Random Tues Thoughts

*I wish I could go to bed before 10 pm every night. However, it's usually close to 11pm when I remember this.
*Balayage? do you know what that is? I learned this word last week when I got my haircut. Here's the wikipedia definition:
Balayage is a technique for highlighting the hair in which the dye is painted on in such a way as to create a graduated, natural-looking effect.
*Blue Bell's new ice cream flavor "Ice Cream Cone" leaves lots to be desired. I'm good with the dark chocolate covered waffle cone bits, but the vanilla ice cream needs a boost. And there's a giant blob of chocolate fudge in the middle. Can we spread that out? I mean if you switch the ice cream base to Homemade vanilla and added magic shell throughout it'd be perfect
*Roma sprained her ankle and we tried to let it heal on it's own. But it's not. Vet and xrays tomorrow.
*Disappointment is repeatedly one of the most difficult emotions for me to handle. What's yours?
*Claire turns 3 on Saturday, what?!!!!
*Paige now knows how to wave goodbye. no more little teeny tiny baby here.

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Monday Mode

Little Baby girl has a cold and it really disrupts our healthy sleep habits so quickly. "Oh, you want to be held for an hour.. Ok." 

Anyway, Paige is finally sleeping and hopefully I will be too within the next 5 min. G'night!

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Brother.

Some things never change. Ok... I recognize there are more wrinkles present than in times past, but sister imposed selfies are timeless.

And Snapchat just wasn't around 10 years ago.

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Sweet Pea

So much personality is starting to emerge from this little Sweet Pea.

And those eyes though?!!

"Mom I wasn't done with that Pear, Spinach, Apple Mush"

Hello Gorgeous.

Such a happy baby.

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Jeff's Birthday?

For a second I forgot who's birthday we were celebrating a couple weeks ago...

Not Claire's... Uncle Jeff's Birthday!

But Claire was happy to help with pretty much every aspect :)

Special girl has a special birthday coming up very soon... THREE!??!

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Old Friend

Out of the blue I got this email today:

Hi Liz
This is peace izabayo from houston Texas moved to New Mexico right after you guys moved to Alaska.
I been thinking about you guys a lot. Looking back how far I have came, and how you guys used to come home every-weekend with food, hygiene supplies and clothes.... I never got chance to say thank you!
Thank you very very much!
I miss you very much, I have sooooooo much to tell you, you were a big sister I never had❤❤❤ say hello to everyone.

Thanks,
Peace Izabayo

It warmed my heart, made my day, and humbled me all at once. Peace is a special girl who's family of 8 had a pretty rough go at life as refugees starting over in Houston. Take a look back at this blog bio of the family.

So good to hear from her.

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Little P and Uncle

Uncle Jeffrey is learning all about babies, but it's a process. Baby steps.

And I mean seriously though, you couldn't ask for a more chill cutie test subject.

They're bonding.

Well... until P fusses in any way, shape, or form. Then Paige is handed back to Mommy. Now we just need to get Uncle Jeff to babysit.

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Happy V-day!

We ordered take out from Carraba's for the first time and it was delicious. It felt like an Italian date night dinner complete with a lively atmosphere and serenades compliments of the girls :) After Paige went to bed Claire and Mommy made cupcakes. "Mom need a taste test" "Mooooooooooom". Such a fun evening.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

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Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Even the biggest carnivore needs to take a break from meat sometimes right? In my opinion mushrooms are a great substitute for meat- maybe it's their chewy texture? One of my favorite restaurants in Anchorage (Moose's Tooth) served up a delicious Hungarian Mushroom soup. However, I didn't eat it much because I was always so stuffed with salad and pizza, but I loved it. So I decided to find a recipe and make it this weekend. I was thinking of a comfort/winter food, but Texas did not cooperate; it was hot and muggy. Oh well. It was still good I promise.

Here's the recipe. I used a mix of bella, cremini, and portabella mushrooms and also made a double recipe for the leftovers. Just go for the fresh herbs- it always pays off. I suggest pairing with some crusty bread with greyere cheese melted on top. Check out the pictures on the recipe blog because mine don't do it justice!

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There should be an Award

Why are there only televised award shows for music, movies, and shows? I enjoy all of these, but what about other, less celebrated awards. Like what about the "best husband of the weekend award"? (Can you tell I was watching the Grammy's tonight?) I would like to nominate Ross because he strongly endorsed my "First Annual Trellis Spa Getaway with Noelle" and Daddy-ed like a champ. I had a great time with my special friend and got some much needed R&R, which I have realized lately is absolutely necessary to build into ones life. 

Thanks Ross! Here's some action pictures featuring Paige Renae. 

Another breakthrough this weekend: Ross asked me if he could help do some things around the house to get ready for the week and I said YES. Operation "relinquish control of some things" is underway. Afterall, you must crawl before you walk. Well, unless your name is Claire Avery :) #bootyscoot

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Retail Me Not?

Question: What do you do if you're ordering something online and you KNOW that there's coupon codes, but you just don't have one?

Answer: Check RetailMeNot.com. I'd say 8/10 times I find something (10% off, free shipping, free sample, etc) that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten with my order. Never, never order anything online without checking first! (Amazon is an exception, they don't have codes).

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My Girls

I was meant to be a girl mom. 

"You is smart, you is kind, you is important"

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Roma Spins

Roma spins around on her dog bed at least 20 times one direction, then 20 times the other direction, before settling down to bed. This happens every single night. Every. Single. Night. Which begs the question, why do dogs do this??

So I googled "why do dogs spin around before they lay down" and here's what I got from LiveScience:

Doggy beds and pillows haven't always been around, so wild dogs had to pat down tall grass and underbrush to make a comfortable bed for themselves and their pups. The easiest way to prepare that night's sleeping area was by walking around in a circle.

The rounding ritual may also have served as a safety precaution. "In the wild, the circling would flatten grasses or snow and would drive out any snakes or large insects," said Irvine, a sociologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder who specializes in the role of animals in society.

"I have also heard that circling the area and thus flattening it leaves a visible sign to other dogs that this territory has been claimed," Irvine said. "Even though our dogs now sleep on cushions, the behavior endures."

Now I'm not sure if this is a fact or an alternative fact, but it sounds pretty legit. Roma is just trying to drive out any snakes that may have found their way into her dog bed in the 12 hours since she drove out the previous ones. So funny.

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February Arrives!

T.G.I.F= Thank. Goodness. It's. February.

It was touch and go more than a couple times for me in January. And I am so ready to move on. What better way to usher in some positivity than with a birthday?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!

Jeffrey has taken some hints from my "how to be so cool" book and discovered how to really stretch birthdays out. You know, so that it's more like "Happy Birthmonth" and less like "Happy Birthday" :) Jeffrey met me downtown and we walked to a brand new (open for 3 days kinda new) French restaurant right on Discovery Green, called Brasserie du Parc. It was right in the heart of all the Superbowl Live activity so we did some people watching for sure. This restaurant has a to-go window where you can order sweet or savory crepes to take to the park across the street. All I could think was "Claire is going to love this on our park/fountain days this summer!"

Nutella/Banana Crepe

And this happened:

I'm not a Tweeter on Twitter, but if I was these might be appropriate captions for this photo:
#myhusbandisthebest
#RossRules
#happywife
#itsfreakinfebruary
#goodbyejanblues
#Floristflowers

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