Kids Say the Darndest Things

Anyone remember that show "Kids Say the Darndest Things"? I was reminded of it yesterday when Marina set us all laughing. I had asked her and Jessica to please not rough house in the living room (the only place in the house we have off-limits for rough stuff). Of course, this meant they had to get off Steve -- who was at the time squashing Sim (very carefully, lol). The girls got off and Marina looked at her rough-housing dad and said, "Dad, you're such a hipogriff!" How can you not laugh at that? Can anyone tell she's reading Harry Potter? I have to say I'm impressed that she's got the vocabulary to even know the word hypocrite, much less get it mixed up with a mythical beast. =)

This also reminded me of times when I was a kid -- when Valerie call molasses crinkles Manasses Crinkles and also the time when someone was trying to quote a Superscope Storyteller tape of the Samson story and dramatically called out, "Let me die with the Philippines!" ("Philistines" was on the tape.)

The household pets

So here's the most amazing thing -- after all that has happened, I actually have been able to keep some plants alive longer than a month! The last time that happened, I think I was in college for the first time. Well, ok, maybe more recently than that, but eventually everything did end up dead. Until now. =)

Here are our family's "pets" (aside from the cat outside). Feathers is the fern (Sim's pet), Spike is the plant on the bottom (Serene's pet, though she doesn't know it yet), Planty is the jade plant (Jessie's pet), and Monster Paws is the purple passion plant (Marina's pet). Now the amazing stories truly apply to Marina and Jessie's pets.

Story 1 -- Planty. Planty started out a tiny jade plant in a 2-inch pot several years ago, before Jessie started school and we moved to Logan area at least. Since then, Planty has been repotted several times (never a good experience for a plant when I do it), been hit by flying pillows, had several parts broken off and replanted . . . and is now alive and doing well. For size, just know that our tiles are about a foot square. Yay!
Story 2 -- Monter Paws. Monster Paws started out a little plant that we got to replace Claws (a cool form of any ivy plant) that had died. Monster Paws did well at first but didn't really grow too much in the shady spot we had him. But we transplanted him to a larger pot anyway . . . and he promptly died! Well, almost. He completely wilted and started shriveling up. I guessed that maybe it was the Miracle Grow he hated (a new factor in the transplanting), so I cut off the tips of his growths in the hope that we could salvage SOME form of life from the plant and put them in water to grow roots. At the same time, I took out the new soil from the larger pot and put in some non-Miracle-Grow-infected soil. When the cuttings of Monster Paws grew large enough roots, I planted them in the prepared pot and prayed. We put Monster Paws in a sunny area (I did some reading on this plant finally), and wow! He not only survived, he thrived! (And btw, his color is off here. He really does not have any yellowish leaves, and normally you can see much more purple from his little fuzzy hair-like things.) In fact, Marina has joked about changing his name to Monster Arms, and I'm sure you can see why, lol.

Love that smile!! (From one minute ago, lol.)

One Month

Okay, so our whole life has been taken over by little miss bright eyes, but no complaints! Amazing how some things now go out the window around here, but by and large things are still running, lol. Of course, it's harder to blog while bouncing the bouncy seat with my foot . . . =)

I love how alert she is already and how wide her eyes can get. We went online yesterday to see how long it would be before we know if she'll keep her blue eyes or (as is more likely given her dad has brown eyes and her mom gray-green) if they'll change. Yup, we'll be waiting a while -- up to nine months according to one source, but I could swear that Marina's took longer to go hazel. Ah well, we'll enjoy what we have, right? (Even when they're all red from crying!)


And because I couldn't resist, here's the munchkin right after a bath with her hair all nicely dried and everything. Yes, her hair does that naturally! It normally doesn't stay curly too long, though, because everyone, myself included, seems to feel the need to pet this little girl's head, oiling down her curls in record time, lol. What is it about baby hair that begs to be touched?

Anyone got chocolate?

So if anyone has a chocolate phone from Verizon (or any other that might share how to's), how do I get my pictures off my phone without using internet? I have a memory card, but my computer won't read it with the adapter, and when I plug in my phone, all it reads is music! Aaagh! And would you believe the manual is NO help at all with this? So I'm putting out a plea to cyberspace of how to do this. And oh by the way, if you know how to download MP3's w/o Windows Media Player . . . =)

Easy Fun Recipe - Just FYI

So this is just because I got an invite for a recipe exchange and wanted to share this with other people besides the one I was required to do . . . just in case someone wants a good roll recipe that is so versatile that in addition to the variations listed below, I've even used it to make soft pretzels on occasion! So if you want, have fun! If not, well, I'll go make some for me anyway, lol!

Easy Rolls

1 c warm water
2 tbsp yeast
1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c melted butter
4-6 c flour
(other melted butter, cinnamon, brown sugar if desired for roll variations)

Mix 1 cup warm water with 2 tbsp yeast, let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, then enough flour to create a soft dough (I like around 5-6 cups). Let rise about an hour in a warm place (or if you use non-fast-acting yeast, you can cover and let rise in the fridge for at least 2 hours till you can make up the rolls), then make into rolls.

For regular dinner rolls, divide into 24 pieces and roll into balls, placing in greased 9X13 pan. You can also make them into crescents (divide into 3 balls and cut into 8 wedges. Roll each wedge up starting at the large side and shape into crescent and place in greased pan) or even cinnamon rolls (divide into two balls of dough. Roll one into a long rectangle, brush with melted butter, then spread brown sugar and cinnamon over top as desired. Roll up starting on one of the long sides and then cut into rolls of desired thickness (I like about 1-2 inches tall). Repeat with other ball of dough. Place in greased pan so that the spirals face up and rolls are about an inch apart).

For all rolls, let sit for another 10-20 minutes in a warm place and then bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are a nice golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter if desired. (And cinnamon rolls are great with cream cheese icing -- 4 oz cream cheese, 4 oz butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp milk, and enough powdered sugar to make icing desired consistency.)