scenes from the week...

1. still feeling bad but luckily able to make it to see a basketball game with a friend
2. some books in our weekly basket, stuff we are working on or reading this week (it was a slow week)
3. she loves books, especially if they don't belong to her (don't let her near your magazine though)
4. yogurt and banana. this girls loves, loves, loves banana
5. sid discovered judy garland in 'meat me in st. louise'. she has been singing all the songs and trying to imitate her. really cute!
6. and 7. i am so thankful for this kid. he is a great help and great big brother
8. "hi! i can stand and wave!!" and then probably fall down. why does everything in my house suddenly feel like a death trap?
9. "peekaboo!" never stops moving now.
10. what a week. (taken by jh)

whew, it's been a long week. why is it when you are really less busy the week feels harder? not that i wasn't busy... cleaning up puke (fun), taking care of sick kids, chasing after a suddenly very fast baby who is also standing holding onto everything. it was just a week out of the norm i guess, and everything felt "off". of course there were a lot of good moments to be grateful for a remember too and also with growing children what is "normal" will always change. happy weekend friends!

sick...

ever wonder how you do science and art with a baby? this is how i do it!

well, the day started off good. we did a lot this morning... science, water color, lots of reading in our new little cozy reading nook. there were a few complaints thrown in... my tummy hurts, now my head too, all the food tastes funny, i don't want any lunch. uh oh. i was hoping and praying, but no luck. simultaneously they started throwing up... literally. they are both running to the bathroom at the exact same time. the stomach bug is not so fun. now i am hoping and praying baby and i don't get it. i will probably take a little break from here for a day or two. see you friday my friends. i hope! xo

see your light...

see your light

i came across this yesterday and it sort of spoke to what i was feeling. i like the description:

Sometimes we need a traveling companion to remind us to be present to the beauty and truth that surround us. We need to be reminded to shine a light on what is real, to heal, to dance inside joy. We need to be gently pushed to find our way to laughter and fill the cracks that life creates. We need an invitation to stand tall and give ourselves permission to rest.

very pretty. i have always liked that the quakers refer to god as light. i like that concept because it is all around us and inside of us too. it is the hope you have, even in the darkest of times. 

last night i spent some time going through old photographs. i'm trying to pick some to have printed and buy some frames to put around the house. i have a few photos of the kids up, but not enough. i want them to look around and visually see they are loved and important. i love a house with photos in it. it always gives you such a wonderful sense of the people inside. i'm not sure why i haven't done this more myself? here are a few i like so far...

(all of these were taken by me, except for the thumbs up and swimming ones, taken by kyle)

why wouldn't i want to surround myself with these face?! it makes me so happy to look at these.

thoughts for the week...

i was walking around the house yesterday feeling overwhelmed by my long to-do list and dismayed at all the mess that was preventing me from even getting started on the larger projects. i was looking at the house through purely negative eyes, seeing what only was wrong and berating myself for not doing a good enough job staying on top of it all. as i was not so silently tsking over everything, wondering where to even start i suddenly looked down at tess, who was riding on my hip as usual, holding her with one hand while i frantically tried to clean up with the other. what i saw was her little face beaming up at me. she had the happiest smile and she turned from me to the clutter all around and smiled excitedly kicking her feet. to her there was no mess, only wonder and new things to explore. i marveled at the road we take from there to here. how to we go from seeing the world with such wonder to one of dismay? of course i do not always see things this way, but yes, too often i do. i have been trying more and more, when i do begin to feel overwhelmed to stop and see things through different eyes. instead of focusing on the ten things wrong in the room, what needs to be cleaned, or fixed or painted, i try to really see what is good. the beautiful light coming in, the signs of my children's creativity or even just the children themselves. i want to see the world with wonder the way my little ones do... and not just the easy things to wonder at, but the real everyday world. it will always be important to me to create a warm comfortable place for my children and myself. i can't fully let go of those motherly urges to feather our nest but i can remember not to get in their way and let them see the world with that sense of wonder for as long as they can. i can look through their eyes to see what is right and stop pointing out what is wrong all the time. i don't want to be the one who sends them down that road too soon, or maybe ever.

my goals for this week are to continue sorting through the excess in the house. to simplify things so i can focus on what is important. i must remember not to get overwhelmed by this or to focus on it too much though. i have to accept this stage in my life and realize i can't drop everything else the way i like to when i get the urge to start a project. i do need to try harder to follow through on what i start and complete small tasks when i get the chance instead of putting them off. question i am thinking about this week... is it possible to ever become a morning person if you are a true night owl at heart?

*i hope this isn't all just random ramblings! i'm trying to use this space to think about this week ahead and share my thughts with others. maybe it will be helpful to someone else too.

scenes from the week...

1. thursday nights are now the kids night to make dinner and clean up (which was even more fun with a friend over)
2. she is changing so much all of a sudden!
3. morning light
4. sleepy face
5. sleepy feet
6. reading everywhere these days
7. started crawling for real this week!
8. playing with big sister
9. signs of spring
10. , 11., 12. walking the neighborhood
13. valentine flowers, now gone

well, i felt so much better after simply writing about what i was feeling the other day. it seemed to release a lot of those emotions in a positive way. the next few days were much better. i did some rearranging in the living room to make things more friendly for a crawling baby and i think it helped us all relax a little more and brought a little bit of freshness to the house. we snuggled in and read some books, we also took walks outside. i'm trying to make things more creative and interesting for all of us, but i think with spring coming soon we will hopefully all feel better. i have realized how much i need to start excercising again and making things. i just have to get back in the habit with both. thanks for your support dear friends and have a lovely weekend!

p.s. don't forget you can follow me on instagram to see many of my pictures through out the week. i try to post there on a daily basis.