Thursday 27 June 2013

A Decade.

Just a quickety quick post to say that today, with all the ordinary yet wonderful things that happened in it (I'm talking about YOU last day of swim lessons, molasses cookies with Wugs, pee pee like it's no big deal, laughing with Dani in the mirror, Marmousch, vintage floral tins on etsy, and wonderful friends); today was even better than usual because it's the 10th anniversary of Steve asking me to marry him. It was the surprise a lifetime, has been the best ten years of my life and we're just now really getting to the good stuff. 

I mean really.















These pictures are a few months old already, taken around Easter. Obviously we need to take more family photos. Also holy everyone looking at the camera at the same time! Because usually it's more like this:












Monday 24 June 2013

Our summer bucket list

    The first official day of summer was Friday so...let's get underway! Actually let's add "Buy a house" to this list as well, shall we? It would add a whole world of possibilities to our summer. To be continued!
I loved last year's fall bucket list, it helped me plan our days and if there's ever a season that you want to savor every last bit of, it's summer. Here goes.
 


  • make a kite with Mila and fly it
  • play with chalk all afternoon
  • road trip somewhere...anywhere! Georgia's barrier islands vs. the Keys vs. the panhandle We went to Destin!
  • fireworks and sparklers on the 4th
  • finally go geocaching with the girls
  • get ice cream from a neighborhood ice cream truck we *finally* did this, purely on accident, on October 11th! so not summer...but still glorious nonetheless.
  • make cocktails more Lemonade vodka was my favorite.
  • breakfast on the beach
  • picnic at the park
  • go to the beach for a sunset picnic dinner
  • make s'mores
  • visit the zoo
  • go camping
  • have a water gun fight
  • go to the farmer's market for Saturday breakfast
  • stay out late one night going in search of turtles hatching on the beach
  • go to a waterpark 
  • take Wugs to her first movie
  • take Wugs to her first play!
  • take Wugs bowling
  • make homemade ice cream sandwiches
  • make glowing paint jars (thanks Diana!) 
  • make Mila her own treasure bag for collecting things on our walks 
  • face-painting at home
  • food truck night It was such a huge turnout we ended up leaving rather than wait 2 plus hours for dinner! But we'll try again in September.
  • popsicles!
  • lemonade!
  • make butter by shaking cream! (not sure what this has to do with summer but I'm going with it) 
  • Perfect the double hammock back carry with my woven wrap--again, not summer-y at first glance but it will surely help us be more comfortable when out and about (ergo be HOT!)
  • Family bike rides once we get Dani Lu Who equipped

  • Summer! We love you!









    Sunday 23 June 2013

    Father's Day



     Father's Day has come and gone, one week ago today, but don't think for a second that we let it go by without loving up on our rock. Steve had to work on Father's Day (again! yes I keep track!) so we celebrated Saturday instead. Wugs and I got up early and made Papa breakfast in bed with all his favorites, except for the homemade Bloody Mary which had to wait because silly me forgot to buy vodka (oops! he got it midmorning.) Last year Mila could barely say Happy Papa's Day Papa!; remember? And now here she was, singing For He's a Jolly Good Feeeeeelllloooooow as we carried in the breakfast tray. 

    It's hard to put into words how thankful I am to have someone like Steve to navigate this whole parenting gig with. He's my everything, balances all my faults out and when the going gets tough reminds me not to turn on him. He's got my back, he's got all our backs, and we feel his love every day. It's warm there, in his sunshine. And he's ours.

    A few more things about my baby daddy:
    • He shoos me out of the house so I can go for a run, because he knows how good it makes me feel about myself afterwards
    • On his days off he'll usually scoop up the girls and let me sleep in. And coffees made by Steve always taste better than mine.
    • He feels very very strongly about being The One to teach our daughters how to ride a bike. It's that important to him. 
    • Him and Dani have such a strong, no-words-necessary-the-gaze-says-it-all kind of bond that sometimes I feel like I'm intruding by being there. 
    • He pays attention to what's captivating Mila at the moment (right now it happens to be diggers and other construction trucks, earlier today she was incessantly asking me to show her a picture of a front-loader) and will find ways to expand on it--buying her books, showing her youtube videos, seeing it in person. He doesn't just steer her in the direction of things he's interested in. He looks at what motivates her.
    • He'll create elaborate battle scenes with Wugs' miniature animals after cleaning up the bath toys. They usually involve a monkey on an elephant's back, or some elaborate African safari crocodile-lion-cape buffalo versus cheetah-elephant-rhino showdown. Kid at heart.
    • When I asked him if he'd be nervous to talk to the girls about their periods and other puberty-related things when they get older, he simply said, "Why would I be nervous?" --I think that's awesome. 
     p.s. So last year I made this little video for Steve on Father's Day. This year I went with a low-tech, unplanned version but I quite like it just the same. I sent it to Steve at work last Sunday to let him know we were missing him, and because as I filmed I knew this was pure gold. It's Mila at her finest: understated and eloquent. A song written and performed for her one and only Papa.

    Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you He Took a Poop Last Night.
    And don't mind my Khloe Kardashian voice even though she's my definite favorite of the K's.

    We love you, Pook. Thanks for tirelessly being ours.

    Tuesday 18 June 2013

    A quick update and meaningful words (by others).

    Gosh I don't know where to start. Well for starters my sweetest of sweet little nephew came into this world just one week ago. Robert August. Big name. Little teeny tiny boy, tinier than both of my babies have ever been. And my sister a mama. Wow. Listen to him, Lamb, because I'm sure he has a lot to tell you. Listen to all of it, write it down when you can, and sleep the rest of the time. And don't waste precious energy on trying to figure him out. He'll tell you, in his way. Just listen.

    My mama advice :) 

    And two more pieces of meaningful writing that have truly resonated with me this past week. You know how sometimes the right piece of writing lands in your lap at just the right time? And it seems like it's meant solely for you? This.

    "In the end, three things that will matter greatly are how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you."  -from the instagram feed of @caseyleighwiegand

    and 

    “Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.” ― poem by Mary Jean Irion, as seen on A Cup of Jo

    One speaks to the longing I have for a house, and how I'm thinking of one house in particular that we fell absolutely in love with but it's just out of our reach. I have to let it go and I haven't been ready to yet. And the other reflects on appreciating the tedium of our daily lives. Our daily lives right now. Appreciate the early morning Maaaaaaammmmmaaaa! Come get me! Appreciate the happy baby grabbing for everything as we walk through the house, her on my right hip with her chubby arm casually propped on my shoulder, one unit her and I. Appreciate unloading the dishwasher in spurts while I tend to the more pressing needs of my family. Choosing to sidestep the voice that whispers when in darker moments. When we have a house. When they'll go to sleep a little easier. When I get more free time.

    This is now, and I love now.