How I Prepare for a Trip

We have this unused bedroom. 

When we moved in, I had visions of creating this beautiful, bright and girly room for myself (or guests, if we ever have any).  It would be a sanctuary for me to go and read, plus my closet is in this room so I am in there all the time anyways.  Since I have never finished decorating it, it basically serves as a dumping ground.  Ironing piles.  Filing piles.  Random stuff left over from our remodel.  When I am packing,  this space comes in handy.

Usually about 2 weeks (or earlier) before a trip, I start with a list of everything we need (swimsuits, sunscreen, phone chargers, passports, etc.) and keep it in the kitchen so I can add to it easily.

Tip - Don't lose this list.  I have been known to lose a list or two.  Most often my grocery list, I have lost 75% of the grocery lists I make.

Then I start dumping stuff ahead of time in extra bedroom.  I usually start with my stuff, since it is all about me.   I try stuff on and find what needs to ironed, etc.  Then I pull a bunch of stuff out for Kevin and let him pick what he wants.

My Mom has given me a number of these embroidered cotton bags over the years.  They are great to keep all the little things like socks, bathing suits, etc. together in your suitcase.  Thanks Mom!

Then I move onto the kids.  The biggest thing when traveling with kids is to plan ahead.  Obviously.  Since we are typically going somewhere off season, I usually need to try the clothes on the kids and sometimes buy them new things.  For this trip, Gracie needed new sandals and Andrew needed a new hat.  I try to get my shopping done a week in advance.  I don't want to be running out the night before a vacation to get travel benadryl (yes, we drug our children when we fly) or quart size bags. 

Keep your kids away from this stuff.  Usually Grace will come in and start taking things away or putting extra things in the piles.  This is beyond annoying.

For entertainment, I try to get a few new things (the Target $1 section or the dollar store are great for this) like coloring books, stickers, or a random toy to keep the kids entertained.  Since Grace's birthday is this month, she has a number of new things.  A good tip is to keep some things for the plane ride home, as that is usually the real tortuous part of the vacation.  Also, candy is great too, suckers, Pez, Tootsie rolls (for me).  Then again, I cannot think of a situation where candy is not great. 

When I have everything laid out, I get out the bags and try to fit everything in.  Then I weigh the bags to ensure they meet the weight limit. 

Here are our suitcases, picture taken 4 days before we left for Mexico.  I leave usually leave one open so I can throw in last minute items. 

Before each vacation, I have the same nightmare.  I need to pack and get out of the house in 10 minutes.  Sounds easy.  Not with kids.  I. Just. Cannot. Get. Out. The. Door.  TORTURE!!!!!  Then I wake up and think, "Phew!  I packed last week for this trip and we leave on next month.  I am so glad I plan ahead."

Now you understand why Bridget is sometimes crabby on vacations, especially short ones.  Because it is SOOOO much work to get everyone and the house ready.  (I didn't even mention the house.  I refuse to come home from vacation to anything other than a clean house.  That means laundry done, beds made, house clean, dishwasher run.  No excuses like, "Our plane leaves at 6am." will be accepted).

For this trip, we are driving to O'Hare.  So I figured I would need to clean the car too.  I forced myself to stop when I was literally WINDEXING the license plate.  Pathetic.

Happy 4th Birthday Gracie!

Gracie is sweet, thoughtful, funny, expressive, outgoing, passionate, smart and a princess. 

(I originally said she was "silly" instead of a princess, but after I read the sentence to her she put her hands on her hips and said she doesn't like being called silly.  She insisted that I needed to change it to say "Princess".)   

She loves to learn new things, help everyone, cook & bake with mom,  go swimming, do art projects, play dress up, wear makeup, get manicures and pedicures.  She adores her family and friends, and is happiest when there is a big group around.  She loves to party, sing and dance.  Her favorite foods are fruit, pasta, bread and candy. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Grace from the past 4 years.

Baby Gracie

1 Year Old Gracie

2 Year Old Gracie

(I need to explain this picture.  We asked her to put her hands on Andrew's head like she always does (see photo below) but she took our instruction literally.)

3 Year Old Gracie

4 Year Old Gracie!

errr, Happy St. Patrick's Day?

I came across this cute picture of Gracie and could not resist posting.

This was taken at Irish Fest 2009.  Don't ask why I was at Irish Fest when I was 9 months pregnant...I have no recollection of agreeing to that outing.

You all know I hate St. Patrick's Day. It annoys me.

Ireland looks beautiful and I would like to go there one day.

Irish people are nice and super good looking (my husband made me say that).

Potatoes are good, especially with cheese.

Green is my favorite color (seriously).

Shamrock shakes are fabulous.

But, I didn't grow up celebrating it, maybe that is why I am not a fan? Plus, I am sure you can imagine my opinion on binge drinking in "honor" of a Saint. Enough said.

What really annoys me is when people say, "Bridget Malone, what a fine Irish name!" or "Bridget Malone, you must be so Irish!" or if someone uses the word "lass" in the same sentence as my name...or in my presence really. And if they top it off with a lame Irish accent...cringe... it sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. But I just smile and say, "Oh, I am married so that is my husband's name."

Kevin - That is how much I love you! I was willing to take on the most Irish sounding of names. Or maybe it was to get rid of a name even I have a hard time pronouncing?

Roasted Tomato Pasta

This is a super easy pasta that you can make all year round.

All you need to do is cut up cherry tomatoes, garlic and sprinkle with olive oil.  Roast in a hot over (about 425) until the tomatoes are soft (about 10 minutes) and bursting.    

When you remove it from the oven add about 1 Tsp of butter, basil, salt and pepper.

Pour over pasta and top with parmesan (or buffalo mozzerella) cheese. The other day I added a bunch of baby spinach and that was good too.



how my brain works - toilet seals

I am totally neurotic.  You all know this.  Here is an example of how my brain works. 

When our contractor tore out the bathroom, he mentioned that the toilet had a slow leak.  No huge damage to the subflooring, so it wasn't a big deal.  He just mentioned it. 

Because I am always trying to learn more about how plumbing works (Seriously, it is interesting.  Did you know sinks needed venting???  Fascinating.),  I asked him, "How would I know when a toilet has a leak?  What did I miss?"  His answer, "You wouldn't necessarily know if it was a small leak." 

This type of information is extremely alarming to me.  The unknown = scary.

You see, I have four toilets in my house.  If that one was leaking and I didn't know it, how do I know if the other ones are leaking too? 

What if they are slowly leaking and damaging all the flooring, but the leaks are not showing up on the ceiling below?
What if one day a toilet falls through the ceiling? 
What if we need to get the floors and subfloors fixed and it costs one million dollars? 

Surely, I would then kick myself for not having gotten them re-sealed when I was informed that one of them was leaking.  Surely that was a warning sign from the gods of responsible home maintenance!

So I asked my contractor, "If this were your house, would you check out these toilet seals?"  He smiled, laughed a little and said, "Of course!" 

The contractor will be back in a few weeks to re-seal my toilets with the "rolls royce" of wax toilet seals.  Until then, every time someone flushes I can just hear a little trickle of water leaking down into my flooring and plaster ceilings. 

My mind is a scary place.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies....with beans

I bought this cookbook when Gracie was about 6 months old, and it has some good ideas.  Our favorites are the mac & cheese and chocolate chip cookies (with garbanzo beans).  Only problem with the cookies is they have a stick and a half of butter or margarine in them.  Obviously, any recipe with a stick and a half of butter will taste good. 

So I updated the recipe to make it a bit healthier.  Try it out...

2 cups flour

1/4 c butter

1/4 c peanut butter

1/2 c oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c raisins

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 cup chocolate chip/peanut butter chips

1 can garbanzo beans/chick peas

1. Puree the chickpeas and set them aside.  I use this handy little cuisinart.  Isn't it cute?

2. Mix butter, peanut butter, vanilla and brown sugar

3. Mix in eggs.  I have been buying these brown eggs lately.  Not sure why, I guess they seem more "organic"?  Anyways, the shells chip so easily.  I am constantly pulling out little shells from my recipes.  So I have started breaking them into a separate bowl first, then into the mixing bowl. 

4. Whip the eggs into the butter mixture until it looks light and fluffy.  Maybe 1 minute?

Here is the vanilla I use.  My parents bought it for me in Mexico.  They have cheap real vanilla down there. 

6. Mix  the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

7. Combine garbanzo beans, butter/sugar mixture and dry ingredients and stir.

8. Add in chocolate chips and raisins (if you want them, you could also add nuts)

10. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.  I wait until the tops are a little brown. 

The shelf life on these babies is not as long as regular cookies, but I keep them in an airtight container or in the fridge.  Throw them in the microwave and have them with your morning coffee or with ice cream for dessert.  Delicious.  I estimated the calories at about 60 per cookie, so guilt free! 

Don't let the beans scare you.  Trust me.  Fiber is good. 

This weekend

We had a nice, low key weekend. 

Andrew played with princess dolls.

And Gracie went to her friend Nora's birthday party.