Evelyn Monkey

Evelyn's monkey faces! We wanted to make her a little kitten, but even all the baby-sized kitty costumes were "sexy." What's with that?!

Happy Halloween Everyone! I would write some creative festive mementos, but I think all my creativity has been sapped by the Halloween goodies. Bleh.

Thanksgiving Point

This week has been a blast, thanks to Michael getting laid off. Or maybe I should say thanks to him getting a new job so fast. Anyway, regardless Michael has been home all week with no reason to be stressed. So we decided to make a few memories. Today we went to Thanksgiving Point. We live within 15 minutes of it and decided it was silly not to take advantage of going while we live so close.

Evelyn was adorable making all the sound effects of the animals. She knew what all the animals said, except for maybe a llama--if you can figure out what to teach a kid about what a llama says, you let me know. She also insisted it was a "Mama" instead of a "llama." I personally don't see the resemblance.
She loved especially the horses, and riding the ponies. She was thrilled!

Here are some other pictures of our day:

I love the quaint way this sign was written!





The only problem with having Michael home all the time is that he's so fun, Evelyn doesn't like Mommy anymore. He plays with her, picks her up, throws her, gets dragged around by her....come to think of it, maybe this is not such a bad set-up after all!

Beautiful, Wonderful Fall!

I love the Fall! It is that wonderful time of the year when the leaves change colors, the air turns brisk, and Christmas songs invariably get stuck in your head.
This year had been extra fun because Evelyn is old enough to notice and appreciate the change. We've had a great time introducing her to all the new fun fall experiences.


This is the little Tabby-cat that lives by us. Evelyn chases it screeching "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" We're surprised the cat keeps coming back for more. Evelyn also loves to give the kitty a drink.

We made fall shaped sugar cookies!
This is our "Blessings Basket." In it we place papers with the things we are most grateful for. It's a great way to get ready for Thanksgiving.

Dear Hannah,

I regret to inform you that Evelyn has taken an extreme liking to your version of "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." She demands I play the song over and over again, and whenever I stop playing it, she wanders around the house singing: "Happy, Happy, Happy!" (Which is her way of saying "Hippopotamus.") Just this morning, Evelyn was begging for yet another encore, and Daddy told her,"Sorry, Evelyn, no more Hippo's. Mommy and Daddy have a low-hippo tolerance." One must question your reasons for making that particular recording so darn cute and fun.
Respectfully Yours,
Pamela Adams

Gardner Village

Evelyn with her cousin Rachel.

Evelyn loves all things watery. But not as much as her cousin Seby loves sprinkler systems. He ran around the whole day unearthing all the sprinklers in the corners of the landscaping.

This is Evelyn and Ki. I love the dreamy look in Evelyn's eyes.

Sad Story

Once upon a time there was a frumpy little mom who longed to be beautiful. So she decided to get her hair professionally cut. The haircut looked great when the hair-stylist did it, and the not-so-frumpy looking mom went home happy. But the next morning the poor woman realized she had no idea how to do it herself! The result of her effort was pitiful.
This story is a sad but true one. If anyone has any brilliant ideas on how to make bangs behave, please enlighten me. I think the magic of a roundbrush and a straightener has run out.
(Notice I didn't include any pictures. :D)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I decided that in order to have a respectable housewife's blog, I needed to add a recipe. So here's one of my little family's recent favorites.
It's kind of similar to Pier 49's Nob Hill. ) I was going to post this a while ago, but my tummy couldn't wait long enough to take the picture of the beautiful result!)

1 pizza dough crust (you can use Sourdough if you want it more similar to Pier 49, but we use Wheat--I figure the pizza needs some semblance of healthiness.)

You can put a thin coat of pizza sauce on the base of the pizza if you want more tomatoey flavor.

Garlic Alfredo Sauce:
Heat up 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cube butter in a sauce pan.
Add Three to Four Fresh Garlic Cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TB Flour
Melt in 1/2 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Top with:
3/4 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
1 cooked and diced chicken breast lightly coated with the Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 -18 minutes

Sprinkle diced tomatoes and green onions on top. You can also add olives if your little girl isn't allergic.

Enjoy, but don't make yourself sick eating too much!

My New 'Do

Michael got a new haircut. I wanted a new haircut too! I considered cutting it really short, but decided that could wait until the weather warms up again.
I think I look like my sister Susan--not a bad deal at all, I would say!

Little Girls try to grow up too quickly!

Here's my proof:

Evelyn knows just where bouncy balls go!

"Heigh Ho's"

Evelyn loves "Heigh Ho's." In case you haven't ever heard of them, most people call them "Dwarfs." In this family there are nine recognized dwarfs instead of the typical seven: Doc, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Rumpelstiltskin, and Santa Claus. Actually, I think that anyone with a belly and a long beard would qualify. I'm just waiting for the day when she sees a motorcyclist and joyfully cries: "Heigh ho!!!" and starts whistling.

What a Sweet little Girl!

Evelyn's been very expressive lately. I just hope she isn't mirroring any of my expressions. I would like to blame her lack of politeness on being almost two...But I might make that face when I have to sweep the floor.

Grown up Evelyn

Evelyn found Daddy's deoderant. We wondered what she would end up doing with it and she surprised us by knowing exactly what to do with it!

By the way, who is that child's mother?! And why didn't she brush her hair?!

Michael's haircut

Ever since Michael got out of the military in March, I've been able (Miraculously, I might add) to get him to grow out his hair a little. He's always had the standard military haircut "High and tight." The other day Michael and his co-workers were talking about how when they were bachelors (*GASP*) they were free to be as "Cool" as they wanted but then they got married and their wives get to pick their style and color of clothing. Michael pointed at his hair and teased: "Style and Color!"

When I heard this story, I, in a fit a pure unrighteous indignation cut all of Michael's hair off, with him protesting the whole time. But I stubbornly insisted that if he wanted short hair then DANGIT, he was getting short hair--like it or not! Poor Michael! Here are the before and after pictures.

You are free to vote which you like better ...your comments will be respected and anonymous. :D