You know I have had my ups and downs with the library.  Well, yesterday, I finally FINALLY got a free pass to the zoo.  I have checked everyday for the past 2 years and there’s never been a pass available. Until yesterday.  You see, the library has passes to certain things around the city and they only allot a certain amount to be checked out every week.  So, there’s never a pass to the zoo, ever.  Sure, I can go to the other places, but I’ve been waiting on the zoo.  And there it was, the pass.  And I know I shouldn’t have, because it’s the library and all, but I shrieked.  And then I led my peeps in song: “we’re goin’ to the zoo, zoo, zoo, how ’bout you, you, you.  We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.”  Yes, friends, we love the zoo.

And so bright and early, we ventured there.

And here she is…(plus a bonus joke)

Miss Fairy Belle

I kinda want to keep her for myself.

🙂

Anyway, the birds have been showing up lately.  Must be the big bag of birdseed I recently bought.

And the tomatoes have been growing like mad.  There hasn’t even been any sun for days upon days. Just rain.

My ds told me a funny joke today.  I think he really made it up.  Really.  Because he’s brilliant.  I also got his report card in the mail today.  Let me just say, he doesn’t get it from me.  :):) Anyway, here’s the joke:

Why did the fish cross the ocean?

To get to the other tide.

funny, right?

momma’s new stuff

Peonies. Peonies. How I love the Peonies.

Thrifty find of the week:

(Not the kid, of course, but the iron bench and outdoor ottoman.)

and I think my woes have been settled in the dining area (notice how I didn’t say dining room? well, it’s really just a walk through to the kitchen).  It’s been a never ending drama filled area, with me never satisfied with the new arrangements.  Well, darlings, I think that’s all done now (the drama), because this area is now PERFECTO!!!!

Here’s the before:

and now….drumroll…..tadahhhhh, the after:

p.s. as I was writing this, my dd asked me if she could go back in my belly.  She’s 4, wears a size 6, and weighs 35lbs.  I said sure.  She then tried to put her head in my belly button.  Kids are so funny!

hiking and a wedding

This was the very first time that we left when we said we were going to leave. 9:00am. On the dot. Never mind that we had to turn around after 5 minutes, because I forgot my ds’ inhaler.

But yes, it was a successful hiking adventure.  We also forgot the hiking stroller (but didn’t turn around for that), yet it wasn’t a problem at all.

Then, we found a really cool sculpture garden.

Next, we went to lunch.

And then, to a wedding reception.

The kids had fun on the dock.

and then they terrorized the bride and groom.

So you can imagine how tired they were (especially after all of the jellybeans and sugar sodas)

(that’s my ds sleeping cozily with his orange soda)

A little concert and a little dirt

DS sang in a concert the other night.  See that look he’s giving me?  You’d think he was having a bad time, but he said he was just nervous.  Sometimes, he’s such a sour puss, I don’t know what to do.  Yesterday, when I made dinner, he cried.  I made a perfectly good pasta salad with artichoke hearts and olives.  I’m so worried when this kid is a teen.

And my other kid?  Well, she’s happy even when she’s playing with dirt.

Not that I am comparing them, because we’re all different.

As for comparing, I’m finding I took the same exact pictures of my garden last year as I have been this year.  How do I spice things up?Hrm.  Well, at least last year didn’t have an ant on the peony. Check it out:

And really, you can never have too many pictures of your garden, right?

I love my garden so much, I put a lil dirty Buddha there to protect it.

I got a foul

My dh is a baseball fan.  A Cubs fan,  to be more specific.  I have no clue about baseball.  Or the Cubs.  I’ve been trying to find ways to learn more.  At my ds’s games, I’ll ask, “what’s a double?  what’s a home run?” Just kidding, I know what a home run is.  I’ll call the runs “points,”  he’ll correct me.  So, I have this girlfriend who is obsessed with Cuddyer on the Twins.  I watched a game with my dh just so I could see what Cuddyer looks like.  I was not impressed.  But I had an idea.   I’ll find my baseball crush.  So, I went about, until I came across who I thought could be my baseball crush.  I said, “honey, honey, I know who I like in baseball.”  He asked, “What team is he on?”  “The Jets.”  “Uh, the Jets are football and they’re my team’s arch enemies.”  Okay, I give up.  I’ll go back to gardening.

my poor neglected blog

I’m sorry I forget about you sometimes.  Here’s what I’ve been doing:

whew. busy, busy.

ds got a double. dd has a green tongue.  dd at rehearsal.  me and my friend.  at preschool.  on the bus.  to the farm.  with my animal friends.  and her boyfriend (not really, but they are so darn cute together!  (good thing I like his mom, too.))  day of the recital.  (a video from the droid may be in the works, we’ll see how it pans out)  p.s.check out my farmer tan! yikes.

Gardening, how I missed thee.

Finally, I got to dig my hands in the dirt.

You know what feels like an accomplishment?  When I can name all of the plants in my yard.  And all of the trees in my neighborhood.  Without the little tags to remind me.  The first year we were in this house, I brought my Complete Garden Flower book with me everywhere (a gift from my DH, awww), until I finally had it figured out what was out there and what I wanted add.

So,,,here goes:

spinach; cinnamon basil; carrots; rhododendron; hydrangea; mum; hosta; my veggie garden: tomato, beans, peppers, lettuce; tomato; pepper; a dying tulip; petunias with a wind charm; a garden angel; lily of the valley.

Playground fun

On Mother’s day, we went for a walk and then we took a really long nap.  It was the perfect day, because before that we went to brunch at French Meadow, which is my favorite place to eat.  Anyway, I finally brought my camera along.

1. The kids always eat 1/2 fruit & nut pancake and 1/2 cinnamon bagel each

2. I love the breakfast quesadilla

3. on the trail

4. -7. playground fun

8. self timer.

9. my apple tree in the spring.

resolution karma

My friend Kristy invited me to go through her clothes she was giving away.  She said she thought I’d be interested since I’ve been doing my used/homemade pledge since the beginning of the year, and anyway who wouldn’t want the cast offs from a stylin’ chick?  I went home with two stuffed to the gills paper bags; practically a new wardrobe.  Here’s what I wore today.

Aren’t I so stylin’?