Bits and Pieces: May

My last post was about our anniversary, but I wrote it before Ben presented me with his gift. He had my wedding bouquet recreated, ordered a small version of our wedding cake, and picked up Taco Bell on his way home. That morning, he left croissants and coffee for me. I did nothing, so I felt like a jerk. (In my defense, we are celebrating our anniversary with a trip to Chicago in July.) It was so sweet and romantic. The flowers were beautiful. When I opened the package, I said, "Hey, this looks just like my wedding bouquet." Ben: "Yes, yes it does."

Mother's Day also happened this month! I got my haircut that day, which was lovely. We had brunch with Ben's family and a cook-out with my sister and Josie. My gift was a beautiful pot of flowers, which are currently thriving on our deck. It was a nice day.

Clare's birthday is coming up, so I am planning to write a more lengthy blog post about her then. Christopher's big news this month is that he does NOT have a peanut allergy. As someone with severe food allergies, this makes me extremely happy. Clare is allergic to sesame seeds and cashews, and so far Christopher is fine with sesame seeds. We haven't tried cashews yet, but I am hopeful he will be allergy free.

A few days ago Christopher and I were at Walgreens. It was raining when we left, so I raced to the car. I was fumbling with my keys, trying in vain to unlock the door. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Christopher: "Not our car." He was right. It was not our car. I swear, at least once a week one of my children has to tell me something that should be completely obvious to me. (I know you know this: there are hundreds of black Honda Odyssey minivans in my neighborhood alone. I am not exaggerating. Still though. I should be able to recognize my own car.)

Christopher's latest favorite book is "Little Blue Truck." He knows it by heart, and I'll hear him randomly reciting it throughout the day. It's pretty cute. We've been struggling with nap time and bed time, still. I keep hoping it will get better, but so far no luck.

I've had a few days off from watching Josie, so I took the opportunity to do some things with the kids in the afternoon. (If Christopher is going to fight naps anyway, we might as well be out and about!) We went to Como Zoo last Thursday, and had our first picnic of the season. Clare went on the carousel, and we saw the animals and ate ice cream. It was nice, even when Christopher dropped his entire ice cream cone on the ground. (Yes, I should have known better than to give a 2-year-old his own cone.) Clare very generously shared with him. On Friday we went to the Children's Museum. Clare was a great big sister while we were there. If other kids took something from Christopher she stood up for him. "My brother was using that," she informed one little boy. We were in the ant hill, by far my least favorite part of the museum. Some kids were being obnoxious and screaming in my kids' faces. Clare very calmly told them to stop many times. They didn't. I told them to stop. They didn't. Their dad told them to stop. They didn't. Poor Clare, she just could not understand why these kids wouldn't listen to all the people telling them to stop. She was in tears. It was a good learning experience, though.

I had a girls' weekend away this month, too! It was so, so nice. We went to Lake City. It was a beautiful weekend with good food, great drinks and even better friends. I feel so lucky that I've found such a close group of friends in my neighborhood. It is weird to think that 3 years ago I didn't know any of them.

Our delicious dinner spread. 

One last note: today is my parents' 41st wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I had to post this picture. She is such a fashionista, isn't she?

Eating ice cream at Como Zoo.

At the Children's Museum. 

Best picture I could get of me with both kids on Mother's Day.