Unexpected Gem

For Mother's Day, my sister and I planned to take Mom wine-tasting for an afternoon. We had decided on the date, but hadn't made much more of a plan (crazy, I know!). When we picked mom up yesterday, she handed me a winery map with a couple of highlighted names and told me I was in charge of directions. We knew we wanted to end up at Latcham for brownies...and so we decided we would maybe head to Windwalker after we picked up sandwiches at Charlotte's. The map also showed a winery nearby named Cantiga Wineworks that we had never been to or even heard of before. Oh, what the heck we thought, let's try someplace new!

And we were sure glad we did. Blown away by the first sip of Chardonnay, everything we tasted thereafter was delicious. The history and process behind their winemaking was fascinating and we lingered in the tasting room for quite a while as we were entertained and educated by the hippy musician winemaker, and the amazing hors d'oeuvres he had prepared to compliment the wine.

We had already packed a lunch, so after we bought our bottle of Chardonnay we spent well over an hour eating and enjoying the grounds.

(We never did make it to Windwalker.)

This was indeed my highlight of the week.

Father's Day Weekend

Our Father's Day celebration started off with a wonderful gift from my mom to all the important dads in her life and their families: Admission and unlimited ride bracelets for the El Dorado County Fair. This was our second time attending, and again I really, really loved it. More down-home and intimate than the California State Fair, we enjoyed short lines for rides and food, which made more time for FUN!










































The next day was Father's Day and so we let Scott sleep in and the kids and I fixed him up a man (Erin) pleasing breakfast: Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and english muffins.



After breakfast, the boys headed to the golf course...







We ended the day with some Samurai take-out. It was Harlie's first sushi experience. And she scarfed it down!



And finally, since Harlie was sick last week, on Tuesday she gave Scott the Father's Day gift that she had made at daycare.



It was a really wonderful weekend and a great way to kick-off summer!

Simple Things

Summer officially begins in a couple days and our weekends have already been jammed packed for a few weeks now. I'll be posting about the fun we had this weekend in a couple days, but decided to select a normal everyday moment for my highlight this week. I don't think you can get simpler than a walk from the car into Papa Murphy's on a late Friday afternoon.

I had been home with Harlie that day, since she was sick with a fever. I wasn't in the mood to cook and we didn't have much food in the house. Harlie was still warm when she woke up from her nap, so that killed any plans for a grocery shopping trip. However, I was feeling a little bit of cabin fever, so I scooped her up and we took a drive for some take-n-bake. Isn't the excitement building already?

When we arrived and parked, I pulled her out of her carseat, and set her feet on the blacktop as I grabbed my purse and closed the car door. And it was in that moment, as her little hand gripped mine that I felt this surge of love. We walked hand in hand (as we do everyday, either running errands, crossing the street to the park or from the car to the front door of her day-care) through the door to Papa Murphy's and took our turn in line. As we took our place, she came around to stand in front of me, wrapped her little arms around my legs and looked up with a big smile. My heart swelled again.

Wrapped up in those few minutes, was a sense of trust and love, that often takes me by surprise. There is a day to day responsibility that goes into parenting. Caring for your children is basically a no-brainer from the moment they're born, it's just what you do. Even if your doing it wrong, your always trying to do it right. And what is so incredible is that your kids inately know this. That you are their protector and provider and that you love them. And man, do they love you right back.

Sometimes I look at Harlie and feel so lucky to be her mama. I guess it can seem kinda silly since Scott and I made the decision to bring her into our lives. But really, we didn't know who this new baby was going to be, what (who) she would look like, or how her personality would take form. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit, right?

We'll, I'm so happy that who we got was her.

Beautiful Harlie, I'll always feel proud to hold your hand. Mine will forever be waiting for yours, whenever you need to reach for it.

Swirl of Emotion

Two unexpected days off like this often send my head and heart into battle, leaving a flurry of mixed emotions in their wake. Harlie has been sick a lot this year, and since I've passed probation, that initial feeling of panic has disappeared, thankfully. And yet, a lot of couch laying allows my mind to wander and ponder, basically over-analyzing as per usual. The rotation of emotions goes something like this.

Guilt - Once again, wonder mom left for work, ignoring the nagging feeling (almost sub-consciously) until I get THE phone call or email that goes something like this:

Not sure if you guys are already on your way or not. Harlie was a little upset and asked to go to bed in her sleepsaak- I think she may not be feeling very well. She has had a bit of an off day all day. Let me know if you want me to do anything in the meantime.

Worry- I am a world class fretter and just start praying it's not another infection.

Secret Delight - The idea of waking to "Mama!" and not the alarm clock totally pleases me as does the anticipation of all day SNUGGLES!

Dread- I hope that work believes that Harlie really is sick, I mean at least it's not a Friday or Monday. God, I better not start stammering on the phone.

Annoyance- We have the El Dorado County Fair on Saturday and I am going to be TICKED off, if she's still sick. She's always sick at the most inconvenient times.

and finally

Contentment- Despite everything, being home with Harlie when she needs me most gives me such a satisfying, peaceful feeling. It's one the best things about being a parent--having a purpose.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Now if her fever would just go away!

Nana's Mountain House

This week's highlight was our day trip on Saturday to John and Florence's cabin in Sly Park. Harlie now knows this place as the "Mountain House". Tucked away among the towering pines, I hope that this cabin continues to be a gathering place during the summer months. The huge deck with John's homemade fire pit was the perfect place to relax and conversate, and my favorite part of the day was when Florence and I took the kids to the rec center. The shady walk through the wooded neighborhood is my kind of exercise. :-) Watching the kids play in the pool and witnessing Harlie's fascination with all things "nature", was definitely a refreshing retreat from the day to day grind.

Detail Junkie

One of my favorite things about Harlie's daycare is that Jessica always writes up a daily log, detailing meals, activities and poopy diapers. I can never get enough details, so reading her daily log is something I always look forward to. Today I was especially delighted with the detes, as it seems Harlie is finally finding her groove.


(click to enlarge)

And then to top if all off, Jessica had this post-it note attached:



Also, on the way home, Harlie let us know (without prompting) that she had fun at preschool. What's neat-o about her age is that you can actually sorta carry on a conversation with her. At dinner I asked how her day was and she was able to tell me that she played in the sandbox and had pancakes for breakfast. Sometimes I'm amazed that she now has the ability to remember events that happened over five minutes ago. :-)

Napa Highs

My highlight of this week comes in the form of four beautiful ladies and a sloppy, wet and wonderful day in Napa Valley. Since one of these ladies will be moving to Oregon on Thursday, this trip was especially meaningful and our twenty-four hours together were filled with laughs, tears, arguments (of the sisterly nature), food, booze and massage oil.

A few of my most favorite things or memorable moments from our trip were:

The hospitality. From our waiter at Hurley's to our pourer at Cornerstone Cellars to the Marriott and their awesome drop off and PICK UP shuttle service.

The salmon and corn chowder at Hurley's.

Racing through the rain and splashing through puddles, just to realize I left the keys to Melanie's car in her ignition.

My neck and shoulders massage.

Getting our photo taken by some lady who thought we were guests at "Kelly's party".

My lemon drop at the hotel bar. Woot woot...cocktail time!

Dinner at Uva and the ensuing conversation with my ladies accompanied by the crispiest and meltiest, yummiest Lasagna al Forno.

Which was topped off by the best dessert I've ever, EVER had at a restaurant. An ice cream sundae that was caramel-y creamy cream puffy perfection.

Peer Pressure

I don't know what's gotten into my friends lately, but they've all been annoyingly productive as of late (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!). And if they didn't blog about it, it wouldn't make me feel so gosh darn lazy. But there they go, boasting and posting about all the the blood, sweat and style they have been putting into their projects and DIY labors of love. One particular project that seems to be popular this time of year are home grown gardens...and my mouth waters as I see these beautiful beds brimming with the promise of fresh fruits, veggies and herbs.

So. Fine. I finally gave into the peer pressure. And if you know me, (which of course you do or you wouldn't be reading my super secretive blog) you know I don't give in easily to peer pressure. My sister has been begging me to adopt a seedling or two from her, and I just recently succumbed and took home a tiny little cherry tomato plant. I had a pot at home for it, but needed to pick up some potting soil and a tomato cage. I decided to bring Harlie with me to Green Acres because I knew she'd love looking at all the pretty flowers. What's funny is that what she ended up loving the most was a big metal gorilla sculpture.

So we went, and then we came back with just a few other things, because Harlie's two and I forgot about the "I want this Mama", and "look at this, I want this one and this one and this one MAMA!"

Too make a long story even longer, in addition to our cherry tomato plant we ended up with a strawberry plant, and a trifecta of herbs; purple sage, basil and cilantro.

And just look at my adorable new babies!



Thanks gals, for the inspiration! I like having a new project. God, I hope I don't kill them all.