Top 5 from the beach

I forgot the camera, sorry!

5. Hearing this conversation on the way.
Chani: Emery (it sounds more like Emilry)
Emery: No! My name is Emery.
Chani: Emery (Emilry)
Emery: That's what they call me.

4. Watching Emery body surf in the waves with the fish jumping right next to him

3. Enjoying the sand on my feet...but not so much on everything when we were leaving.

2. Watching some men catch shrimp in a tidal pool.

1. Being less than 5 feet from an alligator (s/he was about 4 feet long) in that same tidal pool.

Hope you had a great Saturday, and have a good Memorial Day Monday!

Change is hard (and a recipe)

I've been thinking about how to write this post for a while, and I still don't think I have a good handle on it. Chani is in the middle of potty training. She's doing quite well. But, it is much more difficult to leave the house these days. Here's our list: the potty seat, rubber sheet, towel, extra wipes, extra panties and shorts, and a patient mommy. The last one is hard to come by, and we've had our share of accidents at the running park and friends homes. I am excited for her to be potty trained, but man, diapers sure were easier (at least for now). This change has been hard.

Emery is learning to ride his bike without training wheels. The current condition of his bike? One training wheel in the shed, and one on the bike. He's learning to pedal fast, and he will tell you the rule is, "Don't stop pedaling." Now I need to be more watchful, making sure he's moving fast enough so he doesn't tip over. And soon, he'll be learning how to start on his own. And I'm thrilled for this step for him, and he is too. But change is hard.

My kids are resilient, and they roll well with whatever comes along. I think these changes are harder on me than them. I'm learning as I go. But, we're doing our best.

And now, so this isn't a boring all about me post, it's blackberry season here. We're loving it. Although I do have a tiny, impossible to remove, sliver under my pinky nail. The kids love to eat them straight from the bush, and I love to make yummy things out of them. I tried this blackberry lemonade, which is excellent. I have been looking a long time for the perfect muffin recipe. You know, the ones like they have at coffee shops. I think I've got it. I adapted a different recipe I like, and these are a sweet success. I hope you'll try them. This is also very versatile. You could exclude the cream cheese and the berries and add apples and cinnamon and a strudel topping if you'd rather.

Perfect Berry n Cream Muffins

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 c. berries of choice (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries) fresh or frozen--don't thaw
4 oz. cream cheese cut into small bits (I use the lower fat variety)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla, salt, and soda. Alternate flour and buttermilk. Fold in berries and cream cheese . Spoon into paper lined muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12-18 muffins.

Enjoy!

Pictures

For Mother's Day, I took the kids to have their pictures taken. My friend Maegan did an AMAZING job, it was really hard to pick the ones to send to our moms! I ended up sending different ones to Clint's mom than my mom, only because I wanted to pick them all! So, here are a few of our favorites.

Work out music?

I need some new workout tunes. What are your favorites?