Seeing Green

The past couple weeks have been pretty calm. I've cleared my schedule, except for tennis and a couple friend get-togethers,  and kept it that way. I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning/organizing. The weather has been spotty, but mostly still cold and rainy. Today, however, is beautiful and I just sat in the window reading and trying to feel the maximum amount of warmth possible. When I finally got up, my cheeks were pink. Ahhh. Spring is on its way.

We all had fun on St. Patrick's day. I don't know what took me so long to figure this one out, but this is the perfect day to cram my kids full of green food! Of course we always do the green pancakes and eggs, but I took it a bit further this time. I made their lunches green as well and served them some bright green kale with breakfast.


Good morning, Sunshine!


Kids' lunches


And look at what a healthy breakfast did to Nina! She is totally transformed and ready for school! Pretty sure she will NOT be pinched today.

 For dinner, I went with my own take on a traditional Irish meal. I just couldn't bring myself to make corned beef. Any meat you both boil and bake sounds too bad to be good. And a big slab of beef, no matter its form, always fails to interest me. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but this wasn't my year to try.

Instead I made an Irish Beef Stew and I totally surprised myself. The recipe was rather ordinary, but the end result was awesome. Like most recipes, I used this one as a loose guide. I used grass fed, organic ground beef in place of the chunks of beef (easiest for the tiniest mouths to chew). I also added lots of cabbage and kale, carrots and corn. I used chicken broth instead of beef (because that's what I had) and a bit more tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. So basically I pretty much changed the recipe, but this turned out to be one of the best soups I've ever made. The kids dug it. I was sad Zig was away for this meal, but we drank some of his special root beers just to let him know we were thinking about him. I tried to save him some for the later in the week, but unfortunately he never got a taste of the Irish Stew. The kids had Thin Mints for dessert....I had a weak moment in front of the grocery store. It's hard to pass up those darling girl scouts. That's my excuse, anyway!




I also made Irish Soda Bread and a little salad.



Sela turned in her Science Fair and it was green, so I thought I'd include it with this post even though it's unrelated. She did a great job with her avocado experiment. While we were in Hawaii, she used the avocados in the yard to experiment with which ripening methods work fastest. Putting the avocado in a bag of flour was the clear winner! Who knew!



My little Leprechauns!

Where's Evan?

If Evan is quiet and out of sight, there is a 99.95% chance he is up to no good. There will be a mess, something will be broken (usually something Rollin has spent hours creating), he will be in my makeup drawer, or he will be climbing in the pantry in search of treats. This week, he was bound and determined to try his hand at scrambled eggs.

I wish I could say this was the first time this week that the pint-sized destroyer had found the egg basket. But no, Zig set a basket of eggs down for a minute or two this weekend and Evan had all 18 cracked on the patio in seconds. The photo below only shows one corner of the egg slop. He made sure to drop some in each corner of the laundry room. I couldn't get them all in one photo. Does he look guilty or what?

Actually, proud is more like it!



After Zig and I cleaned up the mess and gave Evan a lecture he completely ignored, I had to laugh to myself picturing him throwing those eggs down one by one with gusto, smiling as they hit the floor and watching with great intrigue as the yellow yolks poured into the grout and even made their way to some clothes! This had to be the highlight of his week! Oh Evan, you are teaching us patience. My parents always said I didn't have too much as a child, so I guess you are here to help me, one egg at a time.

Flying Trapeze

Today a group of friends and I went to the Circus School to learn the Flying Trapeze. One of my friends started a little group called Carpe diem. Basically it's a group of women with varied interests and the idea is that every other month a different person chooses an activity they've always wanted to do and the rest of the group joins/supports them in living out this dream, goal or whatever. A couple months ago, they rented a private space, fat suits, and did sumo wrestling! Awesome, isn't it? I was incredibly bummed to miss it for basketball (of all things!) Especially after I heard about how much fun it was.

I'm not sure I would say I've always dreamed of doing the flying trapeze, but it is something that has always sounded fun. And Seattle just happens to have a circus school. So this afternoon we headed to downtown Seattle and gave it our best shot.



We had a great time soaring through the air and laughing at ourselves. The first time was actually a bit more intimidating than I was anticipating. I don't have a fear of heights, but it was hard to step off the platform the first time. I definitely hesitated. But there is really no turning back once you're up there and I was so proud of everyone, especially those who did have a fear of heights!


Sarah was hysterical. None of knew crazy Sarah was afraid of heights. She kept us highly entertained.

The facial expressions from some of the photos are just priceless.
 
Julie flipping.

The camaraderie was great and we all just had so much fun stepping way out of our comfort zones and cheering each other on. Carpe diem!!

I tried a transfer at the very end. Ending on this note made me want to come back for more. Every ounce of  skill is on the guy who catches, but  it was still quite an adrenalin rush.

Rollin is a whole hand!

5 1/2 years ago I found out I was having a little boy.



 This was very welcome news! Naturally I hoped for a boy because I had two daughters and was eager to experience both. I love my brothers and my life has been richly blessed growing up with them.  I also have  a wonderful, kind and loving father so it was exciting to have a little boy. At the same time, I had no idea what to expect. I could only imagine girls, and I loved my girls. I understood girls and felt a decent amount of confidence in my ability to raise them. And to be honest, I kind of thought boys were messy, super active, and broke everything. Well, I was right on all accounts, but I so totally underestimated how sweet, gentle, loving, and sensitive they would be. I couldn't have conceived both how much I would adore them and also how they would love and adore me. Not a day goes by where Rollin doesn't say " I love you" or "You're the best mom in the world," or "When I grow up I'm going to marry you." Now I KNOW I am not the best mom in the world and I know someday Rollin's understanding of marriage will evolve, but I love to hear those sweet words coming straight from his tender and sincere 5 year old heart. I tear up just thinking about Rollin's sweet smile, his big brown eyes, his laugh, and his absolute zest for life, people, and  adventure.  He  hugs me, snuggles me, and always reminds me to pray with him. There really are no words for the depth of my love for this boy. I know I will not always be the center of his universe but I so treasure these moments where we are so close and bonded to one another. Life is so much more colorful and fun with Rollin in it. Happy Birthday Rollin! You are loved so much more than you will ever know.





Rollin's birthday is on March 2nd which was a travel day for us this year. Most of his special day was spent in the car and on the plane. We wrapped up some little goodies for him to open each time the beverage cart came by which was about 4 times. He was very excited to get "real candy" and even root beer at 9am! (one day only, I promise!) My options were limited since we came up with the idea last minute, but my lack of planning was certainly his gain!

We will be having his party later in the month, but we did take him to dinner this week to celebrate. He was in a silly mood, hamming it up for the camera, as is evidenced by the photos.













I wasn't the only one very excited for you to join our family!

hello seattle

Kauai was such a much needed escape, both from the dreary weather as well as the pace of regular life. I most enjoyed being at the ocean, even if most of the time I was holding Evan counting little bodies playing in the surf. I loved waking up with the sun and the roosters and being totally spent by 9pm. I really love the outdoor showers. I took a break from cooking and we just did mostly fish tacos/burritos, sandwiches, etc. We grilled a few times and consumed a lot of local fruit. I did a lot of thinking about the next few years, but haven't come to any conclusions. Just more of an internal list of things/patterns/activities in family life that I want to hold on to and some I will let slide. All for another post.

Here are a few pictures, mostly from the tail end of our vacation. Last visits to the Wishing Well Shave Ice truck, the beach, mini golf, time with our friends, the Norrises, and just hanging out at home. Good times.








rollin trying to crack the macadamia nuts he gathered in the yard

crafts in the bali house

Sela and Kate in Hanalei town

snorkeling



mini golf


more shave ice with the norrises

how many kids can you see in that tree?

nina the yogi master

Nina often has to take a moment.....or three when the stresses of her 7 year old life are just too much :) She meditated when she got her ears pierced earlier this year so she wouldn't be scared. She loved to sit by the fountain in Kauai and do her little poses and breathing. Rollin and Sela tried but they can't be serious and let's just say that Nina will have no joking around about meditating in her presence.