Empty Nesters

It's official. Our little birdies are all grown up. Last night as I was getting ready to mow the lawn, Ryan called me over to look at something in the grass. It was our little baby birds that have taken up residence in the tree on our porch. After a quick look around, we found the other two scampering around on the walkway. We kept trying to put them back in the nest, but they were clearly ready to fly the coop. It's amazing how fast they grew. They only hatched about a week ago! I wonder if I'm doing something wrong as a mom because Christian has been with us for over a year and he's not even close to leaving home. I guess human babies take a little longer to cook.

The mom and dad birds were hovering around and were not happy that Ryan and I were there. They were pretty fearless flying around us and trying to lure us away from their babies. It was kind of cool to see that they were willing to risk their own safety to save their kids. All of Mother Nature's creatures love their kids. God speed, little birds. See you when you come home to nest next year. We'll keep the porch light on for you.

Lake Winnipesaukee

Being a Thomas has its perks. This weekend we headed up to my sister and brother in laws' house on Lake Winnipesaukee. Yes, Winnipesaukee. I realize it has a silly name, but c'mon. Look at this place. It's gorgeous.

This is the lake that was in "What About Bob?" (I'm sailing!) The lakes region is a beautiful hour long drive from our house in Merrimack. We left our humble home Friday afternoon to drive to this palace on the water. This was the view from our room.


This is a water lover's paradise. Think of it as a super sized Lake of the Pines for rich people. Instead of old people riding around in golf carts, you have to watch out for the Marriots driving around in their vintage Rolls Royces. Christian went for his first boat ride on the "biggie boat"

we jetskiid till our thumbs were sore from holding the throttle,
splashed in the water,






played tennis, rested, and sunned on the beach to our hearts content. There was also much playing of Settlers of Catan (at which I rule,) and Hearts (at which I stink.) It was a weekend full of great company, tons of fun, and of course delicious food. Yes, that is rice crispy sushi with gummy fish. Probably the only sushi Mom would ever try. Isn't it cute?


Thanks, Jen and Tagg, for the SUPER FUN weekend! Can't wait to do it again!

Our Little Nest

This is one of the pots on our front porch. I was out watering this morning when a little bird flew out of the pine tree. I took a closer look and here is what I found:
There are three little blue eggs in a tiny nest! How fun! I would have taken a better picture, but I didn't want to touch the tree. I've heard that if humans touch a nest or eggs, the mother bird can smell our human stink and won't come back. I don't know if this is actually true, but didn't want to chance it. My sister in law, Jen, also found a bird nest in the wreath she hung on her front door. I am very curious to see if these little eggs hatch. Even if our garden doesn't grow anything this year, maybe we can take pride in watching these little baby birds grow up on our front porch.

Teething

You can almost hear the whining in this picture.

To Me From Me

I decided to indulge a little for Mother's Day and get myself a little treat. If you will refer back to my post titled Top 10 Things I Hate about New England, number 6 is "No See's candy." It's hard living so far from a See's store, but after a little research, I discovered that these little babies can now be shipped anywhere your heart desires. Even a CUSTOM MIX! (which is the only way to go.) I was one happy Mother when this delicious package of chocolatey goodness arrived on my doorstep today. Now I will get to the point of this post, which is actually to let everyone know what the selections for the perfect box are:

Rum Nougats

Marzipan

Mayfairs

Strawberry Creams

Key Lime Pie truffles

Pecan Rolls

California Brittle

Caramel Almond Squares

Coconut Creams

Chocolate covered caramels, no nuts (these are Ryan's favorites in case I'm feeling generous.)

If anyone should happen to need a great idea for me for Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Labor Day, or any other gift giving holiday, please refer to this list. Thank you in advance.

SPRING!

Let me start by saying...I LOVE SPRING! It really was a very mild winter. I can't complain. But there is nothing like seeing the little red baby leaves on the trees to lift your frozen spirits. Spring came early this year. In fact, there are even the beginnings of tiny peaches and cherries on the branches of our fruit trees where pink blossoms once thrived. We're going to get fruit this year! How exciting is that?!

Mom, you're going to kill me, but I didn't get any pictures of the blossoms this year. You'll just have to come out here and see for yourself next year. Trust me, it was spectacular. Ryan and I spent last weekend weeding and planting in the side yard. It is so much fun to pick out plants and flowers that I have always loved! Last year we made a feeble attempt in this planter, but learned the hard way that lawn clippings with grass seed does not make the best mulch. After much weeding, we were shocked to find that the bleeding hearts we planted and thought had died last year grew back this spring with a vengeance. They are huge and beautiful! We also planted columbines and red rhododendrons for spring color. Pink peonies, purple hydrangea bushes and a white hydrangea tree will blossom later this summer. Believe it or not, there are no deer here to eat our beautiful plants. Lucky us!

We also added a little color to the front planters. The yellow forsythia, pink azaleas, and purple mini rhodies are past their prime, but the white azaleas can give you an idea of what they looked like.

We finished our outside projects this afternoon when we planted our garden boxes. We built these earlier this spring but had to wait to plant till after the last frost. Being the eager beavers we are, Ry and I tried to start seeds in February. We learned this was a little too soon and not much survived the long wait till planting. This is the before shot with just some snap peas, sunflowers, corn, and peppers sprouting. Hopefully by the end of the summer we will have cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, zucchini, yellow squash, beets, pumpkins, and strawberries as well. I even threw in some daisies and dahlias to pretty things up a bit. I'll keep you posted to see how things are growing.

Easter in May?

No, we did not celebrate Easter in May. I just took my sweet time in posting the pictures due to the previously mentioned missing camera cable. Good news, I found it. We had the whole Thomas/Romney crew up to New Hampshire for the festivities. The weather cooperated beautifully for our Easter egg hunt, almost 80 degrees! This time last year the kids had to put on their parkas and snow boots to search for eggs in a foot of snow. Thank you, Mother Nature, for the early spring.

I busted out the fine china, crystal stemware, and Gammy's silver to set the table. I am really going to make an effort to use my nice stuff and not just let it sit in the china cabinet forever gathering dust. The table did look beautiful, even though it was a folding table borrowed from the church. Someday we'll get a real dining set...

The food was really yummy and I still have the bone from the huge honey baked ham in the freezer just waiting to be made into soup. I wish Gammy was here to teach me the secret to her delicious bean and ham soup. Here is the spread.

I decided to make an Easter egg cake for Christian's first birthday. It was two layers, one chocolate and one white with strawberry icing. It only took me a few hours and a major melt down after I dropped one on the layers on the floor to get this

I was pleased. We gave Christian the first slice thinking he would tear into it and devour it.

Not so much. This is what he really thought of my cake.

This boy definitely did not get my sweet tooth! Presents followed cake eating. Christian loves his new toys and still plays with them. Yes, that is a roll of toilet paper. Mommy wanted to get him a toy I KNEW he would love. Happy Easter, everyone!