A Day In The Garden

BEGINNING
Last Fall I covered the ground area between the plants in the backyard with bags and bags of bark/mulch (before I realized this sort of thing would be bad for my back situation). Anyhow, it looked AMAZING. I would sit on the bench in the yard and feel content, happy, and listen to the birds chirp. During Winter tons of weeds grew up and took over the beautiful landscaping I had done. The other day our gardener wacked all the weeds down (and a few of my plants) and this is what was left. Ugh!

MIDDLE
Last time I didn't put anything down to "block" the weeds, so this time I decided to get serious and lay down a barrier. The directions said to pull all the weeds out first. I figured wacking them was enough and just put the stuff down. I wonder if this is going to be a problem down the line? Is this like life too? Can't we just cover up the weeds...isn't that enough? I've got 2 layers this time! Double protection. If you can't see the weeds, are the weeds still there?

BREAK
The kids helped me a lot, but still needed time in the fire truck. Here they are running to the next fire.

END
Then I trucked in the ground cover again. This time I asked for lots of help from the nice guys who work at Home Depot. They loaded it up in the cart and then into the car. Once home I used the wheel barrow and brought down just 2 bags at a time, so I wouldn't hurt my back. Here's the finished project. Whew! Looks good again. I'm tired, but excited to enjoy our garden tomorrow. Another day I'll add a few flowers here and there to fill it in, but for
now I'm off to a co-op council meeting feeling content at a good days work.

Madeleine

I came across a box of my old baby/little girl clothes today and gave a couple of jackets to Madeleine to try on. I love the color yellow and here she is in my yellow jackets. She's really sprouted and doesn't fit into anything lately, so this was a good find.

She's such a big girl now. She is all grown up at the park these days and has fun finding new friends. Yesterday she and two other girls hooked up and marched around as a train, then they rode the slide together on top of each others' laps and then they made sand castles. When we left she was SO sad because she wanted to play with her "new friends a little longer". We all remember mom calling us in for dinner and now it's my turn.

At home she likes to make tea parties for "the girls", teach her baby letters with her Leap Frog set (but she answers for her baby), ride her scooter, and request "cuddles mommy" with arms extended and THE sweetest look on her face.

Below, she is pictured building with LEGO's that she got this weekend, on a play date trip to lunch and the LEGO store. Both kids had tons of fun picking out their own pieces and filling their tubs from the wall-o-lego.

The kids are always doing projects at the counter in the kitchen. We seem to have a lot of photos with the same dining room background.

The next picture I call "Buckeroo". My cousin, Steve, uses this nickname for his son Clayton. The kids noticed that he does this and started using the same nickname for him. It's cute to hear them call their cousin "Buckeroo". The other day Madeleine was riding around on her favorite little 3-wheeler Radio Flyer (she's outgrowing this too but still gravitates to it over other options) with some frog glasses and a cow girl hat she found in the garage. In this moment, I thought she looked like a "Buckeroo". I think it's the hat.

Can't go without one story about Matthew. After we looked at and tried on a few of my antique baby/kid clothes Matthew came to me and said he liked my hair and wanted to save some to show his kids someday. I was wondering if he wanted me to clip some off, but he informed me that this wasn't necessary since he already found my brush and pulled some pieces off to save. I was shocked and touched all at the same time.

Happy Valentine's Day

These are pieces of art that the kids did at school this week. It didn't come out in the picture, but they are titled "The Hands That Touch My Heart". I was touched by this project because it reminded me of how kids touch our hearts in even the smallest things that they do.

Today Matthew and Madeleine helped me to decorate cupcakes for their school. Matthew took two aside "for Mommy and Daddy" and decorated them especially for us. After he was done he explained that all the sprinkles, etc on mine were "rivers of love". Definitely touched my heart with that one. To the right are the ones for us, with mine in the front. I think the one in the back for Marc is unfinished in this picture, because I remember a lot more decorations on the finished piece.


Madeline spent a lot of time with her decorations too. She was very deliberate with every piece she put on each cupcake. She spent about 45 minutes beautifying a plate of 8 cupcakes and was immersed in her artwork the entire time.

When I decorate cupcakes, I tend to do the same general decoration on each one. But, for the kids, each cupcake was a new canvas. Every cupcake was very unique and very beautiful. The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves and put a lot of love into each one.

Madeleine and I met Matthew at school after lunch and brought the treats. It was a sea of red with all the Valentine themed shirts everyone wore. Even the adults had red/pink shirts. We went to a birthday party later in the day and I felt like one of those people that leaves the conference with their name tag still on the shirt. We were the "red" family. All the other kids/families likely celebrated at school too, but somehow many (not all) of them managed to change.

The kids got lots of Valentine cards in the little bags they created earlier in the week. Lots of them had candy attached to them. I had told Matthew that the letter from school said that candy was "not encouraged" and he finally agreed to give his friends a sticker puzzle Valentine. So, although he was thrilled with all his candy, he told his teacher, in a very sweet way, that next year the "letters on the note might need to be bigger".....the "not encouraged" part.

So it seems they can touch our hearts and make us laugh too!

Birthdays!

We started out January with my birthday. Apparently I was determined and serious about getting my wish. That's a lot of air in those cheeks. The truth is it was one of those trick candles and I didn't want to be had.

Then it was Marc's turn. Seems like he got a bit more help from the kids, so not as much air in his cheeks.

On to cousin Gianna's birthday with a Candy Land theme. No air in the cheeks. Guess we missed the moment.

We are finishing up the month with Madeleine's birthday. The froggy birthday she's been asking for going on 6 mos now. I told her to make a wish as she started in on the blowing. She probably wished she could eat the whole cake herself!

So, January was full of birthdays. And things are not slowing down. Dad celebrates his on February 1st.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

We had a lot of good cake this month. Too bad we don't get to try the next one. Unless we get an overnight from Hawaii.

Christmas Trees and Apple Pie

This weekend we drove out to Half Moon Bay and cut down a tree at Santa's Tree Farm. We go there every year and we always have a great time. For one thing, it's huge. We can drive way back in the valley and across a bridge and find a peaceful place between the hills to find our tree. There is also a barn half way up that has free hot apple cider, a sleigh, a train ride with Santa on board, and fake snow flowing overhead. This year Madeleine got to sit next to Santa on the train with his arm wrapped around her the whole way. Matthew sat next to us but was right behind Santa. At one point Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas. He was probably wondering how come he didn't remember from his visit last weekend. Matthew told him The Polar Express train. A minute later the train started and so did the music. The Polar Express theme song came on, which prompted a huge smile from Matthew. Maybe Santa has it together after all.

Here's Madeleine sitting on a stump and taking a moment to pull herself together. Finding the perfect tree was harder than she thought!

We found one though! Here's the kids helping to cut it down.

The kids in awe and anticipation as they watch daddy finish cutting down the tree.

On a completely different note, here's a picture of some apple pies I made with a cobbler topping. Actually, the 1st apple pies I ever made. They were yummy and I was proud. I offered it for dessert to the kids. Matthew asked for ice cream instead. I asked him if he was sure, because this was a really fantastic pie. In fact, after he grew up and lived on his own he'd probably consider calling before a visit and making a special request for this pie. He finally conceded and afterwards told me that actually he'd ask for two...one for his visit and one to take home.

Merry Christmas! You're the BEST!

This morning Madeleine knocked on the door as I was taking my shower. I was wondering what she needed...more cereal, milk, for me to play with her? I turned off the water and opened the door so that I could hear her more clearly. The whole process made me cold and eager to get back to my spa time. Her words warmed me right up as she spoke so sweetly to me, in her nearly 3yr old helium voice "you're the BEST, mom!" and then walked away. The way she says "BEST" and the emphasis she uses, really is the best.

Both of the kids are generous with their accolades. Sometimes I'm the best and sometimes it's Marc and sometimes they even share this kind of love with each other.

It's a great time of year to share our best. In church yesterday, our pastor was talking about how we all make sure to have a special dress or outfit for the holidays. In theory, we want to look nice all the time, but we pay special attention at this time of year. Of course, how we present ourselves is more than just clothes. Our character, our words, our tone, our acts should be pretty/nice looking too. We should adorn ourselves in our own personal best everyday and find ways to be a blessing to each other.

There are a lot of people I could share the word "BEST" with in my life. Some people are the best at listening to me when I need it, teasing me and making me laugh, praying for me, departing their wisdom, sharing a bench and conversation with me during a play date, or telling me I'm great just when I think I'm not.

You all touch me in a different way and make my world brighter. You're the BEST! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Photo Journal: Day on the Embarcadero

We started out the day eating breakfast at Townsend, a SF eatery near the ball park that Marc and I liked when we were young and lived in the city. We thought the kids would like it because they put a basket of homemade mini muffins and scones on the table as soon as you arrive. There are also boats and trains that can be viewed from the window, plus countless dogs (Matthew wants one SO bad) taking their morning walk. Matthew wanted every single dog that passed by..."can I have that one?"...over and over.

After breakfast we thought it would be fun to walk down the Embarcadero to see Phoenix the fire boat. We have a book about it and how it helped to put out the fires along the Marina after the big earthquake. Matthew was stoked to see it in person. Somehow we never got a picture of it though! We just kept walking. Here is Marc and the kids cuddling as they walk. The fire boat is in the distance back by the Bay Bridge.

And we kept walking and found a sculpture in the form of a spider.

We ended up all the way down at the Ferry Building. A long walk for 2 sets of little legs. It seemed like we just ate brunch, yet the kids were famished and needed lunch. Matthew remembered going to the Ferry Building with Popo during his visit and insisted on recreating the day and asked to order hot dogs and sit out by the water. He wanted a hot dog because he likes them but also because the bread doubles as entertainment when the birds come around. Here we are sitting on a bench outside waiting for our food to be done.

Matthew soon spotted a bench closer to the water. Here we are in our new front row seats and food in hand.

Matthew asked if he could take a picture of us. He did a great job. See below.

Madeleine and I fell asleep very early after we got home from Thanksgiving. I think we were trying to fight off a cold. Marc told me that he and Matthew walked all the way to Home Depot in search of logs for the fire. Apparently, he wanted to make a fire and then take a picture of his parents in front of it. Unfortunately, Madeleine and I didn't wake up until the next morning. Poor guy. He hoofed it all the way to the store, carried his log all the way home, and then we were asleep. So, here's the picture he took today instead. Everyone is awake!

After eating their food, they shared some crumbs with the birds.

We tried to take the train back to our car, but we had to walk awhile before finding a station with trains going toward the ball park. So, we walked again and on the way Matthew took more pictures. Here's one that resembles a Times Square backdrop with the mega tron and tall buildings behind us.

Here's the kids running around amongst some trees on the way to the train station.

We made it to the train station! Matthew took another picture of us. In 1 day we have more pictures of Marc and I together than we have over a period of years. I like having our new little photographer in the family.

Here's Marc and Matthew (and some other dude) on the train. Interesting note...Matthew has a shirt on with pictures of trains on a track while he's riding on a train. It brought us back to the car. Whew! We made it. A fantastic family day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're leaving for Carmel in a little bit and looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with all 23 members of Marc's immediate family...2 grandparents, 7 brothers/sisters, 6 spouses, 8 little kids (and a partridge in a pear tree). There is a lot to be thankful for this year. At this stage in our lives, Marc and I feel very blessed to have 2 wonderful kids that inspire and fill our lives.

Yesterday they celebrated Thanksgiving with a children's banquet at the preschool. They were each assigned an ingredient and brought it to school. Madeleine brought 3 celery stalks and Matthew brought jello.
All the kids spent the morning cutting (with real knives), spreading, mixing and of course playing. It all culminated in a wonderful feast at a long table filled with happy faces and yummy food.

Matthew and Madeleine made peanut butter and egg salad sandwiches. They even cut them into squares all by themselves. Matthew also helped with cutting veggies and filling Dixie cups with a scoop each of red and yellow jello. Teacher Barbara brought a crock pot so that we could put all the veggies in for a soup.

Madeleine took time out to play the piano. Other kids got out their energy throwing pillows in the back room. Of course there was a parent supervising, or was he playing too? That's his daughter catching the pillow, so I suppose he knows her strength.

It was a fun day. The kids had a blast. We always have a lot of fun with them and are looking forward to a few days to enjoy each other as a family. God, thanks for giving them to us!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!