Happy Birthday

Sending sweet wishes to my nephew Mason. He turns 2 tomorrow!! Buby and Bleu decided he would enjoy a Hot Wheels collection, just like his daddy and Uncle Tom did.

First Canoe Trip

A few notes:

- My Sweets has had a canoe for several years.

- Saturday was his first time taking the older kids in it.

- We live 5 minutes down the road from a beautiful launch site.

- I bought Speedo brand life jackets and water shoes for Buby and Bleu at Target the day before. They were a big hit.

- My Sweets left his life vest in our garage and had to borrow one.

- Grandpa J gave us the hat Buby is wearing. It was My Sweets' as a child.

- Nobody seemed too nervous about the possibility of tipping.

- My Sweets purposely rocked the boat so that Buby and Bleu knew what to expect.

- Both wee ones LOVED the experience. Every minute of it.

- I wish I was out there to hear all the good conversations.

- Bear likes fresh air but not direct sunlight. We kept moving around.

- Bleu missed me after a while, so the boys dropped her at the shore with me and Bear and went right back out. Buby was hooked.

- He paddled his oar like a pro and never let go. We were pretty impressed not only with Buby's strength but also his patience and steadiness.

- I see many years of these Saturday afternoon canoe trips in our future.

Snakes, Etc.

As further proof that we live in the country, a snake slithered its way into Buby's classroom today, presumably through an open window. I'm told the teacher screamed and then calmly moved the children to another classroom until "someone who knows a lot about snakes" could safely return it to the wild. Some of the children thought the building was on fire, Buby said. Immediately he switched up his plans for show + tell on Friday. He will bring his copy of The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash.


At home we are having our own drama with an extremely vocal tree frog... possibly the same one I told you about two years ago. It chirps outside our bedroom window and is keeping our whole street up at night.


I was about to take out the garbage last night when I flicked on the back light and saw my screen door covered with probably 400 of the nastiest flying bugs you've ever seen. NO WAY I was opening that door. We were under attack. I put the tied garbage bag back in the can and ran upstairs to bed. Living in the country is better in daylight :)


Ticks are in season. The teachers keep pulling them off the children after recess, and we are reminded daily to run tick checks at home after showers/before bedtime. I hate ticks.


Image of knit snake from Ouef.

A Break from the Sun

It's been in the 80s or 90s every day here. We've gone through an entire bottle of sunscreen in a week. We've done misters and sprinklers and pool prep. We've done sand boxes and bubbles and sidewalk chalk. We've done hiking and fishing and playgrounds.


We jumped right into summer {after suffering the longest, coldest winter in recent history}. Outside is where the wee ones want to be whenever we don't need to be anywhere else. I myself am not a huge fan of the heat, so let me just say how amazing it feels to head back in to central air and just fall flat on the playroom floor.

How We Ended Memorial Day

Mixed lettuces out of our garden, Campari tomatoes, fresh mozzarella



Strawberries, fresh cream and blueberries



Striped bass, grilled corn, local grass-fed Santa Fe sausage



First s'mores of 2011



The weekend ended as low key as it started... just us... at home... yummy food... and lots of laughter. And of course a bit of requisite drama courtesy of our girl.

Happy Memorial Day

Wishing you a swell Memorial Day! We've been celebrating in bits and pieces all weekend, and at this moment I'm nursing my baby Bear down for his late-afternoon siesta.


Instead of going away we opted to stay close to home and it's been wonderful. We've been fishing, canoeing, hiking, hanging flags, eating really well, dining outdoors, running through a mister, enjoying parades and memorials, wearing jean cut-offs, being with friends, devouring homemade ice cream, watching fuchsia roses blossom right before our eyes, opening the pool. It feels like we're vacationing on our own turf. The holiday weekend {thus far} has been a perfect blend of doing everything and doing nothing at all.


Ugh, I love having My Sweets here. I love coordinating the whole family in shades of red, white and blue. {Do you do that, too?} I love bagpipes. I love paying tribute to our fallen heroes. I love preludes to summer. And I love everything about this photo from Martha.

Garden Watchman

Saturday morning he runs outside in his jammies to watch the garden. No way will those pesky rabbits eat his strawberries two years in a row!

Baby Swings

Bleu could spy a baby swing a mile away. She absolutely loves them. Two of our favorite parks only have one, so we are constantly working on sharing. When given the choice, she prefers my friend Christine to push her. Never me, always Christine.

Boston with Kids

I saw this fantastic Boston getaway guide over at Babyccino Kids last week and keep forgetting to send it to my sister-in-law Melissa for their trip this weekend. I've been to Boston many times but never with little ones. Sort of makes me want to go. Happy travels.


Image pinned here.

The Dirt Bike

Just before 8pm on April 12th My Sweets texted to let me know he was on the train. It's our nightly ritual. But this text read, "On train, oh bought the kids a dirt bike, love u :)" I replied, "Haha, u r kidding?"


He was not. That afternoon he had bought a Yamaha PW50 on Craigslist. I took a deep breath in and eventually let it out with a smile, because I knew this day was coming. I just didn't know when. And I suppose I was relieved it wasn't some vintage Indian with sidecar coming home {p.s. sidecars are his other obsession}. My Sweets grew up on a beautiful little farm and has been riding motorcycles and dirt bikes most of his life. He taught me to ride sometime in the '90s, and now he couldn't wait to get Buby started.


The only thing is... our Buby isn't the typical rough-and-tum five year old BOY. He's pensive, sweet, sensitive. A risk-taking thrill seeker he is not. Despite his athleticism he refuses to play contact sports, even soccer, and has requested tennis and golf lessons instead. It took me a year to get him back onto a two-wheel bicycle with training wheels after a slight fall. That's just Buby, and we wholeheartedly embrace his careful nature. If there's any daredevil in this house it's the lil' sister.


I fear if we rush Buby into a motorized sport and he gets hurt, which is inevitable, that he'll never ever try again. I know him. Plus, there's a part of me that is not okay with inevitable hurt, however big or small. I can't stand boo boos. They make me CRAZY!







Anyway. I got on board fast but asked My Sweets to take it sloooooow. The PW50 is small, but it's no toy. And so began the complete restoration and tune up of our tiny Yamaha. My Sweets waited for new parts to arrive from all over the world and tinkered away after hours. Safety improvements to the bike included all new plastic, seat, throttle housing and switch, paint, forks, training wheels, kick-starter rubber, carburation, electrical wiring, repacked bearings, and of course the geniusly fabricated foot guards.







On April 30th he gave it to the kids. Buby was supposed to learn first and Bleu in a couple of years, but she fearlessly hopped on to ride. Unfortunately Buby's first time ended with him getting his left foot stuck under the training wheel {ouch!}, so My Sweets designed custom foot guards and he tried again last night. The funny thing is that Buby was okay to stop after one run, but his sister wanted to go again. And again. Buby's competitiveness got the best of him, and he went another round. An exhilarating night cap for sure.

Riding Before Bed

5.25.11

i heart

Manifestos. This one is from here.

Thoughts + Prayers

Our thoughts and prayers right now are with The Jordan Family in Tucson, Arizona. Maria is a good friend, and she just lost her dad to cancer. The children made their first sympathy cards, and we talked about the loss. It amazes me how much they understand.

Fishing Before Dinner

Buby caught a Bluegill all by himself right before we left!! He was psyched.