What a Welcome?!?!

Dear New Next Door Neighbors,

As we told you this morning, "Welcome to the neighborhood!"  That lovely house has been sitting empty for way too long and we are delighted with your arrival. We are even more thrilled to find you will be bringing the first new child onto the block in SEVEN years!!!!! There are far too few children on our block and even though your summer arrival will be a lot too late for my children to have as a playmate, they are still excited!!

Now about that first meeting with my daughter Julia this morning.......kids really do say the darnedest things!! Someday your little one will stand on my front porch and tell me something that you will try to snatch from the air as it sails from their mouth. It happens more than you could ever imagine so, I promise that if you withhold judgment on Julia's proclamations then I will do the same for your child, okay?!?!

You see, there is always a logical explanation if we only give the time needed for it to make itself known. Like today....when Julia told you that I was making you a "batch of Ugly Soup" as a gesture of welcome. We can't help ourselves sometimes! When an adorable little toddler, that you love to pieces, looks into a serving bowl at dinner one night and asks so innocently "Why is this soup so ugly Mommy?"....you just go ga-ga and the next thing you know.......

perfectly lovely 'Beer Braised Beef Stew' is known as 'Ugly Soup'!!!!(Wish I had taken pictures as I worked today because while I'm kind of tired of this recipe, others may have liked to try making this hearty winter comfort food. Just not that organized of a person, sorry!)

Had she just stopped there I'm sure you would have figured that it was just a funny name for perfectly edible food. It's the next bit that leaves me red faced and feeling the need to press the restart button on your introduction to Julia!! Because I can only imagine what you must be thinking about the follow up sentence to the Ugly Soup announcement. I'm absolutely sure you will, some day very soon, understand how much that precious child will change your life!!!!!!!!!! As a single, professional I was always 'tsk-tsking' over the ludicrous things my friends with children would stoop to and I was ever so certain that I would NEVER behave like them should I ever have children. Yeah, well there's this spell so strong as not to be resisted when a grin squishes already chubby cheeks into dimpled adorableness or big, beautiful eyes open wide and literally sparkle with joy!! You will have no idea how low you've stooped to serve those grins and sparkles until one day that living, breathing symbol of your unconditional love blurts out the line that I'm sure you heard as, "But she's not giving you any of the poo potatoes because there's not enough and you might not like them anyhow."  Please, please, please know that my children have NEVER(to my knowledge) placed any form of excrement in their mouths!!

 

It would be "Pooh Potatoes"...as in Winnie the Pooh! Besides, they aren't even potatoes...just humble rutabaga which, to a wondering toddler, looked like mashed potatoes in the color of her favorite stuffed animal. 

After you've finished painting the walls and hanging the drapes, come on over and we'll spend some quality time to have a proper introduction. We're really  nice...we promise!
Hope you enjoyed the Ugly Soup.........