How to Smile With Your Whole Face

Making the Blog Private

I know, I hardly ever update our blog anymore anyway - but I decided it is time to make it private to invited readers only. You find the blog when you do a Google search for my name and I need to make my personal and professional life more separate.

So when you get a chance, send me an email (acarland at hotmail dot com) or leave a comment here with your email address if you want to read our blog. Don't be shy, even if you are a lurker :). I probably won't make it private for at least a few weeks.

And I'll try to update more often!!

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Anna has a present for you...






She is such a delicate little flower.

Hello out there

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I updated the blog. We moved, and that always puts a kink into things. We've been doing all kinds of Spring Break things lately - Disneyland, the Zoo, trip to IKEA, playing outside, etc.

Work is busy, kids are cute, life is good. Still amazed at how fast time is going by - the kids birthdays are coming in a few months and I'll have a FIVE YEAR OLD. Crazy. So, until I find the camera cords and get back into blogging mode, here are some impromptu pictures John took of us a few months ago at a family party.

Anna Banana

Anna was meant to be our oldest child for many reasons. First and foremost, she was an easy baby. She slept through the night, hardly cried, and played independently. She inspired us to have another, which we all know got a little bit crazy. But I would not be a sane Mom if she hadn't been my oldest - she makes it so much easier.

I love that Anna is so independent. She has fabulous, full on conversations with herself, and loves to play alone. I love how she plays the "Mommy" role well, and for the most part is not too bossy. I love it when I hear her say things like, "Now, we have to clean up this mess before we go outside" or something else I would say.

I love Anna's obsession with stuff. There are two facets to her obsession. First, she likes to fill things up. Her backpack needs its own planet. It is stuffed as full as you could possibly get it. She never even takes the stuff out, she just finds great satisfaction in having it full to the brim.


Anna also loves to organize. In her room, she organizes all of the toys, and tends to have a meltdown if someone moves things. I suspect some of this neurosis comes from me. Anna loves to play with dolls, play outside, play with her brother and sister, watch movies, go to preschool, Disneyland, the beach, and lots of other fun things. She DOES NOT like to go to the store or run any errands. It usually takes my amazing power of persuasion to get her to go to the grocery store or anything like that. Simply put - she is not the little shopping buddy I was to my Mom as a child.

I love Anna's sensitivity and sweetness. If I had to pick one word to describe her, it would be sweet. She is the child I never worry about being mean to kids at school or church, is very polite, and loves her family. She loves to help with anything you will let her do, especially cleaning. At night when she goes to bed, just as you are about to close the door, she always asks what we are doing the next day. She just wants to lie there and be excited about the next day, I suppose.


We love Anna and can't believe she is turning 5 soon. That first day of kindergarten is going to be a hard one for me!

Redundant

I think part of the reason I've been having a hard time updating the blog lately is because of my other social networking activities. Between MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, I feel like everyone knows what I'm doing, all the time. It seems unnecessary to update the blog when the same pictures are already on Facebook.

But, I guess there might be a few readers who are not using those Web sites. So this is for you. And for all of the rest, sorry for the repeats!

I've been wanting to get Disneyland passes for a while now. First, because it is my favorite place. I love going, and I get more excited than the kids. Second, because the twins are free for a while longer. I wanted to get two passes before I had to buy four passes. So, when our house fell through, as a consolation prize I bought the Disneyland passes. (Yes, you read that right - we were about one week from closing escrow when we decided it was not the right decision. We now give up and are looking to rent for a while.)



We went for just a few hours for our first trip, and had lots of fun. It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and we just did a few rides and watched a parade. It was a success, and I am already looking forward to our next trip.




So, please come to CA and go to Disneyland with us! I can only go on a weekday, and not in the month of July. I got the cheap passes. But still, you don't want to go on those busy days anyway, right?

The Best French Dip Sandwich Ever

I am a French Dip expert. If French Dip is on the menu, I order it. Almost every time.

When I graduated from high school, someone actually wrote in my yearbook about my love for French Dip -and posed the question - who has the best French Dip? I remember thinking it was a bit sad that the one thing this person would remember me for was my love of a sandwich.

I've thought about that question now and then when eating out. I have been determined to one day declare the best French Dip sandwich. I have not kept track of all of the places I have eaten French Dip, but my guess would be that I've tried it at 40 or 50 different locations, maybe more.

And this weekend, on Valentine's Day, I found the answer. I cannot overstate my excitement over this finding. Ben and I went to L.A. for Valentine's Day and our 7th wedding anniversary. Today is our anniversary - I love you Ben! I should probably post something about our relationship, but the French Dip is all I can think about because I'm hungry.

At the restaurant, I looked at the menu, and wanted to order a steak or prime rib. But then I saw the French Dip. Like I said, if French Dip is on the menu, I almost always order it. Even if it is at a somewhat fancy place on Valentine's Day.

Then I ate the best French Dip sandwich I've ever had. It feels so good to finally be able to declare the winner. There are still many other places I could try, including a restaurant in L.A. that claims to be the inventor of the French Dip. But still, I am declaring this the best one I've ever had.

Houston's. Houston's is the winner. Perfection.

Baby Blessing

Thought I would just update our blog quickly by posting a link to another family member's blog.

The newest member of the family, Matt and Alex's baby girl, was blessed at church in Utah today.



We are sorry we missed it - welcome to the family baby girl!

Favorite Commercial

I crack up every time this commercial comes on. It makes me laugh and I just saw it on TV so I thought I would post it.




By the way, I have the Blackberry Pearl, and I have to agree about the butt dialing. For me it is kid dialing, or purse dialing, but still. You can lock the keys, but when it is locked if you press some combination of numbers it automatically makes an emergency call to 911. I've done this by accident, and so have the kids. It is quite embarrassing. Next time we do it I'm going to tell the dispatcher, sorry, it was my butt dialing to tell me I need a flip phone. I wonder if they'll get it...

Superbowl Success

Well, the food anyway.

No pictures, but I want to remember what we had for next year, so I'm recording it on the blog.

Steak bites

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

Chips, salsa, and homemade guacamole

Little Smokies

Wingers-style Wings (not quite like Wingers, but a decent first try)


Oh, and if anyone wants a new dinner recipe to try, last night I made Pioneer Woman's Ranch Style Chicken. Not a healthy recipe, but it tasted really good. I will make that one again and I think I can modify it to make it a little bit healthier.