Mr Potato Head creeps me out sometimes

Peanut is having lots of fun putting her Mr/Mrs (depending mostly on the shoes) Potato Head together. More often than not, the body parts end up in close-to-normal locations on the Potato body.

The end result usually looks like a mad scientific cloning experiment gone wrong or what would happen to potato-people after a nuclear accident. Mr/Mrs Potato Head has only one arm twisted backwards, a set of eyes where the nose should be and an upside grin full of teeth. On top is a glowing green hat.

Peanut sees nothing wrong with her creations and lovingly brings Mr/Mrs Potato Head to the dinner table or, as is happening now, cradles Mr/Mrs Potato Head in her arms as she sleeps peacefully.

More FOOD!

While on the topic of munching and food -- a favorite of all pregnant women, I'm sure -- we've been trying to get out to eat more frequently since it'll all be a distant dream once Tex arrives.

Peanut's papa and I had an amazing lunch date at the Seoul Garden off Royal Lane. From the outside it looks as if you are pulling up to a half-abandoned strip mall, but the lack of available parking gives a hint as to what's inside. Delicious and abundant Korean dishes. The interior was just shockingly modern, clean and efficient compared to what was outside. I had to get a bowl of dol-sot bi-bim-bap; its nothing fancy, but sooooo good on a cool winter afternoon.

Later that week, Peanut joined us for lunch at the Pho Republic in Irving. The waiter kindly sat us next to the fish tank so Peanut could keep somewhat busy while we enjoyed their Vietnamese dishes. So fresh, so light, just so tasty!

To close out 2006 baby-sitting season, Peanut's papa & I had a Friday night dinner date at The Keg Steakhouse and Bar. OK, we went there because they sent us Happy Birthday cards that offered a steak and lobster dinner -- yes, the entire dinner! We enjoyed a very crisp and fresh calamari appetizer, meat-meat-meat main dishes and a whopping piece of cheesecake for dessert. A few dishes came out cold (shrimp on the side and dessert coffee), but they didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the evening.

When Auntie Em was visiting, she wanted to try out some down-home Texas-style BBQ. We're no experts, but had a good and no-frills lunch at Bartley's BBQ in Grapevine. Go for the rib platter!

Also in December, Peanut's papa & I ventured into the Big D for a dinner at Ferre Ristorante e Bar. It was the least satisfying of our outings. Our timing was poor in trying to reach the restaurant on Friday evening at 6.00 pm from the suburbs - traffic was just hitting its high point. Once in, I really appreciated the ambiance of a restaurant that was not a cookie cutter chain. Sadly, the food was not as tempting as the setting. Everything was just a bit off for our tastes -- a little too salty or a little too much pasta sauce.

We still have another month or two to try out some new places and I'm looking forward to every bite.

Munching our way into 2007

For New Year's Eve, we enjoyed a tasty Dutch traditional treat - the oliebollen - along with a small smörgåsbord of other delicacies and tapas-like dishes. Its sort of a traditional I'd like to keep going in our family. No one has to cook much and you get to dig into sweets & savories all evening long.

Peanut's papa was in charge of the oliebollen which we made outdoors on the grill. The dough rose nicely and was dappled with dried fruits such as raisins, apricots and cherries. Then you form balls of dough to drop into boiling oil to fry. Kinda like dough nut holes. When they come out and cool, you sprinkle a helping of powdered sugar on top and enjoy through the night.

We did manage to make it to midnight by spending an inordinate amount of time watching the World Championship of Poker on TV!! We'd never watched such a show before and somehow got pulled into the last rounds and just had to see how it turned out. Funny the things you end up doing on New Year's Eve as a toddler and expectant parent. Really, I was just impressed we were both awake at midnight ;-)

ABCD, where is the off switch!

Peanut got all sorts of wonderful gifts from her relatives & friends for Christmas. She spotted the wrapped presents under the tree right away on Christmas morning and we had to pace her opening them through the day to make sure each got the attention it deserved. Not to mention that we had already opened several on Christmas Eve. We figured its the Finnish way so no rules broken :-)

It seems that the toys which sing, beep and bleep all must also play the Alphabet Song. You know, A B C D E F G...etc.... Its a catchy tune. Its educational. It can also drive parents nuts when you just can't stop running through the letters as you try to drift off to sleep! I can't be too harsh though. In the past week, Peanut has started singing the song to herself and now gets all the way to H I J, seemingly adding a letter each day.

But, I still think one of the greatest advances in electronic toys must be the volume and on/off switches. So now, Puppy can go to sleep. The Bandwagon can go to sleep. The singing cow can go to sleep. And, so can mama & papa.

Some of Peanut's favorite new toys are the Aquadoodle mat, Parent's brand Animal Hospital (from Target), Fisher Price Puppy, massive rocking bear and borrowed shopping cart!