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Today, River turned one.

This is the kind of guy whose first word is happy.

He loves to sing and dance.

He loves to watch Liam -and is learning how to dodge him-

He enjoys all food except broccoli and refried beans.

He recently learned to drink from a juice box, and is now a big fan.

He has unpotted my potted thyme on the deck at least a dozen times and will likely return for more.

He dislikes sleeping -although he is finally sleeping through the night!!! downstairs in the shared room with Liam!!!- and he hates having his nose wiped.

He waves hello and goodbye, claps to music, points at things of interest, and uses all three signs interchangeably to tell me he is all done with a meal.

And his favorite thing, above all else, is hugs and kisses and snuggles.

eggs and Easter

egg-coloring

 egg-smiling

 egg-finding

 egg-smashing

..............................................................................................

Our Easter weekend was celebrated between severe thunderstorms, trips to and from the airport with my brother, lots of time spent in the kitchen, evenings and mornings at church, and the never-ending Liam shenanigans, keeping me on my toes with the not-so-little baby insisting on being held all the time.

It was a busy weekend. A fun weekend. A long weekend.

This has been a week

This has been a week for lots of teething (River finally has his two front teeth, and Liam is working on another set of molars).

This has been a week of fevers, sleepless nights, and (first time ever) kid puking all over the place.

 This has been a week of family car rides,

and the ever-rare pictures of me.

Usually I am the one behind the camera, but Gabriel saw it as his duty to share that I am always digging for my keys...

This has also been the week for repeat puke-fests, minutes from the farmer's market, and all over himself and the backseat of the car.  

 Fun, fun, fun.

This has been a week for the farmer's market in a clean change of clothes, a cinnamon roll he really wanted but didn't eat, and a stroller to ride in.

This has been a week for bad diaper rashes (too many strawberries = blistered bum), which means this has also been a weekend for lots of naked time since nothing heals those blisters faster.

This has also been a week for exploring the dryer. This boy is a climber...

This has been a week for a questionably clean bath that was oh-so-fun.

How was your week?

it's Monday

I am so glad that Monday usually comes with a morning visit from Crystal and her kiddos. And even when our kids are cranky, teething and wanting to be held the entire time (the babies), and bickering over toys (I'll let you guess on that one) getting together is still a highlight of our week.

Even when Liam is picking on Simone and she keeps telling him to stop chasing her, they're still friends. And they sure are cute together.

When they were getting ready to leave, Liam slipped and somehow managed to cut the corner of his nostril. After I cleaned up the blood and he seemed over the immediate pain, he would not let up about needing a bandaid. I told him it wouldn't work on his nose (and I am out of bandaids...). He was insistent, so I offered him a sticker (address label) instead, thinking he'd want it on his arm or his shirt.

He wanted the sticker. And he is still wearing it on his nose.

note to self: when he "needs a bandaid," freebie address labels are just as effective...

peanut butter granola

I have been finished with the 3 day fruit cleanse since Thursday, and, let me tell you, real food has never tasted so good.

This was my first experience with any kind of a dietary cleanse, and I was miserable the entire time. I don't think it helped that I was also dealing with caffeine withdrawal (even though I allowed myself small amounts of green tea). But now I am reaping the benenfits: one cup of caffeinated tea in the morning is all I need to keep me going. And I can finally eat a piece of fuit again without feeling like I am going to gag.

Every meal since then has seemed like a celebration. An ode to good food.

And it doesn't get much better than homemade granola. Wait, make that peanut butter granola. I ate it with a bowl of plain yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a handful of sliced bananas.Yum!

 I found the recipe on The Kitchn, added a little more oats, used maple syrup instead of honey, sliced almonds instead of peanuts, sesame seeds instead of pumpkin seeds, and doubled the amount of ground cinnamon. It's delicious: just enough peanut butter flavor to make it a treat, but not so much that it masks all of the other ingredients.

And it's Liam-approved (and that's saying a lot with this selective eater...).

River likes it too. And with the yogurt, it was great practice with a spoon.

Peanut Butter Granola

Inspired by this one on The Kitchn. See above for substitutions. I use the unsalted creamy peanut butter in the bulk section at Ozark Natural Foods, but the granola seemed like it could use a bit more salt. Next time I make this, I'll increase the salt to 2 teaspoons.

• 5 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Stir together all of the dry ingredients (oats through ginger). I did this in my KitchenAid. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the remaiing ingredients (maple syrup through olive oil). Add the liquids to the oat mixture and stir to combine.

3. Spread in a 9x13 baking pan and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

This would be good with some raisins or dried cranberries tossed in, or even some mini chocolate chips. But it's very tasty without the add-ins, too.

I just finished a small cup of it with some milk. Tasty snack, indeed. 

mulch and a new 'do

Here is something I love about Siloam Springs: the city's branches-to-mulch program. They pick up any branches (and even entire tree trunks...) left out by the road and shred them into mulch to use throughout the parks and trails. Residents can also order an entire dump truck-sized load for $30 delivered. That's a bargain!

Our order was delivered on Wednesday, and not only will it be great for our garden, it has been perfect for shouting I'm the king of the mountain!

 River thinks it is great for climbing, too.

Such fun. Gabriel has already carted most of it to the backyard for the new! kid's garden (posts to come...). But Liam thinks that helping Daddy move mulch is (almost) as much fun as a mulch mountain in our driveway.

Yesterday morning, Liam woke up complaining that his hair was in his eyes, which Gabriel was more than happy to declare it reason to cut off Liam's crazy golden locks.

So we did.

I love Liam's hair long. It seems to suit him so well: the wild beauty of it made the perfect frame for his impish face. But even I have to admit that he is one cute little boy with his new haircut. Everything about it screams boy! (As does his mismatched boots and undies). 

3 day fruit cleanse {raw zucchini and tomato pasta}

I am on week 4 of Laurie's 40 Days through Lent, which is supposed to mean that I have been working in daily yoga practices and meditation, but, sadly, I've found it harder to fit in than I had hoped. Silly me. I have managed to go to Monday night yoga for the last month, and I have been getting a lot out of the group's weekly meetings where we have been focusing on shifting perspective. I need more of that. Part of this week's challenge is a 3 day fruit fast, with the intention of cleansing and restoring the body. I am on day 2, and it has not been as wonderful as a bowl full of cherries. Even though I have been eating enough fruit to keep hunger at bay, I never really feel satisfied, and all I can think about is a latte and almond croissant. Have I mentioned that I decided to eat only raw fruit for the cleanse? If I am going to go for it, I want to get the most out of all of the apples, oranges, strawberries, grapes, avocados, cucumber, papaya, mango, tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, and cantaloupe that I can. Gabriel's participating, too, so at least I am not the only one eating a plateful of raw fruit for dinner. But this plateful really wasn't that bad. It would have been better on a warmer day, somewhere around August, but it hit the spot last night. Raw Zucchini Pasta with Tomato and Pepper Marinara Sauce It was really simple to throw together: 1. Shred 2 zucchini and set aside. 2. Seed, stem, and chop 1 red bell pepper and 1/2 yellow bell pepper. Chop 1 tomato. Set aside a handful of the peppers and tomato. 3. Put the rest of the peppers and tomato into the blender along with 1 cup of tomato sauce, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 of a jalapeno (seeded and chopped), 1 tsp dried oregano, and a small handful of fresh parsley. Puree. 4. Serve the shredded zucchini with the sauce and a spoonful of the reserved tomatoes and peppers. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Serve with a smile. It's good for you.

Watersliding

the miserably cold and wet camping trip

I know. A week has come and gone, and I am just now getting around to posting about our weekend of camping with Molly and Andres. No excuses. Camping is seeing the Ozarks at their finest. Spring blossoms, brisk mornings, sunny afternoons traipsing through the woods. Except when it is cold and drizzly and thunderstorming. Oh, and we made the reservations at our favorite walk-in sites at Devil's Den.

At least somebody (Gabe) just got his new summer shoes and was overly eager to try them out, freezing temperatures and all.

The effort of getting all of the stuff to the campsite isn't quite so rewarding when all you want is somewhere dry to snuggle up under a warm blanket.

These two kept the fire going, despite the rain and the need to find all of said firewood. They're pretty much amazing. And competitive. They played lots of rounds of who-can-find-the-biggest-log-and-haul-it-back-to-camp.

Somehow, we even convinced my mom to come and spend a night in the woods. She must really love us.

Liam, as usual, thought camping was fantastic. Mud and fire. What's not to love?

And wagon rides in the woods? All the better.

Here's my favorite picture from the trip. The misty exposure. The necessary mugs of a hot cuppa. And the crazed smiles on our faces that say we can't believe we're doing this.

Sister, thanks for not hating me for taking you camping.

Let's do it again sometime. When the weather is warmer and you have a tent that won't leak in a downpour.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Amanda.