My Green Thumb

I have been known by some as the owner of very sad plants. I have never had many plants, but the ones I did have were the kind that were suppose to be easy to keep alive. That is, if they didn't live with me! So, during my four years in Baltimore I tried my hardest to keep two plants alive. I would water, feed with special plant food, put near a window, wash the leaves, etc., but nothing would work. Their leaves would turn brown and no new leaves would replace the old ones. When it was time to move to New York, I had to say goodbye to one of them. It was truly quite ugly with just a few leaves left where once a great bushy plant existed. I was determined to keep the other one though. It was also struggling, but it was a gift to me after I lost my mom. I was bound and determined to keep this until there was nothing. So, I packed my sad little plant in the back of the car and headed to our new home. I have now lived here 11 months and look at how beautiful my plant is and after owning it for five years now, it has grown its first flower!! Do you know what this means? My suspicions were right, but I just couldn't prove it!! It wasn't me at all! It was my cave-like condo in Baltimore and its lack of natural light! Now that it is growing, my horticulturist friend Elena, told me that my beloved plant is not just one plant, but two! (Which does make sense, it was given to me in a basket arrangement.) So, when it comes time to own a house, I will with some confidence be out in the yard creating a beautiful garden where things may actually grow!

Hello Beach!!

The sun is out and it's time to hit the beach! We traveled about 15 minutes from our house to Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. It's a large beach on the Long Island Sound with a parking lot the size of Disneyland! We were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was and before the season hits, it's free! It was a great day, not a lot of people and the perfect amount of wind. Chloe has been known to dislike the ocean so this was perfect due to the lack of waves. It did still take her 20 minutes to get off the towel though! Ahh, May is approching! I can see a tan in my future!! (Well, sort of!)

Those toes did not want to touch the sand!

Hooray! With her sandles back on, Chloe braved the sand! What courage!!

The Culinary Institute of America-YUM!

On our trip to Hyde Park we stopped for lunch at CIA, The Culinary Institute of America. Wow! It was amazing! The campus is beautiful and much larger than I was expecting. It is one of the leading culinary schools in the world and the students pay a pretty price to go there too. Over $22,000 per year! Sounds like my Linfield days! (Thank heavens for financial aid!) My big wonder is, if I were a student there, just how much weight would I gain in those four years? I would surpass the "Freshmen 15" in the first semester! There are three fine dining restaurants French, Italian, American, and two casual, family friendly restaurants. We ate at The Apple Pie Bakery Cafe and it was delicious and inexpensive. Eric couldn't get over how friendly the waitstaff was, but I guess when their grade is on the line they give an extra smile. If you are ever up in that area I highly suggest a visit!

A Visit With The Roosevelts

Eric had a few vacation days to take off this week and we were going to head to the coast for a few days, but with all the rains last weekend we thought we would wait for things to dry out a bit. So, we decided to do a few day trips around the area. One place we headed to was Hyde Park, NY, home to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Since moving to the East Coast, almost five years ago, I have loved and learned so much about our nation's history. Much more than I ever did in school. This was the fourth presidential estate that we have visited. (Washington's Mt. Vernon, Jefferson's Monticello, and Eisenhower's in Gettysburg) Eric and I talk about all the cool things we have seen with Ella and Chloe that they will never remember doing except for the reminders we have in pictures. Ella has seen more in her four years of life than most do in a lifetime. I will miss the easy access to American history once we move back out west. I guess I'll get reacquainted with the Lewis & Clark story! We arrived to the Roosevelt Estate and enjoyed a quick tour (thanks to two bored girls) of the Roosevelt Presidential Library, a video about the family and then a tour of the house. All were very interesting and would have been more enjoyable if we weren't trying to entertain a 1 and 4 year old. There are a few other houses that the family owned nearby, but our time was limited. Below is a picture outside the visitor's center. Ella had quite the attachment to President Roosevelt!

80s Flashback

Last night, Eric and I found ourselves watching The Wonder Years on TV and really enjoying it! It has always been a favorite of ours from childhood. The soundtrack alone is worth the watch. Eric remembers it being one of the few shows his mom ever watched and for me Kevin Arnold reminds me of my brother William around the time he was in the fourth grade. I love it! The storyline is classic. It's everything you thought about or went through growing up, but usually in a much cooler way. I then thought about the shows today and I can't think of one show that's on prime time TV that is for the 'tween and teen ages. How sad! I know Disney and Nick have those shows, but on basic cable I couldn't come up with any. I guess they now have American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, but where's the fun shows about growing up! I think about the shows that were popular when I was younger and they were all about family and what everyone was going through. You had The Cosby Show, Full House, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, and even in the 90s there was Home Improvement. Granted some of these aren't the best written shows, but when your 10+, they are so great! So, here's to syndication and series DVDs that you can buy. May the good reruns never end!


Side note: Does anyone else remember the made for TV special "Dance 'Til Dawn"? It had every big young star in the 80s: Allyssa Milano, Tracey Gold, Brian Bloom, Christina Applegate, the list goes on. I haven't seen it since it ran, but I remember loving it! I can pretty much guarantee that it is not a great movie, but it is available on Netflix. So watch out Eric!

Weekend Adventures

I'm back to reality today and it's been a slow adjustment! First off, I had such a great time! The weekend couldn't have gone better. The weather caused a few minor changes to our schedule, but not enough to stop us from completely enjoying ourselves. What did we see and do? Three things: shopped, ate and Broadway show! Our top three things to do without children! Eric was very confused with our choices. "You didn't see the Statue of Liberty? How long did you spend at that store? You were only at the Met for two hours?" Yes, Eric would have hated our weekend! I would have been a better tour guide to see the big sights, but both my friends, Laurel and Elena, had already been there before and Laurel is moving here in June so we decided early on that we would focus our attention to other things. We had great navigation skills with the subway, good weather for the bulk of our weekend, and a lucky flight that didn't get cancelled due to the storm! It was perfect!

So, here is a guided tour for the next time you have a weekend in NYC.

**Warning: Potential weight gain may occur!

Day One: Head to Lower Manhattan to purchase tickets at TKTS for Broadway show. Find a great place for lunch on a cute cobblestone street right off Wall Street. If weather is a little chilly, skip the ferry and tourist sights and go shopping at Century 21. A few hours later head to hotel for needed break. If your room has a small kitchen, laugh at the idea of cooking, but be grateful for the large fridge to store mass amounts of leftovers and desserts. For a quick, very cheap eat before your show head over to Gray's Papaya. See any number of shows on Broadway, but tickets to The Drowsy Chaperone, will be worth it. It is a very fun play and with great seats you will really enjoy yourself. After the show you must stop at Junior's and take some cheesecake back to your hotel. **Warning: Do not consume the whole piece in one sitting! Save some for the next day!

Day Two: Grab a quick breakfast at any number of cafes and then go uptown for a walk in Central Park and see The Met. See as much as you can in two hours and then go back downtown for lunch at Lombardi's, snack at Rice to Riches, and go shopping in Soho. When it’s getting late make your way to Union Square for hot chocolate and treats to take home from Max Brenner and then end your evening with your leftover cheesecake and an in-room movie.

Day Three: Before ending your weekend and returning to normal life, spurge on brunch at Norma’s. The wait will be longer than they say, but it is oh so delicious! Head home and enjoy your new found patience with your family!!

Lovely Day For Laundry!

On any other typical day, this would make me complain, but not today! Doing laundry in the pouring down rain is a little stretch in my comfort level, but hey, at least I don't have to drive to a laundromat! Today I can only be grateful for the things I have because in less than 24 hours, I will be child-free in the city of New York for an entire weekend with two great friends!(Miss you Lila!) So here's a list of my top 5 of what I'm grateful for while I'm waiting for the dryer to be done!
1. A terrific husband who has encouraged me to do a girls' weekend! Plus he took a day off to babysit, mapped out fun places to eat/visit, and will be waiting for my phone calls to help me with the subway! Love You!
2. Two wonderful girls who, although I'll only be gone two days, I'll be so anxious to see on Sunday!
3. Friends who are in need of a girls' weekend and willing/able to come! (Big thanks to their husbands too!)
4. Living near a place where people want to come visit!
5. Knowing that the places we live during school/residencies are temporary which encourages us to we go out and do as much as we can while we are here!

*Note to readers: This weekend can be yours too! Just give me a call! Would love to see you!!

Happy Easter!!

We had a wonderful Easter at home with just the family. (Although we did miss our four year tradition with the Farnsworths!) We went to church where Ella got to sing with all the other kids in front of the congregation and she actually sang! She did great! They sang one of her favorite songs, "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" so that helped too. After church the girls got to hunt for their Easter baskets and eat some treats. We then had a nice quiet dinner just the four of us with enough ham to feed 12 of us! I tried to find a small, spiral sliced ham, but none could be found. Please email any recipes you have for leftover ham! We had a great weekend and send our love to you this Easter day! The girls and their baskets.
The family. Chloe not too happy to still be outside!
The girls with their matching dresses!
I loved the big pink bows in the back.
Ella and Chloe trying to run away from me and my camera!
This picture made me laugh! Chloe's face just cracks up! It was so cold today and the girls did such a great job taking pictures. I knew when I took this one, we needed to go inside.

Easter Eve

Getting the eggs ready to dye. Chloe loved the sound the eggs made when she hit them on the table!

The results! Great job girls!!

We had an Easter egg hunt with our neighbor friends on Saturday. It was chilly, but still fun!

Dr. Ella

Teaching her dad some new techniques at Stepping Stones Children's Museum in Connecticut. (Note to self: do not go to children's museums on Good Friday! So crowded! This was basically my only attempt at taking a picture.)

Is Heaven White?

Being a stay at home mom certainly isn't glamours. (I occasionally wear red shoes just to feel like I'm dressed up! ) It can be a little repetitive. (I know books and cartoon theme songs by heart.) And it definitely can be hard work. (This needs no explanation) But today I really enjoyed every minute of it! Today wasn't perfect. We still had tears and tempers, but I was reminded by Ella that I am so blessed to be able to be at home with them each day.

While out on errands, Ella out of no where asks, "Mom, is heaven white?"

I said, "I picture it having a lot of white, but I don't know for sure. Why do you ask?"

Ella replied, "Because I can't remember."

This reminded me so clearly that I have been given such a special calling by my Heavenly Father to watch over these two precious little angels while they are here on Earth. I am so grateful!

Weekend in the Kitchen

This weekend we stayed close to home so I thought it would be a perfect time to try out some new recipes. Overall, I was disappointed in how things turned out. The recipes looked and sounded much better than they actually tasted. I've also come to the conclusion that I hate making large meat with bones. This weekend was roasted chicken. It always sounds so good and smells good, but the time and temperature never equal to what it's suppose to be and I'm always afraid of making someone sick with undercooked poultry. What should be an hour and a half is more like two. Plus with speaking with Eric, roasted chicken really doesn't do it for us because neither of us eats the skin, which has all the flavor and we both only like white meat, which spending $10 on a whole chicken makes no sense. So I've have made my last roasted chicken! Here's to always buying a rotisserie from Costco for $5.00!!

One recipe this weekend that we all liked was Orange-Ricotta Pancakes from Everyday Food. They are light and much more delicate than normal pancakes. The orange added just enough flavor in the pancakes and were really good as a topping too. A good change to the normal breakfast menu.