Momma Lysh

"A Long, Long Time Ago..."

2011-10-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

This phrase, said in a low, whispery, spooky voice, is repeated all day long lately at our house. The new favorite past-time is making up stories (a girl following in her momma's footsteps, apparently), and it's a family affair. I snuggle up with Reed on my lap, and Lilah and Grady climb onto the couch too. Lilah usually begins, with her oft-repeated intro, and then passes the torch to me when she gets stuck. Grady contributes too - mostly with dramatic facial expressions, and occasionally repeating a word his sister or I say during the story. Reed just giggles at his siblings, trying to grab at their hair (or their snacks, as the case might be. The boy has barely started eating oatmeal and sweet potatoes, but a bag of Pirate Booty looks awfully appealing to him).

Most of the stories follow the same plot line, usually with Lilah and Grady as the key players, and are anything but scary in the end. Here is, as close as I can remember it, a transcript of one of our impromptu "ghost stories" from today:

Lilah: A long, long time ago, on a dark and stormy night, some little children decided to go trick-or-treating. They dressed in their costumes and went outside.

Me: What were their costumes?

Lilah: The little boy, who was named Grady, was a cowboy. And the little girl, Lilah, was a princess.

Me: Ooooh, good costumes. Then what happened.

Lilah: They walked down the street with their trick-or-treat bags and got lots of candy. But then! Momma, you tell it.

Me: But then, they saw a house they hadn't visited yet. It was at the end of a long, crooked driveway. It was very dark and spooky.

Lilah: It was a haunted house!

Me: Yes, it was a haunted house. They climbed up the steps to the porch and knock, knock, knocked on the door. No one answered. So they rang the doorbell, ding-dong! And no one answered. But the big door creaked open. Then what happened, Lilah?

Lilah: They saw a big, big, tall stairs that they had to climb. And at the top - oh no! There were great, glowing eyes shining. They didn't know what they were. So they climbed the creaky stairs. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. There were twelve stairs. And when they got to the top, they turned on a light.

Me: Oh no! What was there! A scary ghost?

Lilah: No, Momma, it wasn't a scary ghost. It was just a little, teeny, tiny black cat.

Grady: Meow!

Lilah: It didn't know where its mommy and daddy were, so Lilah and Grady decided to take it home and help it find its mommy and daddy. And they lived happily ever after.

Me: That was a great story.

Lilah: It was. Can we tell it again?

The best part is Lilah's dramatic storytelling voice. I seriously have to hold in giggles the whole time we are telling the story. She's always a drama llama, and it really comes out when we are telling stories or playing imaginary games. I really wish I had a video camera, I would love to record these moments to show them when they are surly teenagers who don't want to talk to me anymore.

This proves, once again, that it really is the simple things that provide the most entertainment. Whether it's a cardboard box, a paper towel roll, or just an active imagination, you can truly create magic with little ones with minimal effort and basically no cost. Try it today, and I would love to hear your collaborative stories with your children!

Pinterest Project Friday: Double Feature (sort of)

2011-10-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad, bad blogger my friends, and I am sorry. Between being sick twice in one week, three sick kiddos, a wedding reception, and some general craziness happening in our household, I just haven't had the time or the inclination to sit down and write a post. But now I'm (fingers crossed) healthy again, the kids are tucked in bed, it's raining outside, and I am about to have a little treat and a cup of tea. I missed Pinterest Project Friday last week, so I'm going to make up for it now, although this project kind of went off in a different direction than originally planned.

I told you all I was working on something for one of the boys' rooms, and my original inspiration was this pin of a DIY trellis lampshade. It was done on a drum shade, and used grosgrain ribbon for the trellis design. My lampshade for Reed's table lamp is a barrel shade (I think?), and I ended up not liking the color ribbon that I had to use for the project, so I put it off until I could take a trip to Michael's and pick out new ribbon. That trip never happened, but I came up with a different idea for the shade, and then went even a step further to create a totally new DIY project. I'm not quite finished with it yet, so I'll do the step-by-step tutorial sometime next week, but here's a peek at where I'm at so far:

Isn't it cute? I'm pretty proud of myself, as I drew that elephant freehand, and I am no artist. You can tell that it's an elephant, right?!

So, my second Pinterest project for the week is another super simple one, as long as you can find the right supplies! I would have done this one ages ago, but I had a hard time tracking down a stepstool, believe it or not. I checked Michael's, JoAnn's, TJMaxx, and Target: no dice. Finally, on my third trip to Target of the week, I found the perfect little white stepstool. It's something I have been in desperate need of, both because I wanted to do this project and because I'm short and always have to hoist myself onto the counters to get things from the top shelf in my cabinets. Here's a link to the original tutorial, at Prudent Baby.

Since I wanted my stepstool for the kitchen, I looked through my scrapbook paper collection to find one that would work with my new paint color (which is Behr Toasted Nutmeg, by the way, and I am in LOVE with it). I found a pretty printed one with the right color tones, plus some nice words about being thankful on it. Here is my finished product:

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, although I will admit that it is quite off-centered due to me having a six-month-old strapped to my chest in the Moby wrap while I was Mod Podging. Reed was quite intent on grabbing the paintbrush in my hand, so my paper went a little crooked. I kind of like that, though, because now every time I look at it, I'll remember my little goober trying to grab at the glue. This was a very quick and easy project, and very useful too. I'm going to scout for more stepstools everywhere I go, as I think this would make a great Christmas gift!

Ciao, my dears, I'm off to drink tea and read my book! Pinkie promise I'll post more regularly next week. At least I hope so!

A Day in Photos

2011-10-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today, since I've been up since 4:30 a.m., I'm being lazy and just giving you some good stuff to look at. We took a little half-day trip to Connors Farm last week, mainly to get pumpkins, but also because they have tons of stuff for little ones to do. It was loads of fun, we had perfect weather, and came home with gorgeous pumpkins (mine is white!), yummy cider, and a carrot that Lilah took a bite out of at the farm stand so we had to buy it. We will definitely go back there again!

Daddy and Grady on the jumping pillow. Lilah was a wimp and didn't like it.

The spiderweb was more her style.

This is just quintessential 'boy' right here. I had to keep corralling him away from mud puddles.

The girl means business in the duck races.

In amazement that he's allowed to play with something so cool.

Can't leave this guy out! He was loving the fresh air, but not so much the sun in his eyes.

"Whatchoo lookin' at?"

The one pic of me from the day. Taken by Lilah.

Taken while we waited for Daddy and Grady, who were on the hayride. Sister was too chicken for that, too.

Pumpkin tether ball! She would have played with this all day if we'd let her.

I wish I had all of these in my house. I think I have a pumpkin addiction.

The hayride. It went probably 2 mph, and Lilah was scared of it.

So there you have it! Hopefully I will get a little more sleep tonight. Check back tomorrow for Pinterest Project Friday!

Pinterest Project Friday: Ballerina Tutu Painting

2011-09-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly redecorating Lilah's big girl room with her chosen theme of ballerinas/fairies for awhile now, and now I'm just working on finishing touches such as lamps and artwork. I knew I wanted to hang something on the wall that she helped to make, but that also fit with her theme. That's why I was so excited to pin this idea from the Meet the Dubiens blog (which I love - especially Fun Food Fridays!). It incorporates the ballerina theme perfectly, as well as one of our current favorite art projects: painting with our hands.

Here is a link to the original project in case you want the step-by-step tutorial. I was lucky enough to find canvas 40% off at Michael's, and I wish I had picked up more, because I have lots of ideas to do some projects with canvas. Fingers crossed that they are on sale when I go there again tomorrow! I had some pretty pink and green card stock left over from making Lilah's birthday banner, and we mixed up our own custom pink paint with our Crayola stash. Lilah decided she wanted glitter on her painting, so we sprinkled a little in our pink paint. The only thing I wish that I had done was to paint the whole canvas a shade of light pink before doing the ballerina tutu, just because I have a second project coming up that we used a second canvas for, and we painted that one a pale pink all over.

Here is our finished project:

I'll post more pictures when we hang it up, along with the other canvas project we did. I'm already excited about next week's Pinterest project - it's something for one of the boy's rooms! Happy Friday, and happy pinning!

Meet Mr. Squirrel and Friends

2011-09-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

Gluing on the super-fab tail I made.

Introducing...Mr. Squirrel

Sometimes I plan out projects ahead of time, and get my materials ready the night before or during nap time, so that everything is ready to go when the kids feel like doing something artsy at the table. More often than not, though, I fly by the seat of my pants and throw us into an activity or craft with no prior planning. This means that we do a lot of easy projects, like tracing hands with markers or making a magazine cut-out collage. But the other day, Lilah said she wanted to make puppets, so I figured it was fairly easy to throw together at the last minute. I dug in my craft supplies and found some teeny tiny paper bags, the good old Elmer's glue, and some felt scraps. I asked Lilah what she wanted to make, and she decided on a squirrel first. A squirrel, really?! I had no idea how to make a squirrel, but usually I can put something together that sort of resembles what the kids ask me for, so I went for it. (I mean, Lilah thinks my stick figures of our family are beautiful, so what do I really have to lose, right?) I cut out some circle shapes from white felt, and smaller ones from black felt for the eyes, some ear-shaped pieces from brown felt, and a red tongue. Then I of course had to make a squirrel tail. Eeep. Not so pretty. Lilah thought he was cute though, and christened him Mr. Squirrel. She's nothing if not creative.

We then proceeded to make a bear and a bat, Bubba and Batty, respectively. Meanwhile, Mr.Grady was bop-bop-bopping away on his construction paper with the Bingo daubers. He likes to do projects too, but puppet-making was a bit beyond his attention span. Give him something to bang on the table with, though, and the boy is happy, especially if he can make a mess with it and attempt to eat it.

Once Grady saw Lilah playing with her puppets, he decided that he needed one too, so Lilah made him a dinosaur. He makes a guest appearance in Lilah's creative story, but he didn't actually last thirty seconds once Grady got his hands on him. I found an eye stuck to the couch and I'm pretty sure his tail ended up in my laundry.

Since Lilah is very into making up stories lately, she said she wanted to tell me a story about her puppet friends and I would have to write it down. So here it is, unabridged and completely in her words:

"Once upon a time there was a squirrel. his name was Mr. Squirrel. He had a friend Batty the Bat and a bear named Bubba. They went on an adventure. And one day, a dinosaur saw them. He gobbled them up. So they cut out his leg and climbed out. Then he was their friend too. We'll call him Mr.Dinosaur. They all go to the zoo. He didn't really gobble them up because he was just a teeny-tiny baby one. That was their imagination. They decided to go on a picnic and swimming too. They ate bread or something, and some cake after their lunch. They lived happily ever after."

I'm keeping the story to put in her scrapbook, but sadly, the puppets are no longer with us. The Elmer's glue was just not strong enough to hold them all together, so if I did this project again, I'd probably use fabric glue or break out my glue gun if possible. (Meaning, if Grady is asleep.) It was really fun to make them and to play with them after, though, and it kept the two of them entertained for over an hour, so it was a very successful impromptu project.

Stay tuned for further adventures of Mr.Squirrel, Bubba, and Batty! Well, maybe not...

Batty the Bat. He was my favorite.

"Please!" - I made the mistake of giving him a sheet of stickers, prompting him to beg me for one every .5 seconds.

Yes, that's a dinosaur. Really.

He got tired of eating Bingo dauber, so we broke out the Cheerios.

Introducing: Pinterest Project Friday

2011-09-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned Pinterest a couple times recently, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you must. Like, right now. Actually, maybe you shouldn't. It is extremely addicting, and I do not want to be held responsible for your obsession.

I love the way Pinterest works - you can do a search for just about anything, from "cute boys bedding" to "Halloween DIY", and tons of images come up related to your search. You can then click on the image to take you directly to the original link where it's from. If it's something you're interested in keeping for future reference, you can create boards to "pin" things to (for example, I have a Crafts board and a Wish List board.) So instead of using up space on your hard drive, you just login to your Pinterest account and access your boards. Simple! You can also "follow" people on Pinterest, whether it's your personal friend or a blogger who happens to have great taste. ;)

For the past couple of weeks, I had been toying with the idea of a regular feature here on the blog, but I was stumped. Then I realized that I have all of these DIYs and crafts I have pinned, some that I have tried, but many that I have not yet. So I decided that each week I'll pick something from one of my Pinterest boards to share here on the blog. If you'd like to follow me and my boards, click here.

This week's Pinterest project was so easy, I almost feel like I cheated, but it's really cute and very useful. I made a custom dry erase board from a picture frame and a piece of pretty fabric. It took me less than five minutes and cost me about $6. You can't go wrong! The process is pretty intuitive (find a pretty frame you like, choose a fabric that works with your decor, and cut to fit. Voila!), but here is a link to the original tutorial if you want to check it out.

Oh, and today is my dog's birthday, in case you were wondering. Cosmo is four years old today!

I hope you enjoy Pinterest Project Friday, and I would love to see your creations if you decide to make them too. Happy pinning!

Nostalgia

2011-09-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Among all of my many cookbooks is a small collection of books that is very special and dear to my heart. You see, from the time I was an infant right on up through high school, my mom's side of the family threw a huge Fourth of July shindig every year. That in and of itself probably doesn't sound that spectacular; many families throw huge Fourth of July parties. But these parties weren't merely day-long picnics with a culminating display of fireworks at night. They were three, sometimes four days of camping out on my great-aunt and great-uncle's lawn, whether it was in a camper or a tent. If you didn't have either one, well, there was always a free bed nearby, since my grandparents, uncle, some second cousins, and my (now departed) great-grandparents all lived within a stone's throw of each other. I mean that literally.

Anyway, each year there was a theme for the annual party - some of the most memorable for me were Halloween in July, Down on the Farm, and Native American Pow Wow. We incorporated the theme into everything for the weekend: the parade, the kids' and adults' games, the decorations, the food, and the talent show. Oh, yes, there was a talent show, and we have them all recorded on VHS (and I know for a fact that my sister digs them out from time to time just to watch them.) These videos capture the essence of our family circle, which is wide and encompasses relatives with such ties as "third cousin twice removed", as well as anyone we just happen to love enough to adopt into the family. It's truly amazing to watch these tapes, not only for the funny and embarrassing moments, but because there are many family members captured on film who are no longer with us. My great-grandparents, my great-aunt and great-uncle, my mom's cousin (who was like an aunt to me), and even a dear friend of mine from high school, they are all there on the TV screen, full of life and enjoying our crazy family traditions.

Okay, back to the cookbooks. Among all of these traditions, we also put out a yearly cookbook that tied into the theme of the weekend. At some point a few months before we all pulled up in our campers, my mom's cousin, or "Aunt Cindy", would ask everyone to submit recipes for the cookbook. It didn't matter if it wasn't gourmet, or new, or even very complicated (I'm pretty sure a recipe for toast is included somewhere). Everyone was encouraged to participate, and the more creative you got, the better. In the "Down on the Farm" cook book (1991), for example, there are recipes for Rhubarb Cobbler, something called "The Fruity Farmer", and my very own recipe for "Elysha's Chocolate Meadow Muffins". And in "The Magic Book of Potions" (Halloween in July, 1995), the creativity reached new heights, with Graveyard Mystery Cake, Ghoulish Malted Milk Cookies, and "Witches Brewski". These books not only include dozens of great (and some not-so-great) recipes, but drawings that us children did pertaining to that year's theme, as well as little nuggets of information about family members and traditions. Most of the books were created before computers were in every household, and are photocopied pages of type-written recipes (and some hand-written), that are stapled together with a single sheet of colored photocopier paper as the cover. I love them.

Now that I've dug them out, there are tons of recipes I want to try. A legendary family recipe is one that my great-grandpa used to make, called "Burn Your Guts Out". I think I'm going to put it on my weekly menu list for next week, and if all goes well, I'll take some photos and post it on the blog very soon. It's a perfect cold-weather dinner, similar to chili, but...well, different.

I'm happy to say that my second-cousin (or is it second-cousin once removed? I have no idea.) now lives on the land that my great-aunt and great-uncle used to live on (his grandparents), and he has revived the tradition. We had a good old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration this year at his place, and he built a brand new stage just for the talent show. The food was great, the weather was perfect, and memories were made and reminisced over. It's a tradition I had been missing, and I am so thrilled that my children will get to experience it just like I did. Now I might have to get to work re-creating the cookbook...

Suprise Cookies

2011-09-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Most of the recipes I try, I get from the internet, usually from one of three sources: How Sweet It Is, The Pioneer Woman, or Tasty Kitchen. But occasionally, I'll go old school and dig out one of my cookbooks (I actually have quite a library of them and should use them more often). I decided to do that this week, both because I wanted to test out my new super awesome oven and because I really wanted cookies. So I went to my tried and true Pillsbury Baking cookbook, and found a stack of hand-written recipes that I had stashed in there. Chances are, if it's handwritten, I've copied it from one of my grandmothers' or my mother's recipe cards. I found one that I had written on the inside of a blank card that was definitely a cookie recipe, but it had no title. I was intrigued. Since I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand, I decided to give it a shot and see what I ended up with. Here's an idea of what you'll need if you decide to make them too:

The Wilton bottle behind the butter is almond extract. Whoops, my bad. And you don't need wine glasses, I just forgot to move them.

Don't mind my crappy dinosaur-age phone. It's really time for an upgrade.

I rather liked the assortment of cutters Lilah and Grady picked out from my stash.

Fueling up before dance class.

Grady is always a fan of cookies!

The full recipe is below, but I won't keep you in suspense. They turned out to be gingerbread cookies, and they were goooooooood. Sure, it might be a little early for gingerbread, but my kids really didn't think so. Besides, gingerbread cookies are my favorite part of summer visits to Santa's Village in New Hampshire, so I think gingerbread works for any time of year. We didn't frost them this time, but I did include a basic frosting recipe in case you want to. I have no idea which grandmother I got this recipe from (I'm pretty sure it's not from my mom, but I could be wrong), so I'll have to ask them each some tricky questions to confirm whose it is. In the meantime, enjoy the photos, and make these soon! They are super-easy, and they turn out so perfectly chewy and spicy. I wish we had some left...

Suprise Gingerbread CookiesMakes about 5 dozen cookies; recipe can be halved easily
Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup molasses

3/4 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. almond extract

4 1/2 - 5 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets. Melt butter in a small bowl, let cool 5-10 minutes. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, spices, salt, and baking soda. Mix in melted butter, evaporated milk, molasses, and extracts. Stir in flour one cup at a time until you have a nice workable ball of cookie dough. Dough can be chilled for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator for ease in rolling out and cutting shapes, but it's not necessary. Roll dough onto floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut shapes with cutters and place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. (I took mine out at 8 minutes and they were perfect, but you may need to adjust baking time depending on what size cutters you use. My cutters were about 2 inches across, average.)

Frosting:1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk (or less, for thicker frosting)
food coloring, optional

Just mix sugar and milk to desired consistency and spread on your cookies! Can top with sprinkles, chocolate chips, whatever you choose.

Nature Walk

2011-09-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Attempting a stroller escape.

This guy? This guy's chill.

I accomplished a major feat today. I laced up my sneakers, made sure the girl went potty, changed a couple of diapers, and took all three of my little ones on a walk. By myself. Three miles of walking on a nature trail, pushing two twenty-something pound children in a huge jogging stroller, plus carrying a fifteen pound baby strapped to my body, made me feel like a superhero. And as I was huffing and puffing up the impossibly long hill on the way back, Lilah asked me, "Mommy, can you sing a song?". I told her that I can't until we get to the top of the hill, because I'm out of breath. "But, Mommy, you're not out of breath. I hear you breathing!" True, kid, very true. So I panted my way through my version of "Raindrops Are Falling on My Head" with some nice back-up from Lilah. When I got to the top of the hill, I wanted to snap a couple of shots of these mushrooms (with all the rain we've had, wild mushrooms are EVERYWHERE up here!). Lilah and Grady were both annoyed that I stopped pushing the stroller for ten seconds to take a picture, and both of them immediately tried to escape.

Besides feeling like my lungs were going to collapse, it was really a great mini-adventure. The air was cool (I feel fall in the air, yay!), everything was freshly washed from the rain, and all was peaceful and quiet in the woods. The kids seemed to enjoy it too, although Lilah was hoping to see something more exciting than "boring trees". We heard lots of birds and bugs, but there was no wildlife to be seen today. I was fine with that.

Speaking of wildlife, we saw a gigantic caterpillar outside today like none I've ever seen before. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so no photo, but if anyone knows of a humongous bright green caterpillar with black and white markings, I'm curious as to what kind it was. It was about six or seven inches long and as big around as my thumb. Gross. Lilah thought it was cool, and Grady wanted to poke it. I think Cosmo wanted to eat it. Ick. I much prefer them after they turn into butterflies (or moths, as the case may be.)

It's nice to have days now and again where you feel like you've got it all together. I don't feel like that very often, and some days I'm a frazzled mess and can't seem to brush my own hair, never mind take three children aged three and under on a walk in the woods. So I'm giving myself permission to be proud of myself for such a simple task today. All too often I think that parents beat themselves up for not doing enough or doing things "right", and I'm trying to change that about myself. Today, I was an awesome mom. And you know what? Tomorrow I will be, too, even if I don't comb my hair, take the kids on an adventure, or read "Barn Animals" 57 times.

On a side note, I have no idea what's up with blogger today, but I can't get my photos to go where I want on my post. If you can fill me in on what I'm doing wrong (or just commiserate with me) in the comments, I'd be eternally grateful. Good night, darling readers!

Re-learning How to Play

2011-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, I was an expert at playing Pretend. Imagination is one thing I have never lacked, and even now at almost thirty years of age (!), it runs a little wild sometimes. The crazy things that I think of when Matt is working nights are quite embarrassing in the light of day, but alone in the dark I can convince myself that some sort of creature is in my basement and can break in and eat my dog before I'd ever know a thing. And now I'm sure you think I'm a total kook, but suffice it to say that my daughter comes by her wild imagination quite naturally.

Since we have had so much opportunity to run around outdoors while here in Vermont, the kids have come up with a bunch of games that they like to play when we are outside. I have already mentioned our little re-enactment of the Three Little Pigs, and now we do Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk too. Recently, Lilah has branched out to making up her own stories, which more often than not include me in the plot line. Let me tell you, playing Pretend isn't so easy as an adult. You have to suspend all sense of propriety, throw inhibition to the wind, and just go with it. This is one aspect of life that children are much better at than adults, and if you want to do it "right", just follow their lead.

Let me walk you through a typical Pretend session in our outdoor time. We walk out to the ball field behind the house, and Lilah decides that the soccer goal is a cage for trapping animals. She leads Grady inside, and informs me that they are unicorns who have been trapped by a nasty goblin, and I am the mommy unicorn who must set them free. I ask her if she knows where the key is, but apparently there is no key, I must use my "snippers" to cut the net. I set them free, and we run over by the vineyard to hide from the goblin. We nibble some grapes from the vineyard (or pretend to), and then seek refuge beneath the crab apple tree from the pursuing goblin. I say something to Lilah, calling her by her name, and she lets me know that her name is not Lilah, it's Sparkle, and Grady is Baby Unicorn Awanna, and I am Mommy Unicorn Ahanna. She runs to the play tower/sandbox and says it's time for the Fairy Festival. Apparently we are all fairies now and I must sew her a sparkly blue dress, and a shiny purple one for myself before the "games begin". Grady will be a prince and wear a "handsome shirt with a silver crown", and we have to get our faces painted like animals.

The face-painting area is beneath the maple tree, which is where we get sidetracked for a mini-science lesson about slugs and worms, both of which gross me out, and both of which are crawling on the wet ground beneath the tree. Grady, of course, proceeds to try to alternately squish them and pick them up, while Lilah is more fond of poking at them with her fairy wand (a small branch). She tells me that slugs are really "cheeky snails with no shells" (thank you, Peppa Pig, for giving my child an English accent). I tell her that worms have five hearts. They do, right? I think that's what I remember from biology class. Anyway, I rescue the slug one last time from Grady's stomping sandal, and it's back to the sandbox to play Bakery. Lilah is still a fairy, and she needs to order a wedding cake for the party. It must be strawberry flavored with white frosting and purple flowers. And it costs fourteen dollars.

Soon we are riding on the rides at the fairy festival, which include a carousel of unicorns, a log ride, and the Humbug Adventure (courtesy of Santa's Village). Just as I'm about to take my turn on the log ride, though, we hear Reed on the monitor waking up from his nap, so it's time to go inside. Surprisingly, both kids cooperate really well and race me to the back door with promises of juice and a banana at the "snack bar".

How crazy is it that for an entire hour the only thing that was required to entertain them was for me to open up my own imagination and truly play Pretend? Sure, we used a soccer goal as a trap and a pail and shovel to make our wedding cake, but if we hadn't had even those things, it wouldn't have mattered one bit to the kids. They love their toys, to be sure, but it's nice to know they don't need them in order to have a good time. I am more than happy to participate in these games of Pretend with them, for I know that the years of childhood play are fleeting, and I won't ever have a chance to do it over again. Let me tell you, though, at the end of the day, this momma is sure ready for quiet time after the kids go to bed!

Headband Winner

2011-08-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited I got my very first comments on the blog with this giveaway! I'll be working on some headbands and hair accessories tonight so I can get my etsy shop up and running, and so I can get one ready for my first ever giveaway winner! I used random.org to choose from the comments on your favorite childhood treat, and the winner is....

Commenter #1, Jane, who said chocolate chip cookies and creamsicles were her favorite treats from childhood.

Congratulations, Jane, email me your address at mommalysh@gmail.com and tell me if you prefer white or black for your headband. And you'll be happy to learn that I'm making a version of a creamsicle cupcake sometime in the next week, so check back for the recipe and my review.

Yesterday was a crazy busy day (and also my birthday), so I'm going to make a cup of tea, have some leftover cake, and work on my headbands. Good night readers!

A Cake, a Cupcake, and a Giveaway

2011-08-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, my birthday is this week. I'm turning 29, and that's a for-real 29, not the 29 that I'll claim to be next year and the year after that. Lilah thinks that's terribly old, but any excuse for a party and she's all over it. She helped Memere make me a birthday cake today. By helping, I mean cleaning the beaters for her after it was mixed:

And of course, Grady got in on the action:


Unabashed cake batter licking. Yep, that's how we roll.

You wanna see pure bliss, though? I'll show you pure bliss:

The girl has no shame.

Grady dipped his beater in the bowl for another go:

After they cleaned up and the cake was cool, they both lined up for a shot at frosting and decorating. Lots of sugar was consumed by my children today, and the cake hasn't even been sliced yet.

Love that pouty face!

Here's the (almost) finished product. They added some rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chips, and a few fingerprints after.

I can't wait to eat it tomorrow! (That's if Grady doesn't dive in first.)

While we're on the subject of cake, I made these little beauties a little while ago. Root Beer Float Cupcakes from How Sweet It Is.

Hello, lover.

They are so fabulous. Root beer floats are one of my favorite childhood treats, and in cupcake form they rock my world. You seriously must check out How Sweet It Is, it is one of my favorite blogs and I have tried many recipes already. Every single one has knocked my socks off. Next to Pinterest, it's my latest obsession.

And I know I've been teasing you with a giveaway for a couple of weeks now, but I'm finally ready to do it! I am getting ready to set up my own Etsy shop with some fun accessories, and I got some fantastic vintage lace to make headbands. So one lucky commenter on this post will get a custom-made headband in their choice of black or white. Just post a comment below telling me what your favorite childhood treat was, and I'll choose a winner at random later in the week. Contest is limited to posters with US/APO addresses only. You'll get an extra entry if you post a link to my blog on your Facebook page and tell me in your comment! Good luck, and check back soon to see if you won!

Just Another Summer Day

2011-08-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

The boys and I trekked up north a bit today to pick up Lilah, who had spent a couple of days with my Nana. As is traditional, Lilah got spoiled at Nana's and will surely have a "grammy hangover" tomorrow (you know, that wonderful day-after-spending-time-with-the-grandparents, must-have-my-way, whiny-and-overtired kind of day). I won't complain, though, because I know I went home many times over the years with grammy hangovers that surely drove my parents crazy. And those sweet, precious overnight visits are among the most cherished of my childhood memories, so if I have to endure a day or so of a cranky three-year-old, so be it.

Anyway, Lilah got to go to the fair for the first time, where she enjoyed seeing all of the farm animals in the agricultural barn, won a stuffed monkey in a fishing game, and timidly went on a couple of rides with her baby cousin. She also got to spend some quality time with her Auntie Danielle, my baby sister, before she leaves for college next week (eek! My baby sister is going to college?!). She ate pasta and berries at every meal (her favorites), had no bedtime, and got to pick a movie to watch each night. She colored to her heart's content with no little brother to steal her crayons, sat on the lawn tractor with Uncle Chris (my cousin), and showed everyone how she wants to "be a ballet" when she grows up (and apparently a farmer too). All in all, it was the kind of visit that she'll be talking about for weeks and will store in her memory bank for life.

As lovely as it was to have the two boys to myself for a couple of days, it was so nice to have my girl back today. We spent a little more time at Nana's before heading back to my in-laws', and Grady and Lilah cooled off a bit in the sprinkler and in Aunt Terri's garden fountains. Since Uncle Chris had just mowed the lawn, however, both children were coated in a nice thick layer of green grass when they were through, so we did a quick hose-down before jumping in the car, and all three kiddos zonked out for the entire ride home.

I should turn in early tonight - it's sure to be a fun day of tantrums and sibling squabbles tomorrow. I have some great recipes to try coming up, and I promise a giveaway is coming!

Letting Kids Be Kids

2011-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

This past week has been filled with fun and adventure for us here in Vermont and we've made so many memories that I'll cherish forever. We've done lots of playing outside, lots of baking, and lots of visiting with family. Lilah and Grady have a new favorite game to play when we go out, and if I didn't already have Lilah's Halloween costume, this game would have inspired the perfect costumes for them this year: The Three Little Pigs. It's always been one of Lilah's favorite stories, and she has come up with a way to act it out with Grady and me when we play in the backyard. They run from tree to tree, with each one being a different kind of house - the maple is the house of sticks, the apple tree is the house of straw, and the walnut is the house of bricks. I, of course, am the Big Bad Wolf who has to chase them and huff and puff to blow the houses down. But Grady likes to be the Big Bad Wolf too, so sometimes he crosses over to the dark side and chases his sister and huffs and puffs with me.

It's heartwarming to watch my children play together and use their imaginations. It takes me back to when I was growing up, running around on the farm with my brother and sister and cousins and neighbors, making up stories for us all to act out. A cornfield could be a castle, a tree could be a pirate hideaway, or a hay barn could be the setting for our many games of 'house'. We made milkweed crowns, picked daisies and Indian paintbrushes for bridal bouquets, and an old wooden fence was as good as a white horse to ride away on. Our parents let us create our own worlds, and imagination was the very best tool in our toy box.

All too often parents, myself included, get caught up in the glitz and excitement of the wide array of toys that do things, and we forget that really the simplest of objects can spark our children's minds in ways that all the electronic gadgets in the world cannot. Sure, it's nice to have a little pink 'laptop' for Lilah to play with that helps her learn her letters and numbers, but it's no substitute for me sitting down with her and a piece of paper and a marker to teach her myself. I try to play with and interact with my kids as much as possible, but I'm no superwoman. And I'm finding that now that Grady is talking more and enjoying pretend play, that they are more likely to come up with their own entertainment with each other. I am very much a person who likes to have a hand in whatever is going on, but I'm working on taking a step back and letting them just do their thing. "Child-led play" is a big buzzword in early childhood education, and it makes so much sense. Of course they need direction and discipline, but they are perfectly capable of deciding what they like to do during the day. Sometimes that means an entire day of coloring and drawing, sometimes that means a lot of pretend play, and sometimes that means a lot of sitting on the couch and reading books. Most days it's a combination of those things, and then some.

It's hard for me to let go of the reins sometimes, especially because I have always been a very routine person and I like a structured day. Maybe it comes from working in a day care, but I have to have a 'schedule' for our days or I think I would go crazy. That being said, I've been trying to relax about the routine a little bit while we are here visiting and go with the flow more. The kids still need their naps and a decent bedtime, but I've been able to work around our normal schedule a little bit so that they can take full advantage of the opportunity to visit with family and just play outdoors as much as possible. So after naps today, instead of doing our normal afternoon thing and playing together here at the house before dinner, we took a little trip to Miss Charlene's to see the horses, Cocoa and Pepper. Lilah was hesitant to get on, but Grady was all about jumping up in the saddle on little Cocoa!


He looks like he was born to ride!

Sitting on the tractor was more Lilah's speed.


She loved patting Cocoa, but was "a bit shy" about riding her.

I'm so glad that I took a step out of my own way and just went for it today. It may seem small, just going for a short visit to a nearby friend's for the afternoon, but it's a big deal for me. As my children grow and learn, I'm finding that I'm doing just as much growing and learning myself.

Blackberries

2011-08-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

It may sound silly, but I hold a special place in my heart for the blackberries at my in-laws' house in Vermont. It was two summers ago, before they had moved back here from Utah, when Matt and I stopped by on our way back to Boston to check on the vineyard and give Lilah a little time to run around before our long trek home. She was just a little thing then - just barely walking, and Grady was probably hardly bigger than one of those blackberries. We were a family of three, almost four, and we hadn't given much thought to moving back "home" to Vermont, except maybe when we were talking about way down the road in our retirement. We had been settled in our little house for two years at that point, and thought that when we upgraded it would just be to a bigger home in Massachusetts.

That all changed after that visit.

Matt's grandfather, Pepere, was mowing around the grapes in the vineyard (and oh, Pepere and the grapes is a story for another time!), and he stopped to show us all the huge blackberries growing on the bushes in the backyard. We're talking big, juicy berries, glossy as snake eyes and warm from the sun. He picked a handful for Lilah, who immediately stuffed them all in her tiny mouth and was looking for more. By the time we loaded ourselves back in the car, her cheeks, chin, and hands were stained with purple blackberry juice and she had a belly full of berries. Matt started driving down the road, and both of us were quiet for a minute or two. And then, we looked at each other with what was probably the exact same expression on both of our faces; we were thinking the same thought but afraid to say it for fear that the other was not going to be on the same page. And I don't remember who said it first or the exact words, but we both knew that we wanted to move back to Vermont, to raise our kids where we had been raised. We wanted to see them eat blackberries off the bush in the summer, pick apples from the trees in the fall, cut down our own Christmas tree in the winter, and plant a new garden in the spring.

And last summer, Matt's parents moved back home and we spent a lot of time here in Vermont with them. It was so nice to be able to let Lilah run around barefoot in the grass, and Grady learned to crawl in their backyard. Again, we picked blackberries, this time turning them into pies, muffins, pancakes and shortcake. There were blackberries coming out our ears, and Lilah loved going out to pick them with her little basket. She ate more than she brought inside, but that's the nature of berry-picking when you're little. They taste best straight from the bush and warm from the sun.

Now here I am again, this summer, picking blackberries. It's an easier task this year, as Matt's sister took the time to clear out some rows while she was here visiting, and the berry patch looks great. We've got blackberries coming out our ears again, and I have big baking plans this week, including some new recipes I'll share later. I picked a bunch today, while all three kiddos napped, and it was so peaceful and relaxing to walk around the bushes and hear the plunk of the berries in my bucket. It seemed like more berries were getting ripe as I made my way through the rows, and I'm sure they'll be another haul to pick tomorrow. I'm just praying that by this time next year, we'll be calling Vermont home and berry-picking will be just another part of our daily life instead of a treat on vacation.

Photo by Lilah

The Beauty of Motherhood

2011-08-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I'm working on "redecorating" my blog, trying to make it reflect me. I've been thinking long and hard about what direction I want to take it in, whether I should focus on just one topic, and what I want it to look like. It will be an evolutionary process, that is the only thing I am sure of. I can't decide just what it will be, that is boxing myself in too much. But I have figured out something I'm pretty excited about, and that's my new subtitle, if you will, to the blog: The Beauty of Motherhood.

When I was thinking about whether to focus on one topic (photography? parenting? cooking?), I went around in circles trying to figure out which way to go. The only thing I kept coming back to was my day-to-day life as a stay-at-home mom. It's certainly cliche and may sound trite, but being home with my children is the hardest and most rewarding job I can imagine having. It's tough at times, but always, always beautiful. I get to spend my days with these wonderful little people who bring tremendous joy to my life. They love me unconditionally, as I do them, and we truly enjoy our time together every day. That might mean an impromptu photo shoot one day, or a new craft another, or a day of baking in the kitchen. It's always new, and I learn as much from them as they do from me. And now I've found a way to share all of that, with this blog. I've followed a few "mommy blogs" for some time now, and I love the network/community that it creates. When you're struggling with an aspect of parenting, want to share something wonderful your kids did, or learning a new skill, there's a whole world of support out there and people to learn from. I'm excited to be a part of the blog community and hope that my readers are as happy to have me as I am to have them.

Now, a few photos from the last couple of days:

The artist at work.

This kid is the epitome of mischief.

"Um, hi, I look just.like.my.daddy."

Lilah, pretending to be sad.

And pretending to be mad. I swear this girl will be on stage some day.

Well, good night all. I hope you like the new direction I'm going in. My next post will be from beautiful, rural Vermont. I can't wait!

Exciting Things

2011-08-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

As usual, my days are a whirlwind lately, and lots of changes are coming my way. We've got big home projects on the horizon so that we can get our house on the market, I'm thinking about opening an Etsy shop, and some fun new things will be happening with this blog soon. I may have some sponsors and advertisers in the very near future, as well as some really awesome giveaways coming up! I love giving presents to people, so this will seem like I get to give presents on a regular basis for no reason other than thanking you for reading my blog. I just love wrapping gifts for people, and I have a really fun one on the way to my mom for her birthday coming up next week. I can't wait until she gets it - hi, Mom!

Because our house will be in a state of disrepair very soon, I am heading up to the country with the kids to spend some time with my in-laws (and many visits to my family, too). I can't wait to let Lilah and Grady truly run around outside, pick ripe blackberries, and play in the sprinkler. There will be nightly "jammie walks" with Lilah after tubbies, pushing Grady in the swing in the apple tree out back, and some solitary runs on the bike path for me. It will be wonderful to spend time with our families and get a taste of what it will be like when we (hopefully sooner than later) get to move back home. It's funny how I spent much of my teenage years aching to get out of my home state, but now as 30 is fast approaching, it's the only place I want to be. I'm so glad that I went out and experienced life in different parts of the country, as I have made some amazing friends along the way, but Matt and I know where our hearts lie, and we hope our children love it as much as we do.

No reason, other than, how CUTE is this face?!

So stay tuned and check back often - I'm hoping to post a giveaway in the coming week!

Being a Grown-up

2011-07-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's not easy, this task of parenting. Just when you get over the hump of the baby years (well, I'm still in them, but anyway...), you realize that you are now responsible for raising a person, who will hopefully be kind, compassionate, and well-balanced. As my good friend Katie pointed out to me, you can't make your child empathetic, but you can instill a sense of good judgment and teach him to be kind to others. Days are filled with "teaching moments", and I am the first to admit that I don't always have a well-written lesson plan. I find myself losing my temper far more often than I'd like in dealing with the challenges that come with having a three-year-old, and I know that getting emotional about her defiant streak and boundary-pushing is the exact opposite of what I should do, but in the moment I have a hard time remembering that. What I need to do is validate her feelings and emotions, but teach her that her actions and reactions are not always appropriate or allowed. Yes, it's okay to be upset that your brother took your toy away, and he should not have done that, but kicking him in the shin is not an acceptable way of letting him know it. "Use your words," and "We don't use our hands in a mean way," are phrases I'm repeating often lately, and it sometimes makes me sad that she doesn't automatically know that it is never okay to hurt another person. The truth is, even though she is incredibly smart, cognitively she does not yet comprehend that her actions have an effect on other people. We'll get there, but it's going to take some tantrums on her part and some extreme patience on mine.

I am also beginning to realize that I can't always control or project my children's emotions and reactions. Lilah and I had the opportunity to go on a "date night" this week, and I was so excited about what I had planned. I wanted to take her to the movie theater for the first time, to see the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie. She loves Disney movies, popcorn, and candy, so this would be a treat that included all three. How could it go wrong? Well, as much as my girl loves all of those things, she is absolutely terrified of loud noises and of the dark, and her fears were too much to overcome once we got into the cinema. She refused to stay, said she wanted to go home, and planted herself on the carpet outside the theater door. I tried a couple of times to convince her how much fun it would be, to no avail. So we sat on the floor, ate our popcorn and neon gummy worms, and decided to head out for dinner instead. I was immensely disappointed; I truly had wanted to see the movie, and to share the experience of going to the theater (which is one of my favorite things to do) with her had me very excited. But I had to "be a grown-up", take my disappointment in stride, and consider my daughter's feelings first. We ended up having a fun time anyway, with dinner at the 99 Restaurant and a quick trip to the craft store. Maybe we'll try the theater again later this year (the girl loves Christmas, just like her momma, so if a good holiday flick comes out, it might do the trick), but for now we'll keep our dates to things I know she'll enjoy, like going to the mall or the museum.

I still want to see Winnie-the-Pooh, though.

All dressed up for our date. And yes, I'm dorky and made my daughter wear a matching headband with me.

The gummy worms didn't stand a chance.

As much as she can push my buttons, this girl is truly a sweetheart. She loves her baby brother so much. "He's my heart," she tells me.

Pushing Limits

2011-07-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

I have sort of a Jekyll/Hyde complex when it comes to patience. I like to think I have an abundance of patience when it comes to people (children in particular), but very little when thinking in terms of events or results. This could be why I start listening to Christmas music in October, or planning the kids' birthday parties months in advance - once I get excited about something, it's hard for me to wait for it to actually happen. And while this may not be a big deal when we're talking about holidays and parties (speaking of such, Lilah has already caught my holiday fever and is planning out everyone's Halloween costumes, more on that in another post), it's detrimental to me when it comes to something like exercising.

I've been running, doing the "Couch to 5K" program for about two weeks now, and for the first time in my life I can say that I enjoy going for a run. I've had some setbacks, so I'm not on the mapped out schedule where I should be, but I am trying. Here's my problem: I'm not good at running. I've never been particularly athletic, even though I played two team sports in high school and was a cheerleader in high school and college. I mostly just enjoyed the camaraderie of being on a team, and my high school was so small that it needed to field as many warm bodies as possible in order to stay on the schedule in our division. And while I never scored a goal in a soccer game or hit a homerun in my entire high school career, I truly enjoyed working together with my teammates on a daily basis, whether it was at practice or a game, and that was reward enough for me. Running, however, is not a team sport, and my only rewards so far have been shin splints and aching arches.

I'm working on Week Two of the program, and the ninety second intervals of running I'm supposed to be doing are tapering off to more like forty-five towards the end of my twenty-minute run. My legs burn from the get-go and I'm huffing and puffing before I get to the street light three blocks away. I know it will take time, both for the running part to get easier, and to see the results in the mirror and in the way my clothes fit. I'm trying hard to push through it and make it about the run itself, not about the end result. Because, inevitably, there is no end result to this task for me - I want to make running a part of my lifestyle in the long term, not just a pathway to get me where I want to be.

Smile!

2011-07-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a little bit random, but that's how it's been around our house the last few days so that's how I'm writing.

Lilah, like many three year old girls, knows how to throw a mean tantrum. And, like many girls, those tantrums reach epic proportions after she comes home from spending time with her grandparents. I know I did it to my own mother, and I'm truly understanding of the phrase "I hope you have one just like you someday" now. Lilah was fortunate enough to spend a few days with Grammy Julie and Grumpie earlier this week, and I was so grateful that she was able to do so. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a child, and I hope my children are fortunate enough to do the same. She went to the beach, to Santa's Village, and got lots of ice cream, lucky girl. And I got to have a little bit slower-paced daily routine with just the two boys, although the house was truly too quiet without her. I was thrilled to pick her up at a halfway point on Wednesday, and she was very sweet and chatty with me the whole ride home. Lots of kisses and hugs, and "I missed you soooo much!" was the refrain for the rest of the day.

And then, Thursday arrived. My sweet little angel girl turned into a three-year-old devil. She screamed, she kicked, she was defiant about everything. She spent a fair amount of minutes in time out. But the thing is, this girl knows the routine and understands her responsibilities when she has done something wrong, and I'm holding onto the testament that it means we are doing something right. Once she has been placed in time out, she may continue to throw her tantrum for a bit, but she knows that when she stops that she needs to talk calmly and politely to Mommy or Daddy about why she was put there. She usually apologizes and asks for a kiss and a hug. And lately, she throws this into the mix: "Mommy, will you please smile at me? I want you to be happy."

That simple request from my three-year-old daughter has moved me and inspired me as a parent. I am more conscious about how much I smile and show my happiness around my children these last couple of days. Because, honestly, it's easy to show them the negative emotions and frustration that come with day-to-day parenting (especially of a toddler and a preschooler). We have to doggedly reprimand and re-direct, and although it's all in the interest of "their own good", it can't be pleasant to see or hear all of the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not constantly on the watch for negative behavior, ready to dole out punishment. We have lots of fun at our house and I try to let the kids be kids for the most part. But if you are a parent of a child over the age of one, you know how often "teaching moments" come up during the course of a day. It's all about balance, and I really want to tip the scales in favor of those happy, smiling moments in the future.

And, speaking of smiles, this kid is full of them. Forget Happiest Baby on the Block, he's the Happiest Baby in the World:

Don't you just love those baby bubbles?

And Lilah is showing a budding interest in photography, always asking to take a picture when I have my camera out. She's not half bad, either:

Please ignore my shabby attire, I was trying to beat the heat.

She took this one, too, of her little brother feeding her doll a bottle. It just melts my heart to see him playing like this:

He is so sweet with baby dolls, even when he's whacking them on the back to "burp" them.

Finally, this made me smile today:

Lilah took the initiative for our "project" today and decided we should make paper bag puppets and a backdrop. I love how creative her little mind is!

I have set a new goal for myself as a result of Lilah's request. I want my children to look back and remember how much their mom smiled when they were little. It sounds simple, but it will be challenging at times. And now, I'll leave you with another adorable (random) picture of my happy baby. Thanks for reading!

Everyday Learning

2011-07-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

As a parent, you may not consciously set goals for yourself to achieve, but I find that as my children grow and develop, I create expectations of them and myself that relate to how "well" I think I'm doing at my job. Of course I have hopes and dreams for them as far as their futures go, but I also think about the day-to-day stuff that makes up the memories of childhood and sets the foundations for them to build those hopes and dreams on for themselves. One small thing that I have started to think about is making sure that they learn something new every day. It's different for each child and each day; it could be as small as Grady learning how to make a new animal sound or say a new word, or a bigger thing like teaching Lilah what cooperation means. The learning could be funny or silly, such as realizing that blowing raspberries on Momma's arm produces a hilarious sound that makes everyone laugh. Or it could be an unfortunate lesson (albeit important), like learning that rocking the glider with your head while sitting on the floor is going to result in it coming back to knock you right over and give you a nice bruise on your cheek. The lessons learned may be from me or Matt consciously "teaching" them, or learning through their experiences. It is part of my ever-evolving "job" as a mom to keep track of this learning and make sure my children are on a good path to achieve the hopes that I have for them and the goals they set for themselves.

Since Lilah has been away visiting her grandparents for a few days, I have had the opportunity to spend more one-on-one time with Grady than ever, and at a very fun developmental stage too. He is really exploring language and comprehension lately, and it seems like he is learning a new word every day. My days are filled with shouts of "Uh oh!" and "I'm stuck!" (even if the uh oh is caused by him purposely throwing food on the floor, and getting stuck is intentional). The boy has sure missed his sister though, and has been repeatedly going to the gate at the bottom of the stairs to yell "Wi-wa", which is what he does in the morning when she is home and he's ready for her to wake up. She'll be thrilled to find out her brother has been playing constantly with her baby stroller, and that his new favorite game is "sleeping" on the couch and then "waking up" to roar at whoever is nearby.

Pretending to sleep on the couch. I wish you could hear his fake snoring!

Enjoying the free reign over all of the toys.

Reed is changing and developing every day too, although not in ways as noticeable as Grady. He is learning to tolerate tummy time, and has recently discovered that he likes sucking on his fingers. He is debuting a new hairdo tonight:

Meet Spike!

And if there is anything more lovely than a sweet baby after a bath, please let me know. I cherish the moments I get to spend with my littlest at night, when I can lay him on the floor without fear of Destructo stepping all over him, and he just smiles and coos at me like I'm the queen of the world. And I sure do feel like it sometimes. And sometimes I feel a little more like the court jester, like when Reed looks at me with Crazy Eyes after I sing him a silly made-up song about spiky hairdos and chunky leg rolls:

"Momma, you are certifiable."

And now this Momma needs to learn a very important parenting lesson: Go to bed early. I'm off to sleep, can't wait to pick up my girl tomorrow!

Lemon Cupcakes and Buttermilk Biscuits

2011-07-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited the Tasty Kitchen website yet, bookmark it now, because it is the single best recipe finding site I have found. I get lots of ideas and links to recipes at Tasty Kitchen from the Pioneer Woman's blog, and I have loved every single thing I've made from the recipes I have tried. One of my first TK experiments was for these delicious Mini Lemon Loaves. Lemon is probably my absolute favorite recipe ingredient, and especially in dessert form. The first time we made them (Lilah is my right-hand girl when it comes to baking), we were both licking the batter off the spatula and from the bowl in great anticipation for the tasty loaves baking in the oven. We were not disappointed - they were just lemony enough, super moist, and a perfect melt-in-your-mouth consistency. I knew that it would be a go-to recipe for me, but I wanted to adapt it a little to make it more cake-like. So we made them again last week as a treat for Memere and Grandpa (Matt's parents) to celebrate their anniversary when they came to visit. I just substituted cake flour for the all-purpose and used cupcake tins instead of loaf pans. They came out great, although I have to say I liked the loaf version just a bit more. I didn't really do step-by-step pictures of this one, but I did take a few while we were making the cupcakes:

First, you must lick the butter. With the wrapper on. Yep, girl takes after her momma.

You can click on the link for the instructions, but we mixed up our yummy batter (secret ingredient: sour cream), poured it into cupcake tins, then proceeded to take some silly pictures and shamelessly lick the sinfully delicious batter off the spatula, from inside the bowl, and possibly the bits that dripped onto the countertop.

See? Shameless, I tell you, shameless.

This is our "Happy Face" pic.

Then Lilah wanted to do "Serious Face".

And, finally, "Silly Face". Pay no attention to the bags under my eyes. I get up too early and stay up too late.

This is where I should have a picture of the final product. But I don't. Possibly because my camera battery needed charging, and possibly because we ate all the cupcakes before I thought about it. Anyway, I'll be making them again, so I'll try to post a picture at a later date.

The other TK recipe I want to share today is for Buttermilk Biscuits. Seriously, these babies are so easy to make, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own using regular milk and vinegar, but I'm too lazy to Google the exact process at the moment. I did take step-by-step pictures of this one, though.

See, this is all you need to make these lovelies. Well, except for the 7 tbs of butter I had chilling in the freezer.

You just mix your dry ingredients...(I love this spatula I got from Matt's grandmother - it came in a set, and it's from Prepology. Not a paid advertisement.)

Then you cut in your butter, make a "well", and pour in your buttermilk and mix.

Form your dough into a rectangle-ish shape...

And cut out circles with a biscuit cutter. Or a glass, if you're like me and don't own a biscuit cutter because you never remember that you need one when you are at a kitchen store, instead you just keep buying cupcake tins that you think you need. Or cookie scoops that break the first day you use them.

Brush the tops with buttermilk (use your *clean* fingers if again, you are like me, and keep forgetting to get a pastry brush.). Toss them in the oven and bake, then devour that little baby one you made with the leftover dough while it's still hot from the oven. Yummmmmmm........

So there you have it. My first official recipe experiments here on the blog. Let me know how they turn out if you try them!

Surprise Packages

2011-07-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved getting the mail. There is always a sense of anticipation, the possibility of something exciting that you weren't expecting to get. A glossy new catalog to flip through and circle the items you want, a wedding invitation, a big check made out to you for your birthday...and sometimes, if you're really lucky, a suprise package. I got one of those today. Surprisingly, I didn't even notice a delivery truck pulling up beside our house at all, and Cosmo didn't alert me to it by barking either. But just as Matt was leaving for work, he told me there was a package outside the door and tossed it in for me to open. And it wasn't something I ordered, honey, I promise!

It was addressed to Lilah and Grady, and after scanning the packing slip I discovered that is was from my lovely mother. She must have taken note of me mentioning that I would like an ice cream maker, because that is just what it is - called "The Camper's Dream". It's shaped like a ball and after we fill it with the necessary ingredients, the kids can toss it around and it will make the ice cream. So neat! I can't wait to try it out. It also came with one of those glossy catalogs, from Educational Innovations, and there are many things in it for me to circle. I just LOVE to circle things in catalogs, don't you? My BFF from college (hi, Kara!) used to sit on one of the twin beds in our dorm room, each with our own special color gel pen, and circle the things in the Victoria's Secret catalog that we wanted. We'd even make notes in the margin of what color and size to order. But I digress...

So now I can concoct all kinds of ice cream creations. My mind is reeling with possibilities for flavors and I'm sure that Lilah and Grady will be willing test subjects. So, thanks Mom!

I also wanted to share some photos that I have been playing around with from our summer so far. I'm thinking about putting together a little summer album on Shutterfly with all of the great memories we are making this summer. That's the one downfall of digital photography, at least for me - I rarely actually print my photos on paper as keepsakes. It's something I'm going to attempt to get better at in the near future. But for now, they'll live on in cyberspace...

A Lily Photo

2011-07-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is just a random photo I took the other night and edited in Picnik:

Settings: ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/200 sec. Adjusted red tone in Curves, added slight Vignette.

Do Something About It

2011-07-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I ~~ran~~ jogged a mile today. Okay, more like I jogged for a bit, walked for a bit, then jogged some more. Let me tell you, it was hard. Considering that for nearly the past four years, I have been either pregnant or nursing a baby, it's been quite some time since some of my muscles have seen a workout. But after stepping on the scale today and seeing a number that was about twenty pounds higher than I want to be at, I decided it was really time to do something about it. The gym membership I signed up for two months ago hasn't been used yet, and it isn't always easy to find the time (or energy) to get out of the house by myself to use it. So I told Matt I was taking Grady for a run in the jogging stroller, threw on my inadequate sneakers (definitely need an upgrade: ouch), and tossed Grady in the stroller.

I'm sure it was quite foolish for me to just dive in headfirst with the running today, after so long without exercise, and considering it was 85 degrees, humid, and I certainly had not hydrated well enough for a workout. But I did it anyway, and it felt good. I had to speed-walk for a good portion of the mile, but Grady's encouraging cries of "wow" and "hi, Momma!" made me smile through some of the rough parts. We made it home just in time too, because the skies opened up and gave us a good soaking not even five minutes after I stumbled through the door with Grady on my hip and a stitch in my side.

So here I go - embarking on a new mission to become a runner (well, at least someone who enjoys running instead of avoiding it at all costs). I'm preparing to download some good workout songs onto our old iPod, so if anyone has suggestions, leave them in the comments section below! I also need to invest in some good running shoes, so recommendations are appreciated. I figure I'm more likely to keep up with my new goal if I hold myself accountable for it, so I'll update here regularly on my progress. Wish me luck!

On a totally unrelated note, here's an amusing conversation between Lilah and Daddy tonight at the dinner table:

Matt: So, Lilah, what are your thoughts on the state of our nation's economy?
Lilah: I went to the mall last night and rode on the fire truck. It had a siren.
Matt: Oh, really? What do you think about the new tax policies?
Lilah: I went to TJ Maxx too.
Matt: Well, can you tell me your thoughts on the current unemployment rate?
Lilah: No, I don't think so. Can I have some fruit snacks now?

She's pretty good at diversion and changing the subject. Maybe a future in politics?