My First Garden

I'm so proud of my first little patio garden! Some of my plants are doing better than others but overall it is a success.  I get giddy when I pick herbs to use with dinner and love going out there every day to water my little beauties.  And there is something about growing things that you can eat... I think I will always favor foodscaping.  Gardening reminds me of my Grandma, I have fond memories of picking carrots with her and eating tomatoes like apples in her garden.  The scent left on my hands after gardening on my patio totally brings me back to those days.

My lonely strawberry... more are on the way. 

Arugula!

I've only had one successul eggplant so far... 

This was taken a couple weeks ago... my tomato plant has exploded since then, it is huge and I think some will be ripening soon!

Cinnamon Basil... super delicious!

Purple Sage.  I haven't used any yet but I like the way it looks .

Parsley.

Cilantro.

Some spicy variety of Oregano... my other favorite!

Big Girl

Adelaide is a big girl in training these days as she attempts to switch from diapers to her beloved princess panties.  I know she is starting to understand the concept because she explains it back to me and others throughout her day:  "Don't pee in your panties, okay?!" and "Big girls sit on the toilet." But my favorite was when she said very condescendingly to a Veggietale character on screen "I'm a big girl and you're a... cucumber." The way she said it made me laugh.

Sausalito

I can't believe I grew up in the Bay Area but never visited Sausalito until last week!

It is such a darling place with stunning views of the city.

I went there with my mom, my kiddos and my niece Grace.

We got delicious Mexican food for a late lunch
and walked along the water.

Great food & charming little taco shop.

 The girls had a separate table which was good for everyone.  

I'm not usually into the tourist shops but I really liked this shirt!

My mom and I both bought one.

I nursed Maverick on this little bench facing the water when I was interrupted by some guy yelling "Don't breastfeed on the beach!" as he drove by.  How annoying.  I try to be considerate when nursing in public (even though I think people who take issue with feeding your child the way nature intended, with breasts that were created to produce perfect milk for babies are the ones with the real problem) and was covered by my sweater and facing away from the road towards the water.  But seriously?! Good thing he was a coward and didn't voice his objection to my face or I might just have decked him.  End rant.

As we approached this water sculpture I was certain it was a dolphin and my mom thought it was a submarine.  We were both wrong... it is a seal, or an otter... I always get those two confused.

A very friendly man was insistant that we wait for the wind to die down and fix our hair before he snapped this photo for us.

The whole gang.

Adelaide was secluded in the single stroller.

These cute girls loved playing in the grass while we enjoyed the scenery.

Wonderful Day!

Boardwalk

I used to feel sorry for people with kids at places like the Boardwalk or Disneyland.  I thought it must be a boring and long day having to wait in those kiddy lines and miss out on the more thrilling rides.  I didn't realize until our latest trip to the Boardwalk that I was the one missing out before! Watching Adelaide and her cousin Gracie get so excited on all the rides was just about the cutest thing ever.  Seriously, they were so giddy and you could see the wonder in their little eyes.  I guess it's official, I really am a mom now.


Mav and Charlie devoured graham crackers all night.


Jamie & me.


My cute niece & daughter.


The much anticipated airplane ride.


Good times!

Thanks Dad for making this cute montage of the little people!

Goodbye Grapes

Adelaide is asserting her autonomy lately and often does the exact opposite of what we ask.  The most frustrating is when we are in the car and she undoes part of her car seat or screams loudly to wake up Maverick.  Since I can't put her in time-out which is our normal consequence I usually turn off her music or take away a toy.  It doesn't take long for her to sweet talk me into turning the music back on or handing back her toy though; it is so much easier to give her "another chance" and drive the rest of the way in peace than listen to her tantrums.  On a long drive last week Rick and I had had enough... I told her if she did anything naughty I would throw one of her toys out the window.  She screamed really loud to wake up Maverick, so I had no choice but to throw one of her toys out the window.  Her plastic purple grapes seemed like the best candidate so I chucked them out the window while Adelaide watched in disbelief.  

Let's just say she has been exceptionally well behaved in our car ever since.  She also still looks out the window while repeating "my grapes.... my grapes" in hopes she will spot them.

I promise I don't litter normally, but thanks highway 17 for taking one for the team.  

Heaven is Here

 I believe that there is life after death, but if I'm being truly honest, a small part of me sometimes wonders.  I think that's why stories that describe near death experiences really pique my interest.  I love learning about them; they touch my soul and give me hope in a unique way.  I just finished the memoir Heaven is Here by the incredible Stephanie Nielson of NieNieDialgoues. The book includes memories of spending time with her grandmother  in heaven from while she was in a coma.  This really resonated with me because my grandmother is one of the first people that I hope to see when I move on from this life; I miss her and think about her often.  She talks about her grandmother helping her during an almost fatal plane crash and being there to guide and comfort her. This reminder of how we likely have angels watching over us and that they could be our own family members was really touching.  

I also read a book titled Heaven is for Real back in November about a little boy's out of body experience during a life saving operation.  He told his parents that he met his grandfather in heaven but  didn't recognize him in pictures until he saw one of him as a younger man.  He explained that there are no old people in heaven.  He also said that he saw Jesus, but no pictures of Jesus looked right to him until he came across "Prince of Peace" painted by Akiane Kramarik at age 8.  I realize that some of this book might have had some of the boy's imagination mixed in with his memories, but it was still an inspirational read.

Prince of Peace

Have you read either of these books? If so, what did you think? 

Both of these books were given to me by others to read, but I think I'm going to seek out more since I found them very uplifting.  If you have any book suggestions please share! 

Morning Bootcamp

Rick and I often read each other articles we find interesting, and earlier this week Rick started reading this article  about making the most of the morning aloud.  I wasn't really too excited about the subject at first but as he continued I felt like this author knew me and offered the exact advice my life is so in need of right now.  I made Rick start over so I could take notes, and then I kept interrupting him to say "who is this author? I think they know me!" Obviously they don't, it is just full of universally good advice for everyone.  

We are slowly but surely reworking our mornings to be productive and meaningful.  Every week we are going to include a new goal to work on and try to do it religiously for 21 days.  We will stop making goals when we feel like our routine is where we want it.  Ideally, our morning before Rick leaves would look something like this:

wake up early after a good night's sleep

read scriptures or something else uplifting

pray

workout

eat a healthy breakfast together

blog, read news articles or catch up on emails

{I have been slacking lately on blogging and since this is essentially the only journalish thing I've got going for me I want to be better}

We are on day five in our first week of morning bootcamp.  We have read our scriptures together every day.  Next week I think we are going to get our work outs in...