impromptu trip to the museum

One hot day in the late summer I took the kids to the museum.  Mondays are free day so I was a bit nervous....after experiencing the crowds, smoking and yelling (what?  i was the one yelling?  no!) that take place at free day at the zoo.  But it was very nice and calm.  

Grace was very excited to go to the museum.  

 

When we got inside she had a little breakdown in the butterfly area.  "I want to go play!"  I just didn't understand why she wouldn't want to be with all the live butterflies that land on your hands and head.  It was then that I realized she thought we were going to Betty Brinn Children's Museum - which is much more fun for a toddler than the regular museum.  But she got over it quickly ( i must have promised her candy or something).

 

But for some reason, these fossils thrilled her. 

 

Then we were off to the Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit - my favorite!  Grace loved the candy store and Andrew had his eye on the Usinger's display.

 

Grace loves china as much as her mom!

 

Andrew quietly sat in his pink buggy and looked cute.

Andrew's 1st Birthday!

He was a little skeptical of the hat he got from Aunt Amy & Uncle Justin, but he adored the orange truck.

Here are the decorations for the circus party.  The dining room was supposed to look like a circus tent.  It was time consuming and hasn't been take down yet, but since Andrew demanded a circus party it was totally worth it.

The idea was that he would get the giant cake to himself and make a total mess and love it.  But he was not into it at all, that or he has excellent table manners.  He just looked at it and ate a few bites with a fork. 

Even though Andrew didn't like his cake too much, I was proud of my amateur attempt at a circus tent.  And I enjoyed picking at the frosting for a few days, until I decided it belonged in the garbage.

Grace was her usual self at the party.  Enjoying the people, cake and opening all of Andrew's presents while he slept.  She even got a present or 2 herself.  Including Barbie and Ken (which immediately began holding hands). 

And she made everyone play telephone with her. 

The hats were a flattering look for all.....

fun times

I have come to the conclusion that, while I may be good at a lot of things....

putting together ikea crap

changing diapers

cleaning

eating candy

voicing my opinion

 rolling with the punches, going with the flow, in general being flexible (ha!)

...there are a lot of things I am not so good at.

Such as home improvement projects. 

This week has been rough. 

First, I tried to snake my tub drain and the snake got stuck.  Thats right, stuck. It eventually came out, but never again will I attempt a plumbing project.  Never.

Then I decided to hang some hooks up in the back hall.  Kevin is thrilled with the idea.  He LOVES hooks.  I am not exaggerating.  Loves them.  Why use hangers when you can use hooks?  He has a few in his closet and they usually have about 8 pairs of pants on each hook.

Anyways, before I put up the hooks I thought "Why not patch the existing nail holes?"  Which involved touching up the paint. Then I thought, why not touch up the whole back hall?  Never did I consider the possibility that the ONLY can of navy blue paint among the DOZENS of cans the previous owners left behind would not be a perfect match.  While it wasn't.  Close but no cigar. 

So now my back hall looks like this.

First I thought, "Hey, maybe it is a new faux finish?"

No.  Bad idea.  Must be fixed.  By someone other than me.

Well, I was looking for an excuse to get rid of  those dark walls anyways.  Good thing I got a drop on our new carpet so I will have a constant reminder of that color and this fun week. 

And good thing we have an awesome painter Jose  (<--- Mom, click that link, its for you!). 

Welcome Baby William!

Andrew's First Tantrum

He wanted to eat paper towel, and I wouldn't let him.

 

rhyming - gracie style

Grace just learned what a rhyme is - "Mommy, Cat.  Hat.  See?  Rhyme!!!!" 

As she kept this up this weekend we realized that she was taking every word and adding a "Pl" at the beginning.

Gracie. Placie. Rhyme!
Kevin. Plevin. Rhyme!
Bridget. Plidget.  Rhyme!
Andrew. Plandrew. Rhyme!

Now she has realized this makes her parents laugh hysterically, but today she threw us for a loop.

"Gracie, what rhymes with store?"
Plore!
"Bag?"
Plag!
"Counter?"
Plounter!
"Cracker?"
Placker!
"Banana?"
Tree! 
Which she found hilarious....I love toddler jokes.

No Monsters Allowed!

Grace has been scared of monsters in her room lately.  We are not sure if this is being used as a tactic to avoid sleep or if it is genuine.  We decided to play it safe by having the house sprayed with monster repellent and we made a sign to warn any monsters that come knocking.

Kevin

Tonight at the garden center I saw one of those pretty evergreen topiary trees, Kevin and I liked it but we decided not to purchase it. 

Later as we were pulling out of the parking lot, he said in a thoughtful tone, "You know what?  I decided I do not like those ball tree things."

Me, "Oh really, why?"

Kevin, "I feel like those cliched things are just not "me"." 

Uh okay.  Never thought of topiaries as "cliched" but uh whatever. 

He may not like manicured lawn trees but he is a great dad...so that works for me.

Snapshots from last night

Awesome family portrait

Easy and delicious potato salad

Anyone who has been over to my house in the last few years for a party has probably had this potato salad.

Small red potatos or fingerling potatos (the ones i photographed were from the farmers market...look at this purple one....Grace would say "Mommy, look at that CRAZY potato")

Cut into small pieces and toss with olive oil, garlic or shallots, and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add dried rosemary in while they roast.

Bake in a hot (like 425 or so) oven until the edges are crispy and the potatos are soft.

Toss with fresh herbs, parmesan cheese, or just eat as is. 

Serve warm, room temp or cold.

Ham and a half

Grace is a character, as you all know.....this photo is of her "posing"....

Recently I called her a "ham", and she said "I am a ham and a half!"

channeling martha stewart - failed attempt

So last Saturday I was at the grocery store and saw some great looking cookies in the bakery.  I could have bought those for dessert, but instead I thought, "Why not make those super cute ice cream cone cupcakes that I had once for a birthday treat in the 6th grade and thought were awesome?"

An acceptable answer would have been, "Because you are having 3 families over for dinner tonight, which by the way is in 3 hours and you have not showered yet.  Or made dinner yet.  Or appetizers yet.  Or cleaned up the house and backyard yet."  But the ice cream cone cupcakes are so darn cute, so i ignored my inner voice...she was saying "stop! buy the cookies!"

Anyways, I used a cake mix and a box of cake cones. 

Make the mix according to the directions on the box, pour it in the cones, put frosting on top, simple - right?  Not really. 

One tip I read was to put the cones in an egg container, but that didn't really work.

The muffin pans worked well, meaning none tipped over. 

The directions said "fill cones 1/2 full with batter". But I wanted the domed tops, so I filled them up to the top. Not a good idea, you get this....

But the little cake dribbles were DELICIOUS. And irresistable (this piece went immediately into my mouth after the photo was taken).

 

So, in short,  it was a mes.

But on the upside, I think I have found a frosting recipe that rivals my beloved Bay Bakery frosting!  Now, I was a bit embarassed purchasing....

at the grocery store....but it is trans fat free!  Does that make it ok?  No?  Does it help a bit? No? Oh well.  The frosting was good.  Really good.

So not exactly a Martha Stewart-esque effort, but not a total failure either.

Oh and my little taste tester....