Math problems

1 sickly Baby D + 1 long weekend = 1 healthy Baby D, 1 sickly Baby B, and 1 sickly Mama P

 
1 102 degree temperature + 1 12 hour long night's sleep = 1 104 degree temperature!

1 104 degree temperature + 1 trip to the pediatrician = double ear infection :(

1 Thursday morning - 1 trip to the playground + 1 trip to the pediatrician = 1 high energy Baby D!

 1 early nap time for Baby B + 1 regular nap time for Baby D = 1 blessed nap time for Mama P!

Here comes the sun

We didn't have a lot going on this week.  And there was a chance of thunderstorms everyday.  You know when you look at the weather report and it shows that little rain cloud icon day after day after day?  Depressing.  So all in all I felt a bit blah all week.  Now that the nap time of the Friday before a long holiday weekend is finally here, I thought it might be healthy to remind myself of all the good things that happened.  Maybe this and all the bright yellow suns in the weather report for this weekend will kick the blahs away once and for all...

On Monday my birthday mama visited and I made a delicious Greek Panzanella salad for lunch.  (If you haven't figured it out yet, good food makes me happy, so to me it's worth mentioning.)  Monday night I met a friend who I haven't seen for awhile down at the riverfront.  We walked along the river a little ways (on a path I didn't know existed...mental note for the future!) and then got some dessert.  Yay for mom time out:)

 Our new favorite place to play - on top of the toy box!

Tuesday morning it was super gray and overcast, but I checked the radar and it didn't show any rain so I took the boys over to our favorite park.  We were the only ones there!  I could let them swing as long as they wanted without worrying about other kids who wanted a turn (or who were trying to run under them as they swung!)  We could climb to the top of the castle without worrying about any bigger kids pushing them over.  All in all it was probably the most peaceful trip to the park in all of history.

 Staying in the baby pool is for babies!

Wednesday we headed over to the library.  I thought that our regular weekly story time was on summer break but it turns out it's on summer break starting next week.  So we enjoyed one more spring story time, picked up the summer calendar of events and stocked up on new books.  I was really excited about one of the books I picked out, Tap Tap Bang Bang by Emma Garcia, which is all about tools and the sounds they make.  It sounded like a big hit for my little guy, but all he's interested in is turning the book over and pointing to the picture of Tip Tip Dig Dig which is all about construction vehicles.  I guess we know what book I'll be checking out next week!

On Wednesday I also heard two different radio shows discussing little kids and electronic touch devices (iPads, iPhones, etc.)  Did you know that practically no research has been done of the effects (good or bad) of kids using these devices?  The shows were very thought provoking for me, but I will refrain from sharing all of them here.  I try not to lecture you readers too much.  But if you want to talk about it let me know...

 Super baby!!

On Thursday we stayed home, something that I try to avoid doing too often, but yesterday I needed it.  I took the boys out front after cleaning up breakfast so that I could work on some weeding while they played.  I didn't realize that their idea of playing would including moving handfuls of dirt and the rocks from the garden onto the driveway.  Oh yeah, and pulling up the little fence we have along part of the garden.  Not so helpful little ones.  Baby B took a spectacular fall down half of our front steps while he was trying to climb down (don't worry, I was watching) and when I caught him at the bottom he didn't make a peep!  As I saw him fall I figured the wail to top all wails was coming but he was totally silent.  It probably helped that I caught him right away but still, I was amazed.  And although I didn't see Baby D fall, he came in the house with a scrape on his knee; again, no wails!  These are some tough little boys.

It's fun to tickle feet:)

This morning I was rewarded for dragging myself out of bed early to exercise to spot this in my vegetable garden!

I think that flowers on a plant indicates that fruit is coming - exciting!  By lunchtime though it had wilted to this...

Not really sure what to make of this, hopefully it's a good sign.

So there we have it.  Guess it wasn't such a bad week after all.  Funny how God makes that happen sometimes...Happy Memorial Day friends!

Grandparent Birthday Week

It's Grandparent Birthday Week in our house this week!  No, not all of Baby B's four grandparents have birthdays this week (that would be crazy!) but two of them do...

We started off birthday week with my mom on Monday, who was lucky enough to spend part of her birthday with us!

Whenever my mom visits she ends up like this within about two minutes of arriving.  I guess babies are just drawn to her, it's a good thing she likes it that way!  Mom, I love that Baby B has inherited a love of reading, a love of being outdoors, and a positive attitude of loving life from you.  Way to be an awesome Gramma!

And secondly, Baby B's Papou has a birthday at the end of this week. 

 
Papou, I love that Baby B has inherited a love of being outdoors, a fascination with all large vehicles on wheels, and a devotion to Philly sports from you.  (Okay, that last one we might all be forcing on him, but I think the credit originates with you because you inspired it in your son!)   We hope you have a great birthday and wish we could be there to celebrate it with you:)

Baby B is very lucky to have amazingly wonderful grandparents.  Here's to many more birthdays together...hopefully by next year he'll be able to sign your cards himself!

Afternoon snack

Is afternoon snack a mandatory activity in your house?  Because it is in ours.  I would bet my own afternoon snack on the fact that everyday when I bring Baby B downstairs after his afternoon nap (also mandatory, by the way) he almost immediately runs to his chair in the kitchen whimpering "Feed me now!"  So I do.  Because there's practically no other way to get the whimpering to stop, and by 4:30 in the afternoon, you'd probably cave to whatever gets it to stop too.

Most afternoons I struggle a bit with what to serve for afternoon snack.  I always save a serving a cheese for snack time but everything else is generally a repeat of the fruit, vegetable, and/or grain he ate for lunch or will eat for dinner.  It always feels boring to me, although Baby B doesn't seem to mind.  Today, however was a different story.  Today, I truly conquered the afternoon snack.

First on his plate was a Banana Split on a Stick!  Half a banana, covered in strawberry flavored Greek yogurt, and dotted with raisins and chocolate chips.  Baby B loves each of these ingredients individually, so I thought it would be a hit.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of it's frozen-ness, although I think this turned out to be the perfect snack because he's teething today and I'm hoping the cold helped him feel a little better.  He still couldn't bite into it though, so I ended up cutting the banana into bite size pieces on his tray.  Which was also good because it got the pointy little stick out of his grasp.  Then he really went to town.

Unfortunately, fruits and veggies only go so far at snack time, right?  Especially when your kid knows that there are graham crackers and gold fish and cheerios right over there (insert vehement finger point with emphatic whine in the direction of the pantry)!  That's when I brought out special snack number two, a wonderful little muffin that I have renamed Super Hero Muffins...

I love that these muffins are about half veggie - half flour, makes me feel a little better about letting him literally stuff his face with them:)

And in case you're wondering, husbands like this snack too.  Hubby T had his banana after dinner for dessert and told me that he'd be ok if this was in the freezer all the time, for dessert every night.  Thanks for the permission honey, I'm glad that would be ok with you;)  Lucky for Hubby T, there are leftovers of everything.  Now all of us can look forward to afternoon snack tomorrow!!

P.S.  Noticed my first tomato in my garden today - exciting!

 

Mother's Day Weekend

I hope that all the moms out there had a great weekend!  We certainly did.  From Friday night to Sunday night Hubby T did everything he could to make me feel loved and special. 

On Friday night after dinner we drove over to do a little shopping at Trader Joe's, then strapped Baby B in the stroller and went for a little walk which culminated in frozen yogurt!  I know "fro yo" places are everywhere these days, but we very rarely go out for dessert, so it was a real treat.  Cherry yogurt with pieces of kiwi, brownie bites and hot fudge - mmmmm!!

Saturday morning Baby B attended his first birthday party!  The birthday boy's parents kept the party real simple, which seemed appropriate for a one year old.  We let the kids go crazy in the backyard, had some lunch and cake, and just enjoyed hanging out together.  Yay for friends:)

After the party we drove down to Gramma and Grandpa's house to hang out with my family including my Grandy who was visiting all the way from California!

I love when Baby B's great-grandparents get to spend time with him.  I also love the thirty minutes I had to nap on that hammock.  I'm pretty sure I fell asleep thinking, "Dear God, thank you for the sun, thank you for the breeze, thank you for this lovely backyard, thank you for this moment of peacefulness..."  If my parents are trying to bribe me to come visit more often, it's working.

Sunday morning Hubby T got up early to make me cherry scones for breakfast!  I enjoy cooking so much that I don't let Hubby T work in the kitchen all that often, but he still did a great job.  I think he was grateful when Baby B and I came downstairs and informed him that we do in fact own a scone pan, which is much easier to use than rolling the dough out and using cookie cutters.  But the first heart-shaped batch was still yummy:)

 
We had a lovely morning at church and a quiet, relaxing afternoon at home during which all three of us napped!  And in the midst of all that, Hubby T found time to take down and scrub with bleach our nasty shower curtain.  It was one of those chores that I'd been meaning to do but kept putting off and putting off because I really didn't want to do it...but when I woke up from my nap it was done!  By a magnificent Mother's Day husband hero:)  It's too bad Mother's Day doesn't come around more often, I am a very loved and spoiled mommy.  Then again, maybe Hubby T doesn't need to go to all that effort to make me feel that way...he can just take more silly pictures like this and I'll be happy!

Playdays

When I decided to stay home full-time with Baby B, one of my biggest concerns was whether I would be happy watching babies play all day.  I remember visiting one of my stay-at-home mom friends when I was pregnant for lunch one day and I asked her, "Is this all you do all day?" after we'd spent an hour playing with and watching her daughter play.  And her joyful response was, "Pretty much!"  Well, chock one up to the power of motherhood because I'm glad to report that after almost a full (school) year of watching babies play all day, I now understand the allure:)

It was just about a year ago that Baby D spent his first day with us.  Back then these little studs couldn't do much more than roll back and forth on the floor.

Boy what a difference one year makes!!

We spend lots of time reading.  It's not necessarily grown-up intellectually stimulating reading (ok, it's almost never grown-up intellectually stimulating reading), and it does get very repetitive when you read a book for the hundredth time.  But the joy they experience hearing the book they have asked you to read more than makes up for it.

 

We wrestle too.  This picture may not make much sense, but you try taking a good picture when you're lying flat on the floor with two 1 year olds crawling all over you giggling and demanding to be tickled!

We share!  Sometimes.  This was a rare moment of harmony around Baby B's bat cave.  They were both reaching for the Joker.  It didn't last long. 

We are very silly.  Do you think he's ready for Twister?!

We throw footballs through the baby gate, then I run up and down the stairs chasing them and throwing them back.  Good times (and good exercise!)

We knock over towers, with great joy and delight.  Sometimes I only get two blocks stacked before they attack, but somehow they get as much joy out of that as when I get 10 blocks stacked.

To an outside observer, it may still sound boring to watch babies play all day.  And I recognize that I'm not exactly objective about this anymore.  But they truly are delightful.  And baby laughter is infectious.  So, dear friends and family, if you're ever having a lousy day, give us a call.  We'll skype with you!  And these two munchkins will put a smile on your face in no time:)

 

Lime Strawberries

Wow, how did a week go by so quick?  Didn't mean to forget about this little blog here...guess I've been preoccupied keeping up with this little monkey!

We've been busy with some pretty ordinary things, like cleaning the house, working on the somewhat rampant weeds in the yard, and trying to figure out how to get Baby B to eat more vegetables.  I'm also in the middle of a fairly intense chapter in my bible study that's required about an hour of reading every day for the last couple days.  I also think I've been cooking a bit more than normal lately, which means there has been a bit more dish washing than normal lately too.  I took this picture a couple days ago and feel like it's a metaphor for how I feel about my kitchen right now -

He's messy because of the yummy food we eat, so that's a good thing.  I do get quite tired of always cleaning him (at least it feels like always).  Yet, I still can't help loving him to pieces:)

 Since I don't have anything too exciting to report, I'll share what we had for dessert last night.  It's very simple and one of my favorite summer treats.  I served it over ice cream and was thoroughly disappointed that the flavor of the ice cream completely overwhelmed the deliciousness of the strawberries.  I'd recommend serving it over pound cake/angel food cake or just eating it straight out of the bowl.  There's only one serving leftover in the fridge - I know what Hubby T and I will be "fighting" over tonight!!

Lime Strawberries
1 pint strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 lime

Zest the lime into the sugar taking care not to scrape any of the white pith on the lime, only use the green skin.  Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips.  The sugar will resemble wet sand.

Rinse and halve or quarter the strawberries and place in a large bowl.  Add the sugar to the berries and toss.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice onto the berries and toss again.  Let sit for a few minutes while sugar dissolves onto the berries.

**This can also be made with fresh peaches, and is equally delicious that way!