Mmm, Mmm, Good!

One thing I really like about Amanda is that she is always willing to try new foods. This is one of the many ways she takes after Aaron. He is always trying to get me to try a bite of one exotic food or another but my teeth stay clenched and I always refuse. Lucky for Aaron, Amanda is always game. This weekend Aaron decided to grace us with his new love...SUSHI. I won't touch a piece of cooked fish, let alone raw! Amanda however, was all over it!


Here she is trying real hard to get the hang of the chopsticks.


She dips it into the soy sauce/wasabi mixture...


...and in it goes. She absolutely loved it!!! She'd polished off a good helping of it when Aaron mentioned that the fish is wrapped in seaweed. Suddenly, she did a double take with her eyes real big and said, "Seaweed???". She had no problem with the thought of eating raw fish but for some reason seaweed had her feeling a little iffy.


Mmmmm, doesn't he just make it look sooo good???

Easter Egg Decorating

Chaaalie!

I saw this on another blog and just had to pass it on. I couldn't help but watch it over and over. That accent is so incredibly cute!

Broken Boy

Austin broke his arm at school today. He was playing basketball during P.E. when a large kid accidentally stepped on his foot and slammed into him. Of course, he threw out his hands to break his fall but instead he broke his wrist. Unfortunately, it is his right arm and he's right handed. The next six weeks should be interesting.

Ceol 's Craic!

I am a daydreamer and most of the time when I dream it is about the many places I want to visit in the world. My latest travel obsession has been Ireland. Of course, I have been spending way too much time on the internet "planning" my trip to the Emerald Isle. I know I won't be taking this trip anytime soon but I will get there someday. You can imagine my excitement when I heard on the radio that this weekend the sixth annual Los Angeles Irish Fair and Music Festival was being held at the L.A. Fairplex. Aaron and I went and although it wasn't quite as exciting as I imagined (not much lives up to my imagination) it was still a lot of fun. We got to see Ireland's tallest Irishman strolling around the Fairgrounds.
There were lots of booths set up selling interesting Irish/Celtic wares. I was excited to buy a necklace with a Celtic symbol that represents the three phases of womanhood; maidenhood, motherhood and the Crone (wise old woman).
There were several of these huge, awesome fairy statues that I loved.
The water fountains were all sporting GREEN water.
We got to watch several Irish bands perform, including Gaelic Storm (above) who appeared in the movie Titantic (remember Jack and Rose partying down in steerage?). It is simply impossible to sit there and listen to these bands without your toes tapping and your hands clapping!

By the way, if my title's got you wondering, "Ceol 's Craic" is Irish Gaelic for "Music and Fun".

So Funny

Last night Lauren and I had the following conversation:

Her: Mommy, when I'm at school I'm always surrounded by boys and I don't like it.
Me: What do you mean?
Her: Like when we have to sit down on the floor for story time the boys always have to sit right by me. They even push each other out of the way to sit by me.
Me: Really?
Her: Yeah. There's a little boy named Austin who always sits by me even though he made a commitment not to.
Me: (Trying hard not to laugh) He made a commitment? Who made him make a commitment, your teacher?
Her: No, another boy.
Me: And does that boy try to sit by you when Austin doesn't?
Her: Yeah

I'm not sure which I find more funny, the fact that my little girl has boys fighting for her attention at such a young age or that she has incorporated the word commitment into her vocabulary.

A Decade Down and Looking Forward to the Next!

Today Amanda is finally ten years old. I say "finally" because to Amanda, nothing is greater than getting older and she has probably been looking forward to this day for at least five years! I often try to convince her to enjoy being a child but I know it falls on deaf ears. Nothing she experiences right now could possibly compare to what she will get to do in the future. Wearing make-up, going out with friends, dating, becoming a nurse, getting married and having eight kids (!). These are the things her dreams are made of and she can hardly wait!

Since she is ten years old today, I decided to share with you ten things I love about her. It's hard to narrow it down to only ten but I'll try!

1) She is not afraid to try new things. She decides she wants to do something and then she does it without worrying if she will be good at it or if she'll look dumb or if people will like her.

2) She is extremely compassionate. She can't stand to see people sad or hurt. She feels their pain and does anything she can to make it better.

3)She will always share. It doesn't matter what it is or how much she has, she is always happy to share.

4) She can laugh at herself and doesn't take herself too seriously. She's a bit of a goofball and it tickles her as much as it tickles us.

5) She loves music and can always tell you who's singing the song playing on the radio. I also love to hear her sing along.

6) She's a look on the bright side kind of person. Something really bad could happen and she will immediately think of something positive to say. She often says, "Well, at least..." and then fills it in with whatever silver lining she can find.

7) She has style. She's not afraid to mix and match her clothes to come up with a new and exciting outfit to wear. She also comes up with some very interesting hairdo's.

8) She's very open and easy to talk to. She's not afraid to tell you how she feels and what she's thinking. She wouldn't dream of holding in her emotions. You know exactly how she feels at all times.

9) She accepts and values people for who they are, flaws and all.

10) She has a strong sense of family and her love for them is immense. There is nothing she enjoys more than spending time with her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

And there you have just a few of the endless things I love about my sparkling, loving, passionate daughter. I'm so lucky she's mine and I can't wait to watch her achieve and experience all those things she is looking forward to in life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANDA-LEIGH!! WE LOVE YOU!!!