Wordless Wednesday: Paintbrushes Not Required.

Thank you CHERRY much!

Dear Abby and Elise,

Thank you for playing dress up today. I loved seeing you, Abby, in your jammies, apron, and knee-high black boots. I loved seeing you, Elise, in your flowing, flowered dress, hair in a bun, bonnet on as you pretended to be Marian (madam librarian). Thank you for dressing up your babies for a tea party - Abby, you are so strong to clear the entire work table off and drag it halfway from the workroom to the living room. Elise - it was a great idea to tie your baby into her hair chair. Falling out of a chair at a tea party is zero fun. Thank you both for covering every visible surface of our house with: books, CandyLand, building blocks, books, dress up clothes, doll clothes, books, pillows, paper, pens, markers, books, pretend food items (including pretend homemade apple crisp), and books. It was a great day and all of the above happened because you got to stay home and play ALL DAY LONG! 

Love,

Mom

And as long as I'm throwing the "thanks" around, let's give a shout out to Kay and Dylan for sharing their awesome cherry tree with us!

The girls helped pick these delicious tart cherries on Saturday, so naturally for breakfast Sunday morning something had to be baked! We settled on cherry scones and they were fabulous. 

Cherry Scones

adapted from For The Love of Scones

• 5 T organic unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 C local, organic tart cherries (pitted and halved)
• 1/2 C local whole milk
• 1/2 C organic sour cream
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 C organic coconut sugar
• 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Combine dry ingredients
• In separate bowl, whisk sour cream and milk
• Using pastry cutter, mix cold chunks of butter into dry ingredients
• Combine wet and dry until dough forms
• See here for steps on shaping and chilling dough, as well as adding cherries
• Once scones are cut and ready for the oven, brush the tops with a bit of butter and sprinkle with coconut sugar
• Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes

Simmer down, Summer

Recently, I'm pretty sure I used the phrase "stop and smell the roses". I also, on multiple occasions, have soap-boxed the evils of the over-scheduled life. And let me tell you - after the past 3 weeks around here, I am even more solid in my belief that quality has nothing to do with quantity. 

Lake trip to Bull Shoals with Aunt Ali, Uncle Mike, and Cousins: Stella, Bret, Mia, and Max. Elise LOVED going tubing with Stella. Abby thought our "cottage" was perfect.

John's drum performance at the pool with our sweet, sweet Baby Charlie (not our pup, obviously!)

First trip to the Kansas City Zoo with the Littlejohn crew! We traveled to Africa and back with Auntie Sara, Kate, Julia, Lucy, and Anderson.

We also started piano lessons - twice a week this month. I'm teaching two Baby Sing and Sign classes a week right now. There was a week-long morning class at the Arts Center...

Please don't read what I'm NOT saying - the people and the places that have filled our days so far this summer are making memories with us! Would I be filling your screen with the these pictures if we had any regrets???? Do the faces in those pictures look anything but happy???? But that is the struggle - finding a happy medium without turning down invites or opportunities that might be too special to pass. I know that we're tired. I know that we are off-kilter. I know that we are homebodies who thrive off of the comfort of each other in our own home. 

This has been a great learning experience for me - we don't "do" over-scheduled. Abby is having night terrors this week - they'll pass, but I have no doubt that she is unsettled and exhausted. Her shrieking then wakes Elise in a terrible what-the-hell-is-wrong kind of way. All of that then wrecks me in a my-poor-baby kind of way. 

Deep breath - in and out. Calendar cleared. Summer simmering down. 

Wordless Wednesday: Let's Go Schwimming!

How Our Garden Grows

I am so enjoying our yard these days. The green-ness of spring certainly doesn't hurt, but between the children, the dog, the chickens, and the plants - there is just a lot to enjoy out there right now. It's been fun watching the girls' yard discoveries grow and change- as tiny tots, we spent a lot of time on the deck... it was easy to barricade the stairs and the girls could move from the house to the deck independently. We had toys, a water table, and a baby pool in the summer out there! Next came the front yard - a lot to see with neighbors coming and going, easy short walks up and down the street, and the tree swing that was their second bday present. Over the past year, the back yard has become part of their territory - they can go up and down the deck stairs alone and are comfortable playing out there while I'm in the kitchen, watching out the window. 

Here's the latest addition to the back yard - I found this table/chairs while poking around with my mom at one of the awesome consignment shops in North Lawrence:

Our lettuce and carrots are sprouting, protected by my DIY chicken-proof cage:

We added a fairy garden to the deck. Create. A. Fairy. Garden. Do it. My mom put one together at her house, and it was a huge hit. So she made another one. Then we made one here. And started a newer, bigger one in the front yard yesterday. I love peeking at it and seeing how things have been moved... I love listening to the girls narrate why this bird needs to sit here or that stone should go over there. 

The herb pots continue to multiply - my monster sage returns bigger and better every year and we added stevia to the mix this year along with all of the basil that we started indoors from seed. The girls are often walking around munching on a green leaf...

I love a yard with "nooks and crannies". We have plenty of open green space - some of the green is grass, some weeds. We don't spray the yard, we don't dig dandelions - it is what it is. John keeps it mowed and trimmed and perfect, in my opinion. :) But a fairy garden nook here, a chicken coop cranny there, paths between to run up and down... I love how our garden grows.

We don't "do" birthday cakes

There are many reasons why John and I are a good great match. The reason that comes to mind this evening: we prefer pie for our birthdays. It brings me great pleasure knowing that every year, for thirty four twenty five years, I have had a birthday dinner prepared by my folks. It is one of our family's "things". My brother and I have had the option to request every bit of the meal, from appetizer to dessert. My bro lacks a sweet tooth but we've had many crab leg feasts around January 2nd. Me? I know there's a story about a toddler-sized Erin requesting artichoke hearts but Frozen Mocha Pie and now Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie are more vivid memories. So, on Sunday, we had my birthday dinner. And I'm about to share with you a recipe that has nothing to do with physical health but everything to do with emotional health because this recipe just makes me downright happy.

Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie

And because no one should ever be left out of dessert (and alcohol should not be given to children), my mom also made individual pies for the girlies sans tequila. Oh, and BTW - the frozen, sugared lime slices are NOT optional. 

I have very high expectations for children feeling special on their birthdays - I was sort of raised feeling that way. :) Abby and Elise - I have big shoes to fill but I can promise you that when July 8th arrives, each and every year, I will do my very best to fill your plate and your heart. Delicious dessert and having FOUR generations together? Happy plate... happy heart.

Grandma and Abby in an intense game of Story Cards

Grandma and Elise battling it out at Go Fish

Elise, Me, Mom, Abby, and Bubbe