Avena Be a Dolphin, Mommy Be a Dinosaur

Nothine earth shattering to report here, I just thought I'd post a few pictures and say hello. We're having ridiculously nice weather - it was 77 degrees today. We worked in the yard in t-shirts. I'm not going to lie - it felt great. Avena took advantage and watered the plants in her tutu/last year's butterfly halloween costume. Glamorous. We got in a winter garden a couple weeks ago - onions and peas and strawberries. I was inspired by Farm City, written by Novella Carpenter. She grows a massive garden and raises bees, poultry, rabbits, and an occasional pig on 28th Street in the middle of Oakland. Definitely put it on your 'to read' list.

Avena is in the Dolphins class at school. I picked her up on Friday and we were walking to the car and she announced, "Avena be a dolphin, Mommy be a dinosaur." Ouch. Don't let that cute face fool you, she's brutal!

Hopefully this is one of the last times you see our "lovely" kitchen on the blog. We started demo yesterday and by the end of March it should be just about remodeled. Know anyone that needs an ancient Oldsmobile-sized Wedgewood stove that works only when it feels like it? My dad will be out from Wisconsin in March to help with all the hard stuff - cabinet and appliance install and the like.

Avena had a nasty stomach flu a few weeks ago and ever since she recovered she's been building that belly back up to size. Valentine's candy might just get her back to her fighting weight. The hairstyle she's wearing in this set of photos has been working good for us. I needed something that didn't take a ton of time and was more protective than basic puffs (which result in a lot of knots for us). This is a version of a style from Happy Girl Hair - make three parts going from ear to ear, giving you four large sections. Each section is styled in a big two-strand flat twist and you can do whatever you want with the puffs at the end. I think I'll keep it in the rotation.