Crunchy Peas

art party

Well, it's official, I am burned out on birthdays.  Having two so close together is a bit overwhelming. Travel, birthdays, Easter- March has been a busy month.

Emma is an interesting mix of both intellect and creativity.  Desiring to be just like her Dad, she is a budding little artist.  For her 7th birthday she requested a party centered around that theme- art.

According to first grade girls, the best way to get the party going is dancing.  Emma played DJ and it was pretty funny. Carl and I kept peeking around the corner, and he even managed to snap a picture of the action.

Next up, each girl was given a canvas and some paints to create her own masterpiece.  I was surprised at how seriously they took on this project.  Such detail and concentration.

Then of course, there were cupcakes (Emma insisted that she be the one to frost them).

Here are the favors that we gave out . It was a fun day filled with sweet seven year olds....no more big birthday bashes until June- whew!

This is not good

It snowed yesterday. All day.

My tall tomatoes, who are ready to burst out of their little pots (sitting in the window center left) whispered to the overflowing and claustrophobic herbs sitting across them "this is not good."

The zucchini overheard and began to panic.

Leave it to the girls to make the best of it.

3 numbers

1: Number of births attended yesterday. A quick, intense birth- a few scary moments...but thankfully a very happy ending. Do you like my official footwear for Birth Assistants?

7: Number of exact years that my oldest daughter has been alive.  Today is her birthday. CANNOT believe that she is that old.  I sure love her. 

18: Number of cupcakes made for the 1st grade class today. Okay, so after having been up all night- making cupcakes was not something that I was thrilled to be doing this morning.  I used this box mix, piped on the frosting, and tossed on some sprinkles.

A few other odd n' ends:

What do you think of this haircut?  I am pretty sure that it wedges up in the back. Seriously considering it.

Have you heard this song?  I have.  At least 10,000 times today.  LOVE IT. Not so sure that it is a good thing that my kids keep walking around singing "...keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding..." wonder what their teachers will think about that.

I know I have been very lame in the crafting department.  Lots of inspiration coming in...not much going out.  Dining room curtains are in the works (ordered my fabric in a slightly different color.)  Pics to come.

Check out Morgan's recipe for lemon curd.  I made some and it is super yummy.

"good enough" is good too

The last few weeks have been too busy for me.  It has all been good- but at a pace that I could not longer keep.  Guests, travel, birthdays, and then Easter (which I was hosting). Saturday night I surrendered.  Instead of scurrying around working myself into a froth over all that was left to be done- I collapsed on the couch with Carl and watched this movie.  For me, Holidays are usually about letting go a bit.  I can be "way-over-the-top-idealistic"- and, at some point during the preparations, I usually come to the realization that I cannot accomplish everything that I envisioned.  I am learning to be okay with that.  I am learning to laugh at the little imperfections.  It is possible to make events special and enjoy them too.

I ran out of time to make place mats, napkins and new curtains for the dining room- but this little chick and some cheery tulips seemed to do the trick.

No one seemed to mind hunting for eggs with plastic shopping bags instead of sweet little wicker baskets, or the absence of fancy apparel donned by my daughters.

The tart crust that collapsed as I piled huge strawberries on top of it was easily hid beneath the thick layer of mascarpone cheese.

Playing a Nintendo Wii was not my select choice of entertainment for a holiday like Easter.  However, when I was beating my husband in a round of golf by 3 strokes I quite liked it! (He did win- I blew it on the 9th hole.  Thanks to my sister-in-law for bringing it and taking it back home with her :)

We ate, we laughed, we hunted for the golden eggs, we were together... and that is all that really matters. Thank you family for helping, and for humoring me.

Happy Resurrection Day

"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

we went...

to the Pacific Science Center,

the butterfly exhibit was our favorite (oh, except for Hannah who was paranoid that one would land on her when we walked through their habitat).

Laurel toured the center with her best friend, Grampie (who was much obliged).

The girls couldn't remember what this tower was called...they kept calling it "the pin" (instead of the needle). It was a huge thrill for them to ride all the way up to the top.

It was a rare sunny day in Seattle- the view was amazing.

Our little road trip is over, the time went by so quickly.  As much as we love our adventures...it is always so good to come home.  After what seemed like a horrendously long drive home, the girls collapsed in a delirious state of giggles when we climbed into our beds last night.

Spring Break is a cruel thing-- such a tease. Do we really have 77 days left before summer vacation? If our little week-long vacation is any indication of what we have to look forward to...I simply cannot wait!!

Bike Party

new bike,

a happy table,

apple "cupcakes",

and a real bike cake...lots of fun!

We are off for a visit with my dad...see you in a few days!!

Happy Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

and Happy Birthday #2 to Laurel! (green mustache courtesy of Odwalla Superfood)

ANNOUNCEMENT:

As of 2:30pm yesterday afternoon...we are officially on Spring Break. 

Not a moment too soon!  Spring Break for us always falls the week before Easter, Holy Week. I cannot tell you how excited we are to have 10 whole days of free time! At the beginning of the school year,  I really underestimated the time commitment it would require from me to succsessfully get two girls through First Grade, and Kinder-Prep.

Before, I used to daydream about what it would be like when they went off to school. Yes, I would miss them, but also I would have all this free time to myself. I would workout, have coffee with friends, read more, sew more, bake more, etc.  I was sure that my house would be a lot cleaner and that I would enjoy grocery shopping (without them) more.  Well it has turned out that this is definitely not the case.

Instead, I am packing lunches, ironing uniforms (after fishing them out of the laundry...the knee socks being the trickiest to find), driving here and there and everywhere, volunteering in their classes, practicing spelling words before dinner, reading after, on and on. It has made me appreciate the down time a whole lot more.  Every now and then, there are tiny little whispers in my head asking, "Would it be different if we home schooled?" 

So, our Spring Break starts out with a much anticipated visit from my best friend from school.  She and I have had little visits here and there, but never the opportunity to share as much time as the whole weekend together.  She arrives this afternoon. Next, we are taking a little trip to see my Dad.  The Pacific Science Center is on the "to do" list.  We have birthdays, two very important birthdays! And who could forget Easter? 

Friends, field-trips, celebrating, lots of laying around and giggling, naps, long lingering breakfasts, afternoon walks, maybe some crafting?  Spring Break, we love you!

review

I am sorry for all of you out there who aren't really interested in this topic...but I really have birth on the brain right now! I officially have my own "on call" days at the birth center now.  Before, I would just pop in whenever one of my students invited me to be their Douala in labor.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon in training-- going over the emergency procedures with the other assistants at the birth center.  I learned things like how to prime an IV bag, how to draw up pitocin and methergine in syringes for postpartum bleeding, how to switch the regulators on the 02 tanks and how to set them up.  It reminded me that out of hospital birth is really safe for low risk candidates. I already knew this for myself...but it confirmed to me that we are indeed equipped to handle emergencies.

The conversation amongst my company turned to this movie.

It is the movie that Ricki Lake produced called, "The Business of Being Born".  It is now available for viewing via Netflix.  You can either have them send you the dvd or just stream it on your computer- which is what I did last night (I just signed up for the free trial offer and planned to cancel after the trial period was over.)  It was riveting.  I felt as though it perfectly articulated all of my frustrations with the way we handle obstetrics in this country.  I highly recommend watching it and I highly recommend that you get your friends to watch it.  It is very thought provoking and sweet at the same time.  There are several births shown..c-section and otherwise.  I have a hard time watching the sections.  Gruesome.  All in all, a great documentary about the state of birth in our country and what some women are doing about it.  Watch it and let me know what you think!

keeping it real

All I have to share today is that this is me post workout sans make-up...

and this is what I am doing today:

(I only took 2 days off! I'm sure it breeds in there)

WIPs

Works-in-progress:

My first crochet sweater is going veerrry sllloooww- so I hope it turns cute.

Sleeping studying for my upcoming certification.  This has been difficult because the subject matter (and photos in the book) are somewhat disturbing.

The seeds for my garden should be coming next week. The girls and I have been making pots for all of our starts from newspaper (thanks to Melissa for this idea). When it is time for planting them outside...you just tear off the bottom and stick them in the ground.  The newspaper decomposes. Cool huh?

Yay, for Friday!

steal of a deal(s)

Well, have I got some goodies to show you!  Saturday, after my little baby-store-grand-opening-public-relations-event, I didn't go straight home. Oops, my cell phone was on silent and I missed the 50 calls from home asking, "where are you and what is for dinner?". Without the children in tow, I knew just where to spend my free time.  The thrift store.  Look what I came home with:

A sweet little blue dress for Laurel baby.  The tag said vintage, I bought it for $2.  It has that olivejuicekids look don't you think?  I really love it.

Then, being the daring fashionista that I am, I snagged this shirt dress for $11.  It is very cute with my tall brown boots. A little fallish, but I can wait.  (no, my waist is not 8" in diameter...but cinching the belt this tight was the only way to get it to stay up for the picture.)

Then, waaaay back in a dark corner I spotted a lovely green leather.  I reached up to the top shelf and pulled down this case:

I had been looking for a cute/practical way to carry my camera around and it was perfect except for the price- $39.  Yikes, for something old I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much.  But it was cool... and green to boot, so I resolved that it would be best if it were mine-even if I had to pay $39.  Just then a voice from heaven came down (or maybe it was the shop's owner) and said, "Did you know that everything in that corner is on sale for $2/item?"  Glorious- it was almost too much. 

When I came home and explained my missing whereabouts, I added that the grand total of my shopping excursion was less than $15 and that buying similar items online at places such as jcrew and the like would have been HUNDREDS (for drama) of dollars more...he smiled and I was in the clear.

feathering her nest

I am off to a bit of a slow start this morning after coming in from a birth at 3:30am this morning.  It was a sweet scene to behold as the parents welcomed their little baby to life outside the womb.  I love it when the sex of the baby is unknown...it is always fun to watch the new parents discover if their fresh bundle is a boy or a girl.  Little Grace was her mother's prize after 20 some hours of labor!! 

Okay, onto the curtains I made!

They were incredibly hard to photograph against the glare of the window.  The fabric for the valance was left over from my Emmeline apron- red polka-dots (and the little red pom-poms as just enough whimsy don't you think?)  The other fabric came from a sheet that I thrifted, it is always a bit tricky for me to work with such big lengths of material.  Her window is huge so each panel was 60" wide by 100" long! I used the pattern for curtains in Bend the Rules Sewing.  It was so easy- straight line sewing!  My only regret was backing them in muslin vs. blackout fabric.  Emma's room gets the bright morning sun and heaven knows we would all like her to sleep in a bit longer on the weekends!

(shhh don't tell Emma that Laurel Baby was in her room while she was at school- a full fledged flip out would ensue. also, the curtains touch the ground when they are not pulled open.)

This project has been on my "to do list" for quite some time so I was very pleased to get it finished. I was also glad to appease Emma who would ask me about getting them made every time she walked past the fabric on my sewing table. Relentless I tell you!

Onto the next project: dining room drapes (in yellow)

stop the merry-go-round

I want to get off!  The last few weeks of my life have been busier than I have wanted them to be and therefore, my posts have been less regular.  We have really been enjoying the warmer weather and longer days.  Fresh air feels so good.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do a little PR for my childbirth classes.  An adorable new store (the only of its kind) opened up here in town and I was invited to be there to hand out flyers.

It is the kind of thing that I am entirely uncomfortable with...you know, making easy and relaxed conversation with perfect strangers, promoting myself.  You never know how someone is going to react when you encourage natural birth. I read and article in our local newspaper last week that stated over 60% of women elect for an epidural at our hospital (that doesn't count Stadol or other narcotic drugs "to take the edge off") Natural Birth Nuts are clearly in the minority.  Everyone seems to have an opinion on the subject and I think they should, I just get nervous stepping out in a group of strangers like that. Thankfully, no one threw rotten tomatoes at me. None the less, it turned out to be a beautiful store and I was drooling over all of the merchandise.

Those cute Petunia Picklebottoms diaper bags are not helping me make a rational decision about having another baby!

In other news, I did some fun sewing and some awesome thrifting on Sunday.  I am running out of time for today though (hey didn't I say I wanted off this merry-go-round?)  Come back tomorrow and the next day to see the products of both.