For My Grandparents

I promised some Seth videos soon, so here they are!

First, Seth being a dork. I am not exaggerating about this car obsession. And I apologize if you get motion-sickness from watching this. Blame Seth.

Second, the animal noises. He has some new ones now, but he won't cooperate for another video.

Some Random Thoughts

It's snowing. Again. I've lost track of how many storms we've had in the past three weeks. Oh, and guess what? More snow scheduled for next week. I only like the snow when we get enough to keep Jon from going to work.



"Runaway Jury" is possibly the stupidest movie I've ever seen. I will never get those two hours of my life back.

(This picture gives me the giggles)

I'm currently reading "A Conflict of Visions" by Thomas Sowell. One of the very best books I've ever read. Even if it is like reading a textbook. And even if it keeps giving me weird dreams about the constrained and unconstrained visions. In case you care: "Runaway Jury"? Textbook unconstrained.

Seth has taken to imitating every word we say. Some stick and become new vocabulary words (hot, cold, dump truck); most are one-hit wonders (chives, belly button, monster truck).

I'm looking for new recipes. Please share. Specifically meatless main dishes, Asian, or crock pot. Oh, and bread machine recipes.

(Yes, this is my exact bread machine. And I love it.)

I finally used my bread machine to make bread. I've had it a year now (I use it all the time to make dough) and figured I should give it a shot. First loaf: brick. Then I read the instructions. Second loaf: fabulous.

(This is NOT my exact rice cooker. But it's pretty darn close.)

Why did I wait 4 years to buy a rice cooker? For only $13 I could have saved myself SO much trouble. Or maybe I'm the only person who can't cook rice. I swear to you I can cook rice EXACTLY the same way EVERY time, and heaven only knows if it will be sticky, crunchy, or perfect. But not anymore. Perfect rice, every time. (I sound like an advertisement, don't I? Well, it's the TRUTH!)



I can't do Tae-Bo. I can get either my feet or my arms going. Not both. And definitely not at tempo. Why did I ever think I could dance?

Speaking of exercise: anyone have any good cardio workouts I can do indoors (as in 'at my house' not 'at the super expensive gym that I would never go to because I refuse to exercise in front of anyone except Seth') ? Because I'm not busting out the jogging stroller in 2 feet of snow.

(I have no idea what this is. But I bet it makes an awesome noise.)

Seth is working on his animal noises. He knows the lion, elephant, cat, cow (well, he says "boo" instead of "moo", but it's close enough), and monkey. I've tried for days now to teach him that a bear says "grrr", but he just keeps saying, "Bear! Bear!" and then giggling at me when I growl. He also knows what fire trucks, trains, and airplanes say. My personal favorite? "Seth, what does the doggie say?" Seth: "No! NO!" (complete with finger wagging). Thank you, Aunt Kenna, for that one.



We went to Olive Garden today for our Valentine's date. We came to the conclusion that from now on we will both order the Braised Beef and Tortelloni every time. One of us always gets it, but then the other person ends up unhappy because their dish is never as good.



Speaking of restaurants: Red Lobster stopped serving Lobster Bisque (quite possibly because it was so rich that it was killing off their patrons). And the past two times we've eaten there, the always-delicious rolls were just kind of blah. So now the only reason we go there is for Endless Shrimp. Red Lobster--your stupid 'health conscious' menu changes are losing our business.




I've been really good about keeping my New Years Resolution about eating at least one serving of veggies every day. But I'm starting to think that I'm negating the benefits of eating all those spinach salads by smothering them in Caesar dressing (which, believe it or not, is WORSE for you than Ranch, my other love). The weird thing is that it's the 'one FRUIT a day' that I'm struggling with. If only potatoes were a fruit...



I just finished reading a book that advocated eating only things that were grown within 15 miles of where you live. I think this is an exceptionally stupid idea. Because I would rather die than give up avocados, and there are no avocado trees between me and Florida. What a stupid book.


Seth is doing really well in the nursery, 80% of the time. The problem with being an only child is that 95% of your life is spent in a nice, quiet house. So when we shove him in a tiny room with 12 other kids, he can't handle the noise and a kind nursery worker ends up taking him in laps around the building while he sobs. I'm assuming by kid #3 these kinds of problems disappear of their own accord.


I wasn't kidding around when I titled this post. And it's still snowing.

Lookin' Out My Back Door

We thought the 6 inches of snow last weekend was impressive. And then the 5 inches on Tuesday. But even combined together, those two storms amounted to less than half of the snow we got today. Our official yardstick on the deck says 22 inches of snow, but there were deeper patches out front.

"Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn"This is Seth immediately after stepping off the front porch and into a snow drift.
He didn't think it was as funny as we did.

Our cul-de-sac, mid-blizzard:

Believe it or not, that is our car buried in that drift.

And that is our son, who is also buried in a snow drift.

(Okay, he's actually just walking between two drifts)

What do good parents do when they don't have a sled?
Rig up a white trash sled using Tupperware and a jump rope.
It worked pretty darn well, too.

Needless to say, we will be enjoying a churchless Sabbath tomorrow. And considering the two feet of snow still on the road, I'm hoping to enjoy a Jon-workless Monday, too.