mason's art

mason's artwork has really improved lately. he has just started drawing things that represent actual objects and animals. before they were mostly just abstract shapes. he is having so much fun drawing and painting. i love that he is so excited to create. the only down side is that we are going through art supplies like crazy. he could use up a whole pad of drawing paper in one sitting. i am going to go broke buying supplies.

he is also doing very well with learning to draw his letters and numbers. i am so happy to see him learn this. we don't have him in preschool and i am always worried he that he is behind. he is only three so i try not to obsess about it. i have no idea what kids his age are supposed to be doing. i did buy a kindergarten prep. book and have decided to dedicate some time alone with him every day to teach him. i will just add that to my daily list of things to do. yikes.

swimming at susies

jen and i took the kids to go swimming at my sister susan's house. her complex has a pool. she was working, but she gave us the key so we could swim. it was so nice to swim in a big pool. i wish we had one in our backyard. we would swim all the time. mason made lots of friends at the pool. there were three young boys that were splashing and playing with him. dahlia was happy to float around in her little boat. bodhi wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the pool or out so he kept jumping in and out. poor jen got so tired chasing after him. i got tired just watching her.

after swimming we decided we needed to get frozen yogurt. pink for mason of course. it was such a great day. we ended up staying late and having dinner at my mom's house. it was so fun i think we will go again next week. susan is going to get sick of us.

painting day

today was painting day. i helped mason and dahlia paint some wooden toys outside while miles painted our bedroom inside. i think we got the better deal. the kids were so excited to paint. we have only used watercolors before so this was a big deal. mason has been learning how to mix colors to create new colors so i thought it was time for some real paint. we didn't really get around to mixing many colors today. mason painted his wooden tank and then helped dahlia finish painting her wooden train. by then they had paint all over their clothes and i decided it was time to swim.

i think next week we will paint again. on paper. i need to get a mixing tray so we can combine colors. i can't wait. it sounds so fun. oh and the bedroom looks great. miles did a wonderful job. our old paint was starting to peel off in some places so it was badly in need of a touch up.

santa monica pier

jen and i walked to the santa monica pier with our kids yesterday. we didn't do much. we just walked along and looked at the ocean. i love watching the waves crash against the pier and seeing all the people fishing off the side. i think mason is just as fascinated with the water as i am. i just might have a future diving partner. dahlia is definitely afraid of the ocean. she kept saying ouch and crying when the waves would break. i am hoping she gets over this because i have lots of water plans for our future. of course a walk to the pier would not be complete without strawberry gelato, or as mason calls it "pink ice cream."

concert in the park

every summer the park near my mom's house has free concerts on thursdays. i took mason and dahlia and we walked there with christina, zena and my mom. we had a great time. the band was playing johnny cash songs. they were pretty good. i loved sitting in the park eating our picnic dinner and listening to the music. it was so nice out. mason, dahlia, and zena were not as impressed with the music. they thought the main entertainment was rolling down the hills.

after our lovely evening in the park we made the mistake of taking the kids to target. ugh. this could possibly have been the worst shopping trip with them yet. they were just too tired. they were insane. they ran around the store screaming and playing. they kept picking up random things and putting them in the basket. i ended up leaving things all over the store. i felt bad for the guy who has to restock the items but i didn't even know where they got the stuff. ugh. i should have known better. no shopping trips after running around all night at the park.

bird feeders

the kids and i did another little art project this week. we made pine cone bird feeders. it was so fun. first we went on a little nature walk in our front yard. we gathered some pine cones and then went to the store for the other supplies. we needed bird seed and peanut butter.

this was definitely an outside project. the kids spread the peanut butter (mixed with canola oil so the birds won't choke on it) on the pine cones and then rolled them in bird seed. the whole thing then gets hung up in the trees for bird snacking.

i think they had a great time making the bird feeders. i remember making these at girl scout camp when i was a kid. after getting good and sticky from all the peanut butter, the rest of the day was spent swimming and lounging on towels in the backyard. it was perfect.

back to the beach

we decided to head back to the beach this weekend and try again. this trip was much better than last week. the weather was perfect. nice and warm with a light breeze. we didn't bring as much stuff this time. anything that wasn't used last time was left behind. mason had a blast. he was running up and down the beach. splashing in the water and digging big holes in the sand. the neighboring kids came over to our little beach site to all play in the sand with our kids and sand toys. it was a perfect trip.

as soon as the kids started to get cranky we walked back to jen and ray's house. we all took showers and then made fajitas for dinner. mmmm. they were so good. i just love the feeling of a shower after a day at the beach. something about washing off the sticky suntan lotion and sand while your skin still buzzes from the heat of the sun. it is just a little bit of heaven.

yellow submarine

the kids and i have been doing lots of drawing and making pictures today. i did most of the cutting of shapes and helped them glue the shapes to the paper. a one year old and a three year old with a tube of glue is a messy combination.

mason's favorite picture was the one we made of a yellow submarine. this required playing the beatles song "yellow submarine" six times in a row and dancing around the kitchen.



now it is time to make cupcakes.

4th of july weekend

we had such a fun weekend. on friday miles and i went to jen and ray's house to take all the kids to the beach. they loved it. it was colder than i like it. a bit too windy. the kids didn't seem to mind though. they loved playing in the sand. i don't think dahlia liked the water very much. it was chilly.

it was quite a project to haul all the necessary gear to the beach. i am not sure how i would manage this if miles was not with me. too many things to carry. even with the help of my new giant beach bag we still had our arms full.

for the 4th we went to our friends house that live right next to huntington beach. we let the kids play at a playground next to their house during the day. later that night we walked to the beach to see the fireworks. i was so bummed because dahlia was completely scared of the fireworks. she cried almost the whole time. mason loved them and was having a great time. oh well. maybe next year they won't seem so scary.

darling

love the hat darling!

tabbouleh

i am getting bored with my old recipes. i have decided to try out some new things this week. today i made this tabbouleh salad from ina garten's show "barefoot contessa."

it was really good. i did not serve it in pita pockets with big chunks of feta like she suggested. instead i cut up the feta and just tossed it in the salad. i just served it in a bowl. i also left out the green onion (i don't like it) and mint (miles doesn't like it.) mmmm. i thought it was a yummy lunch although miles felt like the flavors got a bit monotonous. that is true. it might be better as a side dish.