Category Archives: Everyday Life

Everyday Life

Summer Life

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I found a bunch of pictures of Reed that I had never uploaded from April. I don’t look to great in this one, but I wanted to share it, because we have the same eyes. I really don’t know anyone else with the same eye color as me, except him. We had no idea what his eye color was when we committed to him…

We went to Goodwill the other day and I let each kid pick out an outfit. I’m such a big spender, huh?


P.S. Both of my kids wear 50SPF… actually our whole family does, and it’s clear that some people just tan REALLY easily…. Reed.

Lena has been very easily upset lately. I am not sure why, but it does seem to help her if I plan fun activities, instead of giving them the choice between the same stuff we do around the house every day.


These are our homemade water tables. Just plain out bins, and I gave them a colander or strainer, and rice and beans, cups and some other stuff.  Since then, we’ve also done it with ice cubes and bubble bath… lots of fun!


So, the head injury… he got this at his grandparent’s house, over 4th of July weekend. Running in the house and falling, headlong into a table. Had we been at home, he might have gotten stitches, but my in-laws live far away from a hospital. So, we opted for butterfly bandaids instead. Now it is just covered by a Toy Story bandaid and it’s healing well.


This one has been giving me a very hard time lately. I am not sure why. I am not sure if it is the terrible 3s, or a new stage of grief about her past, or something else. Her emotions have been almost unbearable and it seems like a painful backwards slide to our first few weeks home, at times. It does seem to be getting better– the more I keep her busy and manage her schedule, the easier it seems to get.


Here she is having a good time. It is one or the other with her.


I love this photo of him. This kid has a HUGE sense of humor and the longer he is home, the more it shows. When we were at their grandparent’s house, we had some homemade ice cream (yum!) and after he finished, his aunt Rachel said, “did Uncle Micah eat your ice cream?” In the past, this might have gotten a confused look and “no” out of him, or he might have jumped at the opportunity to lie and tell us he wanted more ice cream. But, instead, he just jumped up and teased his Uncle Micah, demanding that he wanted his ice cream back. This photo shows the sly grin you get when you are goofing off with him.


Take note, people who think my dogs are crazy. This is how our days usually go. 3 lazy dogs, just hanging out, and supervising. They have their moments of fence-climbing, opossum catching antics, but this is how things usually are.

Everyday Life

Wacky Wednesday

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I’ve decided I need to record everything Reed says because it’s so funny.

In the bathroom, after a nap and talking to Lena about what she wanted to eat for a snack:
Me: “Reed, do you want a snack? Like cheese or tomatoes?”
R: “NO THANKS!”
Me: “Do you need to go potty?”
R: “NO THANKS!”

Discussing movie time:
Me: “I think it’s Lena’s turn to pick out the movie.”
R: “YAYYYYY!”
Me: “You really like it when she picks out the movies?”
R: “YES!”

At bedtime:
Me: “I love you.”
R: “Yes”
(me laughing)
R: (points at me) “YOU GOT IT!”

On a walk:
R:”MAMAAAAA! A SNAKE!!!!!!!!
Me: “Um, Reed, that’s a worm.”

Everyday Life

The Perfect Brownies

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I bake these brownies whenever I am baking for someone I know LOVES chocolate or I want to bake, but don’t have the time to do cookies or cupcakes. I’ve baked these twice in the last month and both times, they’ve been a big hit. They’re delicious. However, I take absolutely no credit for this recipe. It is from How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, a great cooking website. You can find the original here; I prefer the thicker version, which he shared in the comments and I’ll share below… 


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Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

The assembly is about as easy as you can get. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs and melted butter and mix. Do this by hand, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet, and stop. You don’t need to beat it, and in fact want to avoid producing gluten from the flour. (Kneading flour produces gluten, the springy protein that makes bread chewy.)

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the tallest part comes out clean. Keep in mind you’ve got chips in there. If you hit one with the toothpick it will have melted chocolate on it. You might need to poke a couple of spots to make sure you aren’t hitting a chip.

What you need to know is to use the best quality cocoa and chocolate chips you can find. With only 6 ingredients, this is really important. I love Ghiradelli’s, which I buy at Super Target.  I also add a large handful of walnuts if I have them. Also, when you bake brownies, you don’t want to have a totally clean toothpick when you check to see if they are done. I think they’re best when there is a bit of brownie stuck to it, but it’s not totally gooey. Enjoy!

Everyday Life

Reed Ilya-isms

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Playing “crocodile” with Papa:”No, don’t get her! She’s my sister! SHE’S MY SISTER!” (I think that’s the first time he’s ever called her that without being prompted.)

Out for a walk, talking about the sun: “I’m gonna climb, work really fast, open it up and put a geocache inside. I think the dogs cry if they go to the sun. Do you cry if you go to the sun, mama?”