tuesday. tummy tub update.

cutest baby boy in his favorite tub. he's fallen asleep several times in it.

for those that were curious ... i won't ever buy anyone another baby tub again. worth every penny.

tuesday. teak-y teak-y.

i saw this really nifty idea in a magazine the other day. a lady bought a really nice teak door mat ... of course, she had a vintage super-cute watering can, and her back deck was all clean and nice and pretty.

in my attempt to copy, i had some cedar deck tiles from IKEA that i bought about six years ago (they got a nice hose-down after sitting in the garage for five years or so), a target plastic watering can that does nothing for the eyes, and a messy back porch, but the idea's the same.

when you come inside from the garden or out in the yard, your feet (and flip-flops) are dirty. the slatted door mat is perfect for water and dirt to fall through, and the watering can provides the perfect shower for your feet and flops. plus, the back porch gets a nice shower every time someone comes in. easy-peasy, keeps my floors clean inside, and free!

tuesday. giant onions.

holy moly, these things got huge (the picture doesn't do them justice ... they are literally, almost four feet tall)! i wish i had a 'before' picture to show you of just how decimate they were, just even a month ago. in a last ditch effort to save them, the husband threw them in one of our raised vegetable beds—apparently, potato onions LOVE compost. as you can see, we are no longer hurting for growth on these babies. we even went back to the lady that sold them to us last year at the farmer's market to find out how to maintain and/or use something like this! if you don't know anything about potato onions, here's some info. they're an interesting breed for sure, and i'm so lucky we were able to find starts now that we know what the heck to do with them! she said we'll probably have 8-10 onions at the root of each one by fall!


in other gardening news ...

carrots have been thinned (both the cute, round market variety and regular).


holy potatoes! (they're at the front of the bed.)


we have teeny tiny cucumbers and the zucchini has blossoms!

apples are little babies, but no wormies this year!


cherries will be gone to the birds, but hopefully i'll get at least a few before they do.

red and white normal size onions are not 5 feet tall, but still doing lovely.



others i don't have pictures of at the moment ...

green beans are going crazy. blueberries are ripening. raspberries are taking forever, but green as ever. blackberries are getting big but still no flowers yet. and strawberries are sooooooooo close!

wednesday. discovery playground.

i know everyone and their brother knows about discovery playground in the spokane valley, but just in case you don't, or are planning to hit up spokane with your kiddos this summer—this place is awesome.

how cool is discovery playground? so cool. why? there's all kinds of ...

trampoline-jumping ...



tunnel-running ...



rock-climbing ...



telephone-talking ...



drum-playing ...

chair-spinning ...


animal playing ...



big chair-sitting ...


music-playing ...


swing-swinging ...

rock-sliding fun!


and when all is said and done, you're only a five-minute walk from mirabeau park, where there's ...

hill-hiking ...


turtle-bathing ...


wear-the-kids-out, running around!


want a list of everything the kids can do at discovery playground? click here. talk about fun and a great way to spend the day! there's even a splash park and wading pool that open when (if?) the weather gets nicer someday.

tuesday. monsters.

adding another boy to the family threw my nursery theme ideas for a loop this time around. luckily, some time, thought, and the internet helped. here's my inspiration so far. i need more ideas and comments, please!

colors: bright orange, lime green, teal.

how cute is this wall decal growth chart! i get to pick the color even—bright orange! i just don't think i can get over how cute it is. really.



same designer, more customizable wall decals! orange, teal, and lime green! they're big, too!


this by-the-yard fabric from fabric.com is PERFECT for the crib sheet i'm going to make (i'll do a tutorial when i get to that point. you won't believe how easy it is, promise).



with this perfect crib bumper to set off the colors!



and baby's name (whatever THAT ends up being!) in this font above the crib on the wall (again, i'll tutorial this also if we ever pick a name).
i'm thinking several little guys like this around the room in the accenting colors—good thing they're super easy to make! i may have to have a monster-making party at my house this summer ...

and a monster mobile with the same (smaller) plush monsters, similar to this one, minus the birdies ...

and we already have this tickle monster kit, but i think it will go quite nicely, with the rest of it. if i can peel it away from my 2-year old.
so, this is where i'm at. i need fabric ideas, curtains, and i'm thinking a big bright orange shag area rug or something fun!

tuesday. pie.

my sister has a ton of rhubarb, and her and her significant other both dislike it very much. so, i borrowed some (and will hopefully continue to do so all summer). i made pie. huckleberry-rhubarb to be exact. and my rhubarb-hating husband happened to LOVE it. i'll be lucky if there's any left when i get home.

here's the how to:
• 4 C chopped rhubarb
• 1-2 C huckleberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 double crust pie recipe

1. preheat oven to 450.
2. combine sugar and flour. sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb and huckleberries (mixed) over this mixture. sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour.
   
3. dot with small pieces of butter. cover with top crust (i used a lattice crust).

1. place pie on lowest rack in oven (important so it doesn't burn!). bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes.

i don't normally have hearts on my pies, but taylor insisted we make it pretty. it was either hearts or pumpkins. hearts made more sense to her since, "mom, it's not a pumpkin pie."

if you can help it, let it cool in the fridge or on the counter before you try it. it will thicken up and hold together so much better. it's super-yummy warm, too, if you just can't wait!

tuesday. ivy & bean.

annie Barrows, author of the ivy & bean series also collaborated with her aunt, the late Mary Ann Shaffer, on the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society. read my review of this from last year, here!

what's better than an author that writes (or co-writes) an awesome book that leaves you wanting to read ten more just like it? a radical kids book series for your daughter with nine books in the series and counting!


now, to get to the point. what makes a best friend? sometimes opposites can become the best of friends because they’re opposites. for ivy and bean, their differences mean that they have more fun together than they could ever have separately.


the humor, illustrations, and writing of this series very much remind me of charlie & lola—and who doesn't love charlie & lola? this duo is made up of curiosity, humor, tons of first and second-grader ideas, and good ideas that tend to end in a sticky "situation."


there's nothing like hearing your 6 or 7-year old laughing from the other room while she reads to herself—these books ensure lots of this.

p.s. the reading level on these is perfect for first and second graders! and if you want to read aloud, kindergartners love it, too!

tuesday. no way!

can you guess the answer to the big question? girl or boy?

good thing i already know the answer and you don't have to wait to find out!

woo-hoo!

tuesday. seven.

every year it gets harder to realize you're growing up right in front of me. i'm so proud of who you are, and i love that i get to be here to watch you grow into the person you want to become.

seven years ago today ...

• i stared at the ultrasound screen at the hospital and realized i was terrified i'd never get to meet you.

• i prayed for the first time—to whomever might be listening—just to make you ok.

• i had never been so scared in my life.

• i met the tiniest baby i'd ever seen—and you were perfect.

• when the doctors let me see you, you pursed your tiny little lips and gave your mommy her first baby kiss.

• i cried. a lot. about everything new thing you did. and seven years later, it hasn't stopped.

• you turned your dad into a big baby.

• my lack of motivation disappeared, and all of the sudden i wanted to do everything, just to show you that you could, too.


things i've learned since then ...

• the day you were born is still the most terrified i've ever been.

• my favorite job in the world is getting to watch you learn and grow, and find things out for yourself.

• i apparently, am never going to stop crying over every little thing you do. get used to it.

• you are the best big sister a kid could ever have.

• you are sensitive, and caring, and always think the best of people.

• you clean better than i do.

• at 7, you have better fashion sense than your entire family put together.

• you are a perfect piece to our family puzzle, and we'd all be lost without you.