Spring Favorites

Spring weather {green trees and grass with sunshine}

 

Birthday girl!

Almost birthday boy!

Celebrations

Gardening with family and flower blooms

New master bath!

 



 

....and lastly, Greek yogurt and Jason Mraz "I won't give up" on the ipod.

Two foot pig

Excuse the preggo top, it was hot during our backyard picnic!

I'd like to say it's new baby week but since that hasn't happened yet, it's Easter week. I'm loving the occasional rain and green everywhere. The spring garden is started and we're getting more plants for our front yard. Maggie loves to help garden so for Easter, since it's been back in the recesses of my mind until a few days ago, Maggie is going to enjoy some new gardening supplies with just a smidge of candy (jelly beans and a cadbury egg) in her Easter basket the morning of. She did all things Easter at her daycare this week and yesterday we hammered out the egg hunt with our mommy's group as I waddled around after her.

For the past few days, I've had small bouts of contractions/cramping but no real labor yet. I can't complain but I am getting anxious. This time off being home and free to do what I want has been amazing and I just keep checking things off the the big to-do list. I know all of our family and friends are so excited to meet the new baby, but he still seems snuggly in there despite all the rolling around and hiccupping. I don't think I have any more room in there though and I'm feeling pretty big and have quite the appetite when not feeling nauseous.


I finished Maggie's pig and while he is dang cute, I noticed as I was sewing his eyes on that I made a mistake. He's got two feet, not four! The instructions were vague and even though they said sew the legs up individually, I just proceeded on. To my 3-year old, she doesn't know the difference. All that matters, and it makes my heart sing, is that she loves her piggy and tells everyone that I made it for her. So two legs it is because for the life of me I can't find the end of the yarn to re-do them.

Sunny and Soggy

First blossoms on Maggie's fuji apple tree

My last Friday without kids at home and making my time worth it!

Peas, lettuce, endive, arugula, and flowers

Time

Maternity leave is a wonderful thing. Who doesn't like being paid to be home catching up on things, relaxing, knitting, and being with your family? This week I found a lilac for our front yard, which completes an area we planted last year, I got a snowcone on a warm afternoon with vanilla ice cream inside, hubby got me two more containers of rice pudding before they went off sale :-), I took my first epsom salt bath after a long day on my feet which gave me such soft skin and not so sore feet anymore, and I FINALLY ordered prints for our walls that was long overdue (including the bath photo idea Pat-you rock!).

Something about Maggie turning 3 last week and seeing a flyer for the Lorax at the library got me thinking that Maggie was probably ready to see a movie in the theater like a big girl. The result was a certified girl's night out with my sister and cousin Eden. Maggie went complete with new purse and lip gloss. We ate good thai food and enjoyed $5 movie night. The movie was a bit ridiculous and a little odd the way it was made (I'm not the biggest fan of new animation) but the message to not cut down all the trees in the land and be nice to animals seemed to cancel out the couple "scary" parts that were a little much for both girls. I had to hold down Maggie's seat the entire show so that it didn't fold her up like a taco.

I'm feeling creative and peaceful right now. Almost done knitting this hat for the baby and Maggie has requested this pig.

Snapdragon

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

This is What Kind Of Flower You Are: Snapdragon

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Take the quiz

Good things

The garden is starting to produce. I've been sharing a veggi "bag" at work and it comes from one of my co-worker's very productive garden. I get a bag every two weeks and tomatoes are finally here-woo hoo. I can't wait to make a batch of gazpacho. My tomatoes aren't quite ready yet so I'm thinking the upside to that is I'll probably have tomatoes late into fall.

Last week I helped a friend take care of the animals on her property and I turned it into a couple fun outings for Maggie (and cousin Eden). There were goats next door and Maggie told me she saw a pony with them. I scanned in the sunlight and didn't see a pony. Two days later we're back and I see what she most likely saw...a llama! Maggie harvested eggs from the chicken coop and scattered some food around for them, picked berries, and we took dips in the pool. Maggie graduated from her first swim class as a frog where she learned some good water skills including how to "scoop". She now has a little donut she swims around in. "Mommy, I swimming!" Total happiness on her face.

Our 4th of July holiday was a blast. This holiday might just be my favorite. It felt long and full of good things. I often think about how crazy life can get and how fun that craziness makes our life in the end. I don't like feeling overloaded but a certain amount of on-the-go-ness makes life so fun, especially when we're surrounded by good family and friends. We saw two firework shows, bought new outfits and had family photos taken, ate classic summer food, rode a train along the river with Maggie falling asleep in my arms (that never happens and I loved it), and we swam our hearts out. After an exhausting 2 days, we were going to lay low on the 4th but instead went to a party with friends and it was the perfect end to the weekend. What a beautiful plantation-style/southern home in the middle of Sac! with wrap around porches and outdoor fans, beer on tap, badmitton, and ice cream cones while watching a crazy firework display. I kind of felt like we were add-ins in a movie with soft lighting, like in a Nicholas Sparks film.

It must be the hot weather coming late but I am really liking the heat this year. Usually I wilt, get tired, lazy, etc. but somehow I'm holding up :-) Last week I was told by softball buddies that they thought I was under 30. "25? 26? 27?" Ha! That made me laugh. Good to know I don't look as old as I sometimes feel.

Today is my best bud's 32nd birthday in Hawaii! Happy birthday Patria! Beautiful model-esque pics of Pat Mark!

Botanicals

More Table Mountain goodness. I spent a day in April with Maggie and friends exploring this wonderful botanical paradise outside Sacramento.

Onto summer. My mom helped me get my summer vegetables in (squash, gourds, cucumber, basil, cherry tomatoes, and regular tomatoes (mix of common and heirloom varieties)). Still need to plant the pole beans where the lettuce is growing. We also planted pretty shrubs in the front yard in a lonely area that faces the street and has been plant-less since we moved in.

If you haven't discovered hot lips sage yet, buy it! It's amazing! Also loving our native deer grass, English lavender, roses, and native California fushia. Planting purple needlegrass soon, found at our local CNPS native plant nursery run by volunteers at a Day on the Farm (Soil Born Farm-sponsored). Had forgotten purple needlegrass is our state grass. It's a native bunchgrass that is near and dear to botanists and occurs in our regional grasslands.

Ok plants, grow, grow, grow...

Sun!

Today feels pretty good. Lately, it's been dreary with the socked-in foggy/cold weather and it's been getting depressing. I was starting to dream about spring and all the fun stuff we could start doing in a couple months. Friends are talking about starting their gardens and I have to remember that it's only January! Good time to do some digging and fertilizing before spring planting though.

I woke up this morning after a really fun night out dancing with old and new friends. Good, goofy memories and have I said how much I love dancing? I especially love dancing with my friend Jessie, she is a blast to hang with. So much confidence, such a kind heart. To wake up a little later than usual, have breakfast made for me, and things going generally well started off the day right. To fully clear my head from the night before we set off on an awesome trail ride, Maggie in the trailer. It was perfect. Michael spotted a bobcat just off the trail and our destination was the last cycle-cross event of the season where friends were riding. It was good to see so many people out exercising, staying healthy, and kids playing in the dirt laughing.

We've joined a bike team this year and are excited to get involved. Our first club ride is in April and Michael is doing his first mountain bike race with the team tomorrow. I'm feeling pleased with the slight changes I've made in my life over the past few months. I feel like I'm growing into a new phase of my life and I'm excited to see what the next year holds for us.

Cute pic of Maggie last week - she desperately needed to play and run despite the cold weather! That's one of her favorite binky's that her Tia Boo-boo got her before she was born :-) Ha ha

Good stuff

I was touched by this story a few weeks ago as I was driving to work. Make sure to listen to the story, don't just read it.

Just returned from a really great vacation in Bend, Oregon. Pictures and highlights to come. It was a stretch for our family to go but we made it work and it was exactly what we needed and more. The week prior to leaving was a mess, one thing on top of another. I needed time away. I think all of us needed time away.

I feel so good now, ready to take whatever comes. I felt inspired waking up one morning in Oregon thinking I needed to start jogging again and ultimately run a half marathon as my goal. I've done a triathlon, 5k runs, mountain bike races...now I might shoot for this. It seems pretty achievable. It's something I can train for with Maggie if need be and jogging is something I've always liked to do since I was a teenager. I haven't put much time into regular exercise since I became preggers with Maggie and now it just feels like a good time to get back to something. 

Witnessed butterflies mating today in the garden. New one for me. Quite pretty. Maggie is drawn to bees (can you see the one caught flying in the picture?). They are in serious numbers right now enjoying the basil flowers. Maggie has been stung once and she was out there today just staring while bees zoomed around us. I repeatedly told her "hurt" so that she could understand what pinching a bee will do to her. She did understand and pulled her hand away but she still stands there staring. This is one part of loving being a parent - being able to teach but also just standing by watching a young mind take shape on it's own.

Something else ate most of my winter plantings while we were out of town. Grrr...

Apples and lemons

Our fuji apple tree I've posted about here dropped an apple this week. An insect had tasted a bit of it before we got to it, but most of it was delicious! I have a good memory of a huge apple tree in the backyard of a house I lived in up until kindergarden in San Jose. My great grandma was living with our family during that time and I remember her making chunky apple sauce with apples from that tree. Maybe that's what was in the back of my mind when we picked out her fruit tree. The fact that Maggie tried the first apple from the tree planted to celebrate her birth and life is perfect in my book.

As we pick our apples this fall, our lemon tree is gearing up for winter. I wish I saw blood oranges on the other tree, but nope, just lots of bright green new growth. We have lots of little green lemons and we're excited to watch them grow. Maggie was pointing to them, so she's taken notice. Michael is worried she will pick them before they are ready. On this note, our cherry tomato plants in the garden were a great tool for teaching ripe v.s. not ripe. For the most part Maggie got it right by picking ripe tomatoes but we made it tricky for her by planting yellow, red, and heirloom cherry tomatoes (the heirlooms are a beautiful mix of magenta/pink/green-they totally threw me off at first). Every now and then we find an unripe green one in her hands. A couple times I've been gardening and have lost track of her for a minute or two. It's unusually quiet, that's when I know to go looking. Then I find the evidence of where she has been and it makes me smile...a tomato seed or two have dripped onto her shirt. I love this girl.

Day in the Life

You know you are having a great day when everything just falls into place. Hubby stayed in with the kiddo twice this week so that I could go out and enjoy some time with friends. So, today he was home doing his thang and I stayed busy with the Magster. We had a suprise visit from his dad and I captured a nice moment, father and son style. The funniest thing happened this morning. Maggie woke up early, which is normal, and we often try to entice her to fall asleep for another hour or so if we bring her into our bed. After doing this and her fussing around a bit, in my half-sleep state I felt her sliding off our tall bed, which she needs help to get off of, but intead of waking up and walking off she layed on the carpet and put her head on the pillow on the floor. It was so trippy. She slept like that for almost a couple more hours.

We hit up Harvest Day at our local horticultural center/community garden. I had Maggie on my back in the ergo and we tasted a variety of grapes and tomatoes grown there. It's an awesome site, with an orchard full of ripe fruit, native/Mediterranean plantings in full bloom, and lots of vegi plants. I picked up some plants for our own garden that are hard to find. Romanesco, dwarf pomegranate, lemongrass, dinasour kale, and other fun ones. You should have seen me leaving, it was a sight. Toddler on my back whining, a full tray of plants in front, and bags hanging off of me. In the same area is our library and we scored lots of books before we left. Maggie is always drawn to the kid computers, not the toys or books. The little girl next to her was being such a sport.

After a few afternoon beers with the boys, some much needed grocery shopping, and a dinner made up of homemade pesto over asparagus ravioli, sauteed brussel sprouts, chicken sausage, garden bruchetta on ciabiatta, and white wine, I'm one happy girl.

Now off to do more laundry and maybe throw some chocolate chip cookies in the oven...

Random thoughts

I wish I could slash a line, like I would on one of my incessant lists, through a couple of the books I started and then stopped reading this year. Neither of these I ended up caring for: Circling My Mother and A Year in the World (both picked up from Friends of the Library for a $1 or so, no loss there). They are going back into goodwill circulation soon. I gave Circling My Mother a chance because it looked interesting but it was quite boring. A Year in the World is one of Frances Mayes newer books (remember Under the Tuscan Sun?) so I thought it would be good but it was hard to stick with. I found her to be a little full of herself. Maybe due to her fame as an author now? It's too bad because the places she goes are interesting in themselves but I had a hard time joining her on her journey. The cover of the book is attractive though.

I'm thankful for state furloughs again. I know many state workers would love a full paycheck, but I also know many of them got used to Fridays off and like having more free time. It just means Maggie gets to be with daddy again and it gives me more peace inside.

Some days I feel left behind, in the "I'm a parent now and have to put my family first" v.s. "I used to be able to get up and go whenever I wanted and it was a breeze" way of thinking. None of the getaways I had imagined for this summer are panning out. It's fine of course because there is always fun stuff to do (and relaxing at home is one of those fun things) but life has taken a different path and I'm adjusting.

I want to make white gazpacho this weekend, which will use up my cucumbers. I'm a gazpacho fan since growing up and enjoying my Aunt Kris's recipe (which she wrote down from her college years in Spain). It's the tomato version though, so this will be interesting...blanched almonds, green grapes... Hubby is not a fan of cold soups. I hope he eats his share of bruschetta and crusty bread this weekend. We have a load of tomatoes in our kitchen. I was so pleased to pick four beautiful heirloom tomatoes about a week ago, I've never had good luck with those. We have more on the way among all of the other tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and herbs.

Iced lattes are the perfect "keep it together" drink in summer with a kid in tow. One of my favorite stops is a coffee hut near our house. I drove up this week, on my way to lunch with a friend, ordered my drink and asked for a mini drink for Maggie. Just ice water, but I could tell when it was handed to her through the window that she felt special. There has been a lot of grunting when she wants a sip of momma's drink and sometimes it results in tears when she can't have the sip. Once she catches on, she might just need a steamer or some chocolate milk.

Week(s) in pictures

Garden goodies

Spring and summer always involves scouting for plants everywhere I go. This past weekend at the farmer's market and nursery I was looking for herbs and veggi plants to fill in our beds for good. I brought home yellow onions, watermelon, a cool-looking green pumpkin squash, lemon verbena, fennel, a sunflower, lavender, and I had marigolds to throw in the mix from the weekend before.

We've had our garden going since early spring, so we've been harvesting for a few months (shown below are rainbow chard, lettuce mix, and leeks). The leeks were fun. They've gone to flower now, but they were really tender this spring and tasted just like a leek. Fancy that. It always suprises me when it comes from my garden. We have french sorrel growing year-round. I've tried cooking with it and don't really care for the taste. It's sour, kind of lemony. Recipe suggestion (where you've cooked with it and liked it)? I just gave a bunch to my neighbor, who liked the taste raw and her son did too.

I have one cabbage growing strong. I had a bunch planted next to the kale this spring and either white flies or aphids got to most of my plants. It was a bummer. It looks like this one is going to make it to maturity.

Hubby also built me a potting bench with some storage. Only a little bit of staining left to go.

Spring

On the first day of spring, we didn't have a tea party for Maggie as planned. There was so much celebrating around her actual day that instead, we had cousin Eden, auntie, and uncle over for some burgers and relaxation.

With spring, we have a little garden planted and it is just starting to take off. Until it gets really hot (probably in June), we will be growing lettuce and arugula, kale, chard, spinach, beets, red cabbage, asparagus, cilantro, peas, and Italian parsley. I harvested some early shoots of asparagus this week. Michael also built me a potting bench near the garden and used walnut-colored stain on the wood. It turned out really nice. I'll post a picture soon.

Often at work people bring in yummy treats. This past week was a ton of homegrown Italian flat-leaf parsley. I grabbed it, then stared at it for a few days until I found the right recipe: chimichurri. The picture on this link does it more justice than I ever could. I used my food processer and then spooned it into an ice cube tray. A little messy but really yummy. I always guess with measurements when following recipes and I went heavy on the garlic, light on the extra virgin olive oil. I think it will be good mixed with pasta and meat. I'm going to try and convert Michael (not a parsley lover yet). Maggie had some on her pasta last night and she ate it up. I also brought home local cheese from work yesterday-two cream cheeses, one with garlic and herbs, and chevre. Yum!

Urban nature

I moved our little bistro table in the backyard to a shady spot and with that, I started spending a little more time outdoors. The best of it is we have a hummingbird feeder set up near the table and right in front of the kitchen window and it's brought quite a few hummingbirds in (my birding buddy at work says they are Anna's hummingbirds). They fly up into our trees, so I think they have nests up there, and I hear them chatting all day long. What's really cool is watching them up close-when they drink the sugar water, you can see them gulping it and when they are just sitting there, they will open their long pointy beaks and be quiet and still, just looking around.
We've got morning glory growing over the fence and HUGE black bumble bees are sucking out the nectar. Then there are the pretty roses we've planted-miniature, peppermint, and an old English variety that smells like rose perfume.