Swinging on Birches

I'm a fall and winter girl at heart.  Typically, when I feel that chill start in the air, I find a new energy for life and get so excited to cozy up and hide out for awhile. But, we have been enjoying the heck out of summer this year. From the early morning chill in the air to the standing heat of the late evening.  We have been soakin' it up. Family. Cozying up with one of my uncles, who apparently, is a great snuggler.  Visiting with Great Grandpa.  Kisses for Great Grandma.  Friends. I have 32 first cousins.  Seriously.  And, many of them now have kids.  And we watched the now "big" kids taking care of the new littles. And they love my son.  And that's awesome. On our friends' new boat on a lovely lake with hundreds of sailboats around...perfect! Fresh produce. One of my besties threw a family backyard campout.  I'm not a camper and was super-hesitant about trying to sleep with a toddler, but I was so wron...

Ok, it's been a long time since I've posted.  For real.  But, I'm back.  And so happy about it. This week, I'll be sharing about what's been going on in our lives for the past month or two and my upcoming post plans include various projects, delicious summer recipes and lots of random thoughts:) Stick with me, I'll do better:) One of the cool things that I have coming up is a mini-triathlon in September (yes, I'm serious).  I've always wanted to do one and this is an all-women's race benefitting breast cancer research.  The race consists of a 250 m swim, 7 mile bike ride and 2 mile run.  We now have a jogging stroller and a bike seat for Wardie, so I've been enjoying my workouts with him.  Now, if I could only figure out how to strap him to my back in the pool...:)  The race is September 17th, so I'll be counting down and keeping you posted on my progress. We've also had a little competition arise at work to see who can lose t...

I feel, oftentimes, that we live in such uncertainty. There are so many things in flux...jobs, children, homes, income, health, the economy...and the list goes on. Sometimes when I feel the lack of certainty with such intensity, I go into what a friend dubs, "paralysis by over-analysis" mode and I have a hard time moving forward with anything at all. This weekend, I have been thankful for so many certainties.  Family. Friends. Love. Home. Happy.  My little, fascinated by every new thing we do.  Fresh air and screens in windows; welcoming in a new season of growth and beauty. Quiet, focused time with my two favorite boys (one behind the camera). Independence coming so quickly..."Do it 'self mommy."  Happiness and lovely.  Creating something beautiful and delicious for others--fully homemade chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes...  and Iced Lemon Poppy Seed scones.  And an early visit from the Easter Bunny, w...

I was going through old pictures and videos yesterday and came across this one again.  Two questions: Is it legal for grandparents to do this? Is it wrong that I find it funny?

Wardie's second birthday happened a few weeks ago. The day was perfect.  He asked for a choo-choo cake, so mommy made one.  (After returning from a 11 hour bus ride building houses with 200 college students and no sleep.)  It was a stupid  great idea to have his party the day after I got back. I used four mini-loaf pans and two boxes of cake mix, making 8 cakes total.  Two of the mini cakes were used for the engine, and the rest made perfect train cars. Then, I iced the cakes, used oreos for wheels, kit kats as the ties between cars and various candy for the "cargo" coming out of each car.  Overall, it turned out pretty cool. The engine had a little accident, so I had to do some emergency surgery. Wardie thought it was delicious. Once he realized everyone was singing to him, he just lit up--I think he felt so special and loved. And he spent the rest of the afternoon surrounded by family and friends and WAAAAYYYY too...

Well, shock of the century, here's me spouting off about something again:)  I worked on this post after reading a post from  Sarah , whose blog was the first one I ever read and happens to be my favorite to this day.  Seriously, she's amazing, and cracks me up because she gets all awesome-fiery, and does it with such tact and without apologizing--LOVE that! Anyway, she really was talking about the teenage girl (and younger) phenomenon in regards to clothing, magazines, movies, music, etc. and how we could ever combat that as moms looking to raise basically, wholesome kids.  She called for a parenting revolution--and, as usual, I TOTALLY agree with her. I've long thought that parents should have to take a vow, similar to those we take when we choose our life partners.  Although I'm sure this will evolve over time, here are my beliefs on paper.  (And, just to clarify, my husband is a wonderful partner, but I was looking at these things as something each...

As he just turned 2, Wardie's language is just exploding and he's like the mayor--saying hi to EVERY person he sees no matter where we are.  No, really.  I mean everyone.  No one is immune.  The toddler, the grandma, the angsty teenager, the grumpy old man.  But, it doesn't stop there.  He says hi to people that I (even though I hate to admit it) would probably never consider talking to.  Worse yet, I would probably go out of my way to avoid them.  People who don't look "safe" or "healthy" or "good" in my eyes.  And, I've made this oh-so-insightful determination in a split second, mostly without even thinking or knowing anything at all about the person. But not Wardie.  He gives them a big grin and raises his little hand in a wave and says, "hi" in his sweet sing-song voice.  You know the funny thing?  Most of the people I would normally walk by quickly with my head down turn right to him and answer "hi" back. ...