Classic Shot

You need at least one picture of the baby covered in spaghetti, don't you?

Cherry Pickin'

Say what you will about the Central Valley, we've heard it all. In all fairness, California is suppose to be coastal and temperate and our town is neither. It gets hot here, really hot and we're about two hours from the nearest beach. Its dry and dusty and there are visible oil pumps in random places. But, despite those flaws, we are surrounded by the most beautiful produce farms that export five star products to the entire world.
Today we picked "Champagne" and "Ranier" cherries at the peak of their ripeness and deliciousness. It was an idyllic, perfect afternoon.
We met friends at the entrance of the farm, were driven to the middle of orchard and left there, to pick, eat, run and explore the rows upon rows of cherry trees until they came to get us. We all ate a ton of fresh cherries right off the branches and took full buckets home to enjoy.
The dude couldn't get enough and demanded constant cherry consumption. Chris was his cherry slave, de-pitting as fast as he could, which was still not quite fast enough. And, yes, they were that delicious.

"Mmmm, cherries!"

This picture is just to make you drool.

So the next time you're whizzing by Bakersfield on the 5, take a minute to look out your window and appreciate the beautiful landscape that is our little corner of California. And just think we might be in that blurry orchard you're driving by with hands and faces sticky from a total overindulgence of fresh cherries or some other type of delicious fruit. Because there are blueberries too!

College Prep

We have this little game we like to play at lunch. Since Tiana came into our lives the girls have a fascination with waitresses (for those not in the know: Tiana is the new Disney princess/waitress from New Orleans who turns into a frog, marries a prince, turns into a princess and opens her own Gumbo restaurant) and they love, love, love to pretend play "restaurant."

The girls take turns taking each others orders ("Do you want milk or water? We're all out of apple juice." "Grapes or apples with your mac & cheese?") carefully using their "pleases" and "thank yous." They pretend to write it all down and then convey the information to the Mommy chef in the kitchen. When the plates and drinks are ready I yell "Ding! Order up!" and they bring lunch to their customers. They ask if there is anything else they can get them and make sure to check in at least once during the meal to replenish if needed.

I like this game. It saves me some running around and since our savings are pretty nonexistent these days they may need this skill to put themselves through college!

Before and After

Beforeand after...

Household Chores

Not too long ago, Chris and I used to switch off on the weekends, one person watching the girls and the other "getting something done." As the girls get older it is more and more the case that they become part of our weekend chores, which makes it much more fun.

For instance, a trip to Costco with Daddy is never without his shopping cart "pirates" who yell "Snacks, Ahoy!" whenever they see a free sample table.Last weekend, the girls joined me in painting their new play table (aka Granddaddio's old coffee table) a bright white.

Zoe was very thorough and made sure the underside of the table was coated too.

Athena was meticulous but covered in paint by the end of the job.

We really had a great time and the result was fantastic. However getting all that paint off was like a recreation of the shower scene from Silkwood. I'm still picking white paint out of their hair.

This weekend the girls helped Mimi and I wash the cars.

They needed a little help with the high parts.
And especially loved using the hose.
Beware a three year old wielding a hose, however!
After the chore was completed they enjoyed a "party in Mimi's car" and blasted 80's music while pretending to drive.
The weekends just fly by with all this activity!

My Mother's Day Garden

My Mother's Day present this year was an edible garden. We didn't get around to planting it last week, but this week we got fresh herb plants from the farmer's market and a ton of supplies from Home Depot and went to work.

On the side of the house we planted an herb garden and in another part of the yard we're growing tomatoes and cucumbers. We're starting small this year with plans to build on it hopefully adding strawberries and peppers and corn next year.

Athena loved gardening. She helped with every step.

Zoe soon got bored and went to go play in the gravel pit.*We're growing dill and chives, Greek oregano, parsley, rosemary and two types of basil. When all the little herbs were planted, Athena kissed each one and said "I love you, I can't wait to eat you when you grow up!"

(* "The gravel pit" is what we call the side of our house that has nothing but sharp little pebbles and some leftover siding used to build our fence. It is a magnet for my children. They have a whole grassy yard to play with and tons of toys and yet they choose the gravel pit. Sigh.)

Hellooo Summer!

I picked the girls up from school yesterday and they were covered in chalk from head to tow. I guess there had been some body painting going on, can't imagine where they got that idea. Anyway, I didn't even let them in the house, we went through the side gate straight to the backyard. I got everyone's bathing suit and turned the sprinklers on them.

The girls were not fans of sprinkler activity when it was so cold. It was only a shivering 84 that day and my California girls won't touch water unless its at least 90 and need a sweater when it dips below 70. They opted for a warm bath instead.

But, the Dude, oh how he loved it.

The Everyday Morning: Day 7

Bakersfield
7:43 am
A typical morning scene

Woohoo! We did it! That was fun. To see Jen and Stu's last morning photo from Greece, click here.

The Everyday Morning: Day 6

Bakersfield
7:03 am

This is how I found Athena this morning. Not really sure why all the barbies needed to share her bed last night.

The Everyday Morning: Day 5

Bakersfield
11:21 am

Today was a hard one. We were late from the beginning and moving slowly. I had a difficult time seeing anything as beautiful this morning. I got the girls off to school and then thought I would take John Patrick for a walk. I have to start on a grant today and one of the best way to get the ideas flowing is to walk around the neighborhood. So, I grabbed the camera to take pictures of things that struck me along the way.

I found blue skies striped with telephone lines, orange trees with ripe oranges just out of my reach, and lots of suburban greenery. But nothing very compelling. I thought maybe some photos of little fat toes digging in the sand at the neighborhood park? But when we got there we found friends instead and we talked and talked and talked. An hour and a half later, I had a very sleepy baby, a playdate set up for next week and tentative plans for dinner in the near future, but hardly any good photographs and no idea what to write for my grant.

And now its 11:39.

The morning flies by sometimes.

100% Boy

Coming from a place of all things pink and princessey, I'm a total stranger in Boy Land and walking around like a tourist - everything is fascinating. The basics are the same but the details are so, so different.

At this age it's not about gender stereo-typing. I'm all for girl power and will encourage mine to be doctors and astronauts and race car drivers and if John Patrick turns out to be a hair stylist I'd be thrilled. But boys and girls are inherently different and I can now attest that they are born that way.

John Patrick is all boy. He wants to vroom cars and throw balls and hit things with balls and climb everything - interests and impulses that the girls never once demonstrated. Sure, he plays with My Pretty Ponies too because we have them all over the house but his ability for all things sports at the tender age of 14 months stuns me.

I have studied this and have documentation. With no one showing him what to do, one day he just picked up the toy golf club and started hitting the plastic golf ball with it. He just knew instinctively that stick hits ball and enjoyed this activity for the better part of an hour:

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And here he is playing catch with his Daddy for the first time. He will play this game endlessly too.

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So what do you think? Sports prodigy or just all boy?

The Everyday Morning: Day 4

Bakersfield

8:03 am

Hair brushing and braiding is a big part of our daily ritual.

For a lovely picture from Greece, click here.

The Everyday Morning: Day 3

Bakersfield
7:12 am

John Patrick greets the morning with gusto.
For a morning image from Jen and Stu in Greece, click here.

The Everyday Morning: Day 2

Bakersfield
8:23 am

Not your average Sunday morning because for me it included coffee, toast, handmade cards and an uninterrupted time to read the paper in bed while the rest of the family bustled through their usual activities.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Check out today's morning image from Paros here.

The Everyday Morning: Day 1

Bakersfield

10:16 am

In an everyday environment, at an inconvenient hour, do we perceive beauty?

Inspired by this blog. Jen and I have challenged each other to post one photo before noon, everyday for a week and answer this question.

Now, Jen is in Greece, surrounded by beauty, so she obviously has the advantage of multiple beauteous images, but I have three little moving beauties, so it should make for an interesting comparison.

Jen has also promised not to make us jealous with tons of seascapes - which is the first and most beautiful thing she sees each morning.

Click here for Jen's first day.

My Star of the Week

Athena is the class Star of the Week this week. She had to color a cut out of herself, supply pictures of her family and tell a little bit about herself.

"My name is Athena. I am 5 years old. My favorite color is pink. My favorite book is Pinkalicious. I love to play with puzzles. My favorite food is mac n' cheese. I want to be an artist when I grow up. I like to play with Zoe and John Patrick. I like horses and tigers. I like to snuggle with my Momma and play tigers with my Daddy."

I wish these words could capture her exactly as she is now and preserve her five year old self forever, but they can't. She is bound and determined to grow up faster than I would like her too and conquering new feats of independence everyday. Inch by inch she is breaking away and doesn't need me for the many little things like getting out of her booster seat or opening the car door.

Now, she gets her own snacks and water, brushes her teeth and chooses her outfits. She's working on mastering the remote control and I stand by in wide eyed amazement as she morphs into a little kid.

She definitely has her own deep thoughts and perspective.

It's bittersweet as I am both happy and sad that she needs my help less and less (frankly having one less kid to constantly buckle and unbuckle in the car is a huge bonus). But when I look at her face I see only traces of the sweet baby she once was and more and more of the big girl she's hellbent on becoming.

It's an adjustment that I'll have to make, I suppose. Eternal childhood doesn't exist for anyone. And if you're too busy sulking that your little ones are no longer "little" won't you miss the fact that they are becoming kids? Actual kids with personality, charm, excitement, independence and potential?

And how cool is that?

Wee haircut

I trimmed the hair around the Dude's little ears. This is notable because it was really difficult. He kept trying to look at the scissors, thus turning his head at the exact wrong time. It's amazing he still has ears. The result is pretty chopped up (I do not have a future career at Super Cuts) but I think he looks even cuter now and far more grown up with those baby curls out of the way.

He was getting a little fluffy around the ears.
(This is just a flimsy excuse to get a cute pic of my guys on here).

Sunny Like Athena

This is from a couple of weeks ago, but I just came across it again and thought it was too cute not to share!

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