They Keep Coming!

This afternoon, my little neighbor came off of the school bus bringing me a handful of dandelions. How sweet of her, right?...not really...Earlier in the week, I mentioned how I was kind of enjoying my daily job of pulling out dandelions from our lawn...I think my enjoyment has ended. Every morning, I wake up to more! I am trying to find a solution to take care of them and some of the other not-so-annoying weeds that is not an herbicide or pesticide that is harmful to environment or to people, especially toddlers. I read about a corn meal type product that is new and can be ordered online--all organic, good for your lawn, and supposedly works well. My neighbor told me Home Depot sells a safe weed killer, but have not seen that.

In the meantime, I will keep on pulling and if anyone has a suggestion, please feel free to let me know!

Sprinkles and Reggie

smiling at Daddy

delirious from brownies and sprinkles

Wow! Look at all of the sprinkles Daddy gave me!

For dessert tonight, we ate Rob's brownie cake. Ella's favorite part was the sprinkles. She kept asking for more. Rob ended up pouring a big pile on her plate and she was so excited! She took big mouthfuls and was laughing at Rob when he was reminding her to chew them before she swallowed.


Here are a few pictures from the playground today. It was supposed to rain, but ended up being a beautiful day, instead. We met Ella's friends, Liam and Lexi there.

static from the slide--check out her hair!

Ella loves playing in the mulch and lining it up on the balance beam

sitting at the playground (the dandelions are following us!!)

I love this cute profile!

Liam has a dog, Reggie, who Ella loves! Every time we see Reggie, Ella wants to walk, pet, and feed him. Here are some cute pictures of her with him. (P.S. Don't let Rob see these---he really wants to get her a dog)!

feeding Reggie mulch

walking Reggie (she feels so important)
She tells him, "Come on, Reggie!"

Rob's Birthday Continued...

We had a great night last night celebrating Rob's birthday. We went to Bonefish Grill and had a relaxing dinner (including Bang, Bang Shrimp...so bad, but so good)! Then, since we couldn't go mini-golfing because of the rainy, cold weather, we decided to go bowling. Even though neither of us barely broke one hundred, it was a lot of fun (and not even smokey inside). Here are a couple of more pictures:

Rob's finished brownie cake and Ella's homemade card
(she put the sprinkles on)

the inside of Ella's card...I labeled parts after
she told me what they were

More Babies on the Way?

No, it's not what you think...just possibly some bird babies! Rob bought me a strawberry plant in a basket a couple of weeks ago and it's been hanging from our front porch. The past few days, I've noticed a robin flying into the basket and bringing bits of straw and grass. This afternoon, I checked it out and here's what I found inside:

a nest waiting for robin eggs

It's so cool how they can build the nest so perfectly shaped!

view from the top

So, even though it might be too hard to try to water my strawberries, I can't possibly take the nest out now. We'll be waiting, instead, for some robin eggs to arrive soon, and hopefully, the chance to for all of us (Ella, especially) to watch the baby birds hatch. Stay tuned!


Here are also a few more flowers that are sprouting up around our gardens. It's so refreshing to wake up to green things and bright blue skies outside after what felt like such a long, dreary winter. The recent rain (April showers) and warmer temperatures are also great for weeds, which we are also growing. I have spent the past few days digging out dandelions from our lawn. I don't want to use an herbicide this year, so I thought the best thing to do until I find a healthier solution is to dig them out (roots and all) by hand before they turn to seed and spread. (I actually was laughing at my retired neighbors who did this last year....but now I am the one doing it). I heard that a water, vinegar solution works, but haven't tried it. I am going to search for an alternative, but in the meantime, I've actually found it kind of relaxing, in a weird way. Maybe I just like the challenge of trying to keep a step ahead of the dandelions.

the only tree in our yard..starting to bloom

petunias in a container

hostas quickly growing

a neat view of our first tulip of the season

a little blurry, but still kind of pretty

Sunday cuteness

adorable!

look at those new cute shirt and shoes
while she poses on her stool

chewing on Rob's toothbrush (yes, it's pink!)

Here are a few pictures of Ella right before we left for Mass yesterday morning. We decided to let her "dress down" since she has a cold and is also teething some new molars. She wouldn't let go of Rob's toothbrush (her teething instrument), but she still looked so cute!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Is this where I put the eggs?

pouring in the water and oil

mixing the batter (me, praying the whisk stays inside the bowl!)

trying to put the cracked shell back together

crunching up the egg shells was the messiest fun!

Today is Rob's 29th birthday! This rainy, cool morning (quite a change from the weekend's beautiful weather), Ella and I decided to make Rob a birthday brownie cake. I cheated and used a boxed mix, but that's much easier when baking with a toddler...the less steps, the better. Ella had fun mixing and decorating the cake (as well as playing with the cracked egg shells). Later we'll work on making him a card (more fun with markers and a toddler)!

Tonight Rob's mom (Nana) is coming to watch Ella so I can take Rob out for dinner. We are going to Bonefish Grill (one of Rob's favorites to get his fill of seafood since I think I make fish at home about once a year). We'll have time before our dinner reservations and afterward to do something together. I am not sure what we'll do, but probably just something relaxing like sitting, talking, and having tea (r) or coffee (j). It will be nice to spend some time together with just Rob without being rushed to get through dinner. He really is a funny guy. I was reminded of this yesterday when we were sitting in the car eating our Wawa hoagies (the plan was to go to the playground, but Ella feel asleep on the way there, so we sat in the playground parking lot and ate lunch while she finished her catnap). We also got to hang out later in the afternoon when Ella took her real nap at home. We sat on the porch and talked/read. Rob said some really funny things that had us both laughing and enjoying each other's company. He laughed those really hardy belly laughs and his face got red and his eyes teared up. It reminded me of how much fun we have together when we can relax and forget about the chores that need to be done, the schedules that have to be exchanged, and the numerous tasks that go along with being parents. We need to make it a point to make more of these times, to forget about old grudges, annoyances, and negativities, and have some fun together like when we were dating.

So in that spirit, here are just a few things that I love about Rob:

*he is so thoughtful--he holds doors for strangers, gives his food to homeless people, takes his aging grandmother for dessert after a long day at work, brings Ella and me flowers for no special reason....

*he is handsome and cute, all in one--he is so handsome when he dresses up for work or in a suit, yet so cute when is sleeping in his racecar shorts or has spikey wet hair

*he is funny--he has a quirky, weird (in a good way) sense of humor

*he has a great memory--he can remember things that I said when we first met, what my favorite things are, and I can tell he really listens to what I say

*he is a great dad--Ella is so lucky to have Rob as her dad. He is very attentive to her, shows her a lot of affection, is silly and fun with her, and spends almost all of his free time with her (taking her to the playground, showing her how to use tools, and bouncing on the bed and sofa).

*he is a hard worker--he gives 100% in everything he does (doing chores around the house, designing buildings at work, helping other people out)

Have a happy birthday, Rob--you deserve it!