link and life update

Its coming!! We leave in t minus 9 days and i can't even believe it. Baby is all vaccinated up, mom and dad are not (but really, we won't be in the african bush or anything), winter clothes are shipped (but have they arrived? hmm i should really check on that!), oliver is going to hang with his friend copper up in the mountains (remember to bathe him beforehand!), dad will be coming to check on the house and start my car every once in awhile (translate - every day b/c he's so bored!). there are so many things left to figure out like how we're getting to the airport and back. Yesterday we were at a soccer game near the airport and baby cried every time a plane flew overhead. NOT a good sign. But I keep telling myself she'll be fine and I'm sure she will. hopefully. And in the meantime, I have tons to do to get ready, get the house ready, get ourselves ready. I can't wait!
I haven't updated in awhile b/c I haven't felt compelled to write much. I have some things I'd like to discuss, especially after talking with my sister in law about a couple of blogs she's associated with that focus on raising confident, healthy girls in our society (a recent post about thongs for seven year olds comes to mind...) that I may get to today.
Our garden is growing like crazy - yea homemade compost! the downside: a lot of things will be ready while we're gone so we won't get to enjoy any of it. We will also miss all the great things that aren't in our garden that will be at our farmer's market - berries (well, we have berries but the birds usually get them before we do), tomatoes (that too). I keep bitching about things I'm going to miss here and I must remind myself: I will be in south africa. how awesome is that?! And our family will enjoy the garden while we're gone. and take good care of it! right?!
the baby has started crawling. she also pulls her self up to a semi-standing position by leaning on us, the dog, her toys, her cosleeper. basically she gets her feet on the ground and her butt in the air. the crawling is fun but no babyproofing has been done, nor do i think any will be done until we get back from our trip. but it also means she can now crawl out of bed. and by out of bed i mean to the edge of the bed and then off she goes. it hasn't happened but once, where we're pretty sure she landed safely on poor oliver (or at least his bed) which means she is looking at a very close future of naps in her crib. i'm glad dad has to introduce that new fun event b/c i don't think she'll like it. i was almost hoping we could make it straight from our bed to toddler bed (a bit early) but i don't think its going to happen. with all the recent recalls on cribs and the inevitable BAN on drop down cribs i am super uncomfortable with her being in a crib. plus the crib we have is not very sturdy...yea. not stoked on this. our immediate plan is to set up the video monitor on her while she naps so we can see when she wakes up before she starts exploring the edges of our bed. wish us luck!
And today my goal is to get my world cup picks done-ish. I need to do some research...

Link loves:
good tutorials and free patterns:
http://needlework.craftgossip.com/

words cannot even describe how cool this is. my mom and i plan on making our own version:
http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2010/05/right-alice.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/playswithneedles/sets/72157623938098087/

This is what I want my life to look life, can you imagine her house??
http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/

My new go-to mac and cheese (sorry spicy mac) - maybe add artichokes and tomatoes?
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Greek-Mac-and-Cheese

fun mommy blog:
http://themamadramalogues.blogspot.com/

great recipe blog (jesus endorsed!):
http://www.perrysplate.com/
and making this:

http://www.perrysplate.com/2010/04/roast-chipotle-chicken-tacos.html

smells like summer

I love the smell outside right now. It just smells like - Richmond summer. and there is absolutely nothing better than a Richmond summer. And the smell makes me reminisce, and wish i was 16 again, 21 again, even 25 again. and all the years in between. BUT it also makes me so happy for where i am now - because the things i once loved to do have morphed into new things that are just as fun and enjoyed with a new set of friends and family along with a lot of old friends and family. very content right now. thank you smelly Richmond. and in case you were wondering - it smells like flowers and grass and the river and hot. yes, hot smells.
and speaking of things to do, i want to do these two things:
tea tour at maymont
agecroft hall
of course, along with all of the other things to -  lebanese food fest, tuckahoe plantation, berry picking...
so much to do and so little time to do it!
i haven't really been in the garden this season. i know! its terrible. that doesn't mean the garden hasn't been tended to - jack is taking care of them. its just so weird to not be out there weeding on the weekends. but the baby gives me a good excuse, and all of the happenings lately i just haven't had the time. but it needs to be done and i will. i swear. no seriously. soon.
and this time of year means I'm itching to have a cookout, but we have a few coming up at other people's houses that means i don't have to cook (aside from angel food cupcakes...) but can just enjoy. so I'll just plan on the annual 4th of July bash and merit's first birthday to satisfy my need to entertain. and yes, i am already planning merit's first birthday. I'm thinking a fairy garden theme with gnomes and toadstools. but then I'm thinking maybe i don't really want to go all out b/c she won't really remember it and then i won't use up all good ideas. so maybe something more low key? she has three cousins with birthdays right around hers, so we've discussed (and I'm sure in the future there will be many) big joint birthdays. but, as we all know, my birthday is very important to me and i like to make a big deal out of it, so i can only give my daughter the same. and these first few years are probably the only ones where i can do what I want and not what she wants (I'm dreading the dora themed party). i guess the bottom line - i will end up making a big deal of it and having some sort of theme that I would want if i were a kid (alice anyone?) ok. so this is still months away. but it will be a hot topic of conversation for me from now until then I'm sure.
 merit has started trying REALLY hard to crawl. she can push herself backwards (and does - all around the house), but gets very upset when her toys and her mom and dad keep getting further and further away. she can scoot too - one minute she's next to me on the floor, the next she's halfway across the room. so this is leading to the inevitable - babyproofing. our house is small and packed with stuff. especially since jack moved the computer to the front room. I'm looking for a gate i can just wrap around the TV - rather than find a way to tie up all the wiring and Wii that now reside under the TV. outlet guards, fragile things up high..ugh. NOT looking forward to it. i found this thing:

and this:

that would work for wire management. so now I'm on a quest for a baby gate and locks for my cabinets. I'm kind of hoping she won't start until we get back from south Africa. but it doesn't look like its going to happen that way.

I've also started to try to give her "real" food. she's totally into yogurt, baby cereal, her pureed fruits and veggies. for cinco de mayo i gave her her own little fajita - tortilla, peppers, and chicken. she ate a little, but wasn't too interested in it. she wasn't very interested in the green beans last night either. mac and cheese though - she liked that. and she likes rice and bread. i think we're just going to have to start concentrating on feeding her bits of our dinner. it just seems like she's used to getting spoon fed, so she doesn't really want to feed herself anything other than crackers and bread. but this would be way easier for us if she could get the hang of it before south Africa.  (so no to crawling, yes to food)

I'm also so ready for her to be OUT OF OUR BED. yes, i said it. i want her in her own bed. she doesn't go to sleep until almost 11 lately and she kicks constantly while she's trying  to settle down. which means she kicks me - in the belly, in the face, in the legs. it sucks. she's still the cutest angel when she's actually asleep and not tossing and turning. but she lately seems to always be tossing and turning. but again, i don't want to try to put her in the crib and change her whole sleep schedule until we're back from south Africa. i think it would just be way too much for her, plus she'll be sleeping with us there so it'd be pointless to try to teach her to go in the crib and then not have her in one for two weeks. so another month or so....I'm so tired.

thanks blair for mentioning me!