Summer treats and making friends...

Well as some of you may have noticed we live in Florida now. Or as I like to call it, hell on the surface of the sun. Even when there's a nice breeze outside I just feel like God turned on his blow dryer.
So the kids and I have been trying to stay cool with some summery treats.


Here's Dahlia showing me the best way to savor a popsicle until it turns to soup. The trick is to just let your tongue touch it every 2 minutes or so.


And this was our Memorial Day Strawberry Short Cake for Lunch Celebration. Some days I just can't bring myself to make another "P and Jelly samich". And hey, it's got fruit... it's healthy.



This is a time I wish I had grabbed my camera five minutes earlier. Gregory was sitting in Daddy's lap watching the Red Sox and sharing an ice cream cone. Cutest thing ever. But I couldn't drag my eyes away to run and get the camera until it was almost gone.

Baby's first road rash.
In an effort to make my son a little more independent (as well as free up my hands a bit and save my back for early contractions) I'm trying to let him walk on his own more outside. So instead of being carried to the car he walks, and instead of me pushing him in a stroller to the laundry room he walks. You get the idea. I've even tried him out in a quicky grocery run. He's pretty good and doesn't touch too much. He's even holding hands in the parking lots. This is a photo of his first of I'm sure to be many boo boos caused by this new found freedom. He fell in the parking lot of our apartment complex.

Here we are killing some time in the kids section of Border's. This is Gregory's "cheese!" face.

Later they met a little girl named Olivia and instantly bonded over their mutual love for princess books and spinning in public. I love Greggy's face the most.

Fair Isle

This is the third hat I've made from my baby hat book. I had to learn Fair Isle knitting.


I'm very proud of this and even the inside is very neat considering it's covered in strings weaved across behind the little dots. It's basically a square with tassels but it's cute. Oh and I learned do a three needle bind off. I'm getting so daring with patterns. This hat will be for my friend Marissa's little boy, Jackson.

Lions and Tigers and Hats, Oh My!

Dahlia has discovered The Wizard of Oz. We bought the VHS for her at a used kids store and she's been watching it ever since. It this particular photo she is "off to see the Wizard" (although she sings it "we love to see the Wizard"). She has a pink lamb playing the part of Toto and her pink Little Mermaid purse as her diaper bag. I think it's supposed to be like Dorothy's basket but she insists it's a diaper bag. With this loot she does her best impression of skipping around the house breathlessly repeating "we love to see the Wizard". Also she thinks the Tinman is a robot, and I think she was trying to get me to play the "robot" because she told me I had to ask for a heart. I tried not to take that personally. If Greggory stands in one place too long she'll grab him by the wrist and drag him down her yellow brick road until he falls down and cries. I won't be sad when that tape breaks.

In other news. I've made a few hats from my baby hat book. The patterns called for 9 needles but I only had 10 so they are a little big. This one is for Zander, my friend Faith's little boy. He just turned two.

And this one is for Tristen, Zander's cousin. She just turned two too. I'm really pleased with these colors together.

I realise it's a little lopsided with all these pictures of Dahlia but Gregory makes a bad hat model. I have finished another one already for my other friend Marissa's boy. Jackson. I even learned a little fair isle, photo coming soon. Right now I'm working on a crochet lap blanket as one of my art sharing give aways. I had to switch to crochet, my knitting muscles were starting to cramp.

Mother's Day... part deux

We left off where Barry took the kids out for a drive so I could write a grumpy blog and take a nap. Foolishly I left my phone on and next to me in the bed. The first call I ignored and then listened to the message. Some little boy wishing his grandmother a Happy Mother's Day. I get a lot of wrong numbers on that phone. The second one was from Barry asking if I could be up in a few minutes to help him get stuff out of the car. My lips said yes, but my pillow was like "yeah right". So I got woken up with children being plopped on top of me. Which is how I wake up Barry most weekends. Greggy snuggle delivery. It washed away the whole ordeal of part one.

Then there were tasty treats and presents!


Barry took the kids to the book store and let them each pick out a book for mommy (from a selection that he laid out for them). What a good Daddy. The illusion of independence mixed with things mommy will like! Dahlia got me this book of cute patterns for baby hats. Great ideas and photos! I have already used it to make a little flower embellishment for another project. (photos later)


Gregory picked a book called Pints and Purls. It's a book of patterns sassy but simple enough to make while out with friends having a cocktail. It even rates the patterns difficulty from Designated Driver, to one drink-four drinks. As in how much of your wits do you need about you to pull it off. Very cute.


Here are all my books. Barry picked out a beautiful collection of fairy tails. I cried when he gave me this, because I've been wanting something like it to read to the kids. Each one has a different illustrator, and there are a few I've never heard of. So far I've read Beauty and the Beast to the kids at nap time. They were both asleep by the end, it was long but worth it. I would read to them at night, but there's no light in their room, and I'm usually in a hurry to get back to my supper.

Barry and I picked up this work bench at a second hand kids store. They love it. The whole table flips over and there's a little engine to work on on the other side. We have extra tools from other toys so everyone has a hammer and a screwdriver to hold.

Dahlia learned how to turn the hammer over and take the nails out. They go flying every time!

Gregory banging away. Very cute.

We also got them cheap bathing suits at that store (Once Upon a Child), and some floats at Wallmart. I took them by myself on Saturday to our development's pool. And then again on Sunday with Barry. Dahlia still does not like anything above her neck to get wet. Gregory kept dunking his own face (while safely in daddy's arms). Very funny to watch.

So it started out a little crappy, but all in all it was a very nice Mother's Day. I have a great little family and I love them very much.

Mother's Day...part one

5:14 am - I awoke to the girl. I could tell from the light coming through the window blinds that it was morning. But it seemed too early for her to be yelling "GEGGY WANTS YOU!". On any other day she would climb into the middle of the bed and wriggle around and kick us until the urge to get up and pet the dog overwhelmed her. But today was no ordinary day. No, today is Mother's Day.
5:16 am - I stumble into clothes.
5:17 am - I look at the clock over the oven as I walk by and let the irony wash over me.
5:18 am - I pee with one free hand, while holding the boy. His blanket is warm and bulky. His face is buried in it and I wish mine could join him.
5:20 am - I put in Aladin. They play "mommy's my favorite jungle gym", while I curl up on the floor with my daughter's pillow and blankets.
7:00 am - diapers and dressed
7:10 am - I administer the gummy-bear vitamins, red for girl. She must have red. The boy doesn't care or doesn't know the difference. It occurs to me that he has a very good chance of being color blind and I will have to love him anyway.
7:12 am - I dump small piles of generic cocoa puff cereal on the Princess table, and get last night's milk leftovers out of the fridge.
7:15 am - I put cinnamon rolls in the oven, and debate waking up my husband or risking the stomach ache of eating them all myself.
7:18 am - First round of nudging husband. Guilt him with story of my morning, and tempt him with warm cinnamon rolls.
7:42 am - There are three cinnamon rolls left in the pan. The children are sticky and playing quietly. Second round of husband nudging. Get dog out of room so he might eat the food he ignored the night before.
8:11 am - Husband emerges, children run to hug and kiss him. He has the girl come wish me a Happy Mother's Day. He suggests the same to the boy. He says "hi".
8:15 am - I invite the girl to come walk the dog. In her flurry to put on her shoes she pushes her brother over and into the coffee table.
8:17 am - I walk the dog while the girl screams in the corner and the boy sits with his father.
8:35 am - The children have "messed" themselves. I change their diapers, and wonder when I will get around to potty training the girl.
9:00 am - Husband piles children into car. They will most likely come back filthy, but happy. I am grateful.

Hey look, twice in one month...

A day in the life of my oven. I'm not big on cooking so I don't know how this all happened in one day. I made blueberry muffins for breakfast for me and the kids. Barry got some the next day. Here they are checking on them.

Dahlia's very excited because I let her help (read stir) for the first time. So she is very anxious to see how they come out.

Then later that day I made a yummy roast with potatoes and onions. We need a baster to keep these things at their juiciest, but it was still very good, and the left overs were even better.

I call this series, topless/laundry day block building. Just the usual stuff we do to fill up our day.

They both reached for the same block but Dahlia is quicker. Sorry Greggy it's survival of the fittest in this house.

A little "My friends Tigger and Pooh" in the background to set the mood.

Oh jeeze. Time to put down the camera and break it up before someone gets hit in the head with a block. It kind of looks like Pooh looked up from what he was doing when she screamed.

"Oh Bother"

A mini day trip. We went to go check on our broke down van. It's still in the parking lot where we left it. We got the kids some donut holes on the way to keep everyone happy, and so Daddy could get some coffee. Here's Gregory's sugar-puss.

We felt the kids deserved a little out of the car time so we stopped at Toy's R Us on the way home. We got Dahlia some new sunglasses, because Gregory broke another pair. And because Daddy wants everything to be equal Greggy got his own pair too. But I've laid down stricter rules so hopefully they will last longer this time.

We also found them new chairs for their table. One of the princess chairs broke. Dahlia picked out Tinker Bell, and Gregory seemed to favor Handy Manny. All in all a fun little outing.