mother's day weekend

it was a beautiful weekend in so many ways. i felt blessed beyond belief and full of gratitude for this life i have, and all the wonderful people in it.

margaret, one of adah's godmothers, was in town, and on friday we took her mom for a walk in washington park. it was sunny and it was the weekend, FINALLY. there, adah got to ride on some cement elephants, play in the sand, and make cinnamon ice cream for margaret and elizabeth, which she is pictured doing above. that night anne and i finally had our anniversary date night, which was postponed to due the stomach virus we passed around to each other last weekend. we had the whole evening to ourselves, and even got to drop bug off at my mom's for a slumber party. here's our girl, at drop-off:

it may look like she wasn't enthused, but let me tell you, she was. she loves getting to sleep over at grandma's. it's too bad that because of my mama separation anxiety or ecstatic attachment or whatever you want to call it, it has only happened twice so far, but every time it does i wonder why we don't do it more often. the biggest reason? sleeping in. i'm a big fan. also, i can't remember the last time i just got to wake up and read a cookbook in bed. that's some fun times, especially when the coffee is hand delivered, as well. we had a date with uninterrupted conversations and a nice stroll through the neighborhood. we also had fried goat cheese balls on top of some caramelized pears and lightly dressed greens, which was the other highlight.

bug was delivered back home early on saturday morning and after breakfast #2 and a dance party, we got packed up for swimming and rode our bikes to the local warm soaking pool. we go there a lot in the winter, and it was strange and lovely to see actual shadows and reflections on the water since it was actually sunny. for a minute i thought we in hawaii, but that's probably just because i was channeling alex, who was there swimming with sea turtles twice his size. we rode our bikes around the rest of the afternoon, stopping only for strawberry shortcake under a tree. after bug was sleeping, we actually got to go out again. that's right: twice in one weekend, people. we went to see the jefferson dancers--my favorite performance of the year. they're even better than all the best teenage dance movies combined. we were in happy awe.

really this was meant to be a post about mother's day. you know, the trials and tribulations, the longings and fears and heart wrenching joys, but i guess i decided, somewhere in the second paragraph, that i had to describe our weekend. i just couldn't help myself. i have to put all of this fun somewhere, especially because it's sunday night and i can't sleep.

this morning we had to say goodbye to margaret, but she brought us the best news: that she just might be moving back here, thank god. i just knew that her and bill weren't going to be able to handle california for too long. that place is just too much, and not nearly as green. she also happened to have with her a big box of rock salt and a pink ice cream maker. guess who was the most happy about this? the little person was quite amazed with the contraption. it's not just an ordinary ice cream maker-- it's a "play & freeze" ice cream maker that is apparently "great for camping, boating, picnics, parties, travel...anywhere!" it requires no electricity. after you fill the cylinder (which looks like one of those balls hamsters like to run around in) with ingredients, you close the lid and physically throw the ball back and forth to each other and it makes actual ice cream within 10 minutes, i kid you not. i'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

as if that was not enough fun, THERE IS NOW A FARMER'S MARKET RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR HOUSE. we got our weekly produce and an italian plum tree, and we spent the rest of the afternoon on the porch, in the garden, enjoying the sunday.

i'm gonna stop there and crawl in bed with my girls...