This weekend, inspired by This Week for Dinner, I picked up an extra quart of fresh Michigan strawberries from the farmer's market and made strawberry freezer jam. It is so delicious. And beautiful too, but I forgot to take a picture of it to post. Bummer.
I also made bran muffins to bring along to a playdate A had with her buddy Stella, who will be a big sister by the end of this week. Unfortunately, her mom just found out baby girl #2 has hydrocephalus, which means she and her husband will be juggling a toddler at home in the western burbs, a C-section recovery at Northwestern and a new baby in the NICU at Children's Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park (which doesn't allow sibling visits). It's times like these that I wish I was home during the week so that I can offer more than just moral support and the occasional tray of mac and cheese.
In happier news, I got to take the girls to the pool twice this weekend. Halfway through our Sunday visit, A figured out how to stay upright on her own in Z's old swim vest, and she bicycled her chunky little legs like mad, propelling herself around deep end of the pool without holding on to me! She also practiced climbing in and out of the pool, jumping in and putting her face in the water and spitting out the chlorinated water. What a water baby! Z is also doing well in the water, but she's going to need more than 8 swimming lessons before she's ready to give up her water wings. She panics easily and--given the fact that she has zero body fat--she sinks like a stone.
For Father's Day I gave Josh a copy of Watching Movies and a rash guard shirt--basically a top he can wear at the pool. I also took him out to eat at Takashi, which was very good...kind of like Mado with a Japanese twist. The guy deserved it, he's a spectacular dad.
