Ace is the place

I think my new favorite hardware store to shop at is Ace. Four reasons why:
1.) very close to my house
2.) free popcorn (Evie loves popcorn)
3.) very nice and helpful people who are actually nice and helpful
4.) did I mention free popcorn : )

I'll be honest and say I get a little excited when shopping at DIY stores like Ace, Lowes, etc. So many tools, gadgets, and other things I would like to have for all those DIY projects around the house that I just can't seem to get to.

And now for our latest salads: sweet potato and bean salad and wild rice with cucumber and orange salad.

Surprisingly good for having rice, 3 different colored bell peppers, cucumber, orange, tomatoes, and red onion.

I think this is the second salad made with cooked sweet potato. Gabe isn't a big fan of the potato in the salad so maybe we won't do that again. Another good salad for have many ingredients.

"I Fix It!"

A phrase I hear often around the house, "I fix it!" Spoken with a sense of enthusiasm and pride. I should be happy, but now I wonder, "What did Evelyn break?" "What is she into?"

"I fix it," usually means that I (mommy) has to now glue something back together, clean some mess, or repair something. To Evelyn, it means that she has altered the state of something that I would rather her not change. Thankfully no great damage has been done but it does mean that I have one more task on my never ending to-do list. A few of her latest "fixes."

Yesterday afternoon:
Mommy: Evelyn, we don't write on the floor. Only on paper.
Evelyn: (Picks up a piece of clothing from the bathroom floor. (Yes, I sometimes keep dirty clothes on the bathroom floor.) Puts it over her drawing, pats it a few times.) "Mommy, I fix it!"
Mommy: Covering up your drawing does not remove it from the floor.

A few days ago:
Evelyn: Look, I fix it!
I look up to find that she has pushed the dining room chair over to the window, climbed in it and has pulled off the rod on the blinds that you use to open and close them. Now I have to find a way to attach it back on.

This morning:
Evelyn: Wow, I fix it!
She has now opened up some of my eye shadow and is trying to put it on her face with her finger.

At least I know that when I hear, "I fix it," I should go and check things out.

The two latest salads we've eaten are Tuna and herbed fusilli salad and Shrimp and mango salad.

The tuna salad had tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and red onions with a homemade dressing which was very good. It called for canned tuna which we tried and I wasn't a big fan of. Maybe some other meat would have been better.


The shrimp salad was ok but it was missing something to tie the flavors together.

The latest salads and a basketball game

Our salad for the weekend was roasted garlic, sweet potato, broiled eggplant and bell pepper with mozzarella. I don't think I would have ever put those ingredients together in a salad with lettuce but it worked. The eggplant and sweet potato made it filling.



Last night we had coconut shrimp with cucumber salad. It was also served with basmati which had coriander seeds and cilantro mixed in. So the shrimp were to be battered in coconut and then broiled. Mine got a little burnt and most of the coconut stuck to the pan. Gabe said it was good. That's all that matters, right?


A friend of mine gave us tickets to the OU vs. A&M basketball game tonight which Gabe was excited about seeing, since he is an OU fan. We brought Evelyn along with us and I just knew she would have a blast. Not the case. As soon as the fans started cheering she burst into tears. More cheering, more tears. She was miserable and scared so we left. I was a bit sad as basketball is the one sport I don't mind watching and I was enjoying the company of a good friend. Maybe we should have brought Maeve and left Evelyn with the babysitter.

Jesus, "Born on Christmas Day"

Yesterday Gabe and I made a trip out to World Market to pick up a few things. (Last time we were there he broke a bottle of wine so we were hoping not to repeat that mistake.) I was looking around the store, pushing Evelyn in a cart and Gabe had Maeve in a cart. Periodically Gabe would bring over some item he found to show me. Each time he came alone, and I assumed Maeve was just around the corner from the direction he came. Finally, being a bit concerned I asked, "Do you have Maeve?" His eyes got really big and he exclaimed, "Oh Jesus!" (Now normally he doesn't say this and the tone is his voice was more of, "Oh Lord, please let my child be safe.) The funny part of this story is after Gabe said, "Oh Jesus" and rushed off, Evelyn immediately followed with, "Born on Christmas day."

Maeve was quietly sitting in the cart where Gabe had left her at the front of the store.

Last night for dinner we had Artichoke and Prosciutto Salad. Again another great salad. I was however a bit hungry a few hours later but maybe that was because I had a salad for lunch as well that day.

More Salads

A few nights ago we had Lima bean and Sausage Salad with a homemade harissa paste. The recipe actually called for chorizo but I forgot to get some at the store so I used spicy Italian sausage instead. It almost tasted like a taco salad.



I was gone for the weekend so no salads for us.

Tonight I made a Bell Pepper with Goat cheese and Capers Salad. Not filling enough to eat by itself so we had left over roasted duck and hummus with veggies. (sometimes I get a craving for hummus.)

Evelyn and Gabe getting the mail. Every evening when Gabe comes home, they go out and get the mail together. (sorry I didn't rotate the pic.)

Evelyn before her first week back at Mother's day out. She really is happy to be going. And she loves the boots that Gigi got her. Thank you Gigi!

Christmas, New Years, and Other Events

This year we spent Christmas with my family in Marshall, Tx. We all had a wonderful, relaxing time together. I think Evelyn's favorite toy was the the stroller that her Nana gave her. She loved pushing her doll, and anything else she could fit in the stroller, around the house, Maeve enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper.

The day after I celebrated 30 years of life. My mom and I went shopping, always something I enjoy doing, and then met the rest of the family for lunch.

One of gifts Gabe got me was a cookbook of salad recipes. I've decided that as a healthy way to start out the new year I will make a new salad each night for dinner for the next month. This may sound crazy to most of you but not all of the salads are lettuce with a few veggies. Last night we had roasted duck salad and it was not only filling but very yummy. I'll keep you updated on how it goes for the next month. Gabe might be regretting that he bought me a salad cookbook.

New Year's was spent in Grapevine with Gabe's mom and grandmother. Evelyn had fun playing with Gigi's dogs and even told me at one point during the weekend that she "needed a dog." The day after I had fun shopping with my mother-in-law and later hanging out with some of Gabe's cousins.

The girls are growing up too fast. Evelyn enjoys playing in her kitchen, painting, and helping me with any project I'm working on. She loves to hide and have you make three guesses as to where she is hiding. After the third guess she pops out from her spot and exclaims, "Here Evie is!"

Maeve is finally sleeping through the night, every night. Her and Evelyn now officially share a room. Maeve is getting close to crawling, and She loves being around Evelyn and watching her. It is so cute when they make each other laugh.

Evelyn enjoying a chocolate biscotti

Showing some love

Maeve, "Let's get this party started."

Evelyn and her frog helping with the laundry

My roasted duck salad. It was quite tasty, even the next night as left-overs.