Celebrating, ummmm, spring

With a week of gloomy weather ahead we decided that a good, cheerful party was in order, and, since there are certainly no birthdays to celebrate this time of year (ahem), we decided that we had just better celebrate spring.  It is always fun to have our families all together under one roof, and we really enjoy playing hosts to such joyous gatherings.  We've also gotten better (much better) at it through the years, and rather than spending all Sunday afternoon panicking about the preparations, it was Saturday that found our home leisurely smelling of fresh bread, and filled with the sounds of the food processor, mixer, etc. etc., so that by Sunday we were able to kick back, wine in hand, and enjoy the festivities themselves.  Calvin, of course, is always the most involved host–more than willing to show, tell, and share with absolutely everyone that walks through the door.  And if you see a cake in the pictures?  We have no idea who that might be for, as there were certainly no birthdays celebrated here, just one really enjoyable family gathering to welcome the first beginnings of spring.  And who really needs a reason to party anyhow, more than just celebrating the wonderful love of family, and the marching onward of the seasons in our beautiful world?  Oh, and happy birthday, mom.

Ahhh, spring

March in Michigan is such a tricky time.  Today it was 65 and sunny, tomorrow it will be cool and rainy, and next week we are to expect snow.  Some will say that spring was teasing us with just a glimpse today, and that she will leave us next week for winter's return, but I disagree; I think she's in on it, she and winter, the lion and the lamb.  We always have at least one month when spring-like days are interspersed with snowfall and bone-chilling weeks.  Yep, I'm sure she's in on it.  And I've always hated warm day teasers because the return to the biting cold and snow is always so much harder as the year wears on, but things are different now.  Now I have a toddler and I have learned how to get the better of fickle tempers - Ignore the bad and take advantage of the good.  So today, on upswing number one (65 and sunny, remember?) we took a long walk, revisited our tree stump and counted its rings (still the same number), tested tree age based on how hard they were to hug (i.e. trunk size), ate lunch on the porch (our first picnic of the year), listened to and watched for birds (they're not very shy about visiting the feeders), and even made use of our ride-on toys (and by our I mean Calvin's, of course).  Yes, I guess I will take spring any way I can get it.

There are more pictures in the March 2009 album.

Playing house

She balances the check book and cares for the baby, he cooks and cleans the kitchen.  It's a match made in heaven.

Shoes

Learning to put them on got a lot easier with the introduction of velcro, but you still have to get them on the right feet all by yourself.  Or not.

Ahhhh, all that bakery goodness

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. Call it what you will, the subtitle for today is a day of fried bakery goodness. In years past we have done our requisite paczki purchasing at the location of greatest convenience (read: the nearest grocery store), and we enjoyed them plenty. Ahhh, but we were so deprived. This year, in a show of loyalty and appreciation, I pre-ordered a half dozen paczki from the Dexter Bakery (for those of you who don't know, Calvin and I visit the bakery every Thursday for a weekly pretzel treat, and are on a very friendly first name basis with many of the bakery personnel).  We were rewarded with a taste of heaven itself.  Far from the pre-produced, dried out blobs of fat sitting on shelves at the grocery store, the box that I was handed at our local bakery was still actually warm; not only had they baked all night, but they were keeping at it during the day to provide customers with the freshest product possible. It helps to know people, too - since we didn't come in to pick up our pre-order "early enough" in the day, they replaced the tasties with fresh ones when we got there.  Oooooooooh.

The three of us split one traditional custard paczki after dinner.  It was Calvin's inaugural paczki experience and he savored his third of the delectable with a relish that ended in an only moderately messy face (after all, it does a lot more good to the taste buds than the skin).  And, in case you are keeping count, I fully intended to share those six calorie fests outside our immediate family, and I did. I gave a raspberry one to my mom.