Springtime Frolics

Well, Spring is here, which means it's officially time to fiddle in the yard and rearrange everything.


Don't worry, I'm sure it will look (ahem) normal again once we're finished. Anyway, during our yard destruction we came across this little guy.



The boys were squeamish at first, but then everyone wanted to play with "Sammy." I was afraid we might hurt him if we handled him too much, so after letting Jake have a BRIEF feel, we released him back into the yard. We expect you to do your job eating pesky unwanted bugs, Sammy!


Today we had a picnic amongst the bluebonnets with David's preschool co-op. It turned out to be a really fun outing!

A Favorite Photo

of my parents.


Aren't they beautiful? Full of love and hope.

Family Room

Before:

After:

The pictures over the couch are our family pictures taken by our friend Ben. The paintings are Picasso's The Old Guitarist and O'Keeffe's From the Lake. Both are pretty meaningful to Steven and me.

It doesn't look too much like anything you'd find on those awesome chic Mommy blogs that I stalk, but I guess that's okay. I love it. It feels like us.

Spring Break Recap

Monday AM -I was sick but at least the boys got to play with friends while I went to the doctor.
Monday PM-Pizza and a movie!! (since Mom was sick).

Tuesday AM- Strawberry pickin’ at Froberg Farm and playtime at Resoft Park with friends.
Tuesday PM- Took the family to see Tangled at the dollar theater. We loved it!

Wednesday AM- Playing with friends while Mom canned jam, Challenger Park in the afternoon with friends
Wednesday PM- Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Jake’s birthday, cupcakes and ice cream afterwards

Thursday AM- Playtime at Old League City Park and Creepy Crawlers with Jungle Jim at the civic center.
Thursday PM- Hilarious St. Patty’s Day party complete with green desserts and Irish Scattegories!

Friday AM- Playtime with friends at Bay Area Park and Bodin coming over to play in the afternoon
Friday PM- Chillaxin’ time for Mom and Dad, Wii time for the boys.

Saturday AM- IHOP and Space Center with Daddy
Saturday PM- Campout in the backyard.

There. Now we have it written down for posterity (just in case the boys complain to me later in life that we never did anything).

Jake's First Birthday!

My sweet darling is one year old. I can't believe it's already been a year. It definitely doesn't seem like it's been that long since we brought him home from the hospital. But then again it's hard to remember what things were like before he was here making me laugh all day long.

After our morning canning session at Emmaly's we spent some celebratory time at Challenger Park.


Jake had a lovely time being fed cheerios by a friend.



Later that night we took the dreaded traditional birthday trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Jake was less than impressed. In fact, he spent the bulk of the evening like this:


Afterwards, his moods ranged from this:


To this:


To a little less horrified here:


And finally a smile or two here:


The most fun (of course) was watching our one year old baby go from a lovely glowing pink as he listened to his family sing "Happy Birthday" to him for the first time...


And watching him transform to a blackish green as he systematically dismantled his cupcake into a brackish paste.


He liked it though. :) Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea.

Froberg Farm

After a boring Monday, we decided to do something fun on Tuesday. Strawberry pickin' at Froberg Farm!







Afterwards, we headed to Resoft Park to blow off some steam. The big boys played hard while Jake and I sat in the shade and ate strawberries right out of the bucket---sand and all. They were outstanding...if not a tad gritty.

The next morning, my friend Emmaly taught me how to make some homemade jam. It's actually a very fun process. And I felt very accomplished after seeing my little jars of jam lined up in a row.

On Friendship

I'm glad that it's easy for me to make friends. I'm so glad that I've overcome that crippling shyness that often attacked me in high school and junior high. It's definitely a blessing to be able to talk with people I don't know. I usually feel very confident about it, too---confident that the person I'm talking to will like me and that I'll like them.

That being said, I think having a true best friend (other than Steven, coolest of all husbands) is something I'm just not meant to have. Whenever I get really close to a friend, close enough to merit complete honesty and therefore true friendship, something happens to make me feel unsafe. Someone backs away or moves on, and with the greatest of subtleties makes me understand that I can't or shouldn't depend on them for unconditional understanding and acceptance.

Afterwards we usually remain friends. I still like them--I may even love them. But I retract any and all emotional dependence I may have had for them and invest it elsewhere. It's the strategy that makes me feel the safest.

Maybe it's God's way of strengthening the relationship I have with my husband. Maybe it's His way of keeping sacred the amazing relationship I had with Mom.

But it definitely makes for some lonely moments of realization.

Despite all this negative rhapsodizing, I am grateful for the friendships I do have. And I treasure the memories of "best friends" of yore. Like Toni and Mags and Rachel and Jody. And Arnim and Josh and Eric, even though we haven't spoken in years.

A Favorite Recipe

Miserable, miserable day. I've been sick and therefore the boys have had a very boring first day of spring break.

But what makes you feel better than a steaming bowl of delicious soup? Here's my favorite recipe.

POTATO SOUP
6 Potatoes
1 Onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 14oz cans of chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 T salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 dash coriander
1 dash turmeric
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
1. Peel and cube potatoes. Boil until soft (about 15-20 min) and set aside.
2. While potatoes are boiling, melt the butter over a low to medium heat in a large soup pot, being careful not to burn it.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add garlic and saute about 1 minute.
4. Add the flour and chicken broth (a little at a time) and stir while it cooks for about 3 minutes.
5. Slowly add the water and other spices.
6. Bring to a boil, stirring often with a wire whisk.
7. Gradually add the heavy cream until you’ve reached the proper consistency.
8. Add potatoes to the soup.
9. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes to bring the potatoes to temperature.
10. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with chopped bacon, chives and a monterey or colby jack cheese blend.

This soup is WONDERFUL! Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself. It's a fabulous comfort food. I'm feeling much better now and I definitely attribute some of my wellness to the deliciousness of this soup!

Some Hobbies

I love to read. Really, I spend an outstanding amount of time reading when I clearly should be doing other things. But I can't help it. It's so incredibly engaging and relaxing at the same time. I love good books. If it doesn't feel like the author is being truthful (to scene, plot, characters, etc) I can't stomach it. Fortunately, there are thousands of talented authors out there who keep me busy. I'm currently reading "The Count of Monte Cristo," and when you get past some of the tiresome (and often unnecessary) rhetoric, it's a great story!

I also like to play the guitar and sing. I did that today with my beautiful and amazing friend Cami Hewett---in the park with the sun shining overhead while our children played raucously in the background. We strummed through and sang songs like "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "You're No Good" and "Dust in the Wind" and "Come Thou Fount" and "You Really Got a Hold on Me." Both of us were sheepish at our respective imperfections, but it felt incredible to actually just do it. Making music is a magical thing.

Nuggets of Grundy Info

Jacob is not only clapping like a maniac these days, he’s also puckering his lips together like a fish and making kissing noises.


I got a sassy new haircut.


Between the two of us, Steven and I are now teaching 7 music lessons a week. I had a personal break-through with singing the other day, and now I finally understand how to solve a problem that’s dogged me for years. (Hooray for better utilization of the nasal cavity as a means to smooth out register transitions)!!

This little guy and I have recently become obsessed with puzzles. He, Stevie and I put together a lenticular Spiderman puzzle last night that was quite a doozy.


And this BIG goofy guy’s ear infection is finally over and done with. He announced to me that he could hear out of it again for the first time in a long time, poor kid.


Jake and Daddy had a late night jam session last night…


And of course, all four of the fellas are all thinking of going back to their roots and starting up a pizza franchise in the Chicago area…

A Random Sampling of Songs Off My Mp3 Player

Are You Gonna Be My Girl- Jet

Fell in Love With a Boy- Joss Stone

My Best Friend's Girl- The Cars

You Only Live Once- The Strokes

Laughing With God- Regina Spektor

Stick Shifts and Safety Belts- Cake

Swing Tree- Discovery

Fighting for My Love- Nil Lara

Roll Away Your Stone- Mumford and Sons

Lovely, Love My Family- The Roots

Someday We'll Be Together- Diana Ross and the Supremes

Kill Monsters in the Rain - Steel Train

School Carnival

We went to our first elementary school carnival last Saturday, and we had a blast! After the obligatory sampling of carnival food (pizza, sausage on a stick, ridiculously high-priced root beer), David and Stevie decided to rock out with some punk hair-dos.


Followed up by some crazy fun Bungee Trampoline action. My boys are so cool and brave!!



Next it was on to the inflatable jousting area, where the boys eagerly took out their brotherly angst on each other.




(David had no problem playing offense).


Jake was just sort of confused about the whole ordeal. Cheerful, though.


Then it was on to the Karate booth to chop through some pieces of (very thin) wood.


We rounded the day off with some monkeying around on the jungle gym.


Check out David's face in this picture.


Fun, crazy cakes day.