Hide 'n Seek

Everything is a game these days for Ben, and I'll do anything for a laugh. One of his favorites is hide 'n seek. I'm not really sure what was so funny about this - me hiding in the chair, spitting his little frogs at him - but he really got a kick out of it. Hope his little laugh has the same effect on you as it does us... (I'm concerned the video may not load correctly, if that's the case I'll fix it this weekend.)

Like Willy...

I'm on the road again for a few days...I think the last trip on my calendar for a bit. It will be nice to settle back into the at-home routine. Until then, I'll dream of this little face and surely be entertained by the reports from hubby on the homefront. He consistently delivers great content and photos that make being away from home a bit easier.

Hope you have a great week!

Clear Line of Sight

Ok, I surrendered. Ben (and hubby) got his hair cut tonight. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, although he does look ages older than he did at breakfast.

We hit Urban Joe where hubby gets his hair cut, and really got the red carpet treatment from the staff. Ben made the chalkboard, and Bridget did the honors. She couldn't have been nicer to Ben, and he rewarded her with a high five when it was all over. Of course we saved the clippings in an envelop, not really as much as I feared would be cut off...and captured a tons of pics.

Stella came along too, and while she didn't get a trim, she did get a load of treats.

Enjoy :)

Lett-us Begin

I started with the best intentions, I always do. I bought Grow Great Grub: Organic Food in Small Spaces, by You Grow Girl's Gayla Trail. I learned a lot too. Rotating crops, plants that do well together in shared spaces. But my goal was to PLAN THE PLOT BEFORE PURCHASING.

That is always my goal. Every spring. And every year I fail.

I simply can't control the urge to buy plants the instant they and I are in a store together. I went to Home Depot for compost. I didn't even make it through the second set of sliding glass doors. BLUEBERRIES! We eat blueberries by the pints. And asparagus?! (it takes years to really harvest by the way) And onions (clear sign of things deteriorating, we don't even really eat onions)...

Then I remembered lettuce, and immediately checked Gethsemane to see when it would arrive. And while I did consider plotting what was left of my space after planting all of the above, instead I darted out the door and completely lost control. Take a look...safe to say, if you'd like any fresh lettuce this summer let me know. I should have plenty.

Of course, it's even worse than I'll share here. There are countless other things that have made their way in, and we are still weeks away from tomatoes, the star of the show.

I'm going to have to get canisters.

Thankfully, there are lots of great tips for growing in canisters in my "Growing in Small Spaces" book...

Banker in a Leisure Suit

Saturday morning we had our first swim class at the YMCA. A dozen or so 12-18 mnth old little people learning 'water acclimation' skills. I was hoping by the end we'd learn the dead man's float, but it seems hubby's prediction of that being utterly ridiculous may be closer to the truth.

But we had a blast. And pretty much totally kept it together until the very last exercise, jumping from the side into the pool. Instant meltdown. But considering his death grip on me during most of our pool time in Naples, I was really pleased with how much he enjoyed it.

From there, in his Addidas track suit, Ben and dad went to make a few additions to the safety deposit box...looks pretty at home, right?

Liliacs are here...

My mom called this weekend to see if I've been out picking liliacs. They are my all-time favorite flower, her's too, and in bloom right now.

Outside of considering pulling off the road on the Kennedy, where there are miles upon miles of them out in full force, I haven't really given much thought to cutting any down. I stop at every tree while out walking with Stella and Ben, but I could never cut flowers from one of them...

But she got me thinking. And I started to keep my eye out. As it happens, there are many huge lilac bushs growing into the alleys. The alley's are kind of a different story (or so I rationalized at 7:30am while we were on the prowl), no mans land. I wouldn't clip a tree on the sidewalk, one everyone is enjoying, but who appreciates these overgrown alley trees?

And so we started trimming. One or two stems from each alley tree, and over the course of the day, and two long walks, we arranged this. It smells absolutely glorious.

I still feel a little guilty, what do you think? Is this a crime?

Bonus Day!

Check out this crazy get up Ben had on when I came home last night...swim trunks, Bears onsie (too small I might add), and crocs with socks. Love it!

Hubby got home last night, and I sat on the couch listening to him unpack, knowing I had to head up right behind him to get ready to hit the road myself. Odd for us lately, but we've got a ton of travel between the two of us in April.

Yet, with the trip postponed last minute, we found ourselves with a bonus day. And a beautiful one at that. The summer-like weather continues and it is glorious. Burgers and dogs on the grill- you can't beat that.

Lucky us!

On the Move...

Picking up speed daily, our nightly walks with Stella now include a block of Ben hitting it solo. It used to take 30 minutes to make in just a few houses, now he cruises right along. Check him out in action...

Time for a trim??

Hubby has increasingly been on my case about cutting Ben's hair...he's had some whispy's on the side for a while that quickly vanish when I tuck them behind his ears. And admittedly, he is gaining volume in the back, but don't people pay a premium for volume?? Yet, now that his vision threatens to be blocked by the hair creeping down his forehead, I get the sense that I'm looking defeat squarely in the eye.

How can my baby need a hair cut? What do you think? Is it obvious to everyone but me?

My sis rocks

I read a stat this weekend that said if you were raised with at least one sister, your more likely to be happier than people with only brothers. The article says (obviously) girls are more likely to express feelings and encourage the entire family to communicate more effectively...along with a few other things that lead to an increase in overall happiness levels. Basically, sisters rock.

With mine in town this weekend while hubby is in Boston for a week, I must conquer. For a thousand reasons, I love having her here...not the least of which is that we haven't had quality alone time like this in ages. We caught up on everything under the sun, ate Ethiopian (she is one of only a handful of people in my life who crave it like I do), helped with Ben (thank goodness b/c I found myself feeling not so hot on Sat and not sure how I would have handled him on my own), and of course, she is always game for a Ben photo shoot...so enjoy the pics.

You have my sis to thank (as do I!). xoxo

Family pics

I realized as I downloaded pics from this weekend, how horribly slow I've been lately at taking and sharing pictures. My apologizes. A few here for you to enjoy from our recent trip (late Feb) to Cleveland. Cousin Kelly, Aunt Cathy and of course Great Grandma S.

We're keeping up the prayers for Cathy, Bryan and the entire family who said goodbye to Hank recently. He will be missed.

The parents are making their way north from FL, the snow birds migrating home. My p's made it back this weekend, and the in-laws start their journey in a couple weeks. Another sign spring is here, with summer (hopefully) soon to follow.

Dog beach

We took advantage of the beautiful weather, and the cleared out city Sunday and headed over to the dog beach. It was gloriously empty and a breeze to get over there. A few pics of Stella loving life, and Ben with his dad and Stella.

He is growing so big and independent - walking all around on his own, pointing at everything that interests him. He is babbling up a storm too. No real words but we recognize the same 5-7 sounds he makes while talking to himself all day long. We find ourselves responding in kind.

Ben helped me garden a bit today. We went to Home Depot yesterday for compost (my composter is filled to the brim and has yet to be turned, subsequently not yet realizing compost for the garden), and couldn't resist buying a few things. A blueberry plant, a bunch of onions and asparagus. I swore I'd map out the plots, and research the crops before buying anything. I just get so excited though, and have no self control. But it makes me so happy, so I guess who cares?

What are you planting this summer?

Happy Easter!

Somehow we advanced from "should we celebrate Easter with Ben?" to "let's shower more gifts on him than we did at Christmas" in the matter of 24 hours. It started innocently enough, a few small items for his Easter basket from Walgreens. Then we were shopping at Target and I found a couple fun things for the backyard. Hubby saw them and decided to hit Toys R Us in search of a few more items (this is by far the most bizarre thing that has happened so far in our parenting experience by the way - hubby, at TRU, alone, per his suggestion??).

And he came back with a ridiculous pile of loot -- this awesome tent, tunneling contraption; a basketball hoop; and a train set.

Even Stella got into the action, lifting this giant duck Paula got Ben, and taking it as her own on to the couch.

Before all the gift-giving craziness got started, we did manage to make it to early mass, which was my only request this weekend. And while we spent the bulk of the hour chasing after the little guy and trying to keep him quiet, it was wonderful (as always) to be there. I pray for more of it in the future.

Finally, we were lucky enough to have the Easter bunny visit our backyard while we were at church and Ben loved picking up all the eggs he could fine.

Was it a beautiful weekend where you are celebrating Easter today? I hope you had a lovely day with your family.

Happy Easter Weekend!

Thanks (sis) for the reminder to share the best Easter graphic of all...

We're anxiously awaiting a great weekend of warm weather here in Chitown. My question is, do you think I should hide eggs in the backyard and give Ben a basket? Obviously he is too little to understand either (and he doesn't eat candy, so what goes in the basket?), but I think it would be really fun.

Should I do the baby powder bunny tracks down the hall like my mom used to do for us??