ryan-reese-emerson: I've got nothin'

Seriously, nothing of note. But it's been over a week so here is a hodgepodge of randomness....
With the addition of Gwyneth's new cookbook, comes the addition of a whole lotta fancy schmancy ingredients in my kitchen and the subtraction of a whole lotta dough from the ole checking account - thanks to Whole Foods. Which, PS, I braved last week with all three girls. Take a moment to visualize that if you will. Emerson in the Baby Bjorn, Reese in the front seat of the tiny shopping cart and Ryan leading the charge attempting to throw overpriced food after overpriced food into the cart. Recipe for disaster? Of course. But in reality, I was mildly shocked at how well behaved the crew was. The joke was on everyone else in the store when out of nowhere (and I mean NOWHERE) the eldest two ladies started begging me for steamed broccoli when we passed the prepared foods section. Seriously. Those two wouldn't sooner touch steamed broccoli (even smothered in amazingly saucy cheese, let alone plain) more than I would touch any deceased rodent in our basement. People were looking at me like I was mother of the year. Three kids under control. Two begging for plain ole steamed veggies. A cart full of Gwyneth approved health foods. I was practically a saint. Of course I got the broccoli (it did look damn good)....who turns down that request? And of course when they got it home, the begged for it for lunch, took the most minuscule bite known to man kind and then Ryan asked if she could just keep it in the fridge for awhile. Like a science project. It lived another day before I put it out of it's plucked and played with misery. Anyway, back to Gwennie. There are a lot of tasty looking recipes in the book but I quickly took to the easiest one in the bunch (if this even qualifies as a 'recipe' ) for my daily lunch the past two weeks: whole grain toast, sliced avocados (or smeared fresh guac if I've just made a batch) and veganaise (surprisingly good), the bestest (totally a word) darn vegetable chips I have come across (Terra: Sweets and Carrots) and some fresh fruit.

We've been doing the History Museum every Friday as they have a great program for kids....these girls still remember last year's painting with their feet so they were beyond thrilled when the first week this year included the same:

With the nice weather, Grandma and Grandpa have put them to work in their front yard...

Chillin' like a villain...

Family trips to Lowe's always include a stop for a riding lawn mower photo op...

The joke is on me as this lovely blue line on our TV randomly appeared last fall. It's annoying and ridiculous. It prompted an argument with the folks at Samsung. We lived with it for a few months. Magically one day in December we looked up and it was gone. Grant coined it the 'Christmas miracle'. The TV has been perfect ever since. 4+ months of no line. Can't see the line, can ya Russ? Seeing as I can't make it to the gym everyday (logistically speaking and we'll be honest, motivationally speaking), I bought Jillian Michael's 'Shred It' on Apple TV. No freakin' joke but halfway through the first 'cardio' portion of the workout I look up and that mother effer blue line is smiling back at me, mocking me. Feel free to insert your weight jokes here _______.
**For the record, it is gone again, but I have also moved back considerably when doing the cardio since then for fear of jarring it with my mighty force. So what if I'm on the back porch doing my jumps and lunges, at least the TV is looking good again.

Today we were kid-TV free (all freakin' day - no Sprout, no Disney Jr, etc...) due to some attitude issues at bedtime the night before. Perhaps the desperation for anything to watch overcame the girls as they asked to 'do their exercises with Jillian' long after mom was done. I'm not sure why it's so hard to keep a shirt on Reese but let's hope this little issue resolves itself before she hits high school.

Grandpa and little Miss Muffet

Ryan and I had another little coffee date this week....discussion topics included some birthday party planning and our trip to her birth state this summer, Colorado. She's pumped.

When Grant travels, Ryan and Grant like to share text message pictures.....she's sending him a kiss. So sweet, right? Except for the fact that Ryan only lets us kiss her forehead these days (which she made me stipulate in the text to daddy - her cyber kiss was forehead only too). A very intricate bob and weave is required if you want to kiss those lips.