Breaking News

I've been hosting my very own pity party for the past week so haven't been posting...or reading blogs...or cleaning my house...

But this week is looking better so I gotta get back in the saddle.

First up, the package from my Guilty Pleasures Swap partner, Amy from WannaBeAmy.

OOooo...getting this box really made my day! How can you not get addicted to swaps? (If you want to see what I sent her, go here.) Lookit!

Semi-Homemade Magazine - I admit that I've watched her show and she's got some great ideas.

Movie - I haven't seen this one since college!

Candy Pumpkins - These have been the main source of bribery for the kids around here.

Bracelet - Really cute for Halloween! I love Halloween.

Baseball Cards - Sadly, I've never heard of most of the athletes on these cards but Baby sure loves to play with them.

Ghiradelli - Amy and I are going to be BFFs. And yes, I had to reclose the bag so I could take this picture. Yummy!

Hot Chocolate - Amy prefers coffee but since I don't drink it, she sent me the next best thing.

Dish Towels - Love these! They're already hanging on the oven.

And remember this cutie?

Well, the Co-ed got a new accessory...

The Co-ed is getting married!

We are so excited for her! Her fiance has been enduring Sunday dinners with us for a while. He's a good guy and the Boy's best friend. And I have to keep reminding myself that I DO NOT make wedding cakes so I don't offer to make her's. I would love to make her cake, though.

Dating Advice from the Boy

I love Sunday evenings. They are normally very relaxed. I make a special effort for dinner and there's always a good dessert. And the Aunts come over.

Aunt Denise showers the kids with attention, loans me books, or we have a nice adult conversation after bedtime (usually the only one I get for the week). The Co-ed uses our laundry room, brings her adorable roommates, and lets me question her to the last detail on her dating life. It's so nice!

The Co-ed is seeing a new guy. New Guy seems to be quite taken with the Co-ed (and really, how could he not be?) but it's causing the Co-ed to wonder just what is going on. So over big bowls of baked potato soup, we were discussing the possibilities for New Guy. The Co-ed expressed her doubts on what to do next.

Ever the attentive nephew, the Boy piped up with some priceless dating advice for his beloved aunt: "Aunt Co-ed, make sure you don't throw two bombs at the same time, okay?"

If you don't know the Boy, then you don't understand how his entire world revolves around the Lego Star Wars/Batman/Indiana Jones games on the Wii. He plays them as much as I'll allow (and given the fact that I've been nearly dead for two weeks, that's A LOT). In the games, characters throw bombs. Throwing two bombs slows you down, so you can't escape the eruption of the first bomb by the time you've thrown the second, causing your character to break into an assortment of Lego pieces. So...don't throw two bombs.

But in the world of BYU dating, there are plenty of ways to throw two bombs at the same time, don't you think? For instance, you could declare your undying love for your new guy/girl after one date, only to immediately start dating his/her roommate. Or perhaps talking about marriage just after you've told your romantic prospect that you intend to spend the summer in Tibet, learning to be a sherpa. That's definitely two bombs. Or, if you're a guy, loudly and vehemently proclaim that a woman's place is in the home, attending to her husband's every whim, and then propose marriage. One for the ladies: stalking the guy you went on one date with only to never hear from again, then bursting into tears and demanding to know why he doesn't love you.

I hope the Co-ed and New Guy heed the Boy's sage advice.

Space, the Final Frontier

The Co-ed left on Thursday and already, I feel the loss. If you haven't met the Co-ed in person then you probably don't get just how fun she is to be around. She's like the little sister I never had. (And I really like reliving my college days vicariously through her.)

It's not just the Co-ed's company I'm going to miss. In exchange for weekly dinners, free laundry facilities, and the occasional raiding of our refrigerator when her's was empty, the Co-ed would babysit for us. One such event, the Co-ed was subjected relentlessly to the mediocrity that is programing created specifically for children. The kids had borrowed a movie from a friend and were currently watching it non-stop. It was called "Space Buddies." Remember that show a while back called "Air Bud," about the dog that played basketball? These are his puppies. They have "bud" in their name: Rosebud, Buddha, Budderball, and Mudbud. Then there's B-dawg, who must be the black sheep of the group, with his mad turn-table skills and obvious collar bling. The story was about as bad as any talking animal movie you've ever seen. By the end of the evening, the Co-ed's brain was leaking out her ear.

(If you want a taste of the awesomeness, go here, but don't stay too long or your IQ may suffer.)

We almost got her the latest installment, "Snow Buddies," for Christmas. I got her a leopard-print Snuggie instead. Only slightly less evil. (Kristina P. would be so proud.)

Telling you all that was simply backstory for what I'm about to tell you.

The Man is a outer space fanatic. The space program fascinates him. If he had been born thirty years earlier, he would have worked for them. He loves the movies, tv specials, and special five-disc series made about the space program. As I type, he is watching "Apollo 13" for around the 53rd time. Not in a row, of course. He shows more restraint then the kids.

Whenever he watches tv, the kids migrate toward it and want to watch, too. It just so happened that they arrived close to the launch sequence. Both kids stared in wide-eyed silence as the shuttle lifted off in a blaze of glory.

I waited for their response.

The Boy was still silent, fascinated.

The Boo frowned.

"That wasn't like 'Space Buddies' at all!"

Indeed not, Boo. Indeed not.

Lucky #7

This is da Boo's Birthday Week. She got to pick the menu (and I had to limit her to only two nights of pizza). She gets to pick her clothes (oh boy...). And she gets to pick a restaurant for her birthday dinner. For the past five years, she's demanded the International House of Pancakes. This year, her tastes have greatly matured. For her seventh birthday celebration, Boo chose Sakura, a Japanese grill where dinner is prepared in front of you. The deciding factor, I think, was the flames.


She's so excited to finally be seven. When I asked if she felt any older, she said she's felt like she's been seven for a whole year already. Oh, the days when you couldn't wait to be another year older...


Here she is trying her first taste of sushi. This is crystal shrimp and she loves shrimp. Consequently, she liked the sushi. Her father's daughter, after all. And the waiter made her some "cheater chopsticks," so now she thinks she's an expert at those.


And here is the Boy and the Co-ed. You'll notice the Boy's choice for the evening's meal. (And if you tell him there's no chocolate milk on the menu, be prepared for tears.) Why does the Co-ed look so sad? Because she was pelted with food the whole dinner! First the chef flung her vegetables on her plate a little too hard. Then he smacked her pretty good in the face for multiple pieces of shrimp (those are supposed to be caught in your mouth, silly Co-ed). THEN the Boy knocked over his drink...right into her lap.

We have yet to get Boo her birthday present. She can't decide if she wants more Littlest Pet Shops (she's not quite to the 100 mark) or an Easy Bake Oven. Hrmmm...maybe she is my kid.

Happy Birthday, Boo!

Perks of the Job

Being a mom is not always fun. I get pooped on, peed on, puked on, and punched. I hear whining, complaining, naughty words, and very little by way of encouragement. But every now and then...something happens that makes it all worth while.

The circus was in town!

Before we headed into the arena, the kids know that you have to have a buddy so they immediately grabbed the hand of their favorite adult. And no, it wasn't me.


It was this nice young man who happens to be friends with the Co-ed and doesn't yet have a blogging nickname, whom they kids had literally just met about a minute before. Do you like their wizard hats and bags of gold-encrusted cotton candy? Well, it doesn't actually contain gold. It's just priced like it does.


Everyone was ready for a good time!

Baby loved all the music and lights. She was going nuts! And who wouldn't? It's the circus, people! Although I'd only been once before as a teenager, I love the circus. The animal acts are my favorite but I love a good death-defying feat of daring, too. The clowns were funny and the ringmaster was a magician so that was pretty cool. (I promise I had pictures of the others acts but they didn't come out very well...)


What did the kids think?

Awesome. Completely awesome. Can we come again tomorrow night?

And what did Baby think?


Well, we'll ask her later.

I Love the Smell of Bus Exhaust in the Morning

I'm only a week late posting the First Day of School pictures. I'm sure you've been on the edge of your computer chair, staring at your Google Reader, just waiting for this very update.

Or you are mostly likely thinking "It's a good thing she posted...I was about to stop following this blog."

Boo picked her outfit for the first day of school.


It consisted of her new "scratch n' sniff" shirt (kinda smells like frosting but mostly like cotton t-shirt) and a new black skirt. She picked her new black shoes because the insides have a leopard print. Also, Boo insisted on having the Co-ed fix her hair. Hey, I know I'm not the best at fixing her hair but my pigtails aren't lopsided anymore! Her hair did turn out pretty cute. Might have to have the Co-ed fix mine, next time.


And here she is with her best buddy, J. And that's not me forgetting everything about the angle of the sun from my photojournalism class...it's J's sparkling personality. No, really! It is! Would I try to deceive you? Boo reminds me nearly daily that they are getting married. Fine with me. His parents are pretty awesome (and I'm not just saying that because his mom reads my blog). See all the other moms taking pictures from the correct angle? They must have blogs, too.


The big moment! Getting on the bus! The kid behind her almost had to give her a boost. She's smaller than most of the kindergartners...but she's not short. She's "fun-sized!" See the backpack? Cute, right? While this year's search wasn't quite the saga we had last year, she still had the hardest time picking one that a) I was willing to pay for and b) wasn't white. This one I brought home from a shopping trip. I think I am going to do that in the future...far less drama that way. And if it's one thing we could use around here, it is LESS drama!

Reason #427 Why I Love My Husband

Because he makes Baby smile.

And? Happy Birthday to the Co-ed!
Go over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday, too.

Foto Friday #11

I am posting this on an *actual* Friday. Woot!

The Boy's preschool had their first field trip. To the fire station. I think my son's head about exploded on many occasions...it was that cool. There was an obstacle course ending in a slide, craft projects, a movie and the grand finale: a tour of the fire station with real firemen!


But can I rant for a minute? Oh wait, this is my blog...I can do whatever I want! Hehehehe...The one thing that irritates me about his preschool is that it seems to be mandatory for one parent to attend all field trips. Sure, it's a little inconvenient but what bothers me most is that they can make the parents be there, but they can't make them pay any attention to their kids. Mostly, this is an issue when the father is the accompanying adult. And I'm not bagging on men in general, just on a few that happened to be there. There was one kid who didn't listen and was rather active and pushy and line-cutting-y and just all around a nuisance. And where was Dad? Standing several yards away, hands in pockets, looking like he'd rather be getting a vasectomy than be there. And me, being the bossy caring person that I am, I took it upon myself to pull the kid out of line (repeatedly) when he was cutting back in after already having his turn. Hey, if the dad wanted to discuss this with me, I would have been more than happy to let him do his job but alas, he wasn't paying attention and probably expected someone else to watch his kid anyway.

Deep breath...

Moving on!

Want to meet da Boo's very best friend?

What? You were expecting another child? Or at least a human, right? This is Danny. He is a very nice horse and just loves to give little kids rides. Both the kids have gotten to ride him several times and love him. Da Boo even made him a get-well card after an incident involving a poorly-constructed fence and the neighbor's ill-mannered dog (don't worry...Danny won that fight). I haven't broken the news to the kids yet but Danny's owners are moving. I better be armed with ice cream when I tell her...

So along with other beloved items returning to our home, the Co-ed is back!


Yippeee! Free babysitting! Um, I mean...we once again may enjoy her pleasant company on most Sundays. And now you, too, can relive your college experiences through the Co-ed. She's started a blog! Go check it out.

Five is the Loneliest Number

Sorry, no posts for Soap Opera Sunday. Maybe next week...gotta think of a good one, one where a relative (or spouse) of the boy involved does not read my blog...and that ain't easy.

So it's the end of the Spring Term at the "Lord's University." That means the Co-ed went back home. No more interesting dinners...no more taunting her male friends...no more vicariously living through her college days...at least not until the Fall semester starts. Until then, we have a basement full of her stuff to entertain us. And she left her contact lens solution so when I miss her, I can hug that, right?

Goodbye, Co-ed! We'll miss you (and all your free babysitting)!

Birthday Bash

Tonight, we had the official Birthday Party for the Co-ed, complete with presents and a cake. Now, before you run to look at the cake, let me explain: the Co-ed is a very healthy person. She is majoring in dietetics and eats healthy stuff all the time. I have seen her turn up her nose at steak - yes! steak! - in favor of vegetables and salad. Some days, I wonder how we manage to get along. For her birthday she wanted a decorated cake, something fun and silly. You know, my specialty. So I thought about it, wondered about it, bounced ideas off anyone willing to listen...and then finally came up with what I thought was perfect. Keep in mind all the things I just told you about the Co-ed...Okay, now you can go look at her cake.

In grand Birthday tradition, the Birthday Girl got to select whatever she wanted for dinner (she chose pizza) and then was presented with a mound of gifts to open. Well, really, there were only six presents...but still...


Here is the Co-ed opening her gifts...and there is the Boy, throwing a tantrum because there are no presents for him. Yes, it was proud-mothering moment for me. He did cheer up when I explained that his birthday was next.

Happy, healthy Birthday, Co-ed!

Now...anyone have any ideas for an easy party for 3-year-olds?

Shopping!

I just enjoyed a Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs so my blood sugar is a little high and happy. And after reading Brillig's post, I decided we all needed new shoes.

We were out shopping today because shopping is lots of fun when you aren't really shopping for yourself and you don't actually spend money. While strolling along, I see an elderly couple finishing their shopping. I take a moment to observe them. They are rather frail looking, probably well into their 80s. Both of them had the motorized carts with the baskets on the front to aid in shopping. The man takes a moment to carefully readjust his wife's purse, as it had began to fall over in her little basket. She smiles back at him. It was a sweet moment.

And all I could think was "Do they ever race each other in those things?"

Our shopping objective today was shoes. The Boy needs sandals because the pair from last year don't seem to fit anymore. Seriously, what is up with kids and their constant growing? Don't they realize just how expensive it is to keep them clothed and shod? So inconsiderate.

My Momma wanted to look for some shoes as well and I really needed to replace my black flats. I wear these flats almost daily and frankly, they looked like it. The toes were so scuffed and faded that they looked closer to white than black. The side seam had split because I cannot walk like a normal person and I guess it got tired of holding my foot in. But the worst part was the soles. Whatever glue the manufacturer used had completely given up and the now-free soles stuck to the bottom of my feet. When I take my shoes off, I'd have to also peel off the soles and tuck them back inside. Ew.

So here's the run-down on what we got:

• The Boy got camouflage crocs. I just hope he can find them. (Get it? Find them...because they're camouflage! Oh, I am just too funny sometimes!)
• Da Boo got pink crocs because a salesperson told me they were on sale and I told her she could have them. She was deliriously happy, hugged the box the whole rest of the time, named the shoes and started a college fund for them. At the register, they rang up as not on sale. There was no way I was going to take those shoes away from her without her screaming bloody murder. And people tell me girls are easier...
• Momma got some funky dark blue crocs. These were to replace some that got a hole in them just before she left.
  
• I got new black shoes where the soles don't stick to my feet. Guess I broke the record of everyone getting crocs (I did try some on...does that count?) and also, my new shoes are not flats. But still...what is it about a new pair of shoes? They just make you feel so good! So chic! You wonder how you ever felt happy without them! Okay, maybe that's going a little far...

Me and my fabulous new shoes will be going out to dinner tonight to celebrate the Co-ed's birthday! Happy Birthday, Co-ed! You are so much fun to be around and I am thankful that you chose to move out here for school (I'm not just saying that because of the free babysitting). Thanks for humoring me and letting me hang out with you. Oh, and thanks for the fashion advice because without you, I'm hopeless. Hope you have the best birthday! We love you!

Showing Off My Kids...again

Saturday evening, I bit the bullet and we dyed Easter eggs. I am a terrible mother. This is the first time I have allowed my kids to dye eggs. Really, I decided to do it because I have such fond memories of this activity as a kid (waxing sentimental, remember?), da Boo is old enough to handle it, the Co-ed was coming over and wanted to do something with the kids, and because there would be enough adults there to contain the kids so I would get to dye some eggs, too.


The Man was ordered to pay close attention to the Boy at all times.


The Co-ed went all crazy and used crayons to decorate her eggs before she dyed them. This completely blew da Boo's mind. Also, the kit came with a white crayon so I had fun with that one. Da Boo colored four eggs, the Boy had three, the Co-ed got two ('cuz she took so long coloring them), and I made three (two with color suggestions from the kids, showing them how you can use different colors on eggs).


We had no major spills or sobbing fits, so I'd say it was a success.


After we cleaned up, I made Resurrection Cookies with the kids. We did this last year and I was really surprised just how much da Boo remembered. Of course, the Boy just heard the word "cookies" and he was fascinated. In the middle, there is a 15-minute gap, while you beat the ingredients to stiff peaks. Last year, I lost their interest here. So this year, I got a little bit smarter and had them get all ready for bed while I mixed. Worked much better so I think this will be the rule from now on. Something else that was better...I used a bigger cookie sheet. Last year, I had to really pile on the cookies because there wasn't enough room. As a result, the cookies didn't turn out quite like they are supposed to, not very hollow inside. This year, bigger cookies sheet, more room, smaller cookies, excellent results!

The Co-ed's New Wheels

With her mother visiting, the Co-ed has been out shopping quite a bit. Of course, her birthday is coming up so her mom wanted to get her something special. My mother-in-law decided to get her darling daughter a new mode of transportation for going to school, to work and home again. The Co-ed is the baby of the family. And the baby is always spoiled, especially if it's a girl. Check out the Co-ed's new wheels:


I totally dig the helmet.

Also, with my mother-in-law visiting, I haven't had to cook hardly at all with the Man out of town. Does re-heating my restaurant leftovers for lunch the next day count as cooking? I'm gonna say yes.

Edit: I have a new cake posted!

My Hands Are Not Bananas

Here is a little YouTube gem that the Co-ed forced me to watch. And now it is stuck in my head...which is particularly vexing, seeing as how I really don't like bananas...



Kinda makes me crave chili, though.

Corrupting the Innocent

Meet Fred and Ginger. Aren't they pretty? Would a male fish take offense at being called pretty? I'll have to ask Fred next time I see him.

Now, what, you may be wondering, do fish have to do with corruption and such? We already have fish and unless I am setting these fighting fish loose on my guppies, then this just doesn't make sense. Patience, dear Internet, and all will be explained.

Saturday, I took the kids to the pet store to get a couple new fish. It's also cheap entertainment for close to an hour. The Co-ed decided to join us (might also have to do with mentioning getting Krispy Kreme). So we have a great time, listening to the birds, watching the bunnies' noses wiggle, flinching at the sight of all those rats and ooohing over the hamsters. Eventually, we meander over to the fish. Da Boo had her new fish picked out immediately: a bright orange one to match her remaining bright yellow fish. The Boy really wanted one of the feeder goldfish. I was able to talk him into a little tetra instead.

As we are wandering around and peeking into cages, the Co-ed fills me in on her weekly happenings. The Co-ed's birthday is coming up. I have my Birthday Week and Aunt Denise celebrates her birthday for the entire month, so she took both of those ideas and came up with her own. The Co-ed made a list of things she'd like to do to celebrate her birthday. The list includes things like "watch 7 new movies" and "do something spontaneous." Fun stuff!

Just about the time we get our fish into little bags, the Co-ed, who was perusing the fish selections as well, decides she really wants to get a fish! Completely spontaneous! Now, there's some background information you need to know about the Man's family: they are anti-pet. Always have been. It was almost a deal-breaker for me, but I married him anyway, thinking I could change him. Oh so foolish. So the Co-ed never had a pet. Never. Not a cat or a goldfish and probably not even a dust bunny. And yet, here are Fred and Ginger, the Co-ed's very first pets!

Congratulations on your new pets, Co-ed! (I hope they don't die the first week...)

Product Review: Chicago Cupcakes Tray Two

Shall we skip the intro and get to it? In order as they appear in the tray...

Tray Two:

Cherry Almond

This was the Co-ed's first choice and consequently, the first cupcake we tried. It smelled heavenly! The cake was vanilla and the frosting was cherry almond flavored, of course. These cupcakes were not very tall at all, around 1 1/2 inches, and were topped with a good 2-3 inches of frosting.

Co-ed: Frosting tastes like ice cream. 6
Aunt D: Lots of frosting. The Boy was happy to assist her with any she was unable to finish. 7
Me: I thought the cake tasted a lot like shortbread but was a little disappointed that there wasn't more flavor. 6

PBJ

Peanut butter cake with raspberry jelly frosting! There was also a chocolate-dipped potato chip on top. Rather clever!
Co-ed: Tastes just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! 8
Aunt D: Really liked the frosting. 7
Me: I thought the peanut butter cake was really good. 8

Classic Yellow

Don't hate us but we couldn't do it...we couldn't dig our forks into another cupcake. So we awarded this one immune and called it a night. The Co-ed took one of these home and told me today that it was really good. Also, da Boo declared these her favorite because they looked just like the cupcakes described in one of her Junie B. Jones books: fluffy white frosting with rainbow sprinkles.

Malt Ball

Aunt Denise selected this one to try. She got to eat the malt ball on top. And sadly, this was a nice chocolate cupcake with plain vanilla frosting. The only thing malt about it was the candy decoration on top.
Co-ed: Tastes like a regular cupcake. 4
Aunt D: Expected a malt flavor, disappointed. 5
Me: Has a name like Malt Ball but with vanilla frosting? Doesn't make sense. 5

And that's it! Those are the cupcakes! There were more than a dozen leftover, even after I sent the Co-ed and Aunt Denise home with some. I took the rest to a dinner party tonight where we had a mini taste test. Double Chocolate is the clear winner. PBJ and Red Velvet were well liked, too. The Chocolate Chip Cheesecake and Malt Ball got the lowest scores, although the cheesecake one was a favorite tonight. (Read about Tray One here.)

Thank you to Molly for hosting the contest where I won these cupcakes. It was a lot of fun to try them out. They were so beautiful to look at and rather tasty, too. And I have a new cake posted.

Product Review: Chicago Cupcakes Tray One

Since the Man was not home Friday night, I invited over Aunt Denise and the Co-ed for a Girl's Night. We had Costa Vida for dinner and after watching a little Pride & Prejudice (the Colin Firth version), we returned to the table for the cupcakes.

I have to tell you, I was so very excited about these cupcakes. Not only were these a prize, but they were just sooooo pretty. There were 24 cupcakes from Chicago Cupcakes, eight different flavors with three of each kind. Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "Worse than licking the bottom of my foot" and 10 being "So wonderful that my tastebuds have been translated and now live with Baby Jesus." We cut one cupcake into four pieces, one for each adult and one for the kids to share/fight over.

Ready? Here goes: Tray One (being the top tray in the box).

Chocolate Merlot

As I licked my fingers after removing this cupcake from the tray, I thought it was rather tasty, very raspberry/grape-ish. The cupcake was a nice chocolate but ordinary. The Boy particularly enjoyed picking off the chocolate curls.
Co-ed: First bite was the best. Started as 10, dropped to a 7
Aunt D: The aftertaste is not good. 5
Me: Mmmmm...except for the afterburn. Merlot is a kind of wine and the icing tastes like it. 7

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Da Boo loved this one. She insisted on eating all the chips that we didn't eat. The cake was white with only a few chocolate chip on the bottom. Frosting was cream cheese.
Co-ed: The cake part was nothing special. 4
Aunt D: Average. 5
Me: Cream cheese frosting was pretty good but a little disappointed with the promise of "chocolate." 5

Red Velvet

This was my first choice! I thought it was so pretty and I haven't had red velvet cake in ages. Aunt Denise had never heard of Red Velvet so this was a learning experience for her. Cake was, of course, red velvet and the frosting was same cream cheese as the cheesecake.
Co-ed: Frosting kinda over-powers the cake flavor. 6
Aunt D: Good frosting! 7
Me: I really like this cream cheese frosting and would like to know their secret on how they got it so light and fluffy. 8

Double Chocolate

Oooooh, baby! Couldn't wait to get my fork into this one! This was the Boy's first choice. He kept calling it a spooky cupcake. Not sure where he got that but it was sure funny to hear him say "oh, dat's spooky!" and then pretend to be scared. Cake was chocolate and so was the frosting. Surprising, no?
Co-ed: Frosting tastes like ice cream! (This was the only one out of all eight flavors where the Co-ed actually ate all the frosting...) 9
Aunt D: Chocolate! ('nuf said!) 9
Me: First of all, I am a chocolate snob. Yes, it was good but maybe I was expecting...more. 8.5

And that's it for the top tray. Look back tomorrow for Tray Two. Remember, we did try these in one sitting and it's taken a bit to recover from the sugar overload.

Meet The Co-ed!

This is the Man's little sister, the Co-ed. She's cute, isn't she? And she's really fun. And she listens to me when I talk forever about random things. And she laughs at most of my jokes.

The Co-ed is an Aries, freshman at a major university, a Dietetics major and totally single. She is taller than me (but who isn't?) and much thinner (again...who isn't?). Also? She is a better dresser. I get her input on fashion choices. She is a really great aunt and the kids adore her. Da Boo loves how she sings her to sleep when she babysits.

While an excellent saxophone player, she was also on her high school's golf team. She cooks, she clean, she sews. Aside from her irrational fear of pickles, she is the perfect woman. But if you ever want to make her gag, just leave strands of your hair in the sink.

The Man and I got married when she was seven. His family had never seen him with a girl, never holding a girl's hand, let alone kissing a girl. She found the whole situation awkward. To compensate, she began counting how many times we kissed. Yeah...remember how often you kissed your husband on your wedding day? We really tested her counting abilities!

Update on the story: the boy did not join us for dinner. I cannot tell you more. She has threatened to not babysit if I reveal all the details. I will say that some boys, who are return missionaries, are just a little more into the idea of a committed relationship than some girls, who are brand-new to the whole college experience. That's all I can tell you! Don't ask for more! (Unless, of course, you offer to buy me lunch...you know how indulging in Chinese food tends to loosen my lips...)

I Heart Dinner Parties!

For Valentine's Day, we had our traditional heart-shaped dinner. Now, last year, I made a heart pizza. I wanted to try something different this year but was vetoed by the Man, who happens to be addicted to my homemade pizza (See? He didn't just marry me for my good looks). The Co-ed quickly sided with the Man so I was out-voted. Our guests included Aunt Denise, the Co-ed and one of her roommates.

The Main course:

Made two because there were more people this year:

And the heart pears:

Drinks were in my new goblets, Sprite with cranberry ice cubes (got the tray from Ikea) As they melted, they turned the soda a really pretty pink color. The Boy spilled his after 2 minutes, which is why the kids got plastic cups. Here is how they looked at first:


For dessert, the kids had Cupid Cups. Mine did not turn out nearly as cute as the ones on the Kraft Foods website...dang chocolate hearts:

And the adults had this for dessert:

And no, those flowers are not rising from the top of the fountain...

We went between snacking on melty chocolate to playing on the Wii, to making the Co-ed feel uncomfortable...but I'd getting ahead of myself. Let me back up.

After dinner, we exchanged cards and small gifts. Then the kids got into jammies and we had family prayer. While I was getting the kids in bed, the Co-ed's phone rang. It was a boy she has been "just hanging out" with for a couple weeks. While she's trying to explain to him where she is at the moment, we're all shouting out that she should invite him over (so we could check him out, of course). She invites him. He accepts. Directions are given and the giggling commences. He arrives. We crank up the chocolate fountain and hand him a Wii remote. While the Co-ed and this poor guy play tennis, the rest of us are giggling at the table. Eventually, we change positions and everyone gets a chance to play (for the record, I totally smeared the Co-ed at bowling). After most of the goodies are gone, I turn off the chocolate fountain. With chocolate no longer freely flowing, our guests gather their coats and cards. Being a gentleman, he drives the Co-ed and her roommate home. But there's more...he may be back here with her for dinner on Sunday! Stay tuned!

**Edit...
I will have to ask the Co-ed's permission to post a picture.

I Saw Someone Famous!

Today, we picked up the Co-ed and headed to the mall to do a little shopping. Aunt Denise joined us for lunch. We went to Jason's Deli. It was mighty tasty.

Toward the end of the meal, a guy walks into the restaurant and heads towards the bathrooms, walking right past me. I did a double take!

Me: Was that Robert Redford that just walked by?
Aunt Denise: I only saw his back but it could be...
Co-ed: Who's Robert Redford?

The lady at the next table heard us and said she thought it was him, too. So we all stared at the restrooms until he came back out. Sure enough...it was him! The Co-ed had her camera with her but didn't get it out in time. Shucks!

Now, I don't mean to brag but this was not my first encounter with a celebrity. Oh no, I've had a few more.

I was sitting in the movie theater, waiting for Lord of the Rings to start. Theater was packed. The Man had gone for drinks and popcorn when who should head up the aisle right past me but Donny Osmond! He was there with his family so we didn't bother him. Well, that and the movie was starting. Couldn't miss those exciting previews!

But the big one...that was meeting Vanilla Ice. Oh yes! Feel free to envy me in all my coolness. Of course, I met him before he was famous. But he was totally flirting with me! Well, I was still in junior high so that's kinda sick and wrong but still...Oh, and I thought he was pretty lame.

Then there was the time I rubbed elbows with the Quorum of the Twelve, even shaking hands with President Monson. But that, my dears, is a whole other blog post!

What about you? Any brushes with celebrities?