Day 3

Day 3
9.5.16

People: Today we spent the day with my mom. The kids just adore her and their face lights up as soon as she enters the room. In a matter of seconds I go from being "Mama" to "who are you again?" when my mom comes to visit. Which is awesome. I think it's great when kids have the opportunity to get to know their grandparents. My grandfather was (and still is) the person I most admire. He died over 5 years ago, but I still think of him often. It just goes to show that even when people are gone from our lives, they never leave our hearts.

Places/Activities: We spent our morning at The Maryland Zoo! We have an annual membership and try to go once a month if possible. What I love about having the membership is that we never feel as though we have to "do it all" when we visit. We can take our time to look at the animals and enjoy our time there. It's great exercise, too. I put on 8,000 steps just with our visit today.

Good Deeds: When going to the zoo, I try and carry a few dollars in my pocket (my mom always jokes I'll get picked up for vagrancy because I NEVER carry cash). Why? Because on the way home, after you turn off of  Gwynns Falls Parkway onto Hilton, you'll find a group of young men ready to wash your car windows. Several years ago when they first approached my car, I was irritated. I didn't want anyone to mess up the wax job on my car, or have to re-clean my window again (did I mention that I'm a neat freak?) But after thinking about it for a while, I realized that these kids were working hard to honestly earn some cash. So now I go out of my way to make sure I keep cash on hand for them. A smile, an encouraging word, and a couple bucks to recognize their hard work, honesty, and entrepreneurship can go a long way these days.

Chores: The rusted gas pipes to our generator have really been bothering me, so I went out and spray painted them today. At least I know they won't rust out over the winter now! Also, did you know that you need to show your ID in order to purchase spray paint?? I was rather surprised by this when I tried to buy the paint on Saturday. I also made crockpot lasagna which was quite excellent. I got the recipe from the Betty Crocker website. It must have been good because even Squeak cleared her plate! The babies will eat anything and everything, so I can't count them. I also managed to dust, vacuum, and swiffer the first floor. I divvied up and froze the overnight crockpot apple strawberry oatmeal I made from Michele Olivier's website: BabyFoode. I love EVERYTHING I've made from there. I'm addicted to making and dividing up food for the babies. It's satisfying to see a freezer stocked with food for them! My friend got me these containers for making the oatmeal which are awesome! One frozen "cube" is just the right portion size for the babies. Though soon enough I think they will be eating 2….  I also had a little laundry helper this afternoon!

Before spray paint

After spray paint

Strawberry-Apple
Overnight Oatmeal

Reading: Tonight I finished reading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It's an awesome book and I have been taking my time with it ALL SUMMER. I made sure to finish reading before going to bed because I didn't want to drag it out another day!

Even after feeding 5 of us, there is still
plenty of leftovers to freeze for 3 more meals!

Crockpot Lasagna. YUM!

Random Thoughts: Today when we went to the zoo Squeak excitedly exclaimed, "This is the first time I'll get to see the giraffes as a four year old!" She's too funny. I hope she's just as excited about visiting the giraffes when she turns 5.