...... and the livin's easy.....

oh, do i have a blog? am i supposed to be preserving my family's history here? oops....

life is just rolling by these days. there is so much good going on. my life feels so very full. we are starting to adjust to our new summer schedule. it's a switch to have to do so much of the planning and creating to make our days special. but it's going pretty well and getting more comfortable every day.

bee wrapped up her school year last week. her school had a lovely awards ceremony for the graduates and the kids who will return for another year (like bee). bee has been feeling emotional about school ending and especially the fact that some of her friends will be moving on. it's been a bit of work to sort out these feelings and to try to help make it feel a little better.

i took this picture of bee on the morning of the last day of school:

and coincadentally, bee wore the same exact outfit to school as she did on the first day of the year. so here, just for comparison, is bee on the first day of school, last fall:

the dress sure got a lot shorter! bee wore shorts under it last week, a little too much booty peeking!

as the summer has been blossoming before our eyes, bee's drawing skills have also bloomed. 

annie, daddy warbucks, sandy and grace:

almost overnight she just draws and draws and draws. she has always leaned more toward the arts and crafts, but lately she is almost obsessive about drawing. morning, noon and into the night (well after we tuck her in tuck her in and kiss her good night), she draws. i gave her a set of these ed emberley drawing books that i had as a kid. she is off and running with them, following every step. she also seems to be just teaching herself along the way.

annie, daddy warbucks and grace again:

i even found a drawing laying around here showing bee's other latest skill:

this past weekend bee tried out riding her bike with no training wheels. she is doing wonderfully. she still needs some more practice, but she is doing it! she is only up to short bursts, with us (usually D) trailing right behind. but, soon enough, she will be off!

also exciting........our garden, the farm and our fertile valley in general, have all been so lush with produce. much more of my time has been spent cooking, preparing, canning, freezing and tending our food. it is such a good feeling.

it's dinners like this that make me love summer:
dinner for one: fresh (all local!) salsa & lettuce mix with strawberries, goat cheese and balsamic (all local too!). 

all this and i didn't even mention homemade yogurt, our upcoming island getaway (with the obama's!), fresh pickles, our construction project (!!), bee's new art table and strawberry jam!

and although this post doesn't reflect it, henny has been flourishing just as much as bee lately. he is a wild yet tender, full-sentence speaking little boy who seems to be in love with life (on his terms!). 

more to come.....

WIP: sweater blanket

inspired by the book sewing green, which i got from the library (i love you, inter-library loan!), i started a new project this week. i started by buying a bunch of wool and cashmere sweaters at salvation army. i felted them in a hot wash and dry and started cutting them up.

bee helped me with laying out the pieces so we could get a sense of what it would be like and if i had enough sweaters.
next i started squaring them off and assembling them like a frustrating little puzzle. 

then i put the whole thing away by rolling it up, in an attempt to pace myself so that i do a careful job and actually enjoy it. i can't wait to roll it out this weekend and start to sew the pieces together. i'm using an old sheet for the back and it should be a nice size for a lap blanket or and extra blanket for bee or henny's beds.

consolation

tonight bee came up to me and started peeking under my shirt as she rattled on about one thing or another. this new habit of her looking under my shirt is something that i am trying to be cool with, despite my natural awkwardness. i still have a lot of issues about my body and how it is changed now forever, after having two babies. i feel ok about it in my own head but when i think of how i look to the general population, i am horrified. i can look at the changes and see them as beautiful in their own way, i am just not convinced that anyone else will. and that is where my issues are, i guess.

anyhow, back to tonight. 

bee was chatting away and looking at my side, where the worst of the worst of my stretch marks reside. suddenly she stopped talking and announced, "this mark looks like an 'm', see."

yes, an "m". bee's first initial. of course that is the connection that bee made. she knows that she made the mark and of course it only makes sense that her initial is there. 

i know that in bee's eyes that is just the kind of magic that is so believable to a kid. i want to believe in that magic. it helps to make this body more livable, more lovable. i want to save this thought to share with bee someday. to thank her for helping me through my issues.

super-mega recap

life has been pretty good around here. so good that i guess i haven't felt like documenting it. we are fully living in the season, this time of late spring with a hint of summer. there has been so much good. so much good eating, planting and living. it's just the way i like it. 

during these lovely weeks i have thought of many posts, but just never felt the drive at the end of the day to follow through. here is an abbreviated version of some of the goodness.

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i have reunited with my love of the asian food market. i have always loved these sort of markets, ever since college when i lived near an amazing japanese market. i love getting all of those weird things that you could never find anywhere else. and the things that you can find at the grocery store are about a third of the price at the asian market. i had stopped finding time to get there after henny was born, it was just too much to add that extra errand to the list.

how happy i am to have returned and to have my kitchen filled with nori, miso, pocky, soba, kim chi and seaweed snacks!

two great meals since the return of the asian market....

make your own sushi night.

this was a hit for the whole family. i made up some sushi rice earlier in the day and then just put all the fixings out on the table. we all enjoyed making our own rolls, either nice cut rolls of just sloppy handrolls. it all tasted great and was so much fun. this will definitely become a go-to meal for the summer.

secondly, is spring rolls....
i made these spring rolls for dinner one night. we loved them so much that we made the above platter for a party. the spring rolls are totally easy, if a little time consuming. you can put whatever in them. the first time i made some with fresh raw veggies and some with rice and tofu. the rice and tofu ones were a little too plain and mushy. raw veggies are the way to go. 

the wrappers (seen in the next picture down, for reference) need to be softened in water for about 3 minutes. you then wrap them like a burrito. for these i used shredded carrot, julienned cucumber, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, shreds of green garlic, shreds of nori, slices of avocado and a handful of fresh (local!) greens. 

we made a dipping sauce with miso, peanut butter and soy sauce. it's kind of a trial and error type sauce. keep tasting until it's right. 

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one thing that has become clear in the last few week is that the kids are thriving in this weather and the new lifestyle that comes with it. they seem happier, with all of the outside play, playground visits daily and less clothes. henny seems so much older with all of the new things that he can do. bee does too. she has been testing out a bit of freedom with going outside by herself to check on the garden, so a little chore or even to swing for a minute alone. it's all so nice. even the inside time seems nicer somehow, knowing that it isn't our only option.

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and finally, the garden is growing and full of so much promise and hope. i don't have too many pictures of the garden as it looks today because it's been rainy, but it's all the way planted and just left to grow. we lost a few cucumbers and maybe a few basil plants in a late frost last week. but other than that, things are looking good. we have spinach (one planting almost ready and one just a bit behind), green onions, tons of edamame, peas, zucchini, carrots, romanesco, brussel sprouts and a bunch of kinds of tomatoes. we even sprung for the good cages this year! i figure that they will be a family heirloom. 

more pictures of the garden to come. and more early summer goodness to come!

phew.....

full circle

in the last few weeks two wonderful things came full circle. one for me and one for D.

first off, i turned this piece of embroidery into a cool wall hanging. i had been debating about what to do with this drawing-turned-embroidery. a pillow? frame it? then i saw this little tutorial which featured a wonderful idea to print on cloth using freezer paper. now that i think of it, it's not really related to what i made, but it got the wheels turning.

i started by ironing a stabilizer on the back of the embroidery. then i cut it to size, layered a piece of batting inside and a cute fabric on the back. i sewed along the edges and then trimmed close to the stitch line. i finished it off with some yellow bias tape around the outside. what i really want to do it learn to quilt and make my own cute binding, but right now i'm working with my limited skills. i added a few pieces of ribbon and hung it by a stick that i found in the yard. i really love it. now to figure out where to hang it.

D's full circle moment is more of a visual.
morels, in the mushroom bag, made with love my bee. unfortunately, the morel season seems to be coming to an end. the good news is that our spinach is almost ready to eat, the farm is about to begin and the farmer's market is our new grocery store. eating with the seasons is so good right now!

mother's day loveliness

yesterday, my mother's day was just wonderful. my three lovelies gave me such a well rounded, relaxing treat of a day.

i don't ever want anything fancy for mother's day. no jewelry or pajama-grams necessary. all i really want is to have a break from domestic duties, sleep in and have a nice breakfast. i was not disappointed. 

while i had full opportunity to sleep in, i couldn't really do it. i felt pressure to fall asleep and my body is just not used to it. it was just as well though because i just enjoyed listening to podcasts in bed until 8. 

when i awoke or arose, i was greeted by the most wonderful surprises and  treats. bee made a beautiful trivet for me at school, with a drawing of me, with the sun above my head and flowers at my feet. D gave me the most amazing gift, a handmade bag that i had been coveting at a craft fair the weekend before. this bag is unreal. i LOVE it so. the kids also made me some nice cards.

i was served a breakfast that included the following: oven roasted potatoes with fennel, caramelized onions, scrambled eggs, cinnamon sugar toast and a bloody mary. all=delicious.

look at that bag one more time.

we spent the rest of the day just hanging around. we went to a tag sale and a vintage furniture store. i took a short nap before lunch and then we spent the rest of the day preparing to have my parents over for a nice dinner.

we made homemade pizzas: asparagus blue cheese, asiago with arugala salad on top, morel (!!) onion and cheese for the kids.

i wanted to share the dessert we made because it was so simple, easy, quick and delicious. we made popovers and filled them with vanilla ice cream, cooked strawberry sauce and topped with whipped cream.
we made the popovers in our mugs that are oven-safe because we don't have a popover pan (yet), but it looked really pretty. it was so good and really so easy. i can't wait to eat this in a month or so with REAL local strawberries.

all and all it was an amazing day and i am truly lucky. i have the sweetest little kids. and they are taught how to be so generous and kind by the best husband and father that a family could ask for. 

in conversation

both bee and henny have been amazing me with their individually outstanding conversational skills. henny is a big copycat and is thrilled to have so many new words to share. and bee, she is just so amazing. sometimes i really forget that i'm talking to a four year old. she has so much language and wisdom.

each of them has wowed me in their own way recently, with two very different little conversations. 

from bee:

while walking up to the library...

"mommy, what is this all about with crossing your fingers?"

"oh, some people think that they will get their wish or have good luck if they cross their fingers."

"well, i don't know about that. i mean, how do fingers know what you want. you can't talk to fingers. they don't even have brains!"

and from henny:

after D had a very exhausting day, i got henny up from his crib in the morning to let D sleep a bit.

"see daddy. see daddy" (said insistently)

"henny, daddy is going to sleep a little more because he worked so hard yesterday."

"yeah. daddy. workin'. fun. tools."