This is Paradise

The greater part of our family is in Kauai right now.  Snorkeling, lounging on the beach, letting the warm breeze wash away any lingering cares...
This is the trip we were going to be on, Kent's birthday trip. We didn't make it the last 3 times the family went down, but were going to be on this one!
Except we're not.
Mostly because we have two amazing little people, who I couldn't imagine leaving for a week. But let's be honest,  I didn't want to take them either. (Long flights, checking car seats, the play pen, so many bottle pieces, my mind is spiraling into dark places just thinking about the kind of preparations a trip of this scale would take.) Not to mention we are a 4 ticket family now. (Ain't no way Woggy would sit on a lap for 6+ hours.) and 4 tickets to paradise doesn't come out of ones back pocket change...
So we find ourselves at home. It's our choice, and really the best option.
But it puts our week here at home in perspective. This is it! This is as close to vacation as we are going to get, so how can we make the most of it?
The sun is on our side, and we've been enjoying lovely warm temps on the back deck, and we even grilled pineapple Soyaki burgers last night with Hawaiian bread buns...oh how we try!
But even our little "staycation" is being thwarted by varying degrees of sickness. Oliver threw up on the interstate today, cancelling a perfectly good trip to IKEA, and Greta has what sounds like smokers cough...if that smoker was a dolphin.
As a parent, a lot of times the key to success is to keep that bar nice and low. And enjoy the little blessings, so here they are for you all....(and as a reminder to myself, which I will be repeating to myself as I disassemble a thoroughly vomited-in car seat.)
-The sun is shining, and there is a warm breeze even Hawaii would be proud of.
-We met a lovely new couple moving into our area yesterday!
-Oliver took his nap today without a fuss.
-I vacuumed yesterday, so the floor looks so calm and clean. (It really is a comfort.)
-I'm enjoying a great new book all about food, and it's gotten me all excited about making risotto.
-And my honey bun is turning 31 tomorrow.
This is paradise.
 

All kinds of thankfuls.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!
We are filled with thanks today.
Firstly, we are thankful for the men and women who we honor today, who served our country so selflessly, and at great cost.
Next, for a home that smells like homemade Italian meatballs, (and the husband who loves making them!) Also, it's peony season, and I simply can't get enough. This is a picture of last year's - I haven't even started on photographing this year's peonies. Oh, but I'll get there.
And then at long last, for the homecoming of my Dear Sarah! One whole year on a Mercy ship docked in Africa, and tonight she comes home to us, even if just for a few days.
I will not be blogging, but rather buzzing and orbiting around her, making meals this week from our list of Greatest Hits, playing the games we love, and doing whatever else her heart desires.
Oh my gosh, seriously, those meatballs. Can you smell them? Amazing.

Oliver: 1 Year Fast Facts

-Age: One year!
-Weight: 26.5 pounds, and is 2' 7.5" tall
-Teeth: 4.5 (which is 1.5 more than he had when this picture was taken last week, so who knows about tomorrow!)
- Favorite food: Everything! but lately he has shown a serious love of blueberries.
- Latest triumphs: I am nauseatingly proud of every thing he does. He's such a quick learner! And the most adorable mimicker. But let's add sipping out of cups, using a straw, figuring out how to unlock the baby gate, and nodding yes and no (emphatically).
- His favorite toy is: The broom. Oh how this boy loves the broom or mop. (So all sweeping and mopping is best done during naps since he gets seriously jealous.) He definitely has a domestic streak in him. Last time we checked the facts his favorite toy was a kitchen ladle, and a pot lid has a close second to the broom, so can I please read into that? My money is on him becoming a tidy chef.
-Sweetest thing: When he is just wogging around*, playing with toys, and then drops by every now and then to lay his head in my lap and pat my leg. When he's done checking in, he just pops up and gets back to his wogging.

This boy is my favorite boy. Happy one year!

 *Our term for when Wog is just walking around, picking up toys, and being curious.

Fun with Rainbow Chard

I couldn't resist bringing some rainbow chard home from the farmers market today. I've admired it week after week. But in a fit of "Just say yes" spontaneity I finally scooped some up.
Look at those beautiful colors! I've never prepared it before, and really to eat it was the not the first thing on my mind when I bought it.
Mostly I just wanted to take thousands and thousands of pictures of it. So beautiful, cheerful, unusual, and I suspect healthy. In the end I added it to a simple Spring pasta, and it was awesome because garlic makes everything awesome, but it tasted almost exactly like a beet top to me. So yay, if you like beet tops.
But before we cooked it up, we had a little fun with it...

Have you seen these in the market before? Pick some up next time! Even if you don't want to eat it, it looks beautiful just in a glass of water.

A Mother's Day Birthday!

Sunday was a big day for us at our house!
Oliver turned one year old, and it being Mother's Day, we decided to throw a dual party to celebrate The Wog and a few of our favorite mothers.
Flowers, family, food, and cake smashing. That about sums it up.
It was a special day!

PS- A few things of note: As excited as we were to let Oliver eat his very first sweet thing...a giant cake all to himself. He didn't seem impressed with the taste, but rather played with it and smushed it all around his tray and himself.  Way to be! But I did not see that coming.
Also, the idea for the fabulous flower headbands comes straight from Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day. Who is the craftiest lady!
Thanks everyone for coming to celebrate with us!

Thinkin' Bout Mom

When Greta is sitting in the car and looking out the window for a time I'll ask her, "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" And the answer up until very recently was always "Just thinkin' 'bout mom." And I'd smile to myself, and feel all kinds of important.
(Although this week she answered "Thinkin' 'bout Silver Mist." Which is of course one of Tinker Bell's friends, a water fairy to be exact, and no doubt there is a lot to think about there, so no worries.)
But that's what I'm doing now, thinkin' 'bout mom.
Thinking about my mom, being a mom, what I felt like as a kid with my mom, and what do mine think of me? So many thoughts swirling around this Mother's Day.
My mom is visiting us for the week. And I am reminded of a lot of things.
Like I've done this thing, ever since I was little where in the morning almost first thing, I'd go find mom. I remember doing this even into those hazy teenage, and then college years.
I hadn't peed yet, my hair was a rats nest, and I only had one eye open, but I needed to find my mom and for whatever reason present myself to her. Usually it ends up in a "Good Morning" and a hug or kiss. But I think that's just a formality. I go and find her because I have to. I did it this morning, and I'm 29 and in my own house, with my own kids.
And it struck me a little funny for the first time. Maybe it's because I just barged into the bathroom I knew she was in, without knocking (she was getting ready by the mirror), just to stand there and look at her, and have her look at me.  I didn't have anything to say, but I suddenly realized the unconventional situation I just put myself in. Undressed, hair a mess, with only one eye open. I think I came up with a pressing question like "How did you sleep?"But the truth is, I didn't really know why I was there.
When I was a baby I needed her in the morning for milk, when I was a girl I came to her for breakfast and the agenda for the day. And now, I don't have much to ask, but the ritual stays the same.

Ps- Happy Mother's Day Weekend!
Sunday will be Oliver's Birthday, and we are throwing a joint 1st Birthday/Mother's Day Party to celebrate! It should be a special day.

A Happy Birthday

Yesterday was a happy birthday.
And just the very simple fact that it isn't my birthday last year, has made this one all the sweeter.
For this one I am not enormously pregnant. I'm not on the edge of my seat anticipating the ordeal of childbirth, or facing those really tough first months as a mom. Which made this one amazing right off the bat.
Things I will want to remember:
-That the first thing that Greta said when she woke up was "It's mommy's birthday today!"
-The chocolate pie my mom made for me, in the way only my mom could make. And all the thoughtful cleaning she did around our house. It is SO much fun having someone mop your floor for you, and deep clean the bathrooms. That's love.
-The "Birthday Walk" Kent did for me, (which was more of an excited cantor or trot).  Him taking over the days kid duties, and our family's special version of Happy Birthday with the ukulele.
-The friendly little drop ins from friends around town, and the loving well wishes from friends and family far away.
Well, this is my last year to enjoy my 20s. I have already decided to make the most of it by finishing War and Peace, and buying all new underwear.
 30 is on the horizon so I guess it's time to start taking things like these seriously.