gardening woes

Today we mourn. Our tomatoes were first infested with tobacco hornworms and now have been infected with curly top virus and they will all die. So I'm posting these photos so we can remember our tomatoes after they die. Gardening is hard!

this one's for the girls in my ward

I'm looking for someone who wants to trade babysitting this weekend. I'm in need of a temple date and I hope someone else has as much trouble finding a babysitter for that length of time as I do. It's ok if no one wants to. I just figured it doesn't hurt to ask.

banks, where is benson?

fyi, he's in the basket back there.

craftiness

My mom is all kinds of inspiring to me. She is so busy doing cool stuff, which makes me realize how completely lame I am. Here are some of the crafty things she inspired me to do (or finish) while she was here:

A copy of a Monet for my brotherBlack apple dolls (pattern on marthastewart.com)

Purple version of the pink skirt I made earlier for the birthday girl's sister. My head is cut off because I am giving Ben the most awesome face right now. He got some pretty scary secret video footage moments before this. If I'm ever a celeb my street cred will go right out the window if this video gets leaked.

my mom is here

notice the butterfly on his shoulder

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. My mom is here visiting and we are just having too much fun to think of blogging. Here are some photos from our visit to the botanic garden so you can see some of what we've been up to.

white bean hummus

this recipe for hummus is quite unlike the chickpea version but I like it so much better we never make traditional hummus now. it is so good I have to restrain myself from eating the whole bowl at once. we eat it with the homemade pitas I posted about a while ago but you could eat it with crackers, vegetables, or plain bread if you like.


white bean hummus

1 (15 oz) can white beans (any kind will work)
1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley (completely optional... I will add it in the summer when I have it in the garden but otherwise leave it out and it's just as good, possibly better)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (use fresh if you really like lemon flavor)
1 clove garlic (use fresh, it lends a lovely heat to the dip)
1/4- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (I use a 1/4 cup but the recipe calls for 1/3 so use what you like)

Put beans, parsley (if using), lemon juice, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper into food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. While the processor is running, gradually add the oil and process until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve cold or at room temperature.

mushaboom

I'm pretty sure this one's going to be my favorite for quite a while. You should google the lyrics, because although I'm a little sad I didn't have the talent to write them they are exactly my feelings.

I'm not going to lie, I'm strangely excited this year. I guess I'm feeling a little homesick for green. For the first time in my life I have an opinion about professional sports and I hope like crazy the Celtics win.

heeeeeelp meeeeeee

Benson wakes up 15 times a night now and comes into our room and asks for a drink/is it morning/I need to go potty/etc. Then he wakes up for real at about 6 and asks every 3 minutes if it is morning yet. This is not going over well with the parents, plus he wakes up Banks, plus he is tired and cranky all day because he is not getting enough sleep. He usually takes a 1.5 hour nap during the day (which we tried going without but he is like the spawn of you know who by 5pm) and goes to bed at around 8:30. Does this happen to anyone else? Someone save us because we are dangerous folks with no sleep.

summer time swimming

I think it is officially summer. We finally made it to the pool for the first time this season. For some reason everything in this post is underlined so sorry about that. Anyway, Banks recovered from his 4 days of fever this morning and Ben is still in between semesters so we all went to the pool together this afternoon and had a lovely time getting burnt. Not the children, of course, but the genius parents of the children who think they are above SPF 50. Incidentally, this was also Banks' first time ever to the swimming pool and he enjoyed it more than Benson did, I think. Sadly I think the Morris non-swimming genes really pulled through in the children's genetic makeup. Sorry, Ben.