Coousins

Erin and Holly came over for a mid-week slumber party. After dropping Blake off at preschool, we headed to Google for some breakfast. Erin hadn't seen Google yet so we thought we had to initiate her.

Walking around the campus:


Reade crying in the ball pit and Holly being happy:


Where are all the people?


Reade doing his best daddy impersonation:

Creamy

I finally chilled my ice cream bowl so I could make homemade ice cream for the kids. I can't believe how many ice creams contain corn syrup. Vanilla ice cream was my first choice, but Blake vetoed me so chocolate it is. I found a super simple recipe at this great blog (BAKEDBREE.COM).

I loved the fact I got to use my fancy cocoa from Penzeys Spices:


The kids feeling how cold the KitchenAid ice cream attachment gets after being chilled in the freezer for days:


You just add all ingredients together and pour into the mixer. Twenty minutes later you have ice cream:


I forgot the vanilla extract, but it still tasted good:


The kids didn't even notice my mistake:


*Andrew says the ice cream is too cocoa-y. I don't care since I don't eat chocolate ice cream!

Cheese

I gave Andrew tickets to a cheese making class at Sur la table for Valentine's Day. We made ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. The ricotta was made into an ice cream with chocolate shavings and sugared orange peel (yum!). It was a fun class with tons of people and lots of kitchen chaos.

Us at our station:


One of our team members stirring the mozzarella:


Andrew putting the cheese into the strainer to separate the curds and whey:


Time to heat up the cheese so we can stretch it into the mozzarella balls we see in the store:


Our ricotta and personal mozzarella cheese balls to take home:


Andrew's sister was in town and Papa David was such a great sport for watching all the cousins while we cooked and Ellen and Sandy hit up two farmer's markets. Super Grandpa!

What a gang:

Saturday

I am trying to remedy some of the empty, muddy spots in the backyard with seeds that will someday become plants. It is a lot to ask of a packet of seeds. First, they have to survive the birds. Next, they have to survive the kids. Lastly, they have to get reliable water from a certain somebody. Tall orders.

Buying soil:


Andrew just pulled out two loaves of sourdough bread that he made from his starter. I loved walking by the back door and smelling those loaves baking only to be stunned by the smell of chicken manure in the front courtyard when I rounded the corner. Pregnancy nose can be a blessing and a curse:


I need to dig deep within myself to find the energy to dig deep and plant these suckers:

Patched

Almost every pair of hand-me-down pants have holes in the knees. It is so close to summer so I thought I would just patch the knees and hope for the best:


I bought basic patches and sewed a zig zag stitch around the edges. Pants are so hard to work with since you have to keep the front and back separate:


They didn't come out looking too great so I think I will save them for non-preschool days so as not to embarrass him in front of his peers (clothed head to toe in designer frocks). Too bad I didn't see this picture as inspiration:


I moved a chair out of our bedroom and made a mini sewing station. Once this post is done, I am going to peruse the web for baby girl clothing ideas. Probably a bag of worms I shouldn't open.

Calistoga

We drove, we gathered, we conquered the hot pools at Calistoga. We stayed at the Carlin Cottages and had a blast celebrating Ellen's good friend's anniversary:


Here is my photo album.

Trade

We traded city for wine country.  Extra family will be showing up.  Hot pools of water for adults and kids.  Recipe for relaxation.  Good life.