TWENTY on Tuesday!

1. At Barnyard last week, they gave out tattoos. Alla had some tattoos of cows with conspicuously protruding udders for a few days. She liked to call them her tutus.

2. We have 3 more swim classes. I am counting down because I spend the entire time freezing and looking forward to the hot shower in the locker room.

3. On Friday we went blueberry picking with our neighbors. Alla LOVES Carter and Canton. LOVES. Always wants to be over there. Anyway, for a girl who isn't too much into blueberries, she was way into the picking aspect.

4. And of course you have to find something great to do with them, so you check out Martha Stewart and find an amazing muffin recipe that your charming little daughter wants to help you make. She's so cute with her measuring cups, Daddy this is one quarter spoon.

5. Random picture that I lomo'd using my friend Suziebeezie's link.

5. Saturday was BIG. HUGE. Let's get this out of the way first: This came.

6. And then, hold onto your seats, ALLA POTTY TRAINED ON SATURDAY.

7. Yes, I said potty trained.

8. As in NO MORE DIAPERS. I don't know why I insist on using Ron's crappy camera with all that grain but hey it got me a photo of my potty girl.

9. We're pretty excited, pretty proud.

10. But...there was nothing wrong with diapers. They were a heck of a lot easier than wondering if and when she's going to poop.

11. We also got rid of the highchair and she moved on up to her new cooshee booster, in her favorite blue of course.

12. Speaking of colors, you know blue is her favorite color, right? Yes, well did you also know that no one else is allowed to have that color? For example, Ron's favorite color is [was] also blue, but she has reassigned him: Daddy, there's your favorite color black.

13.Yesterday was Leigha's cast-away party. Little Leigha had a "turtle shell" (cast) on her broken leg for four weeks, and today we went to her party to celebrate its removal.

14. Alla started talking about Como Town the day that invitation arrived. And then did not want to ride the rides when we got there. At all. But convincing her to get on one stinkin' ride with her friend must have given her the bug 'cause after that she was an amusement park junkie. Let's go again! And when you photograph at an amusement park, you get blur.

15. Did you check out the Como Town link? See why you should live here? Minnesota is fabulous for kids. Here's the Como Town song that Alla sings, courtesy Ron of course: Won't you take me to, the Como Town, won't you take me to, the Como Town?

16. Did you know? She's his Alla Balla, and she's my Sugarlump. That's what she told me.

17. Our robin's eggs hatched! There are three hungry chirpies in that nest that is impossible to photograph (smart mama). But we can see them from our downstairs window, and we watch her swoop in with some good worm or bug for those little ones. They always want more and that mama is working overtime to keep them fed.

18. The school registration came today for fall. They are allowing her to do drop-off in the spring. As in one day a week for two and a half hours by herself. Whoa. Good thing January is so dang far away.

19. I left Alla with Ron for bedtime last week for the first time. And it was fine.

20. OK, well, that's all I got. For now. Take it all in and enjoy your week. I'm not likely to have anything again til then anyway. But you gotta give me credit for bringing out the big guns this time.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Today Alla told me that B is for Best Buy. In case you had any doubt who her father is...

2. We purchased a new vehicle over the weekend, so I'm going to use up the next few numbers to give you hints. If you already know, don't shout out your answers! I'm sure some of you are on pins and needles waiting to find out what hipster mobile we have sitting in our driveway.

3. Nope, not a station wagon.

4. No, silly, not a convertible.

5. You guessed it, we are now proud minivan owners. I'm a suburban minivan-driving mom. Point me to the 12-step program.

6. We moved Alla's kitchen up to the next level today. She thought she'd gotten a new toy: It's so tall!

7. Tomorrow we see Barnyard at the AMC.

8. The summer television extravaganza is going well, and I give my husband all the credit. We are nearly through five discs of both Alias and Desperate Housewives, so that means season finales, baby.

9. And then start the next seasons.

10. I officially hired a babysitter for Alla last week for two hours. Running errands by myself was so easy. I even had time for a decaf stop before coming back home for lunch.

I Take Requests.

Schezuan Spicy Noodles with Carrot-Cucumber Relish
from May 2007 Cooking Light

RELISH:
1 c. shredded peeled seeded cucumber
1/4 t. salt
1 c. shredded carrot
1 T. seasoned rice vinegar
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. dark sesame oil

NOODLES:
8 oz. udon noodles (thick, round fresh Japanese wheat noodles)
1/2 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 c. peanut butter
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. chile paste with garlic
Cooking spray
1/3 c. thinly sliced green onions
1 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
6 oz. ground pork (you could substitute ground chicken or beef, or even tofu)
2 garlic cloves, minced

1. To prepare relish (and do this earlier in the day, like during the kiddo's afternoon nap), place cucumber in a colander; sprinkle with salt. Toss well. Drain 1 hour. Place cucumber on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Combine cucumber, carrot, vinegar, sugar, and oil in a medium bowl; sitre until well blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.

2. To prepare noodles, cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.

3. Combine broth, peanut butter, soy sauce and chile paste in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add onions, ginger and pork to pan; saute 5 mins or until pork loses its pink color. Add garlic to pan; saute 30 sec. Pour broth mixture into pan; bring to a simmer, and cook 1 min or until slightly thickened. Pour pork mixture over noodles; toss well. Serve with relish.

Yum!

Now, for those ice cream sandwiches I spoke of on the fourth...actually the ice cream sandwich article from a few years back is featured on the CL home page at the moment!

Ten on Tuesday.

Dear Mazie,

I just thought I would tell you ten things about my day today, since I haven't seen you in a long time and I miss you.

1. Mommy and Daddy took me on a walk this morning. I took Baby and Dora and my bunny and a cup of squares. We saw a deer but it ran away before Mommy could get me out of the stroller to see it. She's so slow.

2. I went to Celine's house for a couple hours all by myself.

3. Celine has princess dresses. I call them tutus. We shared tutus. I wore the Cinderella one. It was blue my favorite.

4. I woke up from nap crying for Celine's dresses.

5. Mommy took me to the farmer's market. I took Baby Rolla and Fluffy. Lots of dogs wanted to lick my Fluffy.

6. Farmer's Market sugar snap peas are so good. They are super big. Mommy also bought cukes and cinnamon bread. I don't like cinnamon bread.

7. When we got home we cut paper. I really love scissors. Mommy said she'd get me some that are small like Alla.

8. When Daddy came home he took me to Wal-mart and bought me my own little green scissors, and they work! (He also took me to Best Buy for a video game. My daddy likes video games a lot. I think your Daddy does, too.)

9. Mommy made Spicy Szechuan Noodles with Carrot-Cucumber Relish for dinner. I don't like those noodles. They are eewee. But I did eat lots of pastas and peas. Mommy said their dinner was a keeper and Daddy said it was bangin.

10. Mazie, I hope you had a good day. I hope I can see you again soon. I love you.

First Fireworks.

First, oohing and aahing.

Then, It itches!

And lastly, some joy from a sparkler.

(This was prior to her touching the hot part and now quite possibly hating sparklers for life.)

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I had a mole shaved off today. Not because it was worrisome, just because the dermatologist said it probably bothered me. Let that be the worst of my skin troubles from here on out.

2. Welcome, Cate!

3. Cherries for me and play-doh for Al. We're all happy here. (And no commenting on the number of cherries consumed, thankyouverymuch.)
4. A full view of our garden. Yes! The sunflowers bloomed!
5. We are making the famous Killins Cooking Light S'more ice cream sandwiches for the 4th. And maybe finding a sparkler or two. We are super festive here. Hey, fireworks don't happen til ten here. What's a mom to do.

6. Alla pulling Baby and Fluffy around the garden through the backyard in the little wagon, the activity of choice these afternoons.
7. We've eaten outside 4 times now. I know this is an embarrassingly low number. We're on it.

8. There are zucchini in the vegetable patch and we ate a salad with lettuce from our garden on Sunday. What a lovely little Victory Garden.

9. Just some sand play when it was a 'chilly' 68 one afternoon. We get really weak after a few months of warm weather.
10. Happy 4th everyone!

TGIF.

Two new spots to check out:

1. The Barry Family

2. The Zitzlsperger's

Happy Friday all!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Someone is 26 months today on the 26th. I think that's like your apple juice birthday or something.

2. In an attempt to get some lovely 26th month photos while we're on our way out the door in 90 degree heat (read: QUICKLY), I snapped several that I both love and hate. They are adorable but not sharp, but that's what you get when you're holding the door with your foot while balancing on the other leg and having to use a too-slow shutter speed to make up for the lack of light right there in that particular spot. But it doesn't matter today. Just don't click on it. It looks fine smallish.

3. Someone else is 30 today. And did the most amazing thing for her celebration. I beg you, go check it out.

4. I shot the teensiest two week old today on the loveliest front porch. Oh how I want a front porch. A deck is not the same.

5. We are going to have to get a new car.

6. Did I mention that it's 90 degrees? But we're still using blankets downstairs.

7. When I returned home this evening from above-mentioned photo shoot, the little one was overjoyed to see me. Not that I want to go back to work like ever, but I am in love with how good it felt for her just to be overjoyed to see me, I mean, couldn't talk fast enough telling me all about what I'd missed in an hour and a half.

8. This is a great creative spot. What scrapbooking is meant to be, what it looked like when I started as a girl and what I need to get back to. Someday.

9. Maybe if we ever get an actual vacation.

10. I am so excited to tell Alla in the morning that I'm taking her to see Happy Feet - for free!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Listen, on Mondays I figure you need something cheerful to start off your week. So here ya go, the little piece of earth that's making me very happy these days.

Alla's marigold, that she grew from seed

Lettuce (when am I supposed to pick it?)

Cosmos, can't wait to have those in a vase

Sunflowers, can't wait to see Alla's face when those bloom

Zucchini growing like madAnd basil, which I hope will make a lovely pesto

Ten on Tuesday.

1. We're back. Ron gets back tomorrow. I love home.

2. Army Wives is great! Thanks, A.K., for the push to watch it. It is my summer show. Considerably better than North Shore or Summerland from two summers ago.

3. I still really want a pumpkin plant for the garden. How cool to show Alla how it grows!

4. I need a new sun tea pot, except when searching for one online, I found this filthy piece of information on why I should not make suntea.

5. Stace, here's what to do with those old wooden spoons.

6. I haven't taken pictures in a couple weeks, so I made sure to grab the camera when we went outside yesterday for 'shalk' time. Is it wrong to make a chalk outline of your two year old daughter? She is still amused by it, saying even this morning upon seeing it again, There's Alla!

7. Overheard at dinner tonight, while I was pretending to be busy washing dishes:

(Alla to her pasta)

Ok, pasta, I tell you a good question.

WE HAVE TO EAT YOU!!!!!!

8. The game she played after chalk time -

The wind is blowing me!!! And then,

I came back! I love you.

9. My good friend brought us a bowl of cut up fruit tonight. Because she just knew we were tired of eating crappy food while we were in a hotel for a week. She was so right. Thank you, Elizabeth.

10. It was 58 this morning. I love 58. The windows were open all day. Fresh air. No a/c. Ron will be so proud.

** And the bonus...

I love those curlies in the front that stay there all day.

Ten on Tuesday: The Early Bird Edition.

Thank you all for your support, thoughts, prayers. We feel them...

What we're doing in this very in-between time:

1. Park playdate today. Our park is completely shaded. You can't beat it.

2. Which leads me to this: I broke down and turned on the a/c for bedtime last night. My breaking point was 84 degrees in the house. And since it wasn't going to be cooler today, I figured we might as well go on and start it up for the summer. No need to suffer the miserable heat. Now 72 in the house feels chilly.

3. Took a splinter out of the little one's foot. Walking around barefoot is only fun til mama has to pull out the splinter.

4. I'm watching old episodes of 90210 on soap net. With all this miserable nothingness of summer television, I'm excited to have found this. Now, I've seen all these episodes, probably a few times, and I still did not remember that Kelly and Matt were engaged. Are we after her and Brandon left each other at the altar? What I really loved was watching the one where Steve and Janet led everyone on that scavenger hunt to their impromptu wedding.

5. Took Alla to see Shrek the Third on Saturday morning, on Stacey's recommendation. She mostly liked it:) The part where Shrek is having a nightmare about his future baby that violently spits up across the room did not thrill her. Kind of freaked her out and induced immediate sobbing. But we stayed til the end, and she delighted in the three little Shrek babies rolling around in the mud!

6. The other part of that movie that made her cry was when they played Damien Rice's 9 Crimes. It was like she could feel how sad that song is or something. Again, immediate sobbing.

7. The garden is up and [hopefully] growing: dahlias, zinnia, lettuce, cosmos, zucchini, strawberries, sunflower, and Alla's little marigold that she's been growing from seed since Easter. Tomatoes soon.

8. Listening to The Weepies which reminds me so much of when we bought that album last summer. Oh the memories. Hot, long days with her on my hip and quick jaunts to a store or two here and there before naptime. And the world spins madly on.

9. Going shoe shopping. Leaving her sitting there playing with the foot measurer thing for a second, then turning around and finding her pants off and she's telling me she has to measure her leg. Oh that funny girl.

10. Ron's dad will be laid to rest on Thursday. Please continue sending your thoughts and prayers...I'm not sure how long it takes for the ones left behind to truly rest again.

On This Day.

We are mourning the loss of Ron's amazing father.

We are so thankful for the long visit a few weeks ago.

We are realizing that the little one goes on with her days

just wants to feel familiarity

mama's tight squeezes and a friend's hug.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Took Alla to the farm last Friday and she keeps asking to go back. She got to hold a baby chick, a kitten and a puppy, feed the cows, and pet the piglets. I think she's in awe of the fact that roosters actually do say cockadoodledoo.

2. Watched the first 4 episodes of Desperate Housewives, and my husband is hanging on because we also watched the first 2 episodes of Alias. How many seasons are there of Alias?

3. Did anyone record Army Wives? I read that if you're a Grey's fan, you should watch it. It's saved.

4. Does every household have at least one load of laundry to do everyday?

5. Ron built me a frame for my garden this weekend and together we dug up the grass in that 32 square foot space and that was a heck of a lot of work. The family that gardens together stays together.

6. All worth it, though, because Alla and I hit up the Farmer's Market this morning for dahlias, zinnia, basil, parsley, and the most amazing fuschia hanging basket you will ever see. Photos to come.

7. This is working out well: I got my new Real Simple yesterday, and I'm still working on the previous issue. I love that.

8. The most thrilling part of digging up the grass? Seeing how many worms we'd find. And a couple slugs. Alla let the worms crawl on her arm but not those ew-weee slugs.

9. Signed Alla up for swim class (we won't be calling them lessons, exactly) yesterday.

10. The first of our three-part nature classes is Friday. First up: Fabulous Flowers.

Happy June everyone!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Memorial Day weekends are awesome. Amazing how one extra day adds so much ooomph to your weekend.

2. It was home improvement weekend: storm door installed, check. Grass thatched, mowed, re-seeded, & fertilized. My husband is awesome.

3. Went to Original Pancake House. Katie & Wally, wait 'til you see our Pancake House. It is faaaaan-ceeeeeee. Ron got his basted eggs fix.

4. Hit up TJ's for pepitas, wine, granola, and cookies.

5. Ron has set up our queue for the Summer Television Adventure (I think that's what he's calling it): Desperate Housewives and Alias. It is the truest definition of a compromise. I don't want to watch his show and he doesn't want to watch mine. I know lots of you have suggested Big Brother. Isn't this just a grown-ups' Real World? Please, please correct me if I'm wrong.

6. Thunderstorm today. Soon as I shut all the windows, it stopped. All that downpour. Love summer storms.

7. Alla said to Ron, "Daddy be careful with the wind. Don't blow away, Mommy be mad."

8. Ron told Alla she rolls deep. Has to have her entourage with her when we leave the house...Baby, Froggy, Eeyore, Elmo, and Bear. This is a lot of peeps for one little two year old to hang onto.

9. Some sneak-y peekies for my card swap gals (aren't they gorgeous!!):

10. Have you visited Chico & Mariah's new baby? -------------> see the link -------------->

Morning Transgressions.

Here's how our morning went:

5:43am - Alla chattering away in her crib

Charlie Brown, where's Linus? I don't know where's Linus.

(no answer from Mommy & Daddy)

Mooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmy! Alla's a pig! Oink oink oink oink oink oink oink oink.

(Still no answer from Mommy or Daddy)

5:53 am Daaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddddddddy! I got a boog. I got a BIG boogie on my finger!

(At this we finally crack up and declare her the winner, and Daddy does indeed go see about the boogie. Who's surprised that there wasn't an actual boogie?)

During her diaper change, I still snuggle into the covers, and hear: Daddy, not too tight, Daddy!

And then, I wanna say Happy Mother's Day to Mommy.

Sure enough, a moment later, my eyes clenched tight pretending to be asleep, she's lifted onto the bed right next to me, whispering, Happy Mother's Day, Mommy, Happy Mother's Day.

I'll take it.


We're back from PA so you know what that means? I have loads of editing to do so it will probably be next year til I'm done. In the meantime, here's one of my favorites from our trip. Alla and "Old McDonald." Old McDonald, you're wondering? Why, isn't that Ronald McDonald, Ron's beloved childhood toy? No, in fact, Alla has decided that this is Old McDonald, of E-I-E-I-O fame. She slept with him every night we were there, in Daddy's old bed, I might add, and sang him This Old Man as she [they] drifted off.

Hope you're all having a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

Two for the Road.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Right on cue, Alla came down with a cold the week before we're set to go to PA to visit Grandma & Grandpa. I swear they must think we're serving her up a daily dose of germs. I should have known there'd be a runny nose on Sunday when on Saturday she told me she had a snuffy nose.

2. Finished The Glass Castle in a week. Amazing read. Go get it.

3. Started The Pact. This was the first Jodi Picoult novel I saw in Target that made me want to read her stuff, and I just never got to it. It was the only one they had at the library yesterday. Score.

4. My husband is amazing. He made Mother's Day amazing. Breakfast in bed. Seriously. And took this picture. I love it. It tells what time it was (7:43, which means I had been lazing around in bed for an hour and forty-three minutes, and I think I stayed at least another forty-five after that). I shows my empty plate, the newspaper strewn about the bed, coffee cup, Alla opening my card, Tiffany box on my lap, and just happiness, and feeling really loved and appreciated. Thanks, you two.

5. So glad Susie's back.

6. So happy for Elizabeth's baby.

7. Eager to hear about Chico & Mariah's baby.

8. I scrapped! Actually I did three layouts last weekend. Here's one. This was great to get on paper, twenty-four hours of my life. If you've never done one of those TODAY layouts, I think they are so important and maybe my favorite because they are exactly what you did, thought, said. And I think that's what I'm going to want to remember twenty years from now, what my life was like, on a day-to-day basis. I don't know if you can enlarge this big enough to read, I mean the font had to be pretty small to get twenty-four hours of details in!

9. Is anyone else sad that the season finales are going on? I mean what am I supposed to watch all summer?

10. Ten on Tuesday will mostly likely be on hiatus next week while we're in PA. But you never know. I might get saucy and surprise you.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope everyone is enjoying a lazy Sunday. I for one am still in my jammies and on my second cup of coffee and those are my major plans for the day. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who make my life so sweet, especially Mom.

Breakin' Out the Pool.

We had nearly ninety degrees yesterday so I broke out the pool for the little girl, who I believe forgot what it even was but when I informed her that it was for swimming said Alla go in it. Yes, babe, you go in it.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. A new favorite photo!2. Finished Saving Fish From Drowning. Don't recommend it.

3. Started The Glass Castle. I've only read 40 pages and I already recommend it.

4. Brought some lilacs inside today. Mmmmmmmm.

5. A recent conversation between Alla and I, which all started because she was indeed wearing a bib with a cupcake on it that said 'little cupcake,' went like this:

Me: Are you my little cupcake?
Alla: No! (Said in the tone of No, silly Mommy!)
Me: Are you my little punkin?
Alla: No! (Same tone)
Me: Are you my little brownie?
Alla: No!
Alla: Little daughter!

6. Tried on a tankini this weekend and had Alla on my hip while I pulled the top off the rack. Immediately she said, for nursin'.

7. Speaking of tankinis, have you checked out Athleta?

8. May is really nice. Flip flops are nice. I don't think anyone here has heard of Rainbows, though.

9. Already getting excited for State Fair time.

10. I still haven't gotten around to any Jodi Picoult novels. Maybe the library will have a paperback tomorrow.

Five for Friday.

Someday I'll catch up [on laundry, sleep, editing, etc.] from Alla's birthday, or should I say, birth-several-days, which perhaps she has been granted due to the fact that she did take several days of labor to arrive two years ago. Two? Still weird.

In the meantime, a few moments:

Her new car! Her new trike!Her new sit n spin!And, today, just her.
Happy weekend, all.