GOOD CHEAP FUN

I love when I have the means to provide good, cheap fun for my monkeys!

POPCORN

One of our favorite kid's songs and the longest amount of time that you will ever see Nicholas quiet...

SALMON

It's what's for dinner.

It should not be

a wall color.

Some of our lovely condo board members decided that the hallways needed to be brightened up from the dull beige color they had been painted a few years ago. My picture actually looks more pink than reality. To give you a better idea as to the exact color, do a little visualization with me. Have you ever eaten a meal, had something red to drink, and then proceeded to throw up the combination? Do you remember the resulting color? It's called "Salmon Run" and it has been spewed all over my back hallway.

I TURNED 43 TODAY!!!

The secret to staying young is to
live honestly, eat slowly,

and lie about your age!
~Lucille Ball~

I have been working on being more honest.
With myself.
With others.
With my expectations.
With my limitations.
With my reality.
With everything except my age!

I again refer to my theory on why women should lie and represent themselves as being years older. You don't ever want to say you are younger than your actual age and get that awkward smile from someone who is about to call you out on your lie. You know the look. It is usually followed by silence. Instead, I prefer to say I am years older so I get the other smile. The one that tells you that even though you haven't really brushed your hair since Pepper was born; and the bags under your eyes are no longer considered carry-on size; and your smile is a little less vibrant than the rainbow it once was; you still look pretty young. I don't care as much about how young I look, but rather how young I act. I am so thankful that my children keep me young in spirit!

And speaking of eating slowly, Joey and I had the most relaxing, slow dinner ever. I had been waiting weeks for my birthday dinner at Heritage Prairie Farm and it did not disappoint! They are an organic farm in Elburn, which is right past St. Charles and Geneva. I would LOVE to join their C.S.A. this year, but it is a little out of our price range.

Salivate over my personalized Valentine's Day/Birthday Menu. Every savory morsel that passed my lips was more delicious than the next. I will, for a long time, dream of the cucumber and lime granita. I had never had microgreens before but they were so packed with flavor! When I saw the ravioli, I thought, where is the marinara? It was so light with just shaved pecorino cheese on top, I didn't even miss the sauce!

This is what helped me enjoy dinner.

Here is my sweet dessert.

I was full but I could not be wasteful!

Joey looks like he had more to drink

than I did. Not true in the least!

How hard do you think it was to find cute black flats to wear with my favorite dress and new bolero? I checked 6, yes, 6 different stores to no avail. On my last stop, I found these little purple beauties. The awesome Paris box is a birthday gift from Mil and Fil!

After asking her for fashion advice, my sister warned me that I couldn't wear heels to a farm. She was right. They were way too gorgeous and inexpensive (85% off) to pass up! Besides, a girl has to buy herself a nice present once in a while! We got to the farm halfway through cocktail hour and had to park at the end of the gravel and snow covered driveway. It was a long and slow walk. We almost missed the second half of cocktail hour. I decided to pretend I was just making a slow and graceful entrance, just like a queen would! Here is the walkway to the farm house. And lastly, please take note of my ever-present, yet only occasionally photographed angel.

EENIE MEENIE MINEY MOE

How sad is it that we had to play eenie meenie miney moe to determine which one of us would decide the answer to the

age-old question...

CHOCOLATE OR POOP???

CHOCOLATE OR POOP???

CHOCOLATE OR POOP???

CHOCOLATE!!!

P.S...Most all of our decisions lately have been made using this sophisticated system!

*

DANCIN WIT MY LAYDAY

I had just finished giving Monkey and Pepper their baths and they were supposed to be choosing their bedtime books. I was cleaning up the bathroom and thought it sounded awfully quiet in the room. When I snuck around the corner, I see Monkey slow dancing with Pepper. Her head is on his chest and he is holding her and rubbing her back and softly whispering, "I'm dancin wit my layday!" I ran to get the camera and then after he realized, he sped up his tempo, but it was still cute! Excuse the heavy breathing, as Pepper is still pretty sick :(

ART SMART

How art smart am I???

I got all these

art supplies

at a warehouse sale

for a grand total of...

$ 25 !!!

.

PEPPER IS PERFECT

Pepper had a check-up today and in the midst of all my worrying about her lack of advanced vocabulary, her doctor said, "she's happy and healthy...what more can you ask for?" Nothing. By the way, she is right on track with her abilities. She observes more than she emulates. Thank you so much, Dr. B., for always saying the simple things that mean the most. You definitely know how to treat both the patient and the parent! I also had a chance to discuss with him... the earth, values, politics, friends, and the future of the world being in the hands of our children. Where else could you get so much quality time with another adult? I have found the exception to the rule. Oh, how I love my pediatrician!

ORGANICS ROCK!

So, we are just finishing up the last of our recent Irv & Shelly's delivery. How awesome is it that we get such fresh, organic and (mostly) local foods delivered directly to our front door? I finally used the last of my birthday gift certificate, which was a group gift from my family last year. So, yeah, uh, last of the certificate, uh, a week before my birthday, uh, yeah, awesome!
.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON

There's nothing like

being awake at 4 a.m.

with your 3 year old

and sharing...

Coughing attacks

Christmas decorations clean up

Conversation and

Cold Care Tea