Party time! Eggcellent!

As far as holidays go, Easter is up there with Halloween in my opinion.  There's crafts, candy, and parties, AND I don't have to bust my butt making costumes for the entire family.  Since we are all settled in the new house and happen to have the largest backyard of our playgroup, we decided to host this year's Easter potluck brunch and toddler eggstravaganza.  See last year's eggstravaganza.  But before folks came over, Kerstin and I went a little nuts with crafts and decorations.

The morning of the party, the kids donned their bunny beanies and the adults brought their awesome dishes to the potluck table.  Finn, Stella, and Maben were not impressed by the bunny yamakas (as one partygoer called them).

Not long after setting up a scrumptious spread, we started to chow down.  I must say that my friends sure can cook, judging from the fact that there was little leftover. 

After the mens finished their food, we put them to work in the backyard as an army of Easter bunnies.  I'm pretty sure there were almost 200 eggs to hide.

Meanwhile, we waited patiently in the dining room.  Well, the over 18 crowd was patient, but the 3 ft and under crowd was ready to go.

After a countdown from 10 to 1 we opened the door and let them at it.

They started out slowly, but it didn't take long before it became a mad dash.

Finn was so stoked to have found the biggest egg in the yard!

I had to stay close to Linus to make sure he continued to hunt for eggs, instead of opening each egg as soon as he found it.  Boy needs to learn some efficiency!

Here are the lovely Maben and Hartley.

 And Elizabeth and Stella.

After the big hunt was over (it might have lasted 10 minutes) they all sat down to check out their stash.

Not to worry, our little babies had a good time watching the big kids.  Here are Emilio, John, and Magnus.

We wouldn't dream of hosting a party where kids get loaded up on sugar without offering a means of burning said empty calories.  After the hunt and candy binge, the kids took their turns on our new trampoline.  Look at how patiently they are waiting for their turns!  This is the stuff that makes a mother's heart melt. 

After everyone left to put their little ones to bed, we sat down with Linus and remembered the day's events.  Because all of this effort, after all, is about making memories.

 

Quick nerdy note: Nothing from the party was thrown in the trash.  All plates, uneaten food, and utensils were composted in our composter, while cups were recycled.  If you are interested in having a zero waste party and want to order compostable tableware, you can visit http://www.branchhome.com/

Hyper? Me?

I've got my hands pretty full at the moment.  Full of boys, and all their sweet, naughty, tiring, mischievous antics.  Magnus has been teething and has got his two bottom incisors to erupt in the last 2 weeks.  He's also starting to move around quite a bit, often getting himself into situations (example below).  Linus just got a wheelbarrow and is our official building/gardening/anything-he-can-get-his-hands-on "helper" (and I mean that with air quotes).

 

And with these two boys to care for, run after, play with, and feed, you'd think I'd just collapse each and every day with utter exhaustion, right?  Of course not.  Because I have a sickness.

That's a hug, not a choke-hold.

I'm what you call a "doer", a "mover and a shaker", or just your typical "Type A" personality.  In other words, my hyperactivity disorder carried on well into my adult life.  Exhibit A:  After 3 weeks of nonstop out of town visitors and a trip to NYC, a normal person would want to just chill at home with a bottle of wine.  But me, I just can't stand to miss the azalea bloom at the National Arboretum.  It's become an annual tradition, after all. See blog post from exactly one year ago.

Again, we were blessed with fantastic weather.

Dang, that's a lot of boy for one 5' mamma

After a little bit of hiking, we stopped at this bench for snacks. 

That look just melts me every time.

Our budding naturalist made observations about birds and bees, flowers and trees.  But his favorite part?

Feeding the koi!

Don't worry, I do get my chill time here and there.  The weather has turned gorgeous, giving us some much needed backyard hangout time.  Here on the patio, Linus plays with his new water/sand table while Magnus munches on some mango.

And while my mom was here visiting she identified a few things that she could buy us to make our lives more pleasant.  First, a 7.5ft trampoline complete with safety net.  Second, a patio set so that we could hang out and eat outside.  We use both any chance we get.  Thanks mom and dad!

We've been really busy with yard projects, too.  Mattias cleared some vines from around the tree and planted a shady plant garden-- no illicit horticulture here folks!   We chose lilly of the valley, bleeding hearts, and hostas. 

I've also cleaned up the existing vegetable patch, added compost, formed rows, and readied it for seeds.  One of my most prided projects is our new composter.  It's cool because we barely throw anything away anymore-- yard waste, kitchen waste, and even Magnus' compostable diapers go in the composter. 

My container vegetables and seed starts are doing well in the front yard.  On the left I have yellow scallop squash, bush beans, and peas going.  On the right I have basil, spinach, and shishito pepper babies.

In addition to planting things we can eat (my #1 priority) we've done a good amount of flower planting too.  Pansies in the window boxes, and ranonculus and dahlia bulbs in front of the house.  We'll just have to wait and see how they come up from the ground.

Whew, I'm tired just telling you about all the stuff we've done.  Literally, I'm developing tendinitis in my right wrist from repetitive stress at work and from all the heavy baby lifting.  Until next time...

LOL!

I hate to admit, I hate this acronym.  But after you watch this video you'll see why the post is aptly titled.  I'm sure this is just the first of many LOL moments between Brothers Karlsson. 

Thanks to Magnus Sr. for capturing the moment for us all to enjoy. 

Mamma's Time-out

 A few months ago Linus started putting himself and his toys in time-outs.  We'd hear him playing out scenarios of fire trucks hitting diggers, or stuffed animals not following directions.  Then, he would count to ten, and then proclaim "You sit right there.  You get a time out!"  It's pretty amusing to see how you are perceived by a 2 year old.  And while this mamma loves being with her guys, there comes a time when I need to put myself in a time-out. 












So last weekend we hopped on a bus to NYC for a 3 day getaway. After trudging around in the rain to get some cheap Broadway tickets, we met up with my Uncle Rollie, who has lived in the city for some time now.  My mom's younger brother is the thrill seeker of the family, who also shares my love of traveling.  In fact, he was in the process of packing for a "work" trip to the Philippines.

 Afterwards we decided to walk back to the hotel and catch the lights of Time Square.  On our way we checked out the Macy's window display, which had a flower-show theme.

 Every time I go to Time Square I feel like the lights just keep getting brighter and brighter (this is probably true since all the displays are LCD screens nowadays).  I was happy to see that they finally decided to close the area off to cars and let us tourists ogle to our hearts desire.

 The following morning we got up early and hit up the Doughnut Plant, a donut shop in Chelsea that is legendary for its unique creations.  This place was so cute with its doughnut decor-- those are pillows up on the wall, and the benches were made up of doughnut tiles.

 Some extra strong coffee with fresh strawberry, tres leches, and triple black (dark chocolate with more chocolate inside and out) donuts.  I had a bit of a Homer Simpson moment.

On the way down to the Chelsea flea market we walked by the TV-show home of my idol.

 Then we made it one of my favorite stops of the trip: the Union Square Farmer's Market.  We talked to vendors and bought up a ton of food gifts to bring home for loved ones.  For my pregnant bestie Melissa, Sriracha spiced pickles.  For Mattias, aged sheeps milk cheese and golden raspberry jam. 

 After taking some time to sit and soak up the sun, we continued south into SoHo for some shopping.

 I love the historic buildings in the Castiron District, as well as the fancy-schmancy shops that live in them.

 Then I made a quick stop into Balthazar Bakery, for ham and cheese croissants, cookies, and petit fours (all to bring home).  Hate to say, but DC just has cupcakes, not much else in the realm of baked goods.







Sorry if this is becoming a bit of a foodie-tour blog, but I have to mention this amazing taqueria that lives in a tiny location that used to be a deli.  La Esquina melted my heart with legit tacos and grilled corn covered in Mexican cheese and chili.  Anyone who chooses a Luchador as their mascot deserves your business!

 Then I got to take mom to her first ever Broadway show!  Billy Elliot was a ton of fun, and the kids that starred in it were amazing!  Very lighthearted, it was a perfect way to spend the afternoon and rest our tired legs.

 No time for breaks!  We headed first to Chinatown for cheap foot massages, then to the East Village to meet up with college dorm-mate Rebecca.

 We felt like the "cool kids" after scoring a table at the tiny Caracas Arepa Bar.  Arepas are yummy corn pockets filled with more yuminess (like cheese, avocado, chiles, and meats).

The decors inside the tiny space was Virgin Mary themed, much like many Filipino households.

 After filling up our tummies and catching up on our lives, we took mom around the corner to a rum-inspired bar.  SF peeps, think Hobson's Choice dressed up.  It was late (that would be past 11 for me), so we took a cab to the hotel and called it a night.

 Since we had to catch our bus home at 11AM, we decided for a low key morning in Central Park.  Check out the gorgeous spring bloomage!

Lest we lose focus on food, we stopped at Bouchon Bakery for some more strong coffee and ham and cheese croissants.








Then completed our stroll across the park and to the subway station, so we could catch our bus.  It's pretty impressive how much we did in less than 48 hours.  Mothers out there will appreciate/understand how much harder it was to be out and about since I had to pump every few hours back at the hotel! 

This wasn't the first trip I've done with my mom.  There was our 2 week adventure in Thailand, and our camping/canoeing/roughing-it trip to Belize and Guatemala.  But this is my first trip with her since becoming a mother, and let me tell you it means so much more to be able to spend time with her like this.  Nowadays there's a lot more mutual understanding, she knows what I'm going through and I understand (I think) what it must have been like raising a tiny-Ellie.  Growing up, my mom would take short vacations with her girlfriends to exotic places to eat and shop, and I thought it was a bit weird not knowing anyone else whose mothers took off just for the sake of fun.

Those experiences have turned out to be one of my mom's greatest gifts.  Because she took care of herself by taking breaks from us kids, I have no qualms about doing it myself.  I have a great time.  I never feel guilty.  I get the chance to actually miss the kids.  I come home refreshed, feeling like an individual again, and I hope... a better mother.