Giraffes, Monkeys, and Eggs, Oh My!

August insisted on wearing his giraffes, as mommy wore her monkeys.

Then there was the great egg debacle: Part 2!

(blue dye in the eggs, plus a little shell, too!)

(very cracked, and not much dye left)

Egg debacle: Part 1

Last year I decided to blow out Easter eggs and dye them, so we would have many years of using them. Well, long story short. We used them, but I couldn't keep those ugly things for another year.

Which leads me to . . .

Egg debacle: Part 2

I was going to do it right this year. I even did research on Martha Stewart's website. I mean, if she can't teach you how to do it, then should you even really know how?

Step 1. Dye eggs.

Step 2. Blow out eggs.

(These steps were reversed last year, which led to a sub-par appearance.)

Step 1 went well. Then came the mess. As I was using my nasal syringe (egg usage only), I could feel the egg beginning to crack. Sure enough, the final blow did it - cracked egg number 1. So I tied egg number 2, and it cracked on the first blow, which caused the dye to bleed into the eggs that I was going to cook up in a casserole. Wonder what the science is behind that? Not wanting to fail, I tried egg number three. It caused the most shellage in the eggs. Three strikes and you're out!

So I came up with an idea for my next poor, innocent eggs. I know you are on the edge of your seats, waiting to see how it turns out. I will post pictures as soon as I get more eggs and hit the craft store! Maybe tomorrow?!?

St. Patty's Day Dinner

Irish Soda Bread - easy to make and pretty good!
Steamed Cabbage

Upside Down Shepard's Pie - Not traditional, buy very tasty!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I may just be wishfully thinking, but . . .

He gets this cleaning duty in the next few years!

Rub a Dub Dub

There's a duck in the tub!

Dear Kinleigh,

Guess Who?

Humidity

I no longer have a love/hate relationship with it.

Can you guess why?

It Got Quiet Today

Behind Door #1

Blaze arranges the pillows just so.

Behind Door #2 - "I'm innocent, I swear."

"Just a little diggin' in the trash."

Liar, Liar

I swear August sang his first song last night. "Liar, Liar pants on firer!" Yep, he did. It came through loud and clear from his lips to my ears at 1:00 a.m. Before dozing off, I just happened to mention to Travis that August has been sleeping good. I knocked on wood for good measure, but it didn't help. I swear that I wasn't a liar before he came along.

"Don't listen to her. I would never turn anyone into a liar!"

Two Lesson Tuesday

This probably won't become a reoccurring theme, but I thought I would share my two lessons learned!

Lesson #1 - Don't be afraid to make a recipe your own. I found a great recipe for parchment baked halibut. I guess I starting making it my own early on. The grocery store had talapia on sale, so that was going to be our fish of choice. I was already to go, and discovered that I didn't have enough parchment paper to bake one shrimp, much less two fish fillets. So I went ahead and baked the fish on a boiler pan covered in tin foil (it makes for easier clean up) and topped the fish with pesto and a drizzle of olive oil and chicken broth. I must say that we enjoyed it tremendously! Technically, I guess this is not a new lesson, but just a reinforced one. When I first started cooking, my grandmother told me not to put nutmeg in my apple pie. Reason 1: she doesn't really like it, and Reason 2: if you put in to much, you have really messed it up!!

Lesson #2 - Steamed broccoli ALWAYS steams better with water in the pan. I caught it in time and won't have to buy a new pan, darn!

While the Cat is Away the Mouse (or Mice) Will Play

I guess the old saying is true. While the cat is away the mouse will play. And play they did with a brand new 4-wheeler. Thanks Papa G!! August stayed with both sets of grandparents while we were away. They took their jobs seriously and spoiled him every minute. Thanks for giving us a relaxing trip away. We don't have to worry when he's with you guys!!

Spinning Out

Total Concentration

"Follow me,"

"or I'll run you over!"

A Hard Mornings Work

Today we went to visit Dr. LaRue. He said that we are doing great and to keep it up. This is what I found after a few stops on the way home. It is hard getting all checked out by the doctor. Not to mention the flu shot!

Las Vegas

In all the excitement of packing for Vegas, I forgot my camera. I know, no pictures to bore you with, just words. I will try to make it short and sweet.

We arrived safe and sound and checked into our room at the Palazzo. It is a newer hotel, part of the Venetian, and just beautiful. Our room was the nicest one I have ever stayed in by far. The sectional couch was the most comfortable thing I have ever sat on, if only it would have fit into our luggage. The bathroom was great too, jacuzzi tub and all.

I have never been disappointed with the food in Vegas, and they did not let me down this time either. Dal Toro served up some mean ravioli and lasagna. SUSHISAMBA had the best sushi ever. And craftsteak, well, lets say it was heavenly. We munched on shrimp, roasted red peppers, diver scallops, 4 different cuts of Kobe beef, potato puree, and many other fabulous sides. Our deserts included monkey bread, lava cake, bread pudding, about 8 different sorbets, and fruit too. My feet will be hitting the trail soon!!

Gaming was quite fun too. Some of our favorites included Let it Ride and Caribbean Poker. Not so favorites this time around - Three Card Poker, Black Jack, and Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Fortune was only a fortune for the casinos, but Travis managed to keep it going for us on the tables!

Oh yeah, Travis learned some great things at his meetings, and I enjoyed walking the shops, the pool, and napping. Our last night included a banquet and concert by Chicago. A little old for us, but they did play a few songs we knew.

We had a great time and can't wait to go back!!

Dinosuars and Cowboys

Brooker and Jared stopped by for a visit today. While August was getting a breathing treatment, Brooker proudly wore the purple dino mask. Now if we could only get August to!

Sportin' his cowboy boots!
Do these make me walk funny?

Three Things

First things first. Panic. Did anyone else feel a small sense of panic yesterday? Well, I guess you would have to have Embarq to understand. Our Internet was down. After fidgeting with cords, feeling like some weird currents run through my body that cause computer malfunctions, and then just giving up, I learned that a major wire had been cut in Central Florida. Good. It wasn't me! However, I did get more done around the house. I guess I should think about time management?!

Second thing. Love. I found an idea on the Internet for Valentine's Day and waited just a little too late to get started. Story of my life!! I was unable to finish before packing up and heading to Tallahassee. So upon our return, I began working again. It was almost ready to go, then August gave us our scare. So to make a long story short, Travis got his gift last night. It is never to late to share a gift made with love, right?

It was really simple actually, just fill up a deck of cards with reasons why you love someone, then make a cover and back page, connect with ribbon, binder clip, etc. and you have a cute little book.

Third thing. Genes. I truly believe that August got most of his Genes from Daddy. The really good looks, curly hair, independence, biting, the ability to melt my heart, just to name a few. I am not sure, but this one may have come from me:

He started putting his sippy cup on a coaster!?! I swear we didn't teach him this, he just does it. I am sure it is just because he is copying us, but pretty smart don't ya think? So maybe the gene did come from Daddy after all? Yes, I think that's it. A smart gene from Daddy, not a neat gene from Mommy, even though Daddy has those too.