afternoon acrobatics

Oh this kid,
he is either upside down,
or attempting to get himself upside down as of late.
It started out with him doing somersaults around the yard

and has morphed into O attempting to do headstand,
everywhere.

In the back yard,
in the play room and
yes, last night, I caught him in the bathtub-
Flinging his feet upward, donkey style,
and coming down with a large splash.

I watch him partly in awe and partly in horror.

I mean, it hasn't been that  long since he was able to find balance on his feet,

and now he is trying to find it on the top of his head?

sigh.

I am so worried he is going to hurt his neck as he flips over backwards.
The yoga instructor in me wants to go over all the correct positioning
and set up for such a pose.
I am not sure that my boy, who is two and three quarters
has the patience for that.

I'm not the only one worried.

Even his sister has a look of concern on her face.

What to do, what to do.
Maybe gymnastic classes are in my future???

You gotta frittata

I made a point to do some meal planning before going to the grocery store this weekend. Part of this is in an effort to save money, part is so that my brain doesn't have to think too much when I get home from work. I have been fried by the time 5:30 rolls around and could easily have a glass of wine, popcorn and ice cream for dinner.

But that doesn't really set a good example for or work for the kids.

Speaking of what works for the kids, Fifi scarfed every little bit of this that I put on her tray.
I could hardly keep up with her!
 The older kids (my best friend was over with her girlie) weren't so into it.
Two and half year olds don't know what they are missing out on most of the time.
That's okay, more for us!!

I was a tad worried that it was going to be too hot for me to turn on the oven, but a little summer rain storm blew in last night, so it wasn't pure torture to turn on the broiler to add the finishing touches on to this dish.

I like that the recipe is more of a template, allowing you to throw in what ever you might have on hand or is sitting in the fridge needing to be used up. I tossed in some mystery greens that my sister brought from her garden, in an effort to sneak some chlorophyll into our diet. I also like that there isn't a boat load of cheese in this recipe, just a 1/4 cup to the top and your good. 
(Maybe that's the difference between a quiche and a frittata,
 other than the no crust thing?)

Last night we ate our frittata hot out of the oven.
Today I threw it in my lunch box with a big handful of salad and ate it cold.

Here's what I did.....

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

teaspoon dry thyme

9 eggs whisked

1/4 to 1/2 an onion diced finely

1-3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 pkg sweet sausage either crumbled or sliced small

(I used sweet because the kids were going to eat this, but spicy would be awesome too)

1-1.5 cups chopped greens, (spinach, kale, etc)

1 can cannelloni or other bean of your liking

1 cup cherry toms, halved

1/4 cup grated parm

What to do:

Beat the first five ingredients together and set aside.

Heat an oven safe pan (I used our big Dutch oven one) with a bit of oil

Add your onions and garlic until translucent.

Add sausage and lightly brown

Add chopped greens and allow to saute a bit so they wilt

Add can of rinsed beans and halved toms

Stir and distribute ingredients evenly in the pan

Pour the egg mixture over and cover

Allow to cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle parm on top, slide under the broiler, (uncovered) for 5 minutes or until set.

Serve and enjoy!

visitors

My sister and her little dude came for a visit this weekend.

He has my heart,

one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen,

oh, and the family's signature blue eyes.

I have never seen my sister so in love.
Could you blame her?

First days of summer

summer is here....

I love sleeping with the windows open at night.

Letting the frogs sing me a lullaby, as I drift off to sleep.

I love lounging in the back yard with my sweetie and two little goofballs,

I love sipping wine on my mom's back porch and giving the kids turns in the swing.

I love that shoes (and clothes for some of us) are optional,

I love that the wading pools are filled and emptied, filled and emptied.

And I love that the yard is full of color.

What do you love about summer?

reno rodeo

I went to the Reno Rodeo with my girlfriends last night.

It's an annual tradition and one I absolutely love.

There was gossip and giggles.

There were (lots of) wrangler butts, cowboy hats and shinny accessories.

There was junk food eating,

and a Coors Light (or three) consumed.

A perfect night out with my girls.

play

Just this week my two little monkeys have started to play together more and more.

O seems to be lightening up (a tad) about the fact that Fifi is here to stay and in his space.

Fifi takes it for the team and is a rowdy little bugger as she giggles and snorts with every ounce of attention that her brother gives her.

Moments like these are what make it all worth it. Moments when I can see their bond and friendship developing.  Their giggles make me giggle, no matter what kind of day I have had.

172:365, handle with care

a reminder.

weekender

Father's Day weekend turned out to be a really nice one this year.
We originally had plans for Saturday afternoon that fell through.
That freed us up to take up another invitation to go camping at Frenchman Lake.

On Friday night (while we were still home), our housemate had friends over. We shared our home brew and they made us dinner.
It's great to have foodie people around!
The theme of the night was kebabs - these were delicious!
I can't wait to make these again this summer.
(recipe from Every Day Foods. I can't find the recipe over there, but it is in the latest magazine along with about 5 others.)
*note to self, "Self, use old bay seasoning more often, especially on corn."

Our menu sort of went downhill from there, however.

Super classy and healthy (HA!) camp food. Um, hot dogs, chips, smores, and of course, soft serve ice cream from the Chilcoot Frosty on the way home.
I wish I would have gotten my camera out for that part- but really it was better it stayed in the case.
I was covered in O's melting and mushy ice cream cone.
It is quite possible that I had more on me than he actually had in his tummy by the end of it all.
Thank goodness for baby wipes!

He ate not one, but two dogs with lots of catchup on them for dinner and then one for breakfast on Sunday, what? we don't eat like that normally, I swear.

Have you ever used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for your s'mores?

um, oh YEAH! good call.

All of the developed campsites were full by the time we got up there.

So we ventured out a dirt road and found a sweet little spot near a creek.

When we were getting unpacked O looked up at Daddy-O and said, "When are we going to the real camp spot?"

"O, we are at the real camp spot."

"No, Dad. This isn't a camp spot, it doesn't have a picnic table."

Oh man that kid. He makes the best observations sometimes.

We made up for some of the junk food intake by taking a nice walk up the road from our camp spot to hunt down wild flowers and burn off some energy.

Fifi and little H. hung out in the ergos.

(I shot the above picture over my shoulder, I couldn't love it more)

The big kids ran around like crazy, kicking up dust and enjoying

 the last bit of sunshine for the day.

I love how kids just run to run.

Thanks to C and J for inviting us along for the quick over-nighter.
Next time we will try not to pick such a bumpy road for the Prius to drive down!

the past few days...

This week has had emotional ups and downs. I am still in limbo with knowing what will happen with my job. I could be two weeks away from being unemployed or two weeks away from a new job. It's a really strange to not know what is going to happen. I have applied for the new openings that were posted and I now wait to hear if I will be given an interview. Once interviews have taken place, there is the seniority 'bumping' process that will happen- So even if I am offered something, a person who is qualified and has more years in can take my spot. Yes, government work is a little crazy like that. More than likely I won't have a solid answer until the last day of June (fiscal year)....

I can tell my mood has a strong pull on if I pick up the camera or not. If I am bummed, I have a much harder time looking through the lens. I want to change that, to find the joy. I need to find therapy in hitting the shutter...

Monday night was so beautiful. After dinner I got us all out of the house for a stroll around the neighborhood. This isn't the best photo in the world, but it was the moment I wanted to capture. All of us, even the dog out and about enjoy summer weather that has finally arrived. I love the long shadows that the evening sun has made, and the fact that O is in his under-roos and a t-shirt. He has been doing great with the potty training, I am so excited at the prospect of no more diapers for this kid.

Fifi, at the back slider, watching her brother in the backyard.

You can't tell me that the casualness of her stance isn't adorable.

I did a small photo-shoot for a work friend. Holding that 9lb-er was oh so bitter sweet. I played hookie from work on Wednesday. I needed the mental holiday and to focus on my photography. I also installed my new copy of Elements 9 and Lightroom. I am totally excited about this. Does anyone have any good references for books about Lightroom?  I feel a little lost in there.
Fifi also had her nine month doctor's visit in the afternoon.
She is 18lbs and 28 inches long.

 

The boys played in the backyard while we ate a 'picnic' dinner on the freshly cut grass. It's a little hard to visit when four kids are running around, but we managed to catch up a bit with each other. I am so blessed to have mama's in my life who "get me".

could it be?

Summer might just be making it's way into the Great Basin.
I know much of the country has been sitting in heat,
but we were having snow just a few weeks ago.
Some of the local ski resorts will be open on the 4th of July
and we have had record precipitation this year.
It's been a long winter and at times,
it felt like summer was never going to get here.

There are little signs of it popping up everywhere.

 

The sweet smell of coals warming for the dinner time grilling.

 

Hands full of rich soil and the sent of tomato plants on your skin.

playing until you can play no more at the neighborhood park

laughing with the cousins

(well, that happens all year round, but it's especially right now)

 

Frogs and wading pools. 

Kids who only wear sun hats, flip flops and sunscreen all day.

do something about it

"All that you need to have all that you want, Vanessa,

will be provided, as if by magic, once you know what

you want and do something about it every day.

No matter what,
The Universe"

Thank you Universe...
I knew you were listening and would have the right words for me.
xo,
vanessa

...and thank you all for your comments and emails.
You people have no idea how much it means to me.
And you see that door up there?
 it's opening wide- I just have to walk through it.