Too good not to share

Tonight #2 prayed, "That the salami won't get the people in Japan."



I love that toothless boy.

It was "crazy day" at school

My newest vice

Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. I thought I was biting into a peanut M&M, because that's what it looks like. But instead of waxy chocolate and a nut, my taste buds were most pleasantly surprised by smooth, creamy, Reese's peanut buttery goodness. I ate another. And another.

I love you Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. Even though you are going to make me fat. (Fatter).

You may have overtaken Peeps as my number one favorite Easter treat.

In no particular order, the details of my life

Joe and Spot have gone onto greener pastures. Or maybe it's bluer waters? #1 took it hard. She was especially disgusted by the funeral arrangements I insisted on. I should have been more sensitive about the deep attachment #1 must have made with those fish in the 6 long days they were with us. They were practically family!



I accidentally killed about twenty of my precious tomatoes. Now this is a real reason to mourn! I was trying to turn a branch back so it would grow under the wire cone and SNAP! In shock I looked down at the severed branch and started counting all the tomatoes....19. All 19 cherry tomato lives flashed before my eyes. I could taste their sweetness and feel the fresh burst of juice as I bit into them. Their whole future, gone in a careless instant! Curses.



On the way to the bus stop this morning #3 asked Jimmy to hold her hand. He looked back at me and I nodded so he sweetly took her hand and they walked the rest of the way to the bus stop hand in hand. She didn't stop talking to him even as he waved to his own daughter getting on the bus. He laughed at all the right spots and encouraged her by asking her more questions. On our way back home, after an exaggerated farewell to Jimmy, #3 gave a big sigh and said contentedly, "Jimmy keeps getting gooder and gooder."




On the way home from baseball practice yesterday #2 pronounced, "Girls don't go to college. College is only for boys."

"Well, that's not true #2," I answered. "Lots of girls go to college. There's a girl in this car who went to college. That's right, it's me. And your Grandma J went to college and your Nana went to college. Dr. Stevenson who you saw today went to college. We are all girls and we all went to college."

It was too much for #1. She had to get in on this. In her best, I-know-more-than-you-do voice she explained to #2, "You have to go to college to get a job."

My turn, "Well, not exactly. There are lots of jobs you can do without going to college. But most jobs you would be interested doing require you to go to at least some college. For some jobs you have to go to lots and lots of college. Can you guess which jobs require the most college?"

#1 rolled her eyes like I had asked the dumbest question in the world. And just to show how smart she is she clicked these answers out in her best expert voice:

a teacher
a pilot
a lifeguard


So glad she's got it all figured out.

All the Little Live Things - my desert garden update

Do you remember my fall garden? How much basil it produced? Well, I'm at it again. My second attempt to coax life out of our acidic desert soil. I planted more basil and green onions and I'm trying cucumbers and tomatoes for the first time.

Here are the beginnings of my very first tomatoes!! Aren't they beautiful? They'll be even more beautiful when they're big and red and chopped up into salsa. Or tomato sauce. Or sliced onto my pizza.... I can't wait!


I'm also growing this girl. She is almost as excited for our "potatoes" as I am! She has been my little garden pal. Helping me water and always begging to plant more seeds. Today I acquiesced and let her dump a packet of zinnnias around the corner of our plot. (I hear they do well here?)


Another thing growing is this lovely girl:

A few days ago she made reference to the bible story of the "minnows mite" and how even though she only had a little to give it was more than the rich priests.

Then on Friday night she won a goldfish at the school carnival. She was so excited I didn't have the heart to burst her bubble, because there was no way we were bringing that fish home. We are a pet free home! I whispered as much to Spouse. "We've got to get rid of this thing before we leave tonight."

I left the family to retrieve the jeep which I had had to park a few blocks away. When I pulled up to the pick up curb you can imagine my horror at finding #1 carrying not one goldfish bag, but TWO goldfish bags.

As she climbed into the jeep she chattered excitedly about the nice lady who told Daddy to take her son's fish because there was no way she was bringing home.

And that is how our family acquired our first pet(s). {Unless you count the cricket we captured and held hostage for a week before it almost died and I let it go while the kids were at school because I felt bad for it.}

Meet Joe and Spot.

Fish food is horrible. It smells like dead bodies.




Here is something else growing at our house.


The above picture was taken Friday. The below picture was taken this afternoon. Can you spot the difference?


Yup. He is changing too fast.

Shamrock Farms

Shamrock Farms is everything a dairy farm should be: clean, fun for kids, and open for public tours. I mean, whoever has a dairy farm and doesn't design it with a giant tub of cottage cheese with a slide inside is just crazy. You know that dairy farm you just heard about that went out of business? It was because they didn't have a black and white spotted tram. Shamrock Farms has a tram. And that's why they are still in business.

If you never thought that learning about cows and milk and stuff was fun, then you need to go to Shamrock Farms. Did you know that ultra-pasteurized milk can stay fresh for up to 90 days? Did you know that a cow has four stomachs? Did you know... well, I'd better not tell you anymore. I don't want to ruin your trip to Shamrock Farms.

Besides all this fun stuff you see in my pictures, there are actual cows at Shamrock Farms. We all got to put on gloves to feed and pet some baby cows.

The best part of Shamrock Farms is that after your informative and fun tour, you get to buy fresh ice cream. It isn't an option not to buy the ice cream because after everything you've learned about cows and milk and stuff you are temporarily convinced that anything with milk in is the most healthy, nourishing thing in the world! And besides, you've got three kids with you and they aren't going anywhere without their Shamrock Farms ice-cream cones. Good thing they're only $1.50.

If you can time it right, it is really special to go to Shamrock Farms on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day! Because, you know, St. Patrick's day is all about shamrocks and stuff. And then you are at Shamrock Farms on a day all about shamrocks. The significance of March 17th does not go unnoticed at Shamrock Farms, oh no! All the employees are dressed like Leprechauns and they give away green foiled chocolate coins and free mint chocolate chip ice-cream. Your kids will think you are a really fun mom for planning something so awesome for St. Patrick's day, even if you didn't realize it when you booked the tour.

If the farm tour doesn't satisfy you, don't complain to me. It's not my fault that you hate cows and milk. If for no other reason you should go to Shamrock Farms so your 8 year old can make smart observations like, "That would be so weird to live with your friends and not your family." And ask you pointed questions like, "Do cows have periods?"

See? You've got nothing to lose. See ya at the farm!

#2 getting his finger "milked"

someone needs to teach #1 how to properly wear sunglasses

Rollin' by the River

This week we celebrated Spring with a break. One day we talked some friends into visiting the river called Salt. Actually it's fresh water and I'm unclear why it's known as the Salt River. The river's current is presently low, leaving plenty of rocky banks to explore and shallow depths for the smallest of friends to safely wade into.

A picnic lunch was packed, sunscreen applied and a morning of fun was had by all. A blue-clawed crawdad may or may not have been caught by a member of our party. At least one of the children unintentionally submerged himself multiple times. If you guessed that it was Buster, you are correct.








#1 made sure to bring her camera. It was our first digital camera, heavy as a brick and the memory card holds a whopping 65 images.

Here are some of the images I found when I uploaded her memory card (along with about 20 pictures from almost 2 years ago):

"What's your 10-4 good buddy? Over and out."



The classic picture-of-yourself-taking-a-picture theme, dirty side-view mirror style.



(This is not Buster, in case you were wondering)

Hold onto your seats. More spring break updates to come....

Beware the Ides of March; or in this case, Celebrate!

Something spooky is going on around here. I suspect the handiwork of a leprechaun or the ominous closeness of the Ides of March.

#3 is not a Mama's girl. She loves playing with friends and her siblings. But when she is without company she has always seemed to have zero desire to entertain herself. She becomes stuck to me like white on rice. If I'm cooking, she is sitting on the counter with me. If I'm reading, she's in my lap. If I'm on the computer she is trying to hold my hand. If she's playing Barbies, she does it sitting in my lap. When she wants to color, she wants my hand on the top of her crayon holding hand.

It is very sweet. But also can be annoying. It's a good thing she's my daughter and I love her. And it certainly helps that she's adorable.

But I'm not used to this sort of dependence. #1 and #2 are and have always been excellent independent players. I've been frustrated trying to foster independent play in #3.

Before the earthquake hit Japan (poor Japan :( ) the seizmic shifts rocked our little domestic boat. Something new and strange: #3 played independently, without guidance, without suggestion, without me all day! From time to time she asked for a drink or for help getting something down but then she'd shoo me from her room. All day.

It was a wonderful, happy day. For everyone. Thank you Leprechauns. Thank you Julius Caesar for being murdered on the Ides of March, allowing the day to be forever haunted and make strange things happen in my house.

ps Despite my flippant reference to the tragedy in Japan I am truly despairing for the loss and havoc the Japanese are experiencing.