you share?

Soooo, I’ma little bored with my blog reading these days.  I had cleaned out my GReader several months ago when I found myself groaning over new posts.  Never a good sign.  But I need a few new fresh ones, so tell me your best-kept secrets from around the blogosphere.  Pretty please?

In-A-Pinch Meal Talk, cont.

So apparently there are a lot of breakfast-for-dinner types reading this blog.  I don’t make that often since we usually have breakfast foods for… wait for it… breakfast! Plus it’s not really Andy’s preference.

(Although, I’m not sure why that matters now that I think about it, since he’s usually working during the dinner hour anyway.)

I WAS surprised that there was only one person who said taco salad, because that’s our other in-a-pinch meal.

(Okay, I’ll try to refrain from snapping photos of my food from now on. It’s just so tempting since food actually, you know, SITS STILL.)

I don’t use anything fancy, just fresh salsa mixed in with ground turkey or beef. Add spinach or whathaveyou and tortilla chips and top with cheese and the kids are good to go. (I add more to mine; my kids have a gag reflex when it comes to sour cream. They do love guac, though.)

And, this was mentioned at least once too, whole wheat pasta and [jar] spaghetti sauce is a close third. (With pureed spinach, of course.)

Oh – I do have one more question: do you have dessert regularly? Do you give your kids a treat after they finish their evening meal? If so, what?

I mean really

This is why I have a blog. So I can show you what I stay up half the night making!

Like this dress… which will actually be paired with a long-sleeved tee and black leggings (and not, you know, jammies):

It occurred to me only very recently to dress my girls differently ON PURPOSE. Their personalities are so different, so why not dress them to fit each girl’s personality? (Madeline’s hand-me-downs haven’t really worked for Adelaide, anyway.)

And since Adelaide is quite the quirky kid (more on that in a later post; it’s still simmering), I’ve had a lot of fun making her a bunch of unique dresses. I loved the 1950′s dresses on this fabric. (Sidenote to Brite, this one I lined.)

***

Drew’s at school and Andy has the girls helping him do yard work outside this morning, so I actually have time to sit here and blog! He (meaning Drew) got his first G.I. Joe yesterday. He calls it his “big boy toy.”

It dawned on me last week that he still mostly just has his toddler toys and was very obviously getting bored (and therefore naughty). Any other “big boy toy” recommendations you have for me?

(You know, that don’t have small pieces that I would inevitably step on in the middle of the night…)

Ask the Interpeeps

We were the first of our circle of friends (meaning, in our age group) to have a third baby. Most of the other families now have three, or are about to.

Goodbye small car, hello minivan.

One such friend (her children can be seen in the pictures below) recently asked me if I had any tips on keeping a big family car clean. I.e. containers, organizers, general tricks of the trade…

(“If you saw the inside of my van, you would not be asking me advice on how to keep yours clean.”)

So I ask you, oh wise interpeeps, any suggestions?

And on a totally unrelated subject, I also had another request for a good recipe using roasted peppers. So feel free to throw recipes in for that, too.

Don’t let us down.

Inquiring minds want to know

What do you pay your babysitters?

Be honest.

(And comment anonymously if you’re skeered. I’m just interested to see if there are regional differences.)

Weeds.

What do you think, should I cut it?

Fruit n’ Bugs

Apparently we can’t see past the end of our noses. Because just today we discovered that we’re surrounded by black raspberries and blackberries all over the property.

Had no idea.

And when I say surrounded, I mean surrounded. The kids and I picked for two hours:

I even have black around my nails to prove it.

Andy got a little freaked out because he found some tiny bugs on the berries (after he’d eaten several handfuls). I had washed them thoroughly six different times and inspected each one I ate but I forgot to warn Andy to. I’m assuming they are harmless – does anyone know what they could be?

He felt a little twitchy.

Which is understandable.

Quick Question

Does anyone have a weekly house cleaning schedule that, you know, actually works?

Supposed to be the first!

Normally when there’s news of a new baby, the women are the first to know and they dutifully pass around the juicy little tidbit.  But this year?  Twice Andy’s been the first to know – twice! And they’re my friends, too! Unbelievable!

We were on the train into NYC for my cousin’s recital and Andy was chatting it up with Ethan and the next thing I heard is, “does Moriah know?”

Clearly not.

And then, just last weekend, Andy called while I was shopping at Aldi’s and practically shouted into the phone, “I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW!”  And I could just picture him dancing around the living room.

Sure enough, I got home and he was still dancing.

I duly seized his cell phone, locked myself in the bathroom, and checked all of his recent call history.

Because I’m smart like that.

Unfortunately for me, it didn’t give me any new information because he had spoken with practically all of the husbands who were on my “maybe” list. His advice to me?  “You’d better start calling all of your friends and asking them for their secrets!”

I was not about to give him that satisfaction, no siree.

So, I busied myself with other things until finally my phone rang and “Nicky” registered on the caller ID.  “Hello.  Do you have something to tell me?!”

But, seriously, I can’t believe twice in a row Andy knew before me.  Twice!

How does one resist?

Smells Like A Clean Bathroom!

Someone once told me “Tuesdays are the most productive day of the week.” I’ve noticed that for some weeks.

What about y’all, do you have a day in your week that’s typically more productive?

Love for the Memory Foam

The phrase ‘sleeping in the clouds’ comes to mind. (Although it is a little warm.)

Thanks, D, for the tip.

Help!

My neck and back are stiff pretty much every single morning climbing outta bed. I’ve come to a firm belief that we need a different mattress. (Andy and I have not-so-endearingly dubbed ours “the hardwood floor.”)

Any recommendations? I remember a post in Jonesville about a mattress situation – what was that all about?

P.S. I want it to be soft and snuggly. No more of this hardwood floor stuff.