I know a lot of my posts might sound like I’m complaining about motherhood. I like to think of it as “keepin’ it real”. And hopefully, some of you moms reading this will find the humor in these snapshots of my life. But to put a lovey-dovey spin on things, I will list my latest and greatest, top 10 favorite… Read more →
Awhile back Alex adamantly said that he wanted to be an owl for Halloween. Fair enough. I was going to borrow a ghost costume from my sister-in-law for Chloe, but that fell through. And in true working mom, my sister just got married, last minute fashion, I chose Chloe’s costume 2 days before Halloween. Little red riding hood. I found a cape pattern online (thanks, Pinterest) and cut out the red felt so my mom could sew it together for me. It turned out so cute! And it’s big enough for her to use for dress up for several years. As for Alex, I got him an owl beanie and pinned felt feathers on a regular shirt. He was SO excited about it. That afternoon, I left work early to watch their daycare do trick or treating around the block. What. A. Shit. Show. God bless those women who work there and “coordinate” this thing. Chloe wanted to be held the whole time. And the line was only like a thousand people deep. So I dodged around the crowd for Alex to get some candy and then headed back to the daycare. So I’m holding Chloe in one arm, the enormous bag of crap in the other, and steering Alex around the block to the car by holding my foot out and yelling directions. By the time we got to the car, I’m sweating like a pig. Chloe is whining for goldfish crackers and I’m barking at Alex to “watch where you step” because there’s dog shit everywhere. Fucking dog owners. When we get home, I unload every thing. Not before Henry’s golf clubs and bag falls into my car. Rad. Henry arrived shortly there after and I hid in my room drinking wine in bed for 30 minutes. He fed the kids and I emerged to help get costumes on and get the candy bowl ready. Henry really wanted us all go together so we left the candy bowl out on the porch and hit the streets. It was super slow going since LRRH didn’t want to be held. She was so cute. She was so determined to walk and be a big girl. She charged right up to the door and got her candy. She didn’t really know what it was until she saw a lollipop. Then it was game on. I had to open that shit right then and there. Alex was the sweetest shouting “Happy Halloween!” to each person who answered the door. Not many of our neighbors had their lights on so we loaded the gang into the car and went to my folks’ house so they could see the kids in their costumes. By then, the kids were very hopped up on sugar and I was spent. I took Chloe’s 2nd lollipop away so we could go home and the rest of the night is a blur. Crying. Bath. Jammies. And a fight to the finish. I know these are the memories I’m going to wish I could re-live one day, but that shit was rough. The important thing is that the kids had fun and I have a whole 12 months til I have to do it again. Enjoy the pics!
Since Alex was a baby, we’ve met up with the same friends and met at the same pumpkin patch every year.
The first year seems silly looking back because the kids were 3 months old. That trip was more for us parents, obviously. But now, those babies and their younger siblings can run around and really soak it all in. The Pumpkin Farm is a tiny pumpkin patch with a hayride, train ride, goats, chickens, and a bounce house so there is enough to keep the kids amused for at least an hour. This year, I was laughing at the scene of kids running around in every different direction while the parents were BEYOND ready to go home. I’m slowly understanding the value of putting your children on leashes. Doesn’t seems so inhumane anymore.
Alex was mostly interested in Lindsey (my friend’s niece). He followed her around like a lost puppy and talked about her for several days after that. He wants to have a “playdate” with her. I can’t take it. He has this weird fascination with pre-teen girls. Should I be worried?!
Miss Chloe loved the train ride. She’s started saying “Choo Choo” for trains and when Thomas is on TV. She also wanted to be in this raggedy old covered wagon. It was nothing short of a death trap so some one had to be right up on her the whole time or surely she’d find something awful like a rusty nail to chew on or plunge to the ground from the hole in the canvas covered top. Thank god my parents came along to hang too. Its always nice to have a little extra back up.
Henry was in charge of paying for pumpkins. So naturally I found him loading the car with two GIANT BALES OF HAY while another friend was helping him tie the trunk down. Wtf?!? He’s using the hay to grow potatoes. Yup. His car is going to have hay pieces stuck to the interior long enough for the next owner to enjoy, I swear. It was a hot mess. But, ya know what? Its a good hobby, so knock yourself out. Just don’t ask me to help you move the freakin’ hay.
Anyways, I didn’t get a ton of adorable kid pictures like I wanted to. I chose my sanity over a perfectly posed brother & sister picture. But these shots still capture the day. This is still my all-time-favorite family tradition. I’m not sure why I love it so much. But I’m going to relish this stuff until the day my kids are too old for hay rides. There’s a chance teenagers like that stuff, right?
Goodbye, summer garden! Hello, winter crops! Ha. I use “crops” loosely like I’m a farmer or something. First, I should note, that my backyard smells like manure. Its a real treat. Kind of takes me back to living in Sonoma County with all the dairies around. While I was in San Diego for Mari’s bachelorette weekend, Henry decided to rip out all the half dead summer stuff and go nuts. He bought a ton more vegetables, soil, chicken manure, and this rad planter box below. That spot used to house an ugly bush that Henry also ripped out himself, and now the spot looks respectable again. The planter box is super cute and I’m guessing was pretty easy to assemble. (Knowing my husband’s DIY skills plus two kids running around.)
The new set up.
An artichoke and the three pumpkin plants above that. I would have thought the pumpkins would have taken off by now, so we’re iffy on those guys right now.
Rows of different lettuces.
Our garlic has sprouted! So excited for this one. I want to plant 20 more.
Red leaf lettuce.
Mustard spinach. Isn’t it pretty? I’m almost tempted to put some into the flower beds as filler.
More lettuce and arugula. The far left row is toast. Apparently, romaine lettuce is hard to transplant. 
The tomatoes are hanging on. Looking tired though. I’m sure in the text few weeks, they’ll end up in the compost. We still have a few of the baby Sungolds growing. Chloe actually gobbles those up. She points at them and says, “Ball!”
This guy is asparagus. I had no idea their leaves looked so ferny. I thought these were carrots at first. I LOVE asparagus.
At the base of the tee-pee are more beans. They should climb and cover the bamboo.
And this picture is of the 4 Japanese pumpkins that randomly started growing in our garden this summer. They are a very white-washed orange color and about the size of a butternut squash. I’m thinking about displaying them on the porch and then cooking them up for some homemade pumpkin puree. I hear they are supposed to be kind of sweet. Next to it, is my basil crop. I got about 4 packed cups of basil off the plant. I left a little bit on there just to see if it would keep producing. I took that haul and made my all-time fave….PESTO. Recipe here. Its exponentially better than store bought.
Those 4 cups got us 7 servings of sauce and I can’t wait to slap it on some pasta! I froze them in the plastic containers I used to use for baby food. That should easily last us until next summer’s basil plant. I miss making baby food, actually. It used to be fun having an excuse to load up at the farmer’s market and get crackin’ in the kitchen. A batch of homemade apple sauce just might be in your future 🙂 Mmmmm. Hey, Fall…How you doin’?
We bit the bullet. There was a small window of opportunity (time) so we just went for it and spent the Saturday cleaning out closets, drawers, and the main obstacle… The garage. Henry almost talked us out of doing all that work when we figured most of the crap would need to be hauled away anyways. But I wanted to try. On Sunday, I whipped up a couple of neon signs to put on our cross street and the main road to our house. Let me just say that old people LOVE garage sales. They were rolling up at 9 a.m. sharp and ready to buy. It amazed me what other people will pay for. So random! I priced everything aggressively low just so I could move it out of our house which meant we sold quite a bit. We got to meet a bunch of our neighbors and we came up $100! Totally worth the effort in my opinion. I’m happy that the garage is a bit more tidy and another month starts off with less junk! Holler! What room should I do next? I’m kind of itching to re-design Alex’s room Stay tuned.
Well, some one learned how to climb up on the couch. Balls! Read more →
This post is over due since this happened last month, but its still worth mentioning. As you know, this was on my list to do I can’t even tell you how much fun I had. 6 of us girls from my Mom group went out to dinner and then hit this spot called Painted. Its an open studio/boutique type place… Read more →
I think I’m around 40% ish done. Here is what I’ve finished or kept up with. Its nice to revisit this list periodically so I can keep it fresh on my brain. I have a lot of work to do but I’m excited to finish all of them! 1. Take the kids to Disneyland. 2. Go on a monthly date night with… Read more →
Oh, hello lover! (Aka: 2nd shower head). This morning was the first shower. Imagine me washing my hair singing Aladdin’s “A Whole New World”. There isn’t much more I can say other than it felt so good. The shower heads that Chuck put on aren’t the most modern looking but they were free and the water flows beautifully through them.… Read more →
More holes, but more progress. The hall bath has a fully functioning tub and shower. Can’t wait to wash my hair tomorrow morning!!! And the kids bath time was hella quick because the water came SHOOTING out of the faucet. Even Alex yelled, “Whoa!!!” The plan for the holes is to place the cut out pieces back in place, use… Read more →