pants! and F to the O to the E!

i have all these visions and dreams about henny's birthday. i am so sad that this first year has gone by, but i am also so excited to celebrate where we are. one of my ideas is to make a whole birthday outfit for hen. i have been dreaming of a hand-dyed and stenciled t-shirt and handmade linen pants (to go with henny's crown). as the date approaches, it seems a little far fetched to think about getting all this done, but somehow i did manage to make the pants!

i ordered some fold-over-elastic (FOE) and was thrilled when the person who brought the idea to me came out with this tutorial. 

so, first i made a pair of t-shirt pants, with a super-soft old long sleeve t-shirt. i just wanted to practice with the FOE. all went reasonable well and then i started on the linen pants.

i love the linen pants so much! i had a little trouble with the FOE not catching a few times, but i just zipped it up the next day. it looks pretty home sewn, but not in a very bad way. 
they are so cute on. i made them short on purpose, i wanted them to be summery and cropped. these pants are what i wish i could put henny in everyday. the are so soft and sweet and natural. he will look like such a sweet little boy on his big day. which is, if you're keeping track, next week! 

brilliant mommy idea of the day

it's an ice cream cone, loaded with banana and topped with cinnamon.

now this may not be an everyday thing, but to spice up a meal it's not bad. the cone has about 4 grams of sugar which isn't much more than a piece of bread and the "wow factor" is significant. i topped it with cinnamon, but i couldn't have used anything: actual sprinkles, wheat germ (which bee calls "brown sprinkles", score 1 for us!), peanut butter or granola. you could even fill the cone with all different things: mashed berries, pureed frozen fruit (sorbet-ish), but i think banana is easiest.

whatever the creation, i think it's a winner!

retail love

did a little shopping this weekend. i was cheap as usual, but that played nicely at our annual sidewalk sales. i got a few things here and there, but these were my favorites.

first is the "suck a bug". it resembles a bong, which provides much humor for the adults. but beyond the pot humor is the hilarity of sucking a bug into the little jar (equipped with magnifier). bee loves checking out bugs and this is just perfect. you can see in the picture the moth that i sucked, just to check it out.

my other favorite is this dessert server. i love it. love, love, love it. it is so cute and it folds up to be so small and compact. i would never buy it for myself because i never buy anything for myself really. but D insisted and for that i love him more. i mean really, look at it! did i mention it was only $20?!

snip snip.

we did it! hen got his first haircut. after a ridiculous amount of discussion (mine) and a ridiculous amount of hair growth (his), we finally did it. i don't know what my problem is with cutting his hair. partly i can't stand the thought of cutting that hair that was in my belly and that we has grown to be so long this (almost) past year. partly i don't like to be showing bee that there are clear gender ideals that we are going to conform to. but the fact is that henny doesn't have the type of hair that can just be free. it is so straight and just ended up in his eyes, and nose, all day long. i always said that i would cut his hair for his birthday, and tick tock, here we are. his hair was cute to a point, but really started to look problematic.

enter haircut.

we were so lucky to have my cousin do the cutting. D and i both feel comfortable cutting hair, but just not for the first time. it was such a luxury to have a pro handle the job, in our own dining room!
henny loved all the attention. he just smiled and checked everything out. the camera was snapping away and we were ooohing and aaahhhhing, and that is basically the whole story.

hen looks mega-cute now. the cut is not so much a haircut, but just cleaned up. it's perfect.
i think henny agrees.

literally squealing!

just returned from the composter, took a cruise past the garden and spotted this little beauty!!!

it may not be 100% ripe, but it is red and is just a little sign of what is to come. 

i love summer!

riding the wave

as i sit here looking back, today has been an unusually creative and productive day. that is not to say that i am not creative or productive on an average day, but today seems to go above and beyond. i just love when the stars align and ideas, time and energy are high.

the first creation of the day was parsley soup for lunch from my cookbook of the week.

the idea of parsley soup seemed weird, but i have been having so much fun in the kitchen and it seemed like a bit of a taste adventure. plus we have endless parsley at our csa and it is always nice to make use of more things there. the soup was good. there were some comments of it being "very parsley-y". it was also very salty. the recipe is basically parsley, butter, garlic, broth and cottage cheese. i guess the cottage cheese and broth combined to make it very salty. it was definitely pushing the palate envelope, but good nonetheless.

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while i was making the soup bee was busy with her own creation. hot air balloon! it is modeled after some that she saw at the y. i think the summer camp had made them. hers is extra special because she made and cut out some little guys to ride on it.

after rest bee and i combined efforts to make the first jar of pickles of the summer. it's the most simple recipe, a staple of my childhood.

cukes any way you like 'em, 4 or so dill flowers, a couple of sliced up garlic cloves (or more if you like), a sprinkle of kosher salt, white vinegar 2/3 of the way up and then water the rest of the way. leave them on the counter for a few days. pull one out once in a while to check and when they taste just right, pop them in the fridge.

and finally tonight, after everyone was asleep (including D on the couch!), i made some felt food! 

i was inspired by the fact that all henny does is play in the little kitchen. added to the fact that all the stuff spilled out on the floor is not pleasing to my tastes. it's all wooden food and some other things that bee has collected to pretend to be food, but it just looks ugly. to me. 

i want to be great at felt food. i want to make a banana with removable peel, a cupcake, a bagel, oranges and apples. but tonight i started with a cheese and lettuce sandwich on a bun, accompanied by a strawberry and a cookie. it's cute. i can't wait to make more.

i just love when days like this happen. sometimes my life inside these walls can feel small, but today it feels large and full. i love that.

micro burst '08

i don't know what on earth a micro burst is. i would have to google it. but apparently we had one here yesterday. and let me tell you, it ain't pretty. it's like our very own new england version of a tornado. 

we were headed home from swimming and we drove right into this wild storm. there were pieces of tree falling on the car and branches being dragged underneath. we were alternating between wanting to drive faster to just get through it, and feeling like we should just stop to wait it out. and then there was the screaming. parents screaming at each other, children screaming at everything. 

when we rounded the corner to home, there were trees down everywhere and wires down. this is where i really got scared. all i could see was our little family taken down by electrocution all at once. so, we did a quick 3 point turn and high tailed it out of there.

of course when we got home we had no power, but that was really secondary to the feeling of being blessed to still have a roof. it was really that bad.
the one really amazing thing was how all the neighbors came out. our neighborhood is friendly, but everyone has garages and our relationships with each other are mostly kept to waves and occasional small talk. but with no power and so much carnage, there was much visiting. it was so nice. you could just walk down the street and see everyone. old and young, we all had something in common. i have to say it was the first time in the 5 years that we have lived here that i have ended up on a neighbor's porch at 9:30 drinking beer and laughing.
i secretly wished for the power to stay out for a few days. it was so quaint. the roughing it, the visiting, the lanterns (burned while chatting on the cell!). but, the power company was so efficient and hard working and our power was restored around 8 the next morning. hardly the experience i had anticipated.
and then there was the clean-up. our neighbors are very lawn-oriented, so they had it all cleaned up in about 1.5 hours. the pressure was on for us, so we worked and sweat in 90 degree heat and got it done. all the branches, sticks, leaves, dirt and debris... gone. 
even though our yard is all clean, there is so much more to be done throughout our town. it is truly amazing to walk around and see everything up close. i am usually one to find weather talk to be about as dull as it gets. but this micro burst, being right, literally in our backyard is about as interesting as it gets for me right now. 

as reported by D

during a conversation about what baby birds eat, bee came out with this gem:

"imagine if birds had boobies that squirted out worms?"

yes, imagine. 

little mermaid

we are seeing the light at the end of the swimming lesson tunnel. henny is still enjoying snacking on sand, but the real highlight is that bee can really swim now! 
her teachers have been so amazing. they are very kind and patient and have wonderful ways of explaining all the techniques in really fun ways (chicken-airplane-soldier, scoop and throw!). they use those pool noodles to float in all different ways and practice their kicks or strokes.

the great news is that after today's lesson bee put on her little arm swimmies and just swam. she was just kicking and doing some kind of doggie paddle type stroke and she was swimming. i guess it's kind of ordinary but when it's your kid it's like watching the space shuttle launch. you just can't believe it. it's like magic. i mean, her legs are kicking, her arms a moving and she is just floating along, going somewhere. swimming.

bee certainly has a long way to go but the groundwork has been laid. she can swim for short periods of time. really swim. and she is brave. too brave. but it is great. she dove right into swimming and has blown my mind every day for the past week and a half.

girly goodness

these girls were created by bee today. the one on the right is very special because she has "cinderella shoes" and she is handing out lollipops. that is bee's kind of girl. her ideal self, i think. 

i helped a bit with the cutting and of course made the shapes of the girls. but the design and the artistic direction, that's all bee.

lost week, in pictures

this week has sure been a doozy. i don't think i had a single 15 minute chunk of spare time for the whole week. we had the drama of a dead furnace and hot water heater, which resulted in no hot water and a very busy handy husband hard at work on the situation. we also started swimming lessons for bee. i feel like a real whiner complaining about them, but they are every damn day. yes, it's only for 2 weeks, but still. between hen's naps and eating meals the only other thing we did last week was go to swimming. and did i mention that hen's favorite activity at swimming is eating sand? we have also started planning hen's birthday party (!!!) where we have perhaps insanely managed to invite 118 people (!!!!). so there's that.

there has been a lot going on, outside of the usual. throughout the week i did try to take a few pictures, with the intention of putting them up here. so here they are, with little commentary, because i'm tired.

one shinning light this week was the great abundance of cucumbers, both from our farm and garden. i have been enjoying mine the very best way a person can eat a cucumber, sliced with avocado and salt on top. bee decided she likes hers with salt and sprinkles. very fairy like.

we have been eating well, i took pictures of a couple of meals.

pasta with garlic scape pesto, on salad green and topped with cucumbers:

and bbq seitan burrito with zucchini ribbon salad with mint. i made my own bbq sauce: tomato sauce, garlic, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce, maple syrup and salt. it was awesome.

oh, and did i mention that we are also painting our house right now? check out that painting skirt. made by D, of course.

finally today i got down to business on some of the things i have been dying to do throughout this crazy week. if you are a strange person, you would love to make your own seitan. it is way fun and looks like a pot of brains.
finally today i put the finishing touches on henny's birthday crown. it is fit for a king! i still can't believe he is almost one! bee also made henny something felted. it's a secret for now.

harvest update

first squash! how did it get that big?

it's our first of the real summer veggies. we've had tons of spinach and peas but zucchini is a sure sign of summer. bring it on!

jammin'!

i took the kids strawberry picking yesterday. it's been a rough year for strawberries here. the season has been cut short by daily pounding storms. i'm glad we finally made it because it doesn't seem like there will be many more days of our already short season.

we picked a huge mixing bowl full. not sure how many pounds because my cousin was working at the patch and we got them for free (score!). i am pretty sure though that my two little helpers brought their own fair share home in their bellies. 

henny was covered with strawberry juice. he was just pickin' and eatin'. and of course bee helped with her special blend of fantasy fun/complaining/eating/real live helping. 

when we got home we whipped up some jam, to really round out the experience. gold star for me! we followed the directions found inside this pectin box. it was super simple and not too sugary. they even had some no-sugar options but i didn't have any juice concentrate, so next time. it was my first experience with canning of any sort so i was excited to see the jam actually turn into jam and the jars seal. 

and the jam actually tastes pretty good. the kids love it of course, but i think if i try to make more (maybe raspberry season?), i might follow a more interesting recipe. but for now i guess we have some jam to get eating!

back from vacationland

we are just getting settled in back at home after our extra long weekend in maine. it was one of those family vacations where the parents do a lot of talking through gritted teeth, under their breath. and meanwhile, somehow, everyone comes away with great memories and new experiences. 

my memories of family vacations from when i was a kid are mixed with the good and the bad. there were always great times, true fun and excitement. but there were also threats of "turning the car around" and reminders to "not ruin the vacation". i know that vacation is stressful for everyone, especially the parents. i know that, now that i am one, so very clearly. i just hope that we can try to at least fake it or ignore the less than desirable behavior and focus on the fun. i tried to put that in practice on this vacation and we did pretty well despite some less than ideal circumstances. on the bright side, bee probably won't remember much from this year and henny is a blank slate!

and now a photographic journey through some of the highlights....

of course we visited the beach. it wasn't the best beach weather but bee didn't mind......
we spent some time at york beach which not only has the greatest throw back of a taffy factory and restaurant,but also dazzled us with it's little kid-friendly amusement park! bee went on her first real ride. alone! as in with no adult and actually alone because there were no other kids on this rainy night!

my favorite part of the trip (other than the 20 minutes of alone time in a clothing store where i actually got to try things on! bonus: they fit!) was our trip to mackworth island. i found this little gem online months ago and it was worth the hype. it's a tiny island near portland. they have a walking trail all around the perimeter of the island and a patch of woods that has become a fairy village. people visiting the island just add their own house to the many, many others. it is an amazing sight to walk around and see all these creations. some log cabins, some made of rocks. some up high, some so tiny you almost step on them. it was enchanting for us so i can only imagine what bee thought.

here is bee walking on the trail.
and us working on our fairy house. it was perched on some old broken branches.
and finally, the house from the outside and the inside. bee made sure to have the house plus two porches. it was well decorated with birch bark, buttercups, shells, pine branches and some soft crumbly wood that we found. i'm sure some sweet fairy is kicking up her feet right now!