because it's just so true

The cycle this little man lives...

Oh, hello.  I just woke up.  It's nice to be awake.

Wait, I'm awake.  Now I'm sad.

Now I'm quiet.

And now I'm happy.

 Follow with playtime & a snooze and repeat.

move over, vincent

My boy drew me a sunflower in a flower pot.  Made my heart flutter for a second there.

three years

Satisfaction after asking for a ladybug cake for nearly a year.  She rather loved the bug family, and immediately claimed, 'I want the baby ladybug with the blue eyes!'  We met some friends for a picnic and shared cake.  It was a beautiful day.

We saved one bug to have at home, since Dustin was at work on Friday.

Happy Birthday, Little Girl.  We love you.

carousel

My Aunt Nancy is the best.  She spiffies up any pic I send to her, and I always love the results.  Helps when the subject is lovely to begin with - this was from the zoo earlier this week.

generosity

Sharing is so great.  Little kids learning to share - still so great.  But generosity?  Still so much better.  Trying to impress an attitude of generosity on the peeps has been really delightful.  We spent a minute or three during lunch for a week or so, talking about why we share, what we share, who wants us to share, who needs us to share, etc.  Very interesting - and entertaining - conversations ensued.

And then we talked about being generous - about giving readily, sharing before being asked, going out of our way to give our time, beloved toys, turns on the slide, popsicles...all that.  Being (of course) a practical application person, there had to be a demonstration.  So when we were looking at books one day and P sees a cookbook I had out from the library...

P: Let's make those!
S: We like cake.  And we can give them to friends!
P: Yay!

And so we made cake balls.  They baked, crumbled, stirred, dipped.  They were super yummy.  Then they picked out 4 friends.  We made little construction paper 'boats' for the treats to sit inside, and with their gifts on their laps, we set off for deliveries.

pretty sweet, right?

delivery boy

tired after a successful morning's work

It was a fun project.  We had made 40, delivered 24, packed up 10 for Dustin's work buddies, and each had 1 after dinner.  And when I offered them the remaining couple during snack the next day...

S:  That's okay.  They were so good I want you to have them.
P:  Yeah!  They so yummy.  I bet Daddy will love his.

Mission accomplished.  Baby steps.

pillow talk

2011

2006

smoothie pops

Strawberries.  Raspberries.

Lemon juice.

 Measure it out.  Toss it in.

 Mix it up.

 

 Say hi to Baby A.  Hi Baby A!!

 Pour it in.  Let it chill 10min.

 Spoon on a layer of yogurt.  Chill 10min more.

Admire the baby. Kiss, kiss.  Kiss, kiss, kiss.

Pour another layer of fruit and stuff in sticks.  Back to the freezer.

 Eat up.  Make more.

pilates pros

My peeps love pilates.  I am loving it too.  But yesterday, I was mostly just loving watching them.  They were hilarious.  So much for quiet time.  

On the subject of quiet time, and hilarity - check this out.  I especially like the 'Difficulty: Easy' detail and point #6.

breakfast

Dustin is a breakfast person.  Must have it.  Must have variety.  And 90% of the time, it needs to be something hot.  Steel cut oats, farina, eggs, regular oats, muffins, pancakes, crepes, waffles...if it relates to breakfast, our house is willing to try it.  Even fried cornmeal mush - which I am not a big fan of - shows up every so often.  I made polenta + maple syrup + mascarpone + toasted pecans a few weeks ago.  It was good, not a favorite, and very creamy.  Did you know polenta = grits?  We had no idea.

We eat breakfast for dinner at least once a week, and as a result, Paige cannot for the life of her figure out what meal she should request throughout the day:

6:45a - 'Mama, can you make me some dinner?'
11a - 'I'm so hungry.  Can we have some breakfast?'
3p - 'Is it time for snack?'
5:30p - 'Is it time for breakfast? Can you make breakfast now?!'
(we obviously put little emphasis on lunch...)

Last week I bruléed some oatmeal (spread a thin layer of brown sugar on the oatmeal and slid it under the broiler until it was bubbling - made for a YUMMY crunch on top)...that was fun.  Try it.  As long as you don't burn it or catch it on fire, you'll like it.

And when did my kids start eating more oatmeal than me?

30 inches wide

We have a super skinny hallway that runs the length of the house, living spaces in the front, bedrooms in back.  I'm used to it now, of course, and when I was last upstairs at my childhood home, the hallway seemed positively ginormous.  Even Dustin looked at me and said with a laugh, 'Dude, we could live in this hallway."  Ours is 30 inches wide.  Apparently just wide enough to set up a Little People town.

does this happen to anyone else?

You vacuum the couch and your rug (after your peeps get into the glitter from the craft you took to MOPS).  It looks surprisingly...clean.

 But then you move the couch to toss down your yoga mat and BAM.  It was all an illusion.  There were enough toys under there to entertain a child for hours.  Even Baby A somehow contributed to the mess with his bib.  It's some sort of conspiracy.

blooming beauty

Our lilacs are out.  A little earlier this year, and so very lovely.  We took some inside, for the kitchen counter.  Guess it's time to get the garden in...

skuutling along

Little Girl scored her birthday present a few weeks early this year.  Dustin picked up a Skuut for her and it's a great little ride.  She and Seth (naturally) are thoroughly enjoying the new wheels.

And she's proud.  So, so proud.

I just need to rig up some pink streamers on her handlebars, and it will be her birthday dream come true.  Sweet childhood.

the many faces of baby A