Raising the Bar
I put the call out for recipe makeover requests last week, and many of you did not disappoint. For the rest of you, I expected more. Wait until I tell your father. One of my first requests came from reader/blogger Mandy A. who said: I’d love to see a cereal bar of some kind. Not the granola type bar… but like the strawberry in the chewy center type bars? I can buy the Kashi ones, of course… but would still love to be able to... Read More
Culture Immersion
There are some things you can’t learn about in books. There are just some things you have to experience firsthand. A high school friend of mine got caught drinking and her parents took the unheard of approach of letting her get as sloshed as possible…only to cook her plenty of runny eggs and sausages for breakfast the next morning. That friend was “Becky Connor” and it was an episode of Roseanne. I never looked at breakfast... Read More
To Be a Sport
Despite what you may think, I’ve never been an athlete. Growing up, sports were something I always felt like I should do, but never really something I wanted to do. I was perfectly happy to sit in an empty refrigerator box and read stories about babysitting clubs, blond twins from Sweet Valley and a red-haired orphan’s adventures on Prince Edward Island. I’d plow through books faster than my mom could buy or borrow them and as... Read More
Everyone Wins
I wish everything in life had a Participation Award. It’s so satisfying to know that it’s not always about what place you finished, how valuable you were to the team or even if you improved. You showed up and were a part of the process, and that’s enough. The girls were pretty proud of their certificates and Tootsie Pops. I’ve decided to issue my own Swim Lessons Participation Award to myself, for: Having bladders emptied... Read More
Beauty and the Beast
Pea Daddy and I are off to a Young Professionals Cocktail Hour put on my girlfriend’s law firm, hence the early post. There will be lots of attorneys, a few accountants, some corporate officers and me. I’m sure I’ll fit right in. A few little housekeeping things before today’s post: I’m working on bringing the reci”peas” page up-to-date with all of the recent recipe successes, so by the weekend expect... Read More
A Little Convincing
I can be very persuasive when I have to be. It started when I was little and my brother and I would try to convince my dad to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home. We’d sit in the backseat with our imaginary line between us that we weren’t ever supposed to cross, each of us walking one pointer finger over the line periodically just to aggravate the other. As we neared fast food row, though, all tormenting was cast aside in favor of... Read More
Don’t Have a Cow
I’d be lying if I said I never was a big burger fan. My mom tells the story of when I was Lulu’s age and tried to stick an entire McDonald’s hamburger in my mouth. As half of the bun spilled from my lips, filled with the pressed patty, almost non-existent squirts of ketchup and mustard, two thin, limp slightly cooked pickles and minced onions that had no business being there, I used both pointer fingers, one right after the other... Read More
Just Your Typical Morning
No one could ever say our breakfasts are boring. I usually head out for a run or to lift weights pretty early, but I like to make sure the fort is held down before I leave. Today that included breakfast appetizers. There’s always time for a quick warm up with the old Cheerios toss. It may be a choking hazard. It may entail eating dropped cereal off the floor. It may not be teaching “good manners.” But it sure is fun. After... Read More
The Problem With Pretty
Last night was one of those special nights that happens every few weeks. A night when we eat dinner in the living room. A night when we kick Pea Daddy out and invite one of our best friends in. A night when we wish Pea Kitty was a boy so we could kick her out too. It was a girls’ night! When it was time for Pea Daddy to go hang out with his friend Scott (who happens to be a dedicated P&TY reader…Hi Scott!), Gigi pulled the”... Read More
It’s My Job
The only things I’ve said more on this blog than “tutu,” “tinkle” and “Oh. My. Peas.” is “I have the best job in the world.” It’s not really fair that I throw that out there without telling you about some of the other jobs I have had that have led me to this conclusion. I’ve been, among other things: a desk clerk at a basketball-only gym when I was barely old enough to appreciate... Read More
Today, More or Less
It was a good day, more or less. Though I could have done with less cats waking me up at 3:30 am puking on my carpet. Yeah, it’s not so fun to have your sleep interrupted, is it Pea Kitty? Anyone want a cat? I’ll pay you more than you can imagine. I could have done with less clouds, shivering girls and blue lips at swim lessons. Though I’ll always take more absolutely fearless jumps! I could do with less talk of Halloween... Read More
More than Swim Lessons
I promise not to talk about the girls’ swim lessons for the next two weeks straight. I can’t help it, though. It’s an amazing experience watching my girls learn and grow (from a “I can dive in and rescue if I have to” distance). They aren’t the only ones learning, though. They taught me some valuable lessons today. Like: Lead by example. I think Gigi is starting to now grasp how much Lulu dotes on her... Read More
Cue the Waterworks
Today was the first day of swim lessons for the little peas. You could say they were slightly excited. They’d barely leaped out of bed before they’d put on their swimsuits and declared themselves ready to go. Three and a half hours before class started. This meant that every time they had to go to the bathroom during those three and a half hours, socks, shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits and swim diapers were removed and then put back on. Talk... Read More
Extreme Sports
I am such an extremist. It’s always black and white with me. Actually, it’s not even that simple. It’s always either really, really, really black or really, really, really white. My family rarely believes a word I say anymore because they know I can’t stick by my guns forever. Take a look at the extreme positions that came out of my mouth just this weekend: We are never buying anything from a garage sale ever again. I... Read More
Helping Out a Friend
If you’re new to this site, you may not know that Peas and Thank You is part of a unofficial network of Healthy Living Blogs. (I’m talking to you, the two people who my dashboard tells me searched “Ryan Reynolds Shirtless” and found this site today.) Most of the sites are written by women, some younger than me, a few older (doesn’t Betty White have a Healthy Living blog?). Some are vegans, some are vegetarians and... Read More
Pea Mail: The Limitations of Lifestyle
I love when I get emails from readers. I’ve been getting more lately due to my new Contact Me page. Who knew I was so hard to reach before? Since setting up the direct line, I’ve received some great feedback, from “You should make a vegan oatmeal cream pie cookie recipe!” to “kdishidfjidhig hidjkjh hidkhgijke.” Someone actually sent me that today. Duly noted, “jhgjiehifjk@gmail.com.” I shall... Read More
Room for Improvement
There is a paper thin line between striving for one’s best in all that one does and in being such a crazed perfectionist that one sacrifices every basic need (sleep, food, hygiene, reality TV) to get everything JUST RIGHT. No sleep, blackberry oat bars, baby wipe swipes or episodes of Project Runway have been lost on perfecting the playroom. There is beauty in chaos. The true beauty of the playroom is that really it is a coat/storage closet,... Read More
Please Don’t Tell
Don’t tell Lulu that she doesn’t have to wait for us to come in and get her out of her bed in the morning. Don’t tell her she can kick back the covers and taste sweet freedom on her own. Don’t tell Gigi that she doesn’t have to make her bed first thing when she wakes up. Also don’t tell her that if she doesn’t make it, I most definitely will. Don’t tell her I’ll do a better job anyway. Don’t... Read More
PKEA
We woke up this morning with a mission: big girl beds for everyone! It is impossible to leave our house before 9 a.m. with everyone showered and fed. We solved that by skipping the shower and eating “breakfast dessert” on the road. Juice boxes and pickles for everyone! Very sour and juicy pickles, obviously. We first stopped to upgrade our vehicle. “Upgrade” is a loose term referring only to size, because when furniture... Read More
Leaving the Nest
I want my babies to stay babies forever. Unhealthfully so. I’m pretty sure Lulu would still be breastfeeding were it not for that nasty back injury and not wanting to pump her bloodstream full of Vicodin. Although my OB/GYN said at a recent appointment that she would have been fine nursing even with the narcotics. Shh…don’t tell Pea Daddy, I think he wants that week of his life back that he spent “weaning” while... Read More
We Have a Winner!
Hasn’t it been a beautiful day? Something about seeing a friend (who happens to be a blogger and author) on the Today Show can just put a smile on your face. I wasn’t the only Pea excited about it. Lulu said, “We HAVE that book!” I said, “I KNOW HER!” Gigi said, “I want to be on the Today Show.” I hope she gets on somehow besides showing up on a Smuckers’ jar in 2111. I was so proud of how... Read More
One to Grow On
Grown inside. Growing. Outgrown. Ingrown. (Yeah, sorry about that. Really, really sorry.) Grower’s Market. Grown-ups!!! Locally grown. Organically grown. Overgrown. Growing debt. ($24!) Growing on me. That’s right. Growing on me. Grower’s Gazpacho 2-3 heirloom tomatoes 2 stalks of celery 1/2 of a bell pepper 2 t. minced garlic 2 t. soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos 1/3 c. packed fresh basil 1 t. dried... Read More
Lessons in Beauty (& a Giveaway)
I’d always hoped that I would have girls. I wasn’t just looking forward to dressing them in frilly clothes, having tea parties and injecting even more pink into my home decor. I wasn’t just looking to avoid things that to this day I still have no clue about, namely foreskin and whether or not it should be removed (yes, Caitlin, I just mentioned foreskin in a post about your amazing book). My main hope was to be able to raise... Read More
The Most Dramatic Post Ever
More false words have never been spoken. Except for a few. Like “I don’t expect much from my husband.” I most certainly expect him to jump out of bed at 12:30 a.m. (regardless of the fact that he is the responsible adult that has been asleep for an hour) and dispose of the hamster-sized spider that was on our bathroom wall. He didn’t budge from that bed. I don’t consider myself a defenseless female and I don’t... Read More
Like Looking in the Mirror
First things first: Peas and Thank You has moved to its own server! Yes, this means we have a new layout and yet another new header. Change is not always bad, my friends. I hope you like the new blog! Now onto your regularly scheduled post… They say that art imitates life. And sometimes it takes rushing out the door with unbrushed teeth (Lulu!), paying $7.50 per head, sneaking in juice boxes and PB&J lunches, and asking four... Read More
