Distracted Driving

I guess after living in New York City and London where cell phone talking is against the law, I have developed strong views on the issue. This is an issue I would go to the legislature in every state to try and get passed. I feel that strong about it. I think talking on a cell phone (even hands-free talking) while driving is bad and very distracting but I am flabbergasted that people would actually text on their phone while driving. It is so dangerous and this article finally confirms everything I have thought for a while now. Take a look. Tell me what you think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/technology/19distracted.html?hp

Trip to Utah

We have not been in the states for the 4th of July in a very long time and this year as an extra bonus not only were we in the states but we were in Utah with our families. We got to watch our first 4th of July parade in six years. The girls had a great time picking up all the candy, hanging out with cousins and enjoying the carnival and breakfast.


Waiting for the parade to start with Grandma and Grandpa and cousin Megan

watching the parade

Sparkly Toes - The girls got their first pedicure which included sparkly painted toe nails. They went around showing everyone and STILL are showing everyone we see or meet.

Sammy excited to see the finished product

Abby relaxing and enjoying her pedicure

Wow! Look at that sparkle

I also got treated to sparkly toes. Here is our finished beautifully, sparkling toes.

Out for hamburgers with Grandma Lori, Dan, Patrice and Harrison

Celebrating Uncle Paul's birthday in Park City

Enjoying lunch outside in Park City

Being cozy with Uncle Paul

Loving Grandma Lori

Posing with Auntie Cindy (however, this is not Abby and Sammy in this picture - they are Hermione and Permelia when they are with Auntie Cindy and they love their special names)

Loving Great Grandpa Vuyk....

and who can forget loves for Great Grandma Vuyk

Happy Birthday Daddy on July 15th. We celebrated by decorating a sign which we posted on the front door and then hung up tons of crate paper as Daddy walked in the door. Trapping him in the entry way, so he had to burst through the crate paper like Hulk Hogan. The girls were sooo excited. They helped decorate the cake and even wrapped his presents all by themselves.



That's all!

(Note: We also hung out a lot with my parents but somehow did not get any pictures of them with the girls. We had a great time with them though and we are all looking forward to their visit in August.)

Trapped

So being the moron that I am, I left a bowl of fruit sitting out on the kitchen counter while we were in Utah this past week. We came home to what feels like a house full of fruit flies that I have tried without success to get rid of. They are constantly swarming in my kitchen around my face and the things I am putting in my mouth. I thought after throwing out the fruit and dead flowers and wiping down the whole kitchen that they would go away. Not so. I still wake up to them each morning and get more and more irritated by them. I must be very vigilant about any of them landing in my cereal bowl or swimming in my drink. It has been three days. Why are they still alive? I googled "How to kill a fruit fly" online last night and set about making a trap for these pesky little flies. The site said to place some skinless fruit in a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Then poke holes in the top so that the flies can smell the fruit and will fight their way in to partake of the succulent rotting treat. The best part is is that they become trapped and can't find their way out. Brilliant!

I put the "trap" on the counter and went to bed. Charles came home late that night and removed the fruit to the refrigerator thinking I had been careless and cleaned the whole entire kitchen but left out this lonely half eaten peach neatly covered with saran wrap. I made him turn around and go right back downstairs to return it to its proper breeding ground. I then dreamed about fruit flies all night. I dreamed of making other incredibly brilliant traps as well as killing the flies with windex and sucking them up with the vacuum hose. I woke in the morning excited to see if my trap worked. Sure enough, there were several little flies trapped inside, much to my delight with several more on top desperately trying to figure out how to get in and partake of that tempting fruity delight, not knowing they will never see the outside world again! After Charles realized what my fruit covered bowl was for, he stated that he was afraid to get on my bad side for fear I would leave a piece of steak coverered with a thin layer of saran wrap poked with holes on his pillow. That might turn out to be an interesting experiment... Well, if anything I can add fruit flies to my list of pesky annoyances right after tapping birds!

The Gig's Up, The Secret is Out

The gig is up, the secret is out - we are pregnant! I am due at the end of September/first of October. We are having GIRL number THREE. We hope she is another blondie to add to our collection. We kept it a secret for so long in order to surprise Charles' sister Bethy who came for a visit last week and is also pregnant (her first). It was definitely worth the wait to see the look on her face of sheer confusion!

We went to Lincoln Park Zoo in the heart of Chicago while Bethy was here

The lion at Lincoln Park Zoo taking a nap in the sun.

Abby was excited to see the monkeys.

Happy Father's Day

Abby saw that I was throwing out an egg carton last week and immediately declared that we should reuse and recycle it. She proposed that we make "crafts" out of it, however she had no idea what to make. So I came up with the idea of making tullips for Daddy for Father's day. The girls loved painting the "flowers" and Daddy loved them. He is currently trying to figure out how to get them to his office since he takes the train. We also decorated a frame with stickers for Daddy to take to work for the "work people" to see. Abby wore Daddy's tie for most of the day on Sunday, going around saying she was anything from the postman, to a lawyer, to the bishop. She started saluting us lately too, I am not sure where that came from...

Sammy wanted me to take her picture too....

What Have We Been Up To?

Who would have guessed that Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have nice beaches? Not me. But I have been pleasantly surprised. Lately, we have been out comparing and trying them all out. They are all either one or two hours from our house. Not bad. Yep, we are beach bums!

Here's Abby working on her tan...

The beach just isn't the same without some good reading. This is a great book I have been reading lately about some zookeepers in Warsaw, Poland during WWII. After all the animals in their zoo were killed, they starting hiding Jews in all the pens and animal houses. It is very interesting and I would recommend it to anybody.

Abby rarely wants to get wet but she sure loves wearing her bathing suit.

Sammy has no problem with the cold water or the mud. She jumps right in.

Sammy and Uncle David testing the water.

Filling her bucket to build a sandcastle

Sammy had no problem eating sand either. In fact, when she was eating chips she would first dip them in the sand and then eat them. She said she liked it, so I didn't stop her. Crazy child!

Uncle David took Sammy on a hike up the dunes to a creek where they found some nice mud for a body and face mud mask. After being cover with mud, Sammy decided she really didn't like it. Poor thing. We had to dip her many times in the cold water to get it off and she was not happy. Bad Uncle David....

Miscellaneous pictures: Sammy loves edamame. On this particular day, she ate an entire 14 ounce bag of edamame and no spaghetti for dinner. How can I complain? It is funny to see her pick up the pod and suck out those beans. She is quite good at it. In this picture, she is pointing to her pile of empty, disgarded bean pods but a little distracted by that chocolate cupcake.

Abby and Sammy love ladybugs and are always trying to catch them. Abby decided to make a sign saying "Ladybugs Welcome," so they know they can come visit our yard.

Cooking Disaster

Last Thursday I knew we would be busy all day long with friends doing various activities and we would not be home until late. So I decided to prepare something for dinner ahead of time in the slow cooker. I found a recipe on Rachel Ray's website for a Smoky Sweet Potato Stoup (yes stoup, it's a cross between a soup and a stew). It called for 1-2 chipotle peppers with adobo sauce. For some reason, when I looked at that ingredient listed, I thought 1-2 cans of chipotle peppers. I opted on the "safe" side and just put in one can of peppers. We then went out and had great adventures with all our friends.

Upon returning at 6:30pm, I was so proud to have dinner all ready and waiting for us. I had even put out some Rhodes rolls to thaw and bake quickly. Charles came home just as we were about to eat. I filled each bowl with some stoup and we sat down. Abby was starving and immediately took a huge heaping spoonful of the stoup. She then started crying and waving her hands frantically. She seemed to be saying it was too hot. So I mixed it up a bit and tried to blow on it for her. In the meantime, she was still crying and drinking water like crazy. I couldn't imagine it was that hot, I let it cool for a few minutes beforehand. Charles then took a bite of his and said he could not eat the stuff either. I thought he meant he did not like it. He then clarified that it was not just hot, it was on fire, spicy hot!!! I took one bite and couldn't believe the way it burned going down my throat and into my stomache. I drank an entire glass of water as well. Sammy insisted on having a bite too. We told her over and over she would not like it but she had to have a bite as well. So, what can you do, we let her have her bite. She had the same reaction as Abby, flailing her arms and crying for water. Needless to say, I realized the recipe should have been for 1-2 individual peppers, NOT an entire can of 8-10 peppers. Yeee-ow! I don't even think a Mexican could have handled how hot it was (who knows). We had to dump the entire pot of stoup out and ended up eating our rolls for dinner... so much for preparing ahead of time. Have you had a cooking disaster? Do tell....