Mother's Day

OK so it is almost Father's day, but I have been meaning to chat up my Mother's day for awhile. It was a truly lovely day. I got to do three of my favorite things- sleep in, eat brunch at the farm, and garden. Sleeping in has become even more precious since I started back to work because now I get up at 5:30 every morning! It's funny because this year Mother's day really sneaked up on me. There was a lot happening around that time and I had called to make our reservation at the farm to celebrate me signing a contract. Then I realized it was Mother's day also! And also our anniversary. It's hard to believe this is my fifth Mother's day. Things like that make me feel old, and like time is just whizzing by. I clearly remember the first mother's day and somehow 4 more have come and gone and my baby is getting ready for kindergarten!

The girls both made mother's day presents at school, which were very sweet. And blow me away, Oscar bought me an anniversary card! I mean seriously this is the most amazing gift because I know how anti-card he is. I mean, I'm not as into cards as I used to be but it's nice to get one that expresses how you feel. It meant a lot and brought tears. Fiona had decorated a box and filled it with Hershey kisses. She instructed me to eat one that instant and that it might be a good idea to share, I think her exact words were "Mommy, don't you think it would be nice if you gave Luli and me one?" And I thought she was right. Later in the morning I found her sitting on the playroom floor indulging in my chocolates. I asked her why she thought it was ok to eat them, and she told me, "Mommy, I gave them to you so I manda them, and I say I can eat them." In case the context doesn't give it away, manda means she's in charge of them! I laughed and then explained 1. that she'd given them to me so they're mine, 2. she can't just eat chocolate any old time, and 3. food is not allowed in the playroom.
Luli decorated a pot and planted dahlias, which were sprouting when she gave them to me. We are nurturing them in the garden window and hope they can be transplanted in the garden soon.

As for the other fun things we did, we had brunch at our favorite spot, The Patowmack Farm Restaurant. The food, as usual, did not disappoint. Beverly welcomed us with open arms and played with the girls as if they were all good friends. I love going there not only for the food but also because Beverly is so amazing, she really does feel like a friend. Plus where else can you get such high quality food and bring kids? The girls would eat, then walk around the farm, come back and eat, play on the hill. I mean it was lovely.

After brunch I got on my dirty clothes and hopped in my gardens. It was a beautiful day. And Fiona was my little helper. She had her gardening gloves on, helped me plant some of our herbs, spread mulch, weed some flower gardens. She was a real help.

Visit from Friends

In the beginning of November my very good friends Dana and Kristin came to visit us. We all met at college and bonded quickly, remaining great friends through the distance and changes of adult life.







Kristin brought her 5 mth old daughter, Donna, to visit also. We love having a baby in the house! Her presence was wonderful and the girls LOVED playing with her. They named their baby dolls "baby Donna" and loved gazing at the real Donna and petting her hair very gently. Fiona wanted a bit more "baby" attention for herself during the weekend and a few days afterward, which was to be expected.







The visit was lovely and we did a lot. Friday we went to tiny tots for Fiona's class, then picked up Luli and had a picnic. Luli took us all to see the "magic rocks" and take some pictures there. Saturday we went for a hike and picnic at Great Falls National Park, and Sunday before departure we enjoyed brunch at Patowmack Farm.

Family Visits

In the past week we've had several visits with family. On the 16th we had a lovely surprise party for my mother's birthday. After months of planning the surprise went off without a hitch, she had no clue and my brother, father and I were all very proud of our hard work. My mother and I also got to enjoy some lovely Mommy/Daughter time at the spa (well I had to get her out of the house somehow!). We went to Emerald Springs Spa in Glens Falls, and it was really lovely. The massage by Sharon was definitely the highlight.

We then spent the night at Oscar's parents house and visited with them. We had a lovely time walking in the gardens, watering plants and chatting.

Later in the week Oscar's sister and family visited us from Europe. The cousins played very well together and we enjoyed a few trips to the pool, another visit to the Patowmack Farm Restaurant, and lots of playtime with toys and fun outside. Check out the link on the side "family visits" for further pictures.

Oscar's Birthday Weekend

We had a weekend filled with Oscar birthday celebrations. We had an early start Saturday with Oscar running with the club and I walking with a neighbor and our girls, then meeting up all together at Starbucks for some post exercise chat and coffee. Then it was off to the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm for brunch, mmmm. This restaurant is easily our favorite restaurant. Not only is the food amazing (and organic) but the owner, Beverly, is like a friend. She's so great with us and our children, she makes each visit a wonderful memory. If you have the time for a five course dinner I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend dinner at the farm. No matter the season, dining in the greenhouse is beautiful. I would have to say that our Fall dinner there was remarkable, watching deer graze on the hillside, overlooking the Points of Rock Bridge and the colorful foliage. The rest of the day we enjoyed time as a family.

Sunday we took a fun family bike ride around the neighborhood, with a stop off at one of the parks so the girls could run around. Once we got home we had snack and playtime and Oscar got ready for some nice alone time to go windsurfing. He arrived home just in time for me to go to a friend's baby shower.

Monday was the actual Birthday, so I made the dinner he requested and his very favorite dessert, banana cream pie. Luli was very upset that we weren't having a party for Daddy. Clearly birthday = party. She then decided we would have a dinner party, seriously she told me we were. At her insistence we set the dining room table, made decorations to put on the chandelier and a nice big "Feliz Cumpleanos" banner for the girls to decorate. Plus both girls made drawings for Daddy. It was a fun weekend, and hopefully Oscar had a great birthday.