Small and Simple Thingamajigs

Summer's HEEEERRRRREEEEEEE!!!!!!!

2011-06-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

This is how I know:

green grass

tomato plants

humid air

fireflies

butterflies

and bugs in general

crickets singing

sprinklers

and

sun-kissed cheeks!

Phoenix turned TWO at the end of May!

Guess what he got for his birthday?

(Besides new swim trunks...)

SLIP 'N' SLIDE!!

which is apparently recommended for ages

FIVE and up

oops

oh well -- he still loves it

and so does Lily.

Works for me!

Happy Birthday Phoenix!

I heart snow days!

2011-01-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

The kiddies and I have had so much fun

playing in the snow this week.

Lily is old enough now to throw some really great snowballs

and to take some in return as well!

She spends her time outside

bombarding her mother with snowballs,

sucking snow of her mittens (which look a lot like socks -- weird! ;),

creating snow-track art and snowangels,

building snowmen,

climbing snow "mountains"

and using them as safe havens when her mother attacks back!

She is a tough girl out in the snow.

It took her two hours to realize that all that snow-sucking

had completely soaked her socks, er, mittens

and she was ready to head inside for hot cocoa.

Phinn also enjoys the snow

but only if he doesn't have to step in it

or touch it in general.

His "mittens" stayed dry and kept his hands warm

The. Whole. Time.

He had a great time walking up and down the plowed lane,

telling mommy to throw snowballs at Lily,

listening to Festus Jr practice his gobble,

watching Uncle Robert drive the tractor,

pointing out all the snow that he kept noticing everywhere,

and eating the raisins that we were trying to use for snowman eyes.

He was especially happy to go inside for hot cocoa,

but mostly because that meant...

MARSHMELLOWS!

And who doesn't love marshmellows?

I heart Autumn!

2010-11-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

I heart crisp cool weather.

I heart leaves changing colors.

I heart hayrides, corn mazes, and pumpkin picking.

Heck! I just plain old heart all things pumpkin

(jack o' lanterns, pie, cookies...mmm).

I heart sweaters.

I heart hats.

I heart shorter days.

I heart autumn hot-air-balloon-festivals

that-are-too-windy-for-hot-air-balloons

and

autumn birthdays-pretending-to-be-summer-luaus.

But I especially heart princesses and cowboys,

or rather,

one particular princess and cowboy.

(I also heart adding photos in backwards chronological order

...you know,...on purpose...

just to see who is paying attention.)

This cowboy needed a little shut eye on the way to the hoe-down!

It's amazing what a hankerchief and a tinfoil belt buckle
can do to transform a boy into a COWBOY...
but he came up with tough guy look all on his own
-- by taking a tumble a couple weeks before! Augh!

If you know Lily well,
then you probably didn't bother
asking what she wanted to be for
Halloween. :)

This is what happens

when you ask two small children to
"not touch the flags," "stand still,

and

"look at mommy and smile"

on a very windy day --

was it too much to process?

Here's a picture of our happy boy pre-shiner!

And, of course, our happy girl hamming it up!

The weather was beautiful for the luau.

We even had an active volcano!

Our little ballerina

2010-08-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of Lil's last dance classes,

then a few more from her recital.

Isn't she lovely?

And,

YES!,

half the fun of a recital

is:

wearing make-up!

She looks so confident!

Here she is fresh off the stage!

It was so cool to have our family there, too --

Auntie Becca, Uncle Ia and Cousin Marleigh

made a special trip out to be there!

Thanks guys!

(And a special thanks to Grampa

who endured a very LONG ballet recital

just to be there for Lily's

five minutes

on stage...

we only heard snoring a couple of times! :o)

Special hugs with Gramma!

Lily was so proud to have her there

and to show her the award she'd received.

You did a beautiful job Lily!

Phinn's 1st Birthday

2010-08-02T20:19:00.001-07:00

The family all came together

to celebrate

Phoenix's

1st Birthday

in May.

We had a simple dinner of

lasagna, garlic bread and salad.

It was so good to see

uncles and aunts

from near and far

on this special day. He was fascinated by the balloons.

(and a little overwhelmed by all the company

thus the serious face)

Lily, on the other hand,

fell in love with Great-uncle Richard

and stayed by his side the whole time!

Cake, schmake...everyone else thought it was great!

He was happy to feed cake to Mommy however.

He knew JUST what to do with a toy truck!
Many thanks to Great-Uncle Phil who provided Phinn
with his first gender-NOT-neutral gift! :o)
It was a hit!

Can't believe my baby is a year old!
So happy he is part of our family.

Better late than never

2010-08-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Some spring photos of my babies on the farm:

Farmer Frank

2010-04-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Frank has kinda taken to this rural life.

He helps with the mowing,

the tilling,

the fowl-ing

(is that a word?)

Here he is letting some of the chicks stretch their legs.

And here he is holding Festus hostage.

Don't worry - he deserved it!

Twinkle Toes

2010-04-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Lily has been taking a

ballet class

since January.

She LOVES it!

Every week

they get to dress up

as a different character.

Did you just say

"ballet"

AND

"dress-up"!?!?!?

Oh yeah!

The Little Mermaid

Sleeping Beauty

Olivia and the red shoes

"Angelina Ballerina"

Phinn's Evil Laugh

2010-04-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

The Return of The Sneaky Bunny

2010-04-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

I dont know what

EASTER

and a rabbit

have to do with each other

so at our house

"that sneaky bunny"

hides eggs

while we

sleep peacefully.

Lily was only expecting an egg hunt.

Then she found this: "Mom, that Sneaky Bunny

is just like Santa Claus...

he brings presents too!"
(side note:

YES,

the Sneaky Bunny brought

peanut butter cups...

not everything is for the kids, ya know!)

Phoenix was all over those eggs!

Then Grampa came in

to tell us that

he had just chased

some crazy huge rabbit

out of the yard.

Whaaaat?!?!?

Heehee.

Can you spot the egg in the wall?

Now let me just comment...

this is Lily's new favorite outfit...

which is why it might look so familiar to you...

you know how it is!

This is my favorite photo of the day!

Aren't they so sweet together?

Or maybe it's this one.

Phoenix crawled over to give Lily a hug!

He loves her SO much! And the feeling is mutual!

The following photo

is of the new chickies

that Grampa brought home

when he was tired

of waiting

for our chickens' eggs

to hatch.

So cute!

(except to some...you know who you are!)

Cherry Blossom Festival

2010-04-13T17:43:00.001-07:00

I have always wanted to visit DC

during the annual

Cherry Blossom Festival.

This year we packed up the kids,

the stroller

my bag of tricks

and headed into the city.

It was Good Friday

so Frank had the day off too!

Did you know that the cherry trees

were a gift from Japan

to the United States

as a token of friendship?

And that they were sent twice?

3000 trees in 1912

3800 in 1965

That's a lot of blossoms!

I had the whole day mapped out:

check out the Japanese ceramics exhibit at the Smithsonian,

listen to Reggae music by the Washington monument,

participate in the "Bloomin' Junior Ranger" program for kids,

and maybe even get in some paddle-boating.

Here's what actually happened:

We walked all over DC.

Lily and Phoenix loved having Daddy close by.

Daddy loved spending time with his babies.
And we all kept walking.

We posed our kids in trees to get cute photos.

Even if they didn't want to.

Then

we found a nice shady patch of green grass

under the cherry trees,

plopped our bums down

and pigged out on my bag o' treats

while enjoying the scenery.

We made new friends

with our picnic neighbors

including this little girl and her family.

Turns out they are originally from Buenos Aires

so I hable un poquito espanol con ellos,

but are also professors at a local university.

Translation: Frank participated in the conversation too.

And

that was

pretty much

IT.

But then something magical happened:

Beautiful blossoms falling

floating like snowflakes through the air

people smiling, laughing, posing for photographs

and children dancing, twirling

mesmerized by pink breezes

It was so worth all the walking.

What's In A Name?

2010-04-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

My little treehugger!

Is it strange that

Lily

is named after

a flower

and she loves...

FLOWERS?

She even took some of these spring flower photos!

Look what Phinn found!!

Is it strange that

Phoenix

is named after a

bird

and he loves....

BIRDS!

His first real sign was "bird"

and he says "burrrrrr"

and signs "where" when he wants to go look for them

-- which is ALL DAY LONG!

Some of his fowl friends include:

guinea hens,

a grey rooster,

a red rooster,

and of course, Phoenix's favorite,

Festus -- the turkey!

Snow Days

2010-02-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

More photos and commentary, for better or worse, from the Blizzard of 2010.

It has been a fun adventure being snowed in since Friday night. We turned on the generator early Saturday morning after the power went out. Grampa and Dad began digging out the cars NOT to try to drive out (no chance of that on our lane -- besides the state road wasn't even plowed til Monday morning), but to get to the fuel tanks!

Imagine my surprise

when I looked out the window

to see Frank syphoning fuel from my Dad's Jeep!

No worries, Dad was in on it, too! They were looking for more gas for the generator...it was a bigger endeavor than they expected but they eventually came up with a few extra gallons.

Lily and I have been playing "Go Fish", "Crazy 8's", Legos, Puzzles, etc.

Lily has also been practicing her letters in her journal.

Phinn has been fighting a bit of a cold,

but that hasn't kept him from crawling all over the place;

in fact, this weekend, he has started pulling himself up into a standing position

by grabbing onto the couch, the edge of the tub, or other furniture.

The boy is unstoppable!

Lily, Phoenix and I walked up the lane to visit cousin Megan.

Lily would NOT stop eating snow!

Check out how high these drifts are!

Poor Phoenix was so bundled up that he couldn't move

and I think we were all a bit snow blind.

Besides, eating the snow, Lily also enjoyed nailing me with snowballs!

The chickens finally ventured out of their coop,

but they kept getting stuck in the snow.

It was pretty funny!

More pretty snow photos. It really is a winter wonderland out here!

Being snowed in has been delightful!
Thanks to the gas stove
and a well stocked pantry,
there has been no end to the delicious comfort food:
cookies, cake, and blueberry crisp,
oven-fried pork chops, mashed potatoes,
roasted chicken (store-bought, not from our little flock),
fresh salads, chips and salsas,
bacon and eggs (fresh from the our chickens),
venison sausage, etc, etc.
Yummy!

The (NEWEST) View from the Kitchen Window

2010-02-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

Can you BELIEVE this SNOW!!!!!

Okay, so this is actually a photo from yesterday when Lily woke up and said,

"Mom, the chairs sunk!" :o)

and Grampa came in from setting up the generator, feeding the birds, checking the lane, etc to show that he had walked, at some points, through hip deep snow.

We measured Lily today: 3 feet 4 inches -- right about the snow drift levels!

My Boy

2010-02-02T18:17:00.001-08:00

I didn't know I would love my boy this much!

He is the happiest baby I know.

He loves to make ma-ma-ma, da-da-da, and li-li-la noises.

He dances and sings with his big sister.

He is an early riser,

a speed-crawler,

a non-picky eater,

a drooly teething monster,

a bathtub waterbug,

but,

most importantly,

he's a mama's boy!

Love this happy boy!

Father and Son
Are these boys good-looking or what?

Phinn loves Grampa!

He loves Uncle Ia too;

he just doesn't do well with camera flashes!

:o)

She Might Have Stayed Out Too Long...

2009-12-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

What do you think?

First Snow

2009-12-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

We had so many important things we were supposed to get done today...

Then it snowed.

All day.

And we were forced, FORCED I say, to stay home

play in the snow

throw snowballs

discover hiding places under pine trees

catch snowflakes on our tongues

drink hot chocolates

eat Grampa's famous homemade chili

take a walk in the woods

and enjoy this day with every fiber of our being.

Daddy's winter walk in the woods resulted in bringing home an

EIGHT POINT BUCK!

He is SO proud of himself!

(Lily said "have fun killing deer!" as he left the house this morning,

then she was devastated to see a dead deer in the yard this afternoon...

not sure she fully understood the process.)

Look who's a big boy now!

2009-12-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

Believe It or Not

Phoenix is officially past the 6 month mark

he is really not a baby anymore

I am so NOT ready for him to be this grown up

but he just keeps getting bigger

and brighter

and bubblier

and babblier

(I know that's not a word, but it IS what he does!)

He makes the cutest dah-dah-dah and raspberry sounds you've EVER heard!

Oh, and did I mention that he sits up by himself....here's proof!

Feelin' Crafty

2009-12-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have been really diggin' homemade, crafty, far-from-perfect, filled-with-love, memory-making and family-gathering decor this season.

Here are a couple examples of my efforts to make that dream a reality in my home:

Lily and I decorated the Thanksgiving table with every Autumn craft she'd made up to that point including pinecone turkeys, foam decorated leaves and even a felt mouse in a yarn nest. We also made these turkey placecards and, okay, so we never got around to actually adding the names -- we still loved them! -- and there were only four of us at the table...so the confusion was minimal.

Lily and I also made these adorable muffin tin advent calendars for our family and ourselves this season. Lily loved helping me decorate them and add the treats to the cups under the decorated magnets. Big thanks to my mom who helped cut and paste til the wee hours of the morning and to Frank who supervised like a pro!

What makes Lily happy...

2009-12-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

Need I say more?

Princess Shoes and Pumpkins

2009-10-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Even if you

WEREN'T

looking for

the perfect princess shoes

....how could you resist THESE?

I know Lily feels like a princess,

but I can't help but think of Glenda the good witch.

In other news...HOW HUGE IS THIS PUMPKIN?!?!?!

My Dad grew this monster!

And I, I mean, WE carved it.

Honestly,

do you think a princess gets pumpkin guts on her fingers?

No.

The Big Three-Oh!

2009-10-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Frank!

(Do you see the disbelief on his face as he counts the
candles?)

Welcome to your thirties my friend!

I LOVE YOU!

The (NEW) View from the Kitchen Window

2009-10-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

As sudden and unnerving as this move has been for me,

I find myself daily

giving thanks

for the opportunity to live on this amazing farm

where my family has lived

for generations.

Brotherly (and Sisterly) Love

2009-10-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

SHE plays with him all day: shares her toys, reads him stories, includes him in her imaginary play (he gets to be the handsome prince while I continue to receive the bad guy roles).

HE follows her every move, cries if she is crying (even when its fake) and laughs if she laughs.

THEY are the best of friends.

Their bond makes my heart swell with joy -- the overwhelming, teary-eyed kind of joy.

Lily recently discovered the art of photography. She has taken some great still life photos and I love seeing the world from her point of view. She also takes great people pictures; of course her favorite subject is Phinn!

Phinn just acquired his first tooth, has learned to "stand" in his round-about toy, now rolls from his front to his back, has killer abs from all doing crunches all day (he's going to be sitting up on his own in about 3 more seconds), talks up a storm to the whole family's delight and is fascinated by his toes, his fingers and anything he can stick in his mouth.

Lily turned FOUR in September! Her butterfly party was rescheduled several times since we were all recovering from the flu (OINK, OINK), but actual day and the eventual party day were happy, balloon-filled, chocolate-cake eating, happy-birthday-singing days!

Last month we all went on a camp-out...in the backyard!

It was AWESOME!

Daddy and Lil set up the tent and built the campfire while

I prepped bed rolls and boiled hot dogs

...on the stove

...in the kitchen.

It was tough, lemme tell ya! :o)

Afterwards, we had s'mores.

Everyone else slept soundly while I stayed up keeping watch, listening to the world and the sounds of my family slumbering peacefully.

Lily reminded us that next time we are supposed to tell scary stories,

you know,

like, "once a little girl heard a noise in the dark and it was a

...... CAT!"

Augh!

The next morning we hiked (I am using that word loosely) the C&O Canal at Lily's pace. We had a great time trying to trick the spiders on their webs. Frank would throw a little stick into the web and then we'd watch the spider go see what he'd "caught". I am sure the spiders were disappointed, but they each shook the stick loose to clean up the web before heading back to the middle to wait again...tidy little boogers!

We had snacks by the river where we saw minnows, crawdads, geese and, apparently, the "Ariel rock" from The Little Mermaid. Lily was overjoyed!!!!!!

Cute Kid Update

2009-07-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

No big topic on this post,
(you may have noticed the title is
"small and simple...")
just acknowledging how great I
think my babies are.

Lily continues to love all things "princess" and reminds me EVERY day that she does NOT like to wear pants! I have to explain in great detail the practicality of pants on days that we go to the park and even then...let's just say I am very grateful to the person who created the "skort"! I have to admit that she is lovely and acts very ladylike in her princess dresses.

Phinn, our short version of Phoenix, (and PS I KNOW there is no alphabetical or grammatical connection in that nickname...but that's just the way it is!) anyway, Phinn is growing like a weed. He is a wiggly worm and, at least judging by the above photo, likes to show off his guns! :o)

We are enjoying his toothless grins, his first little coos, and teaching him sign language...okay, so basically, Lily is spearheading the early sign education program. She is convinced that Phinn has already learned how to sign "milk" (see last photo) and she is moving on to "more", "eat" and "flowers"...she is a great teacher!

ANY day

2009-06-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Over dinner the other night Frank (the man who has repeatedly stated that he only wants one kid...oops!) says to me,

"Hilarie, you can have a baby ANY day!"

Why, you ask, did your sweet husband say these beautiful words to you?

Is it because of the undying love that he feels for you?
Is it because you produce such genetically remarkable offspring?
Is it because he just won the lottery and you can now afford to feed, clothe, and educate any number of children?
No, no and, sadly, no.
The answer, my friends, lies deep within...
his STOMACH!!
We have been treated to the most wonderful meals these past few days and Frank figures that if he can get 2 weeks off work and eat like a king just for having a baby, then we should definitely take advantage of the system.
Anywhoooo...seriously, thank you to all the wonderful ladies who have shared their delicious dishes with us: Shauna, Barbara, Sister Vitale, Christine, Aundrea, Mom. I cannot thank you enough for making my life easier and providing amazing dinners (and leftover lunches) for my family and myself! I kept trying to remember to take a photo BEFORE devouring the food, but I was not always successful....
FOOD, Glorious Food!
ziti pasta with corn and the most amazing chocolate bundt cake I have EVER tasted!!!! (and I am not just saying that because you are the only person who reads my blog Shauna!),
barbeque sandwiches, fresh strawberries and perfectly soft ginger cookies,

one of my favorite comfort foods: broccoli and chicken casserole, green beans, pineapple, and for dessert: pound cake with fresh strawberries and blueberries -- YUM!

fettucine alfredo with beans and strawberries (I LOVE berry picking season!!!)

Beef and rice with cheesy broccoli and a strawberry CASTLE cake (specially made for our princess, Lily -- how sweet is that?!?!) with strawberry frosting!

And, last, but not least...penne pasta with meaty marinara sauce, caesar salad and french bread -- I totally spaced the picture taking on this last one and, needless to say, there is nothing left to take a picture of!
Thank you, again, to all my wonderful friends! I hope to have the privilege of returning the favor to all of you someday.

Nine Pounds

2009-05-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Who knew that a NINE POUND BABY would be considered a "small and simple thing?"

But, oh my, all I can think about as I gaze at him and hold him in my arms is how small he is -- and how simple and how precious and wonderful!

(Of course, three short days ago I was feeling slightly different...)

Phoenix Elijah was born Sunday, 24th of May at 4:03pm.

He weighed in at 8 lbs 15.3 oz; he is 20.5 inches long.

He has a head of black hair with a widows' peak, chubby cherubic cheeks, ten fingers, ten toes and everything in between.

He is lovely!

Frank was a superb labor assistant -- he applied pressure to all the right points, gave lots of encouragement, lovingly and patiently helped mom through every stage of labor and delivery. Most exciting of all, he caught Phoenix as he entered this world! Daddy then cut the cord, weighed, measured, finger- and foot-printed the baby, took his temperature, bathed him, etc. No wonder he fell asleep around 7:30pm and didn't wake up til the next morning -- he must have been exhausted!

(Yes, you may have sensed a small grain of sarcasm there, but in all honesty

Frank was AMAZING!!

and, he didn't have all the hormones flowing through his veins and boosting his energy.)

Big sister, Lily, is in love with her new brother.

For months, she would wake up in the middle of the night to ask me, "is it May yet?" (knowing he was due in May); then the question became,

"ISN'T it May? Then why isn't my baby brother out yet?"

(I, of course, was as perplexed as she was... )

Anyway, apparently the answer is because he wanted to share the same birth date as his big sister (AND his maternal cousin); is it just me or is that a little unbelievable!?!?!

Lily, my mama's girl, looked straight at me as she entered the hospital room and then ran PAST me to her daddy (who was holding the baby) and said,

"MY BABY BROTHER!"

She is a natural. She loves holding him, kissing him, talking to him. I think that secretly she wants to take over the show and I am beginning to think that she might be capable of handling it. Lily has been surprisingly, wonderfully patient with her recovering mom, her rough-and-tumble teasing dad, and a sleepy, hungry baby. She has an upbeat nature. Most of the noise generated in this house is from her singing and dancing happily --

and THAT's another small and simple thing!

Aren't they great!?

Quote Boards

2008-09-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about starting a quote board in my house. My roommates and I used to have one in college and it was SO fun to keep track of all the funny things that are randomly said throughout the day. My favorite quote in college (and I still use it from time to time, but no one here gets it 'cause they weren't my college roommates): "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening...I was thinking about France." -- Becky Hardt, Roomie Roadtrip to Vegas

Here's what I would post on my quote board today:
"Daddy, you mowed down all the dandelions -- Say 'sorry'" --Lily to Frank
AND
"No running around naked until you can learn how to not fall down!" -- Frank to Lily

I am laughing so hard I could hardly type that last one; you can only imagine how THAT quote came to be.
If my sweet Lily were a super-hero, she would be dat-da-da-DAH....NAKED BABY!!!
She LOVES to runs around the house in her birthday suit, laughing and yelling, "NAKED BABY!," over and over again! It is hilarious, but also a bit exhausting when I really just want the kid in bed so I can have dat-da-da-DAH...MOMMY TIME!

Anyway, so I guess this is how my blog will begin -- with the small and simple things. I know that only through them will great things come to pass!