Bedroom Bandits.

I have been very tired the past couple of weeks? WHY you might ask? Because of the BEDROOM BANDITS.


They slip into my bed in the pitch black of night without a sound. I continue to doze peacefully until a kick in my stomach tears me out of a deep, deep sleep. I remove a leg, sidle away, and fall back into dreamland. Then comes the little arm slung across my face. I remove the arm and move over a bit more. By three in the morning, I find myself clinging to the very edge of the queen-sized bed. at this point, I migrate to the couch. Usually, an hour or so later, I hear a shuffle as Todd stumbles to another couch to get one hour of undisturbed sleep before it's officially time to wake up. Night after night, the BEDROOM BANDITS usurp our rightful places in the parental bed. Any Advice?

Ode to BLEACH

Goodbye, crayon marks
and dirt obscene.
Hello! White,
and sparkling CLEAN!

Family Pictures!

My sister-in-law Angelique (who besides being an incredible person, just happens to be the most amazing photographer I know) was kind enough to take oodles of pictures of our family this summer. Thank you Angelique! I'm pleased beyond measure with "the results". Here is a sample of her handiwork:

Dinner Doldrums

I have a few friends (Heidi, Teresa) who are true gourmands. To them the terms ART and FOOD are synonymous. You know food is art and art is food (I guess not all art is food. Have you tasted Monet’s Water Lilies? A little soggy, but on the whole delicious and full of vitamins). I am not a gourmand. Unless a love for EATING delicious food counts. My eyes don’t light up when I see a kitchen. Oftentimes, my heart fills with dread when I notice the dinner hour is fast approaching. Last week, I bought a fun cookbook and some colorful cooking utensils—hoping to combat my dinner preparation doldrums.


Is my plan working? Surprisingly, yes! Last week I whipped up homemade donuts (with Reuben's help)



Mediterranean Pork skewers with Taboli:














And Triple-smoked Pasta (Eet waz so gouda!)













On next week's menu: Cobb salad, Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce, and Chipotle Salmon Tacos. Who knew a brightly-colored cookbook purchased at TJMaxx for $6.99 and one brave blue spatula could bring so much joy to the Crandall family!

How I wish....

What I am doing right now:




Studying for my anatomy practical. Blast the pericardiophrenic artery and the left recurrent laryngeal nerve!












What I wish I was doing right now:






Reading a good book.....in that yellow dress......with that very pillow to rest my back against.