modern mommy

Maggie is Three!

Today, our sweet Maggie turned three. We decided to combine her birthday with our Mother’s Day celebration, and had a family picnic at a beautiful local park. I made spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting,( a family favorite), and we feasted on hotdogs fresh from the grill, pasta salad, potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs. All of the perfect picnic foods. It was a lovely warm day, and the girls had a blast playing on the playground, tossing water balloons around, feeding squirrels, and getting candy from the gnome piñata. After three plus hours of outdoor fun, Maggie promptly told us that she was ready to go home. Ha! She had her fill of fun. Happy Birthday, Maggie!

one- a ham & mozzarella quiche. We have had an abundance of eggs from our sweet hens lately.

two- pretty roses Maggie insisted I buy when when we went grocery shopping this week.

three- baby mugging, my new favorite internet thing. That’s Maggie in my favorite tea cup.

What a weird week it’s been. With all the craziness on the news, I must admit, I have felt out of sorts. We are headed to Orlando to soak up some of that Disney magic this weekend, and I couldn’t be happier to get out of town, and away from the television.

My thoughts are with all the families affected by the Boston tragedy, and the Waco accident. Let’s hope we all will have a little goodness in the weeks to come.

Sunken Gardens

We took the girls to Sunken Gardens this morning to explore my favorite not-so-secret garden. Sunken Gardens is a 100+ year old, 6 acre botanical garden in the middle of St. Petersburg, Florida. This beautiful garden was established in 1906 by a single man with a love of gardening, George Turner. Sunken Gardens became a roadside attraction, and was run by his family for generations. The gardens were recently purchased by the city, and they have maintained Mr. Turner’s original vision.

This place is just magical. Filled with ponds full of fish, flamingos, parrots, and waterfalls, there are surprises around every corner. Our girls enjoyed all of the natural beauty of the gardens, and feeding the fish. It was a great way to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather.

La Dolce Vita

This morning while scrolling though my Facebook feed, I was reminded of how uncertain life can be sometimes. A second cousin of mine passed away recently, and today would have been her 36th birthday. I will be 36 in three weeks. It inspired me to blow off my to-do list, keep Amelia home from preschool, and head out to the beach.

I didn’t know this family member really well, but I like to think today was a little tribute to her. My girls and I celebrated life & love today, and I although I can’t thank her for the inspiration, I hope she is smiling down on us in heaven.

Sunday, I Like You Best.

Our Easter in Pictures

Strawberry Fields Forever

The weather was a bit too cold for our usual trip to the beach for spring break, so when one of Amelia’s friends mother asked if we’d like to go pick strawberries, I thought it was a fun idea.

We live about an hour away from several strawberry farms, and this time of the year, some of those farms open up for “you pick”. You pick the strawberries for 50 cents a pint, put them in your own containers, and enjoy! They are just the prettiest berries I’ve ever seen!

Amelia and Maggie had a blast picking and tasting the strawberries, and it was a good excuse for them to get real dirty.

Now, what to do with all the strawberries?

A Sure Sign of Spring

New sand for the sandbox is a sure sign of spring at our house. The girls were more than happy to plant their feet in the sand and spend an hour building sandcastles, and shooing our Italian Greyhound out of the box.

Maggie had to chase a chicken or two out of her playhouse, too.

Happy Chickens

If you want happy chickens, you feed them live crickets. I’m not brave enough to touch them, so the kids and chickens rely on my mom to bring over this cherished snack. The girls squeal as the bugs jump around, and the chickens can’t gobble them up fast enough.

Good Morning.

Sundays are my favorite. A day to sleep in, a day when no one has to work or go to school, a day for relaxing or getting stuff done. Today will be a little bit of both for us. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and served them on my favorite green vintage dishes in honor of Saint Patrick, and in a bit we will head to the mall to meet the Easter Bunny. Later, we will be working in the yard spreading mulch, and then I hope going out for a family dinner at our favorite pizza place.

Happy Sunday!