24 Hours in Blurry iPhone Photos

Molly meets a rusty nail. Don't worry, she is fine.

A porcupine visits the treehouse. But does not go down the zip line.

Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Declared the goodest cookies in the universe.

Baby falls asleep in my arms.

The end.

First With Five

This weekend we ventured out of our comfort zone and had a couple of firsts as a family of five. On Saturday we went out to eat for the first time since Cedar was born, where kids outnumbered adults. It wasn't exactly relaxing or fun, but it wasn't horrible either. We even had a nice 15 minutes or so at the beginning with all the kids behaving nicely and being quiet, where we could chat and think highly of ourselves for handling it all so well. And then I had to go on a 10 minute walk with the baby to keep her from crying. And Molly lost her ability to sit in her seat or even be a human being, so Bryce had to exit the scene early and let her run around outside. But we all got to eat, albeit quickly. And we are lucky that Porter is old enough to just sit and color and not be difficult at restaurants anymore for the most part. I don't really think it was worth the money, but I also don't think we drove anyone else crazy. So I'd call it a success.

On Sunday I left Bryce at home with all three kids for several hours, right at Cedar's fussy time of day. I wouldn't exactly call that one a success as the report is she wouldn't take the bottle and cried pretty much the whole time. To his credit though, I received no phone calls or texts, and had a fabulous time getting out of the house unencumbered. And nobody starved or needs therapy. Yet.

Because It Is Easier

To post pictures than type one handed.

Sunday Dinner

Grilled King Salmon marinated in spruce tip syrup and soy sauce (thanks Jennifer for the inspiration), green salad straight from the garden, and buttermilk biscuits.

Also Porter's personal favorite, chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter chocolate frosting.

Happy belated Father's Day to my two favorite dads!

Pasta

Last night I made a new dish, Lemon Penne with Arugula. Wow, it was great! A nice, filling meatless dish. It's very lemony and you have to be a fan of arugula, but Bryce and I loved it. I can't say as much for the kids, but they picked the pasta out from between the vegetables anyway. I took a few short cuts to make for less dirty dishes, but followed the recipe closely. Yum. It felt good to try something new.

Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch. Nursing the baby and trying to clip Porter's toenails at the same time. And then Molly climbed on my shoulders, and I thought, yes, this is my life. New recipes notwithstanding.

Lazy Rainy Day

It is really pouring here today, as opposed to the usual drizzly wetness. So despite having plans to get outside, we stayed in and hung out in pajamas until a very late hour. We also made thumbprint cookies. Very easy, although my kids don't actually like to eat them very much, they just like to make them. Looks like I will be eating way too many cookies!



I also tried a new recipe the other day, Risi e Bisi. Really simple rice dish with ham and peas. Super kid friendly, mine loved it. I used a lot of ham and peas. Thanks Deb for the link!

One and the Same

Cedar is about eight weeks old now. I think she's starting to come into her "look"- less like a newborn and more like a baby. People keep asking me and making guesses as to who she most resembles, Molly or Porter. I'm really not sure. I think they all look an awful lot alike at this stage. What do you think? That's Cedar first, then Porter, then Molly, all at about the same age.

Time will tell!

June

June. This is definitely summer and we are in the thick of it. I have to admit that I haven't really been looking forward to this time like I usually do, sort of thinking that I will just have to survive by myself with three kids and no husband and no school. But it really hasn't been so bad. I'm tired and I wish that I had a little time to myself, but really, I'm pretty sure I felt like that last summer too. Cedar is fairly good at putting up with a daily routine of being shuttled from car seat to front carrier to boob and back again. I feel a little bad that I don't get a whole lot of time to just hang out with her (or put her down for any kind of stationary nap), but I think that is probably the lot of third children in general. The weather has been good so far, and friends have been plentiful.

Porter is in an art day camp this week, which has been great for him. And me too. This is the first time I've ever really left him with complete strangers for hours at a time. Preschool was different, with this camp I really have no clue what he does while I'm gone or if the teachers are nice or if he participates at all. Porter is a shy kid at first and has a hard time warming up to new situations, but he's handled this well. It's a good warm up for kindergarten in the fall. Plus it gives me time to go to Costco with only two.

We also finally managed to pick some spruce tips before they all grew too big.

I made spruce tip syrup this time. It was easy. It turned out a bit thin for pancakes, but I've been using it to sweeten my tea in the morning, and it is perfect for that. I put sugar in my tea anyway, and now it just has a little zing and vitamin C.

I'm looking forward to more good weather, the berry season, and maybe, just maybe, a little more sleep.

Hi Baby

My smallest baby, the one born with the skinny legs and delicate features, is really starting to chunk up. She's officially well over 11 pounds now, and pretty happy about it.

Homemade Slip and Slide

Apparently not a concept easily grasped...