In my spare time I make garbage into dirt. There are two types of composting…composting to produce loads of beautiful earthy humus (good dirt, not to be confused with the spread) for every season, and composting to make your trash disappear. While I love the idea of making tons of humus to add to my vegetable garden, I’m way too lazy and don’t seem...
I can’t get enough of these sweet cheeks. He was focused on stamping or coloring or something and I was equally focused on filling up my memory and camera with his cheeks and little lips. Toddler photo experiment… I have this standalone mirror and it was surprisingly effective for photos with Whitney. I first tried to hold it out with one hand (for her...
Happy Balentime’s Day, Everyone! (as Dylan would say it). “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.” – a Moulin Rouge favorite (originally from a Nat King Cole song) I’ve learned a bit about love over the years…this year some of love’s lessons and moments drove a little deeper than usual. * Love is a risk. When...
Happy 1-year-birthday to my Canon 6D camera. And since my camera and I have been spending some extra time hanging out in “studio” this past week with some newborns, I figured it was time to acknowledge all her hard work and extend gratitude for all the ways she makes my life a whole lot easier than it could be. And, periodically I get questions...
This year my gardening geek-out guide has been Brett Markham’s Mini-Farming: Self-sufficiency on 1/4 acre. I like that he’s very thorough in his explanations but also takes into consideration that most of us don’t want to buy expensive equipment and toil endlessly over our soil. At his recommendation I’ve started a garden journal to record various details such as the timing of when I...
My kids LOVE the iPad. Often, when Whitney is still groggy and disheveled from her nap she’ll Frankenstein to the office (where inevitably one of us is working) and walk straight up to the iPad without so much as an acknowledgement. She’ll filter through apps like it’s her job. While the naturalist in me is constantly considering putting more and more limitations on “screen...
Dylan in Sprouts: “That’s my favorite, that’s my favorite!!” (to the cereal shelf we have never purchased from). Then 3 minutes later it was “Hooray for cranberries!” And 3 hours later, he’s obsessed with reading the Storybook Bible. “Mommy! Let’s read about the sneaky snake!” (garden of Eden). He’s also a big fan of “the man who can walk” – Jesus healing the...
The day is here. Whitney needs to get glasses. She’s far-sighted and has astigmatism. Actually, her vision hasn’t changed since last year, but her optometrist said that with the amount of school she’s in and her activity at this age her eyes are working really hard and glasses would alleviate extra strain the eyes are going through. Seeing clearly is important. People with Down...
Tyler and I just celebrated our 9th anniversary yesterday. He planned a secret getaway for us to Point Reyes this past Sunday/Monday. My parents watched the kids (saints!) and we had a great time just the two of us. At this stage of life it seems an even toss up between what I long for most: peace and quiet (sleep!) and adventure (something new!). ...
Can you say proud? Dylan and I made our first ever Gingersnaps. Gingersnaps Recipe Ingredients: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (put on apron. wash hands.) (Wait 30 seconds, freak out – take apron off.) Cream in a bowl: 1 c. sugar 3/4 c. butter, room temp (poke butter with finger to see what happens. wash hands.) Mix in: 1 egg 3 Tbsp...
Dylan’s getting stuck on things lately….characters in movies, certain pages in books. He’ll ask me about them over and over and over again. I think his little brain has taken in something new and isn’t sure what to do with it. Asking lots of questions is a normal part of development and not something that concerns me, but I’m reminded of when I worked...
Life is Good in our Laundry room again. Our old faithful second hand whirlpool cost us $75 and lasted 9 years under our various roofs….but alas, it has been threatening explosion (or something — you should have heard it) for a few months now. It’s a tough act to follow. It seems I hear all to often about appliances and electronics that “they don’t...
This Is The Final Christmas Post. I promise. Our grande finale family Christmas this year – with my Dad’s siblings and kids (and grandkids!). I love having so much family. I love seeing the resemblances when multiple generations are gathered around the table. I think traditions like Lasagna for dinner and Orange Mush with dessert are amusing. And the games…oh the games. Nothing gets...
MAS CHRISTMAS! (we had 4 to be exact…this is the 3rd, we’re almost there). Christmas with my Parents. Not sure what it was about this year but I went all susie-homemaker on the gifts for my family…thank you Pinterest. A giant ruler measuring-board for my sister-in-law. DIY tie pillows: Lion and an Octopus for two of my nieces. Dragon Tails for my nephew and...
Christmas at home means chasing each other in Santa hats. Candlelight service Christmas Eve. Staying up into the wee hours assembling gifts. And just all around pajama merriment. One benefit to being pint-sized is that your presents are sometimes bigger than you! Our sweet neighbors delivered the kids these candy-wrapped and very exciting bouncy ball presents. The kids could hardly get past their excitement...
2013. What a wild year it has been. These kids have grown and changed so much! Most notably, Whitney (3) had a big year with open heart surgery in March (successful full repair of a congenital heart defect), and then in August she started going to special preschool every weekday. She is delightful, affectionate, a little social butterfly, and loves copying her brother’s every move. When...
Earlier this year the New York Times published a compelling article about the importance of knowing and retelling the positive parts of your family’s story. Familiarity with both the beautiful moments and those when the family overcame challenges contribute to a person’s strong sense of connectedness. Each person has a place in the family, and there is strength in knowing you are a part...
In general, we don’t get out much. I am not the mom who takes her kids to the park or on walks every day. I’d like to be, but most environments are just not fun for very long with my two littles. I’ve been feeling like we’ve been growing out of some of the chaos and that the kids are starting to follow directions...
Most years since graduating college, a collection of Princeton friends have reunited at each other’s houses for a weekend to play, reminisce, and continue to be inspired by one another. This year the gathering was in Chicago. I love these reunions, but with a family of four seat-holders now, we weren’t sure we could swing the ticket prices this year. Rather than opt out...
I’m playing a lot of catch up from my Nomadic November…the nice part about it is stopping to rethink again how special it was to have these visits with family and friends. Before meeting up with Tyler and Whitney for an early Thanksgiving with our Phoenix Family, Dylan and I went on a Midwest tour: first to Chicago (post to come) and then to...
We got to gather with my in-loves last month. While there, we had the privilege of watching some of Uncle Jason’s Ironman Triathlon. Tyler went and took pictures throughout the whole event and we joined him for a few hours in the middle of the day. If you’ve never seen an Ironman let me tell you…it is amazing. First of all, it starts before...
Last year was the first year of Christmas Advent in which I ventured beyond tiny numbered doors hiding chocolates and did something a little more festive. I scrawled out ideas of special things big and small to do each day and wrapped notes or items that represented those things for Tyler (or in some cases myself) to open. The kids were still clueless about...
I’m ba-ack! For the past two weeks I’ve been radio silent while on a whirlwind of visits with family and friends. There are certainly photos and stories to share from our adventures…stay tuned as I unpack the bags and organize my thoughts from these meaningful visits. In the meantime, here is some fall photography play… My vision was to print and frame some of...
‘Tis the season for tradition! This is the first Halloween that either of the kids had any clue (and still, not much) of what’s going on. I have been loving ushering them into the world of pumpkin farms and crunching on fallen leaves. They may have been more interested in throwing straw and crawling around decorations than anything else. We pulled together a Mary...