Break Time

Going to take a few days off from the computer. Back on sometime early next week. Have a good weekend.

Haircut!

Haircut!
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

This is what my hair can look like when a nice stylist spends half an hour drying it straight. Tomorrow, it will be curly again. Dangit.

Look! It's all straight and swoopy and smooth and soft. Sigh.

And I don't even have anywhere to go. Kev is in Phoenix for a meeting. I'm wasting a whole straight-hair day waiting for Daphne to wake up so we can eat frozen pizza and watch the Muppet Show.

If only I could make it last. I feel like Cinderella when the clock is nearing twelve.

If You Give a Kid a Donut

The Devil
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

I have managed to avoid ever going to Krispy Kreme in spite of the fact that it is right next to my grocery store and it pipes the scent of its deep fried donuty goodness into the parking lot. I avoided it, that is, until yesterday, when a rainy day dictated meeting up with friends at Krispy Kreme for a play date. I gotta admit, it's a fun place. You get a cool paper hat, and you get to watch the donut-making process in action. And I can't speak for the other flavors, but my blueberry donut was delicious. Daphne chose the one with sprinkles, of course. And this was her first ever donut. I was afraid of what might happen after she ate it, and at first, it didn't seem to affect her. She didn't misbehave, or bounce off the walls. In fact, she was really good. Until nap-time. Then, she couldn't sleep. So, no nap. Then the sugar really hit her and by the time it wore off, she had colored with a blue (washable!) crayon all over my closet door and was generally naughty. Then she woke up about an hour after she went to bed, crying hysterically...most likely a donut-induced nightmare. She won't be going back to Krispy Kreme anytime soon. But I probably will.

Relief

Yesterday we had a big storm which made it cool outside so we all took a walk. Daphne wore her rain boots and splashed in puddles. We had no electricity most of the day. It was nice.

Blog Blues

I am feeling like the LRHS needs an over-haul, so if I get some time, I may make some changes. Maybe it's time for another logo design contest. In the meantime, I have added a button over on the right that is a link to etsy.com. I encourage everyone to go there if you need any interesting gifts for the people and animals you like. It is all handmade, and most of it is very reasonably priced and if you look around, you will find a lot of really great stuff. Like, say you have a friend who likes owls, and you want to find them a cool gift. Type "owl" in the search and you get all this! Or say you want a Steven Tyler from Aerosmith necktie, well you can get one here. And here is what you get if you type in "Spock." So, there's something for everyone on etsy.com, and you can be sure it is something they won't find at the mall. It's good to buy handmade.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Happy Father's Day, Dad
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

My dad is about the only guy I can think of who is nicer than Mister Rogers. I bet he even gave me a bite of that cake!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy-O

Happy Father's Day, Kev
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Fanks for letting me play your dwums. You are a good daddy. Love, Daphne-O.

Hostess with the Mostess

You know the hypothetical that is often discussed: If you could have any four people over for tea, who would they be? Well, today I had tea with Daphne, Tyrone, Austin, and Tiny Ben Franklin. What an eclectic mix! You can only imagine the conversation.

A couple days ago, I overheard Daphne tell Austin and Tyrone they had to go to time out. Then a couple minutes later, I heard her say, "Are you guys ready to be nice?" It's Monkey See- Monkey Do around here these days, so Kev and I are really going to have to be careful.

Thanks to Uncle Jeff for the Ben Franklin action figure, by the way. It was a birthday gift. He has a tiny kite and key, too, but I put them away until Daphne can be trusted with tiny items. She managed to pull a necklace apart the other day and I think she ate a bead.

Pajama Party Time

So, it's Father's Day weekend, and Kev and my dad are both out of town. My dad went on his annual Canada fishing adventure, and Kev is in Colorado at a bachelor party. So, last night, the Peanut and I were on our own. We put on our pajamas, ordered a pizza, had ice cream for dessert, and watched the Curious George movie for the second time this week. There were also pretend tea parties and picnics, and I worked in a little knitting. I started a new hat, this time it's for ME. I've been assured it will fit, even though as you can see, it seems about the right size for Daphne.

Tonight, we're going to stay with my mom, so it'll be another girls' night in. I guess we'll have to have Father's Day next week.

Show and Tell

I didn't know Kevin's sister, Kim, could paint, but look at this! It is the church where we got married. She sent it to us with Daphne's birthday gifts. I am going to get it framed and hang it in a special place. I love it. Maybe being pregnant is making her extra talented.



On flickr, you can participate in craft swaps with other people who make stuff. There is usually a theme, and it is really fun. These are owls I received in an Owl Swap. Daphne tried to make them hers, but I'm keeping this batch for myself.




And finally, I cooked something that isn't yellow! Kev and I went to Cafe Madrid not too long ago, and the waiter suggested piquillo peppers with goat cheese as his favorite thing on the menu. I politely told him I don't like peppers and he politely told me that if I didn't like these ones, I wouldn't have to pay for them. Guess what. We paid for them. They were delicious. So I made them at home. You have to buy the peppers in a jar, and at my grocery store, this jar is $9.99, so I won't be making them often. Anyway, I just opened them up, scraped out the seeds, and rolled them up with goat cheese inside. Stuck them under the broiler until the cheese got all melty and the peppers started to brown. Mmmmm. Daphne even liked it. She kept calling them pepperoni. (by the way, I got two batches about this size from one jar).

It is windy. I hope it will rain. That is the only time we get relief.

Yesterday at the grocery store I was grumpy because I was REALLY hot, but then I saw one of the guys from Sudan in the parking lot rounding up all the carts. He was wearing a safari hat and the biggest smile you ever saw. I was less grumpy after that.

All Done

This afternoon, I finished reading the Perks of being a Wallflower book that Bleach suggested. Now I am sad. Good books never seem to last long enough. And it was a really good book. I think many of the people who read this blog would probably like it.

I guess that means it's time to get the sewing machine back out.

Someone keeps hacking into my email account and sending spam to my contacts. This is most upsetting. I really don't want to have to change my email address. Computers can be a real drag.

To cheer myself up, I will tell you that we have been watching a lot of Mister Rogers lately, and we have seen him knit AND play the melodica. Did you guys know that his mother knitted him all those sweaters he wore on the show? She must have shown him how to do it. And his melodica was exactly like mine. And I felt so happy until the music shop lady said "it's a great instrument for little kids to start on," which made me a little sad. But then I forgot about that and felt happy again because Mister Rogers took it back to "his place" and played one of his songs on it and it was just cool. Also, YoYo Ma has been on his show about three times since we've been watching regularly. And then one day he (Mister Rogers, not YoYo Ma) went to visit the doctor's office and actually got a shot just to show little kids it's not that big of a deal. I love Mister Rogers.

Daphne has to go to the doctor's office tomorrow. She has to get two shots. In spite of Mister Rogers' efforts, she isn't going to think it's not that big of a deal. It is going to be pretty traumatic for everyone, I'm afraid.

Now I feel sad again. Brad, I need another book...

Book and Video

Thanks for the suggestions of books to read. I went to Border's today while Daphne was napping (don't worry, Kev was home with her!), and used my five free Border's Bucks toward the book recommended by my cousin Brad. It is called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." I am only a few pages into it, but I already love it. Thanks, Bleach.

Also, my other cousin, Ben, sent me a link to this YouTube video, which is worth watching. Thanks, Bean. You know me very well.

I like my cousins.

Birthday Re-Cap

Gumdrop Tea Cakes
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

So, Daphne is two. Her birthday has come and gone, and it was quite a production. Pictured are the tea-cakes I made in lieu of a big giant birthday cake. My original plan was to make these very elegant and lovely looking tea-cakes as pictured on the packaging of the cake tin, but instead they came out looking more like gumdrops. Which is fine, because Daphne is obsessed with gumdrops. Or the idea of gumdrops. She's never actually had one. Anyway, the cakes tasted good, and everyone seemed to like them, so I was pleased.

On her actual birthday, which was Thursday, we took her for a corny dog and ice cream at Harry's. (There are plenty of photos on flickr if you want to see). Kev's parents came from New York to join us, and Daphne had a big time playing with them.

He party was Saturday, and I kept it small like last year. We had cake, and then let the kids play in the new $8.00 wading pool and lady-bug sprinkler. We attempted gift-opening after the cake, but there were too many distractions and it was chaos. I can't handle much chaos, so we moved the party outside. It worked out well, and I think everyone had fun.

Meanwhile, on Long Island, Kev's sister was catering a birthday party. For a six-year-old. I heard the family spent $3000.00 on this affair. For a six-year-old. I bet they had better hors-d'oeuvres than we did, but I bet our kids had just as much fun - or more - in the $8.00 pool. Give me a break.

So, I have spent the last couple of days recovering from all the celebration. There are lots of new toys to play with and new books to read, so Daphne has been having a blast. Thanks to everyone for all the nice gifts. I am going to have to get rid of some of the old stuff. But I'll save that chore for another day.

For now, I think I'll stop because I feel like I'm getting a cavity from looking at that cake picture.

My Little Baby is Two

Happy Birthday, Little Peanut. You make me happy when skies are gray.
I love you!

I Put My Sewing Machine Away and Now I Need Something to Read

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

Pay Attention to ME!

A couple nights ago, I made spaghetti and meatballs. Daphne found a mushroom, and made this announcement: "I found a mushroom!" I told her she was so lucky! And for the rest of the meal, we looked for more lucky mushrooms. Each mushroom was a cause for celebration.

Last night, we had left-over spaghetti and meatballs. This was after a very long, hot, and tiring day, and Kev and I had about enough energy to lift our forks, but that was it. Not a lot of meal-time banter was happening. Suddenly, Daphne announced, "I found a mushroom! I'm so lucky!" She received no reaction. So, she said it again. "I found a mushroom! I'm so lucky!" Silence from the crowd. So, she looked at us, and said, "Laugh."

That got a reaction.