"We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo..."

It was a beautiful day to head to the Fort Worth Zoo earlier this week. We went with Craig's siblings and a two cousins and had a very, very nice visit.

Lots of animals. These are just a few of course.

(Yes, there were tigers and bears right next door, but I think that cliche has been done already.)

We stopped for lunch were The Bug and Miss. P. explored the wonders of gravel.


I'm not sure what is going on here with Aunt Cheri.



The highlight for The Bug had to be when we got some ice cream.


He was not to be denied. Everyone else was having some after all.

Everyone except Big I. He was happier with his lollypop.

Purgatory

Big I found some old pics that reminded me of our one missing little family member this year.

Fortunately, Brisco was just a dog, albeit a very good one. However, it reminded me that more souls are released from purgatory on Christmas Day than any other day. So here's Brisco reminding us all to say a prayer for those who have gone before us on Sunday as they undoubtedly pray for us. Here's a wonderful one from St. Gertrude:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Outgrown

We'll just have to face it, Big I has finally outgrown the jumparoo.


I guess we'll finally have to get him some new toys this Christmas.

Letter to Santa

We spotted Santa while he had a quiet moment while at the mall today. Big I wasn't too sure about the strange man with a beard but he did wave as we walked by. Later we discussed how Mr. Claus plays a crucial role in the whole gift-giving thing at Christmas and Big I decided that he would rather write him a letter than sit on Santa's lap.

So I took dictation. It is worth noting that he understands the whole present thing a little too well and I had to edit the list of requests a bit. (In fact, at one point he asked for another mama. I wasn't sure how to take that.)

Anyway, without further ado, I give you Big I's 2011 letter to Santa Claus. You may have to click on it. If any of you have connections with the jolly old elf, perhaps you can pass it on.

Tatto artist

Big I: "Mom, some people have drawings on their arms."

Me: "That's right. They're called tattoos."

Big I: "Yeah."

Me (after turning around and looking at Big I): "Is that why you drew on your face with a pen?"

Big I: "Mm hmm."

A blue sweater

It's been ages since I posted anything I've made despite the fact that I'm always working on something. This one has such a cute model I thought I'd share.


Big I wanted me to make him a sweater and he said he wanted it to be blue. He didn't say only blue. I made a basic v-neck raglan and let the yarn do the work. The colorway is called 'Glacier Bay'.


Had to redo the sleeve and body length twice to make it slightly over-sized; I think he had a growth spurt while it was on the needles. Maybe it'll last the winter now.

Muffin thief!

Last night, Big I and I made these muffins. (By the way, they are only muffins in shape. The texture is something between pumpkin pie and french toast with all those eggs in there.)

I went to take a shower this morning after Daddy left and come out to find this on the counter:


Someone has been eating my muffins.

For the record, he gets this from his father who would take one bite of each cookie to 'claim' it. He has 3 older siblings, I guess it was pure survival on Craig's part.

But Big I has no older siblings. He just wanted the chocolate chips.

All Aboard!

Finally figured it out

I kept wondering why it was the Bug was sleeping so long. When I went in to check on him, lo and behold, he may have settled on some fingers...at least for now.


Plus all that exercise on the floor is exhausting.

The Brisco

Sad news here this morning. We decided to put our sweet Brisco down. He'd been a real trooper against his lymphoma and probably would have kept trucking along until his whole body shut down but we decided enough was enough.

He was a heck of a good dog (chewed shoes, dead hamster and numerous 'dietary indiscretions' leading to big vet bills not withstanding). We miss him and his big ears already.

Wherever little dogs go when they die, I hope he has lots of rabbits to chase and a nice warm place to snuggle.

He's official

This happened last Sunday, but the Big A is freshly baptized.


He didn't cry or spit-up on Father H., so I count that as a success.


Big I thought 'that was really fun and neat to see'.

Hangin' with the boys

Hockey Guy

Big I has had his first two trips onto the ice after getting his new skates. He loves it.

Daddy's back is killing him, however.

That is one serious milk coma....

The sounds of silence

Too bad this only lasts for about 20 minutes.

Muffins!

Been baking and freezing the heck out of this new recipe I found for Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins.

We've made lots of variations and haven't had a bad one yet:

• strawberry and banana
• mango
• using regular milk (with some apple cider to curdle it)
• using coconut oil
• replacing the AP flour for coconut flour

The Big A?

Not sure what name to use for this little guy for the interwebz, but isn't he cute? He was a month old yesterday.



Big brother has been a big help.

Oh yikes

These pictures would be truly horrifying...

if I didn't know it was Beet and Carrot Soup night.

Banana Cupcakes...

...with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting.

Why yes, they are as good as they sound.

I dared not post about them early on Ash Wednesday in order not to tease those of you who were fasting.

But today there's nothing stopping you.

An assortment of pictures

Cleaned off the camera card. Here's what I found:

1. A rabbit in the snow.


You'd think with a rabbit fur coat he would have really enjoyed himself but I found him under the covered part of the patio a few minutes later licking snow from between his toes and looking put-out. Not a snow bunny.

2. The Foz being weird - and I'm not referring to the front 'fro the groomer gave him this week.


I just don't know why he didn't chose the larger chair right next to him. He is such a strange dog.


3. Best of all...a score for $50 from Tuesday Morning.


A spiffy gas log set for the fireplace. It actually works too, which is more than I can say for the one we tried last winter and had to return to the store. Plus it's just in time for spring!

Better late than never.

Best buds

Look where I found Big I this evening.


Gives new meaning to the term 'snuggle bunny'.


(No worries, Big I's wet bottom is from a damp sandbox.)

---

Big I worked really hard the other day to help make and decorate some Valentine's Day cookies. He did a good job, didn't he?


Sampling was a part of a process, of course.


I put them on my lovely new Fiesta platter I got for Christmas and they looked so cheerful. But when we came back from a walk the demon dogs had pulled the table cloth until the platter came crashing down.

No more cookies. No more very nice platter. :(

Good thing I took pictures.

A little peanut

We had a 20-week sonogram on Monday and instead of print-out pictures we got a CD.

So here you go, a 21 -week little guy waving hi.



And yes, it's a guy. Like his brother he's not shy.

Ice-bound

Craig was getting a little tired of being stuck in the house...


He said it was pretty good skating as long as you avoided the manhole covers and around the storm drains.


The FedEx guy had to stop in the middle of his (very slow) rounds to take a picture too.

New recipes

No interest in blogging still, but I did try three new recipes this week and they were all delicious so I thought I'd pass them on. (I think the family is grateful the first trimester food-aversions are over.) Two recipes are vegetarian which are always keepers with the price of meat going up lately and with Lent coming soon.

1. Moroccan Meatloaf - I actually made no changes to this recipe and it was very easy and tasty as well as somewhat unusual. I bet it would freeze well. Big I liked the raisins.

2. Eggplant Parmesan Heros - I added some mozzarella to the buns to melt while they were briefly toasting in the oven. Don't bother with croutons, just use the pre-done Italian breadcrumbs from the store. Also, a medium eggplant makes quite a bit, so choose a smaller eggplant unless you have a crowd. I doubt the eggplant would keep well for leftovers.

3. Sweet Potato Burritos - I realized too late that I was almost out of cumin and never did have coriander. I improvised some other spices: chili powder mostly, I think. They were still yummy, so I can't wait to try again with the correct ingredients. I also intended to use only 2 potatoes and put an extra the freezer for Sweet Potato Biscuits* later. However, I spaced out when making dinner and used all three. There's now plenty of left over burritos in the freezer! Hopefully they'll reheat well.


* If you've tried making that biscuit recipe and found them too tough or crumbly, try using half and half of the whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. You may have better luck with the texture.