'Shrooms

One side effect of the extensive front yard landscaping we did last winter was the proliferation of mushrooms emerging from the mulch after all the recent rain.

Cleaning helper

Recpie for awesome, chemical-free, kid-friendly all purpose cleaner (thank you, Pinterest)

1. Fill mason jar with citrus peel
2. Cover with white vinegar
3. Steep for 2 weeks
4. Strain and dilute 50/50 with water.
5. Give to 4.5 year old to use at-will

I swear, she spent 1/2 hour cleaning the countertops.  They will never shine as well as they do here.

Running Date!

Brian and I got to go on a running date yesterday. Erin was in her preschool, Robin went to her by-appointment preschool.  We both use a GPS-based app on our phones to track and share runs.  So here are the stats from his and my run.

                                              Brian                            Ashleigh
Distance                                4.31 Miles                   3.9 Miles
Time                                      44:31                          42:29         
Pace                                       10:15/mile                  10:53/mile
Calories                                  524                              411


So there you have it, folks.  Proof that when men and women exercise side by side men 1. go further 2. faster, and 3. burn more calories.

Or, I had the "pause when pace slows below 3 MPH" turned on and part of my workout was truncated.

I feel a rematch in our near future.

Knitting project: Front Pocket Sweater

I actually started this project late last June, many moons ago and before I understood things about yarn weight and gauge.  It took a while and more yarn than I anticipated, but it turned out OK.  It's exactly the lumpy, frumpy home knit sweater you'd imagine your little old granny making you.  I did like the pattern and how the pocket was done at the same time as the sweater body.  Erin picked out the yarn.  While it's lumpy and frumpy, it actually is nearly perfectly sized on her. So unless she gains about 75 lbs in the next couple of months, it will remain a lumpy, frumpy sweater until she grows out of it.

Goose Egg

We got a goose egg from my parents yesterday.  My brother's boss raises geese, and he gets them from time to time.  

If you've never seen one before, they're big. The top is the goose egg, the bottom a normal chicken egg.

The yolk was big too.  And goopy.  And thick.  Here it is sticking to my fork as I started to beat it. 

But it looked just like a normal scrambled egg when done.  This is the one egg.  It's hard to sense scale here, but it filled one salad plate.

And Erin loved it.  She ate most of it. It was a pretty big meal.  Compare Goose to Chicken.

Potty humor - round "2"

A: (checking in on Robin who has been working on the potty) Did you make a poo-poo, Robin?

R: Yeah.  I made a whole poo-poo family! See?

(points and shows off her work.)

(Flushes)

R: Bye bye, poo-poo family!  See you later!

Such is the excitement for a newly potty-trained, highly verbal 26 month old.

Potty humor

The children have somehow synchronized their bowels. When Erin feels the urge, she says, "C'mon Robin!  It's time for a poo-poo party!"

Apologies to the future 16 year old Erin.  This is too funny not to share.