A lot of ordinary

Squinkies have been the sleeper gift hit this year.

Frances got a set for her birthday, prompting Santa to get her another set for Christmas, and the rest is history.  I would say that I have no idea why both kiddos love them except that I think I do understand.  Tiny hands, huge imaginations, 20 figurines that can simultaneously fit in your pocket – what preschooler wouldn’t love that?

Does anyone else feel like they’re shopping for Noah’s ark at the grocery store?

I don’t buy singles of anything anymore.  Two by two (or more accurately multiples of 2) only, particularly Annie’s mac n’ cheese and cereal.  And I just recently found myself fibbing to the clearly uninterested Kroger employee stocking the shelves last weekend in explaining why I was buying eight (EIGHT!) packages of frozen sausage patties.  Sadly, it wasn’t because we were having family over for Sunday brunch (which I mumbled under my breath as I was sheepishly chucking them in my already stuffed grocery cart), but because George loves sausage, he devours at least two patties during a single sitting, and they were half price. 

And speaking of my little football-player-in-the-making, he also eats no fewer than four different cereals every single morning for breakfast.

That’s really all I have to say about that.  I just find it amazing how much this boy consumes but maybe this is a normal diet for a two-year-old?

I bought this little strawberry plant growing kit last month at Whole Foods and just got around to planting it this week:

It came with that adorable pot and Frances loves strawberries, so I couldn’t resist.  I only hope it actually sprouts and that what I planted in the soil were actual seeds and not grains of salt, which are of equivalent sizes.  I am not exaggerating on that point either – I almost lost several of the seeds during the planting stage so I would not be surprised if some of what ended up in the dirt were just leftover crumbs from lunch.  We’ll see in a few weeks.

Finally, while it has made several unofficial appearances in other posts, I haven’t formally introduced Frances’s new love:

Her fairy princess wing costume (yes, that is its certified name, at least according to its owner).  Frances is still head-over-heels for all things princess and her blue-jeans-wearing, make-up-less, hair-in-a-ponytail mother is still scratching her head as to how she spawned this beautiful creature.  She awes me on a daily basis and I feel so blessed to have the privilege of watching her during these fleeting years.  Wasn’t she just two and counting to ten in Spanish in that tiny Minnie Mouse voice?

Adios and happy Friday, everyone!  How do you say, "Thank goodness Will is coming home before 9pm tonight" in Spanish?