honey flax bread. [250.365]

One week eating storebought bread (because I screwed up last weekend - left the bread in the oven WAY too long because I got wrapped up in course-prep) reminded me just why I spend the time making my own sandwich bread every Sunday. Mmmm, honey flax goodness. So perfect for PB&J sandwiches, which is what…

#tbt M’s VERY first day of school. [247.365]

Oh, how much she's grown these last two years! This picture of her with her houseplant (a required first day of school donation, for the older kids to take care of) still cracks me up.

M’s first day of school [246.365]

Ok, it's a little silly, because she's a preschooler at a Montessori school that (by virtue of being a Montessori school) doesn't even have yearly grade-levels, plus she attends their summer program and all that, but after 2.5 weeks off, I think it's totally worth celebrating M's first day of school for the 2014-2015 school…

zoo! [239.365]

We went to the zoo on Wednesday morning. It was nice and cool and not too busy there, so we had a pretty good time. And M got to see an elephant take a bath, which is what she told me in the car on the way to the zoo she MOST wanted to see,…

this is how we play ball. [238.365]

Tuesday was a much better day - we had friends over in the morning and it helped both M and I so much to have other friendly faces in the house. (And my mama-friend says it helped her and her daughter a whole lot, too!) In the afternoon, we "played ball". This is how we…

“tigger eight” [237.365]

When M gets her train set out, she tells me she wants to build a "tigger eight". (She means "figure eight", of course!) Monday was...not a great day. Lots of crying for both of us. This fulltime-SAHM-who-actually-does-still-need-to-get-worky-work-done gig is breaking me.

toddler-hiking! [236.365]

We joined a Meetup group of folks who want to go hiking locally with their toddlers, and today was the first meetup. We went to Mendon Ponds and did a 2.2 mile hike and met some new friends and it was nice, though after M bit it (HARD) a few times by running like a…

snuggles. [234.365]

M needed extra snuggles and begged to be held in the "wrap". I'm actually kind of amazed that at 35 pounds, I can still (fairly comfortably, even!) front-carry her in my Hop-Tye. Those wrap-style straps really distribute her weight well over my entire back (and I've gotten mighty strong carrying this giant kiddo around for…

look out over the reservoir. [233.365]

M loves to look at the reservoir at Highland Park. It's become another regular stop on our 2 playground walks. This was a rough day. Cranky, demanding M + exhausted, frazzled mama = not a great combo.

IKEA train! [231.365]

My friend picked up an IKEA train set for M and we got it Tuesday. M is SO FREAKING EXCITED about her train set!! Hooray for friends who can easily access IKEA and for cheap train sets that are small and thus easy to transport all the way from MN to here. I love many…

scenes from a ridiculously long walk. [230.365]

We went on a ridiculously long walk this morning, on this first day of the two weeks where M doesn't have morning camp (her school starts back the Wednesday after Labor Day for her - mine of course starts on that Tuesday, so that's super fun!). We walked to the post-office to mail the package…

rough day. [227.365]

I stupidly thought I'd sneak a little knitting in while M finished her lunch, but of course, she climbed up onto my shoulders. This kid basically never leaves me alone. Sometimes it's sweet, and other times, it's just so damned overwhelming I can't even. Friday was the latter, alas. Friday was rough. M's last day…

#tbt babyStripes! edition [226.365]

Awww.

mr. doggie the fox [225.365]

That's his full name, according to M. She "walks" him around using the yoga strap as a leash :)

more balance bike fun! [223.365]

I took M back to the canal path this afternoon so that she could ride her balance bike again. I used Runkeeper so that I know to turn around before we got TOO far away from the car, but she covered an entire mile (half mile out, half mile back) which is pretty cool. I've…