take a breather

So I gathered a few necessities (mostly snacks and magazines) in my overnight bag. Kissed my husband. I love him. Squeezed the life out of the kids and left for 24 hours of marvelous-ness. My girlfriends (also exhausted, brilliant mothers of small children) planned a little beach trip. It wasn't far or long or expensive... but it was fab... and way overdue. We sat in the sand, laid by the pool, read, talked, ate, laughed, shopped, ate, (and dare I say...) SLEPT! I'm back home now... refreshed and sunburned and still giggly from late night nonsense. Happy Saturday!

mg turning three

It was the strawberry-est of all the strawberry parties. Millie G. has been waiting patiently since February (when her brother and sister both had a birthday party... so unfair) for her party. She made herself very clear that she wanted a strawberry birthday... and not strawberry shortcake... just strawberries to eat. And so a strawberry birthday is exactly what we had. It was, of course, bright and shiny and scrumptious. I called in the troops (the "troops" include my two dazzling sisters and my magnificent mother) to help me make tarts and brownies and chocolate... they didn't mind. It would have been faster (and probably prettier) to dump a bag of oreos out on a plate, but there's something about the extravagance in handmade creations that makes everything better... don't ya think?

So the party was a dream. After all the guests were gone Millie G. got to (for the first time ever in 3 years) skip her afternoon nap.  We went to the illustrious Build-A-Bear Workshop and fashioned together a bear named "Strawberrie". It was a terrific day. Happy Birthday to my quiet, humble, sophisticated, stunning Millie Grace!

take two

This article in the May issue of Martha Stewart made me lay down my pride and try planting tomatoes for the second time. By the end of last summer, my tomato plant looked more like a bunch of blown-out bottle rockets sticking out of a beautiful yellow pot. This year, however, is a different story. I was watering yesterday and I literally said "waaa-hooo" out loud when I saw this little baby! I also planted some seeds of basil in the bottom of the pot and it's coming up every where! Salsa anyone?

Forgive my grandma-ness with all of these gardening posts lately. I'm so proud to finally have some successes out there. Speaking of grandmas... a precious old lady at the gym informed me yesterday that I have a "pretty tan." *Side note... if you've seen me any time within the last four years, please take a moment to laugh as loud as is comfortable for you. End of side note. * Anyway, then she said that she saw on the news where somebody got their tan sprayed on. I just said, "really?" Then I smiled for the rest of the day. Pure delight. O.K. happy date night!

p is for picnic

A picnic at the park in the cool breeze? Yes please! It would be tragic to not embrace every second of this super terrific day. The wind and the sun and the trees and the birds... fantastic. We threw together some pb & j's, cookies, chocolate milk, and homemade granola. The kids played for an hour then generously gave me an extra 10 minutes of their valuable time for an action packed photo shoot. These people are the spring in my step...

home grown

These little green circles are oranges. Yep, that's right... oranges! And guess where they came from? You got it... an orange tree in my backyard. I planted the tree a few months ago and I was so proud when dozens of little green circles started popping out everywhere. I was imagining the fun I would have delivering oranges to all my friends in cute baskets with hot pink ribbon. Of course just as soon as I could say "orange cream muffins," the tiny oranges started falling off one by one. Sadness. I did have four survivors out of the whole bunch that were getting pretty big. This afternoon, however, little Dean discovered that two of them had plummeted to their untimely death. So we cut one open just to make sure that it was an orange... and it was. It smelled scrumptious and looked just like a green baby orange. Very cool. Anyway, now I only have two oranges left. I took a picture to prove that this tree does in fact serve a purpose other than attracting bees and taking up half of our deck.

And here is a picture of Saturday's breakfast. Chocolate chip pancakes, homemade whipped cream, coffee. I thought it needed to be shared.

party pom poms

It's o.k. to start decorating two weeks early for a three year old's birthday party... right? Exactly right! I get all giggly and tingly when I start party planning. So, we've been hanging a pink streamer here and there to get in the "party spirit" (which is still 2 weeks away). I made these yummy pom poms to hang around on the ceiling. Here's how...

Gather all your scrap tissue paper from old gifts or the colors that you never use out of the variety pack and cut them into (about) 8x10in rectangles... doesn't have to be exact. Some of them I cut with zig zag edges instead of straight lines for a little texture.

Stack 8 to 10 sheets together and start folding like a fan. Then pinch in the middle and tie with a string or ribbon. I used red raffia. 

Pull each piece of tissue paper and "bubble it out" until you like how it looks. Hang it up and happy birthday to you!

my friend mary

This is Mary... the one on the right. She is adorable. She is an artist, a world  traveler, a mother, and she gives good hugs. Mary and her husband, Claud, have an amazing adventurous life that I will always be jealous of. They adopted 2 gorgeous girls from Africa. We are so thankful to enjoy this little family while they are in the United States. In a few months they will move back to Africa to tell people about Jesus. They lived in Africa for a few years and moved back here some time last year. The past year has been spent visiting family and waiting for their next steps to be directed. It's been just long enough to get us all attached and now time to go back... sad, but exciting and perfect. I wanted to share some of Mary's art with you. It is fantastic... so inspiring...

Oh yes, one more thing about Mary... she's deaf. Which adds about one thousand more cool points to her score. She's a precious friend and beyond patient with my slow, incorrect sign language. To read more about Claud and Mary visit www.claudandmary.com. Hug a friend today.