Mani Pedi please

Tomorrow my big girl turns 3.  I have been promising her for months that when she turned 3 I would take her to the nail salon.  So we headed out to the nail salon today for her very first mani pedi adventure (even though mom has been giving them to her since she was 2).  I took her to Toes on Melrose since they have special butterfly chairs in their "lil toes on melrose" section of the salon.

I thought she would be so excited during the spa experience, but true to form she did her own thing.  She quietly sat there in her butterfly chair, gazing around to take in the experience.  She hardly said two words and  looked confused as the women spoke a Vietnamese dialect she could not understand.   However, she sat still, paid attention to directions, and picked out a beautiful bright pink polish that was perfect for her skin tone (I was so proud!).  Laney and I ended up with matching flowers on our toes and she has proudly pointed that out over and over to the window washer who visited our home this afternoon.  I think he couldn't wait to climb the ladder to wash the second story windows after being shown her toes for the eleventh time... thank heaven for little girls!

Although I certainly am not the first mom to treat her small child to a mani pedi, I was surprised at how busy those butterfly chairs were on a Friday morning.  $48 can buy you 20 polished toes, 10 polished fingers, extra massage, scrub, and callous removal, but it actually buys a lot more.  Going to get your nails done with the girls is a rite of passage in these parts.  It is one of the quintessential ways that women gather together, gossip, and catch up.  It is a refuge for women that few men ever dare to enter.  I loved introducing this special experience to Laney today, and I foresee many more trips together for a little girl time and some r and r with my buggy!

I have quizzed Laney about this morning's experience and here is what she has to say:  "They do one color and then they do 5 colors.  Then they spray you.  Then they dry the colors and they put your feet in the water.  It felt good.  They paint sparkle hearts and flowers on me.  I want to go back and we do paint my nails again."

Beans and Rice

Liam ate his first rice and beans last night at Fidels!  He ate most of the melted cheese and guacamole from our appetizer as well, preferring it to his jar of baby food.  Guess that's one restaurant where we don't have to pack anything for Liam to eat!  I have a feeling we're going to be eating a lot of Mexican food......

Garden Bounty

The spoils of our labor.

Today was a day of harvest.  Laney, Liam, Shesh, and I went to check on our organic vegetable garden after lunch and were pleasantly surprised to find so much to pick from our plants.  We found that we had loads of snow peas, green beans, and blackberries to be picked.  Our very first summer squash was ready to be plucked from its vine.

The first summer squash from our vines.  Laney promised to try a bite of it (steamed and with butter and  parmesan cheese of course)

Laney also found a few strawberries to pick, as well as some mint plants (not sure what to make for her with mint!?!)  She also harvested some oranges from the orchard so we can squeeze her some juice in the morning.

Our corn stalks are about 2 feet tall, the pumpkin vines are spreading and have small green buds that promise to grow into nice orange beauties, and our tomato plants have gone crazy!  Seriously, I am going to start searching the internet for instructions on how to can homemade tomato sauce.

Liam snagged a blackberry from the basket and began an impromptu epicurean adventure with berries.

Still deciding if he likes that blackberry.

There is something so peaceful and rewarding about kneeling in the dirt and harvesting produce.  At one time in my life I was not a lover of gardening.  Now that my kids can play in our yard, I have really enjoyed transforming it into a peaceful idyllic "secret garden" of sorts.  Spending time outdoors with the kids is very relaxing and special to me.  The love of gardening is an amazing gift to give your children. Laney loves picking snails off the bushes, digging holes for plants, pulling weeds, and watering.  She begs to go outside daily to use the hose in our backyard.  I am hoping that growing her own vegetables will help her want to eat them.  Right now she seems to shun anything green that crosses her plate.  I can't wait until tomorrow when we put our aprons on and cook up something yummy with our well-deserved treats!

Lovey Love

It's no secret that my kids are addicted to their loveys.  Laney's lovey devotion is so notorious that Liam has ended up with no fewer than 11 of them to love on.  Laney herself has 4 that she cuddles with, but her exclusive favorites are Doggy Lovey and Pillow (also known in our house as Plovey since they travel together).

Plovey goes in the car, but has to stay in the car to take naps while we shop.  Plovey goes to bed and cuddles with Laney and can only be left at home on the rare occasion.  Don't worry, if Plovey stays home then Bunny Lovey, Elephant Lovey, or Ella (2 separate elephant loveys) get called up from the minors to pitch the big game.

Liam has become really attached to his loveys (currently with yellow froggy, blue monkey, blue doggy and others in heavy rotation) too.  He gets to cuddle them at naptime and bedtime.  In fact, you can accurately predict whether puttting him down for nap will be successful by how he greets the lovey in his room.  If he pushes it away, you are in for a fight.  But if he breaks into smile, you can guarantee that he will gather it to his face and gleefully begin to chew on a lovey limb or ear as you tuck him into his bed.  The cutest reaction by far is late at night during his dream feed.  I feed him a bottle then gently put him back in his crib and tuck a lovey into his arms.  He smiles in his sleep as he gathers that lovey back to him.

Thank God for loveys and security blanket/pillows.  We all had them.  Everyone I have met had a special toy that they cuddled until it fell apart.  Mine was a pillow called "dees".  It is now in tattered shreds but I can still recall the feeling of the ruffle gathered in my hand as I sucked my thumb and comforted myself.  Patrick had a special blanket, my sister dragged "bankie boy" around with her.  I can't wait to see what Plovey and others look like 30 years from now as my children tuck their own kids and loveys into bed.

My handsome little man

7 months and Liam already loves the ladies!  Such a flirt.  He flashes his megawatt smile at women everywhere we go.  Can't wait to see him in action as a teenager...

Make a cow face

Laney and I had a girls day out not long ago.  We went to Sea World on a preschool field trip and then to Panera for lunch (Laney's favorite lunch spot).  While we were there she announced to me that she was making a face just like the cow on her milk.  I had to capture the moment!   Thank goodness for cell phone cameras :)

Long days

Today was one of those days where I felt like I ran a marathon inside my home.  Seriously, I think I might have met my 10,000 step goal without even hitting the gym.  Every time Liam fell asleep, Laney woke up and vice versa.  I never got more than 2 minutes to myself today.  Then Patrick had to work late so my day job turned into a double shift.  Somehow, I manged to make lunch and dinner for the three of us, and even bathed the children tonight.  These are the kind of days that no one tells you about when you mention you are thinking of having kids.  If you knew about these days and the overabundance of them, well, having kids may not seem as appealing.  Even still, I got a chance to have some one on one time with each of my kids and I know that made them both feel special!

I will now sit down with some knitting needles and my brand new iPod (thanks mom!) Nano for some R and R.  This thing is so small and it still blows my mind that ALL of my music fits on it.  

I still remember my college days of flipping through CD collections housed in giant black Case Logic notebooks, making mix tapes for long drives, and having to lug my collection back and forth from my car.  Now I can just clip that entire collection to my arm band and away I go.  Can't wait to try it out at the gym tomorrow.  That is, if my kids will actually allow me to leave the house...