The Domestic Adventures of Mr. & Mrs. Pike

working on resolutions

2012-01-30T19:50:00.003-06:00

i really was excited for 2012 to begin. a new year. a new start to new behavior. on a long ride back from virginia on new year's day, mr. pike and i created five areas in our life and set goals for us individually and as a family.

yet, as january comes to a close, the kids -- little girl and baby boy -- are well on their way to accomplishing their resolutions. while mr. pike and i are struggling to even get started on most of ours.

little girl is successfully wearing underwear. (hooray!) and little boy is on his way to walking. he's already pulling up on everything and taking steps when you hold his hands. (and if you ask me, it's too early to be starting all this.)

now mr. pike and i are just trying to get the hang of one goal in particular -- early to bed, early to rise. we can count the number of times on one finger we've made it. pretty impressive, huh? but february's going to be the month.

we'll leave the overachieving to the kids. (we get some credit for their success, right?)

let it snow!

2012-01-24T17:16:00.000-06:00

little girl was so excited when we had our first snow. unfortunately, it was bitter cold, and i didn't want to get out. but, when it started snowing a second time, i took the kids out for a quick play.

i showed little girl how to make a snow angel. she looked at me and asked, "how do you make a wiseman?"

baby boy was so happy to be out -- he took a crawl in the snow and didn't mind when he took a face-full of snow!

four haircuts and counting

2012-01-23T16:25:00.003-06:00

baby boy has no lack of hair, and volume. i feel like it grows an inch every time he breathes. at eight months, he's had four haircuts. and number five is on its way.

for his fourth cut, i pulled out mr. pike's clippers. it was time to get down to business -- which could be disaster with a wiggly, little baby. fortunately, baby boy has nothing to be embarrassed about. (this time, at least.)

third haircut

fourth haircut

crawling along

2012-01-20T21:30:00.000-06:00

baby boy's on the move -- he's training for a covert op.

happy birthday two times over

2012-01-17T20:56:00.000-06:00

we've been a little MIA the past few months -- so, you didn't get to see baby boy's 7-month birthday. and now he's eight months old.

baby boy's got eight teeth. had four haircuts. loves all food. and is getting all around. as you can see from the grin, he's such a happy boy.

ride 'em, cowboy

2012-01-16T21:16:00.002-06:00

our cousins gave little girl and baby boy a cow for christmas. it's so fun to ride, little girl doesn't give it up much.

it's pure joy! can't you tell.

another song by little girl

2011-11-18T14:05:00.004-06:00

this is for dad dad. it's one of his favorites -- and i caught little girl singing it to baby boy today during lunch. i'm sure we'll one day get all the words, but until then, enjoy.

i am a child of god

2011-11-07T16:19:00.003-06:00

two is a great age. not to say it's a perfect age. because there are plenty of moments that i don't like it. but, i do love that little girl is getting things now. i'm amazed at how incredible her brain is working to figure things out. and because little girl's very verbal for her age, we get to hear about all these discoveries. i love it!

little girl also has a good memory for a two-year-old. (could it be all those frozen blueberries she loved to eat as a baby?) she will recount things that happened months ago. she's been memorizing letters, stories, nursery rhymes, and songs.

but despite her outgoing personality, little girl isn't a performer. so, i have to secretly capture these moments. here's little girl singing one of her favorite songs. the message of the song is so pure coming from her sweet voice

and yes, little girl is reading the u.s. constitution. it's one of her favorite books. (that and a cupcake cookbook.) uncle j. will be so proud!

friends

2011-11-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

i love listening to my kids laugh. baby boy loves laughing. i haven't know a baby before who laughs as much as him. and little girl is especially good at doing things that make her brother laugh. so we tend to have the giggles a lot around here.

i was so happy to see that mr. pike caught this moment. two happy kids. two happy parents.

and it's six months . . .

2011-11-06T10:19:00.000-06:00

happy, happy birthday, baby boy. six months. can you believe it?

we made apple cider doughnuts to celebrate. and mr. pike did baby boy's hair.

our little cowboys

2011-11-05T21:51:00.008-05:00

here are some shots from halloween -- all of our cowboys (mr. pike included).

baby boy and his sampson locks

2011-11-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

baby boy has grown the most amazing wavy locks. i loved them. mr. pike and i debated whether we should cut his hair again. we'd already taken care of the mullet. but, we were worried others might start mistaking him for a girl.

so, mr. pike and his cousin, mr. briggs, decided to give baby boy a little trim. as you can tell in the before photo on the left, baby boy didn't know what was about to hit him -- all those sweet curls trimmed away. it's a good thing he's so good natured. and good looking. he really can sport any look. (even the look where we have to part his hari on the other side because one spot was cut a little shorter than the rest.)

happy halloween!

2011-10-31T15:46:00.004-05:00

trick-o-treat! this weekend we preped for today's festivities by carving a jack-o-lantern. we each took turns designing one of its features -- well, everyone except baby boy. then mr. pike did the carving. it's a jolly, spooky pumpkin.

for weeks, little girl has been telling everyone that she's going to be a cowboy. i drove to the city last week to buy her some boots. i went to four different stores looking for a hat. and i burned the midnight oil saturday finishing a red-checked shirt and pleather vest. (i want a pleather vest now, too.)

then this morning, as we got ready for our halloween party, she didn't want to dress up. when our friends started showing up for the festivities, a friend asked her if she was a princess (because little girl had on a tulle skirt on). and little girl said, "no. i a girl."

so, if i'm lucky, little girl will wear her costume tonight and we'll take some pictures to share.

happy HALLOWEEN!

sunday walks

2011-10-20T12:42:00.002-05:00

on sundays, we like taking family walks. last week we went to the lake. and it had been a long time since we had all been there together. i had forgotten how beautiful and calming it is there. time felt almost still, except for the setting sun.

there's something magical about the moonlight glistening across the water. and watching mr. pike and little girl skip rocks.

i love when we can slow life down for just a bit.

salted caramel chocolate shortbread

2011-10-18T00:30:00.003-05:00

yes, that's a pretty hefty name. think of it -- a soft, chewy layer of shortbread topped with rich, creamy caramel. then add a layer of chocolate. and if it couldn't get any better, sprinkle it all with a little sea salt.

i made these for a good friend's baby shower. and mr. pike was worried i wouldn't leave any for him. but this recipe made more than enough for the party and for the both of us to enjoy for days after.

it is like heaven. it is that good. try it.

i found this annie-eats recipe on pinterest. you can find it here or here.

do any of you out there pin, too? it's my new love. what a great way to organize all the ideas/recipes/inspiration that can be found on this world wide web!

you should try it out if you haven't, along with these bars. they are worth the effort, every bite.

mother goose

2011-10-16T10:42:00.003-05:00

mother goose is alive and well at our house. little girl has learned several rhymes and loves to share them to mr. pike and me or to nobody at all. i caught her giving a recitation of a few of her favorites. (please forgive the unfolded laundry on the couch.)

the fifth month

2011-10-14T10:37:00.003-05:00

someone turned five months old a few weeks ago. and baby boy thinks five months is great!

he can roll from back to front to back. and he's also developed a taste for baby oatmeal and some solids. (squash and sweet potatoes are a few of his favorites.)

happy birthday, baby boy!

stewed rhubarb revisited

2011-10-02T21:51:00.004-05:00

my grandmother had a huge garden with several rows of rhubarb. at one summer reunion, she made a huge pickle jar filled with stewed rhubarb. since most of the meals were buffet-style, i was able to skip a helping of it whenever it came out.

that year, it happened that my sister, mrs. wright, and i stayed with my grandma a few weeks after the reunion. the pickle jar was still half full of stewed rhubarb, and grandma would serve us up a helping at almost every meal. mrs. wright and I couldn't wait for that jar to empty. the rhubarb was mushy and tart - not our favorite food. but we were taught you eat what you're given and you don't complain to your grandma. so we ate it. and after a few days, we finished the last of it off for breakfast. (hooray!)

mrs. wright and i went to the library latest tha morning, and when we returned, grandma had more rhubarb cooking down in a huge pot on the stove. I wish then that I knew the rhubarb bread recipe that I make now; it's a delicious use of rhubarb. mostly because you use plenty of sugar and butter.

we continued to stewed rhubarb the rest of our two-week stay. and you know why? because grandma thought we liked it. of course, we continued to let her think that why we were with her, then complained to our parents about it after the fact. now it's one of those inside family jokes.

the really funny thing is that this summer when i got more than my fair share of rhubarb from my csa farm (and I had already made my bread recipe twice, strawberry rhubarb jam, and rhubarb pie), I kept thinking about grandma's stewed rhubarb but these days it's called rhubarb compote. sounds fancy. it's not really.

simple bites has a really good article on uses for rhubarb compote. I made their version enfaced with orange and ate it on oatmeal. it was delicious. grandma would be proud.

bye bye mullet

2011-09-21T14:17:00.004-05:00

BEFORE

baby boy has always had a lot of hair. and it's just kept growing and growing . . . into a mullet.

AFTER

all nice and trim -- no more party in the back. but we did leave some length on the sides still and didn't touch the top. so, there are sure to be many more haircuts in store.

your favorite thing

2011-09-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

tonight we had a bunch of little girl's favorite things to eat. broccoli, sweet potatoes, rolls, bacon.

i asked her what was her favorite thing at dinner. she replied, "bacon." that's my girl. and my genes.

a new dress

2011-09-15T21:55:00.000-05:00

little girl got a beautiful new dress from my very talented cousin. i love the whimsical fabric -- forest animals roaming flower patches and woodlands.

i love the details that ms. j added -- a peter pan collar with hand embroidery, orange gingham lining, orange buttons, and cuffed sleeves.

thank you, ms. j. it is perfect!

ps-baby boy loves his little romper.

from little girl

2011-09-14T21:16:00.005-05:00

{little girl in her new favorite shark "jacket" towel, wearing it on a walk around the neighborhood.}

little girl has had some great moments lately, and i thought i should share some:

on the phone:

little girl likes to talk on the phone for real or pretend. the other day she was using my phone to talk. mr. pike said, "little girl, who are you talking to?"

little girl replied, "somebody." and then returned to her phone call where she said, "hello, somebody. what you do today?"

at the table:

mr. pike is very complimentary of my cooking. at almost every meal, he'll say how much he likes something or delicious it tastes. tonight he said to me, "this tastes delicious." then little girl chimed, "really delicious."

mr. pike said, "i think it's awesome." and little girl added, "really big awesome."

then mr. pike said, "this is so good." and little girl said, "this is so, so, really, really awesome good."

i thanked the two of them for such kind remarks and then we all gave high-twos to each other. (someone learned shortly after her birthday how to hold up two fingers and she really likes to show us two. so high-twos are our new favorite high-five.)

baby boy

2011-09-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

he's really trying to move.

a little belated

2011-09-12T21:40:00.003-05:00

but some little body turned 4 months old.

happy birthday!

fact

2011-09-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

do you want to laugh? have you seen this youtube video?

kid history, episodes 1-6 are hilarious. i can watch these over and over. and i have.

one lazy morning a few weeks ago, little girl and i watched the first five episodes together. (six wasn't out yet.) this was the only time little girl watched the videos.

then fast forward to today. little girl, baby boy, and i are driving down the road in silence, until little girl starts shouting, "faaaact" over and over. (see episode 4 for context.) what an amazing memory -- and what a perfect setting to recall this line.

i was giggling almost uncontrollably. (it's a good thing i kept some cool, or i could have been a driving hazard.) it was a wonderful moment.

baby boy's blessing

2011-08-24T20:07:00.002-05:00

at the beginning of the month, both mr. pike's and my parents came out to see us and be here for baby boy's blessing. in our church, babies aren't baptized but are given a blessing for their life.

mr. pike gave a beautiful blessing. some of the blessings given to baby boy include to have a generous heart; a keen sense of right and wrong; to be an honorable missionary, son, and father; and that his example and influence will help others.

i already feel and see some of those blessings in baby boy's character. he is a gentle and calm baby (unless he's starving!). he's not very old, but baby boy is so gracious to others by giving what he can right now -- lots of warm smiles, babbling, laughs. he's such a sweet boy.

on his blessing day, baby boy wore an outfit of dad dad's. it's amazing what a soak in oxiclean can do for a 70+ year-old baby romper.

tummy time

2011-08-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

little girl never liked tummy time as a baby. she learned to flip over onto her back pretty quickly -- and that ended tummy time for us.

baby boy doesn't love tummy time, but he doesn't complain about it either. but i'm sure it helps when you have some support. any time i put baby boy on his tummy, little girl says, "it's tummy time." and lays right next to him.

last night before bed, i put baby boy on his tummy. and little girl snuggled up to him and told me, "we do tummy time, mama." after a few minutes, she looked at me and said, "i done." and tummy time was over.

three months

2011-08-06T08:28:00.003-05:00

happy three month birthday, baby boy!

as we were about to sing "happy birthday," little girl blew out baby boy's candle. i told her it was baby boy's birthday and that we need to sing to him before blowing out his candle.

so we all sang. and then little girl patted baby boy's shoulder and said, "blow, baby." when baby boy didn't blow out the candle at the moment, she tried again, "blow. blow, baby."

i told her we'd count to three and she could blow with baby. one, two -- and little girl blew out the candle right before three. baby boy didn't have a chance, even if he could blow.

sleeping

2011-08-03T20:18:00.001-05:00

baby boy taking it easy. (look at those guns.)

he's three months this week.

strawberry picking

2011-08-02T22:01:00.005-05:00

strawberry season came late this year, but that didn't stop us from getting out to do a little picking a few weeks ago.

little girl loves strawberries -- and i thought little girl would love this family field trip. we gave her instructions to pick only the red strawberries and let her wander the fields, while mr. pike and i (with baby boy strapped to me) methodically picked through our row.

isn't little girl doing a good job?

somewhere along the route, little girl took off her shoes. against the better advice of her parents. and then somewhere after that, little girl stepped on a thistle. (a natural consequence of her choice -- which also should have taught her an important lesson, right?)

well, after some tears, little girl did decide to put her shoes back on. but she wouldn't walk the rest of the day. so, i carried baby boy and mr. pike carried little girl -- and then we finished picking strawberries.

someone thought they could still be of help.

a raffi tradition

2011-07-21T13:20:00.003-05:00

when i was five, i got my first casette tape -- a collection of raffi songs. one of which was baby beluga. i loved that tape and listened to it constantly.

i was only too excited when little girl received a copy of this book as a gift when she was born. what a flood of memories returned to me as i read through the illustrated version of this song.

we've been reading/singing this book to little girl for two years now, and she has it down pretty well. i caught a bit of her and mr. pike singing before bedtime. the raffi tradition continues . . . .

best friends

2011-07-19T08:09:00.001-05:00

i grew up in a home of friends. my mom wanted it that way. when we wanted to have friends over, mom would often tell us to play with our siblings. and while there have been ups and downs with those relationships (i.e. toliet papering my brother's room in revenge), it's wonderful to say and know that the six of us are all good friends.

when i was pregnant with baby boy, i prayed constantly that little girl and this new baby would be best friends. i knew it might not happen right at once, but i hoped this friendship would grow over time. and moments like these show me that their friendship is well on its way.

something to laugh about

2011-07-17T12:21:00.002-05:00

it was a lazy saturday around our house (for some of us). and instead of getting around to the laundry, baby boy had me in a mesmerising conversation. i just couldn't leave his sweet coos.

at some point, i must of said something funny (or maybe baby boy was laughing at his own joke), but baby boy could not stop laughing whenever i spoke. (there was no tickling involved to get this reaction, promise.) i caught a little of our exchange on video -- he is such a sweet boy. i have a mom crush on my baby.

happy birthday, baby boy!

2011-07-16T21:58:00.003-05:00

HAPPY, happy birthday, baby boy!

while we were out of town, baby boy had his second month birthday. he celebrated by watching all of us enjoy his birthday treats -- chocolate chip cookie bars made by auntie a. de-lish!

for mr. pike's brother

2011-06-24T08:36:00.001-05:00

this post and picture are for mr. pike's older brother. just goes to show that we're not complete city-slickers. mr. pike and i haven't forgotten our farm roots.

doesn't mr. pike look at ease feeding the calf? he's a natural, i tell you. aren't you proud, mr. pike's older brother, mr. pike?

a happy something

2011-06-22T00:19:00.001-05:00

when we lived in maryland, we had several huge peony bushes in our back yard. thinking back to these bushes, i don't know if they really were as huge as i remember or if it was just because i was smaller back then and everything seemed big.

my mom would often cut the peony blossoms in the spring to bring inside our home or give to friends. i fell in love with those blossoms -- they are so full and beautiful.

and every house we've lived in since, my mom has planted peonies somewhere in our yard. i, too, plan on planting peonies one day when we have a home with some land.

so, last week when i was grocery shopping, i was overjoyed to see cut peonies for sale. little girl picked the light pink variety, and they have brightened our home all week. look at those big blossoms! i can't help but smile when i see them.

and they have made our home smell heavenly. i think i'd like to smell like peonies -- i'll have to look for a peony perfume. they really are such a fragrant delight.

this year's garden

2011-06-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

in our new home, we have a little back porch, which is nice and sunny. a perfect spot for this year's garden -- two varieties of tomatoes, pimento peppers, japanese cucumbers, carrots, green onions, lettuce, parsley, basil, and rosemary.

and my new favorite garden pot -- a #10 tin can, leftover from different food storage items. i just tapped a few holes in the bottom with a nail and hammer and filled with rocks and dirt. my can collection is home to two basil plants, the carrots, and green onions.

happy father's day

2011-06-19T20:14:00.003-05:00

happy father's day, mr. pike!

i wanted to take a picture today of mr. pike with the kids. but we didn't get around to it before mr. pike and little girl headed to the emergency room. and this is the only one i have of the three of them. so it'll have to do for today -- even though it's not our best group shot.

mr. pike deserves a big thank you today. not only is he a wonderful husband and father, he is also calm in the face of crisis. we were chatting away with mr. pike's family on skype this evening, when we noticed little girl picking her nose. but, she wasn't really picking her nose; she had just stuck one (maybe two) buttons up her nostrils.

after a few failed attempts with tweezers and blowing through little girl's mouth, we decided it was time to head to the emergency room. mr. pike took little girl, and i stayed home with baby boy. this isn't our first emergency room visit with little girl -- she's been twice now and she's only two years old. (and we hope this isn't to become an annual excursion.)

but, while i'm home with a sleeping baby, mr. pike is most likely trying to calm a scared little girl who's being restrained during a button-removal procedure. he is strong, selfless, and steady. and i'm glad he's a part of my life.

thank you, mr. pike, for all that you do as a father, husband, and friend. we love you!

take me out to the ball game

2011-06-16T23:46:00.002-05:00

i wasn't sure if we were being adventurous or stupid when mr. pike and i decided to take our almost month-old baby boy and our two-year-old little girl to a ball game. but i found a great price on tickets for our favorite home team, and we wanted to get at least one game in this season. might as well do it sooner than later, right?! (why should we procrastinate enjoying america's favorite past time?)

fortunately, it proved to be an adventure and not one we regret. little girl enjoyed watching the boys run and hit and catch balls. and when that didn't prove exciting enough for her, she ran back and forth in our row (where there were some empty seats). and baby boy slept the whole time.

too bad that our lovable losers lost to the astros. but we'll keep rooting for the home team.

entertaining baby brother

2011-06-08T22:35:00.002-05:00

a week of birthdays

2011-06-07T20:50:00.009-05:00

can you imagine who just turned two years old? our very own little girl. while grandmom was in town, little girl picked out a pink cake, pink frosting, and pink ice cream for her celebration. (pink is really strawberry flavor.)

little girl blew out her candles for the first time. and hopefully made one awesome birthday wish.

and just like her first birthday, we partied at the pool after dinner but before cake. she still loves the water, although she's not so fearless as she once was. (which is much more manageable when there are two kids to watch.)

then three days later, we celebrated baby boy's 1st month birthday. a monthly tradition we started with little girl. as you can tell, someone was already drooling at the chance for a birthday treat. unfortunately for the little guy, he has a few more months to go before he gets the taste of real food. (although little girl has done her best to share a few of her favorite snacks with him, including a carrot, graham crackers, pecans, and peanut butter crackers.)

nap time

2011-05-22T22:57:00.002-05:00

mr. pike putting little girl down for a nap
{nothing like a crib that can hold a toddler and a grown man! although we didn't test its strength for long.}

we love nap time around here. everyone (including me!) goes down for a mid-day rest. and when mr. pike works from home, he doesn't get a nap. (sorry, mr. pike!) but at least he gets some quiet time for a little bit.

the stache

2011-05-18T20:51:00.009-05:00

when i saw this idea on prudent baby, i knew it was meant for us. one more way to celebrate mr. pike's mustache before he shaves it off. (and his stache's days are numbered, since mr. pike has client meetings next week.)

this stache isn't too big for my face, is it?

happy maystache!

i just want to eat mine.

more pictures of baby boy

2011-05-10T20:31:00.004-05:00

six days old.

hi, baby brother

2011-05-10T20:24:00.003-05:00

we'd like to introduce you to baby boy

born wednesday, may 4

7 lb. 12 oz./21.5 inches

little girl adores her new brother and loves to give him hugs and kisses. (as well as poke him in the eyes and squish him when he's on my lap.)

labor of love

2011-04-30T13:49:00.012-05:00

i do love mrs. pike and i'm grateful that the labor of love that i'm growing on my upper lip is making her so happy. growing a mustache is an art, not unlike pruning a bonsai tree. my hats off to the few, proud men who pull it off. my efforts tend to just make people laugh. (last go-around, my boss couldn't carry on a conversation with me and keep a straight face.)

for posterity and my older brother (who had the ability to grow a stache long before i did), here are a few pics from my last endeavor, after little girl was born.

mr. pike loves me

2011-04-29T19:35:00.002-05:00

yes. he does. once again, mr. pike has agreed to ward off any concerns of postpartum depression by growing a mustache. this time, he's decided to get a jump start. (it takes a little while to grow in.)

thank you, mr. pike. after three days, your stache is already brightening my day.

cooking club: the ultimate grilled cheese

2011-04-28T20:52:00.000-05:00

i really love grilled cheese. i really do. what could be better than buttery bread and melted cheese! and then there are a slew of fillings to add in -- bacon, sliced tomatoes, sauted onions and mushrooms, granny smith apple slices, etc. i love it all.

so, when mrs. jones chose ina's ultimate grilled cheese, i was all too ready to give it a try. i followed the recipe exactly -- except i only used about 2 T. of dijon mustard in the sauce. (that's all i had.) and i used low sodium bacon, cooked in the microwave.

mr. pike and little girl were oohing and aahing. (little girl's sandwich was minus the bacon. i'm not sure why she's not a fan.) we liked the tangy spread between the sharp cheddar and gruyere cheese and crunchy bacon.

i'd make this again. we loved it. check out more thoughts on the recipe at the cooking club blog.

from little girl

2011-04-27T20:41:00.003-05:00

last night as i was getting little girl ready for bed, i told her to tell her brother it was time to come out.

she started pressing on my stomach and then announced, "he stuck. he stuck."

yes, i thought. he is. and with only two weeks to go, i'll confess that i'm only more than ready for his arrival. now to wait for him to become unstuck.

two weeks to go

2011-04-27T20:35:00.003-05:00

baby boy can come now -- i got a pedicure yesterday. (every mom needs pretty toes to look at as she pushes.)

and if baby boy doesn't come soon, i might just have to get another one.

how to make confetti eggs

2011-04-24T21:45:00.021-05:00

this year as i thought about fun easter things to do with little girl, i knew she was ready for confetti eggs -- hallowed eggs filled with confetti that you crack on people's heads.

(this became my favorite easter tradition when i lived in houston, and you could buy pre-made confetti eggs at the store. since leaving houston, my sister, mrs. turner, who still lives there, will send me a dozen or two each easter. but this year she was about to have a baby, and i didn't expect her to send me a box. even though she did!)

so about a month ago, i started saving my eggs, preparing to make my own confetti eggs this year. i used a cutting knife to tap around the top of the egg, creating a small hole that i'd drain the egg out of. i washed out my egg and kept it in an empty egg carton. (i've been saving my egg shell tops to grind up to add to the soil of my tomato plants.)

earlier this week, i pulled out all the empty eggs i had collected and mr. pike, little girl, and i dyed our eggs.

as a kid, i loved dyeing easter eggs. and i always wanted to dye more eggs than we had hard boiled. but, when it came to eating our hard boiled easter eggs, i was never a big fan and neither was the rest of my family. so, we stopped dyeing eggs before i left elementary school and i haven't really considered it again until this year. now we could dye eggs without having a mound of hard boiled eggs to eat or feel guilty about throwing away.

then we let our dyed eggs dry overnight in our empty egg cartons. we ended up dyeing about 25 eggs.

i punched confetti out of construction paper from our three-hole punch. and the next day filled each egg with a couple of spoonfuls of confetti. then i cut small squares of tissue paper, (i used white, but you could get colored tissue to match your eggs or try dyeing your tissue to match.) and glued them over the opening in the egg.

now you're ready to run around, chasing friends and family! happy easter!

where or where is purple?

2011-04-17T22:38:00.007-05:00

when we bought our couch, there was a beautiful purple velvet pillow on the showroom version of our couch. the pillow was also $100. a little too much to spend for someone who can sew.

but, first i looked at every home store to find a less expensive purple pillow. and i had the hardest time finding a large purple pillow selection. it's not the color of the year. (so, i'm either ahead of some great trend or way behind.)

i was determined to have a purple pillow -- i thought it'd be a nice accent color to our couch and gray rug. i found some purple velvet for the front and some creamy cotton/linen for the back. and i made us a pillow.

i prayed my way through, since i hadn't made a pillow before and was nervous about the piping. but i was very pleased with the way it turned out. it was so nice to have my prayers answered!

our new home

2011-04-17T21:56:00.016-05:00

some people have asked, and we're sorry to hold back for so long, but here are a few pics from our new digs -- at least some pics of the outside and main floor.

welcome to our new place. stop by any time, we'd love to have you come in person.

but, sorry for the semi-messy kitchen. we wanted you to see the real side of our life.

i'm working on reading

2011-04-14T21:29:00.003-05:00

do you remember those new year's resolutions we all made a few months ago? mr. pike and i made a list together, and it's posted on our fridge. (although it's slightly covered up, and we don't look at it very often.)

on most occasions, i can't remember the majority of our goals. (isn't that a great way to get them accomplished!) but, one i really have been working on is reading more. my goal is to read 10 books this year. for some that may be highly ambitious, for others quite a pittance. i'd like to say someday that i read more than that. but, as it stands now, it's taken me three months to finish my first book.

and that's not any reflection on the book -- the dirty life by kristin kimball. i loved it! i gave the book to mr. pike for christmas, and then proceeded to steal it away to read. we both had read an excerpt from the book in an in-flight magazine, and were drawn in by the way kristin writes.

she is a masterful writer that takes you right into her world. there were moments i was ready to give up suburban life for the farm. and moments i still do. but, she doesn't sugar coat the hard work and trials of living off the land either. it's really beautiful and real.

and while we have no plans of buying a farm any day soon, i have already been planning this year's garden. i'm really excited. i bought a few seeds this week to start my lettuce, spinach, and carrots. and when it really warms up around here, we'll plant tomatoes, peppers, beans, and herbs. our new place has a nice, little deck that is very sunny. and i think our garden will be very happy there.

now i'm working on the book thief -- which i'm enjoying immensely. but, after that i'm not sure what to read. any suggestions?

soft pretzels

2011-04-08T16:25:00.001-05:00

i'm always on the lookout for new snacks for little girl. she likes a steady rotation of foods -- if i offer her something too often, she decides she doesn't like it, even if it had been her favorite treat the day before.

so when my cousin made fresh, hot pretzels a month ago and posted about it on her blog, i made a mental note to try the recipe some day. everything she makes has always been so delicious that i knew these would be worth the effort.

so, little girl and i made a batch yesterday. how foolish i was to wait this long to try the recipe out!

they are delicious -- hot or room temperature. and easy to make. (the hardest part is letting the dough rest, because little girl likes to sneak bites.)

little girl and i ate our fair share for snack yesterday and had the rest for breakfast this morning. we're planning to make more very soon. (mr. pike missed trying these, since he's been out of town. but, i told him i'd make a batch when he returns.)

i followed the recipe exactly for the first time -- but in future tries, i might make them with half whole wheat flour for a little more nutritional boost or with cinnamon sugar or cheese. but, learn from my cousin's experience -- save the sugar until the end (and the cheese, too!) since you're cooking the pretzels at 500F. the recipe only makes 8 pretzels, and i think in the future i'll double the recipe.

you can find the recipe at king arthur flour. enjoy!

hello there, mr. president

2011-04-07T21:52:00.005-05:00

two christmases ago, mr. pike's brother gave little girl a series of educational placemats. this one, with all the presidents, is little girl's favorite. we use it at almost every meal.

she likes to point to the pictures of the men and have me tell her their names. poor mr. james polk, our 11th president, is always mistaken for a girl -- no matter how often i correct her.

and mr. george h.w. bush, our 41st president, is always called "daddy." i guess there's a little bit of resemblance. what do you think? it just makes me smile.

six weeks . . .

2011-04-05T12:18:00.001-05:00

but who's counting, right? i realized that unlike my pregnancy with little girl, i haven't taken all that many belly shots. (i think this is my second!)

hopefully this is not a sign of the photo neglect that many siblings face. i'm trying to be conscientious of that as a parent and photographer. i just hope baby boy doesn't care about seeing his mommy's growing belly.

baby boy has been a good little one to carry-- like little girl, this pregnancy has been pretty easy. i'm really so fortunate.

we can't wait to meet him in a few weeks time. see what he looks like. know his temperament. see little girl and him together. little girl will pat my belly and say, "baby brother." soon, she'll learn what that means!

besides having a new little one around, i'm excited to sleep on my back again and have little girl sit on my lap without feeling like all my organs are being squished internally and externally.

saturday morning dance party

2011-04-04T15:02:00.002-05:00

little girl likes to dance. we have dance parties all the time, especially when we have company over. this saturday morning, little girl took her baby for a spin after breakfast.

her favorite tunes right now -- they might be giants' here come the abcs and the beatles' 1, but we're always looking for new dance music. any recommendations?

ps-we ended up getting our high maintenance rug, which so far has been great. once we're a little more settled, i'll post some pics of our new digs. until then, you can see a small glimpse of our new family room.

little red

2011-03-23T20:45:00.001-05:00

five months ago i had the best of intentions. i saw a version of this little red jacket online and thought little girl should have one, as well as four of her cousins. five little jackets didn't seem too difficult, especially because i was heading into my second trimester about then and was about to have this burst of energy.

well, the burst of energy never came. most days i still nap when little girl does -- and needless to say, this project just kept getting pushed off.

but this past week, i finally finished the last of the five jackets -- little girl's. (thanks to my mom's help!) just in time for one or two wears before spring hits the midwest. (great timing, huh?!)

i always wonder where those crafty bloggers find time for making all their cute stuff. and many of them with more kids then me running under toe. i have far too many ideas and ambitions for the hours i have in the day and just hope one day i do get that awesome super power to freeze time.

(i told little girl that we needed to take pictures of her new jacket, which ended up with her just wanting to look at pictures of herself that we had yet to take. to get her in a spot where i could photograph her, i told her that she could jump on our bed -- hence the crazy shots.)

in the midst of boxes

2011-03-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

even with little girl's play space greatly diminished by the towering boxes and totes in our family room, she has found a place to take refuge.

her old car seat is now a nice reading recliner. she's much more attached to the car seat now then she ever was when she used it.

hopefully, she'll be ready to relinquish the seat when baby boy comes around. i've already been hinting that we should give the seat to the baby when he comes. do you think she'll take the hint?

packing up

2011-03-20T19:31:00.004-05:00

this is our family room. isn't it looking beautiful? it is to me, because this week is moving week.

and even though it's a mess and a maze to live in for a week, all these boxes show progress. (or at least i hope they do.)

now, back to packing.

are we crazy?

2011-03-15T14:09:00.002-05:00

our new place has all hardwood floors, which mr. pike and i like. but, now we need a few rugs to soften spaces like our bedrooms and the family room. so, mr. pike and i have been searching.

we found this soft wool rug at west elm. it feels like you're walking on a wool sweater. and it adds a great texture to the room. we're thinking this rug for our family room.

so, when mr. pike and i ventured to west elm and to see the rug in person and talk to someone about wear and care for this rug. the sales person told us that a rug like this shouldn't be vacuumed normally, but should be beaten or vacuumed with a crevice tool.

when i mentioned this fact to some family members, they thought this rug was a little too high maintenance, especially for a family with little ones.

but, mr. pike and i just love this rug! and we've looked at a lot of rugs and haven't liked many of them. mr. pike doesn't think it will be too difficult to keep clean. and it doesn't seem too bad to me either. are we being a little naive? are we crazy to buy a higher maintenance rug? or should we buy what we love?

when you need to hide

2011-03-06T15:52:00.004-06:00

so there's a little girl in our home who thinks when she covers her face that she's hiding. this is especially convenient when you've asked her to do something she doesn't want to do. little girl thinks she's escaped from the law.

sometimes i pretend with her and say, "where'd she go?" which gets a few giggles from behind her little hands.

today mr. pike wanted to have a chat about asking permission to use things that don't belong to us. and little girl went into hiding. even when mr. pike picked her up, she kept on hiding.

i couldn't help but laugh thinking about how this conversation would go. especially with little girl thinking she wasn't even a part of it. mr. pike left the room with little girl since i wasn't helping the situation with my laughter. mr. pike told me later that my giggles only were encouraging little girl's behavior. and i agree. it was just one of those moments i couldn't keep it together.

we're moving

2011-03-03T15:47:00.000-06:00

with our newest addition on his way, we're planning on moving into a larger space in a month or so. fortunately, it's not too far away from where we are. we love our friends. we love our little town. and we love being close to the lake and only a train ride from the city.

this weekend, we made a purchase for our new home. a couch. just like this one. it's 89" -- so mr. pike or even yao ming could rest comfortably on it. (okay, so it's an inch shorter than yao, but he can prop his head on a pillow and still stretch out.)

it's a brown weave -- with a bit of plum, slate, and cream woven throughout. i'm already envisioning accessories. although, i did promise mr. pike that i wouldn't use too much plum. we love its clean lines. and it's really comfortable. i can't wait to curl up with a book on it.

frog

2011-03-02T21:37:00.000-06:00

a short clip of little girl's newest impersonation -- a frog. she'll act like a frog all the time, until i bring out the camera. so, this is the best clip i've been able to get so far.

how east cranberry & apple cake

2011-02-28T20:34:00.008-06:00

this time for cooking club, i got to choose our recipe. and this last trimester has me craving sweets, so i chose ina's "easy cranberry & apple cake."

it's not much of a cake -- more like some kind of cobbler hybrid. but let's not get hung up with the name, because it's delicious so matter what it's called. the two keys to this deliciousness -- orange zest and the yummy cake/muffin batter.

this recipe sealed the deal for me -- i am in love with orange zest. it is so flavorful. a small amount has a most infinite impact. it's amazing. ina has you mix some zest and fresh squeezed orange juice with the granny smith apples and cranberries. it provides a perfect balance to all that tartness -- that a some brown sugar.

second, this delicious batter. if you've ever made ina's blueberry sour cream muffins, this batter tastes so much like that batter. if you have any doubts about how good a batter could taste, please ask little girl. she was my sous chef.

and i had the hardest time keeping her out of the batter -- whether it was in the bowl or already spread over the fruit. i had to smooth out a few holes in my cake several times before getting it into the oven. and every time i moved the pie plate to another location in the kitchen, little girl started moving her chair. (it was really difficult to grab a picture of the process with her determination!) and please -- don't mention to mr. pike that little girl was eating the batter. he doesn't like the thought of eating raw eggs.

when it came out of the oven, little girl and i shared a bowl with vanilla ice cream. we devoured it. and little girl kept signing and saying, "more." (always a good sign of a delicious culinary creation.)

we even saved some for mr. pike when he came home. i got a rushing of praise on a job well done.

a few other thoughts on the recipe . . . my cranberries were frozen. and i didn't defrost them. so, my cake ended up cooking longer. about an hour and 10 minutes. (i think the frozen cranberries were the culprit.)

my cake also dripped over the sides. i don't know if my pie plate was too small -- it's the biggest one i have. so, i recommend placing a piece of tin foil under the plate to catch any spills. (better than cleaning up the mess in your oven, which i have to do now.)

ps- sorry about the pics. maybe one day i'll have a kitchen with good lighting or learn how to take better shots.

fashion tips from little girl

2011-02-17T21:49:00.005-06:00

little girl has an opinion when it comes to fashion. and she'll put up a fight for wearing what she wants -- so, mr. pike and i don't contest her choices much anymore.

her style isn't mainstream, by any means. i like to think of it more as avant-garde.

let's start with socks. she likes socks and will go through several pairs a day. mr. pike and i don't even match them anymore in the laundry, because most often little girl likes mixing patterns and styles. i especially liked this mix of layering.

this was someone's after nap outfit yesterday. chosen by herself. and worn when we went to the post office. today she wore two different shoes when we went grocery shopping. one converse tennis shoe and one of the brown boots she's wearing above.

who knows, maybe little girl's style might be the next big thing to hit fashion week.

the recipe for s'mores bars

2011-02-13T20:27:00.002-06:00

i'm sorry it's taken me forever to post the recipe for the previously mentioned s'mores bars. little girl has been sick all week, and it wasn't until yesterday that we took her into the doctor to find out she has an ear infection. so with some antibiotics rushing through her, she is in a much better mood, and i don't feel so drained. i'm back online.

so this recipe is a twist on a favorite recipe that i got back in high school for revel bars. i first tasted these sweet treats at an NHS meeting. mr. shenvi brought them and i was in love. . . with the bars, not him. i asked him for the recipe, but he wouldn't share. something about a family secret. really?! i mean, what better form of flattery than to have someone want one of your recipes. (and this was before the internet held a slew of information ready and waiting to answer my craving. so, i needed to find another source.)

luckily, mr. shenvi had a younger brother in my sister's grade. the younger mr. shenvi couldn't help but do whatever my sister asked. was my plot a little manipulative, conniving, even desperate? perhaps. but i had to have the recipe.

so, mrs. wright (but not mrs. wright at the time) asked. and maybe she batted her eyelashes a couple times. those details will have to come from her. but, fortunately for me and my posterity, the younger mr. shenvi was more than happy to share. (thank you, younger mr. shenvi! i still think fondly of you for this gesture of culinary kindness.)

so, i'll share both of the recipes with you today. and if you like, you can make a variation or two, too.

naomi's revel bars (with s'mores changes in parentheses)

1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour (3 c. flour)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 c. rolled oats (substituted for 3/4 c. ground graham crackers)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
(jumbo marshmallows)

preheat oven to 325 F. lightly grease a 13x9-inch pan. cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl, until fluffy. add eggs; beat until light. blend in vanilla.

combine in a separate bowl, flour, soda, salt, and oats. (for s'mores bars: combine 3 c. flour, soda, salt, and 3/4 c. ground graham crackers.) add dry mixture gradually to butter mixture.

spread about two-thirds of the cookie dough on the bottom of the 9x13.

on the stove, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk over low heat. (stir often so it doesn't burn.) once melted, pour over the cookie mixture in pan.

dot the top the chocolate layer with leftover cookie dough. bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are browned and center of cookie dough seems firm. cool well before cutting (or you'll have a fudgey flood when you take out your first piece!).

(for s'mores bars: i baked 15-17 minutes, then removed the pan from the oven. i cut the jumbo marshmallows in half and dotted the top of the cookie bars with the marshmallows. i put back in the oven to cook an additional 3-6 minutes. just watch closely so your mallows don't burn.)

ENJOY!

please let me know if you have any questions with the directions. dorie greenspan also has a variation on this recipe that is so delicious. check out my post here.

when you're in the mood for sweets

2011-02-06T15:27:00.000-06:00

sometimes i just want a sweet treat, but it's hard when there aren't a lot of mouths to help share the calories. i'll really eat the whole pan.

so, i jumped at the chance to bring a treat to the baptism of one of the girl's in my primary class at church. i call these s'mores bars. a graham cracker cookie dough with a layer of fudge, topped with a bit of cookie dough and jumbo marshmallows. de-licious!

traveling light

2011-02-04T15:52:00.001-06:00

mr. pike's been traveling a little more these past few months. and so the suitcase is out a little more these days. little girl thinks it's a toy. she sits on it, puts toys in it, unpacks it, and even packs herself.

i forgot to tell you

2011-02-03T13:51:00.000-06:00

we're having a boy.

playing in the blizzard

2011-02-02T12:45:00.003-06:00

for someone who loves a few inches of snow, a few feet is a different story. little girl was not so eager to play in the snow when she could hardly walk in it. mr. pike tried to get her to make snow angels and snow balls. they even tried to sled down the front steps. but it was a little too much snow for little girl. she and i retreated back into our warm house, while mr. pike shoveled the walk.

celebrating a blizzard

2011-02-02T12:20:00.005-06:00

did you hear? maybe you're also a part of it -- that huge snow storm sweeping across the midwest to northeast. well, it hit us last night. and it snowed and blew and snowed and blew all night long. (i should know, i was up with little girl at 3 a.m.) and then snowed more this morning.

well, today we finally got a snow day, after a mere 20-ish inches piled up. (here's a pic of the blizzardy snow this morning. see how the snow is close to the branches of the pine tree? the first branches are about 2 feet off the ground, if not a little more.)

midwesterners are quite undaunted by snow. when we first moved to these parts, i would often call my work colleagues to see if we had a 2-hour delay on snowy mornings. "a what?" they'd reply. "we're already at work." i'd then hurriedly get out of bed and rush to work a little depressed.

that was the east coast in me. you don't leave the house when it snows there. we'd get off of school at just the threat of snow sometimes, let alone a few inches.

so, i had to learn how to buck up and take these snowy midwest winters with a grain of salt. snow doesn't keep you indoors here. well, except if it's a blizzard. that's where the brave midwesterners draw the line.

and today i am reverting back to my east coast ways of snuggling up for a movie and reading a good book (in between keeping up with a toddler). last night i made a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread -- it turned out perfectly. i was so impressed with myself, and i told mr. pike i was amazing. when he tasted my bread, he agreed. we each had two slices last night with hot chocolate as we watched a movie. it's so soft and little chewy. i think i hit bread perfection -- if only i could always repeat these kind of results!

this morning i sliced it up for french toast. what a yummy breakfast for a snowy morning! it was so satisfying and delicious. i was wishing i had made two loaves instead of one.

and that's how we kicked off our blizzard celebration.

immersed

2011-01-20T10:15:00.001-06:00

i caught little girl in the midst of reading. she doesn't often do things half way.
(like her hair -- she wanted to wear all her hair clips.)

the cooking club

2011-01-18T20:38:00.002-06:00

i've joined a cooking club this year. and you can too, if you'd like. some of my family has gotten together to try out the barefoot contessa's new cookbook how easy is that?.

my cousin, ms. jenkins, started us off -- picking easy parmesan "risotto" on page 160.

we have until jan. 31 to try the recipe, but i wanted to make sure i got it on the menu sooner than later. especially because i wanted mr. pike to give it a try, and he has a few business trips coming up. so, i made it tonight.

i've never made real risotto -- only a yummy fake. and i'm not sure if this really counts, since ina puts risotto in quotes. unlike the real, more labor intensive risotto where you slowly add broth and stir constantly for an hour or so, this is so easy! you put the rice and broth in a dutch oven and throw it in the oven for 45 minutes.

i followed ina's recipe almost exactly -- i used 1 cup arborio rice and 1/2 cup regular rice (to make my bag of arborio rice go farther). instead of dry wine, i added 1/4 cup lemon juice and an extra 1/4 cup of broth.

this is one of those recipes that makes you look like a culinary rock star without all the effort. i loved the creamy taste and texture. and it's a good base if you wanted to add different ingredients instead of peas.

mr. pike said, "this is a repeat." so, thank you mrs. garten for a winner of a recipe.

(and forgive my poor photography. i'd like to blame it on the terrible lighting in our kitchen, but i know the majority of it is my poor photo skills.)

road tripping

2011-01-17T21:18:00.002-06:00

we've been training little girl to be a road warrior. three road trips over the past two months. this weekend we headed over to detroit to see my aunt and uncle. (if you get a chance to visit detroit, go to the detroit institute of arts. what a fantastic art museum!)

we were only in the car 10 minutes on our way home before little girl fell asleep in mid-snack. she slept almost half of our drive. i couldn't resist catching the moment.

new year . . . new hair-do

2011-01-07T21:09:00.002-06:00

happy NEW YEAR! we're celebrating the new year with a new hair-do.

i was so surprised that a certain little girl was willing to sit still long enough for two pigtails.
even mr. pike is an expert hairstylist.

new year's eve and the day after

2011-01-06T21:25:00.005-06:00

we celebrated new year's eve with balmy weather -- little girl and mr. pike didn't even wear coats. we met mr. pike's aunt, uncle, and cousins in the city for a festive new year's celebration. little girl even stayed up until 10:30 p.m. (she's a big partier.)

then we woke up on new year's to a frigid day! we tried to keep little girl as warm as possible as we trekked through the city. but, she wasn't all that thrilled about being bundled up since it kept her from being mobile.

mr. pike and i have made some predictions for 2011 --

baby pike will be born on cinco de mayo, so mr. pike can finally name a child "juan diego"
the cubs will make it to the world series but lose in game 6 (mr. pike will cry for days)
the pikes will make it on their first family camp out, only to head home at 2 a.m. with tired, screaming children (i can't wait for that one!)
mr. pike will grow the most fantastic mustache that will prevent me from slipping into postpartum depression

do you have any predictions to add to the list?

what did little girl get for christmas

2010-12-27T16:27:00.000-06:00

when i was a little girl, i loved to imagine and play house. i dreamed of having a play house and play kitchen of my own.

so when mr. pike and i were brainstorming gifts for little girl, a play kitchen was on the top of my list.

and it seemed like the fates aligned when i saw this cute kitchen on sale at target one day. (mr. pike was out of town on business, so i decided to make the executive decision and get it.)

i also thought it a good idea to put it all together before mr. pike came home . . . with little girl's help. (that wasn't the best idea. a toddler doesn't make the best handyman assistant.)

but, i'm hoping between the two of us that at least one of our childhood dreams is being fulfilled. (i sure like this little kitchen, but now i want a real one in a home of my own. isn't it terrible how our sights get bigger and more expensive.)

deck the halls

2010-12-25T20:06:00.003-06:00

merry, merry christmas! here's a little jolly from our home to yours.

music: donny osmond. when i was in college and lived in apt. 16 at hampton court, my roommates and i would exchange gifts for christmas. i had a thing for donny osmond after seeing him as joseph in "joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat." and my sweet roomie, becky, gave me his christmas album one year. i still listen to it over the holidays, and little girl finds it puts her in a festive mood.

a little news from the pikes

2010-12-20T18:59:00.001-06:00

we've been keeping something from you . . . there's another little pike on the way.
coming some time mid-may.

we'll keep you posted on details -- we'll find what we're having january 5.
and maybe i'll post a pic or two of my growing belly.

from thanksgiving

2010-12-15T22:16:00.002-06:00

we love the sunshine of southern california. especially when we visit during the colder months of the midwest. little girl was in heaven, running around barefoot outside. (trying to go for a swim, but it wasn't that warm.) it was such a treat to spend time with mr. pike's family.

we also had a few days with my family in las vegas. we had a multi-generational family reunion on my mom's side of the family, and i was invited to give a presentation about my great, great-grandmother, mary mcquarrie.

two falls ago, my sister, little girl, and i took a little tour of scotland to see where mary grew up before immigrating to the united states. i guess our trip deemed the two of us as semi-experts on mary's life. so, mrs. wright and i put together a presentation to share with our family.

i loved reading through different personal histories that told about mary's life. she was an amazing woman of faith and humility. i wish i was a lot more like her.

while we were in vegas for the reunion we had a chance to visit the hoover dam. my mom's father worked on hoover dam -- he'd repel down the dam and inspected the concrete. that's some steep repelling. and we also got a look at the new bridge (which one of my cousin's helped work on) -- there's a lot of family history in the area.

it was a great trip to see so much of our family. unfortunately, the trip was too short. we'll just have to plan another one.

thanksgiving in california

2010-12-09T16:24:00.000-06:00

we spent a lovely, sunny thanksgiving in southern california. what a treat for little girl to play outside without shoes on!

i love this kimono top little girl is wearing. i made it for her to wear to a mulan-themed birthday party. the sad part is that she only got to wear it a few times before fall ended, since the party was around halloween. once i find a cute little black cardi, i'm sure the shirt will be back in rotation. (you can request the pattern from habitual. it's very easy to make.)

i had initially bought the fabric at michael levine (i think it's may favorite fabric store of all) to make a pillow for our couch. that project never happened, but i was sure happy to see this fabric waiting for me in my inventory when i started looking for an asian-inspired print. (this is why we have inventory, mr. pike. for such occasions as these.)

more to come on thanksgiving soon . . . .

more snow shots

2010-12-08T16:05:00.004-06:00

a snow shot sequence with little girl from this weekend.

a special hanukkah post

2010-12-07T22:43:00.004-06:00

i love hanukkah! and while it may not be the most important jewish holiday, it's sure a fun one! spinning dreidels, eating latkes, lighting the menorah, sharing gifts. and you celebrate for eight glorious nights! what's not to love.

my dear friend veeda over at white lotus cooks asked me to be write a guest post about my hanukkah traditions and share my potato latke recipe. so stop by to read my special guest post. it'd be the best hanukkah present you could give to me this year.

happy hanukkah, everyone!

snowflakes falling

2010-12-06T15:48:00.003-06:00

as a child, i dreamed about snow days. i loved bundling up and making the first tracks in the snow. i loved building snow forts and imagining that i could live outside like an eskimo.

this saturday brought our real snowfall, and i couldn't wait for little girl to experience this winter wonderland -- despite still not having all the gear we need for her. (notice she's wearing socks on her hands. and she'll need some snow pants and boots, too!)

little girl was as happy as can be. she ran around in circles, while i tried to teach her how to make snow angels and snowballs.

now little girl signs and says snow over and over. we're ready for another trip outside.

mirror, mirror . . .

2010-11-10T14:54:00.002-06:00

mirror, mirror on the wall. who's the fairest of them all?

i hope we're not feeding someone's little ego or vanity, but little girl loves looking at pictures and watching movies of herself.

a few months ago, i put together a 15-minute video of different movie clips we have of her over the past year. and it's a favorite of little girl.

sometimes we watch for fun. sometimes we watch for mommy's sanity. but no matter the reason, it makes little girl happy. (can't you tell!)

dance party with dad

2010-11-08T21:26:00.002-06:00

mr. pike loves to dance. and so does little girl.

lately, she's been pulling out the cd cases, choosing her own music to listen and dance to during the day. when mr. pike came home tonight, i told him that little girl had pulled out one of his favorite songs today.

so, we put it back on and had a little daddy/daughter dance party. here's a clip from the night. wish you could have joined the party!

reading with little girl

2010-10-31T20:19:00.006-05:00

little girl has a new favorite book -- mommies say shh! by patricia polacco. (i love the illustrations!)

we've had it since she was born, but the past few weeks it has been her book of choice. we've read it so often that i shouldn't have been surprised when little girl started helping with the animal sounds. when we read together, it still makes me smile -- thinking how much little girl is learning.

here's a clip of a recent reading. enjoy! (and good news -- the camera is working again! thank you, mr. pike!)

camera woes

2010-10-29T13:54:00.002-05:00

i think our camera is broken. not even new batteries would make it work.

it's really so sad.

applesauce woes

2010-10-23T17:10:00.003-05:00

i've been meaning to make applesauce for over a month now. that's when i bought my first 13 pounds of apples. they sat in a bag on the kitchen floor and over the past few weeks, we've ate some. and when i've been at the store, i've been buying more apples.

this week, i thought enough's enough. i need to stop stockpiling apples and make this applesauce. but it turned out that mr. pike and i were never to be home together to work together on this project.

so one night, i started peeling and peeling and peeling. chopping and chopping.

i put all my pounds and pounds of apples in a pot and started cooking it all down with some apple cider. but, i knew i couldn't can the applesauce that night. (i wanted to sleep.) so i put the pot in the fridge to finish for another day.

the next day, i finished cooking down the apples and started filling my jars. and after my third quart jar, i realized that i only was going to fill four quart jars! all that peeling, all the chopping, all that cooking down -- and i only got four jars.

now the dilemma is -- do i go through this process again and make more?

monkeying around

2010-10-12T20:27:00.001-05:00

little girl knows a cow says, "moo." but, it has been a long time without any other animal sounds. that is, until last week when little girl discovered her "inner monkey." (just don't show her a picture of a monkey during church. it doesn't make for a reverent scene, especially when the observers can't keep their giggles to themselves.)

little girl received a pair of fleece pjs with monkeys on them from grandmom a few weeks ago. we put them on for the first time this week, and little girl couldn't help but start up her monkeying. here's a little bit we caught on tape.

she's in stitches

2010-10-11T20:12:00.002-05:00

it's hard to think about stitches when ms. b.'s in town!

it's time to celebrate! little girl lost her stitches today! hip, HIP HOORAY! mr. pike and i are thinking her scar might be inspiration to an awesome halloween costume. harry potter or the toddler of frankenstein? any other ideas?

good morning!

2010-10-08T07:15:00.004-05:00

we're often up early around here. little girl is an early riser. she's strictly an "early to bed, early to rise" kind of girl. maybe that's why she has so much energy -- because she follows the prophets' counsel.

yesterday morning was no different. little girl was all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:40 a.m., ready for the day. we played and ate breakfast. and by 7:15 a.m. we were heading off to the emergency room. little girl had a small encounter with the radiator. and the radiator won. six stitches later, we were back home again.

fortunately, little girl's injury hasn't slowed her down at all -- she's back to running, jumping, twirling, and climbing. mr. pike and i are wondering if we shouldn't start wrapping her up in bubble wrap.

happy fall!

2010-10-03T19:31:00.002-05:00

i just love fall! especially after this hot and humid summer, i was looking forward to cooler weather. and so far, i haven't been disappointed. there's been plenty of sunshine; cool, crisp weather; fall leaves; and fall treats.

on saturday, mr. pike, little girl, and i had our family picture taken. something i've been wanting for months now. thanks to a friend's recommendation, we hired a local photographer, who is extremely talented. and i'm so excited to see what she captured. (we have to wait 2-3 weeks!)

after our session, mr. pike captured this pic of me and little girl. i love it! (i think her hair is turning a little more peach every day!)

tonight for dinner, we tried butternut squash lasagna from prudence pennywise. it was so good, and pretty easy to make (once you've peeled the squash). there's something warming to the soul to eat a yummy fall dish on a chilly day.

i've been collecting pumpkin recipes; we'll get a pie pumpkin this week in our last delivery from the farm. i haven't narrowed down yet what we'll be making. but anything with pumpkin is sure to be good!

hurray for fall!

my very first real quilt

2010-09-22T15:06:00.000-05:00

i've made a few quilts in my day -- the kind you buy two flat sheets and tie it, or sew a bunch of squares together and tie it. but now i've actually made a real quilt -- one with a pattern, borders, the whole nine-yards.

a friend of mine at church asked me to put together a quilt top for a service day our congregation had on September 11. i said sure, thinking maybe a baby quilt or something similar. she needed a twin-sized quilt that would hang to the floor. i had never made anything that big. and she gave me a bag of fabric with four started blocks. and i soon realized i might have said "sure" too soon.

i came home and let the bag of fabric sit for a while. maybe too long, because before i knew it, i had two weeks to put together this quilt and i had four blocks. my first thought, "i could sew these four blocks together and sew it on a sheet."

but, i knew that was more of a easy-way out. so, i turned to the internet for inspiration. what does a finished quilt look like? and what pattern were these four blocks? maybe a variation on log cabin?

after searching through countless images, i had a few ideas and started cutting and sewing rectangles to squares. i made 31 squares to add to the four i already had and then set them off with a border of black.

and in less than two weeks, i had one quilt top. a real quilt. and i realized why i like sewing clothes more -- i am not a super precise sewer, and trying to keep those squares square was a lot more work!

hello, again. let's catch up.

2010-09-20T14:54:00.006-05:00

i'll admit i've been a little lazy lately. i've been meaning to download pictures for a while and then realized i needed to charge the camera's batteries before doing that. but, in a moment of sheer motivation -- the batteries are charged, the photos are downloaded, and i'm back online.

last week, little girl and i met some friends at the farm. and was little girl in heaven! she loves animals. mr. pike and i have been working on teaching little girl sign language -- and she'll sign "bird" over and over again any time she sees or hears a bird, duck, chicken, goose, etc. so, the pen with the chickens and geese were her favorite stop at the farm.

unfortunately, that's all you get to see of the farm because that's when the batteries died on me. but, we also saw two cows and a calf, two pigs, and two horses. it was a great time!

spin 'til you drop

2010-09-03T22:01:00.002-05:00

i'm not sure where she finds all this energy. we do eat the same food. although she does get 11 hours of sleep at night and two naps. wonder what would happen to me with all that sleep. . . .

i'm so glad when daddy comes home

2010-09-01T19:40:00.005-05:00

today when mr. pike came home from work, little girl ran up to give him a great big hug and kiss. when he put her down, little girl started jumping with excitement. and wouldn't stop!

i caught a bit of her warm welcome on tape -- and with a performance like that it's not hard to see why she's daddy's little girl.

how to eat yogurt

2010-08-21T23:02:00.001-05:00

little girl loves her yogurt. but it's not enough to enjoy it with a spoon in a bowl. what fun would that be?!

inspecting the yogurt is part of the yogurt-eating experience.

as you can tell, it's a full body experience. it must taste that much better when you squish the yogurt between your fingers and slide your bowl down your face. (good thing she's only in a diaper at this meal.)

little girl, let's hit the bath.