Progress

Thank you $1 section at Target! We're on our way....

Also, isn't she cute?

Green Thumb

My parents are leaving for an almost-month-long trip to Maui in May (I am severely jealous and racking my brain on how to logistically crash their party). Yesterday my dad wanted to go over some "plant care & watering basics" with me, since I somehow got roped into being his groundskeeper while they are away. Which, by the way, is interesting- seeing that I was the "chosen one" last time they vacationed in paradise. Also, last time I was pregnant, sick to my stomach, and there were some serious wildfires that forced us to evacuate. So you'll understand why this time around, I had some negative associations with the whole duty. Side note: Zach now lives in Watsonville, and is therefore much closer to my parents house then in years past. Also, Zach is very good at fixing things and making things look pretty. I'm pretty sure Zach has a natural green thumb because somehow everything he touches turns to gold. And yet....somehow my dad thinks I'm the gal for the job. I wonder when his regret will sink in.

It was all pretty straightforward (although I was told this was only the first part of a 4-part tutorial series....) and the whole time he's giving watering instructions, I'm thinking to myself- oh no. We totally have plants, shrubs, trees & flowers now in our OWN new backyard. Was I supposed to have been watering THESE this whole time??? Which, I guess is the main reason I have yet to keep anything in the plant world alive and healthy.

So, this morning I decided to form a new habit: Watering the Plants. It was actually quite peaceful. Dan is gone this morning, Ella was napping, Ben was completely engrossed in Pinnochio, and so I took the opportunity to spend some time in our yard and guesstimate how much water our daisies, nectarine trees, and rose bushes might be thirsty for. Being a complete novice to the world of gardening, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my alone time out there. I started to "get" what I've heard avid gardeners talk about in their zeal for gardening. I have no idea if what I did was helpful or hurtful to these mysterious plants/shrubs, but by golly, I will not be responsible for these things dying due to lack of water.

During my time outside I started thinking that really gardening can't be all TOO difficult. I mean, somehow I've managed to grow, care for and keep two children healthy & happy. How could some plants be more difficult than that? I realize I know nothing about fertilizing or flower/plant temperaments, but I'm kind of ready to jump on this gardening bandwagon. I tend to get great ideas in my head, and then have trouble with follow through so I'm hoping this isn't another Nicole Phase. In any case, here's what I'm hoping to add to the backyard garden:

• More rose bushes (maybe the tee tiny ones? I really like those. But I definitely want to add some orangey hues)
• Potted tomato plants (hopefully to grow those wonderfully delicious but expensive heirloom tomatoes of all colors
  
• Zucchini (because we eat more zucchini than any other vegetable
  
• Herb garden (the chef's essentials: Italian parsley, cilantro, basil, rosemary & thyme)
• A lemon tree (the one thing I miss from our previous abode, the Apple Farm house)
  
• A few sunflowers* because they are the happiest and friendliest flowers I know of
  

*For Ben's Easter basket, I included a cute little "grow your own sunflower" kit that I found at the dollar section at Target. I thought it would be fun for Ben to have his own little science project. To be honest, I really didn't expect the plant to do much growing, especially because it comes with its own "greenhouse" that looked too cheap to do the job. But we are a couple weeks into it, after planting the seeds ourselves and watching it grow in our kitchen windowsill, and low and behold! Look:






Yay for us! We haven't killed it yet! And not only that, it seems to be quite happy!

Now- I realize my thumb won't be turning green anytime soon, but I'm excited to get my hands a bit dirty and put a little TLC into the backyard, and see what happens. And I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Ella's Milestones

Ella is officially a dabbler in the world of eating solid foods. So far we've tried a little organic rice cereal (not her favorite), and organic sweet potatoes (her favorite). Tonight we might even get a little crazy and try some organic peas or applesauce. It amazes me how different she's responded to food than Ben did. I have a feeling Ben wasn't completely ready when his ever-so-anxious parents excitedly offered him foreign foods on a spoon. I remember that first time with him, there was a bit of gagging, tongue thrusting out of the mouth and staying out, and some very confused looks on his little face. I remember taking a break and trying again later because it just wasn't his time yet.
Some photo documentation of Ben's first feeding (Sept. '06):




Pretty funny, right?

But with sweet Ella, she acts as if she's been doing this for weeks, and it makes me feel like a good mom- like, hey! we were right! she's been showing us signs that she's ready for the big guns, and we were spot on! GO US!

Some photo documentation of her first (okay, really it was her second) feeding (4/20/09):




She is WAY more of an eager beaver when it comes to food. I mean, she's already demanding that I spoon it into her mouth faster. Oh my.

In other news, when Ella is not busy trying out new organic baby foods, she currently spends her time laughing at her brother, rolling over (and over & over), talking, playing in her exer-saucer, sleeping, breastfeeding, and- as of last week- sucking on her thumb and/or toes. The sucking on the toes thing is really quite impressive- babies are so very bendy.

Yes, it's completely precious. Happy 5-1/2 months, baby girl!

p.s. Thanks, Edith for the picture-insertion help. Love you.

Cheers

Yesterday was painfully hot again, and so when Dan arrived home from work in the late afternoon in the 96 degree heat, he promptly took off his sweaty collared shirt and bare-chested it for a bit to cool down. Ben was more than thrilled, as his new favorite game is to blow "raspberries" on our bare skin whenever possible. (Not so fun for mom, especially with my stretched out/stretch mark covered belly, and especially first thing in the morning before I've even opened up my eyes for the day. But whatever makes him happy....).

After playing & tickling Dan's tummy, he pointed to Dan's....breast (and if you hadn't guessed by now, YES, Ben has a serious breast/nipple fetish at the moment).
Ben: What's that?
Dan: Uh, that's my nipple, buddy.
(Ben then pulls & stretches the neck of his shirt all the way down to reveal his own little "nipple")
Ben gets a huge smile, then looks from his own bare chest, then over to Dan's.
And then, he walks up to Dan, attempting to be belly to belly, and tries to align and smash their bare chest's ("breasts") together, and with a big smile shouts, "CHEERS!"

Apparently when you're almost 3, this is a perfect way to toast your father.

Apricot Oatmeal Bars (...you're welcome)

Two quick things-

1) An update to yesterday:Ben & I did eventually whip up some of these (fabulous) apricot bars later in the day, post quality magazine time for Mama
2) Apparently my mention of said bars has created some minor baking interest and so I've decided to share the incredibly simple recipe with you all. You should really all do yourself a favor and whip these up (I think they took us 10 min. total to make) because they are heaven. I mean, c'mon...anything that involves butter, brown sugar & apricots is destined for success. Also, I incorporated a little lemon zest in the crumb mixture for a little kick.

Alicia, this one is dedicated to you.


Apricot Oatmeal Bars

1-1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. butter (easiest if at room temp.)
1 (12 oz.) jar apricot preserves (I recommend the Trader Joe's reduced sugar organic apricot jam)

Stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, & baking soda. Cut in butter with form until mixture is crumbly. Pat 2/3 of the crumbs in the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 in. baking pan; spread with preserves (NOTE: I heated up the jam a bit in the microwave to make it a bit easier to spread). Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 375 for 25-30 min. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Spring

It is a gorgeous sunny warm spring day, and to celebrate, Ben & I played with water & bubbles outside while Dan was doing music at church, and Ella was sleeping. Then we hung our laundry on the line outside when I was inspired with the bright idea to make apricot bars. I take full responsibility for it- I got Ben all riled up to help me in the kitchen (his new favorite thing. It is music to my ears when, on a now daily basis he asks, "Mama, let's watch a cooking show TOGETHER! And now I'm realizing that I'm pretty certain he has a crush on Giade De Laurentiis from the Food Network. He mentions more than once during an episode how pretty she looks....I didn't know this started at such an early age! Until my darling husband reminds me that he did kiss a girl in kindergarten. Oh man.)

But then, after I got out all the ingredients and had done an impressive job of building up the whole thing to enlist his help, it hits me like a brick. I suddently realized....wait, I totally don't feel like baking right now. I'm kind of hot & tired, and really I just feel like reading a magazine for a bit. Whoopsies. And so, being the mother of the year that I am, I turned to him and said, "I have a GREAT idea! How 'bout instead of making Apricot bars, I put on Peter Pan for you instead?!" (holding my breath, praying for minimal meltdown.....)

And thank you, Jesus. His response was "Mommy, that's a GREAT plan!"

Phew.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to reading this month's Real Simple.

Where Jesus lives

So, in a continuing effort to be a better mother each day, I try to make before-sleep-time a positive and soothing time for Ben. He's one of those kids that, if I may quote our good friend Fr. Bryan, is "ruled by the passions", so at times the boy needs a bit of sweet smooth talking to calm him and get him ready to fall into a peaceful sleep. Trust me, I'm already praying for his wife.

So, the other day, he's laying in his bed and talking a mile a minute, telling me all about some scary moment in a movie (I should have never even allowed him to see in the first place). I proceeded to tell him that he doesn't need to be scared, because his mommy & daddy love him, and most of all, Jesus loves him. I was trying to convey that Jesus is with him at all times. Here's what went down:

Ben: Is Jesus here?
Me: Yes! He's always here, you know why? Because he lives in our hearts, right here (pointing to my chest, and then pointing to his chest)
Ben: Jesus is in your breast, Mama?
Me: Ummm....not exactly. He's in my heart. It's kind of close to my breast.
Ben: Ohhhhhhh. Jesus is in my nipple!

Ahhhh, I was so close to imparting such complex deep theological wisdom!
But instead he now he thinks Jesus is in his nipple, and promptly fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
I am one proud Mama.

Here I go

Truth be told...I have always wanted to blog. But I really never feel like I have anything of much interest to share, so who would ever read my posts besides myself, and my husband who would be forced to do so? And even if I did, when would I possibly have time to sit down and attempt to make the blogging world proud, or at least not disappointed? And what if the things I think are intersting or funny just aren't to anyone else? And then, for some unknown reason, tonight I just didn't care about any of that anymore, and found myself here, knee deep in the world of blogging. It might have something to do with the fact that Dan isn't here tonight, and I'm feeling part lonely without him/part too tired to do anything else but sit here in front of my laptop.

Lately it seems the more I surf around the internet and see more & more people utilizing this wonderful little creation of the blog, the more I realize I could at least take a stab at it. Honestly, the real & truest reason for taking a dive into the blogging world is that Ben is now almost 3 years old, and honestly the things he's saying & doing these days BLOW ME AWAY. Like...on an hourly basis. And I'm so much faster at typing than actually grabbing a pen, finding his baby book, and then sitting down to document all of these little tidbits, so I thought this might also double as a "remember when?" journal. Of sorts. Also, my sweet baby girl is getting closer to a whole HALF YEAR OLD, and after Ben & I cozied up together on the couch this evening to re-watch (the safe parts) of Ella's birth, I realized that it feels like it just happened 2 days ago, and yet I feel like she's been with me for years and years, all at the same time. I think only a mom can totally understand that. And finally, and perhaps most important of all, Dan's dear parents live in New Mexico, and there are so many things that I wish I could share with them in person. I miss having them around, and I know they miss us too, and so this is also an attempt to keep them (as well as all of Dan's family) "in the loop". The Dewig loop.

And so, my phantom readers, this certainly won't be the most exciting of all blogs. Probably not the funniest, wittiest or most entertaining- to be honest, the kids suck most of that creative energy out of me during the day. BUT, this is one blog written with a ton of love, from a mom who desperately loves her husband and children, and wants to try to capture as many precious moments in time as possible, and hold on to them for just a wee bit longer. Thanks for listening.