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30 day challenge time

So I was recently told that there is a real possibility that my little family may be going on a trip to Hawaii with my kinfolk to celebrate my parents' anniversary. Just a few days prior to that news, I went to the doctors office and saw the highest non pregnant number on the scale. I swear, I nearly knocked Bridget over as I raced to get off that scale. Since that date, I made a commitment to change things around. And I was doin pretty good but our trip came up.... and well..... festivals are not diet friendly as tastey drinks flow like a river as do the treats and snacks. My feet looked like blimps after the 21 hour drive home. I feel heavy and sluggish in the morning. Then, like a sign, I came upon a blogger, Polos,Pearls, and Pacifiers, talking about her challenge. I remembered Rob had picked up a Jillian Michaels dvd a while back(which I dismissed cuz I know the real reason he got it is cuz she's hot and bossy..... and we know how he loves bossy chicks) I texted him and wouldn't ya know it.... its the exact 30 day challenge that these girls are doing. So, there's the answer.... looks like I'm joining the challenge :) Mama needs to look less Orca on her trip.... and more Oo la la. So if you are reading this..... feel free to join the sweaty fun.

a glimpse of good times had

Watching the news roll in with pictures of the destruction in Massachusetts is making me ever so thankful that our fates had us out of there before the storms rolled in. We were camping in the woods not far from where the tornados took several lives. Don't have time to post my whole tale of our trip to Strange Creek... but thought I'd put up these pictures to get the ball rolling....

goin to the country. gonna eat me a lot of peaches.

Best mother's day ever..... even better than my first mother's day when B had a total poo explosion up to her neck and Rob had to clean her up in the Perkins bathroom while I enjoyed a free slice of pie. At first I was all for going to this nice restaurant for their fancy prime rib buffet and custom crepe chefs. Laying in bed Saturday night I realized, I don’t really dig prime rib. And what I do dig is hash browns and pancakes at the Pancake Place. And the Pancake place is crazy cheap whereas the buffet place was almost $20 a plate. So we started off at church where I got to chat with some of my favorite moms and watch B with her little buddy Lily. Then off to our favorite breakfast mecca where everyone of the server gals popped over to say hi. Then we took a beautiful drive down to the little farm town where we had our wedding reception almost 7 years ago. We went to Mulberry Lane Farms to see and snuggle some baby critters.

This place blew away all of my expectations. First off, it's gorgeous. The barns are weathered but beautiful and tidy. The animals had to be the cleanest livestock I have ever seen outside of the county fair. They look like they all get biweekly baths. Our first trip was to the goat and sheep barn. Farmer Dawn gave us a quick lesson in the many things farmers use these animals for before telling us to make sure and pick up the baby goats and give them lots of love. I found this lil booger hiding in the corner thinking that he was so clever. I swear the bleating for his mom nearly made me start lactating right then and there.

I passed him over to Rob who introduced him to B. B was not all that game to get very close. Mama came sneaking around and had to make sure everything was okay. I got all teary eyed when she came in for a motherly kiss. I got a message on facebook from the farm sharing that the nanny's name is Shivers and that she became foster mom to a kid that one of her offspring had rejected. Had me all teary eyed again.

Next we were off to the pig pen where they keep the “teenagers.” I gotta say I was more than impressed that the kids did not make a bigger deal about the pigs pooping on each others faces when they were piled up on top of each other. We learned that pigs are not so familiar with Vibram 5finger shoes and they kinda think my toes were grapes.

One brave little guy took it one step further and tried ripping my pants off. If he weren’t so cute, it would have been horrifying. It turns out, B is quite the little pig whisperer(in addition to turtle whispering) and she bravely called them out to play once the crowds left.

Then we gleefully plopped her on a teeeeeny little pony’s back and Rob took her around the ring. I had to reign in my stage mom side “Sweetie, you have to HOLD the horn of the saddle!!! Really hold it!!!” as she disgustedly put just her fingertips on the very top of the horn.

Rob came around from the first circle and gave me the look of “do you want to pull her off cuz that’s what she wants?” and being the kind of mom who really listens to her child’s needs said “Go for a second round!!!!” B’s look of betrayal could have broken my heart if I wasn’t stifling a fit of laughter. Its mother’s day…… its my day to be a brat.

Speaking of brats…. B did not like the idea of holding anything with wings. I liked the idea of teasing her with chickens……

and ducklings…

I think the one moment of the day where I got a little embarrassed about what a hippy dork I was was when we met Red the milking cow. I always thought I was such hot stuff cuz I milked a goat once when I was 11. So I strutted up like I was some sort of expert and puffed up all proud when B actually got some milk out herself. We walked around the front to say thanks to Red, and I was struck by how peaceful and beautiful she was. I never saw one ounce of fear or anxiety in any of these animals even though they had seen group after group of families all day. I scratched her forehead and she gently turned her nose to B and let her kiss her nose. Later we were playing with the newborn barn kittens and I noticed Red was happily laying down all by herself.

B and I walked over and were giving her some good neck and behind the ear scratches. She leaned into our touch just like a dog. I couldn’t get over how gentle and relaxed she was. Here’s the nerdy hippy part, I started thanking her for the milk that she provides and her gentleness with B… and then I started to cry as I wished her a happy mother’s day. Sheesh!! Crying at the milking station. She turned and looked at me funny like “Girl, its muh job.” Later that night, when I uploaded the pictures, B saw the one of Red and she reached up and touched her and said “ooooh soft. Gentle scratches.” And proceeded to pretend to stroke her neck.
Just as we thought our day was over, one of the farmers popped her head into the barn and mentioned that one of the nannies was about to give birth so we hightailed it across the yard and into the goat/sheep pen with another little family. Sure enough, mama was cleaning up a little black and white kid and we saw he or she take their first steps(insert more tears). After a few minutes she layed down and pushed out the second kid. She barely stood up to clean #2 when #3 made his way into the world. I think Ma barely even noticed his arrival.

And again, I couldn’t believe how thoughtful the human kids were about the whole thing. Here she is with all this “stuff” hangin down out of her rear and the little boy near us was just concerned about who was gonna help her wipe her bottom. There was a pregnant sheep that kept sneaking in and checking on the goat and her kids. Later that night we saw on the farm’s facebook page that the ewe actually came over and was letting the newborn goats nurse from her. I told Rob, if I knew how to do it, I would make a great 2 mom family children’s book from that. Here she is checking on mom and kid #1… not sure if the goat to the left is dad or another nannie waiting her turn to give birth.

So there you have it. My very long winded picture heavy story of mother's day. Rob and I agree that we will be getting season passes for the farm.

more architectural daydreams

I think I like daydreaming about my future kitchen more than any other aspect of the house. Perhaps that is because our current kitchen has about 1 sq/ft of built in counter space. And that 1 foot disappears if you need to open a drawer to retrieve a utensil because the drawers are built in directly above the "counter." We added a bakers rack but that still forces me to choose only one appliance to be left on the counter at a time. And in our house, that is the coffee pot. I would normally skip the electric pot for a french press but our quaint farmhouse sink is too old to accommodate a garbage disposal and the feel of french press used grounds on my hand as I try to slosh it all down into the compost bucket is just too gross. SO, back to my dream kitchen..... one of the things that helped me know Rob was the one, was that he said he always dreamt of having Larry and Abby's kitchen table from Dharma and Greg. The big counter top island made from 2 gorgeous wine barrels. I can't believe I can't find a picture on line of it anywhere. Anyhoo, even though I dream of a nice small cozy home in the woods, the kitchen in my head comes up lovely and open to the rest of the space. I saw this picture today and it got me dreaming again.


Donna Wilson's blog...
the cement counter.... the reclaimed wood cabinets..... the old school drawer pulls.... the subway tile. Rob should seriously ban me from looking at design blogs cuz it does nothing to help subdue my desire to move.

breaking my silence...

I slipped back into a quiet phase for a little bit. Thought I'd break the silence with a post of pictures from other websites that made me giggle today. Found a lot of these on Old Chum.










this picture is in one of my hand made houses of the 60's books. It has always inspired me to find a gorgeous cast off window but in my heart I know these sort of scores don't exist now a days. At least not in my price range.

Cranberry Bran Muffins

Many years ago, I sat at a kitchen counter as my friend Autumn effortlessly juggled a visit with me while feeding and caring for her 2 small girls. Autumn never let you go hungry at her house. On this day, she introduced me to something that became a go to recipe of mine. Bran muffins with cheddar cheese sliced on top. So today I thought I would give it a try with B. That kid is going through a picky phase food wise. If its not in noodle form or cheese form she really isn't interested in it. So, here's the recipe. It's basically the Bob's Redmill recipe from the wheat bran bag but tweaked.

1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup flax meal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cranberries
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 bananas mashed up
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbs oil
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat to 400(unless you have my stupid oven where you put it up as high as it goes for 30 minutes and mayyyybe it will get above 350)
Mix the dry stuff.... mix the wet stuff.... then mix it all together must til its all properly wet and mixed. I put about 1/3 cup of batter in each muffin cup. Bake for 15-20(or if you have my stupid oven.... 25 or 30 *sigh*) As far as the cranberries go, you could do dates, raisins, dried apple chunks. whatever you have hanging around. And the mushed bananas could easily be 3/4 cup of applesauce like the Bob's redmill recipe states. But I had no applesauce. Pretty much any fruit puree will do the trick.

And there you go... a perfect go to breakfast, snack, lunch, etc. Cut one in half and top with a piece of good cheddar cheese. If I'm not feeling lazy, I pop it under the broiler so its all melty and wonderful. That mixture of lightly sweet muffin and salty cheese is perfect and its filling cuz of the bran. I like to sneak flax meal into anything possible. The added fiber and ultra happy omega 3 make me feel even better about having this for a whole meal. I pop it into my green smoothies when I'm a good girl and making those regularly. If B continues to refuse veggies, I think spinach smoothies will be coming back soon.

Ignore the look on her face.... she liked em. She is sitting criss cross applesauce in the middle of the floor munching on one and watching Nemo. It is helping that I called them cake and not muffin. Sometimes you gotta lie to yer kids. Don't you judge me!

Lunch with the ladies

The snow has melted. The daffodils are popping up. And Bridget enjoyed her first brunch with the ladies. As her 2nd birthday was approaching, I had to admit that I really didn't relish the idea of throwing a big party full of kids and adults. I'm a bit of a recluse and I get weirded out in situations where I am expected to mingle. Which is funny cuz I LOVE cooking for people and I do a pretty good job at a fancy spread of good food. I realized that if I could shrink the party down to a couple of people, I was on board. Lisa and Marcy have been speacial friends of mine for several years from work. Marcy and I hold dear the memory of crying by the office coffee machine when I told her I was finally pregnant(making several strangers a little uncomfortable but we didn't care.) So I invited them to come have brunch at a little cafe called the Mustard Seed. We swapped excited emails and instant messages about flowery dresses, floppy hats, and the possibility of gloves as THIS was gonna be a very big girl brunch. Did we turn some heads? Totally. But it was awesome. I am so lucky to have friends willing to get all Steel Magnolias for a two year old.
Speaking of Steel Magnolias, here's my girls sharing a drop of tea.

And just before we left, the woman from the wedding decor shop next door popped in with a tray of mini chocolate cupcakes with key lime frosting and red velvet mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting... all done up with glitter sugar. She brought the tray out for the birthday girl to pick out her favorite. I think B was overwhelmed by the amazing array of frosting topped cuties.


If I ever had a doubt that all the baby has disappeared from my baby girl, these pictures seal the deal. Look at how she carries on like she's been "doing lunch" for years.


"Now I'm not one to gossip, but have you heard who Silvie has been seen with?"

Bridget even obliged me and wore the feather hair clip I made her. It stayed in for about 10 minutes which is pretty good when it comes to this kid. Scruffy hair in her eyes is kind of her preferred state. In fact, she refused to wear the brand new Easter hat I picked up this morning until she saw the girls sporting theirs in the parking lot. Suddenly she was the hat kind of girl.

The chef even came out to wish her a happy birthday. I am beyond blessed to have these women in my life. Lisa and Seth painted B this gorgeous letter B that is exactly what her new big girl room needed. Marcy bought her a magenta camping chair, polka dot sleeping bag, flash light and flash cards. She's all ready for festival season to start. She insisted on eating her dinner in the camp chair and drags it behind her everywhere she goes.

So I just wanted to send up another thanks to you guys from B for the presents, the laughs, and the wonderful day that we will always remember. You guys beat a dora the explorer pinata party any day!!!

I feel like I'm being watched

So, how does one survive in a customer service job in the insurance industry? You sneak as much wimsy and happiness as you can. I seriously questioned if I should drop $3 for the pack of googly eyes. But the reaction was all worth it. These were just a couple of the new characters that showed up at work yesterday.

life on water

There was a brief period in our childless days where we were semi serious about living on a house boat. I scanned the classifieds for something doable in the Key West region. But then Key West went on the back burner and I turned my attention toward more child friendly locations. Over the last few years, I've studied cob, hay bale, yurt, campers and pole barns..... ANYTHING that would be small and that we could do cheap enough to make major changes in our careers. I had completely forgotten about houseboats!! I adore the house boats of Seattle!!! So I thought I'd share some eye candy while I day dream some more. The following picture was my dream home. I think I fell in love with tug boats growing up in countless marinas with my family. The crusty hermit boats intrigued me.