Our Impossible Adoption Story
If you're looking for the unbelievable account of how "impossible" became "done" in 5 business days, start here.
How To Keep The House Clean – Or Not
Less than two weeks ago I had this glorious, life-changing epiphany about house-keeping that was going to lower my stress levels for eternity.
I told you about it. About identifying the one part of the house that has to be clean for you to feel sane, and concentrating on that. Start with that. End the day with that. Guard that.
For me, it’s the kitchen table. It centers me.
I still think it’s a great strategy. Dozens of people have told me – online and off – their “one thing,” and how it’s the same for them.
I still think it’s great advice. I just stink at it.
I turned around to grab something from the table the other day as I bustled past, and laughed at this. So I had to take a picture.
Ready? Left-to-right, that’s: Read more…
How To Eat Blueberries
Solid Food #2: Blueberries
He liked these much better than the avocado.
Believe it or not, I did not lay him in a pile of blueberries. He really wanted to hold the spoon.
But I am a clever mama, and it didn’t take me long to realize that was a bad idea. I think it was about the time he rubbed the side of his head with his chubby, slobbery, blueberried palm. Read more…
Six Month Outtakes
I think last month I mentioned that the outtakes are getting a little boring, because he’s getting used to this and he just sits still.
Ya. I must have caught him on a good day.
Now the excitement is that he doesn’t want to sit still ever. He rolls and scoots all over the place. And flails for no apparent reason when strapped in a chair or being held in someone’s lap. The moment I’d been waiting for finally happened this month – he tried to dive off the chair mid-photo.
Of course, I’m two feet – three at the most – away, so I leaned forward and caught him, but still.
Knowing that he was going to do that any moment created a lot of outtakes, because both of us were unstable. Him squirming and me flinching made for a lot of blurry, crooked pictures.
Here are some of my faves:
1/2 Birthday
He turned 1/2 yesterday, so we got a little crazy and went out to do things that six-month-old babies get to do.
Like ride in shopping carts and eat mashed up avocado!
Party!
He really loved the shopping cart.
The avocado … he wasn’t so sure about.
(Sorry about the blurry pictures. iPhone cameras in low light and a wiggly baby … )
Husband got a little video of the avocado experience. Shudders, dry-heaves … Baby covers all the bases.
Everybody Stand Back
Several week ago I decided to start intentionally finding beauty in the world again. Not magazine-cover-beauty – the kind of beauty that you can’t quite put your finger on even a week later, but that leaves a faint residue under your nails and in your hair.
And I’ve been trying.
But sometimes I feel like I’m too busy for beauty. Too busy to find it. Too busy to create it. I’m developing philosophies for house-keeping based on the difficult task of keeping my kitchen table mostly cleared off – who on earth has time for beauty?
Then – you know how it goes – the busyness becomes overwhelming and I go from wishing I had time for beauty, to wondering if it’s really there at all. Because in survival mode, everything is just good enough and then you’re on to the next thing. There’s no stopping to smell the roses (because you didn’t cover the rose bush last winter, so the roses aren’t blooming).
Sometimes I look around – iPhone camera at the ready – but all I see is clutter and long To Do lists and dirty floors and the fern dying of dehydration in the corner. And I shrug, and slip the phone back into the pocket of my jeans, and get busy.
Which is about where I was yesterday afternoon, when the tree bloomed.
This tree on the corner of our yard is so big, I almost never see it. If someone came by and removed it in the middle of the night (somehow), it would probably take me weeks to notice it missing. Read more…
Spits and Wiggles 