this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via soulemama

time for a change

before

when we decided that we were going to have a second baby i knew it was time to grow out my hair. i'm a short hair girl. my hair is fine and thin, which means it is limp when it is long. one of the nice things about pregnancy is that your hair stops falling out, and i knew this was my last chance at trying to have nice long hair. well, i pretty much wore it pulled back every day. it turns out i don't really like the feel of hair on my neck. and now that i haven't been pregnant for a few months, all of that hair that didn't fall out while i was pregnant now is. combine all of that with having a body that is still in transition and you end up with a frumpy feeling mama.

after

a new haircut was in order. so much lighter and easier! while it doesn't change the fact that i still only have one pair of pants that fit right now (and i'm too cheap to buy another pair), it at least helps with feeling blah. my friend and i were talking over lunch this week about personal style and how it is difficult to not fall into a rut when you're raising small children. i look pretty great in a pencil skirt, but i can't sit on the floor and play blocks while wearing one. i know this is just a phase, or as my midwife says 'mothering is a season,' but it feels unending while in it. so i will enjoy my new hair style, but continue to wear my uniform of jeans and a hoodie. soon it will be warmer and the season will dictate another change, and by then i'll fit into more of my clothes and this will all seem like a distant memory.

sorry for the iphone photos. i haven't perfected the art of self-portraits with my nice camera...

in the garden

spring in portland is a fairly rainy affair, like every other season here. the only difference between winter and spring is that the temperature is a bit higher and every 10 days or so we have a couple of warm-ish sunny days. yesterday was one of those lovely days.

the peas (in the foreground) and radishes (the half bed by the kids) are doing quite well. i sowed seed for carrots and beets, and saw lots of flowers on the strawberries.

gigi really wanted to have this ladybug for a pet, but i told her that her job is to protect the garden. let's hope she's doing her job well this year!

hopefully this weekend we'll get the last bed turned and amended so i can get the leafy greens sown. and then next month it will be time to plant tomatoes! we will probably be in this house for a few more years, so i've started thinking about planting perennials, like asparagus and artichokes. i think we've already missed the window for the asparagus this year though. my favorite gardening book says to sow the seeds when the apple trees are blooming. well, our apple tree is blooming right now and we don't have a bed built for the asparagus yet. next year...

a belated birthday update

this year for her birthday we decided to have a party with a couple of her friends. the previous years had just been family, but a few little friends were just what we needed to celebrate turning Three this year. she had requested strawberry cake, despite not ever having had any strawberry cake. i don't think i'd ever had strawberry cake either, other than strawberry shortcake. i had grand visions of a beautifully frosted layer cake, but they went out the window in favor of simpler cupcakes. i had to do a little research but i finally found a recipe that didn't include strawberry flavored jello. (i love martha stewart!) it included a recipe for strawberry buttercream, but i'm not a fan of buttercream. i love butter, but when it comes to frosting i want cream cheese. all combined the cupcakes tasted a lot like strawberry ice cream. so yummy! of course the birthday girl that requested them only licked the frosting, then walked away. i also made strawberry lemonade and cheesy herb popcorn. of course i was so busy making everything that i hardly took any photos, but i think these few captured the spirit of the day. i finished her scarf and she loved it. alas, she is in a contrary way lately and will not be in any photos, at least not with any of her new birthday gifts. 

it was a lovely low-key birthday party. it was exactly what we all needed this year. i had fun sewing a dress and dolly dress for her last year and hope to get back to that tradition next year, and maybe knit a sweater too! but this year with an energetic (and teething!) baby there just wasn't any time. and that is ok. we all had fun and i don't think she even missed having a birthday dress. 

welcome spring!

this is the first year that gigi kind of understood that the easter bunny was coming, much like santa. i'm trying to hold off introducing candy for a few more years, so this year the baskets were filled with strawberries -  sort of nature's candy.

she got straight to her task of unpacking her basket and munching those berries. the bunny also brought her a new little box for her lunch (filled with strawberries) and another nikki mcclure book.

the easter bunny didn't forget dino either, although we did have to eat his strawberries for him. when he starts eating he'll have this sweet peter rabbit enamel bowl and mug to use. i just couldn't help myself when i saw it in the store. it was an impulse buy, but i know i won't regret it.

we had a delicious breakfast, with more strawberries. i added a little yogurt to the pancake batter because we were short on milk and it was delicious! i used half ww pastry flour and half white flour and everyone enjoyed them thoroughly.

a special bunny pancake!

a few hours after breakfast my husband 'hid' the eggs we dyed all over the back lawn. then he casually asked gigi if she had looked to see if the bunny had left anything else. i was down the hall changing a diaper (glamorous, i know!) when she came running yelling 'mama! the easter bunny hid eggs in the backyard!!!' she was so excited. it was so cute! for the first time since i can remember we had beautiful weather for easter weekend. every other year it has been raining or at least sweater weather. this year was just perfect. we spent the rest of the day in the garden/backyard. for dinner we had a perfectly grilled T-bone steak with spinach and deviled eggs. i'm so excited to eat deviled eggs all week! it's the best part of easter, if you ask me...

this week gigi is starting a new preschool and turning three! so i am up incredibly early this morning (5:30) finishing up her registration paperwork, and researching strawberry cupcake recipes. why does almost every strawberry cake recipe have a packet of strawberry flavored jell-o in it? ugh...

knitting love

i have sung my mother-in-law's praises before. well, get ready for some more! i addition to being a great cook she also is an amazing knitter. let's have a look at a few things that she has knit for my kids:

i think this might be the cutest baby sweater ever. bunny ears! wooden buttons! organic cotton! so soft and perfect. 

 this is a beautiful bolero sweater that crosses over in the front. alas, my model wasn't being very cooperative during our 'photo shoot.' it is soft and gorgeous.

here is my reluctant model in this sweet wool dress. isn't it lovely? it has bunny buttons.

she also knit a baby blanket for gigi and a vest that i haven't managed to photograph. she also knit an adorable hat for dino that he hasn't grown into yet.

and lastly here is my first real knitting project. gigi is turning three next week and i'm making this scarf for her. i'm crossing my fingers that with the help of you tube i can remember/figure out how to do the little ruffled edge and bind off. hopefully with a lot of practice i'll be able to knit up a sweater or two for my little ones someday.

snapshots from the weekend

best breakfast

this pork shoulder ragu from Dinner A Love Story is my new favorite dinner. seriously. (next time i'll ease up on the hot sauce though)

stuffed chicken before...

and after. really delicious! video and recipe here.

sunday night pizza with my husband's new tattoo. isn't he sweet?

pizza with homemade crust, mozzarella i made that morning, and the hand of an olive thief, before...

and after!

things we didn't get a chance to photograph:

buttermilk waffles and sausage
planting two types of radishes
planted hops

and most importantly enjoyed not being sick!