radishes

In the spring Maggie got to plant some radish seeds in little paper cups with the moms group. As soon as our seeds sprouted we transplanted them to the garden and let them grow wild. Since none of us likes to eat them we figured we'd just let them grow and see how big they could get before we needed the space to plant our summer garden. They got pretty big.

cowboy birthday

Maggie's bud, K-Bob, turned one this month and we got to celebrate with him this past weekend. His family threw him a darling cowboy birthday party in the country complete with stick horses for the kids, hats, bandanas, photo ops, swimming, food and a pinata. A great way to spend a warm weekend evening.

asparagus

Ever since turning 2 1/2 Maggie has increasingly requested to help me around the house. She wants to help me with laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. so I try to find easy jobs for her so she can feel productive and happy. Jobs that don't make my task any more laborious or time-consuming are a bonus as well. In the kitchen she mainly washes veggies in the sink or puts things in bowls, but in this photo she's actually snapping the asparagus before we wash and steam it. So what if we're losing a bit of the edible part of the stalk in the process...it's a safe and helpful task and she couldn't be prouder.

Independence Day

We had a great, full-filled Fourth of July this year. We were invited to a BBQ where all three of us got to eat and play/chat with friends before camping out to watch the local fireworks show. It was great!

third birthday party

We threw Maggie her third birthday party on Saturday and she had a blast. She is super proud to now be three! Eight of her friends came to help her celebrate, and along with their parents, my parents and a few others, the group totaled over 30 people. The kids started out painting birdhouses (the very light party theme focused on birds. If you watch Portlandia you get it and if not, click here to see why). Then they played in the sprinkler toys for a little while before sitting down for lunch. After eating we had cupcakes and then let the kids take a few whacks at a bird pinata we stuffed for them. We filled it with the usual crap: candy, bouncy balls, bubbles, mini skateboards, etc. and the kids enjoyed both trying to break it with the stick and gathering the loot from the ground after it was broken. Finally we opened her gifts before everyone set off for home.  It was a busy but fun party and we're pretty sure most everyone had a good time. We hope anyway!

Keri's shower

At the beginning of June our family gave Keri (my cousin) a bridal shower at a restaurant in Lodi. While I was setting up Maggie watched the cupcakes for us. She picked out her favorites (all of them) as we stopped her from touching them all. Once the guest of honor arrived we played games, ate lunch, snacked up cupcakes and watched her open her gifts. It was a nice afternoon just three weeks before her big day.

sugar snap peas

This winter we grew sugar snap peas and man, they were prolific. We had more peas than we knew what to do with, but fortunately all three of us loved munching on them straight from the garden. Even Mags would go back there to see what she could reach and snack on. Definitely something we're going to plant again next winter.

Weekend Visitors

Today I finally started to get overwhelmed by how behind I am on blogging. The pressure finally gave in and I'm back.  So we left off in April...

We had our friends from the D.C. area out for my birthday weekend. We ate lots of food, snacked on yummy home-delivered ice cream, took a drive in the foothills, watched some MMA fight at our neighbors' house, visited the Forestiere Underground Gardens (go if you're a local and haven't been) and hung out. It's always nice to see them and we really appreciate the effort they make to come out here to see us.

bugs

Recently my mom bought Maggie a bug catcher. Maggie saw it in Michaels, had to have it, and, of course, who is my mom to say no to her? So off we went to find a bug to trap. It was harder than we thought it would be. The net worked well, we just couldn't find any bugs! So a few days later Chad and Maggie tried again. Maggie shouted, "here buggy buggy!" and eventually they caught an ant. Hooray! We gave the ant some fresh lettuce. As expected, unfortunately, the poor ant didn't last long. Needless to say we're going to hold off on pets for awhile.

like butter

Here's what happens when I give Maggie a spoon that's full of peanut butter. Yum.

downtown

Last month Chad, Maggie and I spent one morning/afternoon in downtown Fresno. We wanted to try a new eatery called the Iron Bird Cafe which was conveniently located near many work/live loft buildings in the area. Lunch was delicious (I got the veggie sandwich and would definitely get that one again) and was super stoked to finally have the chance to check it out. Luckily that Sunday the loft buildings in the surrounding areas were all open for tours, so we walked from one to the next, enjoying our time downtown.

Garden Update

So our winter (if that's what we're calling it this year) garden is doing well this month. The broccoli has started to flower, as have the snow peas. The peas, in fact, are even starting to sprout. The carrots are getting bigger, but I have no clue when they'll be ready so we'll wait a bit longer before we start pulling them. In another few days we'll taste our broccoli and snow peas. Yeah!

tea party

Maggie's friend turned three earlier this month and we got to help him celebrate his big day. He requested a tea party and the kids all got to wear their fancy duds for the event. Maggie and I both had lots of fun that day. The kids played games, listened to a story (Miss Spider's Tea Party), ate tea party-type foods like small sandwiches, fruit, scones and bundt cake, and rode their bikes/trikes/scooters outside (it was 73 degrees!) for awhile before everyone went home for a nap.

Smashed

A little over a week ago Maggie and I went to lunch with friends. Everything was great: the food, the company, the kids' behavior...and then it happened. Just before we were getting ready to leave two of Maggie's fingers got smashed inside a heavy industrial strength metal door. CRAP! She was immediately able to move and use them so we knew they weren't broken, but the skin on the underside was torn-the-heck-up. She didn't cry right away. She looked at me in shock. Then the tears came and she was super sad. I was sad for her. I ran as fast as I could but just couldn't get there fast enough to save her.

It's funny (just slightly) because Maggie is all about safety. She loves seat belts, helmets, etc., but for some reason her little fingers are completely fascinated by the cracks in doors. Maybe this incident will stop this fascination? We can only hope.

holiday luncheon

Just before Christmas Maggie and I were invited to our friends' house for lunch. It was a moms/toddlers Christmas luncheon with Christmas tree decorating, homemade mac and cheese eating, playing and, of course, a little dancing.

Thanksgiving

Our family had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We were able to spend it with Chad's parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews up in Shaver Lake. There were four people out of the 24 who couldn't make it this year and they were certainly missed. We went early on Thursday and left Sunday afternoon. The holiday weekend was filled with eating food, playing games, doing crafts, riding on the swing, playing in the snow, making bracelets, seeing Santa in town, opening gifts and spending time with each other. So much fun.

Pumpkin Carving

On Sunday we carved our pumpkins. Chad did an awesome job freehand cutting the cat face on the small pumpkin. It looks even better in real life. I did the buck-toothed happy faced pumpkin, as usual. I also carved a crooked M. We tried to get Mags involved this year but honestly, she wanted nothing to do with it. She was excited at first, but once she realized she was going to have to touch the pumpkin guts, she changed her mind. She did reach in once and pulled out a seed. One seed. And that was enough. You can tell by her face.  Later in the evening we went to our friends' annual pumpkin carving party (but cheated and brought our pre-carved pumpkins with us this year). It was still a fun party!

Check here, here, here and here for my previous posts on our pumpkin carving.

Fall Planting

 

Chad, Maggie and I finished tearing out our summer garden (goodbye tomatoes) on Sunday and prepped the box for our fall/winter garden. We've mostly skipped cool weather crops in the past so this year will be interesting to see how they turn out. We planted baby romaine lettuce, carrots, broccoli and peas and Maggie really enjoyed helping us this time, especially with the big the pea seeds. It'll be fun for all of us to watch this new garden grow and we'll keep you updated on how things are turning out.

Beach Party

On Saturday we celebrated the birthday of Maggie's friend. She had a beach party and we all had a good time partying with her. Maggie enjoyed drawing with sidewalk chalk, swimming, decorating a visor, eating lunch, and most of all, playing with the other kids.

Cabin

For Labor Day weekend we went to the cabin. It was nice to be back in the mountains for three nights--but this time with a kitchen, bed and shower. Ahhh. We relaxed, played darts, Scrabble, went to the swing, watched a movie and walked through a craft fair. On Sunday we rented a pontoon boat and spent the afternoon on Shaver Lake. More about the lake on the next post. Overall, a fun weekend. Hard to believe summer is almost over...