sink or swim

Pea is starting her second round of swim lessons before the BIG Kahuna; i.e. our massive Hawaii trip in June. We received her certification award from her last go-round explaining that she has, "made a break through with submersion," and that she should be more and more comfortable in the water now. I can totally see this and it's encouraging. She still is hesitant; she won't jump in the water etc.
But when it comes to water safety: all those hang-ups are just fine by mama.
Some new wrinkles with this session...Kyla moved up to a higher level and we have a new, shall we say, stricter coach. However, it could definitely be a good thing in the long run! Here she is in Grandma's pool practicing...I heart her.

phrase game

Our weekend in phrases:
5:45 AM wake-up calls
Coffee
ipad coloring
Mr. B making paleo muffins
kitchen mess
dancing
Aunt Chandler
Pike's Place
Flowers
party planning
party throwing
Happy Birthday Andi
cake pops
Seattle
Kat & Tay
Whole Foods
baths
bed.

Ahh, the good life.

Preschool.

Today our first year of preschool officially ended!
It has been a wonderful experience for Pea and we are already looking forward to next year's Pre-K (yes, you read that right) class where she'll be going three days a week in the afternoons still with Heidi, of course. For a picture I thought I'd show off her FIRST official report card. All pluses!

Pearson,
May we request similar report cards for the next 14 school years?
;)
We are proud of you, Pea!
xoxo,
Momi & Daddy
Pea on her last day of preschool:

Single Mom

This week Tyler was in AZ soaking up some rays and the girls and I had some quality time together.
On Wed we ran errands and played together watched Tangled AGAIN. On Thursday we had swim lessons & and a girls night out to celebrate Rocco at Taryn's sprinkle (where there were complimentary nail techs! so fun!).

Yesterday we were out of the house ALL day walking. No joke! Green Lake and lunch with Kat & kBritt and then an epic walk from my house to Andi's which includes a HUGE butt-kicking hill to play outside! Love H's face and Kyla's pose in the background:

Shout out to my resident photog, Andrea!

Confessions

I have been going to the QFC in Maple Valley because they still have left over cadbury eggs for 22 cents a piece. (sometimes after crossfit; which after I post this I'll have to stop doing...)
I used a red magic marker to "stain" my lips the other day.
On a related make-up note I am still using an eye shadow base from my wedding...almost 6 years ago.
I just bought a floral shower cap at the dollar store after Ty complained I didn't shower after working out.
After a public blow out I put Harper is a size 3-6 months pant and pretended they were shorts.
Harper has been getting up at 5:45 AM every day for two weeks. I DVR Murder She Wrote to watch at 6 AM.
PINK annoys me to no end. Lady, I hate to break it to you, but your in your 30's now.
On a related song note, doesn't Tubthumper make you want to stick a pair of tweezers directly in your eye?
On a related tweezer note; I have been neglecting my eyebrows something fierce. We changed light bulbs in our bathroom and the stray hairs actually laughed in my face.
C89.5... Need I elaborate?
Tomorrow I'm trying to spray tan myself (I'll post an update if it goes horribly wrong.)
And lastly, I have writer's block.

Tax Exempt

Each year we take out my sister-in-law who does our taxes and it is such a fun tradition because...
1. Ty is always dying to try out new places to eat; he's definitely a foodie. We've all learned to trust his research. And, of course what do all moms want on Mother's Day or any day of the week:
2. No kids, no crying, and drinks a-plenty!
Last year, we went to the exact same street, but this year: La Spiga. Delish!
In her blog post, Andrea mentions how awkward it is to ask some random stranger to take a group photo; she's right and may I add possibly dangerous on Capitol Hill so for that reason we took these shots:

Baker's Man

On Saturday we had a Paleo baking session where we made Caveman Carrot Cookies, which we decided were actually more like muffin tops. They were nutritious and delicious! Recipe below...
Ingredients:
2 Cups Mini Carrots
2 Cups Almonds
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Tsp Nutmeg
2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tsp Coconut Oil
3 Eggs
Process:
Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees F
Combine all of your ingredients EXCEPT your eggs in a food processor, pulse it until all the pieces are small but still a little chunky
Combine that mixture with the eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix well
Using your hands, form the mixture into "patties" and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. The size of the "patties" are up to you, or you could make the into bars
Bake until done, around 35-40 Minutes

Enjoy.

Story Hour

Any "Story Hour" title will now be for...

Fishing For Pennies

Part 2:

Bird Dive Mansion was its name. Not formally, of course. It had earned the reputation of being infested with crows, which swooped at the slightest provocation or with no provocation at all. The title, “mansion” was at the very least a stretching term; “dive” was decidedly more accurate. In reality, it was a rather old, once grand Southern farmhouse on the edge of town. Recently converted by Fae’s former protégée Madge, it was considered the ideal final destination of the rather old, once grand residents of Atlanta. Not only was Madge was a marvelous cook of the standard Southern tradition, but she had the good sense to leave well-enough alone. To Fae’s consideration; a dying art form which she openly grieved. Madge knew Fae from the time she was small; knew the majority of her residents for a lifetime and treated them with the respect and care that only a family member would.
Romi and Frankie never worried about Fae living there. Firstly because she was notoriously as tough as burnt turkey and had an established history of outspoken opinions. Furthermore, her closest friend in the world Beau lived at Bird Dive Mansion in the room adjacent to her own. Frankie secretly thought Fae would have sooner married Beau than any other man in the world though Beau often preferred the same men Fae did. Considering all this, Romi and Frankie came to see her every so often; however, lately their visits had become more and more frequent. Fae was nearing the end of her life and their only real worry was never finding out the whole truth. Until recently it had seemed Fae either did not care or that it was too painful for her to discuss. It was, after all, a completely different generation.
“Well, don’t just stand there gaping at me! Close your mouths and sit, sit, sit.” Her eyes and fire red hair ablaze in the sunlight. Lord, it was hot in the dead of July. Georgia could be hotter than the seventh circle of Hell at this time of year.
She hesitated. Then said, “I will tell you what I know, but I warn you both: it’s not much though granted it will be more than you have heard before.”
Frankie and Romi could not believe what they were hearing. Was this actually happening? They had waited what seemed like an eternity to hear details concerning their maternal grandmother’s adoption. With their own mother’s passing and absolutely nothing to go on, they had asked Fae repeatedly to tell them at least something. In some small way, maybe it would give them a piece of their own mother back.
Or maybe it was more than that. Romi and Frankie waited with baited breath.