good ideas

whenever i find a good idea in a magazine, i always want to cut it out and save it, but then it just ends up as clutter, and that's not helpful. so in an attempt to de-clutter my real life {and clutter my e-life instead} i'm putting them down on the www.

• toothbrush as a corn-on-the-cob prepper
• rubber bands as egg-dying aids
• lifesavers as birthday candle holders (look for the original rolls--holes in the bagged versions ar too large for most candles)
• nail polish as rust inhibitor (on shaving cream can)
• Store each sheet set in a pillowcase
• use raw spaghetti strands to light hard to reach candles
• Need to scale a recipe down or up? This is a great website. http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Recipes/scale/recipeconversions.php
• you can use a pastry cutter to help break up ground beef when cooking
• yellow gloves from costco. do dishes with crazy hot water and you don't get burned. also useful when browning a roast. keeps hands clean and safe
• when cooking ground beef, tilt the pan to one side and soak up the grease with a paper towel. easier than draining.
• big batch of bolognese sauce. quadruple the recipe. it takes all day, but when you're done you've got 10-15 good meals that are ready to go in 10 minutes
• keep notes in your recipe books. i never do this, but always wish i did.
• dry shampoo. ryan thinks it is disgusting. i think it is amazing.

what good ideas, time-saving tips or bits of brilliance do you have floating around?

Easter Egg Hunt

Every year our neighborhood has an Easter Egg Hunt, complete with breakfast and a visit from the Bunny himself. Ella loved it, especially the Bunny.

And, yes, I did let her eat the candy.

mom-mee

One of Ella's friends calls her mom "Mommy," and after a recent playdate Ella has started using it. But we're not sure what it means. When she says it, it is very deliberate and seems to mean more than the typical "Mom." I think it means "Mom & Me," but either way, it's pretty cute.

books, please

I've got some travel in my future, and need a good book. Or two. Or three. Or maybe four. What are the best three books you've read lately?

Thanks.

**If you have good movies or TV series suggestions, I'm game for that, too.

Spring Day

Checking out her shadow

eighteen at eighteen

1. She will accept food within 2 degrees of room temperature. Outside of that "itshot" or "whooooo" (it's cold).
2. Colors dominate her vocabulary right now. I hear "booh," "behn," "bahh," "rhed" (blue, pink, black and red) about five hundred times a day. Turns out this world is a pretty colorful place when you're looking for it.
3. She is a good little sleeper...most of the time.
4. We still struggle without Miralax or a healthy portion of prunes. Breaks my heart to see her in pain.
5. 95th percentile in length, 25th in weight. How did we get such a tall kid?
6. She is not good at sharing and throws a fit if someone takes something that Ella perceives is not theirs. Example: at Kimmy's wedding Ella was the ring bearer. Her only job was to hand Kimmy the pillow at the appropriate time. But Ella was sure the pillow was Grandma's, and there was no way she was going to let Kimmy have it. We did convince her the pillow was Kimmys's, which led her to want to give it to Kimmy RIGHT NOW. At home, if Mom sits in Dad's chair, or if Dad uses Mom's laptop...oh how we hear about it.
7. She is very organized. I think she got it from her Grandma Janet.
8. She loves to talk on the phone. Pretend, real, doesn't much matter.
9. She loves coloring. Especially when you are the one doing it. She loves for you to draw families of birds and then name them. Mommy bird, Daddy bird, Ella bird, Grandma Bird, Grandpa Bird, Kimmy Bird and Avery Bird. She remembers who's who, too. It amazes me.
10. Things in her crib right now: monkey 1, monkey 2, mouse, moose, bunny, giraffe, bear, elephant, kangaroo, dog, two books and an extra sleep sack.
11. She loves having her ears checked. She asks me to do it whenever she sees the otoscope.
12. We got into a bad habit of drinking milk before falling asleep. As it is with bad habits, I thought it was something we only did every now and then, in special circumstances. Too late I realized she had become dependent on it and now we are in the painful process of breaking it.
13. She gives a little chuckle once you understand what she's trying to say.
14. After months of trying to teach her to say 'please' and 'thank-you' I finally turned to signs. Works like a charm. Of course no one knows she is being polite. They just think she is hitting her face. But it's a start.
15. She can nearly finish a carton of grape tomatoes before we leave the grocery store.
16. Most words are noises that you have to decipher, but a few are very clear: mouse, moose, wash, walk. It's really cute.
17. She's fascinated by her shadow. She knows it is somehow her, and will say "me" and wave, but doesn't quite get it.
18. Monkeys and dogs tie for favorite animal.