Author name: hill

K decided to stick a rather large piece of pasta up her nose.
i did not realize this until she showed me what came out of her nose.
so gross.
so so gross.
my grandfather was an ear, nose and throat doc
so he always told my sibs and me many stories of all of the
coins, marbles, peas and the like that he had to fish out of kids’ noses.
i wish he were still around to share stories like those with my kids
so that they would be terrified ever doing anything like that.
again.

she can breathe more easily now.

D’s reading has taken off.
but B and i are mourning a teensy bit because
we have had to say goodbye to spelling quick short words to one another.
well, that was a fun phase.

besides thinking he’s pretty much the best thing in the entire world already,
L is soaking up the fact that all of his books can be read to him by D.

in other news, our housekeeper didn’t show up today.
the breakfast dishes were cleared at lunch and the lunch dishes at dinner.
i don’t think we pay her enough.
that’s why she just refuses to work some days.
(the housekeeper is me)
and yes, i did enjoy my day off.

161. the fact that i feel as though pandora can read my mind
162. 5:30pm (when B comes in to rescue me)
163. playing in the front yard
164. how stickers never fail to entertain
165. sweet little girls

we had a visit from Grammy.
it was wonderful.
and yes, all of my laundry is done,
folded and is now put away.
hooray!

she always brings fun books that B read when he was a child.

if that were a love language, it would be D’s.

thanks to her, B and i got to go on a date last night.

a very fun date.

a surprise very fun date.

a surprise very fun double date.

or triple date.

or quadruple date.

whatever.

it was awesome.

we went to the hollywood bowl.
B didn’t know who we were seeing until we got there.
and when he read it on the sign, he still didn’t know who we were seeing.
but then, i reminded him that she + him had
the fabulous zooey deschanel
in it.
and yes, she was pretty fabulous.

we went with my sis and 28 of her closest friends.

it was so completely wonderful.
the bowl is a must-do in the summertime.

here are B, Auntie B, Uncle J and me.
and don’t worry… i wasn’t drinking out of the champagne bottle.
and don’t worry… Auntie B wasn’t drinking two glasses.
we were in the middle of making pimosas (patent pending).
pimosas are the very best drink.
ever.
Auntie B’s momma invented them.
pomegranate juice + champagne.
yum.

and to top the night off, i even got to meet a blog stalker.
hi alicia!

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:2

156. the most patient Grammy who was up with (a non-crying but awake)
L for an hour and a half before we got home
157. the giant hunk of german chocolate cake that Grammy left
158. warm summer nights
159. being out of the house past dark
160. being out of the house and outside past dark

weird things like this happen to me a lot.
and i mean, a lot.
things that are hard to explain.
things that are hard to get an answer to.
complicated things.
you see, we have this tree in our backyard off which i would pick limes and use quite often.
every once in a while, i would see a lemon underneath the tree.
i assumed that some of the little squirrels that frequent our yard
had been dropping them under there.
or, that our neighbor had a lemon tree that was intermingling with our lime tree.
but then i started seeing lemons grow on our lime tree.
i would cut into the limes and they definitely tasted like limes and then i would cut into the lemons and they would taste like lemons.
and both were growing on our tree.
what?
i know.
so confusing.
i didn’t know where to go for the answer.
and then the most amazing thing happened.
i spotted a tag on the trunk of the tree that i hadn’t ever seen before.
and on that tag was the kind of tree.
so, i googled it (of course).
and here’s what i found.

yes, that’s right. our limes turn yellow when they are fully ripe.
what?
i know.
so confusing.
have you ever heard of such a thing?
neither have i.
but now i know.
and now you know.
no more mystery.
and they sort of taste like a lemony-lime.
they’re great.

and my mother-in-law just gave me the most incredible lemonade recipe.
seriously.
it is awesome.
you must try it.
you must, you must.

i’ve always wanted to be a farmer.
seriously.
how wonderful to grow something and then get to enjoy it.
the mere thought makes my heart go all aflutter.
the kids and i ventured into the backyard
where we found the 10 lemons/limes that are needed for this recipe.
it really calls for lemons but i thought i’d try our lemony-limes since we had them.
in our backyard.
i know.
how cool.

directions:
boil 4 cups of water with 4 cups of granulated sugar

cut the yellow skins from 10 lemons
(not the white rinds which tend to be bitter)

after the sugar water has boiled, put the skins into the pot
and let the mixture cool for about an hour

until the skins become rather translucent.
remove the skins (whose oil has now been soaked into the sugar water)
with a slotted spoon.

squeeze the juice of the 10 lemons
and add to the sugar water.
stir.

always have your handy assistant at the ready.

put into a tupperware,
freeze.
scoop out a couple scoops, add water
to make enough for just a glass or an entire pitcher.

it is utterly fabulous with a fresh sprig of mint.

enjoy it with your sweet sister and everyone else who comes to visit.

this photo is taken by K
is utterly fabulous as well.

see, the lemonade just makes everyone smile!

I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
John 10:10b

151. counting blessings
152. delicious drinks
153. feeling so full in your heart
154. napless children (means early to bed!)
155. puppy chow

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

oh, how we love ice cream.

well, except for K, but hopefully that will change one of these days.
my guess is that it’s just too darn cold for her.
but, she doesn’t enjoy whipped cream either.
weird, i know… right?

we found ourselves at this adorable little ice cream parlor.
it was such a fabulous place that the only cones they had were waffle cones.
scrumptious.

since they only had the fancy cones, that meant that everything was crazy expensive.
thanks for forking over the bill, dad!
but nobody would disagree that it was
so
incredibly
delicious.
i’m craving my chocolate hazelnut praline as i type this.

i’m just glad that D can enjoy a good scoop with me.
it’s probably because i had one bowl of ice cream
every
single
day
of my third trimester when i was pregnant with him.
thata boy.

141. ice cream
142. ice cream in a waffle cone
143. beautiful, beautiful weather
144. finding (thanks to Auntie B) the most quiet post office
where the worker helps bring your packages to her window
145. eating take-out

this weekend, i was supposed to be gone.
L and i were to take a trip to visit a sweet friend.
but then… L got a cold.
even though it was a little cold, we were not allowed to go
(per the doctor’s orders).
big bummer.
huge bummer.

but, since B was going to take the big kids to his mom’s for the weekend,
we kept with that part of the plan.
so even though L and i didn’t actually go anywhere,
it was a nice, refreshing weekend.
just the two of us.

i did some of this
(baking more
and more
and more
sweet potatoes
for my little sweet potato).

i did a lot of this.

and more of this.

and even this.

i know, when do i ever put my feet up when i’m not sleeping?
and reading?
reading a book that has absolutely nothing to do with child rearing, in fact.

and get this, i started many projects and
wait for it….
finished them too!

life with one child was so simple and easy.
(and just so you know,
when i had just one child, i would have never
described my daily life as “simple and easy”)
and even though i was absolutely relishing in the peace around here,
i found myself longing for the noise.
the good, comforting noise
that comes with having a bundle of small children in the house.
all at once.
even if they are constantly climbing on each other
until one’s laughter turns to tears.
even then.

so even though the house looked immaculate,
and it was so quiet,
it was just a tad too quiet for me.
maybe just a happy balance is needed.
i don’t even know what that would look like or how to pull such a thing off.

136. the bathroom hand towel that stayed hung up all weekend long
137. grocery shopping with one child and not rushing to get home to the others
138. sleeping with only one monitor on
139. getting ahead (even only slightly)
140. long, uninterrupted phone calls

it’s {embrace} the camera day!