[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/4475844893/[/flickrvideo]

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/4475783563/[/flickrvideo]

Miles has been practicing his s sounds and really improving on them.

M:  Ssssssss…nake.

A:  Great job, Miles!  Can you say Sssssssssskittergramps?

M:  Ssssssss…eyeball.

First, first, there is NOTHING hinty you should gather from this post. I am not pregnant, nor do I plan to be for a while. Miles has just been really interested in other kids lately, so we’ve been talking about families and kids of different ages.

—

A: Miles, if Daddy and I have another baby, should it be a boy or a girl?

M: Girl.

A: So would you like a sister or a brother?

M: Sister.

A: What should your sister’s name be?

M: Dah Bay-da.

A: [pause] … Darth Vader?

M: Yeah.

—

I told Denny about that conversation, and he asked where Miles had ever heard of Darth Vader. I told him about how last week or so, he kept putting this shiny black box on his head, and Skittergramps called him Darth Vader. So there we go.

A newish Mexican restaurant is in Iowa City, on Market Street across from the Bluebird where Motley Cow used to be.  I heard some anecdotal good things about it, so we gave it a try last night.

Atmosphere:  it was very pleasant, small and cozy.  A lot of the Mexican places in town are just too big and loud, and that was not the case here at all.  The decor was not too kitschy.  The bar is nice, made in part from a tree that the owner rescued post-tornado.  I would have passed on the TVs playing sports, but a lot of people seem to enjoy that sort of thing.  Rating:  4/5

Service:  Our waiter was chill and friendly without being obnoxious.  He was nice to Miles.  I like that in a waiter.  Rating:  4/5

Drinks:  The drinks were the highlight of the evening for me.  I had a margarita and Denny had sangría.  My margarita was great.  It was expensive-ish ($6), but the portion was generous (pint glass) and I could tell the ingredients were high-quality.  It was very tart with a strong fresh citrus flavor, and the waiter mentioned that it’s all homemade with actual fruit juice and simple syrup, none of that bottled stuff with high fructose corn syrup.  Denny’s sangría was sweet and tasty without that harsh liquor taste that sometimes comes through in sangría.  Rating:  5/5

Chips and salsa:  The chips were obviously freshly made, hot and crisp.  We ate two baskets of them.  Miles liked them a lot.  The regular tomato salsa was okay, nothing special.  When Denny asked if it was very hot (mostly asking for Miles, I think), the waiter offered to bring out some habañero salsa if we liked it hotter.  We did, so he did.  The habañero salsa was in a tomatillo base, and it was certainly hotter than the tomato salsa, but still not blistering.  I liked it.  Rating:  3.5/5

Entrees:  I got carnitas (marinated pork) served with tortillas, rice and whole beans.  The meat was served in large chunks that were nicely seared on the outside and falling-apart tender once you poked them.  The rice and beans were bland.  Denny got a steak fajita burrito, which I didn’t try, but he said he liked.  It was a generous portion, and he brought home half.  I finished mine, but I usually do.  Rating:  3/5

We didn’t try any appetizers or desserts.

I heard that they’re expanding into the place next door, which would be nice since the space is pretty limited right now.  It would be a really fun place for after-work drinks and snacks.  The entrees, in my opinion, weren’t any better (or worse) than the existing Mexican joints in town, but the atmosphere and drinks were deciding factors for the positive.

Overall rating:  4/5

You can see the full menu and more details on their website.

Hey, if anybody still reads this blog besides my parents, who already know about it, come see me this weekend in All in the Timing.

It’s a collection of short plays by David Ives, most of them very funny and all of them very well-written.  It got a good review, and in particular the short play I’m in, “The Universal Language” was well-received by critic and non-critic alike.

See the ICCT website for details.

The scene:  sitting at the table with Nana, who’s visiting.  Denny and Miles often eat their breakfast sitting on this foot locker/trunk thing we have in the dining room, though at this moment Miles was in his booster seat at the normal table.

—

D:  Miles, where do we usually eat our cereal?

M:  Iowa.

—

You can’t argue with the truth.

After reading P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother, I was explaining to Miles that babies and mommies are typically of the same species.

—

A:  Just like I’m a person and you’re a person.

M:  No person.

A:  I’m not a person?

M:  No.

A:  What am I, then, if I’m not a person?

M:  Girl.

—

Oh dear.

Conversations between Miles and me.

1.  Early in the morning after having arrived the previous evening at Mubby and Skittergramps’ house.

A:  Miles, do you know where we are?

M:  (considering the situation) Bed.

—

2.  Same setting, different morning:

M:  Too loud.

A:  No, right now it’s quiet.

M:  TOO LOUD!

A:  Oh.  Yes, that was too loud.