P R O M

My cute little sis, well not so little anymore, had prom this weekend. Of course I pulled all the resources of every curling device, makeup color & tool, bronzing, shimmering, extra holding, slimming(just kidding her dress is a size 0), & lengthening products I could muster. The bathroom looked like an explosion went off in a salon. Beauty is pain, right? Her date was great too, this is her boyf. Chris. She is not allowed to break up with him, because we all love him too much. He must have taken a class on how to schmooze the family, and its working. A holiday has never passed where he didn't get the mom (and sometimes sisters too) a gift. He spends Friday nights playing cards with 8-12 year-olds happily. And best of all he is an amazing Italian cook and brings us leftovers from dinners he makes for her.

New Best Friends

After being a little timid to get out the clorox, pine sole and 409 around baby Samuel I started looking for alternatives. I have always hated the way my hands smell after cleaning the house with these things. It also drives me nuts when I feel like I can't get the taste out of my mouth from spraying it. It just didn't seem good to have an infant around this stuff either. At first I was always scrubbing as soon as he went to sleep and then opening doors and windows to air out before he woke up. I soon came across the possibilities of cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing with what I already had in the house.(and it's so cheap) With white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and a little dish liquid soap I can do everything I did before and more! They are all great cleaners and by spraying vinegar and then hydrogen peroxide studies show it sanitizes better than bleach! So much safer to santize toys this way because he chews on everyone of them. Baking soda has been amazing at cleaning yucky pans. A half cup of vinegar in a spray bottle of water is great all purpose cleaner, for glass too. There are so many other uses of course, but these are the ones I use daily. I definitely recommend it.

The Aunties

The Aunties are a dream come true. They are Samuel's fan club. I was worried this excitement of a nephew would wear off by now, but it is still going as strong as ever. They call him everyday to find out when he is coming to see them next. They still line up to hold him, fight to change his poopy diapers and love to make him smile. I have to say I use this to my advantage. They are always willing to get the diaper bag out of the car, search for a lost pacifier and check on him while he is sleeping. A few times when I have needed to get him in the bath, while at their house, the three youngest ones went tearing to there rooms and all came back with their swim suits on and a pile of toys to get in the big jacuzzi tub with him. Today they came over to visit and all made it in to be peering over his crib when he opened his eyes from his nap. He was a little confused at first but then realized his entertainers were here and was so happy. I call them his court jesters. The babysitting has been a dream. I don't know what I'll do when I have to pay for babysitting one day. They get so excited when I am leaving Samuel with them to babysitt. It should probably make me worried because it is so fun for them to take care of him with out me there. But I have trained them well, they are very careful and follow my very long list of "rules". These little Aunties (and uncle Seth too) have spoiled both Mommy and Baby.
There is still one auntie he is yet to meet but she loves him just as much as the rest. (my sis that is on a mission)

Yes it worked!

Matt has been subtly, and not so subtly, been letting me know for years that every morning while growing up his mom would call down to his room and ask him what he wanted for breakfast. Taking full advantage he would call back, omelet, pancakes, waffles, french toast or what ever his heart desired on that particular day. Through all his hint dropping I always have just responded by saying, "really, I am not much of a breakfast person," "wow that was nice of her," "my mom made oatmeal." He clearly didn't think I understood what he was saying, because he just kept telling me.

We finally starting working out a system for taking care of Samuel at night that keeps both of us from turning into a total zombie. I get up in the night, and about 6:30am Matt takes Samuel for an hour while I sleep some more. My breakfast loving husband soon decided to kill two birds with one stone. He entertains Samuel in the Bumbo chair by showing him how to make a decadent breakfast. I have been totally shocked at his new found friend, Ina Garten, by scouring her Barefoot Contessa cook books each morning. The mess he creates in the kitchen usually gets taken care of too, but if not, he gets away with it by bringing me his delights in bed each morning.

Samuel gets fed, I get sleep, Matt gets breakfast, Daddy and baby get time together, and now I'm all into breakfast too!

Tumbler search

I am desperately looking for these Fleur-De-Lys tumblers from Anthropologie. The online customer service can't even search store wide for them without a style number - so odd. They are the perfect gift for a special someone. If anyone happens to be in an Anthropologie shop anytime soon take a look and let me know if you spotted these...

Go Cowboy!

This is my little cowboy. As you can see when we are stuck in the house dress ups is our favorite game. Last week this little cowboy came out lots as we were home bound quit a bit.

After my sweet sister came home from school early to baby-sit for me, for free, she was so careful not to hit one car but smashed directly into mine. Lucky her, from my angle in the house I didn't see the broken lights, busted bumper, or the 2x2ft piece that flew across the drive way. I told her to go and we will figure it out later. Soon after I towed all our gear and Samuel to the car and realized I couldn't drive until I cleaned up all the glass and pieces all around the car. After being in the shop a few days it looks as good as new outside and inside! I was so excited the auto body shop vacuumed and wiped down every nook and cranny. It lighten the blow that cleaning my car was now also off my list.

Later in the week the power on our street went out. I didn't think much of it at first. When I noticed cop cars, people walking around out side in the freezing cold with flash lights I began to wonder what was up. My cell phone was dead and we only have portable phones so there was not calling anyone. A while later when Matt finally came home he told me a huge tree had fallen right on top of a bunch of electrical wires. There were live wires all over the bottom of our street. The cops said he couldn't go home until the mess was cleaned up. Of course Matt was not into waiting around so he parked the car a few blocks away ran through different neighbors back yards, with groceries, to get home. I was so happy the next morning when soon after waking up in a frigid house the power came back on.

How does your garden grow?

I have been craving the tomatoes I ate out of my mom's garden since early last fall. Every time I go to the store and buy tomatoes they never stack up. I loved cooking at my parents house last summer because I would gather all the fresh herbs and vegetables that were ripe and add them to the menu. Nothing tastes better than produce picked when it is perfectly ripe.
This year it is my turn to have my own garden. I am really excited, but a little intimidated. As long as I can figure out how to keep the critters out and get some vegetation I will be happy with my first year’s efforts.
I always looked forward to what was in season when we would visit grandma and grandpa's house growing up. Raspberries were my favorite, but I would pick (and eat) what ever there was, whether it was grapes, strawberries, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, pumpkins or squash. Hopefully I can carry on the family tradition. I can't see raspberries and not be reminded of gathering them from my Grandma Joan's garden and her making jam for us, and grandpa Lou would always send us with a bag of zucchini when they were in season. They both passed away this past year but as I am working in my own garden I will be thinking of them.