As it turns out, there is much beauty to be found in November. Zane inspired me to look a little more closely at the beauty in our midst. Our asparagus plants look so Christmasy, don’t they? They’re lacy and full of red seed pods that look like a holly berry. And did I mention the purple potatoes that we planted this past spring? The color that we’ve found in the last bits of our November garden has me full of quiet awe. Thankful.
Happy Father’s Day, Chris! We love you and are so very grateful for everything you do for all of us. Every single day! Thank you. May you have many more hammock-filled days…
“If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.”
~ Musharish-Ud-Din Sadi
My father-in-law rescued me today. He took Wren out to their house for the day and he brought me a beautiful hyacinth, to “feed thy soul.” Feeling very blessed and grateful. Bonus: I got to have lunch out with my husband today. And the hives are retreating. Things are looking up. Happy weekend, lovelies. XO
It’s been a very LONG week full of very LONG days, with the little birdie overflowing with tantrums and with me, not having much energy or patience to deal with them. I am trying to be grateful. For where we are. Here. Right now. But it is hard…
Breaking news! Since I wrote the beginning of this post, I have taken the little birdie to the pediatrician after she very clearly complained of her ear hurting (“Mama, my ear hurts.”) Diagnosis? Ear infection! Ah-haaaaaa. I’ve never been so glad to hear that my child is sick. Isn’t that a terrible thing to say (err, write?) Of course, I’m not really grateful that she’s sick, but I’m grateful that we have an explanation for her (crazy!) behavior this week. And I’m so very grateful that she can clearly communicate most things to me.
Oh, little birdie, I am so grateful for you. Get better soon.
We said bye-bye to summer last night with a warm sunset swim. It was a beautiful evening. The little birdie played on the big rocks with Papa while the full harvest moon rose over Old Mission Peninsula. The water was crisp and clear. With heavy hearts we dragged ourselves home, which involved a certain toddler flailing on the ground for a bit. If I didn’t have such a hard time getting off the ground right now, I might have done the same thing. We prolonged summer a bit more with a candlelight “smudge” (s’more) on the front porch. Thank you, summer!
Thanks for clicking in on me today. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for you, my lovely readers. Truly! Your comments and e-mails to me are important and I value this interaction. Many people leave home every day to go to a job where there is a paycheck and they have a water cooler or a coffee station, or an area where the donuts and cookies accumulate (and disappear): some kind of collective space to take a break, reflect, gossip, connect. When I’m home all day, every day, as a Mom, many days run together like a marathon of tantrums, crocodile tears, laughter, snuggles, negotiations and wonder, a roller coaster of emotions. And really early mornings when I try to cram in some work to pay my bills.
This space, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail often serve as my water cooler, a place to share and connect. So from me to you, thank you!
If you also find value in what you find here, subscribe to the blog over there on the right-hand side. You’ll receive an e-mail when something new is published. Or heck, throw some change at me, to keep it going. My readership is growing each week and I’m thinking of adding a few sponsors to help keep ye ole blog going too. Know any small businesses who might be interested?
So happy to know you and appreciate your participation in this funny Cyberspace. Bliggity blog on!
Lovelies, I realize that this is not an original thought, but here it comes anyway. Where does the time go and how could I already be living in a home with a two year old little girl? Just the other day Chris and I were musing about how exciting it will be when we get to hear the pitter-patter of a little person in the upstairs hallway. I remembered this today when I was gushing to myself about a just-out-of-the-oven loaf of coconut banana bread and I heard the sound of a little birdie running down the hallway. It’s times like these I’m grateful for wood floors without even a runner to buffer the sound of 23 ebullient pounds.
It seems a bit silly to attempt to show gratitude for the birdie’s presence in our lives by baking cookies and stringing up purple balloons because it doesn’t exactly equate, but such is life. What fun to try anyway! Was it crazy to invite a bunch of two year olds over to graze on a sugar-laden buffet easily within reach of their chubby hands? And was I completely exhausted by the end of the day? Yes and yes! But I’d do it again. It sure is fun to celebrate life, isn’t it?
The day was complete with only one real meltdown involving crocodile tears and a new plastic set of golf clubs, just a few raindrops, fun-loving friends and family, lots of bubbles, sugar, and the color purple. Wren is really into purple right now so we decided to celebrate her in a rainbow of purple. Here are a few more photos of her big day.
We made an easy-peasy balloon garland that we saw over on Design Mom recently. All purple, of course…
And then there were the cupcakes, for which I take no credit! Late last year I won a gift certificate from a local pastry chef and saved it for Wren’s party. I saw an idea for some lollipop flower cupcakes and had Sweet Ashley Marie Creations make them. Lucky us! They were beautiful and added the perfect punch of color and fun that we needed.
The cupcakes echoed the invites, which most people received despite the problems. A few never got theirs (sigh), but they still came and didn’t complain, yahoo! I love Wren’s friends.
Some say a party for preschoolers is really for the parents, but Wren is very social and she had an absolute blast with her buddies. By the end of the day, she too was pooped. Pooped and happy. And this Mamma was too.
Happy 2nd Birthday, dearest Wren Sabina!
It seems like you were just born, but at the same time, it’s hard to imagine our life without you. You are so very dear to us and we love you more than we can put into words. Thank you for being you: sweet, funny, spunky, feisty, smart and beautiful. Seeing your smile in the morning makes every day worthwhile.
You share a birthday with Bob Dylan, who is 70 years old today. Papa thinks what Bob has to say fits you like a glove: “He not busy being born is busy dying.” Keep on, keepin’ on, little birdie. We’ll be here, trying to keep up with you.
{this moment} Just a moment in time I want to remember, inspired by Soule Mama. Feeling very grateful today. Have a good weekend, lovelies.
It’s even more important to focus on what I’m grateful for when living with a toddler. When’s the last time you spent time with a toddler? They can be CRA-ZY. At this point, I assume the little birdie’s behavior will verge on the insane whenever we leave the house and enter the public domain. So I’m pleasantly surprised when she’s happy to go along with what we’re doing without flailing, screaming and being incredibly contrary. For at least part of the excursion… I know some of you child development experts out there are thinking, “no no no, you’re supposed to expect compliance and polite behavior, not expect the worst.” Hey, lady, this is survival. For me and for the little birdie, OK?! Confession: looking back on it, having a baby is a piece of cake compared to having a toddler. BUT. With the insanity of toddlerhood comes a lot more fun too. Exhausting mayhem, but fun.
Everything is new and exciting through the eyes of the little birdie and her language development is fascinating. These days, Wren adds about a word every day or so. For example, I asked Wren the other day if she could say, “Cassiopeia” because Chris drew a big W (for Wren) on the paper and I immediately thought of the constellation. The little birdie thought for a moment, looked at me, then said, “no.” Honestly, I’m not sure if she meant she couldn’t say it, or she didn’t want to say it. She seems to be partial to multi-syllable words like apple, bubble, yellow. I joked that it would be funny if Wren continued down the path of acquiring more almost useless words (like Cassiopeia) and ignoring useful phrases like “yes, please.” And I honestly don’t care if she doesn’t really know what, “I love you” means because she said it and that’s all my heart needed to clear a day’s worth of toddler negotiations. Maybe even the whole week. For this moment I am incredibly grateful.
What are you grateful for this week, dear readers?