I Don't Need These.

My boys are constantly adding to their wish lists. As soon as their birthdays are over, they're working on their Christmas lists. It always makes me roll my eyes when they see a commercial and yell out, "I'm putting that on my Christmas list!"

Now I think I know where they get this. I realized I'm always adding to my list as well.

My recent additions:



I'm loving those reds. I'm not sure the shades are the same, but I wouldn't have to wear them on the same day, right? I love that coat from Boden and those Clarks shoes. Unfortunately they're not really on my Target budget, though, so I guess they'll just have to stay on my list.

Until I can figure out how to become independently wealthy. I'm still working on that.

Realization.

I had a little light bulb moment today about myself. I realized I have a pointless pet peeve.

I spent a good 40 minutes cleaning - and I mean cleaning - the bathrooms today. We only have two bathrooms and when those 40 minutes were finished those suckers were spotless.

Not five minutes after I had finished Colin came running in from the front yard announcing, "I've gotta go pee!"

Grrrrrrr.

I thought, "Argh...really?! You have to pee now? After I've just cleaned everything?"

Turns out I have a pet peeve about people using the bathroom right after I've cleaned it. Is it too much to ask for it to stay clean for a couple of hours? Or even 20 minutes? Of course this annoyance is futile, because we've all gotta go eventually, right?

But if I said I didn't consider forcing him to do a nature pee in the backyard I'd be a liar.

All Aboard.

Today was one of those days that staying indoors should be a criminal offense.

I'm talking 76 degrees, unlimited sunshine, and endless possibilities.

We took a drive over to Sonoma. Sonoma, in the Napa Valley, is most famously known for its beautiful landscape, wineries, missions, and food.


But we went for the trains. Train Town, that is. (It's very popular with the under-10 crowd.)


We did it all: explored the real train, rode the mini train, and had fun on all the rides. (Except the ferris wheel. This mommy does NOT do ferris wheels.)


The boys loved the rides but had the most fun in the little town. They got a kick out of the school, the jail, and the faux headstones.


Avery rode the merry-go-round three times, and screamed bloody murder each time the ride ended. She's a real thrill-seeker.


For the record, though, she was not a fan of the train whistle.


That was a bit too much of a thrill.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

No, I'm not talking about Christmas.

Not even back to school. (Remember that Staples commercial? Love it.)

I'm talking about this:


Tomato time!

My in-laws are tomato farmers and they grow the *best* tomatoes you've ever tasted.

Truly.

And since they grow in greenhouses, they are ripe and lovely and delicious beginning in March.

They brought me a big box yesterday, so today for lunch I had a turkey, avocado, and tomato sandwich (heavy on the tomato).

And for dinner...


{Tomatoes + basil + fresh mozzarella + white balsamic vinegar + olive oil + pepper + ground mustard + a little sugar}

My favorite salad of all time. We eat this so often in the summer it's ridiculous.

Come over for lunch tomorrow and I'll make you a BLT: turkey bacon, lettuce, and the *best* tomatoes.

(Or, if you want to buy some for yourself, head over to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market on Saturday or Thursday, the Marin Farmer's Market on Sunday, Napa on Tuesday, St. Helena on Friday....)

Apparently I cannot....

...think of a better snack to munch on while typing than 1/4 jar of Wickles pickles. I am dangerously in love with those pickles.


...resist those red shoes at Target after all. I tried. I picked them up a few weeks ago and put them back. But then I was weak and went back and bought them. I mean, look at them. How could I not?


...bring myself to tell Avery that the miniature pinscher that lives next door is, indeed, a dog, and not a pig as she thinks. It's just so cute when she peeks through the fence and oinks at him.


...walk two steps in my backyard without this big dopey dog following me around. (Anybody need a yellow lab?)


...pull off 3 1/2 inch heels. I thought I might be able to, but...no. I do love these shoes, though. I bought them because they look perfect with a dress I bought for a party next month but I seriously could barely walk in them. So, Zappos, look for them coming back your way!


...I also cannot seem to avoid the Girl Scout cookies in my freezer, but are you surprised?

It's obvious that I'm weak.

Paint + Paper.

This morning after we took Riley to school and breakfast was finished and Sesame Street was over (Avery's version of coffee), Colin and Avery were wandering aimlessly around the house. They were clearly bored and I knew if I didn't do something quickly I would be left to deal with two antsy, whiny, lets-pull-every-book-out-of-the-book-shelf children.

So I took action, and pulled out the paint.


We don't really paint very often, so the novelty of painting afforded me about 30 minutes of freedom from messes. (I know, 'painting without messes' seems like an oxymoron, huh?)


But to my shock and delight, not a single drop of paint ended up on the floor, the wall, or anywhere but paper.

Clearly, the stars were all aligned.


I did make an interesting discovery, however. Apparently Colin and Avery have a trait in common.


Tongue out = concentration.


Oh, yeah - there was that one other discovery:

Painting makes you very, VERY, thirsty.

Spring Fling.

There's something about the first day of spring that makes me happy. Even if it's cold, windy, and rainy - like it was this weekend - knowing that it's no longer winter makes it more bearable. Now if my irises will just pop up already, I'll be great!

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, which was perfect. This was the first weekend in awhile that Gary didn't have to work. Which was so nice, of course. But why is it that the house seems to get messier when there are two adults in the house? How does that happen?

Before the weather turned against us on Saturday, we spent some time at the park Friday. The Vitamin D felt good.


Colin continued the party at home by digging up some worms. I am OK with one worm, but something about them all jumbled up like this I just cannot handle. Blech.


I managed to put in some crafty time this weekend, too. I'm pretty happy with what I came up with. I'm thinking maybe I'll put these in the etsy shop. Here's a peek:



Let's see, other good news? It was announced that Up will be opening the Cannes Film Festival! First time ever that an animated feature was given that honor. Woot woo! Wish we were going.


Happy first Monday of spring to you all. May it be worm-free.

Do They Realize This is First Grade?

Riley has a grammar book that he brings home for homework each week. I've had issues with this book since the beginning of school. Many of the questions seem pretty ambiguous and up for interpretation. One day a question read, "Would you be mad if your sister hit you?" He answered "No", and was marked wrong. He came home and said, "But Mom, I wouldn't be upset if Avery hit me - she's only a baby!"

So when he brought it home for homework this week, I was a little...uh...perplexed by one problem in particular. Check out #5:


Really? "The noose hangs from the tree?" Is that really appropriate for this age? I would hope that not many 7 year olds are familiar with what a noose is.

Call me crazy.

Frannie Fran.

Today is a day that is forever ingrained in my mind as belonging to one person, and one person only. Today is my dear friend Francesca's (1/3 of the 3 Bay B Chicks) birthday.


This date is ingrained in my mind primarily because when we were younger, Fran would supply her friends with a "Birthday Month" calendar which would provide us with details about how we could celebrate her momentous day every day in March.

I met Francesca in 5th grade, and we really became friends in 6th grade. We've had a lot of fun together.


Mix that fun with bad hair, some bad boyfriends, and throw in a fight or two - that's the recipe for a treasured, life-long friendship.

Francesca (here, with Kacey) has always been fashion forward.

Fran, Gary did a bit of creative cropping for this one....
=)



Happy birthday, friend. You are loved!

Wee Bit O'Green.

Being the good Irish lass that I am, I served a traditional Irish breakfast to my lads this morning:


Green oatmeal washed down with green milk. Mmmm!


You know, it seemed like a good idea at first. But then after I looked at that green oatmeal for a few minutes it kind of made me feel a little sick.

I had an omelet.

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On an unrelated note, I like to call the following photo, "Why I Need New Jeans".

Alternately titled, "Why I Need a Pedicure".

Alternately alternately titled, "Why I Will Never Be a Foot Model".


Honestly, I have 3 pair of jeans with holes. (All in the left knees.) And, if we're being honest, two of those holes occurred from me falling down in public places.

My middle name is not Grace.

(But it is a good Irish name....)

Happy St. Patty's!

It's Getting Loud in Here...

Apparently there can be more than one drummer in a band:


Colin's not the only one loving the drums these days.

By the way, did you notice anything funny about the picture above? Look closely and you'll see a perfect example of my husband's unique method of problem solving....

It's not pretty, but it works.

Up and an Open Wound.

Just a little over two months until Up hits theaters. I'm excited for it to open for several reasons, not the least of which being I'll actually get my husband back. I've almost forgotten what it is like to have him home in daylight hours!

That aside, Up is a great film. We saw it in rough form a few months ago and I think I can say without any hint of bias that it's a terrific, beautiful film! (I cried three separate times watching it!)

How can you not want to watch a film about an old man, a little boy, a floating house, and a talking dog?


The boys' room is beginning to look like a Pixar commercial.


My favorite thing about these movies?

Totally family friendly. Not a swear word or inappropriate reference to be found - awesome! (Here's the latest trailer, in case you haven't seen it.)




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On a decidedly less awesome note, despite what a couple of you optimistically guessed, my camera lens is *sniff* still gone. I've tried to block our separation out of my mind, but every time I pull out my iPhone to take a picture I die a little inside. It's a decent phone camera, but it's not the same. I am anxiously awaiting the day my lens and I can reunite and be happy together again.

But for now, I feel that the only decent thing to do is to prevent any cute and memorable moments from occurring in this household until I am unable to document them appropriately.

It's All About the Peanut Butter.

I buy a lot of peanut butter. I have one son who almost exclusively eats peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch. I've wondered if I will continue to buy peanut butter once my kids are out of the house....?

Thanks to this recipe, I'm going to go ahead and say "Yes".

Think noodles + asparagus + chicken + a peanut satay-esque sauce. Yum. It even got a thumbs up from the kids (except for the asparagus), so you know that's saying a lot.

Here's what you'll need:
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1/4" pieces)
-1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
-1 pound linguine
-1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-5 Tbsp. rice vinegar
-1/4 cup fish sauce
-2 tsp. chili-garlic sauce
-1.5 tsp. grated fresh ginger
-1.5 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

First, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until no longer pink. Transfer to a plate.


Add pasta to boiling water and cook until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add asparagus to pot and cook until bright green and pasta is al dente, about 4 minutes.


Mmmm. A noodle/asparagus bath!

Reserve 1 cup cooking water, and then drain the pasta and asparagus and return to pot.

Now for the peanut sauce. Don't let the ingredients scare you. If you've never cooked with 'fish sauce' before, it can be a little scary. But don't worry. The sauce doesn't taste fishy. It just adds a little flavor. Trust me!


The boys said the sauce was a little spicy, so if you can't take the heat, add a little less Sriracha (chili-garlic sauce).

Whisk the peanut butter, vinegar, fish sauce, Sriracha, ginger, sesame oil, and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water in bowl until smooth.


Add the peanut butter sauce and chicken to the pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed.


Serve. (Or, if you're me, take a picture of it first...then serve.)



Avery went through her bowl looking for the asparagus to eat. She's clearly not related to her brothers.

The moral of this story? I've learned that peanut butter will remain in my pantry for years to come. It's great in this recipe.

(It's also great in my fat-free chocolate ice cream, but that's another story.)

My Dad.

Today is my dad's birthday. I love him for many reasons, but here's just a few.

-for making funny pancakes for us when we were little (and making them now for the grandkids)

-for being strict when I was a teenager

-for ingraining in my head the phrase, "Do it right the first time, so you only have to do it once."

-for teaching me the value of an education

-for teaching me the value of hard work

-with mom, for showing us what a loving marriage looks like

-for not being too proud to apologize

-for knowing how to do just about everything and...

-for always being willing to do anything for us

-for being a tough guy on the outside, but a complete mush on the inside

Happy Birthday, Papa.

We love you!