This Picture

It's an Easter morning tradition in the Duwell house to eat "egg mush" for breakfast. It's a simple mixture of hard-boiled eggs and cider vinegar. We only eat it once a year. Now that Sophie is eating table food, we gave her a bite.

As you can see... she DID NOT like it. This face-making went on for probably 3 minutes straight. I felt bad for her, but we just couldn't stop laughing. Poor thing. This picture captured her misery perfectly -- misery you might expect from trying the taste of cider vinegar for the first time. Luckily, she's a tough cookie and will still take food from a spoon. For a while, I wasn't sure she ever would again. :)

Psych

Have you seen this show? It is awesome. It's on USA, in its sixth season, I believe. It's a light-hearted comedy about a very observant guy named Shawn who pretends to be psychic to help the Santa Barbara Police Department solve crimes. He's never without his trusty sidekick and best friend since childhood, Gus. (You might recognize Dule Hill from The West Wing.)

That actually sounds kind of dumb when I read it back. But it's our newest favorite show, and we've recommended it to others who have really liked it too. We began season one a few weeks after Sophie was born, and it was the perfect show to get us through the throes of early parenthood. And it's not violent or scary, so we don't feel bad watching it with Sophie around (unlike Criminal Minds, CSI, Law & Order and all of those other good but sometimes yucky shows).

Anyway, just another servicey recommendation from your favorite blogger. :) Hope you're all doing well!

My Crock Pot

It's common knowledge that the best-tasting meals are the ones that sit on the stove or in the oven for hours so the flavors really come out. But another facet of "the best meals" for generally busy people, are easy ones that turn out great. Enter... the crockpot. One of the best inventions ever. Right up there with electricity and the printing press. I am 100% not joking.

I have made so many great meals in my crockpot that have taken so little time to prepare and make. Yes, you have to start a meal early so it can cook for up to 8 hours. And yes, you have to ...have one. But other than that, it's the best way to cook and I could not recommend it more highly. If you've never done it before, it can seem a little daunting, but once you've used it a few times, you'll be on the crockpot band wagon (which, incidentally, would be a great name for a band!).

http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipes.aspx

These are my go-to sites for recipes. However, my absolute favorite crockpot recipe, given to me by some of our very good friends, is chicken chili. It's below. Make it! It'll become a staple, I promise.

INGREDIENTS:
1 can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans
1 can corn
1 can diced green chilis
1 can diced jalapenos (or just cut some up to taste)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
1 onion, sliced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (raw or even frozen)

Put all ingredients in crock pot without draining cans. Cook on high for 3 hrs, then pull/shred chicken apart. Cook on low another 3 hours. Served best with sour cream and Fritos. Enjoy!

My husband

I suppose this one is long overdue. Of course my husband makes me happy -- that's why I married him. But after almost six years of marriage, it's the little things he does that make me happiest.

• He knows I hate taking out the garbage, so he almost always does it.
• He's a highly motivated and busy guy, but he knows I love my "coffee time" on weekend mornings, so he obliges and sits to chat with me for like an hour. :)
• Bath time with Sophie is his job, and both he and she love it. Sometimes I just sit on the bathroom counter to watch them play. He's such a good dad. I knew he would be, but seeing it is sometimes just breathtaking.
• We have an "I cook, you clean" rule in our house. Since I'm home during the day, I almost always cook, which means he's stuck cleaning the kitchen a lot. It would be a bummer, but he is the WORLD'S FASTEST CLEANER, so it's always done in the blink of an eye. (He also happens to be the world's messiest cleaner, if that makes sense; when he's done, his mid-section is soaked from the sink. It's incredibly endearing.)
• He's got this great math-and-science-type brain that complements my more creative word-oriented brain.
• He's sometimes completely silly, like when, just for a laugh, he shocked himself on his parents' electric fence for their horses (he swore his heart stopped for a moment). Or when he wears Sophie's little backpack just to make me laugh:

• He always treats me with respect, even when I'm just being a total B. :)

Marriage can be hard, but we're a great team. I sometimes feel really undeserving of such a wonderful partner. I only hope I make him as happy as he makes me.

Anyway, this note is really why I was compelled to blog about him. I found this on my pillow one night when he was away for the weekend. I almost always tuck a little note in his bag when he has to travel for work. It made me tear up that he thought to write me this before he left:

Seriously. I don't mean to go into cute overload, but how could I not tell the world how happy he makes me??? :)