More Lima Beans!

Very Important Kid

2012-02-01T08:13:00.001-05:00

Meet this week's Very Important Kid at her school. She's excited, her brother is jealous (he dumped a bottle of water all over her book bag in the van as we pulled up to school this morning), Daddy had special lunch dates and we bought our first piece of poster board. Fun times!

6:49 AM Making dreams come true.

2012-01-27T07:00:00.001-05:00

W: Mommy! Can we go to Waffle House since it is the middle of the night?

Mama: Sure! Go put your clothes on as fast as possible and we can go there as soon as possible.

100th day of school!

2012-01-20T07:31:00.000-05:00

January insanity.

2012-01-16T20:02:00.001-05:00

Don't sit by me.

2012-01-12T08:36:00.001-05:00

Why didn't William and Mary or USC teach me that a prune was a plum? I'm on a dried fruit kick and the other day I picked up these plum Amazins to try out. Loved them, kind of tart, not soggy at all, chewy little bits of perfection with fiber. And as now as Wesley has mastered pooping on the potty (APPLAUSE!) I'm now learning the importance of umm, fiber. Gummies are good but natural forms are theoretically better right. Plum Amazins had a lot to offer per the packaging. And then I read the ingredients: PRUNES.

It totally shocked me standing in the middle of my kitchen in my owl pajamas. Prunes? I do not eat prunes. I felt like Lola in that book, I Will Not Ever Not Eat A Tomato that my friend Holly sent to my kids when they were first eating foods (awesome book BTW). Yuck. And OLD.

So the next day I went and bought a box of prunes. I brought they home. They were squishy, sticky and gross. But back in the day I loved making granola and one of the best parts about making granola was the ultra dried fruit. So much so that the kids and I would just put the raisins on the baking sheet and watch them inflate like balloons up to regular grapes size again in the 350 degree oven and then we'd pull them out for that caramelized delicious raisin goodness.

I sliced and diced, put some of the prunes (though I still prefer to call them plums) on the baking sheet whole and put them in to bake to dry out a bit.

A short while later I had my very own Plum Amazins. Except that I was so amazed at my Plum Amazins I kept consuming my amazement and I think I ate the equivalent of 12-15 PRUNES. Right before bed.

Mario was not impressed with my new culinary discovery. Luckily we have a king size bed and a signed fumigation policy.

Anyhow, re-baked dried plums in the oven for 10-20 min at 350 degrees diced before or after you cook them are a treat, especially mixed with raw almonds.

And I'm pretty sure they're good for your heart.

After

2012-01-07T14:38:00.000-05:00

Before

2012-01-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

Meet Mr. Buffalo.

2012-01-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

Family fun.

2011-12-29T16:00:00.001-05:00

My new BFF.

2011-12-28T22:03:00.001-05:00

Cold feet be gone.

Georgia snow.

2011-12-26T16:27:00.001-05:00

Road trip cotton fields.

Real time.

2011-12-26T11:12:00.001-05:00

Prep work.

2011-12-23T17:04:00.001-05:00

December picnic.

2011-12-21T12:59:00.001-05:00

School is O U T.

Day 20

2011-12-20T19:43:00.001-05:00

Today our advent card read: fire.
Which by default also means: marshmallows.

Sweet.

2011-12-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

Fourth of May Santa visit.

2011-12-18T00:52:00.001-05:00

Coolest craft that's come home from kindergarten.

2011-12-16T16:59:00.001-05:00

Best package.

2011-12-15T20:50:00.001-05:00

This time of year I get a little gingerbread obsessed. I've eaten a lot of men, women, houses, and stars over the past few weeks. My dad surprised me with a package of twelve gingerbread men today. (Technically they are for Wesley and Clare from Santa according to the packing slip but parental rights fit in somewhere!)

We are going to have a lot of ginger love in this house. Which means we need tea. And if we need tea we will need cute mugs. So I'd probably get back to my online shopping or start writing "If you give Gwen a gingerbread man...."

Concert boy.

2011-12-14T17:09:00.001-05:00

Wesley's first Lego creation.

2011-11-28T18:04:00.001-05:00

Happy 28th Anniversary Gigi and Pop Pop!

2011-11-26T13:02:00.003-05:00

This is Clare wearing the bridesmaid dress I wore at my mother's wedding 28 years ago. It's amazing that 1. I still have it, 2. I have a daughter that almost fits into it, and 3. It only took two jelly candies to get her to pose for me wearing the dress.

Happy Black Friday!

2011-11-25T13:53:00.001-05:00

Good to the last drop.

2011-11-24T11:11:00.001-05:00

Wesley's 2 week update.

2011-11-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

Still hurts.

For the love of Fall Festivals.

2011-11-14T09:09:00.005-05:00

Please don't get your cast: wet, dirty, sandy, sticky, slimy, or gooey.

For the love of fall festivals and all things boy this is proving to be a challenge. Eating lollipops after haircuts, going to the bathroom (standing is out of the question), and playing outside need a certain degree of supervision. I wonder if it is similar to the retraining of the left handed back in the day? Use that hand. Use your other hand. However, it's a welcome change in my daily mantra from the usual, "Eat your chicken."

I think we officially closed out the fall festival season this weekend which also means an end to the beloved bounce house for awhile. Wesley spent two days this weekend in absolute agony watching his sister fly through the air while he ate fruit snacks outside lamenting that his cast would be considered a dangerous weapon inside.

Next up? Training for the Reindeer Run on December 10th. We bought two sets of antlers at the Dollar Store and are ready to lace up in preparation. Clare and I are officially in training.

Sharp shooter.

2011-11-12T12:03:00.001-05:00

I can see!

2011-11-11T11:55:00.001-05:00

Haircuts are good things.

Broken.

2011-11-07T19:52:00.004-05:00

Our three lessons:

1. Curbs are not balance beams.

2. We learned from last time not to wait until three a.m.

3. Icedream to the formerly dairy free child = bliss.

Three things you can't do with a cast according to Wesley:

1. eat a waffle.

2. eat a hamburger.

3. play candyland.

Three things to look forward to:

1. Mario's return on Wednesday and riding in his new car.

2. Both kids in school tomorrow.

3. A planned chat with a friend tonight.

Festival Cake Walk Winners 2011!

2011-11-06T19:44:00.000-05:00

Dinner tonight.

2011-11-04T18:33:00.001-05:00

Wesley working the sticky rice.

Date night.

2011-11-01T20:58:00.001-05:00

I am officially renaming this book: 50 Dates to Have with Mario.

I think our first one to try will be #13: Boil Water in a Paper Cup. Followed by #21 Spend an hour Blindfolded.

Sounds way more interesting to me than dinner out.

No treats.

2011-11-01T08:54:00.001-05:00

Here lies the soccer player sound asleep at 6:00 pm. No tricks or treats for him due to some behavior issues and some parental hard core enforcement. Trust me though, my dad was right, it hurt the parents more than this child.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T17:11:00.001-05:00

Halloween here =
Sea turtles
Retirement home trick or treating
Lost trick or treating privileges
Heath bars
Soccer players and sunflower girls
Pizza dinners

I am thinking of a cat.

2011-10-28T14:34:00.001-05:00

A birthday picnic.

2011-10-26T20:56:00.001-05:00

A drive on beach.
Sea shell collecting.
Company.
Talking.
Great food.
Breeze.
A wandering agenda.

10 Things.

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

1. My new iPhone arrived yesterday.

2. Grampin' is in town.

3. Our green Saturn station wagon is dead.

4. Wesley is giving us a run for our parenting patience.

5. Wednesday is Mario's birthday.

6. We had a yard sale on Saturday.

7. It is soup season which makes me happy.

8. Today I am ordering new glasses from ZenniOptical.com

9. Mario wants to buy a used red Cadillac.

10. We are going to the beach after school today.

Ton-A-Wandah Knitting

2011-10-24T07:40:00.004-05:00

The past two years my mother and I went to Grown Up Girls Getaway (GUGG) at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. This year we invited my aunt and my cousin to come along for the fun. To make sure that we could find each other in the crowd I knitted all of us these scarves on the way to camp. St. Simons Island is a LOT further away than Columbia, but it gave me a lot more time to knit along the way.

The scarves also became very useful as the temperatures dropped each night. All of this to say that I actually got orders for scarves and hats and those twisty neck things that I used to make last year. Our living room is currently set up as knitting central. A recent trip to Jacksonville = one airport guest arrival and a backseat filled with yarn!

Knitting keeps me calm and it keeps me happy. Camp seems to signal the start of knitting season. I made hats at Windy Gap, scarves at Ton-A-Wandah, and I'm looking out to see what this year's signature piece will be. There's a fancy schmancy yarn shop on the island that may give me some ideas, in the mean time I need to change to cotton yarns or find more northern friends.

Grampin' brought the kids 72 glow sticks.

2011-10-21T14:31:00.000-05:00

At this very instant.

2011-10-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

Keep it sweet! (boy)

2011-10-16T20:39:00.001-05:00

Keep it sweet! (girl)

2011-10-16T20:39:00.000-05:00

This morning: full moon over the marsh before school.

2011-10-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

Another one bites the dust.

2011-10-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

4 year old lap naps.

2011-10-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

Mama knows not to move an inch. Precious are these couch snuggles and slumbering breaths.

Wesley and Murphy before the lab adventure.

2011-09-23T11:49:00.000-05:00

I won the college football pool!

2011-09-21T20:39:00.000-05:00

Clare's art.

2011-09-20T21:59:00.001-05:00

Wesley's art.

2011-09-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

An aunt rena makeover.

2011-09-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

Friday night date bliss.

2011-09-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

Loofah seedlings.

2011-09-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

Grow loofahs grow!

My weekend retreat -- bliss.

2011-09-14T09:15:00.001-05:00

While I was gone this weekend.

2011-09-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

Pink popcorn seemed like a good idea at the time.

2011-09-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Pink popcorn x 17 kids did not.
On to plan b for school 6th birthday treats.

Wall inspiration.

2011-09-07T08:33:00.000-05:00

Date nite: kayak to Sea Island.

2011-09-06T07:14:00.000-05:00

Girl loves fish.

2011-09-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

Breaking news: first lost tooth.

2011-08-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

DIY: Gutter shelves.

2011-08-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

Wesley now has a shelf up near his bed to keep his books accessible way up high without having to climb up and down the ladder of his bed. Pre gutter shelf he either: got a lot of excercise or slept with books. Personally, I know that sleeping with books isn't that awful, when Mario is out of town I find that I am always sleeping with books near me on his side of the bed. Clare doesn't have a bunk bed but we installed a gutter shelf in her room too. She has it loaded with her current favorite books and a few small animals. I love that the kids can actually see their books in these shelves and that they seem to be reading more because of this. Ideally I'd like to use these shelves for just library books but I am not at that level of organization yet. We have one more left to install, I'm just waiting to see where the perfect place will be. I might put it above this one in Clare's room and rest artwork inside, put it under Wesley's bed to create a reading nook, or maybe even in our bathroom since books seem to follow me everywhere.

If you want to make a set for yourself just google: rain gutter shelf tutorial and you should be good to go. If you have questions, I'd be happy to share whatever I know, just send me an email.

DIY: Outdoor Table

2011-08-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

Found. Actually, I prefer rescued, sometimes I feel like I'm almost doing a good thing by saving things especially roadside finds which are scarce around here. Anyhow, I rescued this metal table from our local Goodwill store for $6.99.

With a little help from Clare, I'm trying really hard to let her help on my projects but spray paint is a really hard thing to give to a five year old, we painted the table top orange.

Then after letting all of the layers dry we plopped it back into the frame and enjoyed our new porch table perfect for morning coffee and evening chats. Easy. Plus I now have a bunch of orange spray paint leftover to play with for another project.

The first day of school.

2011-08-11T11:39:00.004-05:00

This girl couldn't get out of bed fast enough for the first day of school as a kindergartner. Last night she laid out her clothes on her floor and even tucked her princess panties inside her skirt so she could get ready faster. Her main reaction to the open house, "I can't believe they have toys in my classroom instead of work!" The sad part: I didn't even get a hug goodbye.
Wesley's first day of pre-k looks just like this except his outfit and towel change hourly. He can't keep anything down including water or apple juice. Yesterday he had all of his required immunizations at the health department but this seems to be either a stomach bug, strep, or the classic Shel Silverstein Sick:

'I cannot go to school today, 'Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

'I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox.

And there's one more-that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut-my eyes are blue-It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke-

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in,

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb.

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is...Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play! '

Instant fun update.

2011-08-11T11:36:00.001-05:00

Instant fun.

2011-08-01T14:10:00.003-05:00

Today's project: a chalkboard door. $20 at the Habitat for Humanity store with 2 cranky kids, a can of chalkboard paint we already had on hand and VOILA! Now I just need to figure out 1. where to put it, 2. what color to paint the actual door, and 3. what to write on the new space.

My favorite part: the cool key hole. I think I want to find a set of old keys to hang from the door knob for kicks.

Catching bugs.

2011-07-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Chicken Wire: 2. Gwen: 3.

2011-07-21T08:12:00.001-05:00

OOOOH. That wire is sharp.

"Clare, can you bring Mommy a band-aid?" I muttered over bloody pliers.

"Can I see the cut first?" asked Clare.

And then she would bring my my choice of Strawberry Shortcake band-aids to stop the bleeding. This exchange happened a few times during their rest time as I worked to construct three different chicken wire frames. I found a bunch of them over the weekend at a church tag sale and local yard sales. In an effort to 1. finish a project and 2. get the chicken wire out of the kitchen I decided to go ahead and tackle the project.

In the end I got three done. I used up a lot of rags with my wounds but only had two that still require the nurturing of Miss Strawberry Shortcake.

Sunset tonite.

2011-07-19T20:10:00.003-05:00

I knew there was a reason that I went outside to take the recycling to the blue bin.

Four!

2011-07-19T19:57:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow (July 20) Wesley turns a magical four years old. Phew. We made it. And for those that know Wesley better than some: the answer is NO. Not yet.

Our plan is to take him bowling (because he's too short for the fun water slides at Jekyll Island Summer Waves Water Park) and out for a lunch of his choice (Zaxby's or BBQ). Later on in the day after adequate rest, we're going to have a family pool outing and picnic supper so he can try out his new toys from Clare.

Mario lovingly picked out a Hot Wheels 4 Lane Raceway for his gift because it was the one that he wanted to try out and we are hoping that Amazon comes through with their promised delivery of tomorrow. I've got grand plans of whipping up some dairy free soy free treats that we can call cake and otherwise we're just going to spoil this little guy rotten.

(And some where in there I'm going to treat myself to something special for birthing him and for being his mama for his third year of life.)

Fishing with Clare.

2011-07-16T22:30:00.008-05:00

Step One: Gather bait. We used our cast net to collect lots of brown shrimp in the creek.

Step Two: Wait with fully rigged Barbie fishing pole.

Step Three: Watch with excitement as Mario attempts to get the hook out of the mouth of the American Eel Clare caught. (And sigh with relief that I don't have to get this one off the the hook since I've already undone two of these suckers. Fish are so much better than eel.)

Other things to ponder: where to buy tackle in bulk? why haven't I put together something more sophisicated than a plastic shopping bag for our fishing gear yet? remember to put a dedicated pair of pliers into the fishing bag for hook removal and a pair of gloves too.

The hardest part: not freaking out while reeling in and trying to deal with the eel. One more thing that they forgot to put in What to Expect when Expecting: fishing with girls.

a project.

2011-07-11T13:12:00.005-05:00

Clare and Wesley went to VBS this week.

I had my first morning without kids since school got out on May 20th.

My new summer friend Liza came over and we did a project: frames with chicken wire.

Instant gratification and craft love.

Free chicken day!

2011-07-08T11:50:00.000-05:00

Play date redefined.

2011-07-07T14:44:00.005-05:00

Fun things to do at 8:30 AM:

Invite new friends over for playdate.

Go crabbing on the dock.

Drink coffee and chat.

Catch lots of blue crabs.

Catch shrimp and fish in the net.

Catch eels with Barbie fishing poles.

Race crabs back into the creek.

The Sunshine Festival 2011

2011-07-06T12:14:00.009-05:00

We did it again! Another mother/daughter 1 mile run. There is nothing like racing with Clare. I love her excitement, pinning her number on, holding her hand because she wants me to, talking to her during the run, and coaching her through the race.

This time Mario and Wesley went back and forth across the park so that they could be in perfect photo taking and cheering position. Wesley shouted out the best 'Go Clare Go!' as we ran by each time they saw us. She soaked it all in and seeing them made her perk up when she was lagging a bit. Through the whole thing she never walked. She's learning to pace herself (or at least to not to bolt off with those crazy boys at the start of the race) each time.

Finishers won gold medals and orange Gatorade. In a family of no juice I think the orange Gatorade was a major prize! Wesley enjoyed holding on to my bottle with the promise of a future frosty treat. Afterwards our family beat the tourists to Sandcastle for breakfast. Ahhh...Belgian waffles with powdered sugar, my little racer girl was a very happy girl indeed.

Mario and I have a date tonight at 6 PM.

2011-07-05T16:07:00.000-05:00

Saturday. 9:30 AM

2011-07-03T07:20:00.000-05:00

On tap

2011-07-01T07:39:00.003-05:00

Today means that:

Clare has her last day of Gold Rush VBS.

Wesley will spend a morning with me running errands against his will.

Mario is in Columbia again for work.

Mario will be an I-95 holiday road warrior.

The population of this tiny place will increase hourly.

Ice cream is now an acceptable alternative to food.

The pool is off limits.

Beach hours are now confined to early morning.

We have a three day weekend to look forward to with Mario.

Biking is the best transportation.

It is 19 days until Wesley turns four.

Three days until Clare runs in the Sunshine Festival 1 mile race.

Making.

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Burlap is:
*cheap
*beach
*chic
*easy
*fun
*forgiving
*awesome for new curtains.

Last night I sewed four new curtains to be hung with curtain rings and clips after much burlap inspiration from Lorien and her posse. It felt good to actually do a project around here, I've felt rather unmotivated since we moved in. Window coverings are a good start and now I can go about collecting all of the burlap love droppings on the floor because I also learned last night that burlap: sheds.

A date alone.

2011-06-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

Monday afternoon. 4 pm until 8 pm. A babysitter came to watch the kids.

I packed a picnic, grabbed my chair, my journal, a book and towel. I escaped to the beach until it started to gently drizzle. Being alone equalled absolute enjoyment of internal quiet, gusting wind, and the high tide waves. Going to the beach without kids felt like such an escape and a novelty.

Afterwards I did a bit of shopping and wrote a letter at a coffee shop. Nothing fancy, just a break from the regular routine of dinner, bath and bed. The 4-8 time frame excused me from all of those duties and gave me something to look forward to all day long.

Naturalist training.

2011-06-27T06:28:00.006-05:00

One day a man was walking along a beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and throwing it gently into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"

The youth replied, "Throwing the starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they will all die."

"Son," the man said, "don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can't make a difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he smiled and said,..."
I made a difference for that one."

(Original story by Loren Eisley)

So we aren't talking about starfish. She's chosen to rescue jellyfish, but our walk on the beach was essentially the same yesterday afternoon. Except we had the added drama of watching tons of tourists watch in absolute horror from the pier as I let our little girl scoop up the jellyfish in her bare hands and hurl them back in the water.
Clare: the jellyfish rescuer. Age 5.

Company's coming.

2011-06-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Out Cold.

2011-06-24T18:25:00.003-05:00

I was making dinner.
I turned around.
Wesley was sound asleep.
He stayed asleep on the floor until I scooped him up and carried him into the living room.
There we snuggled, played Words with Friends, and listened to Pandora until Mario came home.
The boy needed to rest.
I welcomed his rest and made his rest my own.

Kaboom.

2011-06-23T13:19:00.003-05:00

The tree people came back today. Rather, are back today. We have two trees being removed in the yard to avoid future damage. Both trees are dead and pose threats to our house or other structures so we decided to go ahead and take them down.

Like before the process fascinates the kids and myself. They opted not to go to the wildlife program at the library so they could watch the trees and I'm using the opportunity to just have yet another mellow day at home. I don't know how I produced such housebound children but they are very content to play and relax within the confines of this house.

So just in case you were wondering what we were up to: we are watching the trees kaboom around us. And I'm about to take some regular strength headache something or other because I'm kind of over the whole chainsaw thing as background music.

Flashback: Organizing Junkie Laura

2011-06-22T10:07:00.004-05:00

The after picture is so much prettier so I am starting with that first.

Essentially when we moved here we combined a lot of stuff. Stuff poorly moved from our townhouse here, stuff we evacuated from our house in Columbia to put it on the market ASAP, and stuff I moved in a stupor and denial to get us here in late May. Translated: a moving nightmare.

I organized nothing. I sorted nothing. I purged very little. Everything got dumped right here in this house. Two complete houses of stuff.

That would include two complete pantries. Two complete spice cabinets. Two complete cleaning closets. Two complete laundry rooms. Two complete nasty under the sink areas. Plus the people who sold us the house left some stuff too. You get the picture? If not? See below.
And then Laura arrived.

And then I gave her a glass of wine.

And then she asked for a sharpie and a roll of masking tape.

And then I did whatever she told me to do.

Two days later my pantry had little rows labeled telling me where things belonged, my laundry area had labeled bins and the front entry way had order! AND apparently people even organize their refrigerators (this was news to me!) but we didn't get to that project.

Roughly here's the process I internalized:
1. take everything out
2. sort stuff
3. label things
4. put it back in appropriate containers

*bonus points for friends to talk to while organizing.

*necessary supplies=sharpies, labels, bins, Ziploc bags.

Knowing what we have, knowing where stuff is, and being in an organized space makes our house so much nicer to enjoy. There is still a ton of work to do but Laura inspired me to do more. A new set of fun sharpies and labels might help to actually get the job started!

Flashback: Crab Races.

2011-06-21T10:33:00.000-05:00

Fiddler crabs are attacking our house! They are climbing up the sides, crawling in our shoes left outside, and running through the yard. The kids each captured a crab for a fiddler crab race in the driveway and chaos began.

See that giant claw! Fiddlers have one giant claw. If it breaks off in a fight the claw will regenerate on the other side. Fiddlers are also sometimes used for bait. Whatever the case they are providing great entertainment around our house, but I know our garage is going to stink stink sink when they start to die in there. The fiddlers are EVERYWHERE. Laura got the kids lined up in their lanes with crabs. Each kid got a stick to help the crabs along. A few escaped before the actual race started but I'm pretty sure they didn't know that they were actually in a race. It was our first attempt at a crab race so the next time we do this we know to have taller cups to hold our contestants.

Clare did a great job coaching her crab along the course! In the end either her crab or Wesley's won. We weren't sure exactly because they got mixed up somewhere in the lanes. Again, it was the process people. And the end result was a lot of fun and a lot of Internet research on fiddler crabs by the mamas involved after the kids went to bed that night.

Art Project Inspiration

2011-06-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

Ernest Lee must know fiddler crabs too!

This painting above our fireplace inspired the mini wooden sharpie fiddler crab drawings by the kids (and grown ups) after our races.

Flashback: Friends

2011-06-20T10:06:00.003-05:00

Last week our friends came to visit! Mine and theirs.

Sure we miss some things about Columbia that we can't find here like the State Farmer's Market, a few favorite dining places, Blenheim Ginger ale, shopping, and other stuff. Mostly we miss people. Backyards. Friends. Play dates. Stopping by. Kitchen table chats. Swimming pools. Driveways.

So Laura and her girls made the drive to spend four wonderful days digging out our pantry and laundry room. (More on her organizing junkie skills later.) In between we spent a lot of time talking, managing kids, sitting in chairs at the beach, and googling island creatures.

The kids loved actually having other kids to play with. Clare and Emily Kate rigged up this crab like pose for the disc swing. We may need to get another one of these once Wesley figures out how much fun the disc swing is to use.

Father's Day 2011.

2011-06-19T09:03:00.003-05:00

Mario's Father's Day List

1. Kayak ride in the creek.

2. Sleep in.

3. Sex.

4. Picnic at Epworth by the Sea.

5. Complete one house project.

6. Trip to ACE hardware with kids.

7. Make iced tea.

I think we can make these things happen today. I love knowing exactly what he wants to do and what would make him happy on his day.

Timber.

2011-06-18T13:29:00.003-05:00

70 MPH winds + lots of trees = potential great tree surgeon business. I didn't even notice that there was a giant limb laying on top of our house until I was getting in the car to go somewhere on Thursday with the kids. But then I looked up and viola! Tree on house.

I called Mario because we were busy doing kid stuff plus we had our friends from Columbia in town. He figured out who to call and our new helpful tree friends came to the rescue. Watching the tree folks figure out how to take the limb down without having it swing back into the house and potentially bust windows below fascinated me. I spent most of rest time outside watching the process from the driveway.

Want to take a guess on how much it cost to take down that branch? Keep scrolling.

$250

Date Night

2011-06-17T12:22:00.003-05:00

Island concert series.
Lighthouse.
Babysitter.
Picnic by Mario.
A Garage Band.
Neighbors kind enough to invite us to sit with them.
Talking. Talking. Talking.
Neighborhood stories.
High tide.
Strong ocean breezes.
Passing ships.
Beverages.
Ginger beer.
Lawn chairs.
Picnic blankets.

Folly Beach toes.

2011-06-15T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sunday rocked my world.

I got to see one of my favorite people on this planet.

We cruised in a golf cart on Folly Island until it died and we had to be rescued.

We talked on the beach while looking at this lighthouse.

We drank pineapple margaritas and ate guacamole.

We understood each other.

Hoot!

2011-06-14T13:10:00.002-05:00

Clare found these owl beauties when we went yard sale shopping together on Saturday morning. Those kids can spot an owl a mile away. I love it. Sometimes we go on owl hunts together through shops or thrift stores.

Home Favorites

2011-06-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

penny's anthro style arrangement
to sit and coffee and journal

to look at and smile

to stare at

Demoted

2011-06-09T12:12:00.002-05:00

This turtle swimmer just got demoted to a lower level. He's still a turtle but I made the decision to drop him down a class so that his classmates might actually have some instruction time too. It felt odd to pull him out but then I remembered that I was the one that put him there based on class time convenience not his actual swimming level.

This afternoon we are planning some time at the pool to practice everything from the week (my weak excuse about already going to the pool wore off). Maybe a picnic dinner would make it even better and would get me off of the hook for preparing an actual meal? I'm all for finger foods.

Late nite snack.

2011-06-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

I have to think that the burst of baking is a direct result of the new working and accessible kitchen after Penny's visit last week.

Sunday's project: whole wheat bread. Yup.

The best part: Wesley can eat it! He likes it! AND it's easy to make.

There's a local hostel turned Eco lab educational hostel that I am enamoured with and had a list of recipes that they use in their vegetarian kitchen. Our first overnight babysitter = date night here. Or my first 'mama needs a big ol' break' or a girls retreat with someone groovy who's game = I'm going here. I tried their recipe for Hostel Bread. It's a keeper in our house. I'm going to try one of the variations for fun, but the plain whole wheat is awesome for sandwiches, pb and j, and regular bread use.

Wesley happened to be out of bed when it was cool enough to taste so he pulled up a seat for some fresh out of the oven bread and soy free/dairy free butter. Good stuff and making stuff makes me feel good.

(Recipe 1/2 way down on recipe page here.)

Swimming.

2011-06-07T19:27:00.002-05:00

Sharks start lessons at 8:30 AM. Turtles swim at 9:30 AM.

Translation: We are at the pool from 8:25 until 10 AM each morning for the next two weeks hanging out working on our swimming skills. While the shark swims (Clare) the turtle waits and vice versa. We have a 1/2 hour in between to snack and chill where I remind myself that I am lucky that swim lessons are here right by the lighthouse and the ocean. (See the lady in yellow in the above photo? That's the spot I try and claim each morning. Pool and ocean view plus snackin' table.)

The kids love the lessons. They have the same teacher. We are all starting to recognize people who show up over and over again. I'm hoping to strike up some conversations soon with the mama group in Clare's shark class. It's kind of scary but I'm hoping they don't bite.

Where are the grown up swim lessons? The class we get thrown into where we get to sit on the steps and are forced to talk where everyone else takes a turn? Sign me up. I'd even take the 7:30 AM session.

Muffins with Mama.

2011-06-06T07:43:00.000-05:00

Mario is going out of town this week so I made an intentional list of things I wanted to do this weekend before he left.

Beach walk alone.

Bike ride.

Find rear bike storage rack.

Spend alone time with each kid.

Visit natural food store.

Go to farmer's market in Brunswick.

Drop off prescriptions.

Shop for birthday gifts.

Just a few basic things, some we did as a family and some I did alone. This morning Clare and I made Whole Wheat Banana Berry Muffins from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook that I checked out of the library yesterday. We used the blueberries we bought at the farmer's market and she stood on a stool we found at a garage sale awhile back. Now that our kitchen has order thanks to an amazing kind and patient friend, cooking is possible and fun again.

Friday evening simple.

2011-06-05T19:37:00.005-05:00

2 chairs
shovels
1 cooler
2 parents
post dinner
happy kids
2 towels
a few sand toys

Another corner I like.

2011-05-31T09:23:00.000-05:00

Good for: morning coffee, journal writing, evening chats, and escapes.

Waiting.

2011-05-30T09:07:00.003-05:00

He waited so patiently for his turn.

For the most part the kids are much more patient with this move than myself. They accept playing with just each other. They accept having a new space. They accept the goodbyes with awesome anticipation of new schools, new friends, and a new life. Me: not so much.

But, back to the dock. We escaped the never ending boxes and stuff for high tide and kayak rides yesterday. Both kids slipped in the boats for a paddle in the creek with Mario. I sat and wrote in my journal between rides enjoying iced tea, child chatter, jumping fish, and skidding shrimp.

The creek brings patience and calm to all of us. (And keeps us saving up for 2 seater kayaks so we can all go at one time with ease and grace.)

When mama is busy.

2011-05-29T07:59:00.000-05:00

Or tired.
Or moping.
Or drinking coffee.
Or using her brand new internet.
Or writing letters.
Or talking to friends she misses.

These kiddos go to town.