Last night I did a little research on how to make a favorite Rhode Island drink: Del’s Lemonade. When I read somebody describe it as an Italian ice, a light went off in my head. In order to make that characteristic slushy consistency they don’t add blended or shaved ice; they run the mixture through an ice cream maker as if they were making a normal Italian ice and take it out of the machine early!

So, I looked up how to make a make-at-home Del’s and thought about how I’d turn that into a recipe using sugar, lemons, and water. This is what I came up with:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups water
• zest and juice from 2 lemons

Directions

1. Add 1 cup of water, zest, and sugar to a small non-reactive pot. Heat until all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add remaining water and lemon juice. Chill mixture in an ice bath or in fridge for a few hours. It has to be really cold for the next step.
2. Run mixture through ice cream maker for about 10 minutes or until the right consistency. You’ll definitely have to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too thick on you.

Laura, a former Del’s employee, says that when she received her delivery of frozen lemonade in the morning there would not be any liquid in it at all, and it would slowly get more melted as the day went on. She therefore suggested that it should spend even longer in the ice cream maker. I just wanted something that I could drink from a cup without having to spoon it out. Also, a traditional paper cup would probably work better, since you can squeeze and shake to loosen up the frozen lemonade.

Happy Second Birthday little guy! I can hardly believe its been two whole years already. Andy is about to enjoy a homemade cupcake here from the ridiculously easy recipe I found in Baking Illustrated. The cupcake came out a little crumbly, but very tasty. The homemade chocolate frosting was the best part: semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream. I think I had the proportions a little wrong, because it did not whip up the way it was supposed to. Still tasted awesome though.

“You dig my shades?”

Yesterday morning it was cold and rainy. Then out of the blue (so to speak) the sun came out and it warmed up to about 78 degrees outside. I found these pink flowers on a bush right out side our kitchen windows. Right next to a tree that had leaves on it!

“Who am I?” I say, pointing to myself.

“DADA!”

“Who is that?” I say, pointing to Laura.

“MAMA!”

And who are you? I ask, tapping Andy on the chest.

“…dada?” Andy asks very quietly, clearly unsure that this is who he is.

“No, I’m Dada, who are you?” I ask, again tapping Andy on the chest.

“…apple?”

A year ago today we arrived in a city we had never even visited before. With help from an awesome friend we brought the barest of essentials: our cats, a suitcase, a small tv (for watching the Oscars!), a portable crib and every toy we owned. I mean, one of the first things we had to do when we got here was go out and buy a litter box for goodness sake!

Now, a year later, we're finally starting to get settled. We've finished buying furniture, and we're going to order some rugs soon. There's only 1 more room that we need to repaint. And now that Andy isn't totally scared of strangers, we're starting to meet other families around our neighborhood. For a while I wondered if we had made the right decision in coming here, but then I took a walk yesterday afternoon, in the middle of February when it was a balmy 73 degrees outside. And I noticed that the trees around here are starting to bloom, just like they were when we first arrived. Then I realized that right now there isn't any place I'd rather be.

It was day time when I was up there so they weren't moving around very much. So I didn't immediately freak out. However, as I stood up there longer I wondered if there was actually anything between me and them. I had to run back down the ladder and grab a pair of binoculars in order to confirm that there was, in fact, a screen between me and them. So, phew. That would've been totally creepy.

So, we've got bats. I should probably check to make sure that screen stays intact. Plus, I'm not entirely sure that having bats is a bad thing — after all they're probably keeping the mosquito population down.

As for the ceiling fans — the insulation prevented me from seeing anything useful. So I guess I'll just have to unscrew some chandeliers and see what's going on.

We've got a little walker in the house. He started doing a few steps here and there the other day. Now he'll take several steps, stop, turn and walk to something else. He doesn't walk to us when we call him, but he's always been stubborn like that. I'm glad I got to see it all happen. Because it would be just my luck that he'd do it when I'm away this weekend!

Andy loves pushing chairs around the house. Before we had furniture downstairs he had the run of the house. Now the couch does get in the way, but Andy will push chairs and other walkers around in a big U. From the living room, through the foyer, through the dining room, into the kitchen. And then back.

Today he was really whiney before dinner. I figured he was hungry or thirsty. So, I plopped him in front of a chair, and put a plate full of Cheerios on there, along with a cup of water. He loved it. He could push the chair around for a few steps, then stop and shove a fist full of Cheerios into his mouth. And best of all, the chair had arms so it helped contain the plate full of Cheerios. My first parent hack!