One kid at a time and some fermentation

I decided not to post while we were in Chicago, since the flickr pictures tell the story. We got back late late Friday night and Saturday I headed straight to work for a very full day while daddy dealt with the inevitable post-vacation recovery process including melt-downs, lots of crying and a long nap for everyone. Sunday we were back on track. Devin has finally recovered fully from her virus and Moby is back on her usual behavior. We split the crew up into two groups. I stayed home with Devin and played casually around the house while we did load after load of laundry. Daddy and Mobysan had a full day of errands which included Costco, Lowes, Petco, QFC, and some specialty science store (phew!) and topped the afternoon off with Morrison's first in-theater movie, Up. She loved it! Especially the popcorn in a brown paper bag! He took her to this little local theater that has the old school velvet curtains and vintage couches in the lobby. Classic. When they got home they put together an old fashioned fermentation tank from a laundry tub and started some yeast cooking for some home-brew vodka. Good 'ol Lenny science. This kid is learnin' the real stuff here.

Beautifying the Body and the Garden

We had a very relaxing day around the house today. One of my favorite things about Sundays is that I can take Devin and Moby & daddy get to spend a lot of time together, usually on some project or other. Today Morrison really wanted her nails painted, after seeing Radha's pedicure last night at dinner. I offered to do it, but she requested daddy. He has never in his life painted a nail, so it was fun for both of them. She got her mani-pedi and the two of them spent the rest of the day getting dirty expanding our potted garden. They mixed their own special blend of soil and put in a new tomato, more lettuce, carrots, and beans that our neighbor gave us. She plants these incredible flat beans along the fence between her yard and our driveway and after complimenting her on them last year she saved some seeds for us this time around. Devin, aka "The Destructor" got herself into as much trouble as possible eating dirt, rocks, ants and overturning pots. Some ribs slow-cooked in the oven most of the day and were finished up on the grill. We all know how Moby and daddy like their bone meat!! Poor little Niesta is growing her top set of teeth, they are breaking through as we speak. We are popping the homeopathic teething tablets in and the Chinese herbs, but we might have to resort to Tylenol later tonight.

Donuts to Dancing

Another "make", this time donuts. I made them when I was a kid with my dad too. Delicious!

Later, we had to work off all that sugar so dada pulled out his dj skills and we had a little dance party in the play room.

Mother's Day

The best thing Lenny could have given me for mother's day is a couple nights of rest. He was happy to comply and took the girls up to his dad's for the weekend. They had a blast at an alpaca farm, rolling (or somersaulting) in the yard, blowing bubbles, playing with balls, and watching Fantasia for the first time while mama had the chance to sleep through the night.

Dance News, Gate, Painting with Veggies & Baby Legs

Today was dance day. I didn't know it was also dance-review day. Morrison was reviewed by her teacher and was given a certificate announcing that she had finished the first level of Creative Dance and was being moved up to Creative Dance II for next semester! This is very impressive because that class is for 4-5 year olds, and she started this class 2 semesters in. Our little munchkin is really enjoying the class and it appears that is paying off in her skill level as well.

In Devin news, her crawling, and her increasing crawling speed necessitated the installation of the baby gate at the top of the stairs. We put it up for Morrison, but never shut it since she was so overly cautious she never made a move for the stairs. We are in a very different situation now. Little miss "on-the-move" is all about taking risks and is going so far as to get herself to a stand and then letting go of whatever aid she used. This always winds up in falling on her butt, or sometimes straight backwards. NO FEAR in this one. She has places to go and is determined to walk ASAP. The gate is up, which gives me a few extra minutes and some piece of mind. Now to childproof the rest of the house!!!!

We also did a little art project today. Something I remember enjoying a lot as a child, painting with vegetables. I cut up a potato, some broccoli, napa cabbage, a carrot and celery and let Moby use them to make prints on paper with her easel paint. It was fun, but she got bored of it quickly. I thought it would be a bigger hit after the fun we had painting the rocks. I guess you can't win them all.

The last bit of excitement, for mama anyway, is the baby legs arrived today. They were intended for Devin, so that her crawling outside, where we have no grass, wouldn't tear up her knees, but Morrison wanted to try them and the purple stripies suited her so well I'm going to let her keep them. I'll get another set for Devin too, they work great and are super cute to boot.