Good eats...

We got a jump on our holiday eating this past weekend, enjoying potato salad, roasted chicken and some good "picnic wine" with a dear friend. My contributions? Deviled eggs and a neat berry dessert that I will definitely make again, probably trying other fruits and crust options. Sometimes, the food's so good, you have to take photos...

Playground fun...

What's a weekend without a trip to the playground? We found a new fun playground in our friend Laura's neighborhood this weekend. The best part about it? E would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite item of interest, but the adults love the fact that it's nestled in the trees - providing constant shade from the Texas sun! Fun times...

Early Fourth Festivities...

Our friend Laura's neighborhood had a little community July 4 parade over the weekend...a fun opportunity to get the kids dressed up in patriotic gear and have some good old-fashioned fun. We enjoyed seeing a cool old red truck, an awesome Harley and just having a good time!

Wordless Wednesday...

Bookworms...

Last week, Nate and Claire came over to play. Their mommy, Amy, is one of my "oldest" friends - we have known each other almost as long as I've known my best friend, Jenn. Amy is my daily mommy "sanity check"...we talk by cell phone several times a day. If someone were to listen in on our conversations, they'd find they're nothing earth-shaking...just good simple mommy friendship..."what's for dinner at your house?"..."did everyone sleep last night?"..."how would you handle this?"..."do you have a recipe for..."...

It's a neat, fun blessing to see our kids play together...they're growing so fast, and are becoming great friends! I snapped this picture when all of the kids plopped down after much playing and all decided to read books at the same time...too cute!

Happy Birthday to Gramma...

Happy Birthday to my mom...one of the most amazing women I know.

We love you!

He's so cute Mommy, can we keep him?

E had fun last week on a playdate with Ethan-Stone...the kiddos played in the pool in the backyard and had a big time with E's toys in the house...just some simple, good, old-fashioned fun.

In the pool, E did discover that Ethan-Stone has a belly button just like she does...and she proceeded to push it several times. Gotta work on those "keep your hands to yourself" manners. I realized E has a belly button obsession, but there is such a thing as personal space! :-)

Domestic Dude Experiment: Veggie Garden

I figured if I title my experiments "Domestic Diva", hubby can be called "Domestic Dude"...don't you think?

Last weekend, we planted a veggie garden. Hubby kind of sprung the idea of me, but he created the raised bed and prepared the soil super-fast, so who was I to argue when he told me he wanted to go pick out veggies to plant? And he bribed me with a trip to the ice cream store afterwards...so of course I said yes!

The result? Purple, yellow, red and jalapeno peppers. Okra. Four kinds of tomatoes.

Yum, yum...I can hardly wait!

Happy Birthday to sweet hubby...

...with lots of love from your girls!

(P.S. - Happy bday to Hubby's Mom, too - they have the same bday! So neat!)

Domestic Diva Experiment: Homemade Bread

My dear friend Britney got me started on homemade bread making...a few weeks ago she gave me a sourdough starter and encouraged me to go to town with it. She said her family has tried many variations on the bread and has really been enjoying having fresh, homemade bread in the house.

After giving it a whirl, we're hooked! I've tried whole wheat bread, cinnamon swirl bread, raisin bread and more. Britney said she's done herb foccacia with great results....

The only problem? I could sit and eat bread all day everyday. Must remember moderation....must remember moderation....yum, yum, yum!

Overheard...

E was playing with her dollhouse this evening, putting the people and animals in various rooms. The lady goes in the bed..."night night"...the man sits in the table..."eat!"...then, I heard something that completely cracked me up...the girl sits on the potty "no, no, potty, potty, sit down, sit down!" (she hears this from me a little too much, because she tries to get up from the potty chair without trying to go...) then the little girl gets in the bath tub..."no, no, I said sit down!" (again, I tell her all the time to sit in the tub, so she won't slip and fall).

Guess I'd better watch what I say....looks like I'm going to be hearing it all over again!

Domestic Diva Experiment: Warm Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Cranberry Balsamic Glaze

I have had this recipe for a few weeks and have been dying to try it. Last night I whipped it up (I did modify it slightly) as an addition to grilled chicken, creamed corn and wild rice. YUM, YUM, YUM...

Can you believe I forgot to take photos?

Check out the photos at the link above to get an idea of the scrumptiousness! Super good!

Wordless Wednesday...

Flashcard fanatic...

Every day after lunch and dinner, you'll hear E utter the words "cards, please?"...she loves flipping through flashcards, testing herself on words, colors and more. Of course, the cards featured in this photo also feature some of her favorite Sesame Street pals...so fun! After a few rounds with the cards, she moves on to coloring at the table with us while we finish our meals....it's so cute that she's developed such a routine with these!

A note of warning to mothers of toddlers...

Should your child bean you in the eye with a plastic toy radio (ow!) please check immediately to see if you are bleeding, then check to see if your contact lenses are still in place. Not doing so immediately will result in a later frantic searching of the house (after aforementioned toddler has rolled all over and played in the area in question, thus probably destroying contact lens). A failure to immediately locate the lens will result in a frantic call to the eye doctor and an unexpected expense...not to mention a headache and extremely poor vision!

You can probably guess how it came to be that I obtained such fabulous wisdom to share with you...

I'd like to buy a vowel, please...

...how do you think she'd do on Wheel of Fortune?

How fun it is...

...to have three generations of girls dressed in matching cute dresses for Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day...

...to my husband...such a sweet, patient, caring Daddy. You make every day so special for E. We love you so much! (I love this photo...hubby is showing E how to fill the birdfeeder...)

Old Fashioned Fun...

This morning, E and I went to our town's Interurban Centennial Celebration. The Interburban Railroad was big here "back in the day" and our downtown area has a neat museum and a fun park nearby. Today, there was a "picnic in the park" family event. E and I went right when things were getting started...it was nice and cloudy and cool, we got a great parking place, and there were very few people there.

We enjoyed a "trackless train ride," heard some amazing storytelling, colored with sidewalk chalk, met Elsie the Cow (this was the highlight for E - she is in love with cows) and much more! A fun morning! E was very festive in her patriotic gear, in honor of Flag Day! (And no, I have no idea how the cow picture turned out so great...I whipped out the camera as E was touching the cow's nose, and E and the cow both looked at the camera! What a hoot!)

Head, shoulders, knees and....nose?

E was coloring after lunch yesterday in a Sesame Street coloring book that her godmother Jenn gave to her....she loves looking at all of the pictures in this book, anyway, because it's Sesame Street, but today she took a new approach to the book....

She colored the nose of the character on each page....and only the nose.

I was making granola at the counter and couldn't see what she was doing, but would hear E-babble and then "NOSE!"...more E-babble, then "NOSE?" and on, and on, and on....on every page!

This is especially funny, because she has also been making "noses" out of playdough for the past few days...at least that's what she tells me they are. I have no explanation for the fascination....but that little girl sure does crack me up!

Budding artist...

E had her first experience with playdough this week. My dear friend Amy warns me that I may never get dropped pieces out of the grout between my kitchen tile....but oh well...E loves it!

The pink snowman is my creation...the little object in sweet E's hands is a "nose" according to her. Hubby was very adept at rolling the dough into ropes and making letters, shapes and more.

Having a toddler allows you to revisit so many fun family toys! We may have more playdough nights in our future! :-)

Macaroni and Jesus...

Last night, I was making dinner and preparing E's plate. As I put each thing on the plate, E asked me what the item was...applesauce, meatloaf, broccoli, macaroni and cheese.

E would repeat the name of each item after me....then we ran into a snag.

Apparently, she thinks the great American classic is called "Macaroni and Jesus".

What can you say to that!? I completely cracked up and didn't have the heart to correct her!

I love it!

Baptism Birthday...

Happy Birthday to You!

Only one will not do...

Born again means salvation...

We're glad you have two!

Today is E's second baptism birthday. We celebrated with a little cake and a small treat for E (pink playdough!) E was excited to have another opportunity to sing a version of "Happy To You" (what she calls the birthday song) and to blow out a candle! Such a sweet girl.

Wordless Wednesday...

If you came to my house...

Found this on { Kiddos & K9s }, a sweet friend's blog, and decided to participate, too!

You would see:
Freshly vacuumed and mopped floors -- because the vac finally is out of the shop and the floors were nasty -- so we're all cleaned up now! (A state that should last about 3.5 more seconds) The living room is currently picked up, because sweet E is in bed. Home office is piled with papers, due to several freelance projects. Yard looks awesome due to tons of recent rain! Cat is sleeping on our bed (as usual!)

We’d probably feed you:
This evening? Not much...come back tomorrow after the grocery store trip! Ha! We do have ice cream, a few cookies from last week's Sam's run, leftover meatloaf, fresh green beans and baked potatoes.

We’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read:
Pick a children's book! E adores being read to, so we've been reading tons of Margaret Wise Brown, Sandra Boynton, Sesame Street themed books and much more!

We’d want to play this music for you:
It's a tossup, Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, classical music - or the sweet sound of silence!

We’d want to tell you the latest about:
Our families, our jobs, our sweet E and her many daily accomplishments...but mainly we'd want to visit with YOU and know how you are doing!

We’d probably suggest a game of:
"Name that animal sound"...E is very into quizzing us about noises made by the different animals. My current favorite question...what noise does a hippo make? Do YOU know?

We might show off:
EGC artwork, EGC's counting and ABC knowledge, and our finally-completed backyard

We might get on the computer and show you:
EGC photos, or some fun YouTube - hubby's always finding something.

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch:
The TV isn't on much for adult purposes around here, although we do have an entire season of all three CSI's on tape that we're going to watch...someday...yeah, right!

What would a visit to your house be like?
Oh....If you read this and want to do it, then YOU'RE IT!

Gramma Monday at the Park...

A fun time was had by all during this week's Gramma Monday...we went to the park, fed the ducks and had a grand time! E is always up for an outing, but I especially needed one after being up with her for three hours overnight -- lots of screaming and crying...I felt like it, but E was doing it. Teeth? Not sure! At any rate, it was good to get out of the house, enjoy nature....and spend time with Gramma! We love you, Gramma!

Toddler times...

You know you are the mother of a two-year-old, and you're having a bad day when you feel like your big accomplishments for the day are...

...getting your toddler to eat blackberries and strawberries with her dinner
...getting your toddler to actually go in the little potty twice in one day

Sigh! Tomorrow is another day...

Crowded house...

E has quite a menagerie going in her dollhouse - she often puts everyone to bed or sets them up at the table to eat - that's all these residents do - sleep and eat! And some Pilgrims and Indians and a horse moved in recently...

Playdate fun...

E had such fun playing with Ethan yesterday for a playdate...the kids played so well while the mommies gabbed...a great combo!

It's hard to believe how much these two have grown! These pics are from their first playdate together...

I don't think she's quite got the idea...

We're working hard on potty training around here (well, I am working on it, E ignores me a lot!) Some days are going great, others, not so great. As the above photo demonstrates, E doesn't quite get the idea of the Elmo potty seat at Gramma's house!

This, too, shall pass! :-)

Wordless Wednesday...

Summer fun...

E had so much fun testing our her new, big swimming pool this afternoon....our backyard is so full of kiddie fun - it's a mini amusement park! She had such a great time splashing around, and wasn't even afraid to put her face in the water! What a little fish!

Sunday School!

My big girl went to two-year-old Sunday School today! She's definitely the baby of the class, and I did stay in there with her this week, but she had a great time and will be "running with the big kids" in no time! I doubt I'll stay in with her very many more weeks.

So sweet, so fun and so unbelievable, all at the same time! She is so big all of the sudden!!!