what's cuter than a baby in a spring dress?

Nothing!

I'm still reeling from our crazy weekend of seders, birthday parties, Easter bunnies, and a surprise visit from my sister-in-law and her husband last night (they're expecting a little boy in September! Whee!). But I did want to show you what I got in my Easter basket this year -- not as cute as that little baby playing in the grass, but it made mama happy:

(Thanks, mom -- you know the way to this girl's heart is through her shoes!)

Back tomorrow with my usual wordy Wednesday post. Happy Tuesday, all!

holy weekend, batman!

And a very Good Friday to you -- literally. We've got a busy weekend in store, since Passover starts tonight, tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and I've got to sing in my church choir for Easter service on Sunday. That's what we get for living in such an ecumenical household!

Why is this night different from all other nights? Well, we're heading in to Chicago to break matzoh with my husband's extended family and will attempt, for the first time, to put our non-sleeping daughter to bed in one place and then transfer her (via an hour-long car ride) back to her own crib later in the night. Are we crazy? Yes, yes we are.

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A few holiday-minded links for you this Friday:

My two favorite flourless chocolate cake recipes, since The Professor's birthday is during Passover 40% of the time which eliminates a lot of choices: this one has a caramel sauce, and this one has espresso and raspberries.

From earlier in the week, my mom's Easter cookie tradition.

Always wondered how and why Passover and Easter move around the calendar? Here's your answer -- and an explanation for why they are usually, but not always, at about the same time.

A baby-friendly seder plate!

The amazing piece my choir sang for Good Friday services last year; if you're short on time, skip to 4:44 to have your socks knocked off (no, this is not a recording of us -- I wish!).

Ridiculously delicious Easter eggs.

Happy Easter! Happy Pesach! Happy Spring!

birds' nest cookies

My mom was here this weekend -- hooray for extra help around the house! -- and in between all of our baby-related activities we had to fit in some springtime cookie making. It's a long-established tradition that my mom makes these darling little birds' nests for us around Easter time, and since they're chametz, we have to gobble them up before Passover starts on Friday night. (Won't be a problem -- they're delicious!)

Here's the recipe, which makes around 3 dozen cookies:

one package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy is best)
one package chow mein noodles (you probably won't use quite the whole bag)
two cups small, egg-like candies (we use Whoppers mini robin eggs, but jelly beans would be cute too)

Combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, pausing to stir, until melted. (Alternately, melt in a saucepan over the stove.) Slowly add the chow mein noodles, tossing with two forks/spoons like you would a salad. Once the noodles are sufficiently coated (you don't want it to be too goopy, so keep adding noodles until it seems right), drop golfball-sized "nests" onto a cookie tray lined with waxed paper (or into individual muffin cups works too). Press two candies into the center of each one. When all the cookies are assembled, pop the tray into the fridge or freezer to set.

You could probably tweak this recipe in lots of ways (leave out the peanut butter, try butterscotch chips, etc.) If you have a different version, please share -- I'd love to hear about it!

beach baby.

Our vacation to Florida was a little slice of heaven.

Our little peanut is such a bad traveler that I was dreading our trip for weeks ahead of time -- and you know what? She was just as terrible on the plane as I thought she'd be. Poor thing can't sleep on the go, so a 20 minute nap after falling asleep crying on my shoulder was all she had the day we left. But she's a resilient little trooper and bounced right back -- and she loved every minute that she was awake (which was most of the minutes in the day).

The beach -- how I've missed it! I haven't been to see my in-laws since before I was pregnant (they've been here lots of times, though), and it was wonderful to be back on that sunny, sandy shore and to share it with my daughter, who didn't seem to mind that the water lapping at her toes was pretty icy.

The free babysitting, homecooked meals prepared by someone other than me, and long afternoons by the pool with a good book in hand didn't hurt either.

We still haven't come any closer to accomplishing my goal of taking a trip, just the three of us, to somewhere other than our parents' homes, but the older L gets the more I feel like we can do it -- even if it involves air travel.

Did you ever read Joanna's post about traveling with a baby? She published it the day my water broke; I remember reading it that morning and bookmarking it, hoping that someday we'd be brave enough to leave the house with our precious, fragile newborn-to-be. :) We're hoping to try tip #5 (a home rental rather than a hotel) this summer, and #10 (shipping diapers to your destination) is such a great way to save space in your luggage! We haven't tried #4, but I think we might next time...

It was fun to get L out of her winter weather clothing and show off her chubby baby legs again. Plus, sunhats are awfully cute for framing pinchable cheeks.

As for me, I had to invest in something to cover my part now that my hair is short -- thank goodness for cheap finds at Target since I pretty much hate wearing hats, which is why I didn't own one to use in the first place. And breaking out my own summer gear made me feel like I had just gone shopping (which, as you know, I've sworn off doing for a while). In case you were wondering, Old Navy doesn't have that exact dress anymore, but you can find similar styles here and here.

Thank goodness for balmy weather when we returned -- it helped to ease the transition back to real life. But I'm longing for summer in a way I didn't think was possible when out of the classroom!

signs of spring.

Good morning and happy Monday!

Have you been experiencing the lovely weather we flew home to this weekend? There are still little bits of the winter that we haven't left far behind, but tiny hopeful hints of new beginnings are starting to appear.

It reminds me of that Langston Hughes quote: "I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face." It's almost like the buds were opening and unfolding in front of our eyes today -- these moments are so fleeting that it's miraculous to be able to witness it. Trying to breathe it all in while we can...

Here's a springy Monday morning song for you -- one of my all-time favorites.

Florida pics coming soon -- so many to sort through. Tomorrow was supposed to be the day I opened my Etsy shop, but due to some unforeseen circumstances related to my new blog design and some shop inventory that isn't quite done yet, it's pushed back a bit. Hoping for an early April open, though! Then spring will really have sprung at our house.

Hope beautiful and hopeful things are swinging your way today, too! It's good to be home. :)

p.s. looking forward to getting caught up on your blogs -- and comments! -- soon...I'm feeling very out of the loop!