S'mores

A wonderful evening with friends and s'mores. One of those nights that is simple and good and easy, and I am just so aware that I do not deserve this life, this family, these friends, but oh, am I grateful.

Happy 4th Birthday!

If three was The Year of the Bobcat, then four was The Year of Buzz Lightyear.

Eli is Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger, for several hours every day. He recites endless lines of movie dialogue, drains Joel's i-phone while watching Toy Story clips on YouTube (so he'll eagerly tell you about "Spanish Buzz Lightyear"), has worn head-to-toe polyester Buzz gear in 100+ degree heat, and often asks God to give him Buzz Lightyear dreams.

So when it came time to plan his 4th birthday party, there was no doubt about the theme:

"Calling all Space Rangers. Intergallactic emergency in sector 63119. Emporer Zurg has been sighted near Eli's house. Join the Universe Protection Unit to keep his sector safe. Space Rangers/Rangerettes will gather for training, fuel, and glucose boosters. Join us- the universe depends on it!"

He said, "For my birthday, I want a Buzz Lightyear cake. And real Buzz Lightyear wings, not pretend, so I can really fly."

With the help of some mmf (thanks for the tip, sis!) and some long unused play-dough molding skills, I was able to deliver on the Buzz cake.

The wings, well...not so much.

But that's okay, because when we talked about who would be at his party, he wanted to invite "my friend J.R.". J.R. is a St. Louis based national recording artist who sings one of Eli's favorite songs. The good news is that he and his wife Coco go to our church, so not only were we able to invite them, they came. (Days before, Eli happily prepared one of the goodie bags for him, selecting the Woody crayons, "because I bet J.R. likes Woody.")

And yes, we most definitely set him up for disappointment later in life when he learns that singers won't always come to your birthday party.

We are so grateful for the chance to celebrate with friends. The kids painted their wings and practiced their "falling with style".

This was the year Eli really "got" the whole present thing.

It was so cute to see all the kids excited to give gifts. You could really tell they picked them out with Eli in mind.

He asked me several times, "Do I really get to keep these and not give them back?"

We could not get over the beautiful breezy "San Diego" weather we enjoyed in the middle of summer. After the party, Team Lindsey relaxed in the backyard and the boyz played with some of the new toys. We feel blessed to have shared the day with so many wonderful friends, and are so grateful for our bright, funny, friendly four year old boy!

Happy 4th Birthday Eli! You are loved!

The Movies

I don't get to the movies often. Partly, it's because I don't like spending the money on it when it's so much cheaper to wait two months and rent it. (Which is why it's a mystery that it takes me a 1/2 hour to choose a movie at Blockbuster- isn't it filled with new releases I haven't seen?) Mostly, it's that if I have three free hours with my husband, or some girlfriends, it just seems like staring at a screen together in silence is not the best way for us to spend it.

But there are exceptions. Here are mine:

1) You gotta see it on the BIG screen. Those scenic, beautiful movies that take your breath away- those are for the theater. I can't imagine being so awestruck by "Slumdog Millionaire" on our flatscreen at home.
2) They are the dinner conversation. The characters are unique, the story is fresh, and there are decisions to ponder. One of Joel and my favorite dates was going to see "Once", then discussing it over dinner. (Ok, so borrowing our friend's little convertible on that gorgeous night didn't hurt it either.)
3) The anticipation is killing me, and I don't want to wait another few months until it comes out on dvd. If it's as good as I'm hoping, I want to see it now. If it's not, I'd rather know and not build it up even more.

So, I've been waiting for months to see Julie & Julia. I was looking forward to seeing it with two close friends, who both happen to be amazing cooks with a gift for hospitality. One is moving out of the state soon, so we've been on this sad sort of countdown and this seemed like the perfect "up" thing to do together. I hoped it would be a feel good, laugh together, be inspired, soul-search-in-a-not-too-serious way kind of movie.

It was.

And so was the wine and left-over chicken salad and zuchinni bread we shared at her house after, gathered around the kitchen island, laughing amidst the boxes of her half-packed house. I'm glad to have this movie as a sort of bookmark- a time with these two precious friends with a gift for weaving together food and laughter and friendship.

not on the bandwagon

We had a great Thanksgiving. Last year, I went to the hospital to deliver Beckett on a unusually warm fall day. During my three days in the hospital, we celebrated our new baby, Thanksgiving happened, I ate one-and-a half pecan pies, and winter arrived. So it felt like I kind of skipped the holiday and headed straight for Christmas. Not that I minded, really. Anyway, this Thanksgiving was a bit more traditional, complete with wonderful friends, yummy food, and some family football.

And I forgot all about Black Friday until some friends mentioned it that evening.

I am not a fan of the early morning. Or lines. Or shopping. (Would I like shopping if it didn't make me feel guilty? Hmm) So I love a good deal, but not enough to wake up at 5:00 in the morning and go, well, anywhere. Maybe someday, when I sleep through the night whenever I want, I'll join the rest of the world and stimulate our economy with some serious Black Friday spending.

But not this year. This year, I woke up and made banana bread. And then, a new recipe that turned into a yummy-I-didn't-have-enough-pumpkin-on-Thanksgiving breakfast . I made some syrup to go on top- combination of some stuff I found on allrecipes.com. Some apple juice, pumpkin, karo syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg...and who knows what else. This was another one of those creations that drives Joel crazy. I didn't follow a recipe, which means I'm not entirely sure I can make it again. We have a few pasta dishes he loved that I am still trying to recreate...

a happy twenty

I love leftovers. Thankfully, so does my hubby.

I do not like, however, the precariously stacked assortment of bowls that end up in our fridge to hold all the leftovers. Not to mention, the fact that all the cereal bowls are sitting in there when I actually want to use one to eat cereal. And they're white, which means I forget what's in there and we end up with the occasional science experiment of unrecognizable food. And I'm tired of all the Saranwrap.

I've tried the Gladware and stuff, but it just doesn't feel healthy to heat our food in plastic. I don't want to store it in one dish, then heat it in another. So, I happily spent twenty dollars the other day on three of these little dishes. Clear. Glass. Sturdy. Stackable. With lids. Ready for the microwave, freezer, and oven.-ready.

Didn't our grandparents use these? Now I know why...

7 Eleven for the Finest in Fusion

I remember laughing as the server rattled off the made up appetizers in the movie Office Space. Pizza Shooters? No thank you. But they were fake, so it was funny.

Here's some culinary fusion gone too far. It's hanging on a sign outside the 7-Eleven. "Asian Rollers and Big Gulp- $1.99" Are they serious? Is that supposed to attract customers?

I'm a nerd, so I went to their website to try link to the offer. It gets even better. Here's their new offer. Wake Up And Smell The Slurpee®! 7-Eleven® Debuts Slurpuccino™ – First Coffee-Flavored Slurpee Drink

The Slurpuccino? Really? It that supposed to bring about pleasant thoughts? Because all I can picture is some obnoxious person slurping their latte in the seat next to me at Starbucks.

Bacon and Other Random Acts of Kindness

Joel brought these home from work a few days ago. They were in his box, placed there by an inspired, and anonymous, co-worker or friend. Joel is an admirer of all things bacon and apparantly, the word is out.
Hey, thanks! We feel the love.

I went to Target Monday to use those formula coupons we got in the mail before they expire. I asked the checker if she knew anyone who could use it, and she did. I'm glad it will be put to good use and feel some weird sense of accomplishment that the formula manufactures didn't hook me on their product in the process. I'm praying it was an unexpected blessing for someone. Not quite as fun as bacon, but hey...

Doin' My Part

Some time this afternoon, I need to go vote. Maybe that should inspire some intelligent writing about current issues (I even read an interesting NYT article that a friend forwarded) but I have a cause that's much more fun.

Ice Cream. Target ice cream. Archer Farms Peanut Butter Fudge ice cream, if you must know. It's heaven. You really have to try it. It tastes just like the kind you get at 31 Flavors with big chuncks of peanut butter. I just polished of the rest of the carton, and boy, is Joel gonna be bummed. Beckett, on the other hand, may be getting chocolate milk for dinner. But you probably didn't need to hear about that. My point is...ice cream has lots of calcium in it right?

I'm fighting osteoporosis, one scoop at a time. See, Eli is on board 100%.