I think I can officially call myself a gardener! Wheeeeee!

Isn't it beautiful! That right there folks is the product of all the blood, sweat and tears put into my garden. A shallot. Shallot.....stems? Shoots? Well, whatever it is, it's green and that means it's alive! I am such a proud veggie garden mama.

However, if you come over for a visit anytime soon, just ignore the raised bed next to the gate. Those suckers were doomed from the get go. I mean, can you really expect me to remember to water broccoli and cauliflower every night? On the other hand, once I replace those with strawberries I'll never forget to water the garden! I mean, they're strawberries people.....STRAWBERRIES!!

Courtesy in your face happy baby shot:


I bought swimsuits for the girls to take on our trip to Sunriver. Unfortunately I don't have any photos handy of them wearing the swimsuits but I can tell from the tiny phone photo Steve sent me the other day that they're going to look hilariously cute. Just imagine pigtails, chubby pinchable toddler thighs and a beach ball wearing a skirted swimsuit and you get the picture.

I, however, DID manage to get this cute little succession of photos. Kaira didn't know what it was or what it was for but she knew she needed to be wearing it RIGHT NOW:






Hopefully we'll have some cute swimming in the pool shots when we get back from vacation!

The big 2 is fast approaching!

So, there's been a change of plans for the girls birthday. Steve was just informed that his band is playing at the Alberta Street Art Hop on Saturday May 16th. We discussed trying to do both the street fair and the birthday, but agreed that it would just be too hectic of a day.

Instead we plan on celebrating their birthday that Sunday, the 17th. Most likely we'll plan on having everyone come over after church and do a BBQ outside. Steve and I still need to talk specifics but that is the tentative plan for now. I'll post more later once we've got everything nailed down. Sorry for the change of plans and I hope it's not to inconvenient for anyone!

Here's a couple of pictures of Kaira playing with the pasta I was trying to make for dinner. She snagged it and then ran off to her kitchen to cook.

Here she's telling me "no poop doggy". I'm sure you can translate that easy enough.


I asked her where the pasta was:






"Here it is mama!"


And finally, isn't this the cutest little glass jar?!?! I love this! It held buttermilk from local Noris Dairy. I purchased it at the People's Co-op last week when I visited for the first time. I debated returning it to get back the steep deposit but decided the $$$ wasn't worth it. Wouldn't this look adorable with a single tulip placed in it? There's something about buying dairy in glass jars that just makes me so happy. :-)



I best go as the girls are imploring me to "dink cawfee mama" as they hold their cups up to me. :-)

For all my gardening friends out there.

Here's a few pictures of things that made me happy this week:


Aww....look how cute and innocent they are. Can't you just hear them pleading "Please don't kill us Vanda...we really really want to live!". What you're looking at is broccoli, cauliflower, two kinds of lettuce, green onions and cilantro. I also have peas, green beans, zucchini, and cucumbers that I'll sow from seed.


Who knew I'd actually one day PAY for dirt to do some gardening....not my parents, that's for sure!!! I had an aversion to dirt, gardening, and any outdoor hard work as a kid. I'm sure my mom will remind me of this when one day I'm unsuccessfully trying to get my children to work outdoors with me.


I *heart* my new little compost bucket. I've already started a compost pile in the backyard....hopefully next year's investment in dirt will be a little cheaper because of this. ;-)



I planted the lettuce last night and hope to do more work in the garden over the weekend. I really am clueless as to what I'm doing, but with the help of multiple websites, a few books and a one-on-one gardening class, I think I might be able to pull this thing off.

If you came here looking for some pictures of the girls and are disappointed that all you're seeing is dirt, then look below for the latest updates on the family.

So......

(hey, what me seamlessly transition into a new post like it hasn't been 2 months since I've blogged!)

A few weeks ago, I put the girl's play kitchen in our kitchen while I made dinner. Kaira LOVED this and anytime I would move from the stove she would yell "NO Mama! You right here!" pointing to the stove.




Noelle joined us when she woke up from her nap.



Kaira lovin' the hat Grammy and Grandpa gave her.



Steve and I were in the kitchen and heard some unusual sounds....you mamas know what I'm talking about....the sounds of something being played with that is supposed to be off limits. So we walked into the living room and this is what we saw:



The four of us sat down for a family pic and took about 30 photos...this was one of the best of the bunch. And yes, that bunny is a part of this family.....without it, one little girl's world would just crumble.


Noelle looks so cute in pig-tails....and here she is rockin' on the guitar.



We were invited to the zoo for Bailey's 4th birthday. It was a cold and drizzly day but ended up being a lot of fun. I think the zoo made much more sense to the girls this time around, in part due to the stuffed animals and Curious George books from Grammy and Grandpa at Christmas! Here are a few fuzzy out of focus pictures for you. :-)




http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u97/plane_hopper/040-2.jpg

A few pictures from Grammy's visit:





Who doesn't love the bunny?!?!




I'll end this post with some cuddles!!!!

Updates from a sick household.....

That title probably doesn't bring for a lot of warm lovelies, does it? Everyone in our household has been suffering from some sort of cold/fever/flu type bug lately. Even Kenny our fish seems a bit peeked around the gils.

It's been a few weeks since our last update and even though I have no new pictures this week (insert big collective gasp here), I still wanted to share some cute things the girls are up to.

Both Kaira and Noelle have learned to say "Bless you" and if you sneeze or cough they will both offer you a little "bess-ou".

Kaira surprised me the other day (actually, I think she did it to Steve first) when I was changing Noelle's diaper and she walked over and say "coos-me" so that I'd move over and let her pass.

The girls are still learning that I am in fact BOTH of their mother as evidenced by their newest game called "MY mama". It goes something like this:

Noelle - "My mama" as she grabs on to a leg and squeezes tight.

Kaira - "My mama" following her sisters actions.

Noelle - "MY mama"

Kaira - "MY MAMA!!!"

I'll stop there.....I'm sure you get the picture.

That's all my fuzzy headed brain can remember for now!! Hopefully we all feel better soon and can get some newer pictures posted later this week.

My Tuesday Night....and other fun facts

Steve had band practice Tuesday night so in his absence I decided to keep busy in the kitchen.

English muffin dough rising in the oven:


Bread dough from a fabulous book called "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day". If you've ever wanted to try and make your own bread, I highly recommend this book. You basically mix 4 ingredients in a large quantity, store in the fridge, and when you wants bread, pull out a hunk of dough and throw it in the oven.


Homemade yogurt culturing away in the crockpot:


...and some pizza dough to boot:


All while watching Rebel Without A Cause.....


In other news...we got a fish! We call him Kenny and Kaira will occasionally make a stop in the dining room and tilt her sweet little face up to the fish bowl and wave "hi kenny, hi kenny, hi kenny".


Leg warmers courtesy of Nana and Grandpa:


They're still lovin' the tiger and bear from Grammy and Grandpa:


Papa reading a story and bedtime:


Playing well together:



They love playing with the daycare nap mats:


Bubble wrap....every child should own a piece of bubble wrap!


Here's a recent outing....Steve and I took the girls to the water front and walked a big circle (east/west of the river).



See you next week!