Crunchy Peas

::Two::

Ian's turned two yesterday, but the celebration actually began earlier in the week when we made our way down to the river,

We threw down a blanket and kicked off our shoes,

Ian's best buddy Sylvan was there. Remember him? Ian and Sylvan go way back! 

It's so fun to watch these boys grow up and mark each milestone together. (Happy Birthday to Sylvan today!)

Then, last night, on his real birthday, we had friends for dinner.

We ate blue jello cloud parfaits,

and Cookie Monster Cake.

(This was easy to make. I just used the frosting that you can squirt from a can for the fur, and crushed oreos for the the mouth!)

We adults were happy that there was some cake left-over after the kids were served!

Oh that boy! I wondered if I should be more sad about my baby turning 2. He's the last one for me you know? One of the sweetest moments of the day came when my midwife called me and retold me his birth story. It seems like a lifetime ago. Thoughtful of her to remind me that it wasn't. 

Instead, I find myself smiling as I think about how he can make a crazy huge mess in record time, how he prefers cheese over any other kind of food, how he sprays me with the garden hose, how his buns look in his big-boy underwear, and how he kisses me more than anyone else in this entire house! He keeps me on my toes and keeps me humble. If not for him I might think I know a thing or two about how to raise children. It turns out that I don't actually know much at all.

It's all new with him, and I'm happy for that because it makes for a lifetime of great adventure. Happy Birthday Son. I love you. 

week's end iPhone dump

Monday: sunburned

Tuesday: planting lettuce

Wednesday: out to lunch

Thursday: date night

Friday: yogurt and pjs, coffee to go, playing at the park, and afternoon run

It's fun to look back over the last few days and see all the good stuff. I love keeping track of simple things.

Guess who turns TWO tomorrow?  Can't believe how fast time goes. We all say that don't we? What if we lived like we really understood that? I'm eating cake tomorrow. Hope it turns out!!

downpour

We had thunder, lightning, and rain earlier this week.  Yesterday afternoon the clouds again approached slowly and I was a little giddy, hoping, hoping! for more. I could smell the rain in the air- fresh and mossy. There's nothing like a good downpour. I'm not talking about the constant gray drizzle that I grew up with. I'm talking about big, huge, splashy raindrops- maybe even a little warm.

We were in luck. It caught me and the kids coming out of costco with a cart full of stuff, and I'm glad it did! We made a mad dash to the car, screaming and squealing. Wearing sandals, short sleeves, and a skirt, I was soaked! Even the mascara was running down my face. I'm sure it was quite a sight. So fun!

Storms like that make me come alive a little bit. Do they do that to you? Don't they sort of set you free from your inhibitions? Don't they make you want to hold hands and run through the puddles? Kiss under an umbrella? Snuggle under a blanket by the window, counting the seconds between the flashes of light and the rumbles of thunder? 

So perfect, an unexpected little adventure. Let's do that more often. 

the best part(s) of waking up

The first peek outside.

Little boys who come in your bed at 5:00am to snuggle, then fall back asleep.

The smell of fresh ground beans.

Boiling pots of water.

Yogurt.

Sunlight coming in.

Coffee. Alone. In silence. On the deck.

Sharing breakfast.

Blueberry scones.

Not pictured: A phone call to my friend in NYC. We're planning our summer...she's coming home for 2 whole months! Other early morning calls and wake-me-up texts from my guy. He's far away, but I felt him close.  Girls happily doing their chores. The Boy who (for the first time in 7 days) didn't throw up his breakfast. Birds singing. Windows open. Good hair, pink toenails, and yellow sandals. 

I'm not going to lie. Re-entry after the weekend has been hard. Today was the first morning that I felt a groove. It's nice. I'm gonna stay in it all day...I just know. 

like a sister- but better

We've known each other for as far back as we both can remember. I've loved her that long too. We've had all the joys of being sisters without  the "sibling stuff" to mess it up. (We're cousins.)

She knows my whole story-- every last detail, even the ones that I'd rather she didn't. Crazy enough, she loves me just the same. Relationships with people who love you in a way that feels equal to the way you love them are rare. Total blessings. They hold you up, come to your rescue, tell you the truth, keep all your secrets, and find a way to make you laugh at yourself when you are crying about something stupid. Actually, with her I'm just laughing every other minute. How does she do that? 

She is my wall for bouncing ideas off of. She gives me tough love and tenderness- all at the same time. She talks through the gray areas of life with me. She is completely transparent about her own faults/mistakes and never judges me for mine. She lets me wear her favorite shirt.

 

We've ridden a motorcycle (that ran out of gas) at night, along the canal, without the headlight on, to sneak out of the house.

We've layed for countless hours on the concrete next to the pool (she always wins in a back diving contest).

We've put make-up on before going to bed knowing that the boys were coming to our window that night.

We've smoked an entire pack of cigarettes in one night in the middle of December out on our apartment balcony, (that one turned out bad).  

We (I) also set fire to the kitchen in that apartment.

We failed winter quarter together. (See the previous two). That was a hard season....lots of growing up.

We made several rough cut video tapes of our self-choreographed dance routines and lip singing numbers. (I called her when Whitney died...she was one of our favorites.) 

We've jumped from the barn lofts into the hay, from the cliffs into the lake, and from the snowmobile seconds before it was about to hit a tree. 

We've built the most amazing backyard forts that you've ever seen using only a few blankets, several kitchen chairs, and some thumbtacks. 

She stood beside me when I said goodbye to my mother, when I wore that big poofy white dress, and in that moment when my first child took her first breath. 

I cannot imagine life without her. She is more than a permanent fixture in my life. She is a permanent part of me.

We got to spend the weekend together, and against all odds we had fun. The kids were sick. Oy.

We packed the non-puking ones into the car went to the local farm stand (with the idea of making ours better).

We planted a little smooch on the rooster.

She grilled (expertly), we drank our first homemade iced tea of the season...

 And even more awesome,

Her Dad came to dinner. 

Can you see why I'm still smiling??? Oh man it was so good to have her here. I miss her already.

Yep, again

(being escorted back to the campfire after sneaking off to see the horse again!)

(saying sorry after having had an argument earlier in the day-- yes we do argue sometimes.)

Yep, again. Sorry if you're burnt out on bonfire pictures, it was just such a pretty night -- the perfect way to end a really great weekend. I've got a whole lot of other pictures to go through and whole lot of leftover laughs too. I'll catch up over the next few days. 

on the up-swing

It was a gorgeous morning at the park. (I downloaded the instagram app today. I know I'm the last person on the planet to do so. What took me so long?)

We did some climbing.

I also did a little cleaning. Ian came down with some sort of stomach bug this morning. He puked right in the middle of Target and I just sort of stood their frozen- not sure what to do. It was one of those moments when I felt totally unqualified to be a mom. What are you supposed to do in that situation? I just grabbed him and ran for the door. Poor guy. Hope he feels better soon. This is his first real illness. I'm missing the superpowers of breast milk right about now. Anyways, that whole deal necessitated a massive car seat cleaning. Gross.)

We (I) ate a light little dinner sans husband. I do miss him when he travels, but I gotta say cooking is a breeze when I'm here solo. Salmon burger salad was on the menu. Tasty.

And then we had a little after dinner dance party. What's not to love about having young girls in the house who give you an excuse to download songs like this. (Did you notice that they were driving my van in the video?) I can teeny-bop with the best of them.

I'm feeling better than I was yesterday. Thanks for letting me process some of that stuff out loud. I've had a few really big ideas lately, and well, they haven't all been met with the kind of enthusiasm that I was hoping for. Defeating you know? But when you want something bad enough... I guess you just find another way- right? I'm bouncing back now, and just in time too. Guess who's coming to hang with me for a few days? Yep, my farm-girl friend/cousin- in the flesh. We've got some fun up our sleeves. Watch out...it might get crazy.

I'm a fool

 "I must learn to love the fool in me -- the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool."

--- Theodore I. Rubin, MD

Like this last picture, some days are like little valleys. Today was a little valley. I drove myself up, up to the top of the cliffs behind our house to try and regain some perspective. To try and see that all of the day's events had actually been quite small in comparison. To see that the sky hadn't actually fallen. To try and make peace with reality. To try and be thankful for all the different ingredients in my life and their relative proportions (even though some portions I would like more of, and some less of). And also to be little bit sad. To grieve for the things that I know deep down can never be, or at least grieve for the things I can't do right now. 

I guess the hardest part of dreaming a lot is that you give little pieces of heart away to each thought/idea. Especially if you've been thinking about them for any length of time...you live with those hopes for a while. It's not easy getting those heart-pieces back. I don't like it. I hate it actually. I don't like being woken up by other people when they don't see it my way or when the risk feels too risky. Rain during a parade sucks- even if it's given in love. Patching up your heart hurts, but I guess I knew that going in-- that reality would eventually catch up with me at some point. I knew that someone would eventually say "you can't be serious?" I don't want to live a stuck-in-a-rut, passionless life, but I guess I also need some grounding. I haven't figured out how to balance these two worlds yet.

What I am making peace with is that I really am (and will always be) a fool. (See the quote above.) But it's not always easy to be sorry for it. Sometimes, in fact, I'm not at all sorry for it.

Here's to climbing out, finding my way back up, and not giving up on the things that I love- the things that I want. Back to the drawing board. I'm going to try again. 

Why not?

We watched this movie last weekend. There is a reoccurring line in the movie that goes like this...

Why not? I love that. Just, why not? Sometimes we over think things. Indecision drives me insane. I cannot stand that "rainbow spinning wheel" that comes up on the screen on my mac when it is thinking (or frozen). There are lots of people who get stuck in that mode too. I am not one of them. It's probably true that they act as a good balance to all of us out there who want to fly by the seat of our pants, but sometimes it just feels like a maddening bottleneck to spontaneity waiting for them to catch up. Here are some  rash decisions I'd like to make:

buy this necklace? wear this necklace? why not?

live in this van (or heck, maybe even a cardboard box) on that beach. why not?

build this in the back yard? why not?

eat strawberries like this from now on? why not?

slurp these popsicles (drowning in champagne) every other day this summer? why not?

eat dinner on this dock? jump in the water and leave my bathing suit on this dock? why not?

order this duvet from west elm? why not? (I already did this one...it came last week. love!)

paint pillowcases like this to match? why not?

buy plane tickets and travel back east, or overseas, or anywhere- and wear this? why not?

Let's just do it all. Why not?

the weekend and things that go together

tomatoes + fresh mozzarella + basil + olive oil + balsamic vinegar

meat + a grill

dinner + the deck

me + him

these rocks + a wheelbarrow + my arms and legs (okay Carl helped too). we moved them from our neighbor's yard to ours. wonder how it's going to feel tomorrow?

these girls + laughs

april + tree blossoms

this salad + my mouth!

a beer (bought for you by your friend because "it matches your hair") + a porch swing

yellow scarves + yellow sandals 

ian + the bath (all this playing outside can really get a boy dirty!)

emma + her tether ball + all the neighbor kids-- we've become very popular

And me + you. Thank you for coming here so often and reading- even the boring parts. Thank you for letting me be real and honest. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for every word that you've typed to me. Technology is so great. Thank you for being close even though we may be far apart.

hardwired

 

"Admit it. You're a glory junkie. That's why you like the 360, between-the-legs, slam dunk, or that amazing hand-beaded formal gown, or the seven layer triple-chocolate mousse cake. It's why you're attracted to the hugeness of the mountain range or the multihued splendor of the sunset. You were hardwired by your Creator for a glory orientation. It is inescapable. It's in your genes."

—Paul David Tripp

confession

I feel like I've been keeping a secret. A fairly big one. And strangely, I'm not feeling very guilty about it. The truth is that I'm not having very much fun homeschooling right now. I really expected to bounce back from The February Slump...but I just haven't. I'm putting on a cheerful face and we are getting stuff done, but it definitely isn't my favorite part of life right now. It probably sounds horrible, but I'm losing interest. I think I've found myself in a selfish little spot and I'm getting sort of comfy here. Homeschooling requires that I give so much of my time away. Frankly I'd just rather be doing other things with it. I'm not sure where all this will lead. Maybe I'll feel better after a nice long summer break...but maybe not? Either way, days like today are getting me through...

We took a little field trip to the dam.

We went down below, but we didn't see any salmon. (Not that we were patient enough to wait more than about 2 minutes.)

Ian LOVES all the machines.

That's the fish bypass. The baby salmon get dumped into the river there. Looks like a pretty fun water slide to me!

We've been here lots of times so we gave ourselves the self-guided tour.

And then we headed out to picnic.

Park blankets are the best. For kissing...

and resting.

Happy Friday Friends...there's no school for a couple of days :)

you are what you eat

Something changed in me earlier this year.  On New Years Eve I remember writing:

"Twenty Twelve is going to be about: reinventing, reigniting, dusting off, peeling layers, walking upright, smiling, laughing, trusting, and loving with an open hand."

Any you know what? Four months later it has been about all of those things. I'm feeling a little proud for keeping a resolution for the first time ever. I don't really know what my motivation has been (I'm not even sure that I can articulate what has changed) other than I just knew I wanted to be different. 

I'm dreaming more. I'm taking risks. I'm doing things for the first time. I'm pushing myself. I'm getting stronger. I'm getting faster. All the while I'm feeling like me. A better version of Me. A version that I haven't known in a long time. 

(out to lunch a few weeks ago.)

One of the specific areas of my life that I have remodeled since the first of the year has been my diet and my exercise routine. Many of you have asked me to share more about this. I'll do my best. 

The first thing to go was sugar. That's just a no brainer. I use a smidge of agave nectar here and there, but no sugar, no fake sugar, not really any honey either.

I've always known that I'm sensitive to carbohydrates. I cannot eat them in moderation. I eat them in binges. So, I cut out all wheat, grains, beans, and pasta. Just in the last few weeks I've begun to add oatmeal and brown rice back in tiny portions. I allow myself 1/2 cup every other day. I have to watch it because it gets out of control fast! So no crackers, no bread, no tortillas, no muffins, none of that stuff. I know, hard! The first 2 weeks were terrible. But once I came through it got easier.

I pretty much stick to lean meat (mostly poultry and fish) and occasional small portions of red meat. I love eggs and eat them everyday! Hard boiled, soft boiled, scrambled, fried- they are a great source of cheap protein.

(Ready for roasting. I love to cook up huge batches of veggies so that I have them on hand all throughout the week.)

I eat tons and tons of veggies. There's no limit to veggies, but I don't eat potatoes and corn which are very starchy/sugary. Leafy greens are the greatest base layer to any meal. I try to cover at least 3/4 of my plate with veggies. It's so easy to make a salad out of left over chicken or salmon. I usually cook extra for that reason. The possibilities are endless. I love pinterest for new recipe ideas. 

I also limit myself to two servings of fruit a day because I can go overboard. They so readily turn to sugar. In fact I don't eat them after 2 pm for that reason. 

I love cheese but my body isn't crazy about dairy. I usually just use it as a garnish in small bits. I do eat yogurt and cottage cheese with live cultures every day. I love both with a little fruit and a sprinkle of ground flax. Sometimes I put a little agave nectar on too. I only have milk (whole milk) in my coffee. I never drink it by the glass or eat cereal.  It just doesn't agree. Recently, I've developed a weak spot for froyo. Bad, bad, bad.

Speaking of coffee I drink 2-3 cups of decaf a day. I love it. Can't imagine giving it up. I also drink green tea after lunch. It gives me a little boost to make it through the afternoon.  I love licorice tea in the evening. It is sweet and satisfies my craving for treats. Other than that I love to drink sparkling mineral water. The bubbles make me feel full. I usually take one with me in the car when I'm driving kids around or doing errands. I limit alcohol to 1x week and even then, I don't drink much. 

In terms of snacking I love grapefruit, larabars, cocoa almonds, celery + peanut butter, string cheese, smoothies, flackers, artichoke hearts from the jar, pickles, olives, and cut up veggies with guacamole. My weakness is anything salty/crunchy. I do nibble on dark chocolate from time to time too. 

I usually eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and 2 snacks. I try to stay out of the kitchen after dinner (which we eat around 6pm). I'm a hungry girl come breakfast time!

In terms of exercise, it's just about doing it. In the beginning it was drudgery. Once I got going it became something I couldn't live without. I am a pretty high energy person and I really need this outlet. Growing up I was a ballet dancer and had classes/rehearsals almost every day of the week. I've always thought of myself as an athlete, but motherhood has taken a toll. It feels good to see my muscles again, and to feel strong. I'm training for a triathlon this summer so I'm swimming, biking, and running (a little- I'm not an endurance athlete. I have more short-twitch muscle fibers and so I'm doing my darnedest to just make it 3 measly miles). More than anything I just try to break a sweat everyday. Sometimes that simply means cleaning, or having a dance party with the kids. I've had to sort of let go of this "all or nothing" ideal in my mind. Realistically there are days where time is short or I can't break away from the kids for an hour or more to workout. Even if I only get out for a quick walk or have time to do a few lunges...it's better than doing nothing! This video rocks. It's only 20 minutes and it can really kick my butt. Who doesn't have 20 minutes? 

(mid pirouette during a back yard ballet session)

So that's it. I feel amazing. I have so much energy. I've lost 20lbs. I'm still working at it. It's been hard, requiring pure discipline and willpower... but it's so encouraging to see results. This is not to say that I am completely without insecurities or bad days (ask me how many chocolate Easter eggs I ate today?!). I think I'll always have hang-ups when it comes to my physical appearance. But for now, nothing in my closet fits me-- in a good way. It's been a great excuse to start building a new spring/summer wardrobe!! 

between 8:00- 9:00am

 

Oatmeal for two.

Ian leads the way.

We walk a little.

He loves the drains.

The "kerplunk" sound that the pebble makes when it hits the water below cracks him up.

Me explaining the difference between a pebble (found on street edge) and the gigantic river rocks (found in our neighbor's landscaping). Bigger rocks= bigger "kerplunks". You can't blame him for trying.

Picking chives.

Not enjoying the onion-y taste of chives.

The rhythm of our day is changing. We are spending more time outside, and earlier too. In fact, sometimes we barely make it through breakfast before we throw something under or over or jammies and head out. Oh man, Ian loves it. Loves it. He is so much happier exploring, getting dirty, and just roaming around.

It's warming up and things are turning green-- at about 1500ft elevation I guess it takes a little longer. I'm not good with patience, but you already knew that. You'd be proud of the way I've vowed to settle down and just play it cool-- greeting Spring with nonchalance. "Oh, it's you? Huh. I'd forgotten that you were out there somewhere. Temperatures in the low 70s? Eh, take it or leave it."  That's a total lie. I'm afraid it's been quite the opposite. The verbs "hunting down" and "pestering"  and "begging" come to mind. And after yesterday (when I bought some tomato plants) I'm afraid I might be rushing it. I really only have one pace. Fast. It gets me into trouble.

My brain is a bit muddled. I've been distracted all week...in a good way-- the best possible way (read: lots of amazing ideas and images floating through my brain but not much productivity coming out.)  I know that you were hoping to hear my whole diet/exercise spiel. It's coming. I promise. I just don't have it all together yet. In the mean time...go watch this. So, so awesome! (I cried.)

it was a good one

We made a quick trip over to my Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday to celebrate Easter. It was the first time that we've seen them since last fall. They travel south in the winter months to escape the rain and snow. It's a rough life for them :)

Oh it was good to be in their company again.  The day turned out to be so lovely. It felt like Spring. Finally.

Beach balls and bare feet in the back yard.

The daffodils were blooming.

Sunshine suits Hannah.

My uncle made me a lemon drop. Oooh tasty. Just one for me! Okay maybe two.

Easter basket loot.

There was all kinds of love floating around. (My Dad in the middle. His brothers on the left and right, and the wives.)

Look at all those beautiful people! We barely fit in a frame these days. 

Eleven great-grandchildren! Two sets of twins. Yikes.

We drove home late. Pretty mountain huh?

It was up and at 'em on Sunday.

We had brunch at the country club.

Guess who was there?

There were lots of eggs,

and this hilarious attempt at a thumbs up from Ian. Ha!

Laurel found The Golden Egg!!

She scored an awesome basket of goodies.

And here's my Bubba on the course. Maybe some day he'll wear a green jacket too? Wasn't that great? The Master's is one of our favorites to watch.

Whew! It was a good one!

hair

I'm not done feeling weird with all this blathering on about all my grooming...but I do get lots of questions/comments/emails about my hair. Okay then here we go...

I have very thick, naturally wavy hair. It isn't straight. It isn't curly. Just wavy. Which means that I have to do something with it or the frizz just overtakes me and it's bad. I am, unfortunately, not a "wash and go" kind of girl. In fact, when I tell Carl that "I just need to wash my hair and dry it real quick before we go anywhere" he rolls his eyes with impatience knowing that I'll be at least another 45 minutes. "At least" (he just repeated when I read this out loud to him).

My hair is cut in long layers so that I can easily go from curly to straight. I also have to have it thinned. A lot. By the time I'm done with a haircut there is usually a huge pile of hair on the floor.  I've cut bangs a couple of times...but I'm such a "tucker" (behind my ear) that they tend to drive me nuts. Naturally I'm a dark blonde. Right now I have quite a bit of red in it. I'm really loving the red. I'm keeping it for a while.

I love experimenting with different shampoos. Right now I'm using Redken Color Extend. It's nice but I'm not married to it.

Whether I plan to straighten it or encourage curls,  I always use some kind of serum on my towel dried damp hair. This is working, I've also really liked Fekkai. I know it looks expensive, but a little goes a long way. It lasts forever.

Here's where I make a decision. Curly? or Straight?

For curly I slather it with at least a quarter sized dollop of gel. It seems like the cheaper ones work better. I'm using Pantene now.

After getting the gel evenly on my hair, I twist it into thick sections around my finger then scrunch.  I let it mostly air dry.

The trick to drying it the rest of the way comes with a diffuser.

You have to have one of these bad boys. I don't even attempt curly hair without it. Gotta have it. I bend over and dry my hair upside down with it.

To touch up any frizzy spots I use a wand. There is a slight learning curve with these, but once you get it, it's easy. I think that a wand makes curls look so much more natural than an iron. 

When I want my hair straight, I also let it mostly dry. Then I flip over and blow dry upside down again and use a flat metal brush to pull it straight. Then I stand back up and use a round metal brush to add volume in the crown and flip the ends. Occasionally I'll use a flat iron, but the brushes usually do the trick. I use a bit more serum to smooth it out and then spray it a bit with hairspray. Again, nothing expensive. 

Once styled I can usually go 2-3 days without washing it again. It's coarse enough to really resist getting too greasy. I guess that's one thing I have going for me.

That's all.  I love this blog for great hairstyle ideas.

Okay answering more questions soon (hopefully) about how I've lost 20lbs since Jan 1. Warning: there are no gimmicks-- maybe even a little blood, sweat, and tears.

make-up

Someone asked me last week to share what I use for make-up. Honestly I'm feeling sort of a sheepish about this. I'm a total minimalist when it comes to make-up and I don't spend a ton of money on department store brands. I'm certainly not an expert. I don't really want my make-up to get noticed. Don't we all just want our face to look fresh?  Most days it's lucky if I brush my teeth let alone get some make-up on. I don't really have any tricks for you, but I'm always curious about things like this, so I'll share. 

Face:

 

foundation (applied with a sponge). I'm really self-conscious about my skin. I've tried lots of different foundations but it is hard to balance coverage with caked on. I'm happy with this one for now. Blush, and bronzer (because I live at  47 degrees N latitude.)

Sometimes I add this for a little extra glow

Eyes:

 

Creme eyeshadow (bare minimum),  add a little espresso (regular daytime), or for extra drama use the silvers instead. I don't like the look of heavy eyeliner. I usually just use a small stiff angled brush slightly dampened then swipe it through my eye shadow and apply it on my lash line like liner. I find it easier to blend and layer that way.

I have very wimpy eyelashes. Part of the problem is that they are blonde. This is what I'm using right now, but I'm always looking for something better. Two coats minimum.

Lips: 

Lip gloss: beach bronze. It doesn't look so orange in real life-- just sort of clear and glittery. Maybe a little liner underneath. 

I think this looks pretty:

Just simple and natural.

That's it! Questions? What did I forget? 

We'll talk hair tomorrow! 

Meeting Hobbs

While we were away last week we had the opportunity to hook up with my friend Mery. Her husband Eric used to work with Carl and I also had the privilege of having them in my birthing class. I was so anxious to meet little Hobbs (ahem, and catch up with Mery.) For months I've been craving a snuggle with him. More accurately I wanted to squeeze, pinch, nuzzle, sniff, rock, cuddle, smooch, and all other manners of over-zealous babyloving affection.

Mery is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She tells great stories full of sunshine.

I especially love the one about the arrival of Hobbs. Go read it. Serious. It will bless you. Mery has the most inspiring perspective on Hobb's extra chromosome. She graciously answered some "in your face" questions that I threw at her about their journey up to this point. Mery is so strong and so vulnerable at the same time. She is real about the emotions that she finds herself in the midst of. She is facing fears with such courage and openness. I'm learning so much from her.

I fought tears as I held him and felt so grateful to be in the presence of his sweet soul. In our conversation Mery shared that she wouldn't change the fact that she didn't know ahead of time about Hobb's Down's Syndrome. She says the fact that he arrived in the way he did reaffirmed her belief that he was a gift, hand-picked to be theirs. There was no worrying or fretting or asking "Why us? Why our baby?" Just acceptance. Amazing.

(They also have the coolest pad that I've been to in a long time!)

I got a good fix, though I'm not sure how long it will last me. We were also charmed by big brother Otto.

He had us just cracking up! Hilarious kid. 

Ian was all, "What's the big deal with this kid?" 

Otto and Laurel had a thing going on. Otto is my kind of guy.

Watch this! He can even fly.

We also had time to sneak in some reading, and dancing (which I was too busy participating in to photograph). We left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. When we got back into the car the girls gave a collective sigh, breathing out something like, "Well that was fun". Being with Mery and the boys just does that to you. We'll be back soon Hobbs. We simply can't stay away for too long.

the best kind of dinner

In typical Sunday evening fashion, we gathered with friends for dinner. (Post coming soon about that chalkboard wall- I painted it myself!) You'll remember last week had hot dogs around a bonfire.

This week was fish tacos with lime-cilantro crema at our house.  I've made these several times now and they have become one of our favorites! (We used halibut.) I also made this cabbage salsa two hours before everyone came. Yum yum. 

Besides good food, we had a kazoo concert courtesy of Hannah and Nicole.

And Andrew busted out his best moves that earned him applause and cheers for more. 

Laurel and Emily spent the evening in a squeeze. Not a bad idea.

It was the kind of meal with stimulating conversation, lots of laughing,

And just enough action to make taking a decent picture nearly impossible.

Good thing we didn't run out of pound cake and strawberries. The night could've ended badly.

But it didn't, thankfully. 

It would've been fun to have you there too. I wish you could. Next Sunday?

First of the Season

Snow melted (yes we had more a few days ago). Rain stopped. Maybe even a patch of blue sky? Helmets dusted off. Tires pumped up. Water bottle filled. Bikes and ipods loaded (old school and some new). I nominated Emma to come with me for the first ride of the season.

I am a firm believer in family fitness. As tempting as it is to slink off and do a workout by myself,  I think it's important that the girls recognize their body's ability to be strong. My mother gave that to me. I hope to provide the same.

Our eyes were watering in the wind and we froze our butts off, but it was good fun. I was proud of her! She made it more than 11 miles. Afterwards you better believe we went for coffee and cider.

I'm back in the swing of things here and working on a few posts that will hopefully answer some of the great questions that you've left in the comments and via email. Be back soon.