Where Did the Weekend Go?

Only one more "short weekend" until Dave gets back to his regular 4 day work week (3 days home with us)! It can't come soon enough.

Friday I picked Eddie up early from preschool for some "us" time. We had a snack and then watched Toy Story 3 on Netflix. He snuggled with me for nearly an HOUR under a thick blanket...I was in H.E.A.V.E.N. He hasn't stayed still for so long on me since he but a wee nursing newborn. But this was nicer since we got to talk about the movie (he liked Lotso, the creepy magenta bear best and was very concerned when Buzz broke the garbage bag using the dinosaur's tail to escape).

My big man, eating out of Uncle's old "bunny dishes" that we had as kids.

We had split pea soup made in the crock pot that night, along with some skillet cheddar corn bread. Perfect for the cool weather.

On Saturday we puttsed around the house for a while until Dave got up the gumption to set up the stone saw on the patio so he could lay the paving stones in the LAST (promise) part of the soon-to-be outdoor kitchen. He didn't get any work done that day, though, because I had to leave right after we set up the saw so he had to be on daddy duty. Eddie can actually be quite helpful with projects nowadays, but the loud saw scares the bejesus out of him! Plus, it started to rain.

That afternoon/evening I went to my friend Kelly's Shutterfly House Party. She was one of 3000 people across the country chosen to host a party showcasing the all new Custom Photo Books. It was fun--wine, delicious food, fun ladies, and lovely Kelly teaching us how to make amazing books. Plus we each got a free book! I've made several photo books over the years, but usually just opt for a pre-designed one where I just modify the text and pictures. My friend Joanne got married a year ago and I keep meaning to send her a recipe book for a gift. Well, now's the time! I started her book, called Julie's Scratch Cooking, filled with tons of step-by-step pictures and tutorials on canning. I hope she likes it...and that I don't take forever finishing it!

That night we watched Gnomeo and Juliet after Eddie went to bed. It only occurred to us afterward that it was a movie we should have waited to watch with Eddie. Oh well, it was cute enough to watch again. (Side note: Dave is thinking of replacing one of our toilets and I told him I'd like to put it in the yard with a wisteria in the tank. Fun, right?)

Sunday we tackled the to-do list and tried to embrace that fact that Eddie didn't roll his clock back to regular time:

• shell beans
• disinfect Eddie books (he had a diarrhea explosion a month ago during nap and we weren't sure which, if any, of the 12 books in his crib got dirty...so I Lysoled all of them...finally)
• pack away Halloween decorations (but I hung some of the spider lights in Eddie's room on a timer so he can enjoy them before bed)
• laundry
• install paving stones

Dave worked on the paving stones for about 3 hours while I kept Eddie busy and out of his way. Eddie and I went to the grocery store to get some things for dinner, and that activity alone took about an hour. That's crazy when you realize we live only 1/2 mile from the store. But Eddie insisted on walking most of the way to, through, and from the store...even though I had the comfy BOB stroller for him. He had to inspect every yard we passed to see if there were any kitties he could pet. Luckily I wasn't in a hurry.

This is where our outdoor stovetop, sink, and countertops will eventually go:After his nap and Dave was done outside, I got busy cooking a Thai dinner for us. We had pad Thai noodles (with a recipe I am finally happy with and Dave said was better than most restaurants!), tom ka gai soup (realized that "light" coconut milk is not worth it...gotta use the full-fat stuff), Thai iced teas, and green curry made with eggplant and sweet potato leaves from our CSA basket. We wanted to make fried bananas to eat with coconut ice cream, but we were way too full.

Last night I finally got to see a picture of our newest niece/nephew on Zennie's blog! Bernie's having another baby Bower in May. I'm soooooooooo happy for them (well, all of us)! My feeling is that the baby is a boy. It'll be so fun to see what this baby looks like and what they name him or her. Ahhhhhhhhhh, babies! And Bower babies to boot--Bower genes sure do make some adorable babies.

Right now I'm taking a break from standing at the lab bench, weighing out my leaves, stems, and grass for my compost experiment. I'm nervous and happy that I'm FINALLY getting this thing started.