Gaufre

A few weeks ago, I achieved something I've dreamed about since Jess and I left Belgium after living (i.e., visiting) there for six weeks. 

The achievement: I made a Belgian Liège waffle.  And it tasted authentic!  As I took my fourth bite (it took a while to perfect the baking of the dough in the waffle iron for the correct done-ness) I was taken back to that 2008 overcast day in Belgium when Jess and I sat under the Arch at Parc du Cinquantenaire eating our first Belgian fare.

Making this waffle takes a little more work than your usual waffle or even your usual Belgian Brussels waffle, which are both batters.  The Liège waffle is a dough made with yeast and pearl sugar.  In fact, to make the magic happen, I had to collaborate with my dad (he brought the quality waffle iron) and my sister (she brought the pearl sugar).  Together we came up with something that I thought I could only get across the Atlantic.  No longer!  Although, I wouldn't mind going back sometime soon.

If you are at all interested in making this delicious, euro-doughnut treat, see the recipe here.

Almost there...

Yesterday I got Oliver, Ansel, and myself to the store to buy some food and additional essentials. I felt like I had really accomplished something - at one point I had Ansel in my arms and Ollie was helping me push the cart. How's that for multitasking? After checking out, driving home, and unpacking the groceries, I went to feed the little one. My button up shirt was on inside out.

I had a good laugh.

Big bones

This past Saturday, it was cloudy and we needed to get out of the house, so we visited the new Natural History Museum. It was great...quite the upgrade from the museum I remember visiting when I was little.

As we walked along I overheard an Uncle ask his teenage niece if she had seen the movie Jurassic Park. She told him no. This made me feel old-er. I mean, I remember the time when everyone had seen that movie. And now it is coming out in 3-D.

Needless to say, it was an awesome visit.  Fossils never cease to amaze.  And the Native American footwear of the past, I was in awe; sandals and moccasins from before the fourteenth century.  Plus, they had an interactive insect activity and I got to hold a hissing cockroach.  Then I dropped it (back into its cage) because I was a little jumpy.

This museum is must see for those who live in these parts.

General Update

Who doesn't like a general update?  So, here it goes.

Ansel is growing and smiling lots.  He is as cute as can be.  We have recently discovered that he sleeps best with white noise.  My sister-in-law noticed this first when she was holding him at my family dinner.  These dinners are loud.  We talk loud and we talk over each other.  Because of this, she took Ansel into the quiet living room where she thought he could rest best.  Instead, he opened his eyes and kept them open as long as he was in the quiet living room.  Once she moved to the dining room, where the cacophony of conversation abounded, he went right to sleep.

Oliver is growing and smiling lots too.  He will write on whatever surface he can: paper, balloons, ribbons, the sidewalk, his skin. He also digs reading and is picking up on it.  The other day we went to Old Navy.  Oliver has always called the store "Old Maybe," but this time, when he saw the sign, he read it and commented, "Mom, I always thought this place was Old Maybe but it really is Old Navy." 

Jess passed the bar.  Wahoo!  We had some sparkling peach cider to celebrate (see photo above).  He's into biking these days which is nice to do with the warmer weather.

I am trying to pull off being a mom with long hair.  It sure gets in the way a lot.  I am tempted to cut it again, and probably should, given that I don't care for it like I should.  Long or short?  Hmmm.

Happy Easter weekend

Happy Easter. May your weekend be pleasantly delightful.

A neighbor of mine has chickens and dropped these fresh eggs off at our house.

Growing

Here's Ansel at 7.5 wks. He's growing lots and is as cute as can be.  Look at those big eyes.  They will probably be, what we call around here, chocolate browns - just like his pops and brother.  His hair on the other hand is light with auburn hues.  We shall see where that goes.

I am trying to master the skills of being a mom of two.  I am far from it.  Yesterday I did not try to venture to the grocer with two.  So instead, I found myself at the store at 9pm, after Jess got home and we put Ollie to bed.  I was at Target and, after filling my cart with food items, got caught up looking at shoes for a brief moment. What was I thinking?  Get home, go to sleep for Pete's sake!

This is a fun time.  A good adventure.  So nice to have two little ones.

This sums it up

This photo is a great way to say a thousand words about our life around here at this point. I love this photo because:

1. Ansel is being held by Jess (which is a very common theme in our house),
2. Jess is sleeping,
3. Ollie is eating his dinner and is as happy as can be, but
4. He is eating alone since I am finishing up making dinner for the rest of us because I got started too late;
5. And finally, it is 6:15pm and it is still very light outside.

These days are uneventful. My mom always said an uneventful day was a good day. She was right.

ah, dumb phone

I don't need a smart phone, at least not yet.  I know my personality, and I would probably waste a bit too much time on it.  Did I ever mention that when email was introduced, I checked my email account ALL OF THE TIME?  It was exhausting.  This leads me to a short anecdote: The other day my brother came over to my house.  He saw Jess' phone (an iPhone 5) sitting on the counter and then mine (an old Samsung), after which he exclaimed, "If Jess has a smart phone, then what do you call yours, Ash?  A dumb phone?" The answer is yes. 

Here are the top 6 reasons you know you have a "dumb phone":

- only four app icons could fit on the screen, that is, if apps could be put on it
- your bro-in-law goes to use it and touches the small (see above) screen to scroll down, nothing happens
- the keyboard slides out
- texts do not come in conversation bubbles, they come in 160 character segments
- photos are the quality of a 7/eleven surveillance video
- your 16-year-old nephew sees your phone and says, "Oh, you've got the free phone."

So until I get a smart phone, my dumb phone will have to do.  And I'm okay with that.

p.s. I came up with this list whilst up in the night feeding the little one.  It's interesting the things you think about at 2am. 

These days

We are resting, not resting, cutting out a lot of letters and numbers (per Oliver's request), watching our babykins grow, and everything in between.

Quork is Spanish...did you know?

Oliver likes to learn how to count in different languages.  His personal favorite is Spanish.  He's got those numbers down, well, until he gets to seven, then he switches to German.

As a result, Oliver likes to make up words in Spanish.

Noodley = Don't know
Quork = No
Yim = yam

The list goes on and is added to each day.

Another thing Ollie does is make up words and then defines them.  A typical conversation goes something like this:
Oliver: Mom, do you know what "slerm" means?
Me: What does it mean?
Oliver: It's a thing (the key phrase in almost every one of his definitions) that makes loud noise.

Having a child 3+ years old is good times.  A great stage.  I often think throughout the day, "Man, this is fun! And this kid is hilarious!" But then again, all stages have their highlights.

Ollie fits inside the same box in which a Louisville Slugger was delivered.