In The Key of Life

It's Mini-Vacation Time!!!

A little bike ride for Grandpa and Papa! Mama, Grandma and Dex had a great trip in the car too.

We'll be back Sunday night after a little more Key West carousing.

...as for right now, we're off to do a little swimming at our B&B. Tonight is reservations at Blue Heaven.

  And of course another visit to Mallory Square for the Sunset Festival. Dex caught a glimpse of the fire juggler and he's been asking to go back ever since (that is when he's not asking to go in the pool!)

See you next week.

Car Conversations

Out of the blue today as we're driving home from a friend's house (who picked organic blueberries for us up north !!!! YUMMMY)

Dex:  Mama....Santa!
Me: What? Did you say Santa?
Dex: Mama....Santa!
Me: Well, Santa comes at Christmas time and that's kind of far away. We do have a few books about Santa. Remember?
Dex: Santa ou-sigh (outside)
Me: oh
Dex: Santa ou-sigh pool
Me: Really, did you think Santa was outside swimming in the pool?
Dex: Ya! FUNNY!

Then he continues to smile big and say 'Santa Ou-sigh Pool' all the way home. I guess he was just encouraged by my giggling!!

I don't know where this kids gets it from but I was cracking up after this one. I guess it's true that Santa must vacation in Florida on the off season!

Play Dough

The other morning we were working on some Mother's Day gifts and Dex was having a lot of fun crafting. SOOOO....after nap we whipped up a batch of Play Dough! He had a great time. I think he played with it for about an hour. Too bad we had to pack it up so we could head to Grandma's. I bet he would have played even longer. Well maybe I should say WE would have played longer.

 

I used a combination of recipes off of Recipezaar.com so I don't have a direct link, but from the looks of the other recipes they are pretty basic. Our batch was a little dry, but maybe that's because I didn't really follow directions! :)

If anybody out there has a great play dough recipe, please share it. It would be good to make another batch to have a few more colors. Thanks in advance!

Eating the Yard!

As Dex and I were munching mulberries today, I realized it's been a while since I gave you a little urban jungle update!!  So, here's a little front yard news...

Last fall I took some 'aerial' photos while I was cleaning out the gutters (yup, me on the roof..fun, really, it was!). So here's a little peek at those to get a little perspective.

YUP, it's all mulched! No grass for us. I talked a little about it here. All those trees are various edible fruit and berry trees. For specifics on tree types head over to the flickr picture (it has notes).

SO...back to the munching and eating. Since we purchased many of our trees about a year ago, they've just been growing and getting stable. BUT, our mulberry has been fruiting on and off since it was planted. Just recently the production has grown exponentially. We went from being really excited by have 3 berries a few months ago to expecting about 20 A DAY now. We're so excited to be able to go out to the front yard for a snack!!!! You can see here that there aren't any ripe ones....we ate them all.

Here's a few more items that we're waiting to gobble up.

Pineapples, Bananas and Moringa leaves and beans. It won't be the first on the pineapples or the beans, but we're crossing our fingers for the bananas. We've been told, and seen, them growing here in FL, but haven't had success yet.

Lastly...just a few strawberry fruits are appearing on our tree. It's on the path to the car (what Jen and Dex are looking at in the first picture) and we just can't wait for those little berries to redden up!! It's so easy to grab one on the way out.

Amazingly enough this is what's growing during our mild DRY season this year. I can only imagine what things will be like during rainy season. I bet our little fruitatarian will be happy and have more than enough fresh from the yard snacks (kind of an old pic, but I couldn't resist)!

I'll keep you updated....as we munch away...right outside our front door. HOW AMAZING!

And if you're at all impressed by this...you need to go here and check out how far you can take this 'little' project. Now that is utterly, most fabulously, jaw-dropping-ly AMAZING!!

Hide and Seek

Yippy, I finally remembered(and didn't look at the price) to get the new batteries.
I guess that means it's time for us to come out of hiding....and do a little writing.

But, for now...I have to go and cut my thrifty vintage sheets for the swap, fold a few loads of laundry and maybe even get some shuteye before the clock strikes midnight.

Oh, and posting may be a little sparse (as if it isn't already) since I'm in the middle of training for a new job. Getting back into the working world has been quite a change after being a full time mommy for two years. Thankfully it's only part time and I still get to spend most of the day with the little man. That gives us plenty of time to mess around clean in the lanai and on the patio!

Part of our cleaning was to spiff up the kayaks and remove many of the winter webs (and large bucketfuls of potting soil - thanks to you know who) that had been accumulating in our boat storage corner of the lanai. Dex now knows all about 'land' kayaking, but for this day it was his pool since he was helping with spiderweb removal...and the fins...just an added bonus for me to watch him try to walk around!

OK, off to cut and package up that sheet and wait for my return package and some summer skirt craftiness.

It's Swappy Time..vintage sheet style

I know it's been a while since I've popped in here...but I just wanted to let you all in on a great swap that I just signed up for.

The Summer Skirt Sheet Swap!

Partly it's because this gives me another reason to thrift and make another, or 4, more rockin' vintage sheet summer skirts...but more importantly...I saw my very own picture on the swap post and I just couldn't pass up a compliment like that!!!

SO, get over there now and sign up because the swap entry ends TOMORROW (Friday). Yeah, get over there!

oh...and if you're a little too late...or just want to play along on your own, Polka Dot Creations made a tutorial for a quick and easy skirt for everyone to try.

I'll post more family and fun updates soon....not sure when though because our camera battery stash has formed a gang and decided to all poop out on us at the same time. I just can't seem to remember to buy new rechargeables the last two times I've been to the store. Maybe it's the fact that it takes a bite out of the pocket when they are $19 a pack...and you need two packs to replenish the stash! OK, they are on the list.

I heart Kitchen Gadgets

After all that crafting momentum, I just couldn't keep it all behind the machine or needles. Yesterday was a day to worship the kitchen gadget! I'm sure The Kitchen Gadget Queen would be proud of me.

First off, I got a nice batch of Sloppy Lenny's going in the Slow Cooker (recipe from the Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker). We were then greeted with the wonderful aromas of slow cooker-ness when we returned from our favorite park where we played and trimmed trees. Yes, I asked permission about the trees. They were in the way of the bouncy teeter totter and the thorny one was right at kiddo eye level. I guess it was my little volunteer project for the neighborhood playground and church.

oh...back to the gadgets...

Like I said warm smells...mmmm....it sent little one straight to the zzzz's and I started in on my next item. Since there were faux Sloppy Joe's in the works, we needed some nice whole wheat buns. So, I tossed all the ingredients in the new FREE bread machine (how I love Freecycle!) and let 'er fly. Just as little man woke up, the dough was ready to cut. Dex was eager to help out too!! These buns went together so quick and the end result really put the store bought buns to shame. A little sweet, but I'll adjust that and surely make them again SOON. Probably a patch for the freezer too.

To top it all off... Dex suggested Carrot Muffins (more specifically...CAKE). We didn't use a gadget for this one today, but we did use the food processor to grate the carrots before we put them in the freezer a month or so ago. These muffins came out equally as delicious as the buns. The combo of it all made for a great early supper(and a little sneaking) before Papa had to head out for an evening production job and Dex and I did a little petting farm visit at the library.

Now, I need to let this momentum continue in it's more rightful direction so it's off to more crochet and sewing...and maybe a little homemade midnight snack!

A little progress report

So...I mentioned all those projects...well, I've been busy, but as you'll see I (like many I think) have crafty A.D.D.

Mama Pads.....DONE       Shower Gifts...about half way there

Acorn Hat...almost        Skirting....cut, but waiting patiently

and a little bonus! You know how it goes. You get on a roll, get a little inspired and just can't hold yourself back!

So, now that you've seen the crafting side of this super energy burst...the cooking side is up next. YUMMMMMMY, soon to come!

Heckling...(with good reason)

...so the Dexter fan club members have been heckling! My poor neglected blog has been standing here waiting so patiently as I slowly...ever so slowly...move back into normal life after having a wonderful visit with Gramme and Poppy WI (yup, that's what the little man has named them!).

We had such a fantastic time just taking it easy with the 'rents! Most of the days were spent just relaxing, making a morning outing, everyone resting at naptime and a super casual dinner each evening. Yes, casual I said...I even whipped up nachos for supper one night! Isn't it great to have low-maintenance visitors that are so much more interested in seeing your kiddo...and maybe you and hubby too, than critiquing your house cleaning and cooking. It was so refreshing and equally enjoyable for all of us. It was hard to see them go!

So now a few more birthday party pictures, complete with cupcake cone messiness, for the nagging ever admiring fan club...

...and...ironically, after all that relaxing and fun....I've caught the crafting bug again! With 9 ft of pleated stage skirting down and 12 ft to go...and...an acorn hat, some mama pads, and Bridal shower favors to make all on a deadline, it sure is good that I'm in the mood. It seems like it's been feast or famine around here when it comes to crafting. SO, I promise that the next post will be something other than birthday or visiting pictures, but something a little more everyday, but equally as exciting! Maybe even a peek at a little Momma's night out that scheduled for tomorrow evening. Drinks on the Beach...YeeeHaww Mommas!

Until then, it won't be too long (I hope).

Happy Weekend to all!

oh...and PS to all those Northern Dex lovers out there: To make the exit of Grammee and Poppy a little less tearful, we've booked flights to come up in June for a week. We'll be taking it the festivities of Steph's wedding (which I'm sure will be a blast!) and some quality hometown fun back in good ol' nut-ville!

2 years ALREADY!?

How can it possibly be? You've been here for two whole years already!
Because you're such a special little boy, your celebration started 3 days ago with the arrival of Grandmee and Grandpa WI! They wanted to make sure they were here for your big day. They pulled in with their RV just in time to also celebrate Grandpa WI's birthday too! Such a great visit to have two birthday parties in a matter of days. (look at those matching 'grins' - a norm for both of these boys)
Then came Dexter's big day. We opened the day with big boy's favorite breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes, complete with birthday crown and a few rounds of Happy Birthday sweetened with a little Vermont special syrup.

Then it was straight to the 'choo choos' and 'seeds' for the birds with Grandpa! A whole lot of fun was had. So much so that it was hard to get him away to take a little thrifting, errands run before nap.

We got home just in time for a nice nap. A refreshed big boy was ready for a little mini-party complete with presents, constructing and a just a little supervising. Dex made sure to let us know that 'thawon' came next, 'NO' not that tool, 'kook'ing of pizza and soup and a little extra 'fix' with his new drill on the kitchen to be sure it was correct.



Today is your big day little Mister 2! We'll do a little more celebrating on Saturday and in the meantime we'll perfect your display of your age!

We love you little man and can't wait to see what comes next in your world of new discovery and growth!