daily life and a random science lesson

Life has settled into a steady rhythm of babies, errands, and house building - a monotony I welcome after the ups and downs of August. Ryan spends his mornings working on our house before he goes to his "real" job in the afternoon/evening. The girls and I are still hanging out in the comfort of my mother's home. Each day is much like the one before, as if we've been doing this forever.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that this little one is only 7 1/2 weeks old, even though it feels more like 7 1/2 months since she was born. After taking into account her stay in the hospital, it really is more like having a one month old, although she is doing her best to make up for lost time. She is busy eating, sleeping, and growing, practicing smiles I cannot capture and strengthening her neck muscles a bit more each day. She is such a sweet little thing with very few demands, who has already learned how much better it is to be held than to sleep in her own bed. She is snoozing on my shoulder as I write, making it easier for me to take in her sweet, milky smell and examine her tiny eyelashes.

Big sister continues with her daily obsession with animals, stickers, and polyester clothing. I can assure you she does have, and wear, other clothes, but mostly when we're out and about. At home, she definitely prefers to sweat in her Ariel gown. I'm far from being any sort of fashion expert (or amateur) so I don't question her taste. Today, we added in some coloring and fort building to our daily routine. She requested that little sister sit in the fort with her, which I thought was awfully sweet. Then I realized that what she really wanted was for little sister to sit inside the fort by herself, in the dark, with the door shut. Most likely so that Laci could play with me uninterrupted. It seems she is having a little trouble sharing me today and I'm thinking a Laci-mommy date is in order in the near future. And let us not forget our daily game of "Laci, what on earth are you trying to tell me?" wherein Laci repeats the same sound over and over again while it try (unsuccessfully) to decipher its meaning.  At breakfast, today's word was "bu see," which sounds quite a bit like birdseed, except she doesn't usually eat birdseed, and now that I'm typing it, I think maybe she meant pizza?  I may never know.

This morning's activities must have been exhausting as Laci is now asleep too and I'm left with the difficult decision of what to do with my suddenly free time. I'm sure there are all kinds of responsible adult things I could, and probably should, be doing, but I think I'll start with a trip to the kitchen for an ice cold Dr. Pepper and whatever goodies I can find in the pantry. I'm thinking some brownie batter is in my near future, and possibly some brownies.  That is, if I can control myself enough to save some batter for baking.**

** I'm incapable of baking anything without first tasting at least a little of the raw dough or batter, raw eggs included. It's what I've always done and will probably continue to do until the day I die. If your fear of salmonella has kept you from enjoying the heavenly taste of chocolate chip cookie dough, I have some interesting information to share with you. My grandma Silva, an old Italian woman who has since moved on from our earth, said that the bacteria is on the eggshells and if you just wash the eggs, the salmonella is removed. Being a girl of the modern age, I had to ask "the Googles", which led me to the Incredible Edible Egg site, and I have confirmed that salmonella is in fact a bacteria of the intestinal tract and in most cases will not make it though the hard outer shell of an egg. Only 0.005% of eggs are contaminated to begin with. If for some reason, it does make it inside the egg, the bacteria cannot grow in the nutrient-deficient egg white. It can grow in the yolk, but refrigeration should keep it from ever getting to the yolk in the first place. The eggs you buy in the store have been thoroughly washed, but if you're worried, you can always give them an extra scrubbing. And then, by all means, eat that spoonful of brownie batter without fear. Trust me, you will never look back.