Today…

Outside my window: it is another beautiful day with white fluffly clouds and blue skies. We had a lot of rain this weekend and it got a bit chilly, but you’d never know it today. It was perfect blowing bubbles weather so that’s exactly what we did.

I am happy because: my little girl is going to be turning one in about a month and a half! I can’t believe how fast it is coming up. I’ve been going back and forth on how to celebrate – party or no party, out to eat or small dinner at home, bake a cake or not, etc. but I think we’ve finally settled on a plan – we’re going to invite some friends over and have just a small dinner and homemade cake (I’m planning to make this cake with this frosting) and then just kind of hang out. Keep it simple but don’t let the occasion go unnoticed, you know? We’ll probably also do some Skype chatting with family back home.

I am reading: The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan and What Your Preschooler Needs To Know by E.D. Hirsch Jr and Linda Bevilacqua

Some plans coming up include: our first family camping trip, Fathers Day celebration of some kind (details to be thought up SOON), more camping, BBQ with friends, company picnic and baby’s 1st birthday! It’s going to be busy but fun for the next couple months.

We’ve been planning: smarter storage and shelving, etc. for some areas of our apartment. I’d like to get a little set of plastic stacking drawers (like these) to store art supplies for the kids and also just a standing shelf thing to store blankets on.

In The Kitchen:

• Monday: Annies Mac and Cheese, leftover Bratwurst and Broccoli
• Tuesday: Grilled Shrimp Pitas
• Wednesday: Grilled Shrimp and Rice
• Thursday: Spaghetti
• Friday: Bratwurst and Hot Dogs and Pasta Salad

Some other links I think you should click:

• Simple Elements for Backyard Fun – Even Without the Backyard at Simple Kids
• root beer float cupcakes at Smitten Kitchen
• Ten Minute Bookshelf Organization at Blissfully Domestic
  

One last thing I want to tell you about before I go: lately we’ve been letting BB try lots of interesting foods. Gone are the days of “how many days has it been since we last tried a new food?” and “Do you think we should let her eat this?” It’s no holds barred now, baby (with the exception of the obvious stuff like chocolate, peanuts, honey, soft cheeses and a few other things I’ve labeled as DANGER in the back of my mind) We’ve found that she seems pretty keen on muffins, pancakes, vanilla ice cream, yellow cake, lemons, hot dogs, raspberries, pine cones and goldfish crackers. To name a few.