My zucchini might be green

but that doesn't mean my thumb is ... yet. We've taken advantage of the raised bed the previous owners had in the backyard and planted loads of tomatoes, wisely only ONE zucchini plant, some bell peppers, cucumber and butternut squash. And some beets on a whim, but I have zero hope for those.

I can't say I do much more than water the garden each morning and try to pull a few weeds when I notice them. But I'm beginning to think I might have beginners luck, or just a thumb that's getting greener, because everything seems to be sprouting along quite nicely! (though you will notice some diseased leaves on our tomato plants ... suppose I need to address that soon)

Also, just pretend that fence isn't there behind the bed and that's what it would be like if our neighbor's backyard were really ours. :) But what can I say? We prefer a more, oh romantic English style garden, that's all ... otherwise you know we'd be sporting the terraces and manicured shrubs.

As for what to do with the glut of zucchini that will continue to overwhelm our palates, I'm already going the pancake route with these zucchini fritters. The only changes I made were to salt the zucchini after grating and let the water drain out for about 20 minutes and use buttermilk pancake mix (because I already had it and want to use it up) instead of flour. They were delicious and fortunately much crispier on the outside than I anticipated!

And then there's the fig tree we planted this spring.

Just kidding of course. It's been here for eons I am sure. It won't be long before we are up to our ears in figs. Thinking I might need to set up shop at the farmer's market and start selling them for $5 a pint ... with Emery and Anna Kimball in tow and in some straw hats and gingham dresses, don't you think I'd do some good business?

Must I correct her

when she says:

"Bamina" instead of banana

"She fell her toy!" instead of she dropped her toy (the "she" most likely being Anna Kimball)

"A piece of head!" instead of a piece of hair

"Hi Kimball, how are you are?" instead of how are you?

"She's spilling!" instead of she's spitting up (the "she" most likely being Anna Kimball again)

"You like it!" instead of I don't like it

"Hold you" instead of hold me

"She wants to feed her" instead of she wants to eat (the "she" most definitely being Anna Kimball!)

"A caprise" instead of a surprise

I sure hope not, because I'm not about to start harping on Emery's grammar and proper usage of the English language anytime soon. Toddler-speak is way too cute for any corrections to be made!

I'm learning

There's a My Utmost for His Highest entry that talks about how the process is the goal in the spiritual life. Chambers writes, "We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal. He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the goal."

Well, I think I'm learning that this isn't just true for the spiritual life, but also in parenting. Right now it's 12:56 pm, both girls are napping and I'm feeling tempted (if it's even possible to be tempted to scrub toilets) to scurry off to the bathrooms and get them cleaned before my little "helper" wakes up. Cleaning with Emery always takes three times as long, since we must account for a certain amount of sharing of the cleaning apparati, plenty of "no touches!" of the dirty toilet seat, silencing whines that she'd rather me be doing something else or paying attention to her, quick darts into the next room to confirm that Anna Kimball is sufficiently entertained and not too lonely ... and on and on and on.

I'm definitely tempted to whine here, too, because quite honestly this isn't how I'd prefer to spend an afternoon. BUT, it struck me that isn't this the point of parenting? To teach patience, cleanliness, creativity and so forth. Yes, the bathrooms will get clean, eventually, in just the same way they will get dirty again, and quickly! But maybe the greater reward and goal is that we all have learned something along the way.

This all sounds a bit pie-in-the-sky to me in a way, but at the same time, I feel I have no choice but to believe it and continue to keep little fingers off dirty toilet seats in the hopes we're accomplishing more than just a clean bathroom.

Look-alikes

Who's who? I'll never tell!

Our angels next door

As I've mentioned before, Emery has found some new friends a few doors up whom she sees on almost a daily basis. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this has been a divine provision for both of us. For Emery, it's a chance to get out of the house, get seriously spoiled, gain some independence (something she's not really asking for much these days but I sure am!) and make new friendships, albeit with people not exactly in the toddler crowd.

For me, it's a chance to focus on Anna Kimball, make dinner, and/or enjoy a quiet house, among many options. I'm also reaping the benefits of friendship and am pinching myself in disbelief when I realize I have a more experienced "mom" friend a stone's throw away who can walk me through how to administer Tylenol to a wriggling infant, alert me to all the obstacles that lie ahead in the preteen, teenage and college years, and laugh with me about all the highs and lows of having a toddler and infant glued to one's side day in and day out. 

Loving the porch swing!

Yes, she's making herself quite at home on that swing.

Honing her musical abilities - not only has Emery been exposed to the piano, 

but also the bongos and ukelele!

What a nice weekend

Judging from the photos that follow, you'd think Anna Kimball didn't join us on our Memorial Day weekend in Black Mountain, NC, but I assure you, she was there! See, she's in the first group shot, which was somewhat candid, somewhat posed. I really like the imperfection of it all.

We were with Henny and Papa, Uncle Austin and Aunt Jackie and cousins Tucker and Molly for four nights and three days of fun, attempts and some successes at relaxation and sleep, lots of laughing and much delighting in the kids' antics and bonding.

Always happy to be "up high" with Daddy.

Marching proudly toward the most idyllic park/playground we've ever been to.

Almost never without her shades.

Tickled to be with her Henny!

Thrilled to be having breakfast with Tucker!

He is a miracle child who apparently "presents well" according to his pediatrician. Tucker suffered bouts of vomiting and fevers throughout the entire weekend but you never would have known it. His spirits were as high as could be, he even ate heartily most of the time and declared the car ride up, during which he fell ill, as "just the best!"

We were concerned that Emery and Molly might feel threatened by one another, being so close in age and at rather egocentric ages I might add. Not the case! They weren't inseparable by any means, but they did enjoy one another's company and even shared toys.

And, blessing of all blessings, Emery even fell asleep on the car ride home. 

I'm still embarrassed and astonished I don't have more (any?) pictures of Anna Kimball. Will have to rectify this soon!

A dinner worth making again

I recently mentioned that I hadn't cooked any noteworthy dinners recently. Well, last night that changed, in my humble opinion ... I think Matt would agree, which is why I feel validated in writing this post.

Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Caradamom and Yogurt has redeemed any negative feelings I previously had about boring, dry, roasted chicken. I couldn't figure out how to copy the picture that accompanies the recipe and I didn't take one of ours so please, click on the link now so you can see how amazingly crispy and delicious this chicken looks. I will wait ...

OK, agree? It looks fabulous, doesn't it? And if tasks like butterflying chicken and tracking down cardamom seem intimidating to you, please don't let that stop you from trying this recipe. Butterflying chicken is actually very easy. There are lots of instructional videos on the Internet that demonstrate how to remove a chicken's backbone. And yes, I realize it's not that fun to get your hands all over raw chicken, but the end result is worth it, I promise.

Cardamom can be difficult to find and it's pricy, but I found mine in the bulk section of our Whole Foods and it only wound up costing me pennies.

So two hurdles removed, right? Oh, you don't have mortar and pestle? You're still not off the hook - use a rolling pin. I did. It worked great.

The other fantastic thing about this recipe is that it tastes best when marinated in the yogurt spice mixture overnight. So while it's a pain to start fixing tomorrow night's dinner before you've even cleaned up from tonight's, the bonus is that you have dinner basically done before tomorrow even comes!

Make this chicken please. It's tender, juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside and loaded with flavors you probably don't usually enjoy during your average weeknight dinner. My only word of caution is to NOT roast yours in a cast iron skillet. Yes, it looks more casual yet impressive in one, but you'll be left with a cleanup job you'd rather not tackle or let tarnish your memories of the best roast chicken you've had in quite some time.