In case you didn't know...

...It's Sean's birthday today! He is now the big 31. It's crazy to think I've known him since he was 18. 13 years is a long time to know and love someone. It seems like yesterday when he was calling me in my dorm room singing songs he wrote for me over the phone. Burp Girl (the song he wrote for/about me)...aawww...those were the days. Happy Birthday Sean. I love you.

...My blog is private now. How does that make everyone feel? Now I can tell you all my secrets. No, just kidding. I'm glad it's private. I really don't have a problem with people looking at my blog if there is a connection. I mean, I have no qualms with friends of friends reading it, I'm guilty of doing that. So I'm open if you know of someone that wants to keep reading, I really have no problem with that.

...The Pioneer Woman has good recipes. First of all if you haven't checked out her site you have to. I love that lady. There isn't a day that goes by when after visiting her website I don't laugh at the things she writes. It's good stuff. I recommend a daily dose of her. Anyway, I made a couple of her recipes last night.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Fluffy New Potatoes



The potatoes were perfect, but next time I'll do things differently with the parmesan crusted chicken. I confess, I didn't follow the recipe exactly with the chicken, and I know that was the problem. It was good though, Sean said "you're the best cook ever." Jonah said he just liked the "down" parts - meaning the chicken underneath the crust :). Stella liked it, although while I was stirring together the ingredients for the chicken this was her commentary...

"Mom, WHAT is that?"
"OH Mom, I'm freaking out!"
"Who is the Pioneer Woman anyways?"
"Well she's no Rachel Ray!" Speaking of Rachel Ray...

...Rachel Ray came to the San Juan Islands. I'll admit, I was bummed I didn't see her while she was here. I'm a fan. Her and her husband were touring around the island for a few days for her Rachel Ray Traveling show. The show airs tonight at 8:30pm on the Food Network if anyone is interested. I'm going to be making her chocolate eclairs tonight for after dinner! Yum-O ;)

...Buzz is still flying through every once in awhile.
I wish I could bottle up some of Jonah's cuteness and share it with all of you. He's got a lot to give. I catch myself saying "Jonah you're cute" a lot of times through out the day. The things he does, the things he says and how he says it... it's just cute. He has said this twice now and each time I laughed. He asked me "mom when is summer?" So I told him it starts in June. Then he looked at me with a face that looked like it didn't quite understand and said "Junior??" Oh man, it made me laugh...both times.

...I just looked through the Mini Boden catalog. That was my first mistake. I love that catalog. If I could, I'd buy one of each for my kids. The simplicity of their clothes, and the pure cuteness of them....sigh...I like it a lot.

...Ava woke up with some sweet hair this morning.It suits her just right. She's wild, but I love her.

...The weather has been beautiful! It's still cold, but the sun has been shining all week. I love it. It makes me excited for working outside in the flowers and for summer to come. Although, physically I'm not ready yet. I need more time in the Parsons' gym before I'm shorts and tank tops ready. Stella and Jonah hollered down to me from upstairs the other day saying they got their swimsuits and were ready to go swimming. They were both very sad when I told them no. Mind you, it is still only 40 degrees outside!