Got Milk?

Before heading to the pool this morning, the kids and I stopped at Subway for sandwiches and drinks.  I don't know what it is about eating tuna fish made by someone other than myself, but I sure do find it tasty, so I got a 6" tuna while Hugo and the girls split a ham & cheese.  The idea of Subway stuck in my head as I began to pack our lunch cooler.  I had filled up the girls sippy cups with ice and water and reached for my trusty Ragu jar (I swear I am not suddenly pushing product placement here on the blog) to fill it also with ice and water to be chilly chill later on.  Think I sound a bit odd with my homemade thermos/water bottle?  Well, it works awesome!  I can stuff tons of ice in my Ragu wide mouthed glass jar, we aren't supposed to have glass containers at the pool, I live real dangerous.  As I reached for my Ragu jar I discovered it to have vanished.  I remembered putting it on the lower shelf of the lazy susan, underneath the breakfast cereal, but it wasn't there...  Cesar!  Cesar did it!  I didn't even have to call and bug him to find out.  I knew with every fiber of my being that my husband Cesar was the culprit, that he had thrown out my beloved jar thinking it to be trash.  It's glass!  It's reusable!  What was I going to drink my icy water from at the pool?  Subway it was.

Hugo's face is white not from drinking milk, but from downing a vanilla ice cream cone.  He asked if I knew why we had tongues.  When I replied no, he told me that, "We have tongues to clean our faces."

Sabine disappeared on me in the yard.  I noticed the front door had been left open and hoped she had drifted indoors.  Upon entering the foyer I called out her name, "Sabine, are you in here?"  Nothing.  Then I had a spark of motherly inspiration and called out, "Sabine, want a cookie?"  Instantly I heard, "No." followed by a scrambling sound and then running feet exiting from Hugo's room.  These days, the word no covers all the bases.

Since returning home from vacation I've been bitten by the must make bug and I've been knitting, knitting, and knitting.  I've missed it.

Shadow Shot Sunday

The news reported the other night that the snow fall we've thus far received ranks as #5 on the snowiest winter list.  It is supposed to snow on and off today and tomorrow with our sixth storm hitting Tues-Wednesday.  This is a lot of snow and I promise that we are trying our best to be positive and enjoy it while it lasts.  Cesar sent Hugo sledding down one of our hills a few times this morning.  He also carved out an entrance and mini cave in a snow bank created by our plow man.  Hugo ran into the house to tell me that his Papa built an igloo for him! 

Our dreams are full of past swim classes at the pool and lazy afternoons at The Big Deep.  And oh, how my toes long to be submerged into the wet, cool sand one day soon.

Visit Hey Harriet to view more Shadow Shots here.

Kiddie Pool

We went swimming at the kiddie pool today.  Loved it.  

Evie the Cat brought deposited a food offering on our door step.  It was still alive.  I decided to take pictures to document our killer cat's offerings.  Then the bird flew at me and entered the house.  At first, I laughed.  And I took a picture of it trying to make it's way into the kitchen.  I tried to scoop up the bird in a towel to help it back outdoors.  It flew at me and ended up half falling, half flying down the staircase to the first floor.  I ditched the camera and chased the bird, through a few rooms.

This N' That

It's a rare morning these days, when I find my way into the bathroom to apply some makeup to my face.  This summer, I am not like my normal self.  I'm chubby so nothing fits, my hair has not been happening, my mascara and lip gloss tubes may as well be baby chew toys, but worst of all, I'm Casper the Friendly Ghost white.  No suntan for this twin momma.

I feel like we've been on the run, full speed ahead, for weeks now.  Summer is half over and I have no idea where it went.  How did this happen?  Normally, Hugo and I have spent long, leisurely days at the kiddie pool with friends and a packed cooler.  Not so far this summer.

I think I've figured out what the great time sucker has been... swim lessons!  We've been driving 30 minutes to a Rec facility for a 25 minute lesson, five days a week for the past four weeks.  Whew!  Once poolside, I park the double stroller under a shade umbrella and nurse one girl and then the other while trying to make conversation with ladies near by, keep myself covered and keep Hugo in the pool.  Our skinny boy freezes while waiting for his swim turn so he'll hop up and hurry over to where we've "parked" and warm up in his towel for a quick minute.  Today was our last swim lesson but, it's raining outside, so we didn't go.  A slow day at home is just the ticket needed by this momma of three.  I do feel bad that Hugo will miss out on his last swim class and his certificate.

The rain thus far has kept the temperature low today, a cool 71 degrees it is outside.  The air is damp and breezy blowing through our windows, I've actually thought about closing them.  Hugo just pulled on some socks to warm up his toes.  Sabine has stretched her morning nap to lunch time.  Marlo is kicking around on the living room floor in long pants.  The weather man said that tomorrow the heat index is supposed to be 101 degrees, I can't hardly believe it.  If the rain continues throughout the afternoon, I'm gonna light a fire in the wood stove.  I'm cold!

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Food Temptations

The beginning of this pregnancy found me craving fruit. Fruit, fruit and more fruit. Simply could not get enough of fruit and a good green salad. Oh, and eggs. I ate tons of eggs. Omelettes, egg salad sandwiches and shrimp salad loaded with eggs. Yum, yum! Then I moved onto a quiche faze. More eggs please! I'm forgetting to mention about my love affair with potatoes. I've eaten a whole lot of fried potatoes. I've bought bags and bags of potatoes like they were going out of style. I like them mashed but, I've wanted them fried. Haven't had them in awhile though... With Hugo I craved shrimp and oranges like mad. I drove Cesar crazy with my desire for the delivery man to peddle over some delicious Shrimp Pad Thai - nightly.

My weight gain has been right on track, so far. The doc is pleased and so are my hips. These past two or three weeks have seen me fall off the strictly healthy food wagon, big time. It's awful! All I really want to eat are chocolate bars with bits of almond and toffee in them, caramels, Panara's chocolate croissants, cookies, cake, sweet rolls, caramel rolls, sticky buns, orange pull a parts, Pepperidge Farm's apple turnovers, fettuccine alfredo, and a juicy steak, cooked the perfect medium rare, with loaded mashed potatoes. I do still crave fruit but it has most definitely taken a back burner to all the bad stuff which I want to stuff my face with.

I thought I'd share some new found favorite recipes tonight and through this coming week, some good for you and others to be enjoyed in moderation! Tonight I made Julia Child's Quiche Lorraine. Hugo and I gobble this up fast!



Earlier today we had a playdate at the park. We had a great time but summer's heat finally hit our spot of the earth today. After an hour or so of play, we decided to move our little play party to the kiddie pool. As the afternoon rolled along, a string of meltdowns occurred and for the most part were ignored, being chalked up to the heat and the children's missing naps. When the time came for us all to part company, not a complaint was heard from the kids. Everyone was content with the length of our outdoor time and ready to head for home. Once inside our house, Hugo ran up to his room to play with his cars while I headed into the kitchen to prepare our quiche. We ate, cleaned up, had a little sandbox time and then headed upstairs to wash in the bath. Hugo dressed himself in his pajamas, mostly by himself. After our prayer, we read The Last Basselope One Ferocious Story by Berkeley Breathed and had lights out. I haven't heard a peep from upstairs since.

Goggles, Floats and a Sunburn

We had a fabulous time at the pool with Things 1 - 4 yesterday! Beautiful sunny skies, yummy snacks and chats with a good friend is always a winning combination in my book. The downside of the day was that I got sunburned. My legs are stiff as boards at the moment. I did use sunscreen but you'd never guess that I had. I read online last night that pregnant women's skin is more susceptible to the rays of the sun. I'm here to testify that this is true. Hugo's back and arms were a little pink last night, today he's brown as a berry. After his bath, I rubbed him up good with lotion. He was sweet and wanted to put lotion on my pink shoulders and nose. Once Hugo was tucked in for the night, I drank lots of water and gorged myself on watermelon, or gorged on watermelon as much as my smooshed stomach would allow!


Hugo wanted these goggles real bad. He asked for them by name, que my surprise. He also wanted the snorkle - I put my foot down and said no way to the snorkle. Next year, there is always next year at the pool. I'm sharing a bunch of goggle wearing photos because they crack me up!





The big pool floats returned and huge waves were created! Hugo just peeked at the computer and told me he was splashing in these photos.

Pool Time

Last night during our walk with Ms Sheri we discovered that the kiddie pool had water in it finally. What a fantastic discovery! Kenny's mom wanted to come over for a day of potty training today but, I had other ideas. . . "Leave the potty training till our next rainy, dismal day." I said. "Let's phone up Jin and the girls and have us some pool fun!" The coolers were packed and sunscreen, swim diapers (no swim diapers for us this year!!) beach towels and pool toys dug out from the back recesses of the linen closet.






Within the fence surrounding the kiddie pool I spotted Hugo's favorite pool toy from last summer - the blue bucket, uh-oh. Remember how he spent a good half of each day underneath or inside the blue bucket? A woman who runs a small daycare brings the bucket which is loaded with all sorts of floating toys each day. She got my attention mid afternoon and wanted to chat about how tall Hugo had grown over the winter and how he hadn't climbed into or under the blue bucket once so far! I think he forgot all about his turtle days, but I haven't.



We had sunshine for most of the day with spots of giant passing clouds. When the clouds covered the sun it was a comfortable temp but, cool if you were in the water. Skinny boy Hugo had blue lips and shivered and shivered. He would jump into the water and play and splash and then climb out and want me to wrap him tightly in his towel for warmth. The cycle of jumping in and climbing out for warmth and food was repeated over and over. I was glad I had brought extra towels.