So I couldn't figure out how to add a photo from typepads mobile interface but now I am blogging by email!
Biscuit and I tested the new quilt in the It Takes Two Series. I think it's gonna work.
The next quilt will be given away via Craftsanity Magazine. Did I mention that the Picture Windows project is in the next issue of Craftsanity? It is and I couldn't be more excited. I just saw the proof of the pages tonight and can't wait to see the issue in person. If you want to be in the drawing for the next It Takes Two quilt buy Craftsanity (print or downloadable) for instructions to enter. It should be out in the next few weeks. Hooray!
From the lack of blog posts on the subject you'd be forgiven for thinking I'd abandoned this project entirely but that is not the case! I have ideas brewing and supplies purchased. I just need to sew and get quilts out the door. Stay tuned for another project for blog readers once I get back from vacation.
On one hand I'm annoyed this blog is going from at least a quasi craft-oriented blog to an online scrapbook for my kids. On the other hand the posts I love to go back to usually involve my kids. Or notes about recipes I want to find again. So how about both?
Yesterday, while weeding the garden, I discovered that lo and behold around the glut of weeds the plants are actually producing and we had green beans galore!
Tonight it was just me and Oscar for dinner so I decided to use up the green beans and the red potatoes I randomly bought at the Farmers' Market and the partial bag of arugula I used to make this salad and I had everything needed for this potato salad from Smitten Kitchen. As with everything of hers, I recommend it. I didn't toast the walnuts, used cider vinegar and olive oil instead of the ones she called for and replaced yogurt with sour cream oh, and had a two-year-old as chef's assistant and it was still good.
Oscar warmed up by cutting (and eating) a banana and most of an avocado while I chopped walnuts and potatoes. Then he was responsible for pepper grinding and whisking and even poured in the olive oil while I whisked the dressing. It wasn't exactly the recommended "thin stream" of oil to emulsify but it worked :) He served it up, carried his plate to the table, looked at his meal and pronounced it "num num." This is a wonderful departure from his usual rejection of everything except fruit and yogurt so I was very proud of him for eating 2 pieces of potato before rejecting the rest of the meal.
So we switched to leftover spaghetti which was its own source of amusement. Then he wiped up and put the dishes away. There may be hope for this kid yet!
Her distinctive sense of style
How he grabbed the corn from the Farmers' Market bag, husked it and started eating it. Raw.
This flower arrangement picked from the yard
The chemistry project Biscuit did (with lots of help from Mr. H)
The crazy fun playing with balloons.
This food does not look very appetizing. At all. Especially with this photo mid-eating. But it tasted great!
Through a comment on Alicia's site I found this recipe for Yumm Sauce. I'd never heard of Yumm Sauce but I gave it a try (I just put everything in the food processor--starting with the whole almonds then garlic then everything else. Used tofu rather than soybeans and left out the dried cilantro).
Even Mr. Picky McPickykins liked it (once I topped it with shredded cheese). I filled the bowls with brown rice, black beans, sauteed onion and zucchini, chicken, avocado and shredded cheese. Bizarre but good! I have to remind myself to make this again.
Triple the birthday boys
Triple the cakes
Triple the fun.
Everyone in the family was able to come over today to celebrate the birthdays of the most important men/boys in my life.
My dad--67 years young on June 2 (today!).
My husband---38 years old/young on May 30. (btw this photo is from his actual birthday--by today he had shaved and he looks completely different!)
And my "baby" who turned 2 on May 27.
Biscuit directed the decor (it involved a lot of streamers)
I focused my decorations on the gardening theme with the potted veggie favors
Mr. H was in charge of fun with the slip-n-slide. We've defintely gotten our $15 worth of value out of this sheet of plastic.
I was in charge of food. So let's focus our attention there since I'm writing this post ;)
Cakes: Carrot for dad, strawberry for Oscar and chocolate peanut butter for Mr. H. The chocolate peanut butter was the hands down favorite. I made little triple layer 6 inch cakes which were cute but a hassle to bake since I only bought two 6-inch pans. And they all sunk in the middle. Nevertheless--they were yummy. The frosting to cake ratio is very high on a 6 inch cake!
There were also salads.
Pea salad and corn salad from Susan Branch's Summer Book and orzo/spinach salad from her Autumn Book. I guess I was in a Susan Branch mood. Chicken Chutney salad from my mother-in-law's recipe.
Finally, there were gifts. Lots of things with wheels. Wheelbarrow:
Scooter:
And the grand daddy of birthday gifts for our bubble obsessed boy--the bubble mower.
My sister-in-law really is good at choosing gifts.
Meanwhile, Mr. H got his main gift from me the other day:
Most of the family got him add ons (aka: vodka)
So there were margaritas, sangria and who knows what else. It may have been 102 degrees today but it was an awesome day!
Happy birthday, boys!
Today Oscar turned two. Which is very hard to believe. We were home early from camping so we had a low key day at home with no particular plans. So this afternoon we went to the Children's Museum which he and Biscuit both enjoyed.
For dinner we had what we thought he would enjoy: mac'n'cheese, sausage, corn on the cob and artichokes. He mostly liked the corn and artichoke heart. He doesn't like/eat many veggies but he really loves corn and artichokes.
For dessert, a chocolate chip cookie. He tried to eat all the chips and avoid the cookie.
Let's see. A few observations about two-year-old Oscar.
He likes "dadows" (shadows) stomping on them and pointing them out to you. He likes pointing out all sorts of things including birds "beep beep," cars, planes and dogs. He really likes dogs. He loves the chickens and wants to take them treats and/or check for eggs many times a day. He's officially got that chore from Biscuit. Hopefully he'll get better about not dropping/throwing the eggs.
He loves to look at books but is very particular and it's hard to figure out which one he wants. Lately it's a pop up book about desert animals. He's a total daddy's boy and his favorite young person seems to be his cousin "MiMi" (Emery).
He sleeps through the night like a dream (finally) but is hard to put to bed (only Mr. H can do it). It's also tough to get him to nap although he is very consistent at daycare. Of course ;) At daycare he also loves "Dadow" (the cat, Shadow) and the hummingbird feeder.
He loves to throw balls (and, really, anything he can put his hands on) and is just now trying to make funnies. Tonight he was trying to "convince" Biscuit to eat some "num nums" by mimicing enthusiastic consumpution of macaroni and holding out a fork.
He's a perpetual motion machine but super, duper loveable. Happy Birthday, Oscar!
Biscuit and I spent the first half of the week at Sierra Outdoor School on the big second grade field trip. Two nights away, in the dorms, with programs from morning till bedtime. It was loud and chaotic but the kids loved it and I actually had a lot of fun too.
The first day involved a 3+ hour nature hike with several stops for exploration, explanation and journaling.
The culmination of the hike was the "silent mile" where kids walked alone across this aqueduct. It looked like this when you were walking on it.
The walk across the water spaced the hikers so they could just barely see the person in front and behind and then they walked for about 15 minutes in silence observing nature. It would have been great for meditation but I enjoyed the scenery and then got bored ;)
The evening program included a "hill billy hop" and dissection of owl pellets (which was Biscuit's favorite activity)
The second day involved a lot of riding busses on very, very curvy roads. But no vomit! At Calaveras Big Trees the really big stump was a hit--they had a mini class with all 17 members of Group D (and several parents) seated on top of the stump. It was really big.
Mercer Caverns was a good mix of scary and exciting for the kids.
The day ended with a campfire and skits interspersed with traditional songs. All 75ish kids had been broken into little groups and practiced a short skit. It was great! A few were skits/jokes I'd seen before but most were new and many were funny even without the kid mistakes ;)
It was fun to be away and spend some time with Biscuit (aka "Redwood" her nature name) but it was great to come home to these two cuties.
I have to wait up for the dryer because it contains my t-shirts and Biscuit's socks that we need to pack for her two-night school field trip to the mountains. We leave at 7 am tomorrow.
This is where I would post a really cute photo of Oscar petting a big pig but the camera is packed and I didn't download images. Today we went to Farm Day at Soil Born Farm in Rancho Cordova and, wow, would I recommend that event to locals. Tons of people but it was so spread out it didn't feel crowded. Lot's to see and learn. Not surprisingly Oscar liked looking at the animals and somewhat surprisingly Biscuit got really interested in the tour.
This is where I would post a really cute photo of my dad reading to Oscar (see above). It was a really busy week! Yesterday we drove to my parents' house to visit them and some family friends for dinner. Yesterday was the first time all week I was feeling up to doing anything at all. I got a random case of strep throat/tonsillitis Tuesday night and sheesh that just wasn't any fun at all.
I realize this post is utterly pointless but I spent most of my computer time tonight trying to set up my Etsy shop with automatic pdf pattern download and heck if I couldn't find the images I needed. In the course of the search I ended up trolling through old blog posts and I really do like having this record of what we've done.
Since you made it this far, a random photo of the kids trying to figure out the slip-n-slide. Did you know they come with little blow up boogie boards now?
The dryer still isn't done but I am. I bet the clothes are dry enough. Recap post when we're back on Wednesday.