Circus

My Saturdays to work are becoming father/daughter days for Savy and Jon. Savy has been wanting to go to a real circus for a long time, so when the circus came to town this weekend, Jon took her. She loved it, and it has given her LOTS of "pretend-play" material.









Savy had a great time! I think she really enjoys going places with her daddy...and the fact that she doesn't have to share his attention with her baby sis for a few hours.


I'm exhausted today! Scarlett hasn't been sleeping well for a week now, and last night it was really bad. She's stopped sleeping in her Amby bed, and last night she wouldn't even sleep in the bed with me. Now that she's moving around on her own, I can't risk falling asleep while she's still awake in our bed because she could roll off. I finally gave up and put her in her crib...that made her very angry, but at least she was safe. She alternated naps and crying for the rest of the night. On a positive note, Scarlett is eating better - thanks to Suzie for telling me about the Baby Mum-Mums! And she ate half a container of pureed pears last night. She still refuses to let me put her down for a even a few minutes. I swear, this is the most willful and stubborn baby in the world! If she keeps it up, she's really going to be a pill when she's older.

I'm getting so spoiled with Granny Ruth here this week. She has kept Savannah and Scarlett occupied every day. I'm not going to know what to do when she goes home tomorrow! The girls have loved having her here.

Everyone piled up on Granny Ruth for a nap





Our birds from last year are back. Don't misunderstand, I love birds...I put out seed, put up birdhouses, and maintain the birdbath all year. But I just don't want them building nests on the speakers on our patio. Last year these house finches built a nest before I realized what they were up to, and I didn't have the heart to tear it down. We had to move our grill (due to the bird poop) and we couldn't use the stereo out there for fear of scrambling the bird eggs. I caught them early this year and decided to put a stop to it before they put too much effort into it. I really wanted a plastic owl or rubber snake to scare them off, but I couldn't find one. So I improvised.



Yes, that is Mox the fox (borrowed from Savy's gang of Starfall characters) guarding our patio speakers. It worked too...those birds haven't been back under the patio!

Today was a beautiful day. Granny Ruth took Savy and Scarlett outside for some fresh air this afternoon.




And I went for a run this afternoon...perfect weather for it. Granny Ruth treated us to dinner at El Nopal tonight. We sure are going to miss her tomorrow.

Jon went to Glen Allan yesterday to pick up Granny Ruth. They got here this afternoon, and she's going to be spending the week with us. Savy couldn't wait for them to get here! Since we didn't make it there for Christmas last year (new baby and all that), Granny Ruth had presents to deliver. Savy had to put on this little dress-up costume from Aunt Lesa immediately...she was so excited to get her very own pair of heels too!




Lately, Savy's started kind of "freezing up" when she poses for a picture. Her smiles are so funny...kinda reminds me of some of the little girls on "Toddlers and Tiaras."

This one makes me laugh... not gonna win any pageants with that!



Better...


This one's cute.


FYI: I know it looks like she is wearing makeup in these photos, but she is not.

Savy and Granny Ruth


Savy and Granny Ruth watching Peter Pan and eating popcorn.

We baked chocolate-chocolate chip muffins tonight....so yummy. These are Savy's favorite.




Scarlett usually throws a fit while I'm cooking, but tonight she was perfectly content to sit on the island and play with the onions.







A few cooking-related things I've learned recently....

1. I've known for some time there is a tool called a garlic press. Only yesterday did I learn that a garlic PRESS is actually used to MINCE garlic. All this time I've been mincing garlic by hand....argh!

2. I finally know the secret to making perfect pancakes!!!!!! There is nothing you can't learn on YouTube!

3. You don't need dirt to grow an onion.



4. Last week when I was refilling my flour and cornmeal bins, I got distracted and put white cornmeal in the flour bin by mistake. I figured this out yesterday. That is probably why that last batch of blueberry muffins I made tasted so weird.