Oma's Birthday!

It's Oma's birthday today, and we're glad to spend it with her. Since my parents are out of town this weekend, Livie and I came to visit. (Andrew is doing his Reserve weekend this weekend, so he couldn't be here.) My Uncle Ralph is here visiting, too.

She's gotten flowers and cards (a handmade one from Olivia) to make her birthday special.

Liv's card has a cake on it saying, "Happy Birthday Oma" along with fireworks and balloons!

Before leaving town, my mom ordered a birthday cake for Oma. It's lemon cake with raspberry filling; Livie and I picked it up at the bakery this morning. Let me tell you, it was hard going into a bakery with a 4-year-old and telling her "We're not getting anything but the cake." There were so many things she wanted to get, but alas, we were just there for the cake. Somehow we made it out of there with the cake and without a dreaded melt-down.

Yes, Oma turns 86 today!

It's a yummy cake, by the way! It's as delish as it looks!

After we brought the cake home, we all went out to lunch; we went to an Italian restaurant called Bravo! Cucina Italiana for lunch.

Oma, not being a big fan of Italian food, ordered a steak, which she devoured. Livie and I shared an entree - spaghettini with meatballs. It was really, really good. Uncle Ralph ordered a pasta dish with shrimp.

After returning home, it was time for cake!! Olivia couldn't wait to help Oma blow out candles. But since I couldn't find any regular candles, we had to use numbered candles (there was a "4" and a "0" from my 40th birthday, which we hadn't used, and a "2" from Livie's 2nd birthday, which also hadn't been used).

Livie decided to use all of them, so she could have three candles to blow out.

 Liv's posing with two of the candles.

Time to finally blow out the candles! Oma's having fun, too!

All in all, it was a fun day for Oma!

The anniversary dinner was a success!

A few days ago, I posted about what I decided to make for our anniversary dinner - "Steak with Spinach Couscous." Check out my "A Dinner Idea" post from Sunday, to get the recipe.

Yesterday was our 2nd Eighth anniversary (click here to get the story on why it's the 2nd eighth, if you haven't read it yet) - so it was the day I was going to make the "Steak with Spinach Couscous" recipe.

Livie doesn't go to Pre-K on Tuesdays, so she went with me to Target so I could get an anniversary card for Andrew. Then we went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for dinner.

I also got some sparkling grape juice, so we could do a toast and say "Cin Cin" before we started eating. The sparkling juice had to go into the fridge right away so it would be nice and cold at dinner time. (Andrew doesn't drink wine and Livie is obviously too young, so I thought the sparkling grape juice was the best choice for a toast.)

When we got home I set the table and reviewed the recipe, so I could familiarize myself with it before it came time to actually start cooking.

 Here's what the place setting looked like:

 

Yes, Liv put some of her art projects on the table after I set it. What you see on the right, just to the right of my wine glass, is a cow. And I'm not Emily Post, so I'm sure I didn't put everything in its correct place. But I liked how it looked, and neither Andrew nor Livie would know the difference. (Oh, and I left my table cloth on, even though it didn't exactly go with the navy blue, simply because my table is glass, and I wanted to keep it somewhat protected from scratches.)

I had some chores to do first, since it was still early in the afternoon and way too early to start dinner.

Then it was time to read some books with Livie.

Finally, it was about time to start dinner. I'd bought one of those pre-made cherry pies for dessert (that's Andrew's favorite). Somehow I'd forgotten to get that started earlier, so I got that in the oven, first.

Then, it was on to the recipe. It all smelled so good while I was preparing it, with the garlic, the olive oil, pine nuts, steak . . . I couldn't wait to try it.

I timed it well, because Andrew got home in time to wash up just as I was preparing to serve the meal.

Here's how it turned out:

It turned out to be really tasty!

To top it all off, both Andrew and Livie gave the meal a thumbs-up. Andrew said he definitely wanted me to make it again in the future.

And Livie? While she said she didn't like couscous, she did try a big bite of it before asking if she could eat just the spinach instead. Then she'd pick out a piece of spinach, and wipe off the couscous onto my nice place mats. Ahh, well, what can I do? She's 4. At least she really liked the steak. She said it was yummy, and ate it up.

After Liv's bath, she got a small scoop of peppermint ice cream, while Andrew and I each ate pie. What a way to end the evening.

By the way, I had a photo of the mess I made in the kitchen, but I've decided I just don't want to expose that aspect of such a lovely, dinner. 

Pizza Pizza

Today was one of those crappy days. It started off crappy, and it's ending crappy.

See, Livie woke up this morning, crying. She had a fever, a cold, and was just generally very unhappy.

While children's ibuprofen seemed to take the edge off her malaise, she still wasn't 100%. By the time Daddy got home around 5 PM, the ibuprofen had worn off, and she was back to being a very unhappy 4-year-old.

Well, by this time, we'd called the pediatrician's office to see what we needed to do. The nurse had us come in right away. Good thing they were opened until 7 PM today, right?

Guess what? On our way out the door, I saw that I had a text message. It was from my mom, stating that the family's Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Caesar, had died. I was shocked!

But I didn't have time to dwell on it because we had to hurry up and get to the pediatrician's office - the lab closed at 6:45 PM, and we needed to get a urine sample from Livie.

When we got there and Livie's pediatrician came in to check her out, we found out Liv has an ear infection. No fun!

And then she had to pee in a cup - normally something she finds to be very funny - and fun. Not today.

She has a UTI.

No wonder she's been miserable today. 

So on the way back, I called my mom to see what was up with Caesar. But she wouldn't talk to me, due to sadness. I tried my dad, who ended up telling me what had happened.

Bad, sad news. Apparently Caesar had gone into shock today, and when they got him to the vet's office, the doc thought Caesar had some sort of internal bleed. And according to my dad, the vet said Caesar "wasn't salvageable" and was put down.

I was somehow able to cry silently, thereby avoiding Livie's probing questions. However, my tears clung to my eyelashes, making my vision blurry. Not a good thing when you're driving, especially at night. So I wiped my eyes, and continued on.

But we had to get to the pharmacy to get her antibiotics. I was gonna go through the drive-thru, but Liv wanted to go in. Of course, that meant I had to face the pharmacist face-to-face, with red, swollen, teary eyes which gave me away, regardless of how hard I tried to sound cheery.

Ah, well. Maybe he thought I had a cold.

Anyway, we got back, and I immediately ran down to the guest bathroom where I burst into tears, and listened to my sobs actually echoing in the bathroom.

The funny thing is that I suddenly thought of a quote from the movie Gladiator: "I knew a man who once said, 'Death smiles at us all.' . . . All a man can do is smile back." Okay, so what I actually thought was, "All a dog can do is smile back."

Isn't it surprising, sometimes, what the mind comes up with upon hearing sad news?

So now, it's about half an hour past Livie's bedtime, and she's downstairs watching a movie while I type away on the computer. I really need to get her to bed. The last thing she needs while sick is for me to allow her to stay up late.

She still doesn't know about Caesar, though. I have to think of a way to tell her, but I don't want to do it now, not before bedtime. Hopefully I can think of a way to tell her tomorrow. Or before we head back to my parents' house, that house that now lacks our dear 4-legged companion.

But, first thing's first. Gotta get her to bed.

And let's start the clock - you know, because "time heals all wounds" and all.

Now, here are a couple photos of dear Caesar, whom I sometimes called Pizza Pizza (you know, like those old Li'l Caesar's pizza commercials). Or sometimes I'd call him Old Man, because he'd turned into one as the years went on.

This was taken earlier this year. He was on the patio out in front of my parents' house.

Here is Livie as she poses with Caesar over Thanksgiving weekend 2008.

She sometimes called him Sar-Sar. He loved her, and loved sitting next to her chair as she ate meals, because we all know how little kids accidentally drop food on the floor as they eat, right?

Sleep tight, Caesar. I'm so glad you're not in pain any more. Now, go run off and frolic with Foxy. And eat all the treats you want.

However, I miss you, old man.

Pre-K Photos

Today, Liv's getting her Fall photos taken at Pre-K. I had a cute outfit already picked out and ready for her to wear for her photo shoot. But in true 4-year-old fashion, she decided she did NOT want to wear the purple/gray/silver and rhinestone outfit I'd picked out. She very clearly, as only a 4-year-old can (meaning, very loudly, and on the verge of tears), gave me her opinion.

Instead, she chose (on her own, no help from me) something very autumn-like. . . an outfit that simply screams "HALLOWEEN!"

She even let me put little matching orange clips in her hair.

Here's her outfit:

The ghost has bling - little rhinestones placed like a little "diamond" necklace around its neck. I think that's one of the reasons why she liked it. And the little "tutu" attached to the top, and the fact that it has a ghost on it.

When she got to Pre-K, all the teachers made a big fuss over her, because she is so cute in this outfit. It looked cute on the hangar, but man-o-man, is it cute when she's wearing it!

(By the way, in case you're wondering . . . she's holding a little toy turtle, a toy purse, and a washcloth - the turtle's "blanket" - in her left hand. She wouldn't put it down when I asked her to pose for a photo.)

Liv's entering an Iowa State Fair contest!

The other day, I was looking at the Iowa State Fair website.

As I looked at the kids' section, I noticed there was an Iowa State Fair Coloring Contest for kids ages 3-10. There are four age divisions: 3-4 year olds, 5-6 year olds, 7-8 year olds, and 9-10 year olds.

A-ha! Livie is 4-years-old. She likes coloring and doing art projects. She likes the Iowa State Fair and is looking forward to going to the Iowa State Fair this summer. 

Anyway, each age division has its own coloring sheet that parents can download and print. Then kids color it, and the parents send it in along with the entry form to the appropriate address by August 1st.

So I printed out the 3-4 year old coloring sheet: a picture of a calf and a young farmer out in a field with a big ol' tree in the background.

Well, since I just found out about it, I needed Livie to color it soon so I could get it in the mail before the deadline. It usually just takes one day for 1st Class mail to get from our house to Des Moines, so I could send it in Friday, and it'll get there by Saturday, July 31 - just in time to meet the deadline.

But I didn't want to take any chances, so I really wanted to get it in the mail by this afternoon, just so it has a couple days to get there.

Since we were out of town until Tuesday afternoon, and I printed the page out on Tuesday afternoon, I figured Livie could color it either Tuesday or Wednesday. I also explained the difference between entering a contest and winning/earning a prize, versus being given a prize just because she wanted it.

She was intrigued by the idea, and was almost understanding the concept of winning a prize versus simply getting a prize, just because she submitted an entry.

If she doesn't win a prize, I know she'll be disappointed, but I hope the light-bulb goes on over her head about the concept of earning the prize and not getting one just because.

But she didn't feel like coloring the page either on Tuesday or Wednesday (she was too distracted by the library books she just checked out).

So this morning I got her to color the sheet.

Here's how she colored it:

Yep, you're seeing it correctly - she colored the calf lavender. She also added its tongue sticking out of its mouth, and saliva dripping off the tongue. She would've colored more drops dripping off its tongue, but I talked her out of it. Oh, and as you can see, she added the sun as well as a flower at the farmer's feet.

I'll get it in the mail this afternoon. 

According to the website, all entries will be displayed in the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center during the Fair (August 12-22). It also says that a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner will be selected for each age division, with each winner receiving a rosette.

Of course, now that I look at the website, it says that entries should be postmarked by August 1st. The entry form says that entry deadline is August 1st, which seems to me like they want it by the 1st. Just to be safe, I'll get it in the mail today, as planned.

So keep your fingers crossed for Livie's contest entry!

Farmers' Market fun easily leads to fresh baked yumminess!

Over the 4th of July long weekend, we were at Abuelita & Nonno's house, visiting Abuelita and Oma.

Since we were there Friday - Tuesday, we were able to go to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market in downtown Des Moines, held every Saturday from May through October.

Here is the Polk County Courthouse. 

 It's at the intersecting point of a T intersection - Court Avenue begins here and runs perpendicular to the courthouse. Court Avenue is the "main drag" that the Farmers' Market occupies each Saturday. On the smaller side streets, there are also plenty of vendors set up. You could easily walk a couple miles simply ensuring you try not to miss any vendor.

Going to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market is always an experience we look forward to - the fresh produce (especially since it's now blueberry season), artisanal cheeses, pupusas made from scratch and hot off the grill, breakfast burritos, fresh cut flowers in brilliant colors, flavored popcorns, fresh lemonade, artisanal breads, the bands and their various types of music, the people-watching, the dog-watching, handmade gifts, homemade pies, BBQ . . . it's like this every Saturday 7:00 AM - Noon. It's a blast!

 Here's the opposite end of Court Avenue, facing the Polk County Courthouse.

 You can see how packed with vendors and market-goers it is on this particular Saturday, July 3rd.

So we had an exciting moment while we were there . . . we actually ran into one of  Iowa's US Senators - Senator Chuck Grassley. It was a great moment meeting him in person. He was happy to talk to us, and it was nice to see him mingling at a fabulous recurring event like the ever popular Farmers' Market.

At 4-years-old and too young for politics, Livie was much less impressed by what it means to meet a senator. However, since she's always happy to talk to a friendly person, she was polite and eager to have a quick conversation with Sen. Grassley.

Anyway, after our brief visit with the senator, we continued on with our browsing around at the market. We had to get pupusas, lemonade, popcorn for Liv.

We also stopped at a flower booth to get a flower for Liv.

 I got her a rose.

This is the same kind of rose I had when I graduated from Culver. Check Memory Lane Friday - A Ceremony for that story, and a picture of me with my bouquet of roses.

All festive, for the July 4th holiday:

And since it's blueberry season, we just had to get blueberries.

First, Liv LOVES blueberries in her cereal in the mornings. Second, she and I both love snacking on the little nutrient-rich berries.

Well, as soon as I saw the booth with the blueberries, I knew we had to get some right then and there. So Andrew bought a pint.

It was like we'd bought gold. Liv was so excited. I was excited, too. Mmmmm . . . I was thinking blueberry pancakes.

But when we got home, I was suddenly worried that I wouldn't be able to use all the blueberries before they went bad. But . . .one of my good friends, Sara, whom I've known since our Culver days, mentioned on Facebook that she'd recently made blueberry buckle. And she'd made it with fresh blueberries she'd gotten from an Indiana farm down the road from her house.

That gave me an idea. I wanted to make blueberry buckle, too. Plus, since Livie is taking cooking classes and thoroughly enjoys helping me in the kitchen, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to bake something together.

So I asked Sara to send me her blueberry buckle recipe. I made sure I had all the ingredients. Livie and I washed our hands. And then we got to work.

And this is what we made:

Here's the famous, tasty blueberry buckle that quickly disappeared. It's especially good served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

It was seriously good! Wow! And because a few of us posted comments about it on Facebook, a bunch of Culver friends are now passing along the recipe and raving about it, as well. So thanks to Sara, CGA Class of 1988, for starting the hype!

And thanks to my little cook's helper, Olivia! It was fun baking with her and I look forward to doing it again. Definitely blueberry buckle, but probably other things as well.

Of course, now I have to make sure Santa gets Livie that cute little kids'-sized pink apron with her name embroidered on it for Christmas.

Is THAT what you think?

Apparently my child and I have different definitions of the phrase "Please put your toys away."

The other day I said to her, "Please put your toys away." When she didn't respond, I asked "Livie, did you hear me?"

She responded in the affirmative.

At this point, I remember saying, "Good. Because they aren't supposed to be scattered all over the living room once you've finished playing."

While her 4-year-old ears heard me, her 4-year-old brain translated my words into "Mommy wants you to stuff all your stuffed animals underneath the glass coffee table in the living room. Don't worry about that toy bin we bought for your use. Oh, and you can leave the rest of the toys scattered about."

Here's the proof:

In the Blink of an Eye

Four years ago today, Livie was born in Concord, MA. Four years ago today, I was on mandatory bedrest (as I had been since mid-January). Four years ago today, it was a Friday and I was relieved of my bedrest temporarily so I could head off to the Labor & Delivery department; this was for my semiweekly non-stress test (NST). I had a standing appointment every Tuesday and Friday at 11 AM. I was usually in and out within 60-90 minutes and then back home, and back in bed.

But not this day four years ago. Not this day, the day I was 37 weeks, 3 days, full-term.

It was an icy day in Concord, MA. Kinda sunny. But  very cold, and definitely a New England winter's day.

So I went in for my NST, thinking I'd be home by afternoon. However, I ended up staying for the next few days because I ended up needing a c-section.

And Livie the "Bossy Boss" was born!!

Now, because today is the middle of the week, we had her 4th Birthday Party this past Saturday, the 20th. Scroll down a few posts, and you'll see the post about her party and the photos of her celebrating.

However, she did take treats to preschool/Pre-K today. I picked up some yummy frosted cookies from Jules' Bakery in Marion, IA so she could have special treats on her actual birthday.

Here is a sample of her treats. They have balloons on them in frosting!

And here she was four years ago today:

 

And in the blink of an eye, she is 4 years old! Here are a couple photos of her on the day she is officially a 4-year-old! Here she is in her "Birthday Girl" bling-encrusted shirt!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Pretty Little Itty Bitty Livie!