An Easter Egg Hunt on Mother's Day!

On Mother's Day, we went to my mom's house for a combination Mother's Day/Belated Easter celebration. My mom and stepdad were on vacation in Europe, so they missed the whole Easter Egg hunt thing with Nick. Actually, though, the weather was much nicer on Sunday than it was anytime around Easter!

In fact, it was so sunny on Sunday that much of Nick's candy melted. We all loved the time outside, though. Funny how our weather changed in just a few days. Here in Northern Illinois, we went from daytime temps topping out in the 40s and 50s last week to 92 degrees today. Crazy stuff.

Compared with last year, Nick was pretty independent with his egg-hunting. Once he figured out there were cookies and candies inside the eggs, he was very excited.



Nick kept trying to get his grandpa to open up the shed. He thought there might be cows in there.



Later this week, I'll post about the neat painting project Nick and I did for all of his grandmas for Mother's Day. I have some pics of that as well. I've been kind of tired the last few weeks, and now that I'm down to the last month of this pregnancy, the doctor visits have been taking up a lot of my blogging time. Each week, now until this baby is born, I have an IV iron infusion, at least one doctor visit, and two NSTs (non stress tests). Man, am I ever glad that pregnancy only lasts nine months!

What's Growing?

Besides, me, that is. . .

It's been a very cool spring, and I feel like I've hardly been outside at all. However, we did start our garden early in April, and there are definitely things coming up. The strawberries came up all on their own, although grass is starting to infiltrate. I keep meaning to do something about that, and then I think about how hard it is to get onto the ground, now that I'm so round.

We'll see how the strawberry crop does, without any help from me. This year, by the time the strawberries start ripening, I should have the baby. Last year, they were ready right at the beginning of June. I'm scheduled for my c-section June 9th, so I'm counting on coming home to some nice, ripe strawberries, even if they're a week or two late.



I still haven't put seedlings in my regular garden yet, mostly because it's been so cold. Last year, I planted them the last day of April, but it's still getting down into the 30s many nights, so I want to wait another week or so. For now, it's just spinach, carrots, and peas growing in my big garden. I haven't considered what I'm going to do when it's time to plant. You see, Greg didn't make any kind of gate to walk through, so you have to step over the 3 foot fence in order to gain garden access. I cannot climb over a three foot anything right now, so we might have to take the whole thing down just to plant the seedlings.

I did have to repot most of the seedlings, though, because they had totally outgrown the seed starting greenhouses I put them in, way back in March. They're still up in my bedroom, under the lights.

I guess they're doing alright, although I'm hoping to get them in the ground very soon. I planted peppers, tomatoes, sage, thyme, cilantro, parsley, basil, broccoli, and some other seeds I don't remember. Unfortunately, I've lost the labels once again, so I will have to guess what these plants are when they get bigger. I'm starting to learn just by looking at them.

I have everything planted in a hodgepodge of peat pots, old plastic pots leftover from things I bought last year, and empty tupperware containers.

My garden certainly isn't as ambitious as last year's project, but I feel good about what I accomplished, despite being pregnant. Hopefully at least I'll get some produce and herbs to use.

On Nick's Wish List. . .

. . . one of these bad boys.

Or, as Nick said, "I want one of dem orange tractors. I want to sit on it. I take it home!" He wanted a green one, too, just for the sake of variety.

My boy is also quite picky. "I need to reach it!" he insisted, pointing at the lever. He was quite perturbed that he couldn't start the thing. There's just something about little boys and things with wheels.

Things I Love About Spring

1. Tulips and Irises. They're so cheerful. I especially love the color of the irises. In fact, I love all spring flowers. I like the daffodils as well, and the hyacinths. I'm kind of using the peonies (you can see them sprouting in the front of this picture) as a timeline for when the baby is coming. They usually bloom around the end of May or beginning of June, and I'm scheduled for my c-section June 9th. So as those peonies pop up, it reminds me of all the things I need to do before the baby is born.





































*Above photo courtesy of Amanda Wiatr.

2. That first pedicure of the year. Sandal season has officially begun! Just in time, too, because my feet have been swelling a bit, and flip-flops always fit, no matter what. I love the way my feet feel after a nice spa pedicure.

3. The first frappucino of the year. I know I could order them in the winter but they just don't feel right until a warm spring day. I always order a tall, light caramel frappucino, but I make them add the whipped cream anyway. It's all about the trade-offs.

4. Little boys with worms. Aww. Enough said.

5. The gorgeous trees in my neighborhood that flower with lovely white flowers this time of year. They look just beautiful--see the one in the background of this picture?

6. The smell of spring. I don't have a picture for that, so here's a hyacinth. Oh, maybe I do have a picture for the smell of spring.

7. The fact that Panera has spinach again. They only have it in the spring and summertime, and it's back! I've been really, really craving spinach salads lately, and the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad is awesome when you substitute spinach for the lettuce.

It must be my anemia, but I have even been having dreams about this salad. I very suddenly got extremely anemic. Apparently the cute little parasite inside of me has sucked my entire store of available iron, leaving me exhausted and paler than death. I went today for my first IV infusion of iron, and had to stop on the way for this salad. I only ever eat the half-size portion, though. I guess desperately craving salad is far better than those red velvet whoopie pies I was craving last month.

8. Speaking of spinach, I love the way my spinach is actually growing this year. Thanks to the chicken wire, the bunnies haven't been able to touch it. I can't wait to taste my own garden grown spinach.

Cookie-Baking Fun

The Saturday before Easter, Nick's Aunt Mandy came over and we baked cookies. Nick loves cookie-baking, and he gets super-excited every time I even mention making cookies.

I'll have to make a point of baking more healthy items this summer, but lately, I've been mostly craving naughty foods, like sugar cookies with sprinkles. Nick loves using the big rolling pin, and he can actually use it correctly now.

We made cookies shaped like chicks, bunnies, lambs and eggs. Nick did not ever want the cookie making to end. I think next year, though, I need to get some smaller cookie cutters. These cookies were huge!

Putting on the sprinkles was very fun for Nick, but I think he used too many sprinkles. The purple ones were his favorite--we let him pick.

For some reason, the Easter sprinkles I bought didn't come with a sprinkling thing on the lid. You know, the holes that allow you to sprinkle right from the jar.

We tried to teach Nick how to sprinkle, but he mostly just dumped.

Well, the cookies tasted pretty good, even if the sprinkles weren't on evenly.

I think Nick wins the award for the most flour spilled, as well. I don't mind, though, because I am a firm believer in the principle of: the bigger the mess, the more fun the kid had. He did have fun.  :)


*Pictures courtesy of Amanda Wiatr. Or Aunt Mandy. Because that's what Nick calls her.   :)

Big Boy Bed!

Nick has been sleeping in his big boy bed for a whole week now. A little over a month ago, Nick figured out how to get out of his crib. This started a whole chain of events, culminating in the purchase of a nice toddler bed for our boy here.

Between having to return the crib mattress and buy a new one, and moving furniture around, we finally got the whole thing set up for him. Nick was super-excited about sleeping in his new bed. We love his new quilt and sheet set, which was made by a lady who sells them on Ebay. I love that it doesn't have any wacky cartoon characters on it.

All day, he kept saying, "I seep in my big boy bed!" (He doesn't always pronounce his "l"s.) I was totally anticipating problems, because I've spoken to a number of friends about the transition from crib to bed. Some of them had their little ones wandering around the house at all hours of the night.

Nick slept just fine, though, and when Greg went into his room in the morning, he was sleeping in his bed, happy as a clam. One night, I guess, he woke up in the guest bed, which still hasn't been moved to the basement. But that's no great tragedy. Every other night, he's slept in his big boy bed with a stack of books and his favorite monkey beside him.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When it's time for bed, we just ask him, "Nick, what time is it?" He always replies, "Seepytime." Then he goes to sleep in his big toddler bed. Sniff. My little baby is growing up!

*Photos courtesy of Amanda Wiatr.

Wordless Wednesday