i'll show you mine, if you show me yours

after seeing ths post, i thought it would be fun to post a few pages out of my sketchbook.

i love to see what people doodle and keep. feel free to join me, and don't forget to send a link!

carrots for sammy

sam's been introduced to carrots this week. he seems to like them. he also seems to like the idea of feeding himself (or chewing on the spoon).
he's wearing the best bib from aunt missy. it's nice and long and covers most of his body AND it's shades of dark brown on one side, so it doesn't really show the food that misses the mark (or gets spit back out). we use that bib on most occasions these days. thanks aunt missy!

book of the week

this is our choice for book post of the week. i really thought the illustrations were fun (i'm a sucker for good illustrations), and the story was short, but cute (and rhymed - i'm also a sucker for rhyming). i think this falls into the "borrow again" category. not quite a "we should own this" book, but still worth checking out.

such cuteness

i simply cannot pass up any opportunities to photograph this sleepy little cuteness. especially when his hair has gotten all up and happy. i'm convinced that it needs to be documented.
it still boggles my mind that i actually had something to do with getting him here.

we're gearing up for a day full of work and play. so excited!
hope you all have a lovely sunday.

happy friday

sammy and i are packing up a little picnic surprise and heading out tonight to enjoy a little dinner with dad at the park. we wish we were putting a few of these in our basket. mmmmmm.....
photo via here.

another good read

this week's library treasure is this book. a sweet story about the joy of sharing, with cute and colorful illustrations that made me think about some of the afghans that lived at our house when i was growing up. we may end up adding this loaner to our permanent library.

grey day to-do

we're having a bit of a grey day today. perfect for taking nice, long naps, which is what the boy is currently doing. and since the boy is so happily occupied in dream-world, i'm free to sit here and doodle and play (because it's been a long, long time since i got my crafty on). now, if only i can get myself into gear before my playmate wakes up and needs some attention... that's the trick...

toothy grin...

...or not.

this is what i typically get when tring to photograph sam's teeth. yes, folks, it's teeth. plural. two lovely little bottom chompers have appeared in the last two weeks, and we've been battling a bit of unhappiness on their account. still, i'd take a day with the teething boy over being at the office any day.

multiple personalities

i love tomato soup. sort of. straight out of the can, i think it's horribly boring, and i almost never eat it that way if i can help it. but it's a great starter for a yummy soup. toss in a little garlic powder and some basil, and you're on your way to yummy. add some spinach and pasta (or better yet, tortellini) and some beans (cannellini or kidney) and you're approaching a feast. or some cooked lentils with cumin and garlic (mmmm). or what i made last night, the "southwestern combo" which included the following*:

condensed tomato soup (duh)

onion

green pepper

black beans (canned, rinsed and drained)

frozen corn

chopped tomato

cumin

garlic powder

oregano

salt

pepper

cilantro

chili powder

tobasco

and lime juice

sometimes i add other veggies (broccoli, carrots, zucchini), but last night i was keepin' it simple, and simply delicious. needless to say, i always keep a few cans of tomato-y goodness in the pantry, just in case i need a soup-fix.

*amounts are done by eye, or by tasting, so i have no idea how much of what i put in - that's the fun of it!

monkeys and stuff

on our last trip to the library, we returned this book, which we particularly enjoyed. it had really cute illustrations and, of course, monkeys. what more could one ask for?

we've got a whole new stack of books for this week. and we've already found a couple goodies.

libraries are chock-full of treasures!

on a related note, sammy is becoming more monkey-like every day. today he had his first taste of smashed bananas. he LOVED them. afterall, what little monkey doesn't?

5 months old

sammy turned 5 months old friday. his new accomplishments include sucking on his toes and growing teeth (specifically one lower left front tooth). he's still rolling on his tummy quite well, pushing around and examining his truck, reading books with mom, and enjoying bopping to songs and getting tickled. he seems to get wigglier every day and is on the verge of being able to sit on his own and scoot on his belly. watch out world...sam's out to getchya!

sam the entertainer

needless to say, i am enjoying my day home with sam.

bear wrestling and hibernation

our bear wrestler seems to have discovered an ability to sleep through the night. or at least, he's done so for the last two nights. i thought maybe the first night was a fluke, but except for a little bit of back-rubbing, he's powered through two nights. woot!
i guess time will tell if this is really a new phase, or if it's just a fad.

big wheels

monday night we upgraded sammy's wheels to a new-to-us, second-hand, jogging stroller. the stroller i purchased pre-sam was about the most compact, no-nonsense model i could find. it's awfully nice, but we found that the small wheels just didn't handle our sidewalks that well and it wasn't exactly a stellar height for mike to push. so, enter the jogging stroller.
yesterday i dug out the bicycle pump, and sam and i gave it a good run around the neighborhood. sam approved the new vehicle by falling asleep, and the only trouble it had was crossing the road that's being resurfaced, and even that wasn't too bad. now we can hit the sidewalks with ease (and speed)!
thanks to karen for the tip that her friend was posting it to craigslist.

pots of chili and lovely leftovers

i've decided that one of the best things about my new part-time hours is the ability to make REAL food for dinner. not just the "pop something frozen into the oven/microwave" dinners that we've been doing. REAL cooking.
last week on thursday i made pizza (since we would be otherwise occupied on our pizza saturday) and yesterday i made two batches of chili (one with beef, one vegetarian) and some sourdough bread. i LOVE chili. it makes the house smell lovely. i get to chop and stir and spill things into pots to my heart's delight. AND it makes lovely leftovers for the next night - which just happens to be the night that i'm working. brilliant!
i have no real recipe that i follow. i usually just mix and dump and guess. i don't think it's ever the same twice, but it always, always, always hits the spot.
yummmmm....

a fabulous fourth

today i'm back at work after a lovely, busy 4th of july weekend. it was a marathon of driving and visiting and eating and talking, and it was so very fantastic, that we wished it could have gone on for several more days.

we started thursday evening, driving down to stay in columbus to spend the night with mike's mom and john. then another 2 hours or so of driving friday morning to middletown. we spent friday visiting with family, playing a little cornhole, checking out some new digs, and enjoying the little ones (especially showing off our very own). there was gorgeous weather, great food, and funny stories shared on a cozy screened porch. sam, not wanting to miss a beat, was wide awake past his normal bedtime (as were his parents) and waited until the other grown-ups were all filing out to decide that sleeping might just be a good idea afterall.
saturday sam had the chance to meet his only remaining great-grandfather, followed by a bit more visiting, cornholing, then packing up and lots of good-byes. the five hour drive back up to my parents' house was a little bit more stressful, but sam did really well, regardless of the fact that he hates being in his carseat with a passion. by the end of the trip, we were handing him pacifiers and hoping (and praying) he would remain asleep (or at least quiet) for the remainder of the drive. that night we had a fantastically delicious dinner with my family, with cake and ice cream for my dad (the birthday boy), followed by fireworks at the city park. as usual, the fireworks were wonderful (much better than you would expect for a city of that size), and sam (who was extremely exhausted at this point) watched all the goings-on with barely any reaction whatsoever. at one point, he was so distracted by my oohing and ahhing (and making weird faces) that he stared at me, rather than the fireworks. at least there was no crying (hoo-rah!)

yesterday was a day of rest and catching up. we did our shopping, laundry, etc. and sam did a record amount of sleeping (hours, people! hours!) the like of which we probably won't see again for a great while (unless we're supremely lucky).

all-in-all it was a most fabulous fourth. thanks to everyone who extended their hospitality to the three of us. we had a wonderful time!