The Happenings....

Some of you may know that Mike's Bro. Dallin made it to the National History Fair in D.C. so AWESOME!!! We drove up and spent 2 1/2 fun filled days with him and Mike's mom Susanne. We ate, walked, played and chit chatted to my hearts content. Ruth struggled a bit with the ever changing locations/people and the lack of sleep, not to mention the fact that she pushed out a molar while we were there but on the whole she did better than I expected.......no diaper blow outs.

I've said this before but I'm going to say it again that I LOVE D.C. I love the big old building and the food and China Town and the History and all the people and I just love it. Everyone should visit at least once in there lives. There's a Newseum! A Museum of News! It may sound lame but it was really cool. There was a HUGE wall covered with the front pages of news papers from all over the country and world the day after September 11 and another one showing the news progression of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. And a section of Presidents and so forth. Really cool. If you've never been come stay with me and we'll go:)

Us at the host of the National History Fair the University of Maryland or Maryland State University. I forget which:)

Snack time for the kiddies at the Newseum.

While they snacked I took these. This is Pennsylvania Ave. topped by the Capitol Building.

Pennsylvania Ave.....the other way. Who knows what direction I'm pointing? That's the Washington Monument in the background which would put the White House this Direction.

Highlight's of the Trip:

1-Susanne taking us through the History board's searching for her favorites. Kid in a candy store.

2-Dallin navigating the Metro like a native!!!!

3-Ruth flirting with anyone and everyone on the train/the line/the restaurant/the store/the theater and so on.......

4-the WONDERFUL WEATHER!! It was overcast which drastically cut down on the amount of heat and it only rained once while we were already inside.

5-Fudruckers. Yummy Burgers, Happy Ruth.

6-Mike after eating a Burger, fries and two GIANT chocolate crepes wants a third.

7-Ruth, who weighs about 25 pounds, a back pack, a stroller and I navigating the Metro back to the hotel for her badly needed nap. Up and down, up and down the escalator's, half of which are broken.

8-Ruth giving Susanne kisses on her last night. It only took 2 1/2 days for her to decide to be nice.

9-The DC traffic jam that added 1 1/2 hours to the trip home about driving us MAD.

10- Me changing Ruth on the floor in the lobby of a Dunkin Donuts. "No changing table? What are they thinking!"

P.S. The bugs keep killing my flowers.

New Things...

A few weeks ago I was DIEING for a new craft to do so I wandered around Joann's looking for inspiration and came across some iron on patterns. EUREKA!!!!! I believe I have found my new craft love. Embroidery. Obviously I'm very novice but all I can do is improve:)

This Raggedy Ann Onesie for Ruth was my first project. I had decided to make some kitchen towels (I'll post them later) as a wedding present for a friend so I practiced on this first which I'm very glad I did. I kinda want to take out the hair and redo it but we'll see.

These Baby Booties will be a Shower gift in the future. The flowers came out of my brain:)

These were also pieces of an iron on pattern that I made into hair barrettes, they just need to be mounted.

For my next project I want to make a picture for Ruth's bedroom which is in dire need of some decor. I found this designer on a blog I follow and I LOVE HER!!!! I can't decide which pattern I'll use but it will definitely be one of hers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH!!!! We celebrated her 1st Birthday on Sunday since Mike's youngest Bro. Dallin was in town and it turns out she doesn't like Birthday's so much:( Oh well. There are many more to come and I feel they will grow on her.

B-Day Cupcake Fail

Occasionally Mom's have to let their babies misbehave so that they can finish making themselves ready for the rest of the world.

Scary Daddy

linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I made this the other day and it's one of my new favorites!! It's a Rachel Ray but I changed a few things. I bought a bag of frozen shrimp at Sam's Club about 2 months ago and made 4 meals from it which is how I could afford buying shrimp. Try it!!!!!!

Linguine With Shrimp Scampi

Veggie Oil

Salt

3/4 p. Linguine (I used half a box since it's just Mike and I)

3 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

2 1/2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic (4 cloves)

1 p. Shrimp, peeled and deveined, (about 16 shrimp)

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/3 C. chopped fresh Parsley, (I used Fresh Basil cause lets be honest Fresh basil is AMAZING!!!)

1/2 Lemon Zest

1/4 C. Fresh Lemon Juice (2 Lemons), -1 Lemon if using just half a package

1/1 Lemon, thinly sliced into half rounds

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (I didn't have any so I substituted 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper)

Drizzle oil in Lrg. pot salted boiling water. Add 1 Tbsp. salt and Linguine. Cook till al dente.

meanwhile, in heavy bottomed pan, melt butter and olive oil over med-low heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 min till fragrant. Add shrimp, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Saute till opaque, about 5 minutes, turning often. Remove from heat, add parsley (BASIL!!!) zest, lemon juice, lemon slices and pepper flakes. Toss with drained pasta in pot and serve.