Welcome Baby Boy!

My friend, Lindsey, is having a baby boy.  He's her 3rd baby and her 3rd boy.  Now I have a special place in my heart for moms of multiple boys.  And I have a special place in my heart for 3rd babies.  I feel like both of those groups can sometimes be...celebrated less than others.  And since Lindsey is such a giver to others, I wanted to make sure both she and her 3rd little boy know they are special.  

It wasn't a shower, really.  It was our usual book club meeting, but I put up some decorations, we got Lindsey a gift certificate to get her nails done here, and I made some food.  Sadly, I only took pictures before the guests arrived.  Once everyone came, I was busy making coffee and feeding my 3rd baby and being a hostess.  Which is why my kids never have many photos of their birthday parties.  I should have at least taken one of Lindsey and the girls.  Oh well.  I need to remember this for the next event.

I always like to take a picture of the table.  Especially now because there are so few times in my life when my table looks all cute like this.  In fact, it was all I could do to keep the boys away from the table, even without the food on it.  And once the cupcakes and chocolate made it on there, well, forget about it.  They were all over it.  I tried to be nice about it, but I did iron that table cloth, so I admit, I was a getting a little cross.  And I always knew I did not like that light fixture, but now I really know it.  I am looking forward to moving into the new house.  I will try to have only things in my house that I truly like.  If I don't like it, why not do without?

  I recently read an article about a french artist whose art installations are all different sort of garlands.  I feel a kinship with that woman.  I think I love garlands.  I had one for Christmas.  I had one for Valentines Day.  I made this one for the shower, and I am already thinking of my next garland.  Oh, and I made one for Thanksgiving too.  Yeah, I like garlands.

Do people actually tell their kids this is where babies come from?  How do they explain that giant watermelon under Mommy's shirt?  Do you just say, "Mommy's putting on a bit of weight?"  I'm curious.  Regardless, the stork does make a cute picture for a shower.  I used stamps and added the letter "b" to the stork pics that I cut out with a circle punch.  I used to think stamps were pretty dorky.  So either I am the dork now, or stamps can be cool.

 
And there were cupcakes.  Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  They were good.  I really like this cupcake recipe.  It is a master recipe from Martha Stewart and you can add extra ingredients to make chocolate, coconut, strawberry, or like 10 others.  I made the strawberry ones, too.  They were amazing.  I am going to make them again tomorrow, in fact.  I'll snap some photos and then post the recipe.  We used the leftover frosting as a dip for our strawberries.  It was a hit.  Thanks, Danielle, for giving me another way to consume too much bad good food.

It was a small party, and compared to the beautiful soirees that Lindsey throws, it wasn't much at all, but I hope it helped Lindsey to know how much we love her and how excited to meet this new little boy.  Babies are always amazing.  Boy, girl, number 1, 3 or 7.  They are a wonderful reason to celebrate.  Welcome baby!

History

I got these bowls this weekend. They belonged to the lovely lady who once lived in the house that will, in one week, be mine. She seemed like my kind of girl. She had blackberry bushes and made jam. I can't wait to make jam! She had an apple tree and made apple pies. She canned tomatoes and made fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast. 
I like her.

Her son gave me these bowls, along with a desk, a high fi, a box of sewing pins and a book of embroidery stitches. Oh, and a very cool, mod looking night table. It felt a little weird to be taking these bowls from his parent's house, but he assured me he wanted me to have them. I told him that I love to cook and every time I used them I'd think of his mom. His eyes welled up, not for the first time that day, and he said he'd love that.

When we found out the sellers wanted to meet us, we thought it was a bit strange. Why? To make sure they really wanted us in their childhood home? To ask what we were going to change and then give us the veto? But it turned out to be a lovely, sweet and moving experience. 2 of the 3 brothers were there, and they told us about growing up in that house, the windows they broke and the neighbors they still know. They shared their family history with us-- the family who is going to make some new history in that house. I think it was a way for them to remember their parents and their past. Sharing it with us it helped them to keep the memories alive.

By the end of our meeting, I felt readier than ever to move in. I want to pick up where their mom left off, caring for my 3 little ones in that house and mixing up some pancakes in those bowls. In our own little way, we are making history.
Love from,
Greta

Spring Vegetables

For so many reasons I am glad that it is spring.  One not very small one being that spring vegetables are back at the farmer's market.  Squash, squash, squash--how I have missed you. And I am talking about spring squash here.  Because, truth be told, I tire of winter vegetables. Oh yes, they are delicious roasted, and pureed and steamed with lots of cream and butter, and maybe maple syrup.  But, give me a yellow squash, a sweet, tender, young zucchini, and I am in heaven.  

So when I went to the farmer's market this week and saw the squash were back, and these beautiful baby eggplant, I was very, very happy.  I had scrambled eggs with sauteed squash for breakfast the next morning.  I also made this ratatouille for dinner.  It is Aaron's favorite.  We had the leftovers on pizza the next night.  It is so good.  So, so SO good.

Don't be daunted by the recipe.  Some of my shortcuts are: canned tomatoes, (especially when it isn't time for fresh tomatoes) roasting the peppers in the oven, and using less onions.  I can make it without a recipe now and it still tastes good.  Wait, did I say that already?     

PS: I'll post the recipe later.  Lilly is playing at my feet and trying to eat the computer cord.  She won't take no for an answer.  I guess I'd better pay attention to her now!

Indulge me

Iceland poppies

swaying in the breeze with their intoxicating colors.

I drive by them nearly everyday and smile.

Yesterday I stopped.

The kids were in the car, screaming

"Let me out!"

but I was lost in the flowers

It's spring

indulge me.

OK, upon rereading this post, I see a problem. While writing, I was caught up in poetic hyperbole. But in the cold light of prose, it just sounds like I am a neglectful mother. Please don't call CPS. I was steps from the car. And I was only snapping photos for 15-20 mins. Tops. Or maybe less than 5. Really.

Berry Basket Jails

I have been saving these berry baskets for a while. I knew they'd come in handy for something. Treat baskets for an Easter party, a birthday party, filled with cherry tomatoes from my tomato plants at my NEW HOUSE!, filled with treats at Christmas time. What I didn't know was that they make great building tools. They are really fun to stack into a tower. They are perfect for taping to the top of a cardboard house thus turning said house into a house with a sundeck. But most of all, they make great jails for all your guys.
See?
It is always the simplest things that make the greatest toys. Don't forget what Curious George said, reduce, reuse, recycle!

Reading Time

I like reading time.  I like Go Dogs Go and Bears on Wheels.  I like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and A is for Astronaut.  I like Frog and Toad.  I like that we all fight over the couch for reading time.  I like reading time.

It's Starting

We bought a house.  It's our first house.  It took a while to make the decision, to come to grips with our reality.  But now, it's official.  We bought a minivan, we're movin to the burbs, next stop, Wallmart.  No, never that!  But we will be spending a lot more time at IKEA.  

Actually, I am really excited and looking very much forward to filling this blog with before and after pictures of our new home.  We'll finally have the chance to let our home be an outlet for all our creative ideas.  Yipee!

More Collaging

I did some crafting today.  Collaging to be precise.  I know that is not a verb (see previous post) but I am turning it into one.  I am falling in love with collaging.  It incorporates my love of paper, design, color, storytelling and now that I am using photos, photography.  Oh, and I don't have to draw my own pictures, I use other people's.  I used to feel badly about this, that I wasn't really an artist, but come to find out, lots of "artists" do this.  I still don't consider myself an artist.  I know what a real artist looks like, I am married to one.  However, I am developing an artistic eye, and I am beginning to dare to call myself a photographer and a crafter.

We made these at my mom's group today.  It didn't take long at all.  The most lengthy part of the process was laying out my design.  Last night I picked my photo and my papers and came up with a design.  Today all I had to do was make a few tweaks to the design and decoupage everything to the board.

In case you are feeling collagy, here is all you need to make one yourself:

A board or canvas to act as the base for your collage

A photograph or 2 to decoupage to the base

Papers and/or other embellishments of your choice (stamps, stickers, glitter, sand, tissue paper, buttons, you get the idea)

Glue stick

Decoupage glue (such as Modge Podge)

Paintbrush

Directions: 

Arrange the papers, photographs and embellishments on your base.  Use the glue stick to attach any papers or stickers to each other before laying them on the base.  Use a thin coat of decoupage glue to attach everything to your base, layer by layer.  The more coats of decoupage glue you use, the more opaque it will become.  I like mine pretty clear, so I use very thin coats.  

It's very easy, and lots of fun.  I was so energized by this hour and a half to create something that my head immediately filled with designs for at least 3 more.  Unfortunately, real life called when I got home, so I did the dished and fed the kids.  But I put my collage in the window where I could look at it while I swept and dusted and dreamed of my next collage.  

I love being a crafty Mama!

   

I am a Dork

In a former life, I was a high school English teacher.  A friend just asked me to look over a few of her homeschooled son's essays.  I forgot how much I love to read essays.  It's not the reading of the essay so much actually; it's the comments I get to put on them after I read.

 

I know this photo looks very ominous, with the red pen and all, but I write nice comments too. It was always so disconcerting for my students when they got their first essay of the year back from me.  In their mind they were done.  "Typed, handed in, and I've washed my hands of that thing."  And then I gave their essays back: all covered in red ink and comments, arrows, things crossed out and circles all over the place, smiley faces and question marks.  The faces of my students fell.  "What do you mean we have to write it again?  This WAS my final draft!"  

My younger brother used to ask me for help on his essays.  Eventually he quit because I wanted him to change too many things.  I was making him do too much work.  I can't understand these kind of attitudes.  There is so much pleasure in organizing and refining a piece of writing and seeing the final product come out so much better than it was before.  My husband was telling me about people who were paralyzed with dread about writing a 1 page self review.  Not me! Just look, I can write about myself for pages and pages.  

I guess to some, writing is just as painful as math is to me.  Perhaps they get that same feeling of peace when they look at a word problem that I feel with a red pen and an essay in my hands. I know, I am a dork.  Maybe in my next life I'll be an editor.  Or a writer.  But I better remember how to diagram a sentence first.   

Travel

These times being what they are, economically speaking, many people are cutting back on their travels.  But I have been cutting back on my travels for a while now.  About 5 years to be exact. After our grand European tour, I became a stay at home momma with 1 baby, and then 3, and traveling wasn't especially feasible.  Economically speaking and logistically speaking.  

At first, it was really hard for me.  I felt so stuck.  Seeing the same old things day after day made me feel like I was suffocating.  I longed to see new places.  New people.  New shops.  New restaurants.  New parks.  New places to walk. New places to be.  

In the old days, we'd say, "let's take a road trip."  But now, my 3 small ones seem to have a strong aversion to road trips of long duration.  Unless I were to put a DVD player in the car, to which I have a strong aversion.  It seems we are at an impasse.

Not really.  There are ways, I have discovered, to get my travel fix, my longing for new places and spaces, that require neither large sums of money or long hours in the car.  Now I travel close to home.  

I like to discover new neighborhoods to explore.  I hunt online for new parks.  We'll try a new beach for a walk.  Or visit a new library.  For my birthday, we drove to Silverlake (30 minute drive) to try out a coffee shop I'd read about and to eat lunch at this cheese shop.  That 30 minutes felt very far away from my home.  Sometimes it's just me and the kids. Sometimes it's the 5 of us.  And sometimes, it's just me and Aaron.  And while it isn't just like the old days, we are finding a way to make it work in these new days.  

I love Color

I love color. I can't get enough of it. It cheers me. It energizes me. It makes me smile. My home is filled with color, and I am always wanting more.

Aren't we so blessed to live in a world that is colorful?