kids' books

As a mentioned before, Magoo helped me plant some seeds for the garden. We're looking forward to picking up some seedlings at the farmers' market this Friday. Really I think she's mostly excited about the vendor who sells popcorn at his booth. I want to get a tomato, bell pepper, and some herbs not to mention that I'd love to bring home some rhubarb. She's excited about our garden and so am I. I picked up a couple of books for her:

• My Garden by Kevin Henkes - I love this book. It has beautiful pictures and encourages imagination.
• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss - This is a simple story that gives my little gardener some perspective.

And for me:

• The Family Kitchen Garden by Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner, and Annette Wendland - I will use this book and pass it on to my kids. This is a must have reference for anyone gardening especially with kids.

I'm excited that my three year old is excited about growing vegetables. This Mom Loves gardening with her kids.

Magoo working in the garden last June.

Spring

The trees are green. I love trees and green. The birds are back to stay. The other day we spied on our baby house finches. Cute! We have robins, gold finches, house finches, sparrows (I'm not sure what kind), chickadees, cardinals, bluebirds, and I'm sure this summer our sassy little wren will be back. The weather is warmer and the sun shines longer each day. I've been enjoying Spring.

Last weekend Magoo helped me plants some seeds and they've sprouted. I've been dreaming about my garden and all the good things that we'll get in our CSA boxes this year. I have recipe books out and have been looking up recipes for Swiss chard, cabbage, and cauliflower. The farmers' market opens up in a week and I have a list of seedlings I still need for the garden. Did I mention that I'm loving Spring?

Today we spent a good part of the afternoon outside. How could we not? It was perfect weather. We got our dose of vitamin D and played in the sandbox. This Mom Loves Spring.

Magoo in my sunglasses

Jr's first time in the sandbox

She had a good time.

Magoo with the wind in her hair. Lovely.

yum, yum, extra yum

So I started following food with kid appeal after someone sent me a link on Facebook. I like the whole idea of normalizing Real food in general but especially with kids. Besides discussion on feeding kids she also posts recipes. I've tried a couple and found myself a new favorite. I love, love, love her recipe for Vegetable Fried Rice. I've been looking for more meatless meals because my three year old is having issues with the texture of meat and I could take it or leave it. In fact, while my husband is away at work we don't eat much meat at all. It's nice to add a new favorite to the list of usuals. This Mom Loves finding a new favorite recipe.

sleepies-do

Jr was having a really hard time this afternoon. She had an early afternoon nap and then was really tired and crabby early in the evening. I tried to put her to sleep for a late nap and she wasn't about to miss anything interesting that her sister was doing. I carried her around in the sling for awhile thinking I could wear her down. Not so much.

Meanwhile Magoo was crabby and mildly destructive this afternoon. Mondays are always more difficult for us because Daddy goes back to work on Monday morning and we don't usually see him again until Thursday at dinner time. She also gets jealous when I need to give Jr more attention. She's still used to getting all the attention.

At about 4:15 I went back into Jr's room to get her changed and soothed to sleep. We nursed awhile and she still was crabby. I lay her down in her crib to check on a very quiet big sister. I was beginning to wonder what she was up to. She crawled into bed and fell asleep! Seriously. I went back to Jr and finally got her down. I assume she's down for the night but Magoo I'm not sure about. Only time will tell what kind of night This Mom is in for. I sure do love the quiet though.

a marriage of equals

My husband works on the road during the week. It's tough but it's doable. He had the opportunity to do some improv (one of his great loves) in Detroit and Phoenix in the past six weeks. I'm glad he got to go and I gave him my blessing. It did however mean he was gone for weeks at a time. When he went to Detroit both the girls had Croup and this past weekend while he was in Phoenix I was sick. It was just bad timing. We also didn't take into account how close together the two trips were. That took its toll on the girls - especially Magoo but even Jr was signing for her Dad. I text him this Monday "Please come home." Magoo was kicking, biting, throwing food, you name it... She was pretending to be Daddy and telling me all the things he was going to do with his girl when he got home. They'd go on a coffee adventure, to the park, and workout in the garage. I didn't really think he'd be able to do it but he arranged to work from home for the week. I didn't tell Magoo and the surprise on her face when he walked in the door was delightful. I'm so thankful that he came home even though it's harder to work from here. I love him so much. This Mom Loves her husband. I really do.

food revolution

Seriously, I love Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. We've been making a real effort to eat REAL food at our house instead (as my husband puts it) stuff to eat. It's wonderful to make food that the whole family can enjoy. For breakfast today, Magoo and I had cooked oat bran cereal made with skim milk and served with strawberries and bananas. Little sister gobbled up her banana. Lunch was egg salad on wheat with celery sticks and orange slices for dessert. Dinner was a big hit. I made baked chicken (and Magoo actually ate some!), brown rice, and asparagus. I should have made more asparagus. Yum. Jr enjoyed picking up little pieces of rice from her tray. She's on the road to being a great eater.


Every time we skip the junk and eat the good stuff I'm so happy we did. Food is for fueling our bodies not just filling them up. This Mom Loves Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

good day - sunshine

What a wonderful weekend. I have a minute of quiet. Jr. is still napping, Dad and Magoo have gone on a long explore to the park, and I have a roast in the crock pot for dinner. I definitely have Spring fever. Yesterday my husband and I set out to find a swing set for our yard. We found what we want but are going to need Grandpa's help to pick it up and set it up. I wanted a little instant gratification so we came home with a sandbox. Magoo is overjoyed and so am I really. She could spend all day digging in that sandbox. We set it up out near the garden so she and I can dig together. I'm giddy. This Mom Loves warmer weather, sunny days, Magoo and her new sandbox.

100 things and then some

On the family blog I just posted a list of 100 things that delight me. I did this two years ago and decided it should be updated especially since I had another beautiful baby girl. It was fun to concentrate on all the wonderful things in my life.

Tonight my baby girl was working on getting a new tooth. If she doesn't wake up with a new tooth in her mouth tomorrow I will be surprised. She was overtired and crabby. She signed "medicine" so I gave her some Tylenol. Still she cried and cried. We nursed, hugged, rocked, sang, read a story and she still cried. I set her down in her crib for a minute and she cried harder. I was so pitiful. Finally after almost two hours I got a cool teether from the refrigerator. We have the green sprouts cool ring teether. Jr. really worked it over. She chewed that teether until she had slits for eyes then popped it out, stuck her thumb in and drifted off to sleep. I love her so much and so today This Mom Loves my green sprouts cool teether.