dad's sauce {terriyaki}

the story goes that during my dad's bachelor days he created a sauce.

his famous terriyaki sauce.

for chicken and fish.

or whatever you like.

ketchup, soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, and garlic.

there are no measurements.

just the taste.

i do mine thicker.

his is always better.

but he did teach us how to grill up a slammin' salmon.

so we do.

once a week in the summer.

with veggies and rice.

and our favorite strawberry lemonade.

the ants love us for it.

refridgerator shopping looks like...

this is what refrigerator shopping looks like.

find brennan.

such a funny dude.

max screamed a lot.

{it is my life goal to train her to not scream}

chase never made a peep,

not even when we forgot him 

sitting right there 

when we went to see the fridges in white.

not to fret,

we remembered him in a jiffy.

no harm done.

and brennan only spilled my water once on the floor.

note to self: 

when hot dogs are for dinner, 

bring drinks for everyone when you go refrigerator shopping.

i am so glad we eat meat:)

i just am.

{do hot dogs really count as meat???}

the good life

if our kids grow up 

and say they didn't have a good life as kids, 

i'm going to be mad.

just sayin'.

{from the mouth of sean}

the deep blue

 i am not a souvenir buying kind of gal.

in fact,

i haven't ever purchased a souvenir at any place i take the kids regularly.

when we were in grad school we couldn't have any extras.

now that sean's a working man we've tried to keep our old budgeting habits.

but when i spotted the white plastic polar bears today,

i knew i wouldn't be able to contain myself.

a new exhibit,

first zoo outing with chase

{he was so impressed}

and a good night's sleep 

left me in an extra good mood.

the kind of mood that buys something small in the gift shop.

but by the time i realized they made loud squeaking sounds it was too late.

the kids were already sold.

and my credit card had already been swiped.

the good thing was that i knew where my children were the entire rest of the day.

the bad thing was that so did everyone else.

when we went into the giraffe house i turned to brooke and said loudly,

"what kind of mom buys her child such obnoxious toys?!"

very judgemental like.

yep,

me.

i'm the one, thank you very much:)

and then we discussed the best way to get those squeakers broken.

the fastest way possible.

any suggestions?

all applicants will be considered.

also, 

i need a fan with misters installed on my back patio 

for the rest of the summer.

or on my back.

whichever.

garage sale hunters {pooches}

 my grandma gigi is the best garage sale hunter on the planet.

i promise you,

there is no one better.

and i guarantee that she got these little pooches for a steal of a deal.

i can still remember dragging a furry little ToTo dog behind me 

through my parent's house in El Granada when i was 2.

treasures.

the pooches too;)

aquafish

i finally caved and signed brennan up for private swimming lessons.

who knew he could swim on his own without floaties???

they did.

once a week for the rest of the summer.

richelle asked me what i wanted to focus on.

i said i want him to learn to not drown.

that's about it.

i think she thought i was trying to be witty.

i wasn't:)

there's nothing else i would rather spend $175 on this summer.

locked out {mama bear}

not as funny when they lock me out!

ok, maybe a little funny.

bahahahahaha

kid's day {playing house}

gibbies playing
"daddy comes home from work,"

starring brennan as 'the daddy'

and max as 'the kid'

........

this morning when i was unloading the dishwasher,

brennan started chattering.

{i love the way he refers to past, present, and future events:

"lots of minutes ago, last dark day, next sunny day,

long days ago, lots of dark days ago," etc}

and so he says to me this morning,

"last days ago was mommy's day,

next day is daddy's day,

then it's kid's day.

right?

kid's day is next?

i mean boy's day.

when is that?"

and i just laughed b/c when it comes to taking turns,

this kid is a superstar.

he knows his turn is next as long as can just wait a minute for it to come.

so of course,

with all of these mother's and father's days occurring,

there must be a kid's day coming next.

very reasonable thinker.

love him.

all i could think of is that every day is kid's day,

he just doesn't know it:)

yet.

dreaming of fireflies

1-2" down

9-12" apart

24" row separation

the fertilization and cross pollination are intimidating.

the worms are going to gross me out.

and i hope the grasshoppers don't come.

but it will all be worth it to watch those rows of corn grow.

like they did when we would make the two hour drive

from des moines to ottumwa every summer.

oh what i would give for a few fireflies in my backyard on a hot humid night.

they would always be taller on the drive back.

the corn.

not the fireflies.

we caught one in a mason jar once.

a firefly.

brought it inside to show everyone.

someone accidentally let it lose in grandma max's kitchen.

she was not happy.

that fireflie flew around her kitchen with its bum all lit up.

one of my favorite childhood memories.

so now we wait.

for the corn to start a'growin'.

letters to Beth {vroom vroom}

don't put a car in your hair with wheels that are moved by a battery.

lesson learned.

ouch.

{wish he would just let me shave his hair off!}

....

Dear Beth,

oh my friend, i hope you are doing well.

max was puking all week and diarrhea the rest.

brennan just got a car wheel stuck in his hair.

it was traumatic.

we are all healthy now,

and i'm about to unload the dishwasher.

it is official, i don't like kirkland dishwasher liquid,

and i don't like the cascade powder either,

but i DO LIKE the cascade liquid,

which costco no longer sells.

hence the other tries of products.

what on earth do they sell in germany?

do you even have a dishwasher at your place?

my sister told me she doesn't have a dryer at her place in phuket,

and i wondered if these things are just not standard.

not that it is a necessity.

i wash all of my dishes before i put them in anyway,

but just a good place to put the clutter away for a day or two.

love,

emily

sunday nights

learning about being a good sport is rough when you're 4 years old.

because really,

no one likes to go back to the cupcake

when they're only two spaces away from candy castle.

i'd cry too.

{also, did you know that when you land on licorice,

you're stuck there for one turn after? me neither.

amazing what secrets lay in the rule book.}

i love watching my kids learn and grow.

struggling through difficulties like going from first to last in candy land.

and helping them through it.

and

i love sunday nights.

when the sun comes in through my front windows,

and makes the room bright and warm.

just as long as my AC is working, that is.

which it is:)

so i'm good.

really

really

good.