This afternoon we were discussing the merits of being a rock star and debating whether or not that would be a glamorous job. Eve decided it would not and being a princess would be much more satisfying. Lex said, “I think being a mother is probably the best job of all.” Bonus points for that boy!
Every time we go to the grocery store Eve wants money to put into this machine. I always say no and I never have quarters anyway. Yesterday I mentioned that we had to go grocery shopping today and she eagerly got out her little purse and filled it with 22 quarters (21 really, and a nickel). After dropping Lex off at school we went to the hospital to visit Grandma and time got tight. I wanted to skip shopping, but Eve insisted we go because she really wanted to get 22 toys from the “toy machine.” I explained over and again how the machine works and that it’s a waste of money, but she insisted. So we went and she put in a few quarters (the thing requires $.50 now!) and got angry that it didn’t work. We did our shopping and while I was checking out she decided to try it again. Still no good. Then a guy came and opened it up and took the money out (all hers, I think). She watched from my side and excitedly told me that he must have been fixing the machine. “It was broken,” she insisted. When the man left she ran over and put a few more quarters in. Still no good. She got frustrated again and started talking about what a bad machine it was. Several of my words came out of her mouth, which is always funny to hear. All in all only about half of her money was spent and she decided to save the rest for something “not so broken.”
She's so darn adorable!
I guess we all learn our lesson with this machine at some point in life.
PS. We actually stopped at KAF on the way to the hospital and I bought Eve a giant blueberry scone. On the way out the door I remembered that her little purse was full of money and I said, “You have money, you should have bought your own scone.” She said, “My money is for all those toys, you have to buy me everything else I want.” Ha!
Eve decided today was the day to ride without training wheels. We’ve talked about it off and on and I told her this was her summer for a big bike, but for some reason today was the day. Lex has a bigger bike (“the red bike”) that he can ride but he prefers the smaller one (“the blue bike”). Today he was generous and agreed to let Eve try riding the blue bike. He hopped on the red one and took off. She hopped on the blue one and barely sat still while I explained the key points to riding a bike (such as keep pedaling!) and then she was off. The first go I held her seat and she pedaled fast! I was running along, awkwardly, and then moved my hand up to her shirt so I could run more upright. She yelled, “just let go mom!” but I was too nervous!! We got part way down the street and I let go. Away she went, fast! She put her feet down at the end of the road and tumbled a bit since we hadn’t yet discussed stopping. But she laughed and got right back up! I helped her get started again and she rode on. Back and forth we went.
First time out. She's a champ!
Away she goes!
I would have put on my running shoes if I'd known she was going to be such a speed demon!
I’m so proud of her!
With the sunshiney weather outside Lex was feeling ambitious and decided to start a club yesterday. He made a sign and invited his friends.
The Maple Club
The clubhouse!
Inviting friends...
... this little boy moved in to the house behind ours. (I'm like the paparazzi!)
Eve even got an invite :)
Eve's first action as club member was to do some decorating, starting with a pretty paper bird she drew, colored, and hung up.
Happy Spring!
This post is for Grandma! I hope it looks good on the new tablet. :)
Lex was intrigued by the cast and eager to sign it.
Eve took a little while to warm up to the idea, but the artist inside prevailed and she decorated until I made her stop.
"Get well soon - Lex"
"I love you. Eve" with a four leaf clover. It's hard to write on the cast material!
Grandma and her handsome personal tech support.
Grandma and Eve.
Grandma and Lex
Get well soon Grandma! We love you!
Eve, testing the burgundy chunks before they went into our first batch of test cookies for the Wild Cookie Extravaganza (April 1st, 1-3pm, be there!)
A little silliness while baking round two of our cookies. We’re having fun with this contest!
“These are the Cheez-Its in my bowl, in alphabetical order!”
Impish little boy
He’s holding a 3D paper zebra that he made. :)
Dear Tessa,
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the Wild Cookie Extravaganza survey – you have been selected as a cookie baker for the event!
What will you be doing on Sunday, April 1st? I hope you’ll join me at the Wilder Center for a Wild Cookie Extravaganza!
The Wild Cookie Extravaganza takes place on Sunday, April 1 from 1-3 at the Wilder Center and in addition to being a fundraiser for the Upper Valley Haven is an opportunity to show off your best cookies and maybe take home one of the 3 generous King Arthur Flour awards.
Sometime between now and then I need to decide on a recipe and bake 5-6 dozen cookies. I’m sure there will be a few dozen test rounds in there as well! :) Now I really wish my whole family was coming up that weekend! At least I know they’d vote for me ;) What kind of cookies should I bake?
Yes, this is the day after Eve’s Birthday Extravaganza, aka, Pet Show Party, and the weekend after a 5-day swim lesson for the kids, and these are the weeks that I have to sign and mail 225 letters for Good Beginnings, and get ready for a 5K next month… Over-commit, much?
We eat so much yogurt in this house that I form think about making it from scratch. I don’t though because the yogurt maker costs a lot and past experience shows that when I make thing from scratch (like bagels, for instance) the kids don’t eat it. Not always, of course, they love the bread and cookies I make, but I was worried to make the investment in a yogurt maker with unsure results. That changed this week when I bought one from a lady in a parking lot! :) Kidding, kind of. She was selling it, unopened, as part of their kitchen decluttering. The price was unbeatable so I bought it! :)
Following the instructions exactly is a bit onerous and takes about 16 hours (1hr hands on). That’s what we did yesterday, and by “we” I mostly mean “I” while the kids played outside! Last night I was pretty ready to scrap the whole thing.
The yogurt maker, minus lids. We made maple yogurt as our first batch.
However, this morning I said “Who wants to try some fresh homemade yogurt?” and my anxious eat said “Oh, I do!!” In all seriousness, no sarcasm at all. Then I remembered that the final step was it let it chill in the fridge for at least three hours. More waiting…
Lex put the lids on for me and put them all in the fridge. He was eager to sample.
This afternoon we dug into them as soon as we got home. Eager Lex went first. He loved it! He even said it was better than store bought yogurt!
Yum!
This is Eve's opinion on things in general these days. (I like the cute little cups too!)
I haven’t done the math yet, but I suspect that at $1.09/ea for the store stuff we buy, this is probably going to save me some money! Tomorrow we try an alternate method that should speed up the hands on time significantly. Hopefully that too comes out good!
In an animal-cracker induced madness last night I signed myself up for a 5K. One that includes “a mother of a hill!” Eek! Positive self-motivation doesn’t seem to work for me, so I thought I’d try negative self-motivation. :) That worked well last time. It sucks showing up for a race when you KNOW you can’t run it! What’s a girl to do? Practice! Today I went out for my first run of the season (my treadmill runs at the gym don’t count because they are boring and totally uninspiring!) I can barely call today’s outing a run, more like a slow jog with extended periods of walking, but it’s a start!
Source: chasefear.com via Tessa on Pinterest
I even managed to talk Alan and Rosy into running with me!! Anyone want to babysit on May 5th? I’ll treat you to free (virgin) margaritas!
PS. This 5K is for Good Beginnings, but not MINE. It is a franchise type thing and they serve different counties and have different services. Still a good cause though!