A parenting moment

Last week all the girls in the family got our hair cut. Nothing major, just a trim. Kathryn was first. She settled into the chair as I was getting Juliana started on her reading. The person who cuts our hair is a friend from a previous ward. She lives in the neighborhood over, and it's very easy to get to her. Since we last went, some changes have occurred at her house, and she is now cutting hair in her kitchen as her other space has been taken over for another use. So back to Kathryn in the chair. . . we were discussing renting vs. owning. They are renting right now, and the house they are in is pretty old, and is a little hammered. Kathryn decided to enter into the conversation with her opinion. She said, "You should change some things in this house, (pause) and clean it." I was of course mortified. They do live differently than we do, but I had thought that we have discussed what to say out loud and what things to keep to ourselves. My friend took it like a pro, and admitted that afternoon was a crazy time at their house. I apologized, and she said, "Out of the mouth of babes." It was a moment in parenting where you realize your teaching has come up short. We'll be discussing the nuances of what to say out loud and what to leave unsaid this next week.

A new look

Last spring as we were looking forward to owning our own house, one of the things I was most anxious for was to be able to actually choose color, design, etc. Since life never really goes how you plan, we are still living here in a neutral colored house. There are a few reasons for this, one being that we didn't have any time from when we had to move out of our rental place and into this house. Thus there was not any time to do any painting before all the furniture was moved in. The other main reason, is that one of us (who will remain nameless) get nervous when the subject of paint is brought up. So, last Saturday we ventured to at least start decorating one room. We chose the bathroom. Small enough to get our feet wet. The subject of paint was briefly addressed, and then quickly dismissed (after all marriage is all about compromise). We went out found matching towels, rugs, curtain, the whole shabang. It was a lot of fun. It's nice to have one color scheme and not random colored towels that were given to us when we married. So here it is the first "official" decorating in our new place. I know it may not be too interesting, but hey it's the first time I've had a bathroom that all coordinated, so it's exciting to me! :)

Green eggs and.....

It wasn't quite Green Eggs and Ham, but at least it was green eggs. Sunday we had breakfast for dinner. Steve whipped up some delicious buttermilk pancakes. (If you have never actually made pancakes with actual buttermilk, you are missing out. I will happily share our recipe if you want to try them, they are heavenly.) I was slaving away on a fruit salad and scrambled eggs. The girls insisted that green eggs taste better than your everyday yellow variety. Last year in Kindergarten they had green eggs and ham to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. So I thought why not? Dr. Seuss was born in March and we just celebrated his birthday at school, and St. Patrick's day is not far off. As I was dripping blue and green food coloring into the eggs, I couldn't help remembering my mother. She is famous, or perhaps infamous, for dying food around a holiday. I remember one St. Patrick's Day when we had green potatoes, milk, anything that could be made green was. I said to myself back "in the day" that I wanted to be just like my mom. Unfortunately my present self is often too busy, worn out, or forgetful to remember to stop and dye the food every now and then. It was nice to have a reminder. Here are the green eggs, and before you knock it, you gotta' try it!
P.S. I had to add the picture with Steve and the eggs. I did say that I made them, but really I just whipped them and then somehow he was the one who actually cooked them, and yes he tucks his tie in when he is cooking. Maybe I should get him an apron....