My Reading List:

If I'm not going to post anything, I should at least attempt to make your visit worthwhile, right?

Here's is the list of my very favorite blogs:


 

Grasping for Objectivity is a hilarious blog written by Rachel; smock-hating, homeschooling, Downton Abbey loving mother of two from Alabama.

Her "Jean"-ius is life changing (You may know her from her insanely popular posts about jeans and how not to wear them...).

She is a fantastic story teller. She'll have you in stitches about any topic from kids, to fashion, to cars, and cake molds...moulds?

She also in the business of making friends. She responds to every. single. comment, and remembers who you are. That's legit.

Her sincerity and authenticity keep me coming back for more, and she posts every day, so I'm never disappointed.



Stephanie Scheaffer: Writing for Good, by Stephanie Scheaffer (of course), is simply inspirational in every way.

She makes me want to do more and be better in everything.

The quality of her writing is excellent. Excellent, I tell you, but it's not just about her ability to move mountains through the written word.

She loves.

She loves lipstick. She loves learning. She loves literature.She loves her family. She loves her community. She loves God.

And it shows. In 2010, She and her husband sold their home and many of their possessions so that they could spend the 2011 traveling the country serving others. For real.

Saige Wisdom, by Sara, is one of my latest loves.

Sara is a mother of two in British Columbia. Her blog features big, bright, beautiful photos and a seriously witty commentary on various topics including, but not limited to her children, her current home remodel, and the end of her Canadian babymoon. 

My Life as a Kalli is another favorite of mine. Kalli is a mother of two from Utah. She doesn't write often, but when she does, it is worth the read. SO.FUNNY.

The repeated calls for attention from my short friend Oliver are telling me that I am currently failing at motherhood, so we'll have to pause this list for now so I can go play with my little one. But rest assured, we will revisit the topic of my favorite blogs at a later date... 



Keep Walking and Give Time a Chance

A peek into my head lately...this seems to be on a continuous loop:

"Do you see the magnificence in giving time a chance 

to whittle your problems down to a manageable size?"

"How happy people are who have learned to bend to

the rhythm of paced and steady progress - even to

celebrate and delight in the ordinaries of life?"

-Virginia H. Pearce

full text found here

National Air and Space Part II: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Ollie and I accompanied our friend Lindsay to the National Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport in Chantilly, Virginia this week.

That place is AWESOME.

We saw airplanes, helicopters, missiles, rockets, and other various air and space type national treasures.

Funny story of the day...

Lindsay, Ollie, and I were walking through the space shuttle exhibit and Lindsay was in awe. I was too, but Lindsay was really, REALLY excited about it.

Which is completely understandable, because it was kind of amazing.

But it was a little bit hilarious when we rounded a corner and came across this R2D2 USPS mailbox and satellite phone booth, because that's when I got really, REALLY excited.

We took about 37 and 1/2 gazillion photos of the Enola Gay to send to my grandpa

Oliver J's pronunciation of Enola Gay: "NOAH - gay"

We also spent a significant amount of time growling at this lion and playing with these "drums" because that's what our short friend Oliver was really, REALLY excited about.

This Morning

Maryland graced us with the first windshield scraping of the season.

Yuck.

That's all I have to say about that.

One day, when I'm a grown up, I'm going to live somewhere with a garage.

That will be a good day.

2012 Christmas Ornament

So,

I know that it isn't even Thanksgiving,

but I just bought our 2012 Christmas Tree Ornaments,

and I'm really REALLY excited about them.

I wanted:

...something whimsical and fun, but not tacky.

...something representative of our current life experience, but not overly commercialized or touristy...because we are not just tourists...we live here.

...something that I loved, not something that I settled for (which is what I feel I've done in the past couple of years...which is why I have not bragged about them...to anyone).

...something completely affordable from a handmade/small business.

And now, without further ado, our 2012 Christmas Tree Ornament:



From RachaelAPeden's Shop

They will look a whole lot like this, except they will be personalized...because the shop owner is cool like that and does it for free!

I'm in love.

First World Problems...

I found a hole in the seat of my favorite 'laxin pants today...

I can't describe what a mournful situation this is.

Whoever you are, we can't thank you enough...

 I never told you this, but at the beginning of October, we got an anonymous love note in the mail.

The general idea of this love note was:

"You guys are pretty much awesome. Please take the $40 dollars we have enclosed and do something fun on us"

Our reaction to this letter looked something like this:

Because  A) we have the coolest friends ever, B) the sweet sentiment made us feel pretty good about ourselves, and C) we haven't been on a real date since...I can't remember, actually.

So finally, after a crazy hectic October, we planned a date to the Dutch Country Farmers Market.

This place is spectacular...

See that on my plate, that's some very tender pot roast atop legitimate Amish stuffing made with legitimate Amish bread.

Afterwards, we walked around the market trying to identify our best dessert options...

chocolate covered bacon

chocolate covered potato chips

Amish ice cream

Amish baked goods

Amish anything we could ever desire..

.

Except that dinner left us so satisfied that we decided we'd just have to go back another time...

...and since our friends were so generous, we totally can!

 And so, my friends, whoever you are, we can't thank you enough. We want you to know that we had so much fun... and we really, really needed it. 

Fall Favorite 2012

 

I LOVE me some Creamy Butternut Squash Soup...

 

I'm pretty sure I could slurp it every single day and never tire of it.

 

My other fall favorite was the vibrant fall color that was ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE for a whole week until the hurricane wind blew it away. 

 

Guess who was lame and didn't take any pictures?

 

If you guessed me, then you are absolutely correct.

 

My First Presidential Election

These feet:

 

 

waited in this line:

 

And earned one of these:

 

 photo credit

 

To be clear, I admit that I did qualify for the 2008 presidential election, but I was mostly apathetic at the time...



The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

Did you know that every morning, like clock work, for absolutely as long as I can remember

(except during most of junior high and high school when I was just so dumb too cool), 

I'd wake up and head for my parents' bed.

"Can I tickle your back?" I'd ask...those were the magic words.

I'm not ashamed to admit that even to this day, when I wake up at home, that's the first place I go.

Lately, my friend Oliver has adopted my old pattern.

He doesn't know about the back tickling requirement yet, but we're getting there.

I'm not sure if my parents loved it as much as I did when I was young...

In fact, I'm now keenly aware of how much space a little body can take up, even in a bed ten times their size...

and just how quickly one's pillow can be completely commandeered...

and that sort of monkey business gets really old.

Really fast.

But, there's something very flattering in knowing that the first thing your little wants to do in the morning is share their bunny blanket (or jungle blanket, or circle blanket, or all of the above) with YOU...

and play with YOUR hair...

and kiss YOUR cheek...

and snuggle with YOU...

I don't think I'd give that up for anything.

I like to think my parents felt the same way. If not, they were pretty great at pretending.

Still are, actually.

The Size of His Head...

One our favorite family treats is an 89 cent soda from Sam's.

 

Sometimes, we indulge and get one the size of Ollie's head.

 

Of course, that's really the only option... which is part of the fun.

 

 

One day Ollivander asked me what our drink was called.

 

"This is Root Beer," I said.

 

of course, he's never heard the word "root" before, so he translated it to the closest thing he could think of..

.

"Oh, this is Boo Beer," he said,

"This is YUMMY Boo Beer."

 

(we don't make the "L" sound at our house yet)

 

"Can I have some Red Beer, Mommy?"

"Can I have some White Beer, Mommy?' 

That's one Jucy Lucy!

One day, when I was very pregnant with my friend Oliver, I was watching a show on the travel channel about a Minnesota burger called the Jucy Lucy.

 

A big pile of cheese locked inside of a hamburger patty and grilled so that when you bite into it, you are greeted by a pocket of delectable melted gooey goodness.

 

I don't know about you, but that seems like perfection to me.

 

Since seeing the show, I've been dying to try one.

 

I mean the real deal, from each of the restaurants in St. Paul claiming to serve the original.

 

And believe you me, IT WILL HAPPEN!

 

But until then, I'll settle for Jesse Moses' remake with some fried onion strings and BBQ sauce.