The Loves of My Life

Looking at these pictures makes my heart swell. One moment I am completely unaware of the involuntary beats and the next I can feel every part of my heart as if my it has been swaddled and all I can do is concentrate on the warmth that radiates through my body from that space. And I am reminded of a quote that I've read and discussed many times, a quote that perfectly embodies Romeo's tragic flaw, "Did my heart love till now?" 

Only for me, instead of wondering that for a different person each week, I have that feeling again and again for the same people. And so, for me the quote transforms from beautiful and tragic to a principle in the infinite capacity of lasting love. 

And I am reminded of my dad, who often looks up from the table with bright eyes and sincerely says, "This is a best bite I've ever had" or, "This to best bite of my life." As a child and teenager, I used to scoff at his sentiment, but now I am in awe of it, craving that superlative experience over and over too. And I wonder if maybe the key to true and lasting love is having that feeling again and again, allowing yourself to wonder at your love over and over for the same people.

They are the loves of my life. I am in awe of them each and every day, and I hope that never stops.

Also, on a slightly less sentimental note, these pics are from this past hot and gloomy (which is what I'm blaming the graininess of the pictures on) Saturday, when Jason, William, and I spent the afternoon all together in the kitchen. Jason and Will sorted and chopped and stirred and made the entire house smell amazing. The delicious recipes that all three of us happily ate for dinner that evening and lunch the next day are below if you are interested.

Balsamic Bruschetta 
(Jason says to sub fresh mozzarella.)

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Splish Splash

I think Will might have the best abs out of anyone in our family. And his passion for splashin'? Well, you can see for yourself. Next time, we'll approach the water table sans clothing. Diapers, hats, and sunscreen, that's it. Heck, maybe just hats and sunscreen are all that's needed because even though Piper and I approached the table with caution, Will was determined to get every last drop of water out whether it be on the ground, on himself, or on his cousin.

Piper was determined to save herself, but when that didn't work out, she settled for saving the water tower. Every other day or so, I catch part of the trailer for the new Godzilla movie and am not surprised by how closely it resembles my day to day life. Any other mamas out there feel me?

Also, check out all those teeth we've been working on. I think we're at ten, but in all honesty, he doesn't  hold still long enough for me to get a good look, and I've given up trying to count by sticking my finger in his mouth.

How Does Your Garden Grow

Yesterday, taking advantage of the mostly-cloudy, seventy-degree day, I pruned the rose bushes while Will pushed his wagon up and down our back driveway and open and closed the gate about 3,000 times. 

I live in a house with gardens that both my mom and my grandma carefully tended for years. I've inherited lilac bushes, Moonbeam Coreopsis, Russian Sage, hydrangea, a wide variety of rose bushes, and countless other shrubs, trees, and plants. Each spring, I'm surprised when everything starts growing and blooming again despite my negligence, but this year, I have started to make an effort to tend the garden. Feeling the urge to prune and clean out the roses, I went searching in one of our sheds and found shears and thick, stiff leather gloves. Did I move those over from our other house? Were they my mom's? My grandma's? I've decided to believe that all three of our hands have filled the gloves, warming the leather until the stiffness subsides enough to wield the shears, my mom and grandma much more deftly than me. 

I'm uncertain whether my amatuer efforts will yield benefits or cause harm. Either way, I am enjoying the process, learning with each new project, and experiencing just how much work Grandma De put into creating a beautiful space for all of us to come together each summer. Every time I go out to look at the flowers with Will or notice that a different tree is in bloom, I realize just how precious her years of careful planting and tending still are to me and my family, and my heart is filled with so much love and thanks for Grandma and her legacy. A legacy of love, tender care, and pruning back in the hope of growing fuller.

Also, the other thing I inherited from Grandma is a ridiculous amount of lawn ornaments and birdhouses. I remember, one time, stopping at a gas station on a short road trip back from somewhere; eveyone else went to the bathroom or bought drinks and snacks, but Grandma picked up a new concrete lawn ornament. This is a small representative.

An Afternoon

There was no napping, but one baby was fed, two diapers were changed, and four bodies went for a walk. If kitties or cats were mentioned, Will had us covered with the "mow"s, and if puppies or dogs were mentioned (or Lola was in sight), Piper represented with the "woof woof"s. She also alerted us to any (and every) ball in the area while Will experimented with alternative pacifiers.
Oh, and coloring. There was lots of coloring... mostly by me. There were also many attempts at sharing. Would you like this pink crayon? Would you like this frog (which can also double as a pacifier)? But no actual sharing. Maybe next time. I kind of can't wait until next time.

Also, there was a little bit of crying. Totally justified crying. Crying to let it be known that putting your finger inside Will's mouth to get out the tip of the blue crayon is not appropriate.

Not the Original Plan

Yesterday between naps (and eating and cleaning), we got in a walk around the neighborhood for Lola and a trip to the playground for Will. Our new favorite playground is in the middle of all the soccer fields in our park and has plenty of gumballs (with all the spiky things removed somehow) for Will to collect and carry around as he climbs up slides and through tubes. Over the spring and summer, I can just imagine Will learning to climb the rock wall and go down the slides on his own. Maybe with much prompting, he will eventually sit back in the swing. Who knows? 

In August, as planned, I will be going back to work teaching English to high school freshman, and I am looking forward to being back in the classroom. So starting in August, I probably won't have time to get in both a walk and a trip to the park on every nice day, but I will have time for at least one because I am going to work part-time! Through prayer, Jason and I realized that me working part-time would be best for both our family and my students but didn't know if it was even an option. So months and months ago, I put in a request, and a few weeks ago, I found out that I was approved for teaching two classes (as opposed to five + an advisory) a semester. 

I will still get to spend most of the day with William, and he will get to spend his afternoons with Maggie and Piper, which I think will actually be much better for his development than spending the afternoons with me. I really can't imagine a more perfect situation. We keep putting our faith and trust in God's plan for our lives and tearing ourselves away from our own plans. And every time, His plan is SO much better. I am so thankful to God for his plans for my life and all of the amazing people involved, for my family, for my bosses, for my students, and most of all for William and Jason. Also, William makes it a point to take a moment to say hi to all walkers and runners who come by on the path... but if they happen to have a puppy dog with them, he will stop whatever he is doing and run full speed, shrieking the entire time. So if you are in the area, please plan your walks accordingly. The shreiks are pretty freakin cute.

A Perfect Challenge to Start the Week

I have so many great pictures of Will and his Papa and even more great pictures of William and his puppa but not so many great pictures of all of us or even just the two or three of us. One of the reasons for this is that I have never been a huge fan of portrait sessions with professional photographers. Everyone else's always seem to turn out beautiful, but I always end up disappointed in my own (which I know is due to my own issues and not the many talented photographers we have worked with over the years). I find that the pictures of myself that I like the most are the ones that other people take randomly with their phones at different events. So this week, I am going to take on the Embrace the Camera challenge from Ashley to actually get myself in some of the pictures I take. Ashley gave some great tips, and the one I am going to try out today is giving up the camera to someone else with specific directions. Jason kind of has the day off today, so we'll have plenty of opportunities... poor guy.  He doesn't even know what he's in for yet. I'm pretty sure I am going to have to rely on selfies for the rest of the week, but whatever happens, whether I love them or hate them, I promise to post an update at the end of the week with at least one picture from each day. What do you think? Do you have this same issue? Are you up to the challenge?

Also, depending on how this week goes, I'd really love to try out this Family Portrait Challenge too.

Playground with Papa

I'm not sure what more William could have asked for yesterday when we discovered this playground. All week, we had been going to the park, enjoying the different jungle gyms and swings with a myriad of other adults and children, but yesterday, we went to the nearby elementary school and found this treasure, abandoned by all for the weekend. There were tunnels to crawl into and bubbles to peer through, chimes to ring and swings to swing, slides (for climbing up!) and most importantly, Papa!
Everything is just a little bit more fun with Papa.

Also, if you ever want to capture some pictures of your child looking like a smurf, this would be the place to go.

TREAT. YO. Spouse.

Happy Fat Tuesday! Mardi Gras season always reminds me of this great Parks and Rec Episode where Donna and Tom get together once a year to celebrate Treat Yo' Self Day. They treat themselves to all sorts of elaborate items and encourage each other not to feel bad about any of it. What a great holiday, right? 

Lately, Jason and I have been trying harder to treat each other. It kind of started with Valentine's Day, but we have continued by trying to find little ways to treat each other here and there. A favorite take-out meal. Treat yo spouse! A bubble bath with candles and wine. Treat yo spouse! An elaborate home-made meal. Treat yo spouse! Taking on the other's household chore. Treat yo spouse! Clothes. Fragrances. Massages. Mimosas. Treat yo spouse! And let me tell you, treating yo spouse is so much better than treating yo self. I feel like it has revitalized our relationship so much that I almost feel like I've gone back eleven years to when we were first dating.

Truth be told, over the last year, we've been through a lot of stress--learning how to be new parents, going from two incomes to one--and I had started to harbor some resentment toward Jason about frivolous things like he got to sleep in later than me two days a week and the trash always seemed to be full. Jason also pointed out that when I seemed to have a bad day with Will, I would take it out on him, and I resented him pointing that out. No matter how many times I rationalized that I really got to sleep later than him five days a week, and Will and I were the ones making most of the trash, and that I should not take out my bad day on the people I love, I still felt anger and resentment that was putting a strain on our relationship. 

Then, one day I was reading notes on Matthew 14:13-15 that pointed out that when Jesus tried to get away for some rest after teaching and serving so many, there was a crowd eagerly waiting for Him. He could have been irritated with the demanding crowd and reacted with resentment, but instead, He reacted by serving the people even more. It was just a small paragraph in four or five pages of notes, but it really rocked the little world of resentment that I had built up around myself. Our lives have changed so much in the last year, and for a few months, Jason and I had to go into survival mode, just trying to keep Will healthy and all of us fed and cleaned and clothed. The problem was that I kept treating Jason as my survival partner even though we are no longer in survival mode. And so, after prayer and reflection, I decided to get over myself and try to start treating Jason like the love of my life again. I started small by taking out some of the trash myself and getting him his favorite meal from one of his favorite restaurants, and it made me feel good to do nice things for him even though they were really small. Then, I thought of more things I could do to treat him. And without even talking about it, he did the same for me, and we haven't stopped treating each other special. And I hope we never stop.  (But I know myself better than that, so just in case, I keep those notes underlined on my bedside table.) Do you have any advice or tips that help you and your spouse stay connected for better or for worse? I'd love to hear it!

Also, I think it really is more of the thought (and feeling) that counts than the actual treat. I tried my darnedest to get Jason sushi on Friday for dinner and then Saturday for lunch, and that freakin' sushi restaurant has the oddest hours. So even though he had to go pick up the sushi himself while I stayed home with Will, I know it still made Jason happy that I tried.

Happy Birthday Jam!

Happy Birthday to the woman who taught me how to be a Christian, a friend, a teacher, and a mom through her amazing example every day! I love you, MoM!

Also, from the Mister:

We Like To Party

Yesterday, we threw a "Fifty Is Fine When You Look Twenty-Nine!" birthday party for my beautiful mom, whose big 5-0 just happens to be tomorrow. After cleaning up all the food and doing the dishes and putting Will to bed, I decided that instead of taking down the decorations from the party, I would address the invitations for our next party, Will's first birthday. When I woke up in the morning and saw the partially deflated balloons in our living room, I knew I had made the right decision. All day, Will, Lola, and I have been enjoying the balloons and all the extra golden light that they and the other decorations have been casting about our abode.

I'm really excited for Will's party. I've been perusing my two favorite party blogs, Oh Happy Day and You Are My Fave, for a little inspiration. Pinterest is always a nice source, but I have found many easy, fun, cheap, and completely doable DIY ideas (like this and this) on both of these sites. They also have great ideas for themes like a Welcome to the World baby shower and random reasons to throw a party like Kite Flying Day. So check them out if you need some party inspiration!

Also, if your baby has a gigantic head like Will, you might be interested in the pullover he is wearing.  The head opening is quite large, which has been really nice when getting him dressed. The weight of the shirt is quite lovely too, lighter than a sweatshirt but heavier than a t-shirt, a nice transition piece for spring. AND! It's on sale! Now, enjoy some before and after hair pics and have yourself a nice sunny day.

Happy Birthday Piper Mae!

Protector of Momos, proclaimer of "O," my Mia Farrow girl. You have always been perfect since the day you were born. Happy Birthday, perfect Piper! I love you with my life.