my rice is nice

From now on, I'm going to try to include one thing I'm thankful for and one item I like or dislike from Trader Joe's. The thankful thing is for me. The Trader Joe's thing is for you. I find it so helpful when someone tells me when something is worth trying there. I am a HUGE fan of Trader Joe's. So PLEASE feel free to tell me about anything you love or don't love there. If you're one of those rare people who don't shop there, I don't really understand you. 

One thing I'm thankful for:

One of my favorite parts of being a mom is the security I see in my kids when they are with me. And it doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter how many times I lose my temper daily or the frustration they hear in my voice or the number of time-outs I give them. They still feel safe with me. I'm thankful for their forgiveness and acceptance of me exactly as I am.

It was Dr. Seuss week at school last week. They decided Mya would be thing 1 since she was born first. 

Oh rain. It's raining right now. I'm totally over it. BUT have you ever taken pictures in the rain? Or just after it has rained? They come out amazing. One would assume that it's gray and dreary out so pics would be gray and dreary, but for some reason, the lack of sun produces really clear shots. And I love playing with Instagram filters. 

Dan was kind of hoping our girls would be ugly ducklings who turned into beautiful swans around the age of 25... not going as planned. ❤️😊

(I need to work on my backgrounds.... )

We had our awesome friends Bill and Karla over for dinner Monday night. Mya went through Karla's purse and found her phone and started playing a game. I made her give it back and made a mental note to have a conversation with her later about how we don't go through people's purses, even if we know them well and they are our friends, and are too nice to stop us from rummaging through their stuff.

Addie said the blessing. 

"Dear Jesus, thank you for all this blessing. Thank you for Auntie Karla and... (she opened one eye and looked over at Bill then closed her eye and continued) ummm her brother? Help them get home safe, in Jesus name we pray, Amen."

I explained to Addie that they were married like me and Dan. Then Angus looked over at Bill and said, "Ummm mom said you can give us candy." It was a good try but I was sitting right next to him so his plan was quickly thwarted.

I love having people over, especially guests who are not easily offended. 

Last night I suggested to Dan that we go to dinner at our fave sushi place during the big girls' gymnastics class. Ezze Sushi in Glendora is THE BEST. You must try it if you're in the area. We thought it would be pretty doable with just the two littles. They could eat chicken and rice like we have all the time at home. 

I forgot that Angus is pretty much a monster after he wakes up from his afternoon nap though. He literally cried about everything. His shoes hurt his feet. His lemonade was too cold. They didn't have milk, or meatballs, or pancakes. Then Addie accidentally stabbed him in the head with her chopstick when she broke the two chopsticks apart. Then she innocently asked, "Oh no what happened Angus?" He kind of recovered and then I stupidly commented that it started to rain outside. "Waaaaaain. I no yiiiiike waaaaain!" I can't even remember everything he cried about. Oh he took a bite of the rice and started crying, mouth wide open full of rice. I guess he didn't like it? 

Addie did great. She even sang a little song while she ate. "I like my rice, yeah, I like my rice. My rice is nice. My rice is nice!" We usually hire a babysitter and go by ourselves. It was a bit of a different experience with kids. 

Okay so for my first Trader Joe's recommendation: Mediterranean Hummus!

This stuff is super creamy. I'm not a food blogger so I don't know the food words for things but it's not super flavorful. It's on the mellower side compared to some other brands. It's one of my favorite hummus's ever. I eat it with baby carrots. Dan thinks yours is better of course Mom! =)