A little bit of lots of stuff

First things first. The other day John was watching G while I took a nap. He was letting her play in the kitchen, which we both do just about every day, while he was (I think) playing his new guitar in the other room (did I mention he got a new guitar...he is very enamored of it. It's a really nice guitar that he managed, somehow, to convince me that we could afford....) When he checked on G, this is what he found.


Yes, those are all my recipe cards. I think G is going to be a great cook someday, due to the amount of time she spends ingesting...I mean investigating all my recipes.

Next up, G and I had a fun shopping trip today. Tomorrow is Sophia's and Alana's birthday party. They are one year and 4 days apart, 5 and 4 already!! Unbelievable. Anyway, G and I were on a mission for fun birthday presents. We decided to create a fun dress up wardrobe addition for each girl. Dress-up was my absolute FAVORITE thing to play as a little girl, so I am a big proponent of it. We went to Christmas Tree Shop, which I love. Thank God its almost Halloween...they had tons of fun stuff, all at GREAT prices! Here is one of the gift sets I made.



The other is similar but slightly different. Fun? I think so! Yes, those are fairy wings, and a purple fedora. Throw in some groucho glasses and you have a fashion statement!!

By the way, this was G's 2nd outing riding around in the shopping cart like a big kid! No camera both times...bad mama! Last week John and I took her grocery shopping and she was so much happier riding through the store, looking around at everything, talking to everyone we saw...

Speaking of pretend play, G ASTOUNDED me today. I mean it, I was actually near tears, I was so shocked and proud of her. I was chopping up some vegetables and accidentally dropped a piece of green pepper on the floor near where G was playing (in the kitchen again!) She immediately picked it up, and I assumed she was going to eat it. Nope. She crawled right over to her Baby, picked her up and shoved the pepper in her mouth!!! The BABY'S MOUTH. She's 10 months old! I couldn't believe it. She has been making great leaps in her play the last week or so. I work with kids with developmental disabilities, and so do most of my coworkers who see G everyday at work. So we are all always noticing things she is doing and saying things like "Oh, look at her pincer grasp, how developmentally appropriate!" We're OT dorks, I know. Anyway, so, I notice things that some other parents might not. So, she started putting things "In" and "On" last week...big milestone, I was so proud. She was playing with the (now empty) recipe box the other day, trying to put the top back on the box, then trying to put the box back on the shelf where it goes. All very impressive stuff to me. But PRETEND PLAY!?!? I wasn't expecting that, at all! I actually went into the dining room, where another jam session was happening with John and Ken, and stopped them to tell them the news. What a little smartie she is!

And then there was the cooking. I made beef stew and chocolate chip cookies today, both from scratch. I mean, I used chocolate chips from a bag, but I'm not Sweetfern, I'm not going to molest the cow and the cocoa beans myself (just kidding, Kristina, I love you, you're awesome! But homemade cheese??..) Anyway, my dinner was heavenly. I had applesauce on the agenda, too, but I still don't have all those apples peeled, and what I do have peeled is frozen, and I was getting a major headache because by 4pm all I had eaten was a pumpkin muffin at 8am, and I was trying to eat an apple, but my precocious 10 month old STOLE it from me (she's cute=she's spoiled, I gave it to her when she batted those lashes and smiled) and then she needed a bottle and then a diaper change.....so applesauce-never happened. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. I do have to admit to some serious multitasking, though. At one point I was perched on a kitchen stool with Giuliana on my lap, giving her a bottle with one hand while pan-searing beef tips for stew with the other hand. Just call me Martha.

And finally, this is what my much younger (HE thinks) husband is doing right now, while I, the much older and usually much sleepier, wife am still up and away...


He who lets his guard down finds himself posted on the internet!