First Aid

Because I was cheap and got a stuffed animal at the grocery store for Charlie's Easter basket, I now find myself sewing up the private parts of a blue bunny.

Wine Tasting

Last night Shawn and I had gotten invited to a wine tasting downtown. Shawn was really not looking forward to going, because he was looking at it as more of a networking event than anything else. In the end it ended up being a really fun night.

The wine tasting took place on top of the Clarendon Hotel. I had never heard of this hotel, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a small funky place with lots of charm.  The best part was the waterfall wall by the pool, and the rooftop patio. I am such a sucker for a rooftop patio, it is not even funny.  The decor was rustic with square picnic tables, long benches, and views of Phoenix I had never seen before.

We sat with 5 other people and became fast friends. Although we came from all walks of life, we had a ton in common and got along great.

The actual wine tasting was fun too. The hosts were very informative and told us about each wine from Italy in great detail.

I didn't get too many pictures because, frankly I had never met these people and I find that I have to ease people into the fact that I take pictures of everything. (For example, it took a lot of personal control not to take a picture of the gorgeous green olives in the green Fiestaware bowl. The light was perfect.) However, I did sneak some pictures when we first got there of the view from the rooftop.

Weekly Walk to The Grocery Store

In my family, if you want some company grocery shopping, there better be a donut at the end of it. 

The Things We Do For Our Children

Charlie hates getting his nails cut. The whole process involves a lot of screaming, crying and squirming.  Even though I always try to cut his nails after his bath/shower he would still scream. I thought maybe psychologically, he would be more open to it if I made a big production out of softening his nails. And that is how we came to this point:

Raising A Son

Last night I walked into the room with a new dress on and AJ says nothing. So I decide to give him a little crap. 

Me AJ- when a woman walks into a room with a new dress on, tell her she looks nice. 
AJ (giving me his "whatever" look)
Me: I'm never having grandchildren, am I?
AJ: (Laughing) Probably not.

At Least Someone Appreciates The Garden

This is what I mean about Charlie being a healthy eater. This smoothie is of his own creation: Strawberries, raspberries, oranges, banana and spinach (from the garden). He then made me record a video of him saying "Now that's fresh!", unprompted. 

(Maternity test pending.)

Self Portrait

BBQ

Our friends Jen and Richie had a BBQ last night. Right before I got there, their 4 year old announced that the "chickens were on fire". He wasn't kidding. Richie was able to put out the fire (that had spread to their umbrella) with a hose. It was very lucky because there was a tree nearby that would have gone up in flames very quickly. 

Here is a picture of the charred chickens. They were actually delicious. 

Brittney and Maya having a deep conversation. 

AJ leading all the kids up to the playroom.

Jen has this cute kids' table in her kitchen. It is perfect for get togethers like this.

We had a fun time and the kids a blast running around. 

Before You Get All Judge-y. . .

about me giving him cotton candy, he took two bites and was done.  He is the healthiest eater I know and will choose a cup of fruit over fries every time.  Freak.

This is The Way to Spend a Saturday

Founders Day

One of the reasons I love living in our neighborhood is the yearly Founders Day celebration. The big event is the concert. This year we had Steven Page (from BareNaked Ladies) performed. He was really good and everyone had a great time. 

There was a variety show, bouncy houses, and food venders. One family had this huge bounce house on their lawn. They live in the center of town (literally), so they opened it up to all the kids for a bit. Charlie had a blast. He also met a friend from school there. 

Charlie's daycare had a booth there where the kids got to use glow in the dark chalk to make a picture.

Here is a self portrait of me and my date for the night. Shawn was playing soccer and AJ had dumped us for his friends.

This is Nicole is the director of Charlie's daycare. She just had her first baby.

There was another bounce house at the other end of the event. In this one, you stood on these inflatable cylinders and threw a huge ball back and forth. We stood in line for a very long time, but Charlie liked it.

After the concert, we went to my friend Jen's house and had dessert and appetizers. It was fun, except for one snafu. Her husband, Richie is a die-hard Michigan fan. He had to work, so he had recorded the Michigan game. The DVR stopped recording the game when there was 45 seconds left in the game. He was not happy.

I had made cheese-filled olive balls, but they didn't really turn out well. After making these things for 20 years, I thought I could eyeball the ingredients. It turns out I can't.  So, I made another appetizer that I just sort of created with things I had. It was actually chalk full of vegetables and the kids loved them. Charlie has named them Rollies.

Rollies

1 package of cream cheese

2 cups of fresh spinach

1/2 can of diced tomatoes, drained (I think fresh tomatoes would be even better.)

1 cup mozz. cheese

1 heaping tablespoon of garlic 

1 can of Pillsbury crescent sheet

In food processor, chop up the spinach and then add everything else until you get a paste. Spread the paste onto the sheet. Roll the sheet up so that it is rolled the long way. Slice the roll and bake at 375 degrees for about 13 minutes. 

Brother Bonding Time

Then our friends came out to play too, and AJ climbed some trees with Lily. I think I have mentioned before that Lily starts most conversations by announcing she is going to marry AJ. Today was no exception. AJ, to his credit, takes it all in stride.

Sunrise

Quote of The Day

Mrs. D, this bug just fell out of my hair. 

Yes, it's what you think.

Procrastination

This is the type of shenanigans I get into during a day off. Instead of doing the million and one things I am suppose to be doing, I walk by the cat sitting on the tub in the bathroom and take a picture because I like the light coming in through the window.

I may take the Christmas pictures here next year.