Blog Blah...

I have tons to blog about- Birdy's birthday festivities being chief among them. I will get around to it, I promise. DMP is home this week for Spring Break so we've been chillin' and just hanging out together. School breaks like this are probably the only thing I'll miss about him going to school :)

I'm also not really feeling like posting with so much uncertainty. If I were a better writer, I'm sure I could adequetly tell you just how the roller-coaster of hope -> despair -> optimism -> frustration that being unemployed has put us on. Or I could tell how I unexpectedly felt a little shame in signing up my kiddos for state health care (don't worry- the shame quickly turned to frustration with the bureaucracy). If I was a really good writer, I could share about how the uncertainty about where we'll be and how much $ we'll make and if I get to stay at home forever is hell on me with my control-freak anxiety.

Come to think of it, it's probably lucky for everyone that I'm not that good because that would be a real downer. It just makes blogging hard because I can't really express what takes up 95% of my thoughts :)

Treasures

On our last trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house, EJ got a small plastic safe. She spent the day gathering these most precious "treasures" to fill it with.

Four!

I have a hard time believing this girl is still only four! She is so tall and smart she must be 4 going on 24! She is a ray of sunshine in our house (until there are storm clouds!) and her happy chatter has become the new background noise in my life.
These pics are going backwards in time because blogger is dumb, btw. I'm surprised and impressed at what a great big sister she is. She's always looking out for Bear and doing silly tricks to make him smile and laugh. She is his very favorite person.

My favorite thing about Birdy is her fierce independent nature - most days anyway. She is tough and she knows what she wants and will try her best to get it. While that might make her a challenge to parent (I shudder to think of her at fourteen!), I think those qualities will serve her well for the rest of her life. We just need to help her channel them for the forces of good, not evil :)

We are so happy and proud that she is a part of our family!

Happy Birthday Birdy!

Funny Stories

Birdy (while riding in the car): "Mom, my bum hurts".
Me: "I'm sorry - is it your bumps? (she has some odd red bumps occasionally- TMI, I know).
Birdy: "No. It hurts like a crazy cow!"

I got a call this morning. It was a nice-sounding older lady looking for Marie. I said "I think you have the wrong number". She told me that I have Marie's number and have I had it long?
I wanted to help her out and I said, "What number are you trying to call?"
She said: "I'm trying to call Marie's number- her maiden name is (something I can't remember)"
I told her our number and she confirmed that was the one she had written down. I said I was sorry and wished her luck in finding Marie.

Two minutes later the phone rings again. It was the woman again. She said "You were so nice before I wanted to call you back and let you know that they think the nuclear fallout {I'm assuming she means radiation from Japan?} is going to hit the US soon. I'm very concerned about it and you should make sure that you have iodine and buy some powdered milk just in case. I don't know if it will get here, but my daughter lives in California and I'm worried about her."

What could I do? I thanked her for letting me know and now I'm off to get some iodine and powdered milk...

This is why we love Monday

We have a regular appointment to watch Cyndi's Sis on Mondays and the girls really, really love it. It gives them a chance to play with a "little sister". I think Sis really likes it because she gets a couple of big girls to dress her up and dance and do other "girly" things that her big brothers don't do! I like it because I don't have to do anything and they all amuse each other!

If you only ever try one recipe I post, let it be this one...

Congrats to Kim- I think she's the very first person I've ever heard of to try any recipe I've posted here. Oh well- it isn't for your sake, my two readers. I do it with my very favorites so so when I click "food" or "recipe" in my tag cloud I can find my favorites with all of my tweaks rather than hunting down the recipes. Not that I don't want you to try them- I do. Because they are really, really good.

(BTW- Kim tried the Emeril's Tuna Melt recipe I posted about last week. Russ, her husband, doesn't even like tuna and he loved it!)

So, the point of this rambling intro is that if you only ever try one recipe I post here, this is the one. It has everything - it's inexpensive (seriously, does it get cheaper than chicken legs?), easy and soooo good. The chicken legs turn out super juicy and flavorful. Don't take my word for it. Cyndi? Brad? You are welcome to comment on how yummy this was!

This recipe isn't even really a recipe- more like instructions, it's so easy. You can find it here at the blog Chaos in the Kitchen.

I was kind of concerned about the oven temp- 475 for 40 min. seems awfully high/long. I wussed out and set it at 450 and they took longer than necessary to cook, so go ahead and trust it :) We tossed our legs with generous amounts of season salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and smoked paprika (use a plastic bag, much cleaner than tossing them in a bowl). We made some with the smoked paprika and some without. The ones with were a lot better, so use that if you've got it. We also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on some when they came out from the oven. It was tasty, so that is worth doing, too.

Bambi Blanket

We recently got the movie, Bambi, and Birdy insisted on watching it wrapped in what is creatively known around these parts as "the Bambi blanket". Watching them cuddle under it got me thinking about it and where it came from. It has occurred to me that it is something of an under appreciated treasure in our house.

DMP's Mom made the Bambi blanket when he was really little. It was part of a whole home made bedroom set including quilted headboard and curtains. Come to think of it- I think the curtains at least are still around... Anyway, the room set was made with love for little Davey-doodle.

Sometime after we got married, DMP's Mom offered us the Bambi blanket. We took it and for a while it served as our go-to picnic blanket. It is a good size - smaller than a twin-size blanket, but big enough to sit on. It has joined us on many a picnic and camping trip.

Recently, Birdy discovered the blanket somehow and like every blanket in our house, it immediately became "hers" and joined her posse of 7 or so regular blankets. She has given up her pink princess-themed bed quilt in favor of Bambi, Thumper, Flower and the gang. It makes me happy that it has a new small kid to love and sleep with it and I know it would make DMP's Mom happy to know that it is still being loved!