we're about to find out!

We wanted to send them off with full bellies and hopefully some smiles so we hosted a little gathering last night in their honor. And yes, the BIG SECRET of our location will have to revealed in this post in order for you to appreciate fully the theme, so I only ask that you don't come kill me in my sleep. Thanks! ;-)

While I'm giving thanks, let me send some Kathy's way for her generous gift from her garden of black-eyed susans, our fine state's official flower, for the entry:

I decided just to run with the yellow/black/red theme of our state flag and might have had a wee bit of fun decorating:

Look! Our big blank wall finally has some art!

Close-ups of the posters with pics of Cady and Brooks (and Jack where possible!) over the last 2.5 years:


The basket of Maryland things Emily, Susan, and I put together as a send-off prezzie:

Enough with the decor...let's move on to the actual party. Behold the Master Margarita Maker. Lindsey is already talking about how she will miss his tasty bevvies:


Assorted pics of the gang, including the patriarch of the Carlson clan, Kevin, who just got back over the weekend from 6 months in Afghanistan! ("Welcome back- now let's move!")

The older kiddos. Note that 3 are eating pizza and 1 is just sitting there. What a shocker.

Somehow Susan's fam escaped before we took group pics, but we made sure to get one with the 3 of us who were in the original New Moms Group at the hospital. It started in March of 2008 and here we still are!

Eh, let's ditch the kids. They make picture-taking difficult, anyway!

Speaking of difficult kids, they really are hard to capture in any kind of real pose these days. So here is the final picture of the twinsies.....attacking the BG:

B is certainly going to be sad without Miss Lindsey!


We will miss you, Carlsons!!! Hurry up and get that new house ready for some visitors!!!