We need your help!!

So after what seems like years, we are finally painting our house, and I am completely overwhelmed by the colors. I can't decide. Obviously, we aren't painting it bright orange, but it's still overwhelming with so many shades.

It's kind of hard to take a picture that shows colors accurately, and I took this at 6:30 in the morning, but here's the side of the house with some colors on it.

I am leaning towards Brown (the darker brown on the top) and a lighter color Blue/Green (maybe something inbetween the two blues on the bottom.

What do you think? What do you think looks better? Keep in mind that we have a wood door and will have a brick pathway leading up to the house.

My thoughts:
Brown: it makes the white trim pop, which is awesome. But, it may be hot for summer months. Is this a depressing color?
Blue/Green: Uplifting? Not hot? Maybe goes better with wooden door and brick pathway?

This is why I could never be a designer. I can't decide.

My little obsession

For someone who hated to cook, it's weird that I am obsessed with the Food Network, but it's true. I love that channel, and I can't get enough of it.

My favorites are The Barefoot Contessa and Everyday Italian- these women cook stuff that are right up my alley.

Oh, Ina. I love your house and kitchen. (so much so, that I patterned a lot of our current house on her house in the hamptons)

She's the Italian Goddess as they say. She is.

My favorites this week were the:

1. Roasted Potato/Leek Soup:

All you have to do is chop up some leeks, potato (and I added broccoli), roast it on a pan with olive oil and salt, once they are brown, put it in the blender with chicken broth, add garlic to your taste... and you've got a delicious and very healthy meal. [the roasting is great and adds a lot more flavor to the soup]

2. Orange Fennel Salad:

This was the oddest thing I've seen in a while because I had no idea what a fennel bulb was... well, I went to the store and bought it and made this, and we have had it 3 nights in the past two weeks. It's delicious, easy, unusual, and really healthy.

Basically, you cut up some oranges (cut them in wedges... it's kind of hard to describe- like they look when you buy mandarin wedges from a can? Cut the skin off around the whole orange so there is no white part, and then you go around the orange cutting the little pieces out of the chaff? Is that how you spell it?)

Cut the fennel bulb into strips. Put them with the oranges. A little bit of olive oil, salt...

Hmmm.

And- finally our big discovery: Kosher Salt. I've heard about it, but never used it. It makes everything taste SO much better? Who knew? What is in the stuff?

If you put Kosher Salt on fresh green beans with olive oil and roast them in a pan for 5 minutes, they are DELICIOUS. So delicious, that even MADDIE loves them!!

Probably watching all this TV is not good for me, but I like to think that I'm learning a lot? I have to say that Maddie eats like a champ. She no longer shy's away from vegetables. She ate the soup, salad, and everything inbetween. She even likes Pecorino Romano (pretty strong cheese)... so I think if you make it tasty, they will come around.

Our Secret

Here is our secret to getting your newborn to sleep in the night:

1. Get really really tired
2. Don't have enough strength to get up when you hear him/her calling for you.

I know this sounds horribble, but I think in the past I've been too overly anxious in getting up when I hear Emilie waking up in the night. I assumed that she was hungry, and I would feed her.

But, for the past week, I have been so so so tired, that although I hear her moving, and starting to make sounds, I just can't get up. I am still in dream land. By this time, Emilie is done waiting for me, and puts herself back to sleep. It has been perfect.

So, for 4 nights in a row now, she has slept from 10:30-6:45. It has been life changing. Thank you Emilie.

Of course, it will change tonight, but I have been appreciating it thus far!

As for other tricks that I really think have help our kids go to sleep:
1. Get some type of noise maker (we have a air purifier) so it provides background noise and blocks out all noises going on... it has been great for Maddie so she doesn't hear Emilie wake up in the middle of the night. And- it is great for our room so Emilie's little sounds don't drive us crazy (she sleeps in our room so far) and vice versa.
2. Rev up feedings until night time
3. Create a little nest wherever they sleep (big cribs are scary)
4. Swaddling
5. Don't let them sleep to much during the day (of course let them sleep, but not to let them think that day time is night time)
6. Bigger babies (I really think bigger babies just sleep well. So, I guess that's a benefit to having a baby that weighs more...
7. They don't really sleep "through" the night until they get older... some people swear by 3 mo, some people 6 mo... so far, ours started sleeping pretty well from 3-6 mos
8. "EASY"- Eat, Activity, Sleep, (You time when they're sleeping)... I can't remember which book this came from, but I swear by it. I am always in this cycle every three hours.

And, luck. It's just luck of the draw. I really think I have been lucky/blessed. It's really more just the baby? Not really sure. But, I think some babies are just easier than others...

Fri Morning

When Steve started his company, he started the tradition of throwing barbeque's every so often. Since then, they have become a tradition. I asked him why they don't just cater (because it's actually cheaper b/c he goes way out of control), and he said "because people were disappointed, and they wanted to have barbeque." Give the people what they want!

So... every so often, our house has cans of tomato sauce, ribs, avocados, salmon, potatoes... it's a mess. The entire night (while we're trying to sleep) our house smells like barbeque b/c he is cooking the ribs so they are "oh so tender" the next day.

This morning he woke up at some insane time and started getting the feast ready. He backed up the truck and started loading stuff...and of course little Maddie had to follow.



Maddie is daddy's girl for sure. She has him wrapped around her little finger every day that passes!

Just to show you how much Steve loves her, he dreamt the other night that Maddie was kidnapped, and responded by killing 17 people. Insane? Yes. But, that's how thick blood goes I guess??

Here are the cuties:

In love, right?

It's compost time!

Growing up, people in my neighborhood didn't recycle, and I never heard about compost before I went to college. But, now that we have our own little 4 x 4 backyard, I am so excited to compost!!! I know nothing about it other than what I've read, so I have a lot to learn...

I've already started collecting our "greens, " (vegetables and fruit waste) and now I'm in search for some sort of bin rather than just throwing it in a pile.

For some reason, it feels good to be self sufficient and not waste as much as we do. And- the science nerd in me loves to see how nature takes care of itself... now I just need to find a place to buy worms. (I've heard this helps a lot?)

Are there any composters out there? Do you have any advice for this novice?

Moments that make you love your life

Emilie spends 10-20 minutes a day laughing and smiling at us when we get her going. Usually it involves some sort of blowing on her feet or tummy- but it is pretty darn cute.

Yesterday Maddie saw some of my pictures packed away and wanted to play with the frames. I'm not sure why- but she really loved the frames and photos. She played with them for about 15 minutes while I was cleaning around the house. When I came back, I found her folding her arms with her head down and she says "Heavenly Father, thank you for pictures. Amen." So adorable.

Go see it!

Saw it. Loved it. Go now!!!

(Yes, you've seen/heard this script a thousand times, but the writing is hilarious and the acting was pretty good. If you're in for a light comedy, you'll have a good night. And yes, Mr. Efron is nice to look at- he has better hair than most girls I know!)