Berry Pickin'

Today Amanda, Anna, all the kids and I went Strawberry Picking at Eckert's. It was SO fun! Of course, we hit the bakery and got a "cook-ie" (Tate was pronouncing VERY clearly as we entered) before we even started.

OK, so it was more like "toddler running through fields" than it was "berry picking", but we all had a great time. We ended the morning with lunch at Eckert's restaurant, where we had the most patient waiter ever.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We hosted a Cinco de Mayo Baby Shower for Paul's coworker and wife, Jose and Barb. We had a great time and the weather was sooooooo nice! The kids particularly enjoyed the Cascarones, which are confetti filled eggs that you crack on a friend's head for good luck.

The pinata was fun, too, except when it was another kid's turn to hit it because Tate melted down... Time to learn to share!

Our new Car

"MOM my RIDE"!!!!! (watch video above)

For those of you who don't know, Tate and I got into an accident last month and totalled the Hyundai. Upon returning from MI, USAA called and said "We've decided that car is totalled. You have 3 days to buy a new one." OK, because USAA is the best insurance ever, they actually gave me a few extra days, but STILL!

So I send Paul out to find another Hyundai Santa Fe, and long story short, Chrysler was having their "Mini Van Event". We sadly took the final plunge into suburbia...and bought a mini van.

I wanna go to this school!

Tate and I went to an open house at The Shining Rivers Waldorf School in St. Louis. Wow! We had a great time. I had looked into Waldorf schools in the past on the internet and by asking around, and I learned that you can't form an opinion on a little info--you need to see for yourself.

It was this happy, lavendar smelling, fresh baked muffin kind of place. They have a "Morning Garden" that is part of every kid's day.... The only thing that is conflicting is that they promote NO TV!!! As you all may know, TV is my weakness. As Tate shares 50% of my genes, he too has a passion for the "magical light box". I agree with the philosophy as to why they don't want kids to watch tv, but OMG it is my vice!!!

We'll see...maybe I can wean him off it a bit, but crap, I can't even wean the kid off num-num. I try to do that first!

Mission Statement:"To provide an educational environment for the healthy development of the whole child by strengthening the child's affinity with nature, nourishing the child's sense of awe, wonder and creativity, sharing in the unfolding of each child's innate capabilities - particularly in the arts and sciences, and building a strong foundation for practical life skills."

Happy Earth Day!

Tate's favorite part was the gaggle of kids that were dancing near the stage that featured different performers throughout the day. He danced and danced and danced. His second favorite thing was the solar powered fountain that he went so crazy for, he fell in the bucket of water head first.

Slowly Blogging

I think the reason it is so hard to get back to blogging is because I wrote a lot of stuff specifically for my sister's reaction. Even when we were in an argument, I knew she would be checking it, and somtimes even leave a comment.

In general, I've been doing pretty good considering and everyone "deals" in their own way. Getting on my blog and IMing are the hardest part for me right now.

But, with a huge lump in my throat and a desire to block everything out, I will continue this entry and post some things that make me happy.

Just a quick description of each...

1. Tate holding a babydoll that he jsut discovered in his toy bin. He has been patting its back and cuddling it and it just melts my heart.

2. Tate eating his current favorite food=PANCAKES! He goes into the fridge, and brings us the syrup jug...

3. Ok--our first "real" finger paint project. I let him go hogwild, thinking it says washable on the side of the box. Don't let that stuff dry or you're looking at a good half hour of scrubbin' with the Magic Eraser!

4. My camera obsessed son taking a self portrait. Usually he is not allowed to touch Daddy's camera, but with all that has been going on, my defenses were down. (Just don't tell Paul!) I had to delete about 30 shots off the camera.

Dedicated to my sister, who I know would have had many a comment. My heart breaks in an anticipation of that that will never be filled.

Karen

I'm reposting my mom's blog here about the last few weeks. It says a lot that I can't say right now.


From my mom's blog:

We gathered this week to mourn the loss of our beloved Karen.


Mikey called her BeBe, we all called Karen Jeanne the Jelly Bean, Beaner Butt and my Dad named her Kaye-Kaye like his sister or just Jeanner Beaner.


We will miss so very much about her, from her wild, loud laughter to her gentle touch. Next week will be hard when we wait for her phone calls, just like the other day when Cat realized that we were all together and she was missing. We really needed her to come in a cuss, so we could all yell at her to watch her language. It always brought a good family laugh. You knew when Karen was in the house.


Karen, Karen, Karen.


When she was little, she couldn't sleep without her stuffed dog, Poochie. It became so ratty and nasty that she would throw it at Cathy, just to make Cathy scream. 25 years later, Cat found a brand new Poochie and sent it to her. As she opened the package, she called Cat in anticipation of thanking her for whatever gift was inside. I snapped this picture of her delight. Today, when sorting her things I found the original Poochie. Catie now has them both on her bed to remember her Mom.


There are no words to express the sadness inside. Anyone who has lost a child, a sibling or someone very close to them knows. However, we are so blessed with family and friends who have given of their love this week. As always, they dropped their own lives, traveled great distances and came to comfort and mourn with us.


Hugs, food, flowers, love.
They fed our bodies and our souls.
My aunts mothered me, my cousins held me and cried with me
Friends just kept coming
We felt so loved and comforted and are deeply grateful.
Laura tended to Karen as a loving sister for 4 days, then took care of all of us.
Joey gave a beautiful eulogy and then loving buried his sister.
Cathy held her sister, mothered Catie and took care of us all.
Andy, Mike, Joey, Uncle Jim and Steve carried her with love.
Paul cleaned and carried, worked and worked, just helping and helping
Debbie held me, washed my dishes, clothes and floors
Dave and Maryann created a beautiful photo show that captured Karen. It helped everyone and most especially her children to cope. We got to see that Karen smile over and over.


The whole family has teased me about learning to knit. I love the colors, so I have made ONE single sock of every color yarn....get bored and start a new one. I recently convinced Karen to stop at the yarn shop with me. She told the owner "I am NOT the crafty daughter, she lives in St. Louis.....I am the wild one." He laughed and convinced her to pick out HER sock yarn, so she would like the socks she would definitely get. Of course, she picked out something wild and last weekend, she was delighted to see me finishing the second sock. She asked me to photograph the finished pair, so she could put them on her blog. She said "I can't wait! I am going to make Cathy and Joey crazy. I can't wait to write the article and say....See! HA! HA! Mom loves ME the most, cuz you all have ONE sock and I have the only finished pair!"


As Fr. Ben said, "Karen lived with passion". May she rest in peace.

In Mourning

For the few of you who don't know, my sister died last week very unexpectedly. She is at peace and this I know, but the loss of her still feels like a chunk of me has been taken out.

I am just remaining quiet for now, retreating into my home and reflecting in my solitude. I thank everyone for everything during this time--I really appreciate it.

I may be a bit absent, and please excuse me as I take the time to mourn.
Love-Cat

Springtime Creations!

Yesterday it was 78 here in the St. Louis area. It was so nice! I immediately have more energy and am in a better mood when it is warm.

Here are some cards I have made for fun and a spring centerpiece that I had a vision of and just HAD to create. It has lots of glitter on the branches which you can't see in the photos.



I took a branch I found in my yard, spray painted it white, then covered it in "Diamond Dust" glitter and spray glitter. For the flowers, I took pieces of crepe paper and bunched them, and then adhered them to the branches with floral tape. It is stuck in a stryofoam chunk that I found in the garage and cut to fit in my vase.

Happy St. Pat's Day!

Hola Everyone! I am finally back online after Paul chopped the cable in half with a shovel. The duct tape he tried to repair it with didn't work too well, so the Charter guy was finally out here on Friday.

Here are Tate and I at the local St. Pat's Day parade. It was fun, but cold. Do you see the little kid crouching in the far right? That child was ruthless when it came to scurrying for beads and candy. Poor Tate didn't have a chance! Her dad is in the striped beanie, and he was just as bad as he kept carrying her about a foot in front of the rest of the sideline crowd. The kid looked like Mr. T at Mardi Gras by the time the parade was over. We only had about 4-5 strands of beads and a few tootsie rolls :(

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Iowa Reflections

I am typing from my computer tent, which is my quilt over my head and laptop so Stinky will go to sleep. As I type, Paul is at the local Japanese Steakhouse for a rehearsal dinner of his friends, Weylon and Amber.

Exciting tidbits from today (besides the Super Target trip...)
1. Watching "Arthur"cartoon, the head lice episode.
(I'm still itching my head)

2. Eating at a catmeat, 3rd rate chinese buffet in the middle of Iowa.
(Have to admit, I was just satisfied to be able eat w/ chopsticks. Tate WOLFED down his lo mein. The kid won't eat a burger, but will scarf the lo mein.)

3. This is NOT a cute, new Kenneth Cole shoe kind of place. Should have worn some boots or something.

4. I love Paul, ok even adore him at times, but OH MY GOODNESS HOW DID WE EVER END UP MARRIED????

Back in Iowa...wheeeeeeeeee!

No offense to those of you who love this place, but for me, IOWA SUCKS. I know, I know...last time I was here I got to discover the bright spot about being here and was turning more positive. However, right now I am tired, cranky and cold.

We got in at 8pm, with Tate transforming from crack baby to screamer within moments. When he doesn't get to bed on time, it aint pretty... In fact, sometimes he tells us by putting his little hand on his ear and leaning to one side, saying "night-night" as he was the entire last 45 minutes of driving. Oh, and did I mention the DVD battery had run out by then. NOT FUN.

OK--the bright spot for today? We went to huge Super Target right near the hotel. We were able to put a gift basket together for the bride and groom (we're here for a wedding), get some new makeup and a coloring set for Stinky and had a blast. Tate loves Targe' as well, probably because we go there so often and it feels like a 2nd home.

Email me if you want: PCSchwartz@charter.net

as I am bored and working on the computer is the only thing I can do as Tate naps. Oh yea, Naps are the best....

Life is too short for bad food

I love food. I love it so much, that I really should weigh a LOT more than I do. But not just any food. I love lots of flavor, unique and interesting fare, trying new things and the perfect ambiance to enjoy it all.

It's not just the eating...I love to make cookies and cupcakes even more than I like to eat them. I even like food related items in my scrapbooking...My zodiac sign is Cancer and you usually get fed by a Cancer woman, kind of like an Italian grandmother. Or in my case, a Mexican Grandmother...


Because of this love, I have decided no more wasting $$ or stomach space on "crap". I live in the "burbs" of St. Louis and that means that EVERYTHING is a chain restaurant close by. Not that I don't "jones" for a Crunch Wrap from Taco Bell every now and then, but I refuse to go to Chili's/Applebee's/TGIF etc etc etc if I can help it. Life is too short!

To fully enjoy St. Louis, some friends and I are planning to go out about once a month and try out a new restaurant AWAY from the suburbs. We went to Cafe Eau for our first trip and great ambiance, good, but not excellent food. I hate when there is a lot of fried appetizers on the menu! The crabcake with black beans I had was excellent, though.

Also, Paul, Tate and I have started meeting our friend, Stacy, for brunch on Sundays in St. Louis. We have been to The Creperie in Clayton and it is excellent. It is as close to my California cafes that I am used to. Today we went to Chris' Pancakes. It was pretty good, but was just your standard IHOP/Denny's stuff, which can be quite satifying.

Oh, and if anyone has a good recipe, send it my way!

TGIF!

Al Bundy? Paul? Nope--it's Tate in Sesame watching mode. And to answer Paul's question, No, I did not stage this picture!

Check out his "Bling"... "Master T, mini-rapper". (He had a necklace of mine on while coloring.)

These pics are a few weeks old, but it is Friday and I am lazy, so here you go. On Fridays, I feel like it is a holiday and I always am very lazy. I get why it was always "Pizza Day" in our house growing up for dinner!

Vitamin C is yummy

Have you ever eaten so much citrus fruit that your mouth burns from the acid? I have, and so have most kids who grew up in South Florida who can grab a tangerine or orange on the way to the busstop...

I just finished chowing this huge GRAPEFRUIT, which made me think of all of this.

You know you are getting old when it no longer tastes bitter, but really really yummy. It makes me think back when I was little and we used the grapefruits off the tree to throw at each other as we played "War". They were great sticky, juicy bombs. The best ones were the rotting ones that had a split somewhere in the middle. Now, I feel bad to have wasted all that wonderfulness on trying to hit a sibling or neighborhood kid. They are so good!

I also am slightly ashamed that I never discovered the yumminess that is a mango until I was an adult. We never ate the mangoes off the tree that was next to the busstop, for reasons I will not mention, but my sister knows. Shameful!! They are my favorite fruit now and I could have eaten all I wanted off of "Christy's" tree. (Christy was the dog that lived there.)

A warning, though, on eating lots of citrus: we had a friend/enemy/neighborhood bully that used to eat lemons with salt on them. After several years, she had worn off all the enamel on her teeth, reducing them to the size of tic tacs in the front. Karma! Hee hee!

Things that melt my heart

I have been playing my flute for Tate for awhile...mostly when we have played with every single one of his toys, have no other place to go, and mealtime is a long time away. He now is BRINGING me my flute case, sits on the floor and waits. It is amazing to me. I usually play irish tunes, and other stuff that simple and other easy toe-tapping stuff.

As great as it is, there are times, like when he is naked and just got out of the tub, that a concert is not ideal. Crying and whining occur when I tell him no... And even funnier, is that this picture was snapped when he brought the case to Paul because I wasn't home.

My (former) Parenting Plan

As many of you know, before I had Tate, I had these grand ideas about how my baby would only eat organic food and never watch tv and have a lifestyle as close to hippie commune except without the ganga/pot/wackyweed and the whole grow-your-own-crops thing…(I couldn’t get ANYTHING to grow in our garden except for a dwarf zucchini that was inedible.)

Anyway, me and reality have recently met.

As I type, Paul is out of town, I stayed up too late and Tate is on his 3rd Sesame Street episode today.

YES I WAS A JUDGEMENTAL IDEALIST _________ (fill in appropriate title).

But now I know the sheer necessity of electronic babysitter, even though I feel as guilty as a vegetarian eating meat every time he gets into “tv coma”. But I also am enjoying every moment of solitude…

Bert and Ernie are awesome.

Bubble Light Fest!

So I found this thing at WalMart called the "Bubble Light Fest". You press the button and the lights flash and bubble come shooting out. Tate has quickly learned the word "Bubble" and we now have to start our day with a Bubble Party.

Surprise Cruise Midnight Buffet!

Paul will be out of town for Valentine's Day. For this reason, I planned a surprise for him on Friday. He loves food. He also loved the 2 cruises we went on before we had Tate. We were reminiscing one night, and it gave me the idea to turn the basement into:



THE SCHWARTZ CRUISELINES MIDNIGHT BUFFET



Of course, it was 5pm when we ate, but he loved it. First, Tate helping make the carmel brownies:

The bar with the food and the photo collage of our cruise pics:

The sand filled pool (there was sand EVERYWHERE) and the lounge area. Sabrina (our cat) is trying it out for us:

More V Day cards!

This one is actually a wall hanging...