14 Nov
Ava has developed a taste for an old family recipe—peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. She makes them herself using dill pickle relish.
Her father made her a peanut butter and SUGAR sandwich last week, so I think this is a step in the right direction.
13 Nov
I’m putting off some real work. Care to join me?
If you have a moment–and a Kitchen-Aid–check out Bakerella.com.
It’s a site I found by way of The House on Hudson. Laura linked to How About Orange, and that brought me to this wonderful little world of cupcakes and cake pops and fondant and well, here I am, wishing I had gone to cooking school instead of grad school.
I wonder what Bakerella does while she’s procrastinating? Maybe she thinks about a career in strategic communications.
But probably not–she’s too busy whipping out brilliant creations like Red Velvet Balls, which I am going to try my hardest not to skip out on work to make this afternoon.
12 Nov
Ava: Mom, I don’t want to go to kindergarten.
Me: Why?
Ava: Because kindergarten is so BORING.
Me: It’s great. You’ll love it.
Ava: No. I’ve decided I’m just going to be a grown up when I turn five.
11 Nov
My friend Dawn grew these gourds in her garden this summer–aren’t they beautiful? There was some mingling between the pumpkins and one type of gourd, which resulted in a rather interesting hybrid.
And, note the hedge apple–I found some on sale for 99 cents each at a grocery store in Minnesota this fall. I guess we’re pretty fortunate to find them in our neighbor’s yard for free! (In my defense, our male Osage Orange is the pollinator, so we should at least have joint custody of the offspring, right?)
11 Nov
Ava has Olivia in training, leading her all over the house to practice walking. Her hard work is playing off–last night Olivia walked from the couch to the staircase…and all the way up the stairs. She’s taking this mobility business pretty seriously.
10 Nov
Bryan’s parents came down to visit this weekend. They took Bryan and me to lunch on Friday while the girls napped at daycare/preschool, and Karyl and I checked out the quilt shop downtown.
Doug and Karyl watched the girls while we attended a company party Friday night–which, by the way, was incredibly enjoyable, mostly because we knew the kids were in such good hands.
We were slow to start Saturday morning (or, Saturday afternoon, for Bryan), but we had a great time hanging out and watching the Kansas/Nebraska game. We grilled out Saturday night, despite very cold weather.
The Smiths took us to brunch on Sunday morning, and we checked out Bryan’s new lab space before they headed home. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I snapped but one photo of Karyl and Ava playing before my camera ran out of batteries, but Doug took several shots. I imagine he’ll post them to his gallery soon. (Link at right.)
UPDATE: Doug’s photos are up–and they include some of the best shots we have the girls to date!
7 Nov
Ava: Mom, my pull-up is full like a full moon.
—
Ava: “I stepped on the scale, and my feet weigh fifty hundred and a million pounds!”
Mom: “I know the feeling.”
—
Ava: “I smelled my mouth, and it smells like dirt!”
6 Nov
I tried to make a soup tureen out of a roast pumpkin last weekend. It failed spectacularly! Has anyone done this with any success? What’s the trick?
Smith Family Weblog 