There is too much - let me sum up.

The boys love having camp-ins. This is over General Conference weekend in their bedroom, with the tent pitched toward the temple.


I didn't see the outfit in all its glory until I went to pick up Scott at the end of a birthday party. Previously, he had been wearing a red sweatshirt. (Which wasn't much better, but at least it was a solid color.)


Our little roly-poly has found her toes.


My budding scientists always wear eye protection. Who cares if they're meant for the pool?

Merry Christmas to me

Our first apartment in California was 4 blocks from an enormous Cost Plus World Market. I used to amuse myself by slowly browsing the kitchen tools, the furniture, the posters, the stylish baskets, the textiles, the imported food items. I have never seen a cuter selection of mini-cheeses, summer sausages, and spices.

When I received a gift card to World Market for Christmas 2008, I was delighted! Last night, I finally decided what I wanted :



Great prices on couscous and Wasa crackers! Plus some doodads - a round cake pan, a funnel, a sifter, a scraper for cleaning off baked-on goo, parchment paper to prevent baked-on goo, and a spoon clip so the spoon goo drips in my pot and not on my stove top.

Thank you, Santa Shaun!

Achievement, independence and self-expression

I love my children. They delight me. And I'm proud of them. Even when they drive me crazy, there is a teeny tiny part of me that revels in telling Mr. M at night HOW crazy they were.

We had parent-teacher conferences with Ethan's teacher today. He got 100% on his last two math tests for the district. He maxed out his reading fluency. And he got elected by his class to receive the Citizenship award at a special ceremony this Friday morning. He's a model pupil from what I can tell. What can I say? He's just like his mother:) Ethan is a very helpful big brother. He loves to make Elizabeth smile. Here is a clip of his efforts. Ummm, you may want to turn down the volume.



Did you notice Scott in the background stirring something at the stove? Those are eggs he is scrambling. He is such an independent guy, and he LOVES to cook. I'm trying to get him more involved in meal preparation. Scott adores both his siblings.





Elizabeth is discovering the range of her voice. She is just like her mother in some regards. When she is hungry, she totally LOSES IT! When she is fed, she is quite content. Here are some of her recent squawks:

Crustless garden vegetable quiche

I love this pan (thanks, Mom!) and I really like the quiche. It's full of vegetables and 3 cheeses: cheddar, jack, and cottage. The best part is the tangy, chewy quality of the tomatoes on top. I adapted the recipe for lazy people like me who buy normal full-fat cheese and real eggs.

Pi Day

Pi Day snuck up on me this year, and it fell on a Sunday. Miraculously, I had some delicious frozen blueberries on hand and decided to make a Blueberry Galette. Unfortunately, I was not terribly accurate in measuring the butter and the crust was extremely sticky. "No matter," thought I, "it will bake just fine." WRONG!

The crust didn't hold together enough to keep the blueberry juice from bleeding all over the baking pan and dripping onto the oven floor, sending up huge clouds of black smoke in my kitchen. After attempting some tinfoil remedies around the edge of the pan, we gave up and ate the galette half-cooked. It was like eating blueberry sugar cookie dough - delicious - but I am determined to try again. Maybe if I used a jelly roll pan that would solve my problem. Or I suppose I could just measure the butter correctly.

Here is the galette:



And here is the oven. (I have since cleaned it for the first time in 2 years. Better late than never. )