yubbing yibia

Yubbing Yibia translated: Loving Olivia.

The other morning after I fed Olivia, Amelia asked to hold her.  While she held her, I asked, "Do you like her?"  She responded (oh-so-sweetly), "Yeaaaah...and I yub her, too."

Sugar sweet.

the view from here

info for the newbie

I was holding Olivia in the kitchen today, and Meredith looks right at her and says, "Olivia, do you know you have the best Mommy in the whole wide world?!" 

Warms my heart. :)

6.years.old

So, I'm a little behind posting about Meredith's (and Amelia's!) birthday.  Since Meredith's was Feb. 16, I figure I should post about her first. 

First of all, I just love this picture of Meredith.  She is so full of energy almost all of the time!  And when it's happy energy, she looks just like this!  Huge smile, ready for a hug, lots of love. 

When it's the grumpy energy coming out...well, we'll just leave it at grumpy energy.  Her outlook on life has improved immensely, and I'm encouraged that some day her grumpy moments will be few and far between!

At 6 years old, Meredith loves babies (both the pretend kind and the real kind).  She was extremely thrilled recently when I allowed her to hold Olivia while standing up.  (I was right there with her, hands under O, ready to catch!)  Meredith was convinced that her arms were much, much stronger after her holding time! :)

She can read, skip, whistle, sing, and dance.  You will find her doing most of those at the same time!

Favorites...
book: the imagination book (we have a book with blank pages, and we make up our own new story every time we read it)
food: chocolate chip cookies
game: Twister
activity: cooking over a fire
show: America's Funniest Home Videos

Now that she's 6, Meredith wants everyone to know that she can do more things and that she loves being a big sister!

For her birthday, Meredith decided that she wanted cookies instead of cake.  (She doesn't like cake or frosting!)  So we made a boatload of star shaped cookies, and one giant "6" cookie for her.  Josh actually made the 6 cookie...I frosted it.  It was a team effort. :)



Meredith, we love you.  You are so passionate, and we love watching you grow and learn.  You are creative and full of life.  We love having you as a part of our family!

grilled.rosemary.pork.chops

This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen.  I am convinced that they don't make bad recipes over there!  This is one of Josh's favorites, and it's soooooo easy which makes it one of my favorites. :)

Grilled Rosemary Pork Chops
3 Tbls. apple jelly
2 Tbls. coarse grainy mustard
2 tsp. rosemary
cayenne pepper (as little or as much as you'd like)
4-6 pork chops or pork tenderloin cut into chops
salt and pepper

1. Combine jelly, mustard, rosemary, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl. 
2.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Place in bowl with jelly-mustard mixture.  Toss to coat.  Marinate for at least 1 hour.  (I marinate them all day.)
3.  Grill and enjoy!

april.2011.menu.plan

I realized the other day that I've been monthly menu planning for a year now.  I'm definitely not turning back any time soon!  I love it.  The best part?  I opened up my April 2010 menu plan and easily had 15 recipes that I was going to make again for this April.  Yay!!

April 6-9
4/6: chicken manicotti (freezer meal from last month)
4/7: grilled rosemary pork chops (Josh)
4/8: bandito chili dogs (crockpot)
4/9: grilled sausage (Josh)

April 10-16
4/10: spaghetti
4/11: hamburgers (Josh)
4/12: french toast and bacon
4/13: homemade pizza
4/14: twice baked potatoes and salad
4/15: sloppy joes (new recipe)
4/16: roast and potatoes (crockpot)

April 17-23
4/17: chicken patty sandwiches
4/18: creamy italian chicken (crockpot)
4/19: stir-fry (Josh)
4/20: chicken burritos (freezer meal from January)
4/21: fish fry (Josh)
4/22: homemade hamburger helper
4/23: santa fe chicken salad

April 24-30
4/24: homemade bunny (monkey) bread (the remaining menu is TBD!)
4/25: whole chicken
4/26: skillet penne and sausage supper
4/27: chicken and noodles (with leftover chicken from 4/25)
4/28: deer steaks
4/29: pancakes/eggs/bacon
4/30: frozen pizza

question.of.the.day

Amelia is such a funny goose (that's her term...silly goose, funny goose...is there a difference?!).  She wanted to hold Olivia today (or Yibia...as she calls her).  As she was holding her, she was being a bit careless with her.  I was right there with her, of course, but I was correcting her. 

Me:  Amelia, you need to hang on to her.  You have to be very careful with Olivia. 
A:  Yibia get broken?
Me: (laughing) She won't get broken, but she might get hurt.
A:  Oh, Yibia get broken...buy new Yibia?
Me: No, we can't buy a new Olivia.
A:  Why?
Me:  There's only one Olivia!
A:  Oh.

grocery.store.Josh

***Note:  I wrote this about a week before I had Olivia, and that will explain some of the story which might might be a bit dated at this point! :)

What a treat we have in store today!  I've really wanted to document Josh's trip to the grocery store last month, but I just haven't gotten around to it.  Well today, readers, is your lucky day! :)

I just didn't think my body could handle doing a month's worth of shopping this month.  So, I asked Josh if he would go to the store for me if I made him a list.  He willingly agreed.

So, I made the list...I even worked on a new printed, ordered list for the Aldi aisles (since I hadn't had one in the past).  He had two stores to go to, and I assumed he could get it done all in one night...just like I do. 

Then he called me around 8:30.  "Hi Honey.  Uh, you didn't tell me that Aldi closes at 8:00."  I had left home at 6:15, and I assumed he was leaving right away.  One should never assume.  He did actually leave right away, but he had to drop our computer off at a friend's house since it had gotten a virus that evening.  He stayed a little longer than he had planned.  (I could make some comment about how he talks too much and is more sociable than he should be, but I'm always guilty of the exact same thing, so I'll keep my yapper under wraps!)

So, he had to go to grocery store #2 that night and go back to Aldi the following night.  One night of grocery shopping now became two.  It's a learning process, you know!

He gets home, and I do believe that he had purchased everything on the list.  Yay!  And some kipper snacks.  Ick!  Do you know what those are?  They're like little fish...absolutely disgusting.  I hope he eats them while I'm in the hospital just so that I don't have to smell them. 

He did complain about how slowly the cashier rang up the groceries, the fact that he had to bag them himself, the person in the frozen food aisle that didn't even attempt to move when he needed something out of the case that the guy was in front of, and the oblivious people in one aisle that were blocking the entire width of the aisle.  (I assume that I've just become numb to these things because I know I experience them too.)
My favorite part?  After evening number 2 of shopping, he came home from Aldi and said, "I know you say this all the time, but man...Aldi has such great deals!  My whole cart was full, and it was only $70!  Milk was on sale for $1.49!!"  I thought it was amusing because every time I come home from Aldi, I really do go on and on about what great prices they have.  I keep wondering how long I'm going to be amazed! 

Needless to say, Josh did a great job!  I would definitely trust him to do it again...although he has zero desire!  I'm thinking maybe we could trade off every other month...or at least play Paper, Rock, Scissors to see who should go.  Seems fair to me.