Blog a la Cart

BG Summer // 2015

Happy Birthday to my knight in American Eagle cargo shorts circa 1999! He is with the girls in his favorite place in the Universe, engaging in our traditional Labor Day festivities. I’m flying solo at Cartwheel Farm, prepping to shoot a wedding this evening, and then taking the opportunity to organize the bejesus out of our home while it is free of two-legged dependents.

We’re on the brink of a truly hectic and nutty fall where my work load is double its normal size. While I’m sad to not be with my family for James’ birthday or our 7th wedding anniversary, it’s a good moment to have some time to myself before that becomes an impossibility (at least for the next eight weeks).

Admittedly, my dreams of three days of uninterrupted sleep and a schedule wholly my own have been thrown by a dog *coughHannacough* with explosive diarrhea and a pig on the loose (she was retrieved with some effort and copious amounts of food earlier today). Such is the life that James and I have built, never a dull moment, and always other living creatures to care for and love (even when they are leaking bodily fluids and defying your every wish). We can’t imagine life any other way.

And here are some snaps from our trip to the Poconos a few weekends prior with my dearest friend from childhood and her family. It was a beautiful weekend and a joy to see the next generation of girls begin to build their own friendships and memories.

First Day of First Grade

August 27, 2015 – Pownal, Vermont

Our First Grader

Today she graduated from Kindergarten. Tomorrow is Move Up Day and she’ll spend the morning in her new first grade classroom.

And yes, I am breathing deeply in and out of a brown paper bag.

During the graduation ceremony,  the kids all sang “Kindergarten Wall.”

I’m fortunate my camera didn’t malfunction from water damage.

When I was a little kid not so long ago
I had to learn a lot of stuff I didn’t even know
How to dress myself, tie my shoes, how to jump a rope
How to smile for a picture without looking like a dope
But of all the things I learned my favorite of them all
Was a little poem hanging on the kindergarten wall

Of all you learn here remember this the best:
Don’t hurt each other and clean up your mess
Take a nap everyday, wash before you eat
Hold hands, stick together, look before you cross the street
And remember the seed in the little paper cup:
First the root goes down and then the plant grows up!

Currently Gawking

Things around ye ol’ Interwebs that caught my eye this week:

Postpartum: The Musical. Truth in advertising, y’all.
I have suction cups attached to my nipples, squeezing milk out of my rock-hard boobs.  I fear nothing.

“I’m sorry to all the mothers I worked with”
I wish I had known five years ago, as a young, childless manager, that mothers are the people you need on your team. 

But as a counterpoint…
We teach women they can do everything men can do, but society has been slower on the flip-side: We haven’t taught — or expected — that men do everything women do.

Ice hockey on sea water. No really. (Auntie Kimmy’s summer home)

I think about this quite a bit with my girls.
I think it can be hard for people — especially women and girls — to speak up for what they need from adults, professionals, their peers. This is a skill, and it should be coveted.

So, I’m not telling my kids to be good anymore. Kind, thoughtful, sensitive to others, yes. But just as kind, sensitive and thoughtful about their own needs. Maybe we can swap Be good with …

Be smart.
Take up space.
Ask for what you need.
Use your voice.
Louder and more than once if you need to.
Ask questions.
Be smart.
Trust yourself.
You matter.

Swinger of Birches

“When I see birches bend to left and right across lines of straighter, darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.”

I couldn’t resist documenting this sight on my commute into work today. I was transported back to 11th grade English and Robert Frost and all the layers and meanings and feelings that we’re unlocked for/in me that year.

“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”

Full poem: Birches by Robert Frost

Juno

Juno was the anti-climax here in Southwestern Vermont. Sure, there’s snow outside, but nothing worthy of shutting down civilization. By Monday afternoon, every possible event, extracurricular, appointment, or meeting was cancelled, despite the absence of snowfall until well after midnight. When I awoke Tuesday, there was hardly an inch on the ground. While it did continue to accumulate throughout the day, it was at a much more reasonable rate and amount than predicted.

Admittedly, I didn’t mind the day of pause, especially as I’m now on the west coast for work in Seattle. I was able to get myself organized and spend some quality time with the family before my flight on Wednesday.

It was quite cold and blustery outside, so we spent the day indoors, painting our nails, coloring, making Play-Doh, eating grilled cheese and tomato soup, dancing ballet, dressing in monotone, watching movies, napping, knitting, etc. Here are a few snaps from the lazy day.

^^Silver nails!^^

^^Purple (homemade) Play-Doh in the works.^^

^^They dressed themselves as Purple and White. I don’t know either.^^

^^Googley-eyed Hanna and her adoring fan.^^

^^Anna and Elsa. Naturally.^^

^^A Goofy Movie and Mama’s knitting. And now we can’t stop singing this. Also, Bruno Mars is Powerline. You’re welcome.^^

^^Wood stove bathing. Whale humidifying.^^

^^Sugar Donut^^

^^Wet nose smudges on the door and one pup perfectly content in the cold and snow.^^

I’ll be home Sunday and in the meantime, can only hope that in my absence, no tongues are frozen on poles a la 2014. (It is worth re-reading James’ post for a solid laugh).

The Small Things

I awoke Tuesday morning with a painful stabbing in my left eye. Despite complaining and whining and wiping and rinsing and staring and crying, the stabbing remained. I attempted to ignore the nagging pain, knowing all too well that it was likely an infinitesimal speck lodged in my eyeball that was sure to eventually vacate said cornea, but alas the jabbing, scratching particle got the best of me.

It was at the crest of that hill on my commute to work that I admitted defeat. James came to my rescue as chauffeur and shuttled me to the nearest eye doctor. A few hours, some numbing eye drops, an everted eyelid, a Q-tip, and an itty bitty shard of clear sand later, balance and comfort was restored to my ocular world.

How maddening yet humbling it is to have one’s day thrown by such an insignificant, tiny thing. How eyeopening (har har) to be reminded of how I take comfortable eyesight for granted. And how trite yet monumental to refocus (killing it with the word play) on the value and import of The Small Things, in all elements of my life.

A cheesy albeit apt reminder to give the positive small things in my life the same energy and weight I gave that silly fleck of sand. How truly contented life could be during even the most mundane of moments. Easier said than done, but a worthy reminder nonetheless.

2014 a la Cart

Well, here it is. Our longest video recap yet. 19 minutes and one awkward ending, reflective of our children’s obsession with the slow-mo feature on the iPhone 6. We took more photos than ever this year, and tried to weave in some video. Ultimately, this is our version of a scrapbook. A place to pull together our favorite media from the past 12 months and display it is some (semi) succinct fashion to refer to for years to come. It may only be of interest to a small demographic of people, but how grateful I am to have our years archived in this way.

2014 was a year without any major life changes, losses, or milestones. It is a year that will always be a bright spot in my memory. Consistently good. Consistently happy. After the ups and downs of years’ past and knowing that life is anything but consistent and predictable, I am grateful for that brief, lovely pause. I did love this year so.

Year in Review: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Sleigh Bells

The kids were sad to leave their grandparents and South Carolina, but the promise of a friend’s birthday party and sleigh ride (turned hay ride due to lack of snow) eased the blow of our return north. On Saturday morning, we bundled up in our winter best, and ventured to one of the most beautiful pieces of property in our community for a horse drawn carriage ride through the woods. We stopped to sip hot coco in a wood stove-heated cabin tucked away in the forest, snuggled with a goldie named Bear, and celebrated Katy.

Barrette Crowns

Two more snaps of the crowns just for good measure…