April Celebrations I: My Annual Celebration

I am obviously still trying to catch up with my posts… My birthday this year was the first one that the girls understood what was going on. It was neat to see them so excited that it was my birthday; and it seemed genuine, not just ecstasy over their own ingestion of cake. There was a slight disruption during gift opening time though when Lucy barged right into almost tearing the first one open (note to my mom: the princess wrapping paper probably didn't help).

When my sister or I had a birthday, my mom would often get the other one of us a small gift to decrease the chances of a sibling meltdown. While naturally I will not have to worry about this on L & S’s birthday, the thought did cross my mind to get them something small on my day. I changed my mind. And it worked just fine. It might be different if there was another sibling in the mix however, especially if she had to watch both her sisters open gifts on the same day.

I started the day walking the girls down to the coffee shop so I could get my birthday drink and goodies. We met Dave down by the harbor around lunch. We did, one of my faves, Indian takeout, and then all had a hand in the creation of my birthday cake. It was a coconut white cake, which had a ‘fancy’ frosting that took about 25 minutes to whip. It was worth it!

Thanks Fam for a great day!

Big Kid Beds

We had a leaky roof in the nursery before the girls were born. We fixed the roof but we never fixed the ceiling in their room- partly because of cash but mostly because of the dust situation that ensues when fixing sheet rock.
The ladies had been in cribs up to this point because we kept saying that either we would just wait until we moved to 'move' them into big beds or we would at least have to fix the ceiling during the shift from crib to the twin bed. So, considering our great procrastination in moving out of this house, we decided it was time to fix that darn ceiling and surprise the girls with new BIG beds! (This happened in January, I delayed posting so we could 'surprise' Grandma and Opa when they visited...obviously the delay kept going for while after that as well)

Room with cribs (we had already taken out the dresser)

We moved the girls' mattresses up to the "Cheetah Lounge" on the third floor and they slept there for several days as Dave battled the ceiling with plaster, scraping tools, and a few choice words. But at the end it looked pretty good.

Before and After of one of the two monstrosities on the ceiling. 

Then came the multi-day set up of the beds. I had done a lot research on beds and had decided on a junior loft so that the space on the floor could be utilized (especially nice considering the already minute size of their Baltimore rowhouse room). We ended up going with our first pick, the IKEA KURA reversible bed. I loved the idea of a tent on top and for the price we couldn't go wrong. In addition, if for some reason the loft bed didn't work, we could flip it around. The only drawback of course if that it was an IKEA product, which meant it took FOREVER to set them up. After taking turns with the instructions, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, and some more choice words, this time for the Swedes, we got them all set up and let the girls check out their new sleeping (and playing) quarters with tents, twinkle lights, and more! They were pretty excited:)

Bag Ladies

So the new thing for the girls now, is meandering from floor to floor of our home carrying around many many bags filled with toys, books, dolls, and pretty much any tchotchke that happens to be in their path (I have found remotes, hair binders, brushes, cotton balls, plastic dinosaurs and coasters).  Usually it is 3 bags, sometimes 4, and many times it includes carrying additional items like a large plastic car or a stroller, or in this case a small crib and baby. They will follow me around the house and if I am doing chores I may only be on a floor for a few minutes, so really, its quite smart if their intention is to be in the same room as me, lol.

Stella on her way to floor 2 with her belongings.

In remembrance (or gratitude)... our friends Allison & Leo

No, they did not pass on to the next life... well, actually they are moving into to their next life... new job, new state, new weather patterns. 

Our neighbors for over 6 years and definitely our best friends 'on the block' locked their door for good this afternoon. This remembrance isn't really a good bye, but a thank you. I feel compelled to write on the first night of their darkened windows down the street.

Here's to you, you Steelers kids:

It was fall of 2007 that we bought our new home

It wasn't long after, they made themselves known

It started at first with a hi here and there

And then moved to chillin' in the cheetah lair

Our dogs loved both of them

Even if the love wasn't always in kind

But it was truly quite awesome

Neighbor pet-sitters, what a find!

And though maybe illegal

Here in Charm City

We had so many fires

With conversation, oh so witty

We were also admirers 

Of the helicopter lights

And listeners of sirens 

In the middle of the night

They drank craft beer

Which we found was rad

So we could stop drinking

Beer that was bad

We both started our lives on Eden unwed

And now 6 years later

we've all moved ahead

We have locked in our vows

And said our I do's

D and I added some ginger to our house

Now we'll see what they brew:)

I had such a great friend 

To track down in the eve

After a long day with kids

A fabulous reprieve

Now off you go

To the land that's tanner

Leo's land of screenplays

And Allison can cure cancer!

So good luck to you guys

Way out west

We will miss you a bunch

We wish you the best

Last night, sitting on the curbside lounge

Burns Night and The Haggis

The Haggis

Our fellow friends Tony and Michelle hosted a Burns Night this weekend and it was quite the
culinary adventure. I had never heard of Burns Night before so to bring us all up to speed I did some Googling. Burns night (and the Burns supper) is a celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns. He died at the end of the 18th century, and apparently the Burns annual celebration began shortly thereafter and has continued to this day. He was Scottish and a Burns night consists of eating Haggis & Neeps (turnips), drinking Scotch Whisky, and reciting Burns' poetry- all of which we did!

This is just part of the lengthy Address to the Haggis that is recited prior to serving:

 His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whistle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thristle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

And then with a huge knife, the host slashes the haggis open. And of course many "toasts to the lassies".

What is Haggis? I had an idea but Wikipedia says it nicely: Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach.

They special-ordered it from a place in New Jersey that makes the stuff. I was glad to hear that, since it was made in the US, there were no lungs in the mix (since that is illegal here). They did get a vegetarian one as well.

Now, for anyone that knows me, I really had no intention of eating the real Haggis. However, I wanted to write about it, so i had to try it. And I did. I filled my plate with a little real Haggis, some vegetarian Haggis, and neeps. The girls plates also consisted of the same. I took a bite. It was really quite wonderful! It's no surprise Dave liked it, but the girls snarfed it down as well! We even had seconds (and my second serving was significantly larger than the first).

I have to say I am pretty proud of myself for trying it:)

Slainte!!

More "Knock Off" Updates!

When we moved into our lovely abode we didn't have extra $$ to spend on making it pretty so we got thrifty and creative. We turned gleaming white walls into a variety of colors from gray and green  to yellow and even bright orange. But the true magic happened in the kitchen. White walls transformed into a grey; we painted the stark white laminate cabinets into bold red storage units, the equally stark white laminate counter top into a black faux granite (thanks to metallic paint and bubble wrap) masterpiece. We sealed it with 5 layers of poly-crylic, so it did pretty darn well withstanding water, heat, crusted on food, glass rings, soap scum, and the day to day battering.

A few years in, I decided I couldn't deal with the gray anymore, despite it being a fabulous compliment to the red cabinets, so we changed it to a yellow tone with some texture. While it definitely warmed the
room up, now I was looking at the red cabinets and thinking they didn't match anymore with the new wall color. I spent the next several years looking and envisioning replacing them with dark wood grain cabinets. So since I still was not interested in spending the money to replace the cabinets I thought, huh, I can fake this! So after having our red beauties for almost 6 years I painted them again.. this time to mimic an ebony wood grain. It worked well enough I think. I like it.

So now of course, we have these dark faux wood cabinets, and a dark faux granite counter. Too much darkness. We thought, well, we should probably just go buy a new counter top- we deserve it right? Well it came down to a new counter or our children's preschool education. And I don't think there is really a debate on that one; if there was we should be interrogated as parents.

What happens next? Why not repaint the countertop? Six years ago
I sanded, primed, sanded, primed, painted, sanded, painted, sanded, faux finished (with the bubble wrap), then polyed-sanded-polyed-sanded-poly-sanded and so forth; the whole thing was a week long process (pre kids mind you). Did I want to do that again, no. What I did not know six years ago is there is a product called Rustoleum Countertop Transformations. The extent of my excitement upon learning of this product was frankly ridiculous. Suffice it to say, $100 later, and a sand, prime/ paint (in one step), decorative chip, and seal twice we were done with our new counter in approximately a weekend (with kids even!). It looks pretty good I must say.

Next project, DIY backsplash (hopefully not 6 years from now).

PS. I know the red looked good (or I like to think so) but this new transformation will go further in resale or at least in a rental... so for anyone out there that might think we went backwards on this (mom:))... here's hoping for the best (esp. when we get my backsplash in!)

Gobblers and Pittsboogers

(I am not purposefully calling our Pittsburgh family/ friends inappropriate names, please see below:))
So first things first, I apparently have not done my parental duty (or at least read enough books on the topic to spur conversation) with the girls to have taught them what a turkey is, by name anyway. They still call them Gobbles or Gobblers. But, it's cute, at least for now, so I'm sold. In addition, I have not exactly had the serious conversation about what being thankful is, and what we should be thankful for, hence the turkey posters they made at school. Once again, cute, and albeit true, I wouldn't have minded "mommy" up there or, you know, "i'm thankful for the precious time I have as a child and don't have to worry about much more than if I'm getting cake and what kind of frosting it may have etc."

I on the other hand can indeed be thankful for many many things in general, but I will focus on this weekend for now. From the gracious couple (who had never met us) that invited us into their home for Thanksgiving, the highway angels that opened the gates to a very quick drive to Pittsburgh on Friday (4 hours, which is what it was supposed to take, and it even included 2 stops), Dave's Aunt and Uncle who bravely let us set up camp, or you could say circus, in their home for a few days, to my neighbor Allison (in Baltimore, but is from Pitt and just happened to be in town the same time) who created a great bar-hopping itinerary for us when I snuck out on Saturday night. I was thankful for my husband who slept on the side of the bed closest to where our kids were sleeping (so he was the default getter-upper in the middle of the night), and thankful for his cousin Caroline who not only offered to bring (both) the girls to the bathroom for a #2 adventure (that ended with very vocal proclamations of "I went POOP in the potty!") but also purchased us some fabulous macaroons from her bakery (which unfortunately are not being shared with our offspring- sorry Caroline, we just can't do it, they are too good...the macaroons I mean). I am thankful for Aunt Terry who greeted us with great food, wine, and conversation. I am thankful for Uncle Steve who invited the hubs to Bud's basement bar two days in a row, so 1) I could get some good girls gossip in with the ladies and 2) could 'sneak' out the second night for a slice of Pitts nightlife. I am not so thankful for our drive back (7.5 hours, including same 2 stops) but am thankful for the peace in the back two car seats (relative peace anyway) considering the circumstances.

So a brief recap of our Thanksgiving weekend extravaganza:

• We spent Thanksgiving Day at a friend of a friend. They lived in a beautiful historic home in Mount Vernon and had a 4 year old that the girls had a great time 'chillin' with
• We left for Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon to spend some time with Dave's fam. The girls didn't miss a beat from the last time we were there in September, they made themselves right at home!
• Terry brought all 4 of us to the Science Center where we hung out and played, fixed stuff at the space station, played with robots, and looked at a mini-Pittsburgh with working trains, and rivers, and boats, and houses who's lights came on when it got 'dark' every 10 minutes or so to simulate evening- it was very impressive and I wanted to go in and 'play' with it as much as my kids
• I was able to hang out with my neighbor in Charm City who is from Pittsburgh and was back for Thanksgiving. We went a few different places in South Side, the first equipping me with a variety of toys including a glowing fish, plastic dinosaurs, and a candy necklace (and no, it was not a rave)
• We had a great french toast breakfast on Sunday and hit the road (after several hours of 'pretending we are going to leave')
• We actually did leave finally and got stuck in massive turnpike traffic, but hey it gave us time to digest our weekend, along with lots of random road snacks

Watching the robot

A view of the train exhibit

So now we are back. I am extending my weekend as long as I can; tomorrow begins a long two weeks for me before our next journey to the land of saints and minny apples.

PS. As for the Pittsboogers, we tried to 'amp' up the weekend a bit prior to departure so we talked about going to Pittsburgh etc... so of course when they heard that term they turned it into a new thing, they are 3, need I say more?