In A Nutshell

the big o-three

Phoenix turned three yesterday and I was constantly reminded of just how precious these fleeting moments of his childhood are. He's not a baby anymore; he's a little boy. Dang, that was fast. Too fast. I nearly cried several times today, but I'll try not to get all mushy on you.

I decided not to bake a birthday cake for him this year. With all the other stuff we had going on I felt it was justified. Instead, I put colored sprinkles on the tops of pan-cakes as they cooked, doused them in maple syrup, and topped the stack off with three star shaped candles. We sang happy birthday, and it was a great start to our day.

Pre-pancake making, I realized we were out of maple syrup. I ran over to the grocery store to get some and nabbed the monkey balloon while I was at it. It's about the same size as he is (Awesome, right?), and everywhere he went this morning, the balloon went too. 

Presents were opened and played with. 

My dad and step-mom have a penchant for buying my children ridiculously loud and/or obnoxious sounding toys. I consider it an act of well deserved retribution.

On my way back home from the above mentioned maple syrup run, I crossed paths with our neighbors. I mentioned that it was Phoenix's birthday and 20 minutes later they were at our doorstep making a personal delivery; a gift bag filled with an automatic bubble blower and three big boxes of candy. Isn't that just the nicest thing?

This photo only tells half the story. After the bubbles came the hose war with Logan. Both Phoenix and Isaiah were both soaked from head to toe, with smiles from ear to ear. After having them dry off and change their clothes I tried to get Phoenix to take a nap. That was a definite no-go, so we just headed over to the beach as planned.

We went to Doheny which is a great location for a number of reasons, numero uno being that it parallels the rail road. I don't know any three year old boys who aren't completely fascinated with trains. 

Logan built a fire that made the children from the neighboring campsite flock to us like we were Egyptian gods descending from the heavens. I think it was the popping of the seaweed pods in the fire that piqued their curiosity. Nothing like a little snap, crackle, and pop. Fortunately, they quickly made friends with our children and they had a great time together.

We made s'mores and had ourselves a little picnic. That's two things I can tick off our summer to-do list. Woot!

However, Phoenix didn't want to have anything to do with the s'more I made him. Apparently, blackened marshmallows are not his style. He pointed a condemning finger to the scorched mallow and declared, "I don't want to eat this mommy, it's disgusting." Um... okay. So I made separate piles of grahams, un-toasted mallows, and chocolate which he ate happily.

It's all you little man. Happy birthday.

southern california wild flower of the week - jimson weed

This flower is from the jimson weed plant. The pretty violet star shaped flower makes the potentially deadly plant look so innocent.

real life

In my real life I watch the Rachel Maddow show every week night over the internet. I say we don't watch T.V., but I wonder if perhaps I am cheating? 

In real life I see my Iranian friends and neighbors grieving for their families in their home country.

During the commercial breaks I clip my coupons and work on crocheting a big batch of cookies & muffins for Phoenix's birthday. It's a week away!

This little guy is always taking naps on my lap; he is my lap cat. He is wondering what the heck I am doing taking his picture. He gets the scowl from me. 

southern california wild flower of the week - yerba mansa

This week we are crunching the last bits of the third grade into the next three months, and gearing up for fourth. 

Swimming classes have begun and I am truly amazed at what has been accomplished by my boys in just the four classes they've had so far. 

I am considering Spanish classes at the local college for the eldest, but am hemming and hawing over the schedule and weather or not we can make it work.

I'm crocheting cookies for the middle child when I should be doing the dishes. 

driving through LA

The 101 freeway runs straight through L.A. I love it and I hate it.

Although, I would prefer it over the 405 any day. 

On this particular drive I was the passenger. There was traffic and I was bored, so I busted out the camera, held it precariously out the window, and snapped away.

For those of you who are curious as to what the rest of the drive looks like, you can find more photos along with descriptions of what you are looking at here. Heck, while you're over there, why don't you add me as a contact?

summer

While summer is about a week away, we are experiencing what is known around here as "June gloom". The sky is overcast and dreary more often than not, and we are kept on our toes because it always looks like it could rain at any second. But will it? Usually the answer is no, but you never know.

With all this cloud cover and all the time I have spent indoors to avoid it, I have had a lot of time to think about what I'd like to do with my family this summer. Here's what I have in mind:

~ have a picnic

~ have a bonfire on the beach & make smores

~ fly a kite

~ hike the holy jim trail

~ go tide pooling

~ participate in our library's summer reading program

~ make shadow puppets

~ visit the arboretum at uci

~ go on a train ride

~ family bowling night (going out for pizza & ice cream included)

What are your plans for the summer? I would love to hear your ideas! And for my friends down under, what are you looking forward to doing this winter? Do tell.

southern california wild flower of the week - buffalo gourd

Hi. 

I was hoping that I would have some content to stuff in here between these wildflower photos, but as you can see, it didn't work out for me this week. I had a couple of posts that never came to fruition; they're still rough drafts. Maybe tomorrow I can get something going. Maybe. ;)

So I leave you with a photo of a buffalo gourd flower, and a piece of useless knowledge. Apparently, the buffalo gourd gets its name because of its foul smell. Who knew?

southern california wild flower of the week - bird vetch

The family and I go on nature walks regularly throughout the week, and I can't help but notice all of the interesting and beautiful wildflowers out there. The landscape, at first glance, may appear to be nothing but dead grass, but these little treasures are tucked away between the brown blades and beneath trees just waiting for their chance to shine. 

Instead of showing them off in one post, I thought I would spread the love around a little bit and feature one each week until I run out of photos, whenever that may be. 

This weeks wildflower is bird vetch, also known as cow vetch and tufted vetch. While this is not a native species, it is a wildflower, and a pretty one at that.

Wiki link.

broiled salmon salad with creamy blueberry mint "vinaigrette"

I'm just going to jump right in and tell you that I'm on a diet. Yeah, a diet. Before I had the baby, I spent many, many nights curled up on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry's. I will also tell you that I took full advantage of "eating for two", and "It's not me honey, the baby wants more ice cream." Oh lordy, am I paying for it now.

So lately, I've been on a quest to find healthy and nutritious meals on a calorie budget. My budget for lunch is about 300 calories or so. This little concoction fits the bill quite nicely, while taking advantage of those fantastic blueberries I got at the farmers market last weekend. 

It all starts with a bed of fresh spring baby greens, followed by a layer of cooked quinoa and broiled salmon, then topped off with the blueberry mint vinaigrette, black olives and capers. I know, it may sound a bit weird, but I promise, I won't steer you wrong. 

I call the dressing a vinaigrette because it has vinegar in it, but I suppose it isn't a true vinaigrette because it lacks the oil. That's why I'm using "".

Creamy blueberry mint vinaigrette dressing:

1/2 c. blueberries

1/4 c. non-fat greek yogurt

1 medium shallot, chopped

3 T. good quality balsamic vinegar

1 T. light brown sugar

6-8 mint leaves

1/2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Warm the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat, add chopped shallot and saute until lightly browned. Dump the shallots from the skillet into a food processor along with all the other ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Easy peasy. 

After a while the dressing will start to thicken up. Just give it a good stir and you're back in business.

For the salmon:

8 oz. salmon

1/2 tsp. olive oil

scant 1/4 tsp. dill

1/8 tsp. dried, ground ginger

sea salt & black pepper

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and turn the broiler onto hi. Place the salmon on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Brush 1/2 tsp. olive oil over the top of the salmon. Sprinkle dill, ginger, S & P evenly over the top of the fish. Place on middle rack in oven and broil for 6 - 8 minutes. Fish is done when opaque in the center. If it's not done when you check it, it's okay to break it up a bit and place it back in the oven for 2 - 3 minutes until done. 

For the salad:

3 c. mixed spring baby greens

1/2 c. cooked quinoa

4 oz. broiled salmon

3 T creamy blueberry mint vinaigrette

1 T sliced black olives

1 tsp. capers

Layer the ingredients in the order above. 

people that stand on chairs

I think it's a cliche; people standing on chairs and then having someone else take a photograph of them standing on the chair, or perhaps using the self timer. I usually see this with people showing off their new shoes. What's up with that? I can't be the only person that's noticed this, can I? 

Does standing on a chair make you cool or something? I have been pondering this most of the day. 

I was taught that chairs were for sitting on, and in my not so humble opinion, there are only three reasons that one should consider standing on a chair.

1 - you don't own a stool and need to reach something up high

2 - you're wasted

3 - you're under the age of 5

So here's my not new apron, fresh out of the laundry heap that's been in a corner of our bedroom for about a week. I didn't iron it, and I don't plan to. Also, please note that I am not standing on the chair, but just to be fair, I did consider it for a parody shot.

I purchased this apron from Karyn of Fat Orange Cat when I was pregnant with Griffin and meant to blog about it several months ago, but never got around to it. I was amazed that it fit over my huge belly bump. I know I'm an apron maker myself, but I couldn't resist this one. It was just too cute, and the colors were so perfect. 

And now for a tribute to people who like to stand on chairs:

 

1. The New Sandals, 2. 113 // 365: Bench Monday, 3. 159/365, 4. Standing on chair, 5. new shoes, 6. bench monday, 7. blanca standing on a chair, 8. My new shoes., 9. 111 | 365