Perspective

Perspective.

We are in charge of our own.

So day after day, meal after meal, meltdown after meltdown, dish after dish, laundry after laundry, sweep after sweep it is me who can control how I feel about it.

Yes, it can be mundane, and that’s just part of being a grown-up. I allow myself to feel those moments of blah-ness. When I do, I accept those feelings as valid and normal. Then I try and move on trying to change my perspective. Maybe instead it’s day after day, hug after hug, game after game, giggle after giggle, adventure after adventure.

There are many things I do as a stay at home mom that I find completely gratifying. Not because anyone knows that I do them or says what a great job I’ve done – like making what Abigail considers to be the world’s best sweet potato fries.

But there are many things I do that I don’t particularly find rewarding – like keeping the toys organized or the laundry put away – that I just want someone to notice and say, WOW! Way to go, Mama!

But the reality is, it’s up to me to fine tune my perspective.

I’ve been guilty of looking at a situation and thinking,
“I wish I had time to do that.” or “It would be so much easier if…” or “They are so lucky.”

When in fact, I’m so lucky. I wanted to be able to stay home with Abigail and we are fortunate to be in a position where we could make that happen. Yes, there are things about this job that make me frustrated. I have to accomplish tasks I’m not super excited about. And sometimes it can be a little lonely. But, no job is perfect.

So perspective.

I get to keep my laundry going all day if I need to. I can go grocery shopping whenever it suits me.

But best of all, I get hug after hug, meal after meal, meltdown after meltdown, game after game, sweep after sweep, giggle after giggle, dish after dish, adventure after adventure…day after day after day.

Perspective Bonus?  Ryan lacks perspective about how many chocolate chip cookies have been swiped by the end of the day.  Or he lets me believe he does…xo.

Abigail’s Favorite Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, cut into fries

1 tsp olive oil

dash of salt and pepper

dash of red curry powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

Mix all ingredients in a  bowl.  Bake in a single layer for 20 – 30 mins (until soft) at 425.

Tags: chocolate chip cookies, grocery shopping, meltdown, stay at home mom, sweet potato fries

C’est l’amour

I haven’t been to a lot of faraway places — places that require long plane rides and crossing oceans and time zones. I want to say that is the reason why this trip was so special, but that wouldn’t be giving credit where credit was due. It was all because of Paris. Paris is special.

It was never that high on my list of places to see. Not that I didn’t want to go there, I did! I think I just had some other places I thought would be more interesting. Paris seemed a little cliche to me, maybe. But, darn it, it cast its magical spell all around me and my heart was beyond smitten.

I’ve been to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Portland, Denver, and D.C. I don’t claim to be an authority on big city travel, but I do love it. It’s faster, flashier, busier — each city has its own flavor and things to experience, but in the end it’s just another big city. You sightsee, shop, eat, take public transportation, people watch, and if you’re lucky, see a performance. 

We did those things in Paris. It could have felt like another big city but it didn’t. Paris is a place all its own.

It’s beautiful and charming, elegant and chic.

It’s busy, but relaxed — a place you are expected to linger over dinner or your cafe creme.

And the fact that I had no idea what people were saying around me or to me most of the time added to the allure.

“Je ne comprends pa.”

Although I think everyone should say “bonsoir” and “bon appetit.”

Dinners with friends are so much more magical when you are greeted with a bonsoir and are instructed to bon appetit.

The cherry on top of the Paris sundae? Experiencing it all with our dear friends who so generously hosted us and acted as tour guides and pseudo-translators.

It’s hard for me to put into words how I felt about seeing one of my favorite people in the world, 6 months pregnant. I miss her so very much. But with friends who have taken up permanent residence in your heart as Jimmy and Ashley have with us, it’s easy to be apart because when you are together it is as if nothing changes.

Ashley and I still talk a thousand miles per hour every waking minute about every detail of our lives. And sometimes without explaining anything she understands me perfectly.

Paris.

It will always be the place Ryan and I got to escape from toddlerhood for a brief moment and just be two again. It will also be the place where I got to see our dear friends start to become three.

A place all its own. C’est l’amour.

Tags: c'est l'amour, cafe creme, dear friends, Paris, travel abroad

Sprinkles

I’m still here.  It’s been longer than I intended it to be but Ryan’s mom was here to visit and take the role of “Super Nanny” so Ryan and I could make the trip to Paris.  Paris!  And London…and I still can’t believe we went and returned.  I need to write about it and I will.

But for today I’ll keep it simple and relevant.

I believe last year I called it “quieter” in my post.

Valentine’s Day 2011.

Valentine’s Day 2012

It hasn’t been quieter or even quiet this year.

Two terribly terrific two-year-olds and sugar cookies and a few tantrums.

But mostly love and a little bit of sharing.

And yes, it’s kind of a corny, commercial holiday.  But what’s wrong with that, really?  Maybe in this crazy rush of a world we live in we need a little reminder to do something special out of love — like letting your children eat sprinkles from a shaker right before instead of lunch.

Because apparently in the world of a two-year old more sprinkles = more love.

They are right you know — the two-year olds.

Sprinkles of kindness, generosity, gratefulness to family, friends, strangers really do = more love.

In fact, don’t even sweep them up.  Let the dogs take care of them.  Sprinkles and dogs.  And I think it could be a wonderful world.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

And To My Three Valentines:

 ” And I wish you all the love in the world.  But most of all I wish it from myself.”

“And I love you, I love you, I love you.  Like never before.”

Tags: commercial holiday, happy valentine, super nanny, three valentines, valentine s day

We Are Who We Are

I meandered through January. Some people bust into the new year with a bang! That person was not me.

I avoided things that needed to be done.

I got overwhelmed when I thought of the things I want to work on.

I wasted time on Pinterest.

Then I decided to tie up some loose ends — the biggest being the Project Life Album I started in January last year.

Tags: be yourself, Project Life, seeing strengths

Rain, Rain, Go Away

That isn’t anger towards the sun.. just Abigail’s coloring skills.  Which are awesome.

I’ve been hibernating-ish.  I kind of forgot about this part of living here.  We had been skipping footloose and fancy free through December and most of January rain-free.  It was amazing.  Now we’ve had over 8 inches of rain in a three day period.

I saw a post on Facebook this week.  It had a picture of an elegant runner crunching through the snow with the caption, “There is no such thing as a bad training day.”

Um.  Yes there is.  If your training requires you to push a toddler in hurricane conditions.  Humph.

Tags: D-3 Supplement, Ina Garten, pizza dough, Rainy days, yoga

Our Snowy Day

I’m going to do something I rarely do around here and zip it. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and several pictures can tell a story better than you can.  I know my limitations on this one.

“One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window.  Snow had fallen during the night.  It covered everything as far as he could see.”  Ezra Jack Keats from The Snowy Day

Good Morning, My Friend

Most mornings are pretty relaxed around here.  We stay in PJ’s way too long.  But this morning we got a call to see if we wanted to come play with Olivia so her mom could make a birthday cake.

Abigail got a double dose of technology while I got ready.  Some may call this an over dose, but she has taken to drawing circles on her magna-doodle and saying “sear-o” so I think her brain is just fine.  (Ryan taught her that one…overachiever.)

“Hurry up, Mama.”

Tags: birthday cake, friends, mornings, sunny days, you capture

Motherhood is Not a Competitive Sport

The last time I checked motherhood wasn’t a competitive sport. There are no Olympic trials. No medals. If this is true then why is it that the longer I’m in the world of motherhood the more I experience this phenomenon.

“Settle down.”  Hank

And the Winner Is…

We had a fantastic Saturday.  A walk on the beach which ended with Abigail’s attempt to climb Mt. Sand Dune and Hank and I’s blissful rest on the sand.  Closing my eyes with my hat, sweatshirt, and jeans I could almost imagine that I was somewhere warm.  My face felt hot at least…it was perfect.

“You had a good Saturday?” the Coast said to me.  ”I’ll see your good Saturday and raise you an even better Sunday.”

Tags: closing my eyes, degree weather, kite flyers, sand dune, tiny fingers

The Big 100!

Each time I publish a post it tells me how many I’ve written – “Congratulations!  This is your __th post!”  The numbers have been creeping up and finally I’ve made it to 100!

I felt like something needed to be kind of different about such a nice, round, three digit number.  So here it is friends.  100 things.  Some blog related, some just life related.  Hope you enjoy perusing these little lists as much as I loved writing them.

Tags: 100 things, reflecting, supportive messages, what I've learned