some garden in's and out's and a big announcement

last weekend was definitely the kind of weekend that it would have been appropriate for me to cart my camera around.  or even to have snapped photos on my phone. 

did i? 

exactly.  so i will just sprinkle garden photos throughout.  :)

last friday night i corralled the two grasshoppers at one of my husband's colleague's homes to reveal what gender their baby would be {girl!  yay denise!}

and then we came home, put the kids to bed, and my husband began prep work on his jumbo gumbo.  a huge batch.  it was for another colleague's annual craw-fish boil.  we made a day out of it and this is where i am kicking myself for not having my camera.  ethan ran around with another boy and girl his age and they terrorized the living craw-fish before they met their fate in the giant pots.  :)

savannah found the bucket of treats for the kids and managed to convince any and everyone to open snack sized oreos, rice krispie treats, and peanut butter crackers.  she also became quite smitten with a four month old baby {who's mom was so relaxed about savannah loving on her baby!}  and ethan pointed at the chubby baby folds and told the mom that the baby had two armpits on one arm.  :)

it was really fun and relaxing... and of course, my husband's gumbo was a hit.  :)

this week i have been working on our garden.  finishing mulching, planting new herbs, flowers, watering, etc.  i haven't really taken the time to post about faustino's garden of wonders this year...   i started the cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and beans from seed.  and the sunflowers.

and i started eggplant from seed, but faustino bought a transplant and told me he didn't have room for my eggplant seedlings along with the transplant (i am sure it was because we had three eggplant plants and eggplants coming out of our ears last year).  and some zinnias.  i planted the eggplant and zinnias in the empty spot against the house where the rose bushes are.  but me, being a genius, didn't realize that our lack of rain gutters would cause a flooding issue in that spot.  whoops.

and i planted marigolds from seeds, but they are still really small.  with no blooms.  they are under the green been trellis. 

the beans i had to direct sow, because i tried to do them in jiffy pots and somehow i managed to screw them up.  mushy, non-sprouting beans.  :(

i really thought i snapped a iphone photo of my seed trays... i have scoured iphoto though.  no luck.  the seedlings are one of my favorite parts of the garden.  i feel like a little kid doing a science experiment... planting the seeds... watching them sprout.  remembering them as tiny seeds once they are great big plants.  kind of like motherhood, right?

and then, the weeds.  you know who likes to help his mama weed the garden?  mr. pickles.  and he would always ask me for clarification first:  "mom, is this a weed?"  soo cute.

another one of my favorite parts of the garden is when plants start to send runners out and climb the trellis.  cucumbers are really my favorite, but i like the green beans, too.

and i have wanted to plant succulents in this very pot since 2004.  yes, the first summer here.  and why on earth i waited until 2012 to do it baffles me.  but, here are my little guys.

and now my brain is totally fried.

but i must leave you with two important pieces of information:

1.  savannah no longer sleeps with a paci and will be TWO tomorrow.  we turned the car seat this morning as an incentive for paci free sleep.  nap time proved to be a beating and i let her have her paci back with the tip cut off... it didn't work and she cried for me to fix it.  so sad.

2.  we found out today that faustino's fellowship will be in la jolla!  we are moving to the san diego area for a year in the summer of july 2013 {we have over a year left here.}  any tips??

big news, eh?  :)

have a lovely weekend!

xoxo, s

oh, savannah

this was my attempt at finding a little space last week during an hour while the rug-rats were at school.  i could lie, and say i left feeling rejuvenated and ready to conquer life.  but i think i should have napped instead.

savannah hasn't been sleeping well.  i think it has something to do with her majorly junky cough she has going on. 

its been brutal.

she's been ultra clingy.  and brother doesn't really like it.  because he is now ultra clingy to vie with her behavior.

if i had a nickle for every time the words "i want mommy" were said.  holy crap.  nice, new shoes on my feet.

and i want to just say, that i am not complaining.  but gosh, i have become weary.  i am actually feeling a little better after spending a few hours with friends.  this stay at home mom stuff is not for the weak, i tell you.  the day in, day out... no real escape from being wholly needed.  not having a real adult outlet... the overwhelming sameness that can cloud my sight and thoughts.

don't get me wrong-- i do not want to go back to work.  it is just really hard to keep my wits without a good night of sleep and very whiny kids!  at some points last week {and this week} i thought:  mommy is l o s i n g it.  

but, like i said, i am feeling better.

i did see a lizard while i was taking my botanic garden time out.  

and even with the absence of my children i decided to catch it.  i am a total weirdo.  :)

i don't know how much i have talked about little savvy on the blog.  she is quite the verbal child.  an example of her antics:  "please, mommy, i sure do want to eat."  she can pretty much articulate anything she wants.  she does mispronounce milk, omitting the "l" so that it sounds like "mik" and she runs it together with "want" so "wantmik" becomes one word.

we go outside in the evenings... she likes to hold a sprig of mint and rosemary and have me smell them.

other than that, her language is pretty crystal clear to me.  much different than ethan's pointing and grunting, and gibberish and single words mixed with 3 word sentences that he gave me at this age.  it is nice to communicate.  it is frustrating to hear her articulate exactly what she wants and to tell her "no"  {mommy, i want curious george, now.}  but sincerely endearing to hear ethan and savannah talk to one another and actually play.  and heart melting when she turns to me and tells me that she loves me.

trying to teach her that her name starts with "s"

i tried these shoes on her after school to make sure they fit.  she nearly lost it when i took them off for her nap.  

so i let her sleep with them and a dress she wanted to wear... crazy girl.

and infuriating when she throws a gargantuan fit and adds in manipulation tactics.  smart girl.

but at times, you can actually reason with her.  the hurdle isn't the language barrier.  it is her strong will. 

very strong will.

delightfully strong will.

making a joke:  "mommy, i sleep in the tent! hahahaha"

one day while ethan was at school she pulled her shirt up and started running around in circles saying: "i'm ironman!"

i should also mention a few notable moments from last week.  i had a double heart attack at the botanic gardens when she drank out of a puddle when i thought she was just bending down to look at something.  {i found out from her declaration, "look mommy, i'm drinking!!!!}  and eat mulberries {which we quickly googled to see what she had eaten, "i eat the yummy berries, mommy"}  no harm done.  just stress on me! 

she's quite the swinger.  she did jump out of the swing, twist around, and face plant onto the gravel.  

after a few tears and a sip of water, she said, "i want more swing, please."  rascal.

and you think i am not watching her, but seriously, this happens in an instant.  she is a quick one.

crazy sister.

zebra hat at school.  cutie.

zoo fun with sweet friends.  top animal savannah wanted to see:  the hippos.  go figure.

all photos courtesy of the iphone.  i will try to be more intentional with the DSLR.

xoxo, s

easter shenanigans

hello blog, how are you?  i've been distracted.  with this.

not the kids.  i mean, yes, i have been busy with the kids, but the dress has been especially distracting.  i decided that savannah needed something... so i embarked on sewing my first children's corner pattern.  i learned a lot.  and spent a lot of time on it.  because i am a novice.  i think that most people could have made multiple dresses in the time it took me to make this one... but i am still pleased.

i almost want to make it again in different fabric so that i can see if my time would improve.

my mantra when i got to any "hard" or "scary" parts:  there are a lot of stupid idiots that sew.  because, there are.  i mean, have you seen some of the folks that are in hobby lobby looking through the pattern books?  it is total i-can-sew-anything inspiration.  i'm not saying i'm better than them, but i know that if they can figure out a pattern, i can too.

i was very pleased, actually.  

she wore it to our church's easter egg hunt.  which, i have to say, is a great event.  it is every bit as good as a country club easter egg hunt without the crowds or clothing comparisons and in a more peaceful setting.

savannah's favorite part was the pony rides.  she went 3 or 4 times... and one time there was no line so she just stayed on for a while.  she made her choice very clear every time we did another activity.  in fact, while "hunting" eggs, she turned to me and said:  "i want to ride the pony, mommy.  please??"

brother liked the pony ride, too.  but i think he enjoyed the petting zoo quite a bit.  at first he and savannah were both thrilled.  ethan approached the animals gently.  savannah assaulted them.  a bunny bit savannah.  and then just brother and i enjoyed the animals.  i think, more than the pain and shock of the bite, the rabbit hurt savannah's feelings.  she had the pitiful, rejected look on her face.  and bite marks on her wrist.  :)

and of course, the fake "easter bunny" was horrifying for savannah.  i don't blame her.  but ethan was so sweet.  comforting her... melt my heart.

at some point after this, i got some bubbles popped on my camera lens.  i didn't figure it out until the next day, so we are going to have to deal with some blur.

it might have been when the kids were blowing bubbles.

or it might have been when savannah had her "2 years old and younger" egg hunt and she found some bubbles.  opened them and poured them into the basket.  nice.

ethan loved "catching" eggs.  and i took a million photos of his cute plaid tush up in the air while he was picking out eggs.  he was quite choosy about which ones he wanted.  so we didn't end up with a ton.  thank god.  less candy and crap-o-la to deal with.

and after the activities, we ate these great sliders and watched the butterfly release.  {butterfly release was a little ho-hum after having been to see the butterflies a week ago, but no complaints here}

and the best thing about the egg hunt was that my husband and mother-in-law came with me and the kids.  verses just me and the kids the year prior.  way more enjoyable when we are all together.

and then savannah turned into a pumpkin before we made it home.

the next morning my dear husband had to go put people back together again at the hospital, but the kids and i managed to make it to church.  the morning started off with the children being very uninterested in their beloved morning yogurt, and very interested in consuming substantial amounts of easter candy.  sister managed to eat a great portion of hers and complain loudly that she couldn't take brother's.  amazing how that child eats.

i tried to take pictures of the kids before we left {my lens unbeknownst to me was still smudgy} but look what i am up against. do these rascals ever smile at the same time??

on our way into church we saw one of my favorite friends in the courtyard, and she managed to capture both of my children looking at the camera.  was very sweet of her.  

ethan had the sweetest moment where he didn't put his money in the plate and started to cry once i softly asked why, because it was for people who didn't have any money.

we walked up to the back of the church just so he could put it in the plate.  i choked back tears the whole time.  my darling, sensitive little boy.  his behavior was wonderful.  i felt so full.

and then that evening we had really delicious ham dinner and egg hunt with my mother in law.

it was an easter spent well.  and to prove it, i had to fight stains on cotton, linen and seersucker that night.  :)

xoxo, s

quick little update

i don't know why i seem to have writers block lately.  but i do.  for whatever reason {active children, perhaps??} i feel like time spent in front of the computer is majorly wasted.

and truthfully... it might be.

so, since sister just went down for a nap, and ethan is drawing, i have a moment.  but just a moment.

and fyi... we survived the storms here yesterday.  my heart goes out to the people affected.  the footage on the news last night was unreal.  tractor trailers flying through the air.

so here are a few photos...

sick day.  they don't look sick do they??  well... ethan had a fever, so we are home.  :)

some zoo action...

and the museum.  and for the record - both of my kids weren't nearly as enthusiastic as i had envisioned about the grossology exhibit.  i think they were too young :(  i mean, have you been?  did you see the creepy pig in the corner by the pinball machine?  what on earth did he have to do with the exhibit??  y i k e s

more later.  i swear.