Mama's Birthday And The Beginnings Of Summer

At the end of April the kids' school participated in the Week of the Young Child, a national celebration encouraging schools to add a little imagination to the week. 

Each day the school did something different. For example, one day they did a color run. (The kids came home covered in paint and powder!) On another day everyone dressed like a super hero. (Which was a hit, of course!)

Right before April turned to May, it snowed...This was the first snow in a long time. And it melted fast. (We recently got hit, May 18th, with another GIANT snow that closed down the University and did $300 worth of damage to our backyard trees... but more on that in the next blog post.) 

Sometimes Colorado springs are hot and dry. Sometimes they are cold and snowy. This spring has been a strange one for sure. 90 degree days. Rain. Snow. Back to full sun. Packing commuter gear for each day requires a lot of attention to detail. Do I need an umbrella? Rain boots? Coat? Ice scraper? Sunscreen? Yes to all, probably!

The end of the semester is always a very busy and taxing time. Lots to do before the students leave for the summer. And I was feeling run down from working so much, and felt that my domestic duties were lagging too far behind. So I took "vacation" days on 2 Fridays in a row. Matt even joined me on one.

Our micro stay-cations involved a number of adult duties that felt good to get done, but weren't luxurious or indulgent in any way. This is our life now. Taking vacation days for home repairs. Oy!

First we changed out the filters in our under-cabinet reverse osmosis water filter system.

Then we went through every paint can in the garage. Keeping the ones we needed for future (pictured below) and dropping all the old ones off at the recycling center. I wish I had a "before" picture. It was unbelievable how much paint had accumulated in the garage. Many of the cans belonging to the previous home owners, 7 to 10 years old! 

We installed a privacy screen on our master bathroom window.

And I oiled up the old kitchen cabinets and was surprised how refreshed they looked after the treatment. And they're still going strong today! This buys us a little time on our kitchen remodel.

We installed some curb-appeal to the front door area. This was a Christmas gift from me to Matt. Only took us 4 months to get it hung. Sign of the times, huh?

I also filed a year's worth of papers.

And went shoe shopping for me and kids.

Done and done.

The front driveway is a great spot to get a tan and do a little chalk art. Whatever the weather in town, the front driveway will always be about 15 degrees hotter, and not a lick of wind. 

This year for my birthday, I talked some gal pals into a mani/pedi spa day, the Saturday before my birthday. I can't drink, which is what this group would normally do together. So I had to think of another way to celebrate and pamper myself. It was not a bad decision!

The first appearance of the bounce house this season...

It ain't summer till the bounce house debuts!

On Sunday, May 7th, we hosted a gathering at our house - a little meet and greet with a neighborhood family - who has quite a bit in common with us. The mom is an academic advisor working at CSU, who has 2 boys (ages 3 and 5), and she's just wrapping up her maternity leave with baby #3 (a girl). Just so happens they live in our neighborhood - within easy walking distance! 

And so it seemed silly not to ignite a friendship!

The following Wednesday I turned 33. Nothing like a mid-week birthday and zero cocktails to celebrate. (Can you tell I'm having a hard time not drinking?!? Oy!)

But my parents really helped me feel special this year. With a surprise bouquet of flowers delivered to my office, a set of baking pans - ordered to my exact specifications, and a surprise check in my well-worded birthday card. It was a better day than I expected! Matt's parents spoiled me too! A handmade card, and more moola inside. 

Matt and the boys gifted me a brand new diaper bag. State of the art, with all the pockets and dividers a mother could want. This is my final baby. And I'm ready to indulge just a bit for this last round of baby gear. Just think...this will be my LAST DIAPER bag. How sad is that?! (Plus my old diaper bag has holes in it.)

For dinner, we took full advantage of the Kids Eat Free on Wednesdays deal at Culvers. The place was packed to the brim with kids. So table manners were mostly optional. And that worked well for us! Sage has acquired restaurant etiquette. Kale HAS NOT. But on this night - no one would have noticed. 

Custard for everyone!

The next weekend was hot and gorgeous like a mid-summer day. I hauled the kids in a wagon down to the park, prior to working CSU's graduation for 5 hours later that evening.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, we prepared the garden beds for veggie planting. And we decided to expand the growing area a bit to accommodate more produce. See those 2 big holes in the grass? I dug those all by myself!

So far we have garlic, snap peas, onions, and carrots in the ground.

This weekend we need to get the tomatoes, potatoes, beans, melons, peppers, zucchinis, cucumbers, and herbs in the dirt. But we've been waiting for nighttime temperatures to stabilize a bit.

Baby bump update!

24 weeks along. Over half way. But still so far to go!

We've been doing a good job of cooking for the majority of our meals the past few weeks. My goal has been to reduce our restaurant bills. And lately we've done very well!

We've been copy-catting all the best sandwiches from all the best restaurants in town.

This one here is based on Jason's Deli - the Zuchini Grillini

Rustic wheat bread. Grilled zucchini. Tomatoes. Spinach. Black Olives. Red Onion. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. Gouda Cheese.

This one here is based on Fiona's - The Sharon - breakfast sandwich.

Sourdough. Avocado. Tomato. Fried Egg. Roasted Chiles. White Cheddar Cheese. Garlic Aioli.

And finally, based on the Umami Food Truck's Bahn Mi sandwich. A Vietnamese specialty!

Fried Tofu (marinated in hoison), Carrot Cucumber Slaw (vinegar based), Sriracha Mayo, Toasted Hoagie Bun.

One week I had some leftover fresh mozzarella and wanted to try something new with it. I stumbled across a caprese tartlet recipe. And they were delightful! When I have a surplus of heirloom tomatoes this summer, this will be a great way to utilize them.

The tart shell was made out of standard white bread, smashed flat with a rolling pin. The bottom of the shell was filled with herbed cream cheese. Topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil, and balsamic. Delish!

We've always been making quiche - almost on a weekly basis.

This one here is filled with zucchini, spinach, and parmesan.

And now I leave you with some stunning side-by-side shots of myself and my identical twin, Kale.

Seriously. It's quite unbelievable how much we resemble each other.

Damn, DNA is cool!

The Easter Bunny And Tooth Fairy Visit

 I used to post once a week. Now I post once a month. I don't know how life got so busy. But I guess this is the new norm!! 

So here goes... 

I behold... 

The Month of April

Early in the month, we helped celebrate Grandma Carter's birthday with a special Facebook message.

We cut out each letter ourselves (using old tie-dyed postcards) and glued them on poster board. 

And, wah-lah!

Sage loved doing the craft with me..until I forced him to put the letters in a certain order. Then he pronounced he was "done" and left the table.

But our April crafting didn't stop there.

One windy Saturday afternoon we decided to paint rocks.

This is Kale's masterpiece. I didn't help at all. This is all Kale. 

I was rather impressed!

Sage worked very intricately on his rock - painting in large patches - working hard to cover the entire specimen.

With Spring officially here, Matt has been making many frequent trips to the plan nurseries in town. Sage enjoys tagging along. There's always something new to see.

I'm happy to announce, Kale is 100% potty trained. 

Even over night. He doesn't wet the bed! 

I take ZERO credit for this miracle. It was the teachers at his school who made the magic happen. But I guess considering the price of daycare tuition (which is JUST AS EXPENSIVE as IN-STATE COLLEGE TUITION) they probably owe me some perks...like potty-training.

Anyway... I just cannot get enough of him in his undies. 

His tush is just the tiniest cutest thing I ever did see.

The kids have recently developed an interest in taking showers instead of baths. They typically go in together, the two of them, and just play and play and play until we force them out.

We are still on the fence about whether to start Sage in Kindergarten or not. But we attended the Open House to help us get a better feel for the school. Also we wanted Sage to see the school himself and let us know how he felt about it all. He was extremely excited to tour the grounds, and was front and center of the big group right up by the tour guide, rarely looking back to make sure we were still there. I think the lunch room, gym, playground, and music room were the big selling points for Sage. He talked about it for days afterwards!

And then it was Easter time... 

Holidays - all of them - have taken on special meaning with kids in the house. (Especially with master-decorator Sage living under our roof.) 

It came to our attention that we don't own a single Easter decoration. So with 48 hours to go, we took advantage of a 30% off sale at Pier One and invested in our first Easter decor.

The plate and cup set was inherited from my parents. 

The bunnies and eggs all new purchases. 

The flower is from our garden. :)

We dyed eggs. Of course!

And here is what the bunny dropped off!

Classic. Kale spilled. He spills everything... 

Me saying "don't spill" will in fact make him spill more....

The egg hunt was a hoot to watch. Kale has picked up so much speed since last year. But he's still no match to his brother - who practices all year long. (I'm not kidding. Easter eggs are a standard weekly toy in our house.)

Time to check out the loot.

One of the wrapped gifts was kinetic sand. A big hit!

And these little bunnies hop and twitch their ears.

Adorable, but they make a very annoying sound. (Which can only be handled by human ears for short periods of time.)

Both sets of grandparents sent great gifts as well. Our children are showered with love, and we appreciate it! They got new movies, new dinnerware, and coloring gear. Everything has been used extensively. Thanks grandparents!

Below are a couple random moments from school this month....

And a big milestone!

Sage lost his first tooth!

He's a couple months shy of 5, so we know that it's early to be losing teeth.

But he's injured this same tooth twice - knocking it VERY lose on both occasions. Once while dancing and wrestling with me, Sage flung himself on top of me and his mouth hit my knee. Pop! His tooth was a quarter inch lower then the rest. But the on-call dentist told us to push it back up and let it re-root.

A year goes by, then one day he's pushing a hand-held car through the school parking lot, loses his footing and goes face first into the concrete. Pop! Same tooth dislodged again.

I cannot believe it hung on for so long.

Just in case you didn't get a good look....

HE LOST HIS TOOTH! SEE?!?

The tooth fairy wrote a very nice note and gave him $3. She also left behind quite the pile of pink sparkles in our bed.

We did a Sunday at the park one morning...

Sage has reached an age where he can do all the equipment at the park, with no parental assistance. I don't worry about him anymore. Phew! He's strong, he's agile, and he's rather safe...knowing his own limits. 

Kale though, I still follow around worried about a possible injury. I burn just as many calories at the park as the kids do! I guess I'm not one of those "free range" parents. I'm a little more "risk management."

(I also had to take Kale poop 3 times in an hour and a half in a public park restroom. So that was fun...) 

And we have continued our food baking adventures at home.

We did a mega round of French toast one weekend. Freezing leftovers for future use.

We've made tofu-veggie-stirfry part of our weekly dinner rotation.

And we discovered a new Italian herb and vegetable baked penne that was TO DIE FOR!

But I had to hand-grate a bunch of specialty cheeses. Which meant it was labor-intensive and expensive. But the flavors were impeccable. Just a truly superb dish. I'll save it for special occasions.

We also got our first glimpse of baby #3, who I am just tickled to meet. We don't know the sex yet...and we might just let this one be a surprise. I never thought I could handle not knowing. But we're over halfway (22 weeks today) and I'm doing fine with the mystery. It's kind of fun, and I just want the HOPE of a little girl to stick around a bit longer. My doctor says... let's just assume boy. I'm fine with that. Expecting boy. But the possibility for girl is there. 

Boy or girl, though, I can't wait to kiss, nibble, snuggle, and love on this baby. I JUST CAN'T WAIT! 

Baby is measuring big. A week ahead of schedule. It's in the 90th percentile for size. Oy! Let's hope that evens out a bit, yea? 

But I'm on track for a late August birthday which has been my hope since learning the due date (9/5/17). Then I'll have July, August, and September babies. 

I like to tell Matt...just 9 more babies to go and we'll have the whole calendar. Ha!