I finally got a chance to do some work in the gardens yesterday. It was a sunny day and I had lots of helpers. It was great. Elizabeth and Alistair were here and Parrish and Orin came to help and we all planted the sunflower house, hung the Topsy Turvy tomato plants, planted a few other tomato plants, and transplanted my two strawberry plants. They were bursting out of their pots and still growing strawberries! Hopefully everything grows happily. It was a happy spirited day and lots of love and laughter went into each and every plant.
A friend-filled weekend
Whew! We have been busy these past few days. I just got the kids in bed (9pm!) and figured I’d ignore the kitchen until tomorrow (what are Sundays for, right?) and do some blogging instead.
Friday morning we had another “shirt situation” that resulted in a rough battle. I decided Lex would not be allowed to stay home from school because his two preferred t-shirts were dirty, and Lex decided to try his hand at pinching, hair pulling and neck squeezing! Eeek! I managed to get him in clothes and into the car with minimal damage to either of us or our surroundings. Then I left him buckled into his car seat for a few minutes while Eve and I took a few deep breaths. Thank god for that 5 point harness that he is not (yet) able to unbuckle! I brought him a bowl of dry cereal and he ate on the way to school, which I think helped him feel better. At school he said he was going to take his shirt off and I told him to have that discussion with his teacher. Sorry teacher! He cried and clung to me as I left, but I unpeeled him and his teacher shut the door behind me as I left. At pickup she said he settled right down and did great all day. I hope she’s telling me the truth. She is an awesome teacher. Eve and I made it through the grocery shopping trip and after we picked him up we got home to find sunny skies and blooming peonies. Despite the carload of groceries melting in the sun, I decided to take a few pictures of Eve as she stopped to smell the flowers.
After nice naps we headed to the science museum for a much anticipated playdate with a classmate and his sisters. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast!

We had the good fortune of being there when a train went by. Always a crowd pleaser. Here are Lex and his friend watching the train. This guy will be in Lex's class next year.
This morning we made birthday cards for Grampy Don…

Making cards for Grampy Don.
Lex said, 'I made a heart for the O because I am making this card for someone I love.'
and signed “good bye” cards for our dear friends. :(

Eve ponders how best to express her sadness. It eventually came out as scribbles all over the front of the card!
We also did lots of baking in preparation for a going away party this afternoon. Really I did lots of baking and the kids took a much needed “at home” morning. They play so nicely together these days! They helped me a bit, ran around, played, built a fort, read each other stories, etc. It was really sweet.
After naps (I say naps although Lex has really been taking quiet time for the past week or so) we got dressed and went to a going away party for Michelle, Carl, Dylan and Caitlin. I have been ignoring the fact that they are moving in two weeks, with the hopes that if I don’t acknowledge it then perhaps it won’t be true. When I called yesterday and discovered their phone had been shut off, I was hit with the reality of it all :( Ashley, the organizer of the party, made a scrapbook and asked us all to contribute photos. I had a really nice time looking through old photos of the kids through the years. I found a cute one of Eve and Caitlin at Eve’s 1st birthday party and another of them at her 3rd birthday party.
Sigh. We are going to miss them.
The party was fun though. The rain held out and everyone had a good time. She has a giant bouncy house in her basement so the kids played there for awhile and then made their way outside for some (ok, A LOT!) of running. The men drank beer on the back porch and the women chatted. It was nice.
Teeth
Birthdays
Loose tooth!
Lex has a loose tooth! Eek! He’s growing up so fast. It’s the bottom, front one, right next to his gap. There is a big tooth growing in the gap and I’m sure it’s pushing those babies out. He told me this morning that I hurt his tooth with the toothbrush. When I checked things out, there it was, wiggling back and forth. I tried to take a picture of it today but he isn’t very excited and didn’t want to show it off. Oh well, maybe another time. This will be a whole new experience in parenting!
Lex’s five year check-up
Lex had his five year check-up today. He is strong and healthy, of course. The nurse took his stats (42lbs, 44″) and when the doctor came in she said, “Wow, he’s in the 90th percentile for weight and 110th…” and trailed off as she looked at him and realized those numbers MUST be wrong. Turns out the nurse had entered 48lbs and 56″. When the doctore corrected things Lex ended up in the 66th percentile for weight and 70th for height. He’s a growing boy! He had another eye exam (20/20 – he has his daddy’s eyes!) and the best part… no shots!! He was asking me about them this morning and I didn’t know if he needed any or not. He was worried, but the whole drive over he kept saying, “I don’t like shots, but I’ll be brave. I’m a brave boy. I don’t like them, but I’ll be brave.” So cute!! And so relieved when the nurse said he didn’t need any! :) Happy June!
Driving
A birthday party!!
We had Lex’s birthday party yesterday. It was fun. We kept it small(ish) this year with just family, two friends who are practically family, and our neighbor, also practically family. There were six kids total and I think that was perfect. We had cupcakes, but no candles or singing. The rain was threatening in the morning, but the afternoon worked out well and we got to play outside a lot. Lex took a few minutes to warm up after his nap and then he had a blast. Overall a successful party!
Here come lots of photos…

Eve can't open the door to the mudroom. I walked into the garage and found her like this, yelling 'help me, help me!' I laughed, took her picture, and then helped her.
Funny food, bandaids, and pigtails
Gardening
I finally got what I needed Friday afternoon. A quiet afternoon with my kids. Funny, right? Eve and I spent the morning baking and cleaning (Ha! The cleaning really happened about an hour before the party Saturday), then we got Lex from school and home for lunch and naps. Lex brought home a little cup with three seeds growing in it, but sadly we dropped the cup twice between when the teacher handed it to him and when we made it out of the school. Yep, twice, in the lobby. Once from his little fingers and once from mine! After nap Lex was eager to plant the seedlings in the garden so we went out and did some gardening. They happily helped me plant the green beans and peas too. Then we played outside and had a picnic dinner. Our neighbor came over to play while we were eating dinner and he ran around, distracting the kids. I decided to be the grownup and I told him that we didn’t want a wild meal time. I offered to let him sit down and eat with us or walk him back to his house where his dad was inside preparing their dinner. He calmly sat down and ate cherries with us and we had a nice picnic. I guess I can be a selfish mommy, but I really like my kids and I enjoy playing with them (most of the time). It was nice to have a happy afternoon with them.




















































