girlymama

this is what happens to my house while i blog

 
that literally happened in less than 5 minutes while i wrote a quick post yesterday.

the culprit:
 
my little stinker. i won't even show you what the bathroom looked like, but the toilet paper and trash came from somewhere. a single picture wouldn't do it justice. you would need a video tour at the very least.

playing tourist in our own city

 

Does this conversation sound familiar?
"What do you want to do this weekend?"
"I don't know...."

This weekend, on a whim, we decided to go to see the Liberty Bell. Despite us living so close, we've never brought the kids there. And Ellie learned about the Liberty Bell in school, so she was super excited!

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we took advantage! We went to the Visitors Center, saw the Liberty Bell, went on a carriage ride, then headed up to Franklin Square Park. There are people walking around in costume, storytellers, free movies. Then we had a super yummy lunch at Stephen Starr's new place, SquareBurger.  (If you are in the area - check it out. Fantastic!! ) We had a great morning, our kids thought it was so fun to be in the city and see something they learned about in school. Franklin Square Park alone is worth a trip.

GO! Go enjoy this amazing city and all it has to offer! We had so, so much fun. (Especially the carriage ride - did you know its only $30 for a carriage ride? Totally worth it!! The kids thought that was super awesome.)

Wherever you live - what is so nearby, so convienent that you don't even bother to go and see? Go play tourist!

a few good quotes

Ellie: "Oh, Mom!! Gracie is the Water Fairy and I'm the Flower Fairy and you can be... I know! YOU can be the Clean-Up Fairy!!"

Amazingly, they haven't written that Fairy book yet.

**********
Gracie: "Ugh! I don't want to see that again for a... a... googolplex days!!"

This is what happens when you marry a math nerd. Your four-year-old kid starts using math terms that you don't understand.

**********
Some Colin translations for you:
"GITDON!!!" = Get down.
"Wa-da" = want that
"Dada" = Daddy
"MAMA" = Mama, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I want something, I'm tired, Look, My sister is bothering me, I need a diaper change, What is this?, Pick me up, Help, I'm stuck, Want more, Where's my blanket, pay attention to me, etc.

wordless wednesday: our late night visitor

try this: grilled herb shrimp with mango salsa

This is one of my kids favorite meals. I have to double it and we NEVER have leftovers!! This recipe sums up why I adore Ina Garten: simple, fresh and amazing!!

 
Grilled Herb Shrimp
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, small-diced
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
¼ cup minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup good olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled (tails left on) and deveined

* Combine the garlic, onion, parsley, basil, mustards, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice.  Add the shrimp and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to two days. 

* Prepare grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking.  Skewer the shrimp and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, until pink.

Mango Salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion (2 onions)
2 teaspoons peeled and minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño pepper (1 pepper)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
*Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and ginger, and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, 1 minute more. Add the mangos; reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 more minutes. Add orange juice, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the orange juice has reduced, 3 to 4 minutes.
*Remove from heat, and stir in mint. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Recipe origin: Barefoot Contessa Parties!

six unimportant things that make me happy

I have about 6 blog posts floating around in my head but am not finding the time to sit down and actually write them. Anyone else in that same boat? No? Just me?

Anyway, due to having no more than 5 minutes to get anything done it being summer and approximately 300 degrees outside, I'm just going to copy Jo-Lynnethis morning. Because copying Jo-Lynne is usually a good idea ;-)

six unimportant things that make me happy

1. sunshine.
i find it difficult to get motivated on gray, gloomy days. even if its only 10 degrees outside, sunshine makes all the difference in the world to me. so i probably will never move to seattle. sorry, edward.

2. my ipod.
a gift from my husband, i find it amazingly therapeutic. i'm surrounded by noise all day: often loud, sometimes whiny and/or annoying. when i'm making dinner or cleaning, i put on my ipod and suddenly the chaos is just background noise. a definite sanity saver.

3. a good cup of coffee, a comfy chair and something to read
my favorite form of therapy.

4. naptime.
mine or theirs. equally wonderful.

5. pens.
especially gel ones. in different colors. ooo - and sharpies. i just can't write a whole list or note in just one color. that would be wrong!!

6. dvr.
best. invention. ever. well, since food network, anyway.

What about you? Leave a note if you play along and I'll come read yours!

free summer entertainment

 
"VROOM-VROOM, MAMA!! VROOM-VROOM!!!"

new look!

What do you think?

the world is our oyster

Next year is our tenth (TENTH!) anniversary and Husband and I are looking into where we want to go away for a week!!! Hee hee hee!!!

He has a gazillion hotel and airplane points so we can pretty much fly and stay anywhere in the world. Fo' FREE. (There is a plus side to having a husband who travels all the time!!!)

Here are some of our ideas. Notice how they start to get crazier as we go down the list. That's how we roll.
Hawaii
Ireland or maybe Scotland
Costa Rica
Portugal
Malta
Italy
Tahiti
South Africa
Egypt

We're leaning towards Hawaii. (Not very imaginative, I know) But
1. We only have a week. Tahiti, for example, we would spend 3 days just traveling.
2. Some places, like Egypt or South Africa, are places that we might want to take the kids someday. So maybe we should wait on those?
3. Is a week enough to do Italy?

So you have two questions to answer here: Where do YOU think we should go? And what about you? If you could go anywhere for a romantic getaway, where would you go??

wordless wednesday: future wimbleton champs