My Mother's Day

Despite my impending bronchitis, Mother's Day was pretty nice. We had a picnic at the park and bought some Sheetz take-out which I thought might be a little gross but actually turned out really good. I ordered a bacon melt on pretzel bread with honey mustard. Mmmm....pretzel bread. Lily gathered all the nearby dandelions and brought them to me as a bouquet. Within the next few hours my cold turned into bronchitis and I eventually lost my voice completely. Despite that fact, I'm glad I didn't stay inside all day. Lily had a good time at the park and Molly enjoyed the fresh air. Brian took Molly to his mother's house and Lily and I watched kid shows under the blankets for the rest of the night. My mother and I had planned on going to Red Lobster (her favorite place to eat) but I had to give her a rain check. Hey, I looked pretty good for being sick.

Lily gets a new dress

New Grosgrain post. See it here!

FairIE Festival

Today we attended the fairy festival (whoops....I mean fair"ie") all the way in Glen Rock, pretty much on the PA border. The weather was appropriately misty and grey. Lily wore her petal tutu but it was nothing compared to some of our fellow attendees.
Even the dogs donned wings, I kid you not. Some donned "less" than others. Yuck. Aside from the fanatical christian protesters and cornfield parking lot, the atmosphere was appropriately whimsical, albeit hippy dippy, phish fan, wiccan loving. But the kids seemed to like dressing up in their hair wreaths and tissue wings. What child doesn't like the idea of fairies? Answer: the zealot 12-year olds holding the pickett signs.

It's a beautiful day. Don't let it get away.

To celebrate earth day I met Brian on his lunchbreak and had a picnic out on the riverfront (well, okay Earth Day might have been incidental) BUT we did throw away our garbage after we were done. I noted that leaving our trash *might* give the hoards of elementary school children with their white plastic bags something to do but Brian was too lily-livered. As far as earth days go I think this one was near the top. The weather was great! Sunny, not too hot, not too cold....maybe a tad breezy but still pretty close to perfect. And the trees were GORGEOUSO!! The brightest blossoms I think I've *ever* seen. Brian enjoyed his surprise 'fantasy baseball' tee and I took a lot of photos with our mouths full of Panera....but kept those out of the blog. No one needs to see that.

Where the line blurs.......

It looks as though something awful has happened in lily's dollhouse. Talk about make-believe imitating life. The tiny plastic people leave their toys on the floor, throw their blankets off the bed and knock over furniture, too lazy to do anything about the growing chaos. At first sight it looks as though the place has been burglarized in the middle of the night- door kicked in, parents lying unconscience on the floor, tables and chairs overturned. I pointed this out to Brian who got a small kick out of the idea. Today, I turned the house around so that all the clutter lay well hidden. If only real-life were as effortless.

Spring Picnic

Today was the warmest day of the year (so far). We didn't have any grand plans so we spent the afternoon eating a picnic lunch in the backyard. Molly enjoyed the outdoors, spellbound by all the sights and sounds she doesn't experience indoors.

We had fried chicken and french fries. Lily of course ate one bite and didn't want anymore, requested an apple, ate five bites then said she was full. Ugh. We finished the lunch by adorning our hair with flowers and throwing the apple to the birds.

Tea for Two

Lily and her grandmother have certain rituals that my mother has initiated and I think it's adorable. Now retired, she comes over every week day to spend time with the girls. Around three o'clock she and lily gather around a tray and have their

afternoon tea. Lily has fully embraced the idea. She sips the hot tea and gets excited when drinking in unison. Abi, knowing of this daily routine, gave my mother two antique teacups from her grandmother's collection. Since I'm not very poetic, I took some pictures of their new/old serveware, proving just how cute a spectacle they can be. Lily also finished off the crown jewel of her Easter basket- A chocolate egg with a tiny marshmellow peep inside. Pretty clever.

April Showers bring May flowers.

Last week we had a couple really gorgeous days. Lily and I spend the afternoon planting tomato and mint seeds. Mint seeds for summer mojitos. Tomatoes for....well, do you ever need a reason to plant plump juicy tomatoes? I haven't successfully grown any since I was eleven but I think this year will be different.
Lily enjoyed sprinkling the seeds, no so much the digging. She enjoyed using the sprinkler to water the seeds but got a little carried away and watered the front porch, sidewalk and shirt she was wearing. It's one of those hobbies that teach patience. The package said that it will take 74 days to mature. I figure that means we'll have tomatoes by July. Seems a little long. The mint leaves will mature in 21 days. At least I'll be saving $3 on the quarter ounce of mint leaves our local grocer sells. That is unless I kill them off before they get to grow.

Abi Rocks!!!!

I've been so lucky with so many awesome free finds that have fallen in my lap (see previous freecycle post) Another fabulous find- these shoes!! My friend, Abi has been emptying her grandmother's home for its upcoming sale. In the process, I've gotten so many really cool (and some not so cool, i.e. antique tampons) antiques from her grandmother's home. Her latest trip yielded these cool vintage shoes in their original vintage boxes in surprisingly good condition. My feet being two sizes smaller than her's, Abi was not able to reap the benefit of these and gave them to me instead. And I have to say, her grandmother, aside from being a packrat had some good taste.



















Abi & I at a wedding (Not my best pic. A little toothy for my taste.) But Abi looks great as always.

Freecycle Rocks!!!!!!!

Did I ever mention how much I love, love, love freecycle? I know freecycle isn't news to anyone but I just have to shout to the rooftops about my latest conquest (see left). Yes, I got this for FREE! I had driven all over the place, Wal-mart, Target, Toys'r'us. I even went down to the local consignment shop. Everything was either more than I intended to spend, too small or too cheap looking. On a lark, I sent out a freecycle post and within a couple minutes a nice woman had emailed me about a bike that was sitting in her attic, never used. (one caveat, I've been disappointed before by freecycle, I didn't get my hopes up) But when I pulled up to the door, I was breathtaken. Reproduction vintage Radio Flyer tricycle, pristine condition. Oh, it was better than I had thought possible, complete with vintage bell and peppermint striped streamers. As I hauled it off in front of the former owners I was nearly scared they'd realize their mistake and take back their offer. Once I hastily crammed it in my front seat after refusing any help I got out of there fast. It is a *little* heavy but I'll deal. Brian loved it too, perhaps *coveted* might be a better description. Anyway, for that slice of the population who don't know about freecycle, just follow the link, type in your location and then go to the sign-up link at the bottom. Be sure to read the instructions. All freecycle groups are different but I've found that most are sticklers for details. This isn't my first fantastic find either. Off the top of my head, I've gotten a baby swing, radio flyer wagon, brand new suitcase and rattan furniture. I've also given away quite a few things, some good, some not so good. One tip, I've found I get better quality when I request something rather than accept something. Don't really know why, just do. Good luck in all your freecycle pursuits!

Chef Lily

The Young Chef's Academy class went great, despite the fact that lily seemed drawn to the baby toys more than the actual cooking. In spirit of our theme (the letter U) we baked "U"psidedown sticky buns and "U"limate fruit dip.



But she actually ate what we made so anything that ends with her eating gets an A in my book.

Here's a little info about Young Chef's. They have locations nationwide and are a great place for kids to learn the basics of cooking while interacting with other 'young chef's';) They offer weekly classes for kids ages 3 to 13+.

From their website: Young Chefs® Academy is a unique culinary experience which offers cooking classes to children in a safe environment that encourages discovery and creativity. Each visit to Young Chefs® Academy is a new experience with fresh monthly themes and exciting new programs.

Now, they look *forward* to drying off!

Lily and her best friend Gracie (picture of the week April 5th) have matching hooded flower towels, store-bought from "The Children's Place". Her mother, my friend Abi, had the foresight to buy two so that neither little girl would want the other's. They were a HIT. Both Lily and Gracie love them. I liked the idea so much that I decided to make some of my own. I started out with lofty goals. I planned to make 6-7 for each girl. Well, that never happened but at least I didn't "throw in the towel" altogether. I did manage to make two a piece- a duck and a bunny (as well as a blue doggie for Gracie's brother). Not too bad. Dressing up never gets boring and better yet, it makes them look forward to drying off:)
(To right) Lily at her weekly swimming lesson, swimming with only ONE back floaty! I'm so proud.

If you want to make your own hooded towel just follow the instructions here. It's VERY simple. If you want to add some animal characteristics I included some inspirations below. The mermaids seem like a great idea although I've yet to attempt it. I hand-stitched most of the features (i.e. the eyes, dog nose and wiskers) with simple embroidery thread. For the duck bill I cut two hand towels in the shape of a bill and sewed them together then turned them inside out and hand-basted it to the hood.