Twitter Machine Tuesday

Don't have much to say in the lead up to this week's Twitter Machine.  Erin had a great birthday and a fantastic party over the weekend.  My girls keep doing weird, hilariously cute things.  The Oscars and NBA All Stars happened.  I drank lots but not so much that I was sick the following day.  It was a great week.

Enjoy the machine!

-Didn’t watch the Oscars. Heard Billy Crystal did blackface #classy #topical

-Erin wants to watch the recording just to see Meryl Streeps acceptance speech. It can’t be that great.

-I just want to see the disappointment on Clooney’s face when he didn’t win #schadenfreude

-Didn’t really watch the NBA All-Star Game either

-Apparently something called a Pitbull performed at half time

-Chris Brown added some punch to the performance

-The Dunk Contest had more staging and costume changes than a Broadway musical

-If I wanted to see a bunch of props, I’d watch a Carrot Top set and then kill myself for wanting to watch a Carrot Top set

-Ana likes to turn on toys that make music and then just dances. Sweeter than a bowl of Lucky Charms and maple syrup.

-I cannot get enough of We Are Young by Fun. It’s going to be tough to top it for my song of the year.

-I love the Razzies. As a person who loves to hate sucky things, it’s the perfect awards for me.

-Leap Dave Williams is a movie that actually needs to be made #30rock

-When you think about it, Leap Day is utterly ridiculous. We play catch up every 4 years. #stupidcalendars

-If you don’t use credit in over 15 years, don’t expect to be handed a loan. #useitorloseit

-When you tell Ana to give the doggy a kiss, she tries to lick the dog’s head. I’d stop her, but too busy laughing.

-Grace’s dog-like tendency: Sticking out her tongue and panting like the dog does #seriouslythesekids

-Tis the season for Easter candy! Cadbury and Reese’s eggs own all candies!

-Erin’s wig birthday party was awesome. Everyone really embraced wigging out.

-Got to hang out with Kim at the party. Pretty much the most famous person I know.

-That’s sadly accurate, and I’m totally okay with it.

-Also got to meet Kim’s husband Todd for the first time. He is a blast and a half.

-We played beer pong and flip cup. It was the first time Kim had ever played either, and you could hardly tell. #sarcasm

-Still haven’t purchased presale tickets to The Hunger Games. I've not-so-subtly reminded Erin about 27 times.

-Grace also goes “Ah” after drinking something if you do it in front of her

-It makes me feel bad about cursing in front of them because they’re definitely going to copy that too

-Not bad enough that I've stopped doing it #shit

-Wanting so badly to see Snow Patrol and Ed Sheeran in May. Stupid responsibilities.

I'm off to plan my Leap Day party and my viewing schedule for Leap Dave Williams on USA (Characters Welcome).  Hope you all have a wonderful start to March.

Hard to Say "Buh-Bye"

This morning as I was leaving for work, Grace stood in front of the door and kept saying “Buh-bye” to me.

It was at the same time adorable and heartbreaking.  She knew I was leaving.  She knew how to tell me goodbye.  But she definitely didn’t want me to go and didn’t know how to express it.  Her solution was to stand in my way so I wouldn’t leave.

I gave it a few seconds worth of thought because I totally considered just staying home and not going to work at all.

It was only a second because they are the reason I leave for work every day.  Not because I want to get away from them.  I hate that part of it.  I leave every day because I want to provide the best possible life for them.  I want their life to be easier than mine just like my parents wanted my life to be easier than theirs.  Just like any parent wants to give his or her kids a good life.

But in that second, I had to question why I do it.  Why do I leave them?  Why do I even give them an opportunity to be sad?  Why can’t I just spend every moment with them?  What do they think when I go?  Do they miss me and look forward to me coming home?  Do they count down the sleeps until we have a day together?  Am I doing more harm than good by not spending time with them?

I can get lost in these thoughts, and I often do.  Usually it’s late at night or during a slow day at work.  Maybe it’s in a moment of frustration at my job (which I had a lot of at my old employer).  They’re always in my thoughts, so moments where I drown in the worry of letting them down are inescapable.  

It will only get worse as they get older when they’ll not only be unable to comprehend my leaving but also be able to tell me they’re sad or angry about it.  I’m not looking forward to those moments.  It's those moments when I'll tell them that I have to go, and they'll hate it and maybe even hate me.

They don’t understand why I leave every day or how I feel about it.  They may never know the whys and hows.  They may not understand the sacrifice involved until they have kids of their own.  So until then I’ll tough it out and keep getting up every morning and leaving to the sound of their protests.  And my heart will keep breaking a little every time I do.

Daddy Daughter Days

Not much of a story to tell you from this Thursday.  Instead we're going to let the pictures tell the story.  Mostly.



Breakfast in bed




That's not my bear



They love this dog

 

The real Nook



CHEESE!!!

Blustery day

Redecorating

Fashionista

My Shoes

Seriously. Can't emphasize enough how much they love her

30 by 30: Trying New Foods

If you only recently started reading my blog or never leave the confines of your Google reader page, you may not know about my goal to complete a list of 30 items before I turn 30.  I've got them listed to the left of my most recent posts on my main page.  You can also read more about them here.

I've been slowly working my way through a few of them.  For example, I've had about 15 of the beers on tap at Yard House.  I've been kissing my wife and daughters every day.  And I know the marathon that I'm going to run (even though it will happen after I turn 30).

Last weekend was a time to knock out another item on my list.

We went to San Francisco last Sunday to have a birthday dinner for my wife.  Her brother and sister live in the city, and it just worked out for everyone to head down there.  It was a lot easier just staying in a hotel that night and driving back for work the next morning

We asked my parents if they'd watch the girls overnight.  They of course jumped on the chance to spend 24 hours with the babies.  In fact they were downright giddy.  I just don't understand people that don't leave their kids and deprive the grandparents of stuff like that.  But that's a post for another day.

We had a reservation at Spruce in San Francisco.  I had never heard of it because I'm not in the know like all the cool kids, so Erin and I perused the menu the night before.

That's when I got excited.

You see one of my favorite things to order at a nice restaurant is duck, and Spruce had it with huckleberries, smoked honey jus and shaved fois gras.  My mouth was watering just thinking about it, but I was especially excited about the idea of trying foie gras.

My reason for including try a food I've never had before on my list is my need to be a little more adventurous.  I sometimes pre-judge food based on the ingredients instead of giving the flavors a chance and letting my taste buds decide.  I decided this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

I was a little let down when our server told us that they were out of duck, so it looked like I would have to wait until another day to try foie gras for the first time.  That was until Erin mentioned it to the table and her mom said how much she loved it.  At that point it was decided that we would have some as appetizers instead.

It was absolutely delicious.  The served it on a vadouvan waffle (it tasted like sourdough and was amazing) with pear jelly and a pear syrup.  I'm so glad I walked in with an open mind because it was one of the most delicious food items I've ever had.  The combination of flavors was unreal.  The foie melted on my tongue, and the flavors were other-worldly.  We loved it so much we had to have another order.  This time around the server convinced us that we had to try the classic wine pairing.  With foie gras that means Sauternes, a sweet wine.  The combination of flavors was like fireworks in my mouth.  I didn't think it was possible, but the foie was even more buttery with the sweet wine.  I wanted it for every course.

It was incredible, and I'm so thankful that I got to knock an item off my list in such delicious and grand fashion.

This is the part of the blog where some of the readers out there chastise me for eating a food that is inhumane.  I'm well aware what goes into making foie gras.  I know that gavage is force-feeding a goose to fatten the liver and make it more delicate.  I also know that as of July 2012, it will become illegal in California to produce or sell foie gras created via gavage.  What do I have to say to defend eating it?  Nothing.  It ain't illegal yet.  You can judge me, but it won't change that I ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

But I do think it's funny that the people who would take me to task for it are the same people that would say we need to be more European in the way we live and govern.  I guess that doesn't include or food preparation, right?

Twitter Machine Tuesday - Sappy Birthday Edition

Today is my wife's 30th birthday.

It's funny to look back on all the birthdays we've had together.  We started dating over 10 years ago, and her birthday has always been a source of found memories.  I remember going down to San Diego to celebrate with her while she was in college.  We'd drink too much and stay up too late.  We'd hang out in her dorm and eat at the Old Town Mexican Cafe on Sundays before I left.

I remember her 21st birthday.  Well I don't remember it in person because she was in Spain.  She called me in the middle of her night and the middle of my day after celebrating with her Spanish friends.  I told her how much I missed her and how much I hated not being with her on her birthday.

I remember moving to Colorado right before another one of her birthdays.  She didn't want to see me go.  She hated me when I left, and there was a part of me that hated myself.  She felt abandoned and had every right to.  I hated that I left her, but I'm also glad to have spent that time on my own.  It made me appreciate her that much more.

I will never spend another of her birthdays without her.  I want to be the man that is by her side on important days like today.  I want to give her all the gifts she deserves and all the love I can.  I can't wait to give her gifts that I've organized with our girls.  I see hundreds of handmade cards and gifts in her future.

I love my wife.  I love my best friend.  I love Grace & Ana's mom.

Happy Birthday Eringirl!

Now enough of the sap and on to the Twitter Machine:

-Birthday balloons are the girls' new favorite toy. They fight like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome over them.
-I just don't buy Donald Sutherland as President Snow in The Hunger Games #nerdalert
-Apparently Netflix Instant pulled all the Whitney Houston movies, so the studios can make more $ #soulless
-While the headline on ESPN about Jeremy Lin was unfortunate, I don't think the guy needed to be fired
-"Pitchers and catchers report" are the best four words of every year
-I plan on giving up being thoughtful for Lent
-The Oscars are on Sunday #whocares
-I would never go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I hate that city. Love the food. Love the music. Hate the city.
-Kristen Wiig's whole MO on SNL is putting both her hands over her face and acting surprised. Every impersonation.
-Erin shares a birthday with Alan Rickman, Kelsey Grammer, Chuck Palahniuk, a Baldwin, Ellen Page, CP-30 and Rue McClanahan #RIP
-She's probably pretty excited I left Jennifer Love Hewitt off that list #ohwait
-Minimalist piss me off. How dare you not want more stuff.
-Almost done with season 4 of The West Wing. I'm thinking LOST will be next on our rewatch list.
-Then it's up to me to convince the wife to watch The Shield
-Seriously Birthday Cake Oreos may be the greatest invention since penicillin
-Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriends disagree with that last statement.
-The Simpson's 500th episode was enjoyable.  Nothing groundbreaking, but it was solid.
-I see 2 & 3 year olds with ipads and iphones and just shake my head. Heaven forbid interacting with your kids.
-Kids in overalls is the cutest damn thing you'll ever see. Especially my kids. #biased

I'm going to go back to spending time with my wife on her birthday.  Happy Tuesday everyone!

Daddy Daughter Days

Once again my busy life has gotten in the way of putting pen to paper or fingers to keys.  So I come to you late on my second consecutive week.  It didn't mean my day was any less enjoyable.  I hope you agree.

Ana wanted to start the day with a refreshing shower.  She has yet to figure out how to open the shower door, but that certainly won't stop her from trying.

Cream cheese on an English muffin.  Grace loved it.  Who would have thought?

Erin got a balloon for her birthday from one of our family friends.  The girls spent the morning fighting over it.  Actually Ana would smack it and run away.  Then she would try to take off with the plastic weight that keeps it from flying away.  Grace wasn't having that, so she played keep away from her sister.

Yes, I could get her down instead of taking the picture.  But I'm thinking of you dear readers.

When they girls go down for their nap, it is clean the house time.  If the kitchen is cleaned quickly enough, it becomes TV time for Dad.  I figure it's for the best to not subject my kids to zombies.  That's more of a year three kind of thing.

Grace woke up from her nap first, but she was feeling lonely.  She figured it was time for Ana to be up too, so she started reaching through the bars on the crib to get her up.

I love this kid so much!  Erin bought be a new Ireland hat.  Grace found it and actually put it on herself then started walking all over the house with it.

We went shopping all over.  We went to Ulta to buy Erin a new curling iron (Yes, I am an awesome husband.  Thanks for recognizing.).  Then we were to Home Depot for some stuff for around the house.  Finally we went to Target.  As I pulled Grace out of the car, she started saying "BALL" very enthusiastically.  I wondered what the heck she was talking about until I turned around and saw this in front of the Target.  Good call Grace.  It was a big ball.

Erin's birthday is around the corner.  It's Oreo's 100th birthday.  They have special edition Birthday Cake Oreos.  I had to purchase them.  They were amaze-balls of deliciosity.  Seriously.  Cake batter flavored Oreos.  Purchase them.  Now.

Have a great weekend everyone!  See you next Thursday.

Valentine's Day

It seems like there are two extremes when it comes to Valentine's Day.  Women totally hate it because of years of disappointment, not having someone special on the day or they are in constant state of judging their husband or boyfriend.  Or they totally love it because the husband or boyfriend makes them feel special or does something romantical, comes through after 364 days of letting them down or pissing them off or just isn't stupid in their eyes for one day.

This of course is based on my scientific research of scanning Facebook statuses throughout the day.

Notice how I didn't include men in my V-Day spectrum because we don't really care about it like women do.  And we shouldn't.  Sure it's nice to have a good dinner with your significant other or to get a gift, but this day isn't for us and everyone knows it.  Thusly we have no expectations when it comes to Valentine's Day.  Maybe getting lucky, but beyond that we don't really need to feel special on V Day.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but I look at Valentine's Day as yet another day to show my wife how much I love her.  I like to make it special too, but it isn't just a day to buy flowers because everyone else is doing that or FTD told me to.  I try to put some thought into it.

This year was no different.

I actually had a gift picked out very early on in the process.  I don't know if you're familiar with the traditional wedding anniversary gifts.  Basically there are different materials that serve as symbols for each year.  For example, year one is the paper anniversary.  I gave Erin the lyrics to our first dance song printed out and framed.

This year will be our fifth anniversary, and the theme is wood (I hear you snickering Kim).  I knew exactly what I was going to do.  One of her all-time favorite songs is The Dreaming Tree by Dave Matthews Band.  Dave Matthews started his own winery called Dreaming Tree Wines.  I planned on buying her a few bottles because wood and trees seemed like a good fit.  Not only that, but one of their wines is called Crush (another one of their songs).  It turns out that I couldn't really hold onto that secret for another 5 months, so I decided to do it for a Valentine's Gift.  She loved it.

I also put together a CD for her full of love songs that remind me of her.  I put a lot of thought into stuff like this because, as was covered in High Fidelity, I'm using someone else's poetry to tell a story.  The story of course being how much I love my wife.  It took me a couple of weeks to really hammer out the exact playlist.

Here's the playlist in case you're curious:

1. Faster - Matt Nathanson
2. Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol
3. Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
4. Count On Me - Bruno Mars
5. These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding
6. Hold You in My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
7. Makin' Out - Pomplamoose
8. I Missed You - Joshua Radin
9. Hey Mama - Mat Kearney
10. I'm the Man Who Loves You - Wilco
11. Science & Faith - The Script
12. The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice
13. Something in the Way She Moves - James Taylor
14. She - Elvis Costello
15. Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
16. You Are My Joy - The Reindeer Section
17. I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
18. Until I Die - Ben Kweller
19. Ordinary People - John Legend
20. I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra

I also hedged my bets a little bit and bought her the new Twilight movie in case she didn't like the other stuff.

I love my wife.  I love showing her how much I love her.  Valentine's Day gives me another excuse to do that, so I appreciate it.  For all the guys out there, that's all your girlfriend or wife wants on February 14th.  Unless she has some crazy, ridiculous standards and is just a judgemental jerk, but the effort isn't worth it if she is.

Twitter Machine Tuesday

I know everyone else is writing Valentine's Day themed posts since, you know, it's actually Valentine's Day.  That just isn't my style.  Because if nothing else, I am a creature of habit, and my habit is doing Twitter Machine posts on Tuesday.  So I'm not breaking that tradition today.

I'll bare my soul and confess my Valentine's related love for my wife tomorrow.  Plus then I can openly discuss her present without ruining any surprises.

For now I'm doing what I do every Tuesday: My fake Twitter Machine.

Enjoy

-Whitney Houston's death was only slightly more shocking than the Michael Jackson death
-I only say that because there wasn't an MJ story that would actually shock me
-100% of the pressure of Valentine's Day falls on the husband or boyfriend. Wives & girlfriends? Show up.
-Any time she says "We don't have to do anything for Valentine's Day", she is lying.
-Even if she swears up and down not to buy her anything, ignore her and do something anyways #itsforyourowngood
-My favorite thing right now are geeky Valentines like LOST, Parks and Rec and The Office themed
- For example, Chris Traeger Valentine: You are LITERALLY my favorite person EVER! #parksandrec
-Reese's Hearts are great but only serve as an appetizer for the Reese's Egg which is the greatest invention ever
-Didn't watch the Grammys. Was too busy having a fabulous dinner with my wife's family. More on that later this week.
-Pro-tip: Get her flowers for any other day BUT Valentine's Day. She'll appreciate it a lot more.
-I've caught a case of Lin-sanity
-I've never been a fan of the SI swimsuit issue, but I also was raised in the Maxim generation
-I do find it funny that the SI swimsuit issue comes out around Valentine's Day
-Ice cream in the middle of the work day should be a weekly thing
-Hell or even a daily thing
-I don't want to get too invested in new TV shows because it will just take away from my West Wing time
-Compromise: a settlement of a dispute in which two or more sides agree to accept less than they originally wanted
-What people actually think a compromise is: Just give me everything I want and I'll be happy
-Most overrated holiday candy: Conversation Hearts or Peeps?
-Pro-tip: The Princess Bride makes for a great Valentine's Day movie that you can both enjoy
-Ed Sheeran has been on repeat on my iPod. May be time for another criminally underrated.
-Why can't the government make breath mints mandatory?
-The only time I wish I lived inTennessee is when they announce the Bonnaroo line-up
-Pro-tip: Notes/Voice Memos are on the iPhone so you can remember the random shit she says she wants
-Normally I cook dinner for Erin for Valentine's Day. Working late has killed that tradition.

I'll have a Valentine's Day recap tomorrow.  Have a great V Day all you love birds.

The Grace on the Couch Series

As a bonus I'd like to present my collection of photos of Grace on the couch.  She loves being on the couch.  She is still figuring out how to get herself up there, but she sure loves it when you help her out.  These are some extras from Daddy Daughter Day.

Enjoy!

I love her!

Daddy Daughter Days

I know that I'm a few days behind on my normal Thursday post.  This is what happens when you work open to close on a Friday and have no time to write.

But you don't care about my excuses.  You just care about pictures of my children, so I'll get on with it.

I love when they "read" their books.  Grace speaks in gibberish as if that is the sentence structure in her colors or counting books.  Ana slams her hand against anything she likes and says "doggy" or "happy happy happy".  Yes it is as adorable as it sounds.

We broke out a new toy this week that is basically a modified leaf blower...in elephant form.  It shoot balls our of it's trunk when you push a button.  Ana likes to push it and run away.  Grace likes to push it and keep her hand over the trunk, so she can grab the ball.  They've also figured out where to put the plastic balls to have them shoot in the air.  And after a few days, they figured out the air coming out of the trunk will blow in their face, and that makes them laugh.

They both decided to take turns wearing their mom's fuzzy hat.  By taking turns I mean that Grace saw Ana wearing it and chased after her until she could get it off her head.  Later when Grace inevitably lost interest in it, she took it off and Ana kept trying to put it back on Grace's head.

Ana also pulled it over her own eyes and got the hugest smile on her face.  It's the little things I guess.

With Valentine's Day coming up, the girls and I decided to go shopping for Erin.  I love then planning and execution that goes into giving gifts.  I always try to put a lot of thought into the process and really consider what people want.  Even if they didn't really know they wanted it.

Grace is ready for pitchers and catchers to report.  Bring on baseball season already!

Our new Thursday tradition.  We play in the back yard.  We throw the ball up in the air as high as we can.  We climb the bridge.  At one point Grace lost her footing and tumbling off the bridge into the grass.  I had a mini-heart attack.  She just looked up at the sky and started laughing.  Glad to know she tries to find the humor in things at such an early age.

I'm taking part in the February Photo A Day challenge on Instagram.  Thursday's prompt was front door.  I tried to get a picture with the girls from outside our front door, but that turned into a herding cats situation since the both just wanted to run in opposite directions.  Instead I took a photo of what we have above our front door.  It's Gaelic for "a thousand warm welcomes".

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  See you next Thursday.

Twitter Machine Tuesday

I can't avoid the biggest topic of the past week: Super Bowl.  So it has found its way all over the Twitter Machine this week.  From commercials to food to the game itself even.  It is a cultural phenomenon that extends to more households every year than any other televised event.

Maybe the State of the Union should be a bigger deal.  Maybe it's always more of a let down than anything else.  But it's still an event and day that has an effect on at least a third of our population.  That is, for lack of a better term, a big deal.

Without further ado...
-The Avengers...yeah going to see the shit out of that
-In a related story Amazing Spider-Man looks fantastic too
-I have no problem saying that Joe Montana would have found a way to win that Super Bowl #stillnumber1
-Now that there's no more football we can focus on the real game. Pitchers and catchers report in 11 days #sfgiants #hopespringseternal
-John Carter = Avatar 1.5 #amiright
-For once I didn't overeat during the game.  Although I was craving the Buffalo Wild Wings.
-I started getting spam comments on here, but they're deleted before I can even get to my main page.
-In case you're wondering, our girls paid no attention the game. They were however interested in The Lorax commercial. #prettycolors
-Grace got so frustrated with this new toy that she headbutted it...and immediately started bawling.
-Multi-Grain Peanut Butter Cheerios. It's almost as if they have no idea what customer they're trying for.
-They just so happen to be a delicious cereal.
-Got the first glimpses of Cadbury Creme Eggs at the grocery store. #omg #lovethem #caneatadozen
-The Roman empire thought Madonna's halftime show was a little over the top.
-MIA flipping people off apparently is the new Janet Jackson's nipple. America needs to chill out. It's just a finger.
-I respect Giselle standing by her man. Tom Brady can't throw the ball and catch it too. He can just throw it better.
-Chuck Norris' last endorsement was for God, and we all know how that worked out.
-Are we really that surprised that Apple uses cheap, overseas labor? Imagine what an American built iPhone would cost.
-I've never been less invested in an Oscar season, but I'm still very invested in TCM's 31 Days of Oscar.
-Doing the Photo a Day Challenge on Instagram. Trying to be creative with it when I can.
-For example one day's prompt was "stranger" so I took a picture of Billy Joel's The Stranger album cover
-Nice people always makes my day. I'm an honest, upfront guy, and I appreciate when someone does the same.

Hope everyone has a good recovery after Super Bowl week.

Cleaning Out My Closet

This isn't some reference to Eminem and airing my grievances.

It's a more literal title.

Yesterday Erin and I had a very relaxing Super Bowl Sunday ever.  We went on a walk in the morning with my in-laws.  We pulled some weeds in our front yard.  I finally got a haircut after months of putting it off.  Erin made a buffalo chicken dip which was our big indulgence during the game.  And we watched the Super Bowl in our living room while playing with our girls.

It was fantastic.  We didn't over-eat or drink.  We just relaxed.

After we put the girls down for the night, we ate dinner and folded laundry while watching The West Wing.

Then we decided to start doing some cleaning at 10:30pm.

Erin was on a mission to match every unmatched sock in our house.  She got damn close to 100%.  She also pulled clothes out of both of our closets.  This started as a way to find more socks, but it turned into getting stuff out in the open instead of piled away in our closets.

With all these newly matched socks to fill my dresser drawers and clothes on the bed and floor instead of my closet, I figured it was time to do some reorganization.  It was also a great time to look for potential clothing donations.  So I started cleaning up my drawers and finding stuff in my closet that had to go.  I took all the shoes that we stack up in our laundry room and actually organized them in my closet.  I let go of shirts and other clothing items that I was holding onto for no good reason and filled up 2 garbage bags with donations.

We stayed up until after midnight reorganizing everything.  Our closets and bedroom haven't been this clean since the day we moved in.  It was a great feeling.

The only thing that made it better was the girls going into our closets this morning and not knowing what to do.  There was nothing piled up on the floor to play with, so they exited just as quickly as they had entered.  I guess they'll need to find another pile of clothes to play in.

Daddy Daughter Days

Every Thursday my wife takes my Subaru to work and leaves me the Highlander.  Mostly because the Subaru is small, and we've never really tried putting the car seats in my car.  So it's just easier to trade cars for the day.  This particular Thursday started with this text message:

It started a debate on Facebook.  Not really a debate.  Mostly Erin's friends all rushed to her defense and agreed that carrying dental floss in your car is totally normal.  I still don't buy it.  We can't make phone calls or text message while driving (which ironically she was doing), but everyone thinks it's okay to floss while driving?  Are all these people eating popcorn and peanut brittle behind the wheel?  I just wonder what Oprah would tell all these flossing drivers.  I have nothing against dental hygiene.  In fact I would consider myself pro-brushing and flossing.  I also get the floss in the purse thing because women carry EVERYTHING in their purses, but floss in the car is a little overboard and unnecessary.

After breakfast we decided to get every toy that we store in the basket next to the fireplace out and on the floor.  And an empty basket is the perfect place for two little girls to sit.

Grace was also playing her own version of peekaboo.  Or she just liked the taste of the arm rest on the couch.  Either way.

Ana decided that she wanted needed whatever was behind the TV stand.  That was until she had trouble getting back out.  Then it was up to dad to come to the rescue.  The moment she was out, she went right back to the TV stand and tried to squeeze behind it again.

The weather was so nice that we put on our hats and jackets and played in the back yard.  I took about 20 pictures, but I won't share them all.

Grace immediately gravitated to this wiffle ball.  Ball may be her favorite word (just need to teach her to say "Play" before it).  She was running through the grass and throwing this ball which was all sorts of adorable.

Ana went right to this little wooden bridge that goes over some rocks that border our grass.  She climbed onto it, and she couldn't be more proud of herself to be up there. 

Not wanting to be left out of all the fun that is bridge climbing, Grace joined her sister almost immediately.  She refused to let go of her ball, so steadying herself was an issue.  But she eventually climbed to the top too.

Ana kept finding herself in precarious positions.  Here she crawled into a shelf on our island.  But at least she was smart about it.  She put the tops of our Tupperware on the shelf above first to improve her dexterity and then crawled in.  Didn't stop her from getting stuck though.

She has great taste in movies.  Get it.  If she had picked out Groundhog Day to eat, I would have thought it was a sign.  I'll just need to floss out those bits of DVD.  If only I had some in my car.

Another great day with my girls.  Have a great weekend everyone.  Go footballers!