And Who Are You Supposed to Be?
I’m proud of the fact that for the most part, my girls are strong. Decisive. Unwavering. Not today. You see, this morning Lulu was dead set on her Halloween costume. “Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring…banana phone.” She was also dead set on waiting at the front window until the trick-or-treaters came. It was 7:45 a.m. Gigi was consistent as Rosetta, a fairy from the Tinkerbell movies. That is until she became Rosetta the Ventriloquist... Read More
Celebrating the Harvest
Now that we are in kindergarten, we do things a little differently around here. We don’t celebrate Halloween. We celebrate “the harvest.” The great candy harvest. Don’t confuse this get-up with a Halloween costume. Trust me, we’ve got several of those too. This is obviously a storybook character. However, I’d appreciate if someone could please tell me what story “sexy candy corn witch” is in, because though Gigi’s... Read More
I Will Make It Up to You
Did you ever make up something about yourself to get somebody to like you? Namely a member of the opposite sex? I would NEVER do such a thing. That would be just plain wrong. I would never pretend to be a natural blond. I would never pretend to be a responsible law student who just so happens to spend weekends studying in the same section of the library as you do. I would never pretend to enjoy watching sports, using Sportscenter as my main... Read More
Wacky Wednesday: Slide Slide, Slippedy Slide (VIDEO)
Do you know how to do the Oreo Slide? Amateurs. Let the pro do it. Seriously, I have never been more proud of myself than I am in this very moment. Thank you for sharing in my glory. Read More
Welcome to Busytown
You know those people that just have their planners packed so full and then shrug their shoulders, throw up their hands and sheepishly say, “What can I say? I just can’t say ‘no!’” I’m not one of those people. I’m worse. I don’t have a planner. It takes too much time to open it up, write things down and shut it. But also, my problem isn’t that I can’t say ‘no.’ It’s that I can’t stop raising my hand, waiving... Read More
A Perfectly Logical Explanation
There has got to be a perfectly logical explanation for why the girls would be wearing Speedos in the house on a rainy Sunday afternoon in late October. They wanted to be like Pea Daddy. They took the Sunday School lesson on “Noah and the Flood” a little too seriously. Baywatch Marathon! We’ve experienced serious potty training regression. I’ve gotten terribly behind on the laundry. Synchronized finger painting. (Hey you…I know... Read More
Jerk O’ Lantern
I’ve come to the conclusion that aside from Christmas, I’m just really not a big fan of any holiday. I take that back, Mother’s Day is awesome. But Halloween? Meh. I have also come to the conclusion that I am a big jerk. Because I was a party pooper the entire time we were carving pumpkins today. The only thing I dislike more than the premise of my children stabbing slippery round pumpkins with gigantic knives is the idea of pounds... Read More
How Do You Like Your Lovin’?
I’ll be somewhat brief in this post, for reasons that will probably become very clear by the time I’m through. I’m reading a book during my “me time” that today spoke about the five ways to show your spouse (and anyone else you love, for that matter) that you love him or her. They are: gifts: from little tokens to big presents service: doing a chore, cooking a meal, running an errand time: spending time together touch: a hug, a kiss,... Read More
The Difference Between Pea Daddy and Me
Alternative titles: The Yin and the Yang a Lang a Dinga Dinga Fram a Lamma Ding Dong; My Mommy is Crazy; Pea Daddy If You Ever Dream of Keeping a Health Crisis From Me You Will Have a Marriage Crisis on Your Hands. That last one was a little too long. I have this habit which I’m sure irritates the Grilled Cheesus out of Pea Daddy, my mom and probably you and that is that I will find “a reason” for anything. This is why every recipe, be it... Read More
Wacky Wednesday: Peas Unscripted (VIDEO)
Some stories are too wacky to be told. Even for a Wednesday. Maybe someday I’ll tell you how the guitar got in the chandelier, why we cried about “soldiers and angels” in the ballet school parking lot and what happened when Lulu tried to wipe her toothpaste off her toothbrush and onto the countertop so she could “do it herself!” Just not tonight. Instead, a video. If only there were a way to permanently turn Pea Daddy’s voice... Read More
Don’t Make Me Turn This Day Around
Today was the one day I have on the calendar this month without anything on it. I was going to go shopping for a cocktail dress for my San Francisco trip. It’s been far too long since I’ve needed a cocktail dress, and exactly ten minutes since I’ve needed a cocktail. The truth is, I have nothing to myself in this house, not an uninterrupted moment in the bathroom, not a package of gum, not even a batch of roasted Brussels sprouts. The only... Read More
Wedded Bliss
You are invited to the wedding of the century. The bride: The groom: I am such a proud mother to know that Lulu can look past his lack of hair, right arm and feet and love Mr. Potato for who he really is. She initially said, “NO! He doesn’t have a mouth!” to which I responded, “It’s better that way, honey.” The maid of honor, or “bride sister” as the girls call it, was a little less enthusiastic. “Yeah, if you really want... Read More
A Yearful of Peas? Thank You! (GIVEAWAY)
It’s Peas and Thank You‘s First Birthday! I am so relieved that we get to celebrate a birthday today that doesn’t involve me being up until 2 am making a cake in the shape of a cat, Dora’s head, a unicorn or a cow. Instead, I get to share with you a few highlights of the last year of Peas and give you a few presents! Let’s start with a recap of the last year in photos. A recap that has proven to me that children grow too fast... Read More
Thanks for Asking
If you’ve been reading for awhile, you may have noticed that I almost never post on Friday nights. “What ARE you doing?” you might ask. “Washing your hair?” Yes. “Visiting the elderly?” Yes. “Making your husband and children drive 35 miles to go to your favorite stores in the entire world to participate in one of your favorite activities in the entire world?” Yes and yes. “Is Pea Daddy still sporting that smokin’ stubble…... Read More
Pumpkintervention
I need a pumpkintervention. At first I was just a casual user. I’d throw a spoonful into my oatmeal. On a crazy day, I’d add a scoop to some pancake batter. But it wasn’t long before my pumpkin use got out of hand. I’d have a Pumpkin Spice Latte with breakfast, Roasted Pumpkin Soup for lunch, Pumpkin Curry for dinner and Pumpkin Spice Bars for dessert. My hands became tinged with orange and Pea Daddy would come home and find me with... Read More
Wacky Wednesday: Seven Reasons Why (VIDEO)
1. There’s a good reason why Lulu will never be called Teacher’s Pet in her ballet class. She’s closing her eyes and loudly counting as high as she can while Miss Annie is instructing. “WUUUUHN…TWOOOO…THWEEEEEE….FOOOOH….” You can almost catch Miss Annie glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. That a girl, make Mama proud. Miss Annie instructed, “Now Lulu, hold my hand and we’ll skip together…” Lulu said, “I’ll... Read More
It’s No Fried Chicken
Forgive me, my children. I have committed a cardinal sin of food bloggers, mothers and well, just plain any human being with a pulse. I turned down a free sample. I didn’t just deprive myself of complimentary deliciousness. I withheld a free tasty delight from my children. They may never speak to me again. It all went down yesterday when I had to run to the store for a few last minute ingredients for my Pumpkin Curry. I’m hoping to soon... Read More
Operation Arach-i Freedom
My kitchen window is freaking me out. This guy has been hanging out for the past two weeks. Spinning. Growing. Giving me heart failure. Lest you think he is not that big, think again. It is not merely the sight of Spidey that sends me into a full body shudder. No, what sends me into a complete panic that has me again vowing to switch to decaf is when I don’t see him. You see, in this very window frame we watched sugar ants crawl in all... Read More
Our Daily Bread
I know almost every word to every song on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic album. I’m not proud. I have an older brother who used to drive me to and from school every day and he’d blast “Let Me Ride” so loudly every day that I’d wished he’d let me out. The seat would vibrate, I’d feel the pounding beats in my chest and my ears would ring. I can’t argue that the beats weren’t contagious and I’d often bob my three-inch high bangs along. ... Read More
Spicing Things Up
When you are married with children, it’s not always easy to break “the routine.” You make the coffee, I unload the dishwasher. I workout, you pour cereal. You shower, I dump the bowls of soggy cereal and make the snack (aka “the real breakfast”). And on and on it goes. For seven and a half years. We need to spice things up. Forget carving, we need to decorate pumpkins with stickers and Sharpies. I’m sure we’ll end up carving... Read More
Dora’s Secret
I feel so bad when the girls are sick, and not just because I have to pick up soggy tissues that I inevitably find in totally inappropriate places. Like Gigi’s underwear drawer. Lulu’s jewelry box. My coffee cup. Good until the last drop. I feel worse about the droopy eyes, the heavy mouth breathing and the hacking cough. And then there’s Dora. I have a lot of problems with Dora. She has no fashion sense. Pink shirt. Orange shorts. ... Read More
An Educational Morning
Most days I feel like I get a little bit dumber. I blame hairspray fumes, one too many Dora episodes and the fact that human beings have actually come out of me. They took a little something with them on the way out. I’d like it back, along with the cup size that seems to have been misplaced as well. Regardless, I picked up a few nuggets of wisdom over the course of the morning. And now, I shall impart my new found wisdom to you. *Crayon... Read More
Wacky Wednesday: Gigi’s Sick Day
By Mama Pea and Gigi Illustrated by Pea Daddy Ugh! I feel awful! My nose is stuffy. My head aches. Mom says I can’t go to school. She says it’s okay for dogs to bark, it’s okay for spiders to bark, but it’s not okay for Peas to bark! I didn’t get to dance ballet. I had to watch Lulu dance, but she doesn’t even know Second Position! I had to color in my coloring book and eat snacks with my mom the whole class long. It was... Read More
Picking and Wishing
No matter how hard I try, I can’t always avoid the difficult things in life with a snappy one-liner, a recipe that makes saliva glands go into overdrive, or the temporary ignorance that I am the grownup around here. Since my grandma died six years ago, I’ve only been in her backyard a handful of times. I can’t walk down the back path and not be completely devastated that she’s not there. And I can’t stop wishing that she were. I... Read More
This Post is Full of Lies
While the Jack Johnson concert was phenomenal, it convinced me of two things. 1. The top four most attractive men on the planet are Pea Daddy, Jack Johnson, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Reynolds. In that order. Jack gets bonus points for playing the guitar, songwriting and singing lullabies to his kids. Pea Daddy gets bonus points for putting up with my crazy ass. and 2. I’m way too old to stay out past 10 pm on a school night. As much... Read More
Songs About the Weekend
“Put me in coach…I’m ready to play.” “Everybody was kung fu fighting…” “I washed my face in the morning dew.” “Pea Daddy and the Family, who you know do it better?” “Freedom….freedom…freedom…you gotta give what you take!” “She thinks my tractor’s sexy…” “Hay soul sister…” “Now I’m free…free fallin’.” “Grab my glasses, I’m out the door, I’m gonna hit this city.” ”I’ll... Read More
Mistayks Ar Gud
I’m the first to admit when I’m wrong. It’s not the admission I dread, it’s just having to accept within myself that I screwed up that hurts. It kills me to put my whole heart into something and fall short. And that is why I don’t bake bread. This loaf is a member of the Lollipop Guild. We’d like to welcome you to Munchkinland… And there are many more loaves that look exactly like that in my bread baking history, though I won’t... Read More
