Sometimes you just need a spot of tea!

It has been fun spending so much time snuggling and hugging on our new little babe. But at some point, the big treekids want some fun, too! OK - so, I think in looking over these pictures, I know why I don't do a tea very often!! This was a LOT of work. FUN. But, a lot of work. I spent all morning baking, nursing the baby, baking, and showering. Then, we ate some lunch, cooked a bit, finished it up and was ready for tea time around 3 PM right as Pops was arriving home from his latest trip. Branch and Blossom set the table (Can you say an iron would be nice for the table cloth!?!! But, then we wouldn't have gotten to tea time at all!)

The table was set with all sorts of treats and finery.

Wanna guess whose teacup and teabag rest was used by whom? Only Pops' was chosen for him. Everyone else chose their own teacup set out of the cupboard. I'll post who used which set later on. So, chime in!!

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D.

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F.

I felt a wee bit guilty about all the sweets, so I made some fancied up cucumber and carrot treats! The girls thought they looked lovely and sort of sushi-ish! Whatever - there were none left over! Mama scores!!

A family favorite - Scones and Lemon Curd!! Oh, my! Have you ever had any lemon curd? The recipe I use tastes like lemon meringue pie filling. DE-LISH! (I just put some more of the blue spot remover stuff in the dishwasher - sorry about that spottiness on the flatware! {Shaking head - wishing the spoon would have not been in the jar.} Next go 'round it should be better.)

Super Secret Yummy Brownie Recipe cut into circles to be able to sit in these little paper cupcake liners and on my springy cupcake tree? Yum. You can't eat just one. I love brownies. Branch and Bump helped to make them but Bump was in on the tasting before the eggs were added. He said, "This tastes like chocolate and SUGAR!! Yum. I love Brownies!!" FOUR. I love four - even more than brownies!

A few chocolate dipped strawberries. I figured they would be pretty and exciting… I NEVER expected them to actually be all that tasty! Strawberries in February? These little beauties were red all the way through. They had better flavor than many strawberries we eat in the summer!

AND tea. Many flavor options. Peppermint, Chamomile, Vanilla Chai, Apple Cinnamon, Lemon, Licorice Spice… yum TEA with cream and sugar! 

And this beautiful Polish teapot from my mom when my folks were living in Poland!! Isn't it so pretty?!?!

Dressed in their best… Cowboy Bump lost his tie along the wait, Blossom was being, uh, fancy, Branch did up some make-up for herself and her sister (there will be lessons soon…), and Bud dressed in a suit and forgot to shave, I see.

Since it has been a while, I took several close-ups of all my treekids…

Bump - 4

Trying to give me a wink!

Blossom - 8

Posing  - this is how a fancy person would use a tea cup!

Branch - 10

Pinky must be up and carry the plate so as not to drip or dribble on the floor as I pretend with nothing in this cup!!

And, then there was this handsome mysterious man...

Bud - 12

Puberty has brought the hair in nicely on his upper lip, no?

OK, OK… Some temporary tattoos were given to him for St. Valentine's Day!

Pinky up the girls tell him.

It feels weird to use manners and pose for the camera for more than one picture with the group.  But, it made mama so happy to get several pictures of this most elusive character!!

OH, my! Can't make mama happy for that long, now can we!?

We had lots and lots of fun talking and giggling. We enjoyed our treats, practiced some very nice manners and enjoyed the company of Pops. 

I hope to be blogging more regularly again soon. I read a great little post from a gal who has many children… it resonated so well for me! She talked about how sometimes it is easy to fit all of the social media into life and other times you just have to focus on life and put social media on the back burner until you are back on track. I relate well to that. I need to have a name for that so I can post a picture or something when life gets too busy and then get back at it when I can. I love having a blog and posting things here to remember later. I love reading comments and making "cyber friends." But, there are times I just cannot keep up with everything and social media is what has to go sometimes.