I love spring and the new beginning it provides. Fall used to be my favorite, but I switched when I had kids. Now spring and summer represent a lot of outdoor playing at the park, the swim pool, going for walks, hanging outside with friends and sleeping with the windows open.
Oh spring. I love your sprouts and glimpses of sunny goodness.
I love that Amelia thinks we are the same person and likes me the best. I am sure it will change sometime. But I really love that I am the one she wants most when she wants to eat or fall asleep.
I think Gentry may think we are the same person too. He follows me every where. Even if I am doing nothing he wants to do. He tries to con me into his room to play Legos. Or back into my room to watch his amazing Lego Star Wars feats.
I love being a mom.
I love the Disney Fairies. Like I cannot express how much I like them. I never got into the Disney Princesses, but these ladies are fabulous. They are all about making things and the changing of seasons. They take care of light, and plants, and animals. We kind of have the same jobs.
I have a set of the dolls and Gentry has a set. He likes them because they have boobs. He likes WonderWoman for the same reason. Gentry doesn’t get to play with my set, because he has broken the wings off of most of his. My set isn’t complete and everytime we go to Target we check to see if they have some that we don’t.
They live at Pixie Hollow.
Which is part of Neverland.
They still take part in the Peter Pan story. And they visit the mainland to change the seasons.
This is Silvermist. She is a Water-Talent Fairy.
Iridessa is a light-talent fairy.
Tinkerbell makes things so the other fairies can do their jobs.
Rosetta is a plant-talent fairy.
I love the music and animation they have used to create these characters. It is so light and airy and glowy. I just love the feeling they create. Have you been to Pixie Hollow at Disneyland or Disneyworld? I loves it.
Fawn is an animal-talent fairy and the one I most feel like. However, I am not much of an animal lover. I think it is her woodsy look.
I wish my bum glowed in the dark. Oh wait. It does.
I am in love with Gentry’s hands. He had a crooked little pinky when he was born, he still does. His little hands are so expressive. I am mesmerized by them a lot of the time he is talking to me. They point and fly and are pretty much super happy.
Notice how Old McDonalds Farm contains Donald Ducks nephew Hughey and Bambi. We are a creative bunch.
I love music. All kinds. I love to play duets on the piano with my mom. I love singing with choirs and my family. I wish JJ would sing with me. (Update: JJ says he sings with me all the time.) I love dancing in the kitchen while we get dinner ready. Music and I, we get along.
I love my phone and iCal. Like really love. I consider getting rid of the phone all the time, and just cannot talk myself into it for several reasons:
• I never get lost because I can see where in the world I am and can see where I need to get to.
• When I go out into the country, or those without internet (you all are crazy) I can still get my facebook fix, email, and check my google reader. I still know what you are doing.
• My calendar is on it. And I can enter all my stuff on my computer and than hook the two together and they update each other.
• It is the baby sitter. I give it to the boy while shopping or driving long distances and he is so much for pleasant. There are all kinds of kids apps that entertain him. Right now he is obsessed with one that has knights and you get money to buy better shields and weapons. I am a bad parent.
• Along with the calendar, I can set alarms that remind me that I have a life going on and I need to get stuff done. For instance, I set alarms to remind me to bake bread. And go shopping. And pay my bills. And make dinner. You know. Basic life stuff.
I love my phone.
Have your tried tumblr.com. I really like it. You can post little snippets you find around the web. Because of my fierce liking for all things mellow, mine reflects that. Check it out here.
I love this other poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson, not. Ha ha. I am in junior high again. The poem is wrongly attributed to him, but is probably written by a Bessie Stanley in 1905. What a trickster. Anyway, here is the poem.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
This recipe is fairly intense, but so worth it. It is also a huge amount, so if there are only 2 people in your house you will be eating it for a week.
Green Bean Casserole (from Everyday Food Magazine)
2 cups vegetable oil
6 large shallots, cut into very thin rounds, rings seperated
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
course salt and ground pepper
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved (you can get a 2 lb. bag at Costco)
1/4 cup butter
1 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and coursely chopped
14.5 ounces chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1- Preheat over to 425. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together shallots and 1 1/4 cups flour until shallots are evenly coated. In batches, shake off excess flour from shallots and fry until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes, adjusting heat if shallots are browning too quickly. With a slotted spoon, transfer to sheet and season with salt. Set aside.
2- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook green beans until crisp-tender, 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry.
3- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, gradually add broth, then milk. Bring to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4- Add green beans to mushroom sauce and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to a 9×13 baking dish. Bake until bubbling around edges, about 15 minutes. Serve topped with fried shallots.
mmmmmmm. this is so good. probably my favorite side dish.
Shoesday update. I had to order #1 because the king spoke and that is what he wanted. But I agree that #2 is a better choice.
See what I mean with him having opinions about what he will and won’t wear. He informed me today he will no longer be wearing shirts with buttons. Great. Maybe I can get him a t-shirt with a tie screen-printed on it for him to wear to church. Because we are classy like that.
The second order of business is that I am looking for a diaper bag that doesn’t shout, “Hey I am full of formula crumbs, cheerios, and diapers.” It is hard. I have been carrying a duffel bag look a like and I hate it. I went today to look for bags with a long strap that I can put over my shoulder and be hands free. Like the mother of all purses, and I found nothing. What is the deal. Someone should come up with huge stylish purses that can carry a bunch of stuff and don’t cost $200. Do any of you have suggestions? Cause I am all ears.
The thing I love today, is sweet kiddlets. The ones that make me find accessories that must fit 437 criteria.
