Good Fortune

Abel and I used a months-old gift card to enjoy a lunch date at P.F. Changs earlier this week. What a treat! I just love lunch dates. Of course, our darling companion Nathaniel tagged along although he had already eaten. (Lucas was at school--shhh don't tell!)

Nathaniel spent the entire lunch watching all the activity of the restaurant. His head turned to follow every server and he did quite a bit of flirting with the table of three ladies to his left (and behind my back!).

At the end of the meal, Nathaniel chose his fortune cookie and this was his fortune, "Your happy heart brings joy and peace where there is none."

I thought it was so perfect for our happy boy. His lovely nature and constant smiles (he always has one at the ready for anyone who gives him even a glance) bring such joy to our little family as well as all friends and strangers we encounter on our journeys. I am so grateful for such a sweet baby.

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My own fortune was one to remember as well: The simplest answer is to act. (The fortune cookie version of Just Do It!) Too often I dither or worry or get stuck in the circles of my own thinking. I need to just get out of my own head and act much more often. Maybe I'll put mine on the fridge!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Six Signs of Spring

1. Crocus spotting!

2. Mulch (from our nearby park) in Nathaniel's diaper.

3. Bath night becomes almost every night, instead of every other night (or even possibly every third night as sometimes happens in the winter when we're stuck inside for days on end!).

4. Muddy jeans, muddy overalls, muddy faces, muddy hands.

5. Puddle hunts!

6. Lucas's two pairs of shoes turn into the "muddy pair" and the "clean pair." Unfortunately, the clean pair often gets muddy, too, and so "clean" actually just refers to the least-muddy-at-the-time.

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Spring Things

A friend recently offered to give me a brand new bottle of Mrs. Myer's Basil hand soap because it was making her sneeze. The funny thing is that I had just unearthed a package of Medela pump and save bags that I wanted to give to her, so it was a satisfying trade for both of us. I have to say that Mrs. Myers Basil is my new favorite scent!

I have it at the kitchen sink and find myself washing my hands extra-often just for a whiff of the wonderful, spring-like scent. (And that's saying a lot because I'm a big hand-washer anyway!) Now I'm anxious to run out of counter top spray, all purpose cleanser and dish soap so I can replace them all with this lovely scent!

Thank you, Charlotte! (Though I'm terribly sorry it makes you sneeze!)

I was at Target the other day picking up a few prescriptions and of course had to peruse the $1 section. (I just adore that section!) In my opinion, The Find Of The Season is a set of three small, metal planter decorations. Each packet contains a pink, blue and green bird on a copper stick. I am just thrilled with them (especially the pink and blue...the green blends in too much with my green house plants) as the quality is fabulous!

{I may or may not be planning a return trip to purchase several more sets tomorrow! Ahem!}

I'm thinking of so many more purposes for them than as planter decorations. For example, one would be absolutely adorable tied onto a ribbon on the outside of a gift. Hopefully your Target has them as well!

(I bought the single sprig of Rosemary at our Christmas Market and am so thrilled with the purchase! I've already used it so often! I've cut off the new growth on the top and am trying to root a second sprig.)



It is time to start saving your eggs to make Cascarones for Easter! Long-time readers know this is my absolute favorite Mexican (or is it more generally Hispanic?) tradition that I married into. Whenever you use an egg, just carefully crack off the top, dump the inside to use, then rinse the empty shell and put it back in the carton. We're unsure of our Easter plans this year, but if we stay home, I'm planning to invite some friends to our local park to have a big Cascarones celebration this year!

Spring IS on its way, right? We're just desperate for it!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Up, Up, Up

Our little guy loves to climb...


Happy as a clam on top of the table. He's never even considered sitting in those lovely chairs!

Usually this stool is against the kitchen sink so Lucas can easily wash his hands...now I have to make sure it is in the middle of the floor or I'll find Nathaniel standing at the sink playing with whatever (usually breakable!) things are in there! (Note that he's climbing from the back and not going the easy way via the step on the front!)

His goal was to climb from the cart onto the top of the shelves. But as he reached, the cart slowly rolled back. Of course I had to snap a quick pic before helping him!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Line Dry

Several weeks ago I posted on Facebook that Abel could probably fix anything.

The next day our dryer broke.

It still isn't fixed.

Well, he's fixed it several times before (replaced the belt at least 3 times). The timing element had been broken for a few days at that point (as we found out when I put a final load in one Saturday night and came downstairs AFTER church on Sunday morning to find the drying still going!). But that was easily "fixed" by using the kitchen timer.

Now it no longer heats. (Kinda' the main thing a dryer does, right?)

The week it broke was an extra busy one. So, we figured it would be easy to line dry for a few days until Abel had a chance to fix it.

And here we are MANY WEEKS later (five? maybe six?) and we're still line drying. There isn't even a monster pile of laundry on the floor. In fact, we've been keeping up with it quite nicely.

I have to admit that almost every day (the key here is to do a load a day because you need the almost the entire day to line dry) I am shocked that: 1) I haven't yet freaked out about this situation, and 2) It isn't so bad.

(Major props to Abel who has been very creative with places to hang laundry and has been very diligent in hanging it!)

I think if we can make it into March Abel will put up a clothesline in the back yard and maybe we'll make this a regular thing.

(Don't worry, neighbors, undies will remain on the drying rack inside. A line has to be drawn!)

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!