New Recipes

I just added a bunch of spring/summer recipes to my recipe blog, so go take a look.

Spring Cleaning

"There are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual clean."
~Martha Stewart

Oh Martha. And seriously? Pink rooms? The May 2007 cover, in case you missed it features a room with pink walls, pink trim, pink fireplace mantle, pink mirror and a pink chair all in the exact same shade. I just don't think painting and entire room pink is going to do it for me. Maybe I am getting old and behind in the trends, but ugh.

Between my new garden and 2nd trimester nesting instincts, I've been keeping very busy and even flirted with spring cleaning. However, the glowing colors of the spring garden have been more satisfying than the cleaning, probably because I didn't quite complete the 200 things to clean on Martha's list. The tops of my doors are indeed still dusty. But I did take a trip to the dump, scrubbed the stove, mopped the whole house and even cleaned/rebuilt our BBQ. I feel like I am exhausted every night, but its nice to be busy/energetic and I can't wait for my plant shopping trip this weekend in Seattle with Kelley.

Saben has been busy too, did I mention he took his temper tantrums to a whole new level exactly a week after he turned two? He threw a big one at a plant nursery and he was kicking and screaming as I held him and it actually made me laugh because it was so new and funny. The sales lady who was helping us didn't think it was quite as funny. He also loves to...

• Shout no and run away when he doesn't want to do something
• Carry keys, pennies, or something he's attached to that day everywhere with him.
• Say "Train coming down the track, clickety clack" every time he hears a train whistle (its from a book)
• Sing "ring around the rosie" and other songs. "ALL FALL DOWN!"
• Talk in his growly voice when he wants something (aka demon voice)
• Cry whenever anything is put away, even if he is done with it. Especially meal items he hasn't finished and has no intention of finishing.
• Sit at his new little table or in big chairs. We don't even bother trying to get him into highchairs anymore.
• Seeing his grownup friends, relatives and grandparents. If we tell him we're seeing someone in the evening, he talks about it all day and is in a great mood.
• His Daddy. Lately he's been very attached to Daddy time and had the best time ever spending the day with just daddy this last Saturday. When I finally got home & kyle wanted to leave, Saben cried and cried and cried till kyle gave up and stayed with us.
• His new haircut! Yes, we finally cut his hair for the first time ever last Tuesday night. It looked so different, it definitely took some getting used to, but I love it. He cried the whole time & I held his head still while Daddy cut it, but since he got a treat at the end he has started asking for haircuts all the time now.

I could go on and on, but its time to watch some Seinfeld and go to bed.

Recent Additions

Rheum palmatum v. tanguticum

Anemone Nemorosa 'Vestal'

Phlox Stolonifera 'pink ridge'

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Duncanii'

Erigeron karvinskianus

Easter

We spent Easter weekend in Seattle visiting a few friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Saturday afternoon, we drove down and Kyle and I both got to do what we miss most about Seattle - Kyle went dirt jumping at Greenlake and I got to visit Swansons Nursery for inspiration and to find exciting unusual plants.

Saben got to watch his Daddy jump on his bike for one of the first times ever. He really preferred riding like this to watching, while mommy closed her eyes and daddy rode gently over all the jumps. We went to dinner and spent the night with our old neighbors then headed to our old church and got to see more friends and all their cute new babies. Finally it was off to my brother & sister in laws new house where they were hosting the family for Easter dinner.

Saben loved the easter egg hunt, especially since he was the only participant.

Prego at Easter

Then it was candy time....

...and sugar high time. This is the part where Saben spun around on his bum on the floor for a while, right before he shouted "come out" for about 30 minutes from his crib where he was supposed to be napping.

Todd & Betsy made a wonderful meal and we headed home stuffed with saben finally napping in the car.

An afternoon when Mommy was raging with creativity and managed to create these things that sort of resemble turtles.

"Pretty please? I'll give you this fabulous chalk if you'll just come over here and open these presents....It's so much fun!"

Finally lured him over and the kids pounced on the toys while mom keeps opening gifts.

Saben's 2nd Bday

Behind yet again...

Saben's birthday was a success, his favorite part was having everyone he knows all together. Its funny because I was worried about having such a big party with so many grownups, but I think he loved the attention and seeing all his grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, etc. Each time someone arrived he would give a delighted squeal and run to the door to open it for them. Very cute.

For games, I bought an $8 bubble machine at target, which we ran inside since it was pouring rain that day. Saben, Audrey & Linus loved it and the adults were amused as well. (After all, it does shoot "up to 10,000 bubbles in minutes!" and features "Turbo Bubble Technology")

Then we played a game my mom said we played at my 3rd birthday - find the peanuts. It was perfect for this age, we just laid peanuts (in the shell) all over the house and gave the kids bags to go find them. Sort of like easter egg hunt practice. I was so worried they weren't going to want to do it, but they all got to "work", looking more determined than playful, but seemed to enjoy the task. Saben did figure out how salty the shells were and managed to chew one whole before we caught it. And he loved trying to shell the peanuts.

Presents were completely overwhelming for him yet again, I ended up opening most of them, but he loved playing with everything like the tunnels/tent set from my parents, the wheelbarrow gardening set from Menards, the hardhat & beads from Audrey....I could list every gift but that might get a bit dull right? And of course Mommy loved all the cute new clothes.

My Dads mom came to visit from Texas for a few days before & after the party and we had a lot of fun catching up with her. Saben is still talking about "Great Grandma" all the time, especially since my mom's parents were also at the birthday party. Great Grandma Voelker also gave him a little book she wrote for Christmas about Bobo the penguin and its been one of his favorites lately. (Along with the Carrot Seed from Todd and Betsy. Actally I don't know the title, but that's what he calls it. And don't worry Shauna, the "Ant on Tracks" book was his favorite till he got all the new Bday books. Kyle's favorite is Gossie.)

Pictures coming soon!