Bleah

Midget Tossing

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ketchup

I keep meaning to post a blog entry, one where I write about the amazing weekend getaway Chris and I had to celebrate our 10th anniversary and how we rode bikes on the San Diego harbor and had great sushi and too much saki and slept in and got to see Flight of the Conchords live at the Hollywood Bowl, and another one where I tell everyone how amazing it is to have a Mimi who the girls look forward to "babysitting" them and who knows our routines so well it is just a seamless transition with no concern on our part at all (how rare is that?), and that I wanted to thank Mimi for taking care of the kids while we were away but she refused my promise of a pedicure at Walmart and how John Patrick thanked her for me by saying "Mimi" for the first time and giving her his first ever kiss right on the lips, and all the things that the kids and Mimi and Auntie Mariana did while we were away, like mess with John Patrick's hair and watch a bazillion 80's videos (apparently the Dude likes Duran Duran) and how they even managed to schedule a park play date where everyone jumped in the creek and take the girls to a bowling birthday party, and another about how it is officially summer here and the girls are only in school part-time now (which John Patrick loves) and how we get to do all sorts of fun things this summer as soon as I get around to planning them BUT I haven't written about any of these things because of a huge deadline looming over me and a new boss and other work pressures and with part-time child care and Zoe being sent home from school because of eczema (seriously, they thought it was contagious!) and John Patrick teething and my needing to catch up with laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping I just don't have the time to even breathe lately! Whew.

Life gets in the way of chronicling our life sometimes.

Here's some pictures.

Dude sporting a judo wrestler do ala Mariana.

The 80's music education begins.

Park playdate with Mimi.

Cooling tootsies in the creek at a hot park playdate.

Politely posing for Mariana.

Zoe needs a little help getting started.

Love the shoes!

She got the hang of it.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to their little buddy Samantha.

Sisters - sometimes their togetherness just melts me.

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.