Kumquats and such

On Friday, March 15th, Reagan and I picked up a nearly-new Bob Revolution Dualie for just $350!! It even came with the infant car seat adapter and snack tray assembly! For those of you who have never purchased a jogging stroller, you're eyes are probably bugging out, but let me tell you, this is a great awesome unbelievable deal! Apparently stalking Craigslist works:) Until this point, I had not planned on announcing the pregnancy on Facebook or any other social media site. But every once in a while, I have a stroke of genius (if I do say so myself). The main reason I didn't plan to post was this: I hate the words PREGO and PREGGERS. I don't want people commenting on my page and using these ridiculous terms. The other  reason I was not going to post anything was because I didn't want to re-do what I've seen so many times. Don't get me wrong, all the other ideas are super cute and definitely worth repeating, but I wanted to be different.   As we drove ...

Until recently, Reagan wanted nothing to do with bread. That included muffins and pancakes. But then she discovered butter! So one day a few weekends ago, she asked me to make her some pancakes. We had some Bisquick left, so I whipped up a batch; serving a couple to each of us and freezing the rest.  I made 3 different kinds: plain, chocolate chip, and blueberry! I'm slightly addicted to berries, so these are the blueberry pancakes topped with sliced strawberries and a little syrup. Reagan had 2 chocolate chip pancakes, butter on top, syrup on the side.  I checked out Pinterest for freezing methods and learned that you should place the pancakes in a single layer on top of parchment paper (then add more layers of paper between pancake stacks if necessary), freeze them on a cookie tray for about 4 hours, and then transfer to a bag. Super easy and makes a quick breakfast option on workdays! 

We headed down to Woodbridge to celebrate Geoffrey's birthday on March 10th. Mil made her delicious eggplant roll-a-tini (sp?!) and some amazing garlic bread. She also made this gorgeous white cake: He blew out the candles with a little help from Reagan and we all enjoyed the tasty birthday treat! Well, everyone except Daisy & Tommy. Daisy was not impressed: Reagan "helped" Uncle Geoffrey open all his presents...by opening them all herself! Ah, the joys of having a 2 1/2 year old around:) We had a wonderful time celebrating with Geoffrey and hope it's the best year yet! Glenna and Geoffrey 

After Reagan's nap, we all headed outside to enjoy the surprisingly warm weather. I gathered my supplies to plant the raspberry bushes and rosemary plant Reagan and I had gotten earlier in the week. While Jason and Reagan had been out that morning, they stopped at the bookstore and grabbed me a couple amazing gardening books! I definitely consulted the text before heading out.  The four raspberry bushes were planted in the front flowerbed. In the late fall, this was tilled by a landscaping company and reasonably weed free. I covered each plant's base with peat moss to help with the potential frost/snow.  Then I put the rosemary in one corner of the vegetable garden off to the side of the driveway. The one from our Jacksonville house was HUGE when we left, so I'm hoping to keep this one under control with some pruning:) While I planted, Tommy hung out, and Daddy and Reagan tried to find Waldo! 

A few weekends ago, I was granted a free pass for Saturday morning! Daddy took Reagan to Chuck E Cheese and to run his errands, and I was flying solo! Now I love my girl, but sometimes, it's great to have a break:)  I decided to use my free morning to wander the Farmer's Market in Old Town Alexandria: I always buy a loaf of her crunchy whole wheat bread! So nice to be able to understand ALL the ingredients in something:) I stopped by this stand, as I have previously done, and this week grabbed some chicken breasts and some beef. I wanted some bacon, but apparently you've got to be quite the early bird to grab some of that! I recently watched Food Inc., and one of the farms featured in the film was the producer of the ground beef I purchased! Such a cool coincidence! Although the prices are much higher than the grocery store, Bon Vivant has wonderful products that aren't full of hormones and have had access to pasture. So thrilled that they come ...

This Sunday was absolutely beautiful! The weather was hopefully a foreshadowing of the spring to come! There is a large flowerbed in our front yard, and while I planted some bulbs in the fall, there were already lots in there...and it's been a lot of fun watching different things pop up. These yellow crocuses are springing up (pun intended) everywhere. Even some on the side of the driveway:) Reagan loves to pick them.  And while spring is still teasing us outside, we brought a little bit of nature in the house. Here is some of our seedlings!  As soon as I get to the store to grab fertilizer and manure, I'll plant spinach & radishes in the garden patch just outside the kitchen door. Then we'll head over to Grandpa & Grandma Campbell's and plant their garden beds too! Hooray for homegrown veggies!!!  

The other morning, Reagan showed off her fashion sense and awesome pink cowboy boots for us... Daddy taught her this pose:)

On our "snow day," Reagan's school was closed and so was my office, so we decided to do a project. I downloaded a stencil from the internet, traced it onto sturdy paper, and gathered some additional supplies. Then we decorated shamrocks in honor of St. Patty's Day! Our supplies: green paint, green crayon, green fabric scraps cut into various shapes, green puffballs, green beads, green plastic coins, and finally green rice & noodles. Yeah, we had green pretty well covered;) Reagan loves using glue (especially the glue stick) and had a blast decorating. Here are her finished products: And adults can have fun too when helping out with kid projects. I decorated this one with fabric scraps, cut the edges to match and then hung it on Reagan's bathroom mirror (I don't decorate much, but I've tried to put something fun/new/holiday related on her bathroom mirror since we moved here).   Really simple, fun project that perfect...

Last week, meteorologists predicted anywhere from 6-10 inches for Northern VA and the DC area. We woke up to less than 1/2 an inch, which despite the ridiculous amounts of snowfall, never amounted to much. Nevertheless, Reagan sure thought it was cool to stand in the bay window and watch it fall.

After our Old Town fun on Saturday morning, we had to run a few more errands. While I went to the bank, Michaels, and Bed, Bath & Beyond, Jason and Reagan went into PetSmart. Reagan is now the proud new owner of her very own pet!  Meet Pinky, Reagan's Siamese Fighting Fish: "She" requires minimal effort and we can take "her" back if she dies within 2 weeks. Not a deal for a first pet:)

On Saturday morning, I woke up and checked Instagram (yes, I check it before I look at the news). Lynsey  had already posted the cutest pictures of some things she was doing to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! That definitely inspired Jason who took Reagan downstairs and started getting to work on breakfast: GREEN EGGS & HAM  Duck/Pork Sausage! Reagan has gotten quite good at making scrambled eggs and adamantly protests, "I no need help. I do it all by myself!"  We had some errands to do after breakfast, so we all climbed in the Rodeo and headed into Old Town Alexandria. First stop, dry cleaning. That was a quick one. Next on the list, Farmer's Market. Sadly, finding parking was crazy and once we did and wandered up to the city square, there was no market:(  But, in it's place was a dog show and a St. Patrick's Day Parade (a bit early)! This dog looks less than thrilled about having to wear this hat. There was also a c...