Herb Garden

Sometimes I make really smart decisions.  Other times I spend hours on end kicking myself for doing something utterly stupid.  There's really no telling when either will happen, but my decision to get Chinese take out last night certainly falls in the 'something so stupid' category.  I was up literally half the night with the worst indigestion I have ever had in my life.  It was so uncomfortable and I was frustrated beyond belief.  Sometime in the middle of the night I sneaked downstairs and got myself a gingerale and a handful of Tums before crawling back into bed.  Misery!

So needless to say, this morning I skipped out on my exercise class and decided to have a chill time shopping while Syd was at school.  I have been so diligent about exercising these past few weeks that I felt more than a little disappointed in myself at missing my time at the gym today.

But I had a really awesome morning.  I strolled leisurely up and down the aisles at Superstore and happily scratched items off my list that had been there for far too long.  I ran into two other Moms from preschool and we chatted and made plans to take the kids for frozen yogurt after school tomorrow.  It was time well spent.

I decided that I would check out their garden center and bought a few pots of herbs so that Sydney and I could plant her herb garden together this afternoon.  I love how it turned out.  We planted English Lavender, Sage, Lemon Mint and Oregano.

Syd really loves the idea of growing her own strawberries.  She loves eating them so much and so I couldn't resist buying her a strawberry plant today too.  Will be so sweet to see her harvest her very own home grown berries!

My friend Gretchen took Sydney to her house for a playdate with her daughter Noa this afternoon so I had an extra long time to myself today.  It was so nice.  I spent a ton of time in the backyard getting things organized.

Filled up Sydney's sand table for the season:

And finally got around to getting a big utility bucket to hold all of her outdoor toys, my garage is looking cleaner by the second:

And pulled out some more fun summer things for the backyard, our patio umbrella, Sydney's tent, the zero gravity chair.....it's all slowly coming together and feeling more and more like summer in our back yard.

I love that Sydney made a fort in the backyard with her tent today complete with blankets, her own box of Kleenex, bowls and her purse stuffed with all sorts of interesting things.  I swear she would have slept out there tonight if I'd let her!

I tried my hand at making baked kale chips today with a bunch of kale that I had in the fridge.  They are ridiculously easy to make and super delicious!  Click here for the recipe that I used.

Got Syd a new fun toy for the backyard today too, a super cute little ladybug that rolls along spitting bubbles out of it's bottom.  She loved it!

Got a lovely Mother's Day card in the mail today from my Mom with a gift card for the spa and some stickers for Syd.  What a lovely treat and surprise in the mail today!

I barbecued steak for dinner tonight and we hung out in the backyard until Sydney was so tired she could barely see straight.  She has been spending so much time outdoors these days.  On beautiful sunny days, her preschool teachers set up the entire classroom outdoors in their play area.  It's awesome, there's easels and chalkboards and stations set up all throughout the playground and the kids spend almost their entire day outside.  It means lots of fresh air for Syd and she drops like a rock into bed at night!

The weather is looking as though it is going to hold out all week, will be enjoying our backyard as we put the finishing touches on it for the season.