Scrounge

With girls camp looming on the horizon

(I agreed to be our crafts director this year.....uhhhhh...cross your fingers for me. HA!)

It was time to go a scroungin' for cheap supplies. =)

There is a store in Berkley called Urban Ore where people bring their old "reusables"

(anything that would probably end up in a landfill that others could possibly use....like window frames, doors, furniture, sinks, chairs, suitcases...you name it, and it's there).

When Talin and I were living in Oakland we would make weekend excursions to this warehouse FULL of finds!

It always blew our minds what we would see there, and this time was no different.

To be honest, it's a lot like walking through a landfill

(a less stinky...indoor landfill)

or an abandoned neighborhood of houses full of long forgotten belongings.

Lucky for me, they had just what I was looking for. =)

TA DAH!

I think I'll wait until after camp to tell you why I need a giant, ornate, plaster frame....

...but here's a hint. =)

Before we headed back home, we decided to snag some sushi at one of our old favorite hang outs.

Ezra was beyond excited that we let him eat his "cookie" before the sushi rolls came.

I'm still not sure I categorize this little sponge cake filled with fig as a cookie....but it worked for him. =)

And of course, what trip to the east bay would be complete without a quick stop at Jeffery's clothing store?

Oh how I love you Jeffery's.....

...although things got a little dangerous this time when I discovered that they are now carrying kids clothes.

I was SERIOUSLY tempted to snag a cashmere sweater for Ezra because he looks so much like his dad in it......

...and then my common sense shoved it's way into my thoughts and started shouting,

"CASHMERE???

On Ezra?????

You know he's two right?

You know he's going to tear a sleeve or snag the hem before you walk out of the store....RIGHT??

Are you kidding me????"

I gently tugged it off and sighed as I put it back on the well stocked shelf it came from.

HA!

I guess I'm not the only mom who can foresee clothing destruction. =)

Oh how I love my weekend adventures with these boys!

1:30 on a Friday morning....

My body says...

"PLEASE go to bed"

...but my brain says...

"just three more rows!"

HA!

I guess brownies at 11:30 probably weren't the best choice.

Oh well. =)

Away we go

We've thought about it.....

...talked about it...

...and one time, almost just jumped in the car and did it....

...but this time it's REAL!

Tickets are on the way...and so are we!

Look out Aunt Heidi!

We're coming to play!! =)

Fortin'

A new joy has been discovered in our house...

...not by Ezra...

...by TALIN!

HA HA HA!

He's reliving his childhood joy of fort building with his son.

Who knew an old Ikea futon could provide so many hours of fun?

Of course, no self respecting fort dweller would presume to occupy such a grand space without singing a rousing round of "Davy Crocket" at the top of their lungs.

Or so "his majesty" seems to think.

(lately he's informed me that I should be addressing him as "your majesty"....still not really sure where he picked that one up. HA!)

"BAAAAAVEY BAAAAAAVEY ROCKETT......"

Baby cakes

Most of you already know that my beautiful sister, Lisa, is excitedly expecting her fourth child.

They decided to do something special for the "gender reveal" with this baby.

At the ultrasound, they had the technician write down the gender of their baby and seal it in an envelope.

They took that envelope to their friend, who is a baker, and he made a beautiful cake with a secret color inside (either pink of blue).

So, today at 5 we all gathered round her kitchen table(some of us via Skype)....

...and cast our votes about whether or not the new cousin would be a baby boy or girl.

The cake was so cute on the outside.....

...but we couldn't wait to see what color would be waiting on the inside

(look at Sophie's face! So cute!!)

And with one swipe of the knife....

TA DAH!!!!

Welcome to the family baby boy #3!!!!!

The look on every one's faces was priceless.

SO much screaming and laughing!!

Talin and I were laughing so hard.....then we just sat back and watched how happy everyone was and wished we lived closer.

Of course, we had to celebrate with a little "baby cake" of our own!

We are so excited for a new boy to join the cousin parade!

We love you Vincent Family!!

p.s. Ezra thinks the new baby should be named "eeohay".....uhhhhh ok.

HA HA HA!

I asked him how Aunt Lisa would spell that and he just smiled at me. =)

I spy with my little eye....

Last week I found the cutest picture of an I-spy quilt and realized that I've secretly been longing to make a blanket for Ezra.

I shopped, and planned, and organized, and waited....and today...the fabric has started coming!

Ezra was literally bouncing when I pulled open the package.

He squealed ,"I'm so excited".

HA HA HA!

I reminded him that the package was just FABRIC for his blanket...and that I still needed to cut and sew to get the actual quilt.

After pouring over our new purchase, he promptly stood up and declared,

"I get my zizzors Mom and cut all by myself!"

HA!

Guess I better get to work.

Wish me luck!

He found them...

They're still too big (I couldn't resist the sale two years ago!), but one glimpse of happy yellow sitting alone in the closet broke Ezra's heart and he HAD to take them out!

Luckily, the weather agreed with him and has been providing many a puddle for some much needed sloshing.

Men at work

A couple of weeks ago, Talin's work hosted a "take your child to work" day.

After a restful nap, I gleefully drove Ezra up to the city calculating in my head how many child free errands I could run...or how long it would take me to drive back home and curl up on the couch to read....

A BOOK, people!!

Do you know how long it's been since I've read a book?!

Needless to say I was looking forward to some "Jen Time"

Talin met us at the front of his beautiful building.

He gathered backpack, jacket, sippy, and son, then headed up the stairs.

I smiled and waved....

...and my heart sank!

Driving away I glanced at the empty car seat in the rear view mirror, and had some serious thoughts about turning around to snag my baby back!!

I didn't feel like going home.

Oh sure that book still called my name...and I was excited to have a chance to just "be" for a while....

but I was also so lonely for that unending chatter in the backseat.

I decided to stop at Costco and wait in line for gas

(without having to tell stories, play kids music, or chant "almost done" over and over and over).

I DID finally get to sit down and read...

and it was just as wonderful as I remember it.

But, I couldn't wait for that train to pull into the station...

...bringing back two of my favorite boys in the whole world...

I never thought I'd be one of those moms you see crying in the car after dropping their baby off on the first day of preschool...

...but I have a pretty strong feeling I'm going to be.

Oh well. =)

New Addition

While shopping at Dollar Tree for a recent church activity, I was digging through a pile of teacher supplies when I heard Ezra's lilting squeal of "oooooooohhhhhhhhh" behind me.

I turned in time to see him pulling a small plaster dog out from underneath a foam cowboy hat.

He snuggled the tiny statue into his arms, nestled it against his cheek, and quietly cooed, "nice to meet you doggy!"

Giggling to myself, I came over to "pet" this new friend.

I asked Ezra if he knew the puppy's name...he thought it out for a bit and came back with...

"uuhhhh his name is Chiwowwoah."

HA HA HA!

That makes sense. =)

The two of them complacently followed me up and down the aisles while I searched for the supplies on my list.

When it came time to leave, I tried to convince Ezra to take his new friend back to the shelf where his "mommy and daddy" were waiting for him.

He gazed adoringly at the tiny painted black nose, then softly petted him and said,

"No he will be sad. He want's to come to my house."

OK....well...I guess I can't argue with that.

And that's how we adopted a puppy for a dollar!

Chiwowwoah has quickly moved up the ranks of toys and now sits pridefully in his place of honor as favorite companion.

He watches me from the coffee table while I tidy up the living room....

...he peers down at me from stuffed animal shelf while I put Ezra to bed at night...

...and even though his souless little eyes kind of creep me out...

...at least he doesn't smell as bad as Harvey monkey does.

HA!

Maybe I can finally get that stuffed monkey into the wash!!

I guess it's true what they say..."Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless, ever, if you have a dog" -Douglas Maloch

....even if he's just made out of plaster. =)

Easter 2011!

For weeks, Ezra had been asking to "go see the Easter Bunny" and I KNEW he didn't mean the big costumed guy at the mall...

...so we loaded up, one cool friday morning and headed over to Ardenwood farms (We really should just buy a membership!) to see the bunnies.

It was literally one of the most perfect days I have ever seen over there...

...not too hot, just the right amount of cloud cover...gorgeous!

We walked around talking and looking at all the animals, and then he spotted it....

...the big green tractor!

He inspected every inch of it, then climbed up...hung on...and just looked off into the distance.

I tried not to laugh as he so obviously was pretending to be alone on his acres and acres of fields. =)

Soon, he spotted a hay circle that looked like fun to play on, so he abandoned his new green friend and took off.

He tromped around and around and then,

"Oh....Hi Chicken!

You are eating worms?"

He tried to get down to talk on a more personal level...

...but she was just too fast!

So he contented himself with just yelling at her from afar

"YOU ARE EATING WORMS??"

HA!

On the train ride we spotted HUNDREDS of goats

( I mean it! Look closely at this picture and you'll see that the goats seem to go on for miles through the trees)

The conductor told us that rather then mow down all the vegetation on their land, they hire goat herders to bring in their flocks and keep down the growth that will become fire hazard later in the summer.

How smart is that?

We spotted these two brand new babies in the herd.

Aren't they adorable?

On Saturday, Ezra and Daddy went to soccer class.

While they were away, the Easter Bunny stopped by to hide eggs...

.....and treats....

...he even left a basket of goodies for Daddy!

On his way out, he left behind a trail of eggs all the way down the hall to the elevator...

...which Ezra was SO EXCITED to pick up when he got home!!

Then the hunt was on!

He found a new Thomas Train set...

...which pretty much halted most of the hunting...because it needed to be played with!

...but after a while he was right back into it.

A mysterious egg trail led down the hallway..

...and into Ezra's bedroom where he found his very own BIKE!!

His happiness literally filled the room...

(with laughter and squeals, HA!)

... he couldn't wait to jump on and try it out!

The bike was the official hit of Easter Saturday.

Good Job Easter Bunny!

Oh yeah...and there were treats to find and nibble on too.

HA HA HA!

I think he finally "found" his chocolate bunny after like an hour of playing.

Oh well.

Maybe next year we'll skip the treats altogether.

We spent the rest of the day biking.

On Sundaym we started our celebrations with Bunny Biscuits and then headed for church.

It was so wonderful to be surrounded by our sweet friends on a beautiful day of hope and rejoicing.

Talin took over the picture taking from here on out.

Here are some of the lovely, quiet shots he got of the day...

(Ezra will probably kill me for this one day...but there is something about that little pull-up bottom and fuzzy easter bunny ears that just makes me grin!)

(We officially "set" the table this year! WOO!")

(yes...my eyes are closed...it was the best one we got! HA! Oh well)

The boys ended their day by looking at Thomas catalogs together on the floor.

What a wonderful Easter weekend!