what's goin on in the kitchen? but I don't know what's cookin

Tonight I made Fish Tacos. They turned out to be very beautiful and tasty as well. This is the second recipe I've taken from Martha Stewart, and this one is my favorite. Her recipes tend to have obscure ingredients and are often pretty involved as far as preparation and cooking time, but this one was pretty easy.

I guess it's time for an update in general, so here goes.

-The hydrangeas are blooming. They are my favorite flower and I have loved the bush in my yard that so generously produces the gorgeous blossoms. I cut several to put around the house. Fresh flowers in my house make me happy.

-Last week I woke up one morning, looked out on my back deck and saw a mother cat feeding her four little kittens. They are adorable, and they played for several days on the deck, but I haven't seen them this week.

-Memorial Day weekend was spent at my parent's house in NW Florida. Saturday I got a day off from the kids and worked at my brother's nursery. (Ironic however, one nursery to another nursery.) It was fun to be working out in the sun, sweating and getting my hands dirty. It was also good to be around Alan. It brought back lots of fun memories of the two summers I worked for him, doing landscaping and lawn maintenance. Sunday was my niece Annabelle's 2nd birthday party. There was much eating and swimming and general felicity. Monday our friends Tim and Kelly Garland came over with their two boys and we swam and talked and played croquet and watched our children play together. It was a very good day.

-These last two days have been like a hangover for me. It is always tough coming home from out of town because the kids are crankified and exhausted, and I usually am one or both of the same. Plus it goes back to me taking care of the kids as opposed to six potential people available throughout the day. I guess it's always a readjustment.

-Potty training update-we were doing so well, but now we're having some relapses. Plus, Ruthie just refuses to do #2 in the potty. I'm reaching desperation on that front. Overall, the whole process has been easier than expected.

-Cute Ruthie story/facts: we were sitting out on the back step and I was talking on the phone when an ant crawled up on my toe. Ruthie said "Don't bite my mommy, bug!"

Ruth is into Dora the Explorer. She walks around saying "Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!" And she asks me where some of the characters are randomly throughout the day.

Her favorite songs for us to sing lately are the Micah 6:8 song which we call the "Humble Song" and "Are You Sleeping, Bro John." She made up a song last night. It is called the Bum Bum Song and she gets hysterical when she sings it. So silly. I love it.

-Cute Mac facts: He is adorable and completely precious and kissable. When I lay him down to sleep and then return to get him up later, he is usually in the exact opposite position from where I laid him down. He loves to sleep with a silky blanky on his face. He is 6 1/2 months old! We call him Mackiedoo. When people ask Ruthie what her brother's name is, that's what she tells them. Mac is rolling around, and almost able to sit up by himself. He is at that stage where he gets so frustrated by his lack of mobility and cries and cries because he wants to be on the go.

-Jay spent two hours in line today renewing our car tags. He is my hero.

-I am ready for bed. Night Night.

(This is long, and I had it broken up into paragraphs, but when I post it it squishes it all together into the mother of all paragraphs. Sorry.)

potty training 2007

I finally decided to bite the bullet and start really potty training Ruthie this week. She has been going on the potty about once a day, and getting a treat for it, and I would keep asking if she needed to go and telling her that when she feels that feeling to let me know so we can go to the potty. She has started really not wanting to be still for diaper changes, and that is what made me decide on Monday that this is the week. Half-way training has been good to build up to this week, but it had to become an all-out assault. So far we are 0-3 for #2, but doing well with #1. She went on the floor twice Monday(I am so thankful for hardwood floors), and not at all yesterday or today. She's 3-0 for #1 today. She has figured out that peepee running down her legs is no fun, and she doesn't want to mess up her big-girl panties. I'm very proud of her, and I'm liking the money we're saving on diapers.

Ruthie is such a big girl, more and more. She is talking up a storm, becoming very opinionated and wanting to do things all by herself. She can express herself, and is really growing up in so many ways, which is bittersweet for me and Jay.

Yesterday Jay was cleaning out our nasty outdoor garbage can and Ruthie and I were playing in Jay's truck cab. (This is one of her favorite pasttimes. She steers, adjusts the radio, puts up the sunshade and takes it down, and we pretend to go get ice-cream. We asked her what flavor she would like and she said, "salami." Yummy.) So as Jay was hosing out the garbage can Ruthie asked "what's Daddy doing?" I said, "He's cleaning out the stinky garbage can." Her reply- "that's sweet of him."

Best Wishes, Hanno and Lauren Vanderbijl!

The sweet couple (sorry they're sideways)
The reception was held at the Eastern Shore Arts Center, and the art was full of flowers.
Mallory, Hanno, Lauren and Me
All Ruthie wanted to eat was strawberries. The wedding was beautiful!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Sorry, I know it's Siete de Mayo now, but, as you can see by my postings, I'm playing catch-up, and alot has been going on lately. These pictures are from our favorite Mexican place, Los Rancheros. We celebrated the Cinco with our friends Jen and Brandon. Brandon has been out of town, well, out of country for many weeks so we were glad to see his smiling face across the table. It was muy divertido to hang out and eat some frijoles y enchiladas y guacamole con amigos. (Note Ruthie's hand stealing my cheese...Hey Ruthie, that's Nacho Cheese! And her appropriate for the occasion sippy cup with Dora the Explorer on it...Vamanos!)

Happy Belated B-day, Dad!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our anniversary was April 20th, but we celebrated the weekend before. I forced Jay to take me to my favorite restaurant and we had a lovely dinner without the kids! Special thanks to Jen for baby sitting...you're awesome, Jen!

Five years of marriage, two kids, one cat, and here we are. I love you, Jay!

oh great ocean

Another thing to add to my list of things I don't want to run into while swimming in the ocean:

sea serpent/sea wormy thing

List includes:
hungry shark
angry manta ray with barbed tail
man-eating jellyfish
man-eating squid
men in speedos (especially hairy men in speedos)
men in thongs (gagging sound)
electric eel