normal~ish

At the Farm

This is the farm where my mom grew up.  My grandparents lived and worked here for many years before moving "to town" in their retirement.  I know it was painfully hard for them to leave, but their heavy hearts are certainly lighter with "the farm" being kept in the family.  My cousin's five sweet children are the current generation being raised here. 

My memories of the farm involve this generation -- my cousins Todd (current farm resident), Micki, Jenny, Kim, Tracy, and me.  We all loved to visit grandpa & grandma at the farm and spent many hours running around, a baby kitten in each hand.

When we were in Minnesota earlier in the month, it was such a treat to be able to pay a quick visit to this very special place.

Just like old times, there were tiny kittens in the barn.  Only two days old, they were safely tucked into a large cage with their mama -- nursing furiously, their eyes still tightly closed. 

 

This huge, ancient tree was sick and recently taken down.  If the bark could talk ... the memories made on a rope swing that hung here, gliding three generations of children through the air.  Oh, and it might also mention that dirtbike incident in which yours truly forgot to brake and crashed into said lovey tree.  Ahem.

Perfectly rustic beauty

The hugest, bluest sky

I wish Henry could've enjoyed the visit more -- the boy is a farm-lover to the core.  We had taken him for a drive to encourage a much-needed nap and he was not ready to wake up when we announced our arrival at the farm.  I pulled him out of his carseat and he sleepily clung to me despite the fascinating surroundings.  He got to peek in on the nursing kittens, but otherwise steered clear of the barn.  The horses and cows couldn't even pull him out of his mood.  He played on a slide for a bit and then checked out the machine shed.  He loved the chance to sit on a tractor and then roll around in piles of straw with his second-cousin Mali.  But then it was time to go. 

But there will be next time.  Such is the beauty of the family farm.

Pitstops

Our latest adventure in this busy summer of midwestern travel was a family reunion in Minnesota last weekend.  My grandparents are celebrating 60 years of marriage this month -- a huge milestone and a great reason to get the extended family together.  On our way to the festivities, we made a few stops to break up the drive and extend the trip a bit.  Umpteen hours in the car with a cranky toddler is so, so not fun.  We will go to extreme measures to time our driving periods so they line up with naps and bedtime -- and we always try to stop and at least stretch our legs somewhere interesting. 

We arrived in Madison, WI in the wee hours of the morning (see above, re: extreme measures) and crashed in a hotel for a bit.  We made a few stops around town before continuing our journey, including a Whole Foods pilgrimage, coffee at Steep & Brew, and a quick stop at Happy Bambino, a natural family living/attachment parenting mecca.  Oh, and this tiny, little, nondescript place called Ella's Deli.

Nothing flashy here at all.  Just a boring old deli.

"I want to ride on the bench!"  No problem, Henry -- no need to worry that the other kids will be passing up the exotic flying animals to fight you for The Bench.

While we waited for our Matzo Ball Soup to be served up, we explored the dining room.  The place is packed full of mesmerizing curiosities, such as the intricate pool-ball run that shuffled balls around a path on the ceiling above our table.  This storybook-style cuckoo clock was my favorite.

 

When it was time to hit the road to Minnesota, Henry's quivering bottom lip came out to give us a clue about how he felt about leaving the oh-so-boring Ella's Deli.  Yes, I think it's safe to say that we'll be back someday.

The next night found us in our beloved Northfield, Minnesota.  It was fun to be back, although it was too quick and dirty.  We were all suffering stuffy noses and feeling somewhat miserable at this point, so much of Northfield's luster was lost on us this time.  We did very much enjoy our room at the inn, which was very appropriately named "Cottage."

Oh, the wainscoting!  The wide-plank maple floors!  :: love ::

Henry was especially taken by the "hook board" beneath the mirrors.  His favorite was a red metal spigot mounted alongside the doorknobs and various hooks.  Hours after we checked out, Henry piped up, "Go back to "The Cottage" now!"  Yes, again, we'll be back sometime ...

::::

More from our final destination coming up soon ...

Cousin to Cousin

"Dude.  Nice curls."

"You too, man."

Make a Wish

::  Three of three third birthday parties.  Triple the fun, triple the tiredness.  More photos soon ...

Someone new behind the camera

Here's a sample of Henry's debut as photographer.  We gifted him with a kids' digital camera for his birthday yesterday -- and I think it's safe to say that it was well received.  He started snapping away, "just like mama."  It is such fun to see him enjoying capturing his world.  Thus far, his favorite photography subject is this mini "Shop-Vac."  He has taken umpteen shots of it and then as we clicked through them, he narrated, "Here's Mama, here's the shop-vac, here's Suzy, here's the shop-vac, here's the shop-vac, here's the shop-vac."  Well, at least we all know where we rank.  Vacuums = number one;  everything else = distant second. 

Three

::  The birthday breakfast table

::  Seriously Three

::  Silly Three

::  Busy Three

::  A few birthday treats

::  Here's looking out to another wonderful year.  Happy Birthday, Henry!

Almost Three

For a few more days, still two ...

But today, we started celebrating THREE ...

... with food and friends ...

... and live folk & blues in the backyard.

The birthday boy checking out those sweet strings

Playing, playing, playing

"Happy Birthday, Dear Henry, Happy Birthday to you ..."

 

Birthday cupcake tower, apparently best eaten with no hands

Cupcakes, disappearing fast

Happy almost-birthday, sweet boy

P.S. Thank you Mother Nature for holding off those showers -- such perfect backyard party weather!

Don't be Fooled

Henry woke up from his nap this afternoon talking about the sprinkler parks and begging to go.  I agreed, so we grabbed his swimsuit and decided and go splash right after picking Eric up from work.  It was a humid, sticky day and sprinkles sounded perfect.  However, once we arrived Henry decided he wanted no part of getting wet.  He was moderately interested in watching the sprinklers do their tricks {and the other kids happily running around}, but strongly resisted when we encouraged him to get sprinkled.  Lots of whining ensued.  These photos may look like fun was happening -- but don't be fooled. 

"Ummm ... let's go to the regular park intstead."

Nope.  Eric decides to push the issue just a bit -- and Henry protests, "No!  Go over there!"

SURPRISE!  {let me just start saving for Henry's therapy fund now ...}

After:  wet, giggling as they watch the buckets of water continue to randomly fall {but don't be fooled -- this is no fun at all!}

Sweetest Sandals

I wore this style of sandal as a kid -- as did millions of others from my generation, I imagine.  I was so excited to find them for Henry.  It just kills me to see those chunky little feet running around in them.  Gotta love a classic.  Now, I just need to order up an adult-sized pair for myself and we'll be set. 

Broccoli & Dill

::  lunch today, thanks to the CSA

Our veggie share last week included fresh dill -- and ohmygoodness was it delicious.  We've had quite a few of those little roll-up sandwiches {above, top} stuffed with a cream cheese/dill/scallion/black pepper mixture along with turkey, CSA lettuce, and for me, sprouts and onion.  Yum.

I used some of the CSA broccoli to make a crunchy salad today {above, bottom}.  I was thrilled to recently discover that our local mainstream grocers now carry an uncured, nitrate- and nitrite-free bacon.  So I baked a few strips of that to throw in the salad -- and could feel OK about Henry eating it.  Yay for that.  I also added some sliced almonds, golden raisins, scallions, and finely chopped onion.  I tossed it all with some mayonnaise, sweetened with a bit of sugar and balsamic vinegar. 

Henry was tugging at me as I put it together, finding the wait to taste it simply unbearable.  But.  When I put that plate in front of him, he was much less enthusiastic.  He declared almonds to be "two thumbs down" and attempted to pick them out of the salad and feed them to me.  And the roll-ups {which he has happily eaten many times} were disassembled to remove lettuce, also given the dreaded "two thumbs down."  Whatever.  For what it's worth, I thought it all was quite good.