birthday week

Mira has had a marathon birthday this year. I hope we haven't set the bar too high for ourselves. Last weekend we traveled to Grandma's and Grandpa's house and had a party there. Tuesday (her actual birthday) included her favorite dinner (chicken "on the bone"), a new Hello Kitty bike and ice cream at Friendly's. Then we had ANOTHER birthday party at our house today with in-town family, friends and of course the princess castle bounce house.

Here are some pics to chronicle the week.

Mira gearing up to blow out her candles at Grandma's and Grandpa's last weekend.

Now she's a little tired from a long day.

Here are the birthday cakes that I almost trashed after an epic failure with the buttercream frosting (but I later regrouped and made another batch).

Here's the bouncy house and then Mira about to "board".

Making a wish and then getting a big ol' birthday kiss from her little sister.

A great day, but we were all exhausted at the end. Even Mickey.

heaven on a cone

We are lucky enough to have a world-class homemade ice cream shop nearby. Well, actually it's about 30 minute drive but totally worth it. The Ice Cream Man (who, by the way, defeated famed TV chef Bobby Flay in a Throwdown), makes the best ice cream. Ever. It's all excellent but the soft vanilla is divine. It's so perfectly creamy and soft and light and custardy. We've been known to make the drive late at night to satisfy an unnamed pregnant person's cravings. ;)

Abby is a huge fan of ice cream and was not dismayed by the Ice Cream Man's humongous portion size. Even the "kiddie" cones are a bit much for me. But the champion dairy-eater that she is, she was the only one of us able to actually finish what she ordered. She takes her ice cream seriously and does not waste time on napkins. No ma'am.

pansies gone wild

I always thought pansies were annuals but I have some that are acting like perennials. But the handful that I planted a few years ago in the mulch bed near my front door have re-seeded themselves and are taking over the place. Year after year they come back and have almost filled in the entire 15 foot garden bed with a sea of yellows, blues, and whites.

They haven't done this anywhere else I've put them, so this location must be particularly appealing. They are so pretty and their sweet floral scent hits you like a wave when you walk by. Plus, there are so many that the girls can pick 'em at will and I don't have to get feisty about it.

taco bar

We had a taco bar for dinner a few days ago. You know, where you line up all the fixings and everyone builds their own tacos. While I was preparing the fillings and toppings, I asked Mira what she wanted in her taco. She said, "I want bologna and string cheese and marshmallows in my taco." She has a very refined palate, you know.

Here's a shot of Mira satisfying her sophisticated taste for haute cuisine.

birthday plans

Mira is turning 5 in a couple weeks. The lucky duck gets to have two birthday parties this year: 1) the usual party at home with local friends and family and 2) a party out at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We're going out to visit my family over Memorial Day weekend, so we'll also throw a birthday party while we're there.

I'm already planning the menu and most importantly, the cake! I found this beauty courtesy of Martha Stewart and I'm thinking it's a winner.

gilded macaroni and mother's day finery

Mira made me the most fabulous pin for Mother's Day. It's a post-modern portrait of me using macaroni gilded in gold paint. Tres chic. I'm going to pin it to my handbag. She even thought to place two pretty bows in my hair (something I rarely take the time to do in real life).

Accompanying the pin was this narrative, which I found very flattering. I was likened to a queen with a few pounds and years graciously omitted. What can I say? The girl knows where her bread is buttered.

This morning, the gang fixed some delicious pancakes and bacon. Tim also finished my new garden beds (more on that later), which turned out to be much more labor than I had initially anticipated. All in all, it's been a very nice Mother's Day.

snakes and pie

Mira and I went to the farmers' market today. It was mobbed but still fun. There was a 4-man band playing CCR songs and we picked up a huge bouquet of lilacs. We also managed to find some excellent looking rhubarb (since our rhubarb has a whole year to grow before we can harvest it). We turned the rhubarb into this:

We like our rhubarb with strawberries in pie form. A custard base for the filling provides a creamy/sweet complement to the tart rhubarb. I had to make my own crust this time because my last pie was nearly rendered inedible by those ready-made store-bought atrocities.

 A brushing of cream followed by a sprinkling of raw sugar finishes it before baking.

So while the pie was baking the girls and I went outside and ran into this guy:

Yikes! I'll now be paranoid to weed or work in my garden beds lest he decides to make another appearance. Snakes terrify me but the girls were fascinated by him for at least a half hour.

needs

Abby has a lot of needs. For instance:

"I weewee weewee (translation: really really) need a cookie."

or

"I weewee weewee need to go outside."

or

"I neeeeed to do it my own self." (This one applies to everything from pouring a cup of milk from the gallon jug to putting her shoes on to squeezing half the tube of toothpaste onto her toothbrush).

or my favorite

"I weewee weewee need to dump my orange juice on the floor."

Well, she doesn't actually say that last one but she does it quite often and with no regard for the floor or the sticky mess that will result.

And lately, instead of her former favorite word, "NO!", now she says "Sorry!" in a sweet singsong voice. Here's a sample:

Me: "It's time for a nap, Abby."

Abby: "Sorry Mommy. I don't need to take a nap."

or

Me: "Abby, don't play in the street."

Abby: "Sorry, but I need to play in the street."

Isn't she such a doll?

groundwork

This weekend we spent a lot of time working in the yard and planting. Abby had fun using her new purple plastic shovel to remove soil from my gardens and make dirt piles outside of the beds. Meanwhile, Mira and I went on a shopping spree at Agway and brought home a load of new plants. Tim had the tough job of edging and weeding the beds. Poor Tim.

Here's a shot of one of our beds after we put in a couple new perennials (red double dianthus and 'snow in summer'). A covering of new mulch always makes everything look so neat and finished.

We also got our potted herb gardens going. This year I added some dill to the mix.

Mira has been faithfully watering the strawberries, blueberries, and rhubarb we planted a few weeks ago and it has paid off-- they are showing signs of life!

   

The blueberries I planted four years ago didn't make it this far. Look at those pretty little leaves! (And yes, these are the things I find exciting.)

 The blueberry bush that Mickey decided was his chew toy and repeatedly ripped from the ground and sprinted around the yard carrying (that is, until we barricaded them with tomato cages) is not quite doing as well, but is still kicking in spite of a rough start. Hopefully we'll even get a couple berries from these little guys this year.

This week we'll plant our snap peas, beets, and radishes. My tomato plants are also coming next week so we'll be busy this weekend (or I guess I should say Tim will be busy) building the new raised beds for them.