Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

I love, love, love Cinco de Mayo! All the bright colors, the festive music, and the FOOD. Mmmmm…. What’s not to like, really? Plus, any excuse to curl up next to Mark with a margarita later tonight sounds pretty good to me! Seriously, my hubby makes a mean margarita. It was a deciding factor for our marriage. 

We had a busy day here with a fiesta for the MOMS Club, and before you go rolling your eyes in the back of your head about the MOMS Club, I will say a few years ago I was extremely hesitant to join. The truth is there is something to be said for having a network of friends who support one another. We’ve been stuck with a series of rainy days, but that didn’t keep us from having a great time. There was singing, dancing, lots of running around, playing, and of course — a pinata. One of the moms shared a fabulous idea with us, but that is a whole other post, so more on that later. It’s moments like those that remind me of why I joined in the first place. 
After the party, we cleaned up a bit, put Clara down for a nap, and Emily asked if we could do a little project. Inspired by some lanterns we had used to decorate for the party, we made a festive planter from a baby food jar and some colored popsicle sticks. Surely, this little tomato plant must be feeling the love….
Hmm… can I make chili dog nachos for dinner? Is that legal?

Comments

  1. “Hmm… can I make chili dog nachos for dinner? Is that legal?”

    Sometimes, when it’s really hot or I’m really tired, we have our version of nachos for dinner—refried beans with cheddar cheese, salsa, and guacamole with tortilla chips. The brand of chips I get actually has 8% of fiber for the day so it’s not too terribly awful for you. But the main reason I do this is because my son LOVES the beans and it’s the only way he will eat them. He won’t touch them in a burrito, for example. So I serve him the nachos once in a while and hope that a love of refried beans will someday turn into a love of other kinds of beans…a girl can only hope.

  2. Lenetta @ Nettacow says

    If chili dog nachos are what floats your boat then go for it! :>) This reminded me that I was going to post some Cinco de Mayo recipes . . . oops. Better late than never I suppose.

    I've heard good things about MOMS and MOPS. I thought about joining. There are three clubs in the area, all 20-30 miles away, though. Too far for me, I guess.

    Thanks for commenting on my garden! We planted the potatoes this afternoon, right before it rained. Now we can sit back and relax for five minutes, until the weeds start popping up! I'll try not to link to *every* post you do on my weekly roundup, but really, I can't make any promises. :>)

  3. MamaFeelgood says

    How cute is that she is kissing that wee little plant?

  4. aprilfoolwed says

    What a fun day! I toyed with the idea of joining Mom’s Club back when Maddie was a baby, but never did. I think I would have actually liked having some Mommy friends.

    Now that I am going to be a SAHM again, I may look into joining. I have very few local friends, and it would be nice to find a few!

  5. I joined a MOMs Club when E was first born. It was a life saver — other moms going through the same things I was. It’s a great group for new moms and for moms who have moved to a new area!

    Also seriously cute planter. I love what you and Emily come up with.

    Enjoy your margarita!

  6. Carol from Savvy4 says

    Congratulations! I have just nominated your wonderful site for a “One Lovely Blog Award”. I really enjoy reading your fun stories!

  7. sunnymama says

    Now these mums sound so much more friendly than the ones at the park! Sounds like a great day, and the festive planter is lovely 🙂
    I’m so curious to hear about the fabulous idea…

  8. Valerie says

    @ Julie — I wonder why he loves beans, but won’t eat them in a burrito? Kids can have such strange eating habits. Those high-fiber chips taste really good too!

    @ Lenetta — Those Cinco de Mayo recipes you posted up look really tasty! I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of your garden… it looks great so far!

    @ MamaFeelGood — It is moments like those that I am sooooo happy to capture on camera. They come when you least expect it. Thanks so much!

  9. Valerie says

    @ aprilfoodwed — Is it official? You’re going to be home again? Oh, definitely join the MOMS club! I was hesitant, but now I’m so glad I did, and I am very active in mine. You’ll love it, I’m sure!

    @ Ivy — I know what you mean. I first joined when Emily was only a few months old and it was a big sanity-saver when I was losing my mind from changing so many diapers. I always felt like if I met just ONE good friend from there, then it was completely worthwhile. Of course, I’ve met several, so it was definitely worth it!

  10. Valerie says

    @ Carol — That is so sweet, and thank you so much! I’m honored that you thought of me!

    @ sunnymama — Oh, thank you for reminding me to post about that! You won’t want to miss it! 🙂

  11. Lenetta @ Nettacow says

    Hey, Valerie, are you interested in a "challenge"? I have been saving spice containers, small, medium, and large, because I think there MUST be something we can do with them.

    I saw a post somewhere about giving a little one toothpicks to put in the holes. We tried that, and it was relatively interesting, but I left her with them for a bit and there were toothpicks everywhere afterwards. I think I'm still finding them. :>) So, any thoughts? I probably could google it and find plenty . . . I just seem to burn through my computer time on other things way too quickly.

  12. Valerie says

    Hi Lenetta, You could try a fun sound-matching activity with them. Fill two spice containers with matching items (rice, beans, marbles, soup noodles, small rocks, etc.) Wrap them with black construction paper, or newspaper so you cannot see through them. Have your child try to match up the sounds.

    Spice containers also make fun bath toys! Hope this helps!!

  13. The Moms Club is great. I have met so many great people through Mommy groups. It sounds like you had a lot of fun.

    I love the planter, very cute.

    Thanks for sharing with Friday Showcase.