I am currently

...hoping that you will vote for Vegan Mother Hubbard to be a Circle of Moms top 25 vegan & vegetarian blog. You can vote once a day from now until Feb. 7th. Please vote!

...growing eager and impatient to get back into the garden. I accept winter in Wisconsin. It is long and gray and boring, and I'm prepared to deal with that. What's getting me right now is that the snow has all melted. My backyard looks like early spring. I can see the garden and the grass is completely visible. I just want to get out there and start planting. The next 4-5 months are going to be long ones.

feedin' the kitties

...making the best soup in the world. What soup is that, you ask? It's the beefless barley soup recipe that Gardein tweeted yesterday. If you are looking for a meal that will convince your favorite omnivore that they don't need to eat meat, this is it. I made it last night, with just a couple of very minor changes: I didn't have parsnips, nor do I like them very much. Instead, I used some orange and white sweet potatoes that I had on hand. I HATE celery, so I left that out. Instead, I used twice as much carrot. I added half the carrot at the beginning of the cooking, and added the rest with the liquids and barley, so some was really cooked down and some carrot still had good body to it. And since bay leaf isn't my favorite, I left that out, too. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a T. It was so wonderful that Steve was begging to eat it, long before it was ready. It's 6:00am and I am already thinking about eating more today. Maybe I'll have a soupy breakfast.

...worrying about turning the girls' carseats around, so they are forward facing. It makes me nervous. Rear facing carseats are so much safer than forward facing ones. However, we're getting to the point where it is hard to get Veronica into her seat. She doesn't complain about being uncomfortable, but her long legs make it really difficult to get the belts tightened properly. Safety aside, I'm also unprepared for my girls to be hitting another milestone. I want to pause their growth and enjoy more time with them at this age. Is that possible?

Green Dino and Brown Turtle were the prized animals last night

...dancing with my girls, to celebrate their potty training successes. We are approaching a year of potty training. Ack! Last week I got a bunch of small, plastic animals, as incentives for staying dry. The rule is that, if the girls poop in the toilet, they get a sticker. If they stay clean and dry all day, except for nap, they get to pick an animal. After a week of this practice, C has had three perfect days and V has had two perfect days. Other than last Saturday, when they didn't nap and we spent the day at my mom's house, they haven't had more than one accident in a day. Most trips to the bathroom include a discussion of what animal they will pick that night. It has been a big turnaround for the girls. For almost three weeks in December, V was pooping her pants more than once a day. Life is much easier, and cleaner, these days!

...laughing -- wait for it -- at Veronica and Clarissa. I know you didn't see that answer coming. Their clever and creative antics make me laugh everyday (even the days when the three of us are all grouchy and impatient).

George, the stuffed moose, was Veronica's "car," which she was driving to the zoo.

What's up with you right now? Tell me in the comments!