May birthday excess

I love May for so many reasons, some of which include the weather finally turning a much needed warm corner, the flowers, the anticipation of summer vacation only weeks away, farmer's markets, Mother's Day, and of course our birthdays. It always feels a little greedy but definitely soul satisfying to be celebrated and to celebrate each other. This year we did something a little different and took a day to each do something the other loves and share it. My mom was kind enough to take the AM shift and so we left our children in her faithful hands.

We started with a brunch cooking class which met at the farmer's market. It was so fun to meet with the chef and hear about how to pick the best fruits and vegetables. Then we were each assigned a task (our was mushrooms) and were to meet back at the kitchen in an hour. Although I could have stayed at the market all day, when we returned we were greeted with a beautiful bowl of berries in creme anglaise sauce and sparkling wine. Oh, what a way to start. The class was fun, all the more so because Ben was there making me and everyone laugh. The food was amazing and I definitely learned some new recipes and techniques.

After the class, and with very full tummies, we returned home long enough to welcome our PM sitter, the amazing Colleen. I thought for sure the kids would throw a fit at our abandonment, but they happily embraced this new Mom-and-Dad-are-now-jetsetters lifestyle and waved us goodbye. We had two free rounds of birthday golf at a beautiful (not that I have anything to compare it to) course up the hill from our house. I have to admit that driving the cart was more fun than hitting the ball but I was not that bad. Especially for this only being my second time playing golf ever. I'm not planning on investing in pink golf shoes but I could definitely do this once a year. And check out the curtains on the sides of the cart. Those definitely came in handy on the empty 17th hole. :) Happy birthday to me and my love.

Enjoying the beautiful day before the family dinner

My handsome boy

Admiring the colorful veggies

Yes we did eat a plate of chilaquiles at the market before a ten course cooking class

Savoring the moment

What are we doing again? Free childcare and a bar of good chocolate in my purse, apparently I'm very easy to please.

Sweet mini mouthfuls of pure joy and deliciousness

Last week there was a fundraiser at our church to benefit IJM and all the amazing work they're doing in Portland to stop human and child trafficking (of which apparently we are the US center, yet another fun claim to fame.) Anyway, some local artists and artists from different Portland churches donated some of their work for the event and it was auctioned off. I was asked by one of the coordinators if I could contribute an artsy, adult dessert for the event and I was thrilled. Especially since as a generally broke stay at home mom, I am not able to contribute financially to these amazing causes. It was nice to feel like I could do something. God even kept me from a complete emotional breakdown as the first batch of cheesecakes I made refused to come out of the pan, and had a ganache on the top that would have broken your teeth if you had tried to eat it. Next time I am definitely going to stick with a recipe. But all in all, everything turned out wonderfully and it was a nice change to tap into my creative side. As opposed to the regular me who forces my family to eat chicken and raison casserole every night.

The lowdown on the Kahlua cheesecake bites:

Oreo crust baked 5-10 minutes

Plain cream cheese filling (Ina's recipe)

Kahlua spiked whipped cream

Kahlua/chocolate drizzle

Chocolate covered espresso bean

Mini lemon meringue tarts:

Shortbread crust

Lemon curd

Meringue topping

Lemon zest

I could not have parted with my babies if it were not for such a good cause.

First Cavity :(

Poor Ava had her first cavity filled this week. The worst part for me was knowing that she would never feel the same way about going to the dentist. Her love of going to the dentist is on par with her excitement for the Easter bunny coming over with a basket of candy...which probably explains why she has her first cavity. She really wanted to know what to expect and pushed me for details all morning. Is it going to hurt mommy? What is he going to do exactly? I tried to keep it vague and said a lot of, "he's just going to take out the little candy bugs that are eating your tooth." Oh, let me count the ways I'm traumatizing my child.

I sat in the waiting room with Ian and listened as Ava screamed her way through the procedure. He is the world's most patient dentist and deserves some kind of metal for dealing with my first born. She was so mad that her mouth was numb and kept telling me that her lip was floppy. I was trying so hard not to laugh. Here's the short version of our trip:

Yay the dentist!

Wait a minute, what is that?

Aaaahhhh! I hate you!

My big girl has now past her first painful mouth milestone and lets hope all the flossing (we just started) pays off. Otherwise, this dentist might be referring us to someone else. And frankly, I wouldn't blame him.

Zoo trip

This was such a busy week for us and we managed to fit in so many fun activities. I thought I'd post about our trip to the zoo first. Tuesday is always our busy day but we set aside our usual schedule to go to the discount day at the zoo. It used to be free day and then $2 day and now it's $4 day, but it's still a pretty good discount from the usual $11 price tag so I wanted to go at least once. We pulled Grandpa away from his studies to have an extra pair of hands and it was a good thing, because Ian would not have been content to sit in his stroller. He loved seeing all the animals and there were a lot to see.

Ava driving the tractor

The lions chilling out

Grandpa and Ian watch the animals

Ava puts on her face for the camera

Elephants

Ian got up close and personal with the chimpanzee

Ava waits patiently for the sea lion to pass by

Sibling love

Cutie pie

Queen for a day!

There is currently a tear rolling down my cheek as I mourn the end of Mother's Day. Of course it probably helped that Ava threw a mega tantrum at the end of a birthday party the day before. After carrying her out kicking and screaming while hitting me in the face with a balloon, in front of a group of mom's who homeschool their kids, have no tvs, make their own birthday gifts while pregnant with their 10th child and only allow waldorf inspired toys in their homes. I was definitely ready for a mom boost.

I think Ben was aware of the empty mom bank and kicked the celebration into high gear. He got up with the kids, left early to get breakfast from Panera, brought me breakfast in bed with handmade and very sweet and hilarious cards, and then got them all ready while I took a long shower. We had a lovely time at church and then celebrated with my mom at a french restaurant. An hour long wait meant we had to get very creative with the kiddos.

The food was delicious but the best part was I didn't even have to sit by the kids. I got to enjoy my tea and conversation and enjoy these amazing chocolate croissants. I'm definitely going to have to go back just for these.

Then Ben took the kids home and mom and I spent the afternoon shopping. It is just such a good feeling to know that the day is yours and your off duty from mom responsibilities. And most of all I am reminded how blessed I am to have an incredible mom who is now one of my closest friends, and two amazing kids who although challenge me in every possible way, also bring me the greatest joy in my life. All this and a husband who now has all the responsibility of helping my children celebrate and articulate their love for mama on this special day. Someday he'll be off the hook (but I'll still be hoping for breakfast in bed when it's just the two of us again. :))

As if all this wasn't enough, I received these beautiful flowers on my doorstep from Ben's parents. So even though Mother's Day is over I get to enjoy being celebrated a little bit longer with the beauty of these amazing lilies, and the comfort of knowing that Daddy will be escorting Ava to all future birthday parties.

milestones

Well I'm walking, I might as well start feeding myself.

Tomorrow I''ll be getting my license and browsing through college brochures.

copycats