Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Life is a bowl of cherries!

My life is a beautiful fine china bowl of deliciously juicy and perfectly sweet cherries. That's right... chaos and all. It is perfect and just as it should be. Sure there are days that I'd rather crawl back into bed and cover my head up, sinking deep into the cool sheets. There are days that are not so great. But when I stand back and look at everything around me and drink it all in... anything that might be not so perfect, suddenly becomes "perfect". Life is not meant to be without trial and error, without a bit of chaos... no, life is not meant to be a smooth and easy ride. Besides, a few bumps in the road here and there make life interesting, makes us who we are. I choose to inhabit my days...each and every day I am given.




(My sneaky Middle Little, who was helping momma shoot these stills... decided to indulge in that bowl full of cherries. All momma saw in her lens was a tiny hand daintily grab the stem of a cherry and snapped the shot. I happily share my bowl of cherries with her... she makes me smile.)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

These things are fun & fun is good...

I realized this weekend was Joshua's half way mark to his first birthday. What better reason to celebrate a weekend than a "half birthday". Yeah, okay, just give me a reason to celebrate something and I'm all over it. Celebrating life is what its all about man! Decided to stop by the grocery store on the way home from work and pick up an Italian creme cake for us to celebrate Josh's special day. I don't care if it was special to anyone else but me... I was going to make sure and note the day! (I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who goes with the flow and deals with my compulsions and silliness....because he knows how important silliness is too.)

So Saturday, was "Happy Half Birthday Day", and also playdate day with Abbie's little cutie-pie of a friend, Vivian. We drug out the bigger kiddie pool (since the other postage stamp sized pool was just not going to cut it for two toddlers), and had the popsicles nice and frosty frozen.

Abbie loves her friend Vivian, and is working on learning how to share her things with others. I couldnt help but crack a smile when I had to get on to Abbie for taking toys away from Vivian and finally after telling Abbie that if she didnt be nice and share, she was going to have to get out of the pool and sit in time out until she could share better...again, Abbie takes a toy out of Vivian's hands, and I say "Abigail, that's not nice"... what does she do? She looks at Vivian and bats her little eyelashes and looks so sweet and innocent and says "Tank you Fifi-an" (as if Vivian willingly gave her the toy).  At least Abbie was polite about being rude?

So the girls swam (Vivian showed up with her fashionable little two piece swimsuit that just so happened to coordinate with Abbie's... so cute.), they ran all around playing on the slide/teeter toter/sand table/water table, with the sidewalk chalk, etc., ate lots of popsicles.. until they were tired little soaked raisins, covered in a sticky sweet popsicle film. So fun to watch them run around like busy little bees exploring their world so care free. Just little girls, being giggle-y, screaming, happy little beings. Ahhh to be little again.






Vivian's mom knows how to be silly too! We love her!





Little girls telling secrets.





Sunday morning Middle Little and I decided to bake. Muffins for breakfast sounded good. Abbie chose mixed berry muffins, and whipped and stirred her little heart out before letting me divide the batter up into her carefully placed muffin cups. Baking is good for the soul. Something about measuring, mixing and pouring... the delicious smell that fills the air... then of course, the finished product, that just makes you feel good.








Then there is this little gem. A friend of mine recommended these... I am not a beer drinker really, and if I am, I normally choose something different (foreign). These were surprisingly refreshing on a hot summer day while we were sitting outside waiting on our barbecue grill to cook up dinner. Yes, outside barbecue and an ice cold beer scream summertime.


Another good weekend spent loving our time together... trying new things, eating good stuff, celebrating one of our little blessings, playing with friends and lounging in our jammies. What more could you ask for in a weekend?




Saturday, July 24, 2010

Happy Half Birthday!

Has it already been 182.5 days....6 months... half a year?! Could it be? Where has the time gone? Yes, today precious son, you are halfway to your first birthday. It seems like you have always been here, that there was never life without you. I watch you grow everyday and get excited to see what each new day brings. I love everything about you. From the tip of your cupie doll hair, to the ends of your curled up little pudgy toes.




I love how you...
  • smile and giggle... those big ol' toothless grins (why your daddy calls you "gummy bear")
  • still have that baby smell... the new smell  and oh so soft skin
  • get so still and stare into my eyes while nursing... how your little eyes will squint into a smile... how you start dosing off and your little eyes flutter open and closed fighting sleep because you're afraid you might miss something. I love how you look when you're sleeping, so peaceful, and the weight of your little body just kind of settles down into my lap so snug... how your little feathery eyelashes touch your round soft cheeks when closed tight dreaming.
  • talk to your toys, and look so serious as if you're having a deep conversation
  • sit up with a little wobble and everyday you are getting stronger and a little less wobbly
  • are starting to give open mouth slobbery kisses - soooo sweet
  • wake up in the morning with a smile and wait for me to crack open an eye and look at you... and how you will touch my face and talk to me to get me to wake up when I pretend I am still asleep
  • watch your family and when you lock eyes with us, you are electric and light up
  • watch your sister play (and sisters friends) and when you get her attention you are all smiles and have this absolute look of love on your little face... you're just so happy to be hanging with the "big kids"...such a big boy.
  • look so proud of yourself when you accomplish something (making a toy work, sitting up, rolling over)
  • I could write a billion things I love about you... I want to cherish and remember every tiny detail of your little self.
We are so blessed to call you ours little one.

Happy Half Birthday... I love you a whole bunch.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Worldly Wednesday


In any man who dies there dies with him
his first snow and kiss and fight....
Not people die but worlds die in them.
~Yevgeny Yevtushenko, "People"


Is that a deep statement or what? So true. Ran across this one and it made me stop and think about the words I was reading. People are way more precious/priceless than we give credit for. You never know what kind of "world" is contained in one living being. Take time to enjoy all things, big and small.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Stormy Sunday Swim

Weekends are sacred. It's the time I get to be with family... real quality time. The kind of time where you get to decide what you are going to do. Not the work week time where you know there are just things you have to do, following others instruction, then coming home to find you have a small window of time before going to sleep to start the process all over again. No, weekends are prized little windows of time. Special time. Yes, I could spend my weekend cleaning, doing laundry, re-organizing, etc... because we all know when you work full time, the weekends are usually the only time you really have to do some of these things...and when you have little ones in the house there are always "chores" to be done. Well, sometimes its okay to just say to heck with it and decide to just relax, lay around in your jammies with your hair in knots, or make a bigger mess than whats already there, or just... be.

Sunday was going to be a day to make and enjoy smiles, and not those regular everyday smiles... no, the big old ear to ear grins and warm fuzzies you have when something is spectacular. What can be more spectacular than making a two year old squeal and jump around with joy and a wee one grin so big you swear he might swallow his own face!?! So that's just what we did.

I asked Abbie what she wanted to do. Her response "Shopping". I asked her what she needed/wanted, and she quickly replied "I need stickers." (This kid is all about the stickers, they are everywhere. ) So she got dolled up to go on a mini shopping trip. She wore her favorite color ("kink" - pink) dress and shoes, did her hair, and then smeared as much gloss as she could possibly smear on her little lips. (I love how she says "gloss" with this southern draw...) Because, you see, it is important to look nice while shopping for stickers.

We packed a snack, a cup of juice, and were off to see what we could scavange at Target (love this place - if anything, for their seasonal items - every holiday, you can find me cruising the aisles).

After carefully scouring aisles and scoping out the goods, we came back with two bags of randomness. More bubbles, sidewalk chalk, middle little a fabulous colorful flowery new bathing suit, a fun ball to play with, little-est little a pair of tiny sneakers, and a few other "needed" items. Oh, I did find a beautiful beaded vintage looking headband (I have some kind of fascination with them lately). Abbie is so fun to watch in stores... the statement "happier than a kid in a candy store" is an understatement. I always have to check the buggy before getting in line, because there is no telling what she may have thrown in the buggy (sometimes its comical and I cannot figure out how the heck she snuck something past me - she is quick this one)! I think, if anything, she just likes to go shopping to watch other people and tell everyone "hello, whatcha' doing?" ( In her long drawn out squeeky little tone.)

Oh, and did we come back with stickers? No. Completely forgot about the stickers. That's what happens when you get sidetracked by all the shiny baubles like a raccoon.

Once home we decided we were going to get the tiny blow up pool out, throw on Abbie's new swim suit, add on some more lip gloss (well , just because), plug in the new bubble machine (Daddy picked up) and just enjoy. Wouldnt you know, after getting the pool blown up and ready to go, rain started to POUR from the sky! We were not going to let a little ol' thunderstorm wash away our fun! Little-est little waited patiently in his colorful shark print big boy swim trunks for sister to get her stuff together to go outside. He is a gentleman... 
She is getting so big, so fast.





Busted trying to swim in the water table...


Love when he smiles. His little eyes get all almond shaped and tell just how happy he is. I love how his little toes still curl like a newborns too.

























 

Of course sipping on an ice cold soda in the summer heat is a given, but even better when you treat yourself to gourmet sodas. Either way, everything tastes better outside.




































Okay, so the pool is the size of a postage stamp. Little pools for little people. The Littles had a blast splashing around! So amazing to watch them play without a care in the world.




































So curious... (his first dip in a pool).





I love watching them learn new things. The proudness in their facial expression when they figure out how somethings done.























I love how when her hair gets the slightest bit damp, it curls. Not just waves, but sweet perfect little spiraly curls. The kind women would pay big bucks for.




































Bubbles are one of those classic toy items, that have entertained and put smiles on the faces of so many. Abbie loves her bubbles and has to have the bubble machine turned on just about every time she is in the back yard. Neighbors proably wonder what the deal is with all the bubbles escaping our back yard.

























A stormy Sunday swim is a good thing. It brings ear to ear grins, giggles, and little ones with raisin toes.
Everything is good. Everything is right as rain.