Peninsula Park in bloom!

Our latest project..

Chad and I have created a lovely nook! We have this little breakfast area surrounded by windows that we love to sit in, and Chad recently built a table and bench along the windows in it to give us more space. Then, we went to the fabric store and bought some sturdy "home dec weight" fabric for the cushions and some pretty stuff for the pillows. I'm not quite done with the cushions yet, but I'm halfway there and wanted to take a pic of it to show the process. Loving our new space...

Things that are growing

Rows of arugula..

Kale, spinach...

Tomatoes, lettuce, leeks...

Sweet snap peas....

Pretty climbing roses....

The weed from hell...

A beautiful confederate jasmine to remind us of New Orleans...

Climbing hydrangea, which I hope will eventually cover this rather sad wall...

Strawberries, lavender....

My hair. This may be the first time it had been out of a bun in like a year.

A Day in the Life

WAKEUP

nurse Tate

put on coffee

unload dishes

make breakfast

eat breakfast

cleanup breakfast

load dishes

sweep floor in kitchen

vacuum carpet

change Tate

change self

wash our hands, brush our teeth. forget hair.

make bed

read books to Tate

play in tunnel with Tate

make lentils for dinner tonight while playing music and dancing with Tate

nurse Tate

put Tate down for nap

clean bathtub

wash windows/mirrors

put on 2 loads of laundry

check email

do pilates! yay!

start to shower...hear Tate waking up

QUICK! SHOWER!

nurse Tate

make lunch for self, Tate

eat lunch

clean up lunch

load dishes

change Tate

take Tate to Children's Museum

chase Tate

chase Tate

chase Tate

chase Tate

kiss Tate's cheek after he falls

laugh at Tate

be proud of Tate

take cell phone pics of Tate

don't correct people when they say how beautiful SHE is. whatever.

run to car with Tate in torrential downpour

go to toy store

warn Tate about stairs

buy wooden push toys and 2 more pacifiers, just in case

sing to Tate in car to Professor Banjo, who rules

play with Tate's new push toy all over house. it won't work.

color picture for Mimi and Pops with Tate

throw crayons around house

pick crayons up

tape box of crayons that Tate has ripped open and is frustrated about because they keep spilling

please don't color on walls, color on paper. please.

chop sweet potatoes, apples

feed Tate apples

laugh

turn on Rebirth, dance with Tate and apples

unload dishes

set table

wait for dada

DADA!!

dada fixes toy

eat dinner, love wine

go to farmer's market

buy rhubarb, strawberries

go on swings with dada, Tate

pet puppies

eat hazelnut icecream

play with car windows. up and down, up and down.

naked baby time!!

bath time

naked baby time, part II!!

nurse Tate

sing to Tate

nigh-night, Tate

load dishes

take out garbage, paper recycling, glass recycling, compost. OCD Portland.

make rhubarb crisp

fold 2 loads of laundry

move couch downstairs with Chad

tend to compost bin

kill slugs that are destroying kale

put new sheets on bed

make butternut squash casserole

unload dishes

spill olive oil on carpet. curse quietly. consider rubbing it in with foot. feel ashamed.

clean up olive oil.

If you're wondering what it's like to be a stay at home mama, here's a sample day.

And here we are. 9:51pm. Am hoping to read from 10:20-10:30, and then fall fast asleep.

Some words from CS Lewis, via Bubba

My brother -- truly one of the finest human beings on the planet -- asked me tonight to edit one of his seminary papers for a class he is taking. And like always, his words floored me. He floored me first with his vast knowledge of church history, doctrine and theology. Then he floored me with his unique perspective and insight. And finally he floored me the simple gracefulness of his words, illustrating complex ideas in such subtle, beautiful, Bubba-tinted language. Like a song. I am so proud of him, everyday. Truly.

He wrote about CS Lewis tonight, whom he writes about so often. One of his literary heroes and personal role models. After I finished his paper, I started reading some of Lewis's work myself, and came across this whopper, which I then jotted down on a note card and taped to my fridge:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

Goodnight.

Back from Minnesota

A few pics from our annual Minnesota trip, where we celebrated Zach's high school graduation and remarkable achievements, kept Tate away from the stairs, slept with the windows open, watched Tyler attempt to blow out 40 birthday candles, talked politics late into the night, and marveled at how fast time flies, how fast kids grow.

To see pics, click on the image above...

Beach therapy

OH, wehavebeensosick. Tate's illness was not mushroom-related at all, it was just the good old fashioned stomach flu. And after he got it, I got it. And then Chad got it. And right when Chad and I were bent over the toilet, begging for mercy...Tate got better! And wanted to PLAY!!

Since I was still feeling weak and my stomach muscles felt like they had been taken to with a meat cleaver, I decided it was time to go to the beach. My logic? Well, a 3 hour round-trip drive gave me much needed time to recuperate without toddler-chasing, instead singing songs and pointing at horses and motorcycles and logging trucks. And once we got there, it was pure joy to see Tate. He has been to the beach before, but he could never *explore* it like he can now.

First, he planted his feet firmly in the sand and he just looked around like "WHAT IN THE....."

Then, he found a paper bag. WOO!

Then, he found a crab.

Then, he saw a dog. Then kids. Running now. KITES. (Huge hit.) A pail with a shovel in it. Then...oh my gosh....the water.

Actually, the huge body of water he saw wasn't even the ocean. It was a tidal pool that I let him run up to. To him, it was a vast and magical place where his toes could disappear in the cold sand as the water rushed between them. He literally squealed.

Oh, and if you are wondering why Tate is wearing a huge sweatshirt, and where all of the bikini-clad women are, remember: this is an Oregon beach. Look at what this poor kid had to wear for his day o' fun in the sun.