|
Monthly Archives: May 2011
It’s a perfect way to describe this past week. The beautiful pause between summer and spring, full of flowers, weddings, sweet, ripe produce and blessed days outdoors.
gorgeous cherries- a taste of summer
This past week was (besides the haircut fiasco) pretty uneventful. While poor Daddy worked long and hard this week, we spent our time cleaning house and soaking up some vitamin D in the back yard.
four year old organization
napping in swimsuits
Summer is so close, we can taste it.
————————————————————–
:: Daddy and I escaped for a little Friday night day for a wedding rehearsal dinner. Next Friday we celebrate five years since our wedding day.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love this guy?
:: Although the garden isn’t exactly what I dreamed this spring, a lot of good things have been coming out of it.
Lessons learned, for one. My little gardener is learning a lesson in persistence. Each day we are out there fighting off the growing population of pesky bugs who are feasting on our lettuces, broccoli and tomatoes.
And delicious food. While I’m always hoping to grow more and better, the nutritious food we pluck from the garden never ceases to amaze us.
We made eggplant parmesan tonight, with just-picked eggplant, fresh herb infused tomato sauce and a fresh herb breadcrumb crust.
my perfectly imperfect tomatoes
How many times have I said “fresh” and “delicious”?
Seriously.
Eggplant parmesan with italian broccoli, fresh baked bread and a good bottle of pinot noir
I spent most of the afternoon plucking goods from the garden, blending up fresh herbed breadcrumbs, blanching and peeling tomatoes and baking bread. It felt so good. Mr. B turned my tomato puree into the best batch of sauce I’ve ever tasted in my life. Nothing beats an afternoon cooking with my sweetie.
:: I’ve finally come to terms with the haircut. Actually, I’ve warmed up to Miss Peep’s new do quite a bit. It’s sassy, cute and it leaves exposed a most favorite sweet spot that I have long enjoyed smooching on my first baby…
The nape of a sweet little neck. I can never resist.
:: We’ve had a few first blooms outside.
hello sunflower
first ranunculus bloom
We also have this mystery weed that we just can’t identify. I am dying of curiosity, what in the world is it?? It looks like thyme to me, but searches in google and in numerous field guides have given us no answers. Does anyone out there know what our mystery weed is?
:: This week was exactly what we needed to recover from all of the previously busy days spent away from home. Restful, relaxing, doing our thing at home.
A long quiet week at home followed by a fun weekend wedding was the perfect combination this week.
And the long weekend was a plus. Today I am thinking about all of our friends who have not returned home to their families. Will you please pray for Matt Ferrara and his family? It’s been almost four years since his life was lost in Afghanistan and I’m sure his family still misses him every day. I’m so thankful for every soldier who takes the risk to protect us, especially my own.
————–
Here is to another good week! Blessings to you and yours
~B
Posted in adventures in cooking, adventures in gardening, cooking garden bounty, days of spring, hubby, lovebites, my babies, spring garden
Tags: almost summer, amelia, asher, basil, blooms, date night, eggplant, eggplant parmesan, garden, gardening, spring garden, sweet spots, tomato
I never dreamed this day would come so soon, but alas, it has.
Baby got her first haircut today, courtesy of big brother.
chopped baby curls. oh.
Foolishly, I had a pair of small hair trimming scissors stored in the back of a drawer in my bathroom. The kids have even seen me trim my own bangs in the sink from time to time, but I thought we had established that they were only for Mama’s use.
Cartoons were on and I was in the kitchen starting coffee and getting breakfast together. I saw Asher get up and walk back to my bathroom, but I assumed he was going to actually use the bathroom. After a few minutes, Asher wandered back out into the living room, nonchalantly, and continued watching cartoons. Amelia wandered out after him, but headed back towards her own bedroom. As I followed her to be sure the door to the craft studio was closed, I noticed that her hair looked a bit lopsided. I smiled to myself thinking that her big brother had attempted to put it back in a little ponytail for her, but as I moved in closer and reached out to touch her locks, my heart dropped.
They were gone.
All but a few wispy tufts in the back had been chopped and my mind was racing wildly to think of how it could have happened. After checking her over for any real injury, I realized that there was no way she could have done this to herself. I yelled for Asher to come this instant….
Luckily it was just the back. The front is still in good condition…
Honestly, I am a little embarrassed to recount my reaction from this point on. I found a tiny lock on the carpet as I waited for Asher to come back and talk to me and as I picked the wispy chestnut tendril up, I broke down in tears. My baby’s hair. These hairs have been growing on her head since she was tucked warm inside mama’s tummy. We marveled at them on the day she finally came out to meet us. I’ve washed, brushed and twisted those little locks around my fingers every day for the past year and a half. And now they are gone.
Asher admitted that he had cut her hair. He cut it, put it all in the trash can, returned the scissors to the drawer and returned to his cartoons. I was so heartbroken that I couldn’t even yell at him, I just kept crying as gathered her tiny locks from the bathroom trashcan and kept asking him why he had done it. Then I sent him to his room to have a time out and think about what he had done and after I collected myself, we had a serious talk about the danger of using scissors and the fact that you can’t undo cut hair.
The poor guy was so freaked out by my crying jag. I’ve never seen him so remorseful for something he has done.
I truly don’t think he understood the danger or permanency of cutting his little sister’s hair, but I dare say he won’t ever attempt it again.
So sis has a sassy new summer bob going on now (after I gathered my courage and cut the last few remaining curls off) and although she doesn’t seem upset in the least by what happened, she has been reaching back to twist her little fingers in the locks that were once there.
Ah, a lesson learned. A tale to recount with laughter someday. Although I’m still finding it a little tough to laugh right now, what’s life if you can’t find the humor in it?
Hair will grow and sentimental hearts will mend.
And motherhood is a wild ride that I still wouldn’t trade for the world.
{Also a little thank you to all of my facebook friends who offered virtual hugs, comic relief and shared their similar stories this morning. I totally needed that!}
We all have them from time to time.
Parenting has no lack of them, to be sure.
Sun peeks over the edge of our little world. Smiles and kisses wake a sleepy mama. Eyes open to behold messes of chestnut bedhead, deep chocolate eyes and I wonder at just how blessed I am.
Then suddenly someone feels hungry. And thirsty. An elbow inadvertently slams my face. Someone got scratched and a stuffed friend is snatched away. Wails erupt and tears flow.
I roll out of bed, feet meet the floor to start a new day, and I’m feeling a bit volcanic myself.
In times like these, love is a decision.
Of course I love these little people much more than mere words could describe, but love isn’t just a feeling, no, and love in action is sometimes a daunting challenge.
This challenge is not one unique to parenting. I’d venture to say that it’s one of life’s biggest challenges, really. It’s not easy to show love to anyone when your hurt, tired, betrayed or just plain having a lame day.
In the moments I find myself challenged to act love, I find that my biggest weapon against a temper lost, is to pause for a moment and force myself to be truly present. A long look into the eyes of my beloved. A deep breath, a whispered prayer. When I force myself to be truly present, it’s much easier to act in love.
I don’t always succeed, but the memory of my failures serves as a catalyst that leads me back to love. And learning from mistakes, using them to better yourself, well, that’s all you can really do with failures.
When you force annoyance to become compassion, frustration to become patience, things are so much better. Stand squarely, face to face with Emotion, and then be true to your heart. Don’t be governed by the storms of Emotion, lightning flashing wild with frustration and anger. Govern yourself according to the peace in your heart.
Remember this mama.
This morning, after cooking, serving, fetching juice, kissing boo-boos, and cleaning spills, all I wanted to do was sit down and eat my own, now cold, breakfast. But baby girl had a scratch on her toe and she just couldn’t get over it. As soon as I sunk into my seat, hanging onto my last shred of patience, she stood in hers, crying, arms outstretched to me. We all know that eating a meal without child in lap tends to be more peaceful, especially when you are seriously hungry and ready to get down to business. I felt the frustrated words bubbling up within, my protests to her desires, defense of my own right to sit and eat in peace after serving everyone else. But then I looked square into those milk chocolate eyes, sparkling with tears, and there was no stopping my own arms from reaching out in return.
And breakfast with my girl in lap? Made my morning. I didn’t even have to feed myself, as she performed that duty with pleasure. Tears dried, smiles reappeared and not only did I finally get to eat my food, I got to nibble on some sweet cheeks for dessert.
Oh love.
There will always be tough days.
And I find that they can always be turned around, with love.
So, I’ve been whining on facebook that our local weather-folks keep predicting rain, but then gray clouds come and sit upon us and don’t bless us with a drop.
Well, finally it rained.
The thing in Texas is, when it finally rains, it rains.
So I may need to add a bit of topsoil to the garden now, but overall the rain was good to us.
In between the lightning and torrential downpour, birthday suits and goggles were all the rage.
And so was cozy time spent indoors.
a german-style cucumber salad with fresh tomato, onion and dill from the garden
And I finally decided to turn a sweet bit of fabric I’ve been saving into a skirt for my girl.
It look me less than an hour to stitch together and the way my sweetie beams and twirls in it makes me wonder why I haven’t crossed this “to-do” off the list sooner.
These rainy days have been good to us.
And the house is looking much cleaner.
Ah home.
Don’t you love the feeling of being home- especially after days or weeks of busyness, craziness/and or being out of town?
Asher asked me the other day, while we were making the drive from the Ballarta residence in Pflugerville to downtown Austin for Kyle’s graduation ceremony, “Mama, are we ever going to go home and sleep in our very own house again?”. He was having a blast visiting, but like his mama, the guy just starts to miss his own bed after a few nights…
So that’s how I’m feeling right now, loving the fact that we are home, but it’s also mixed with a rainbow of emotions that are leftover from wonderful time spent and events celebrated with family and friends, from in and out of town.
Plus, right now I’m completely overwhelmed by the post-hurricane state of mess that our house is in. Cause that’s what happens when you have virtually no recovery time between fun events and visits and now the piles of clean and dirty laundry and toys that are strewn throughout are pretty much ridiculous. There is so much to be cleaned and all I want to do is wander around the garden sipping coffee and watch my happy babes run through the green grass in naked childhood bliss.
Clean-up will come along with a string of quiet days spent at home. *happy sigh*
————————————————-
Lovebites from the week….
:: The Casey’s have gone back to Washington and we already miss them so much (and are bummed that we never got to see Uncle Brian).
:: Uncle Kyle completed his MBA and we spent the weekend with family celebrating. It was crazy, busy and so much fun.
This little guy always knows what will make everyone laugh. When his antics are especially cute, it’s like I have this whole mamarazzi crew snapping photos of him. Sometimes I can hardly catch a photo of myself.
I love that my babies are so loved.
cheesy brother pose
Still enjoying beautiful Texas spring days. Warm enough, but not too hot yet.
Play at Lolo and Lola’s house always involves some sort of old tactical training gear. Asher refers to the flesh-colored dummy as the “mad guy”. He always comes out to play in the front yard with sidewalk chalk…
punk brother
they spray each other in the face with water hoses now, but someday when they are grown they will have this
:: In between the chaos of nights spent in Georgetown saying goodbye to the cousins and graduation weekend extravaganza in Austin, I escaped for a quiet hour on my own to collect my thoughts, energy and inspiration while wandering through the little antique market just down the road.
While usually the solace and inspiration- priceless things this little place gifts me with- are the main things I am seeking when I visit, I usually find a few material treasures to bring home as well. This visit scored me two vintage suitcases and a small stack of fabric.
I really wanted to bring this little teapot home but I refrained. If I spot him again on another visit I doubt I’ll have the strength to say no to him twice.
It’s hard for me to ask for a break sometimes, but if I never ask I injure not only myself but the entire team I am playing for.
They deserve my best. And to be my best, sometimes I need a moment alone to recharge.
I am so blessed I have a fellow team captain that totally gets this.
giving a little speech at his brother’s graduation party
:: We also got to see a few old Army friends this past week, they feel pretty much like family and it was so good to see them. One of them was in Dallas for work and came down at the last minute for a quick weekend surprise visit. The other, our dear “Uncle Holtie” (Amelia’s godfather), was back for his mid-tour leave and he and his sweet fiance came down for a few day getaway for some alone time and quick visit with us.
Nick, looking unaffected
Rachel and Kevin. Tying the knot in December as soon as he is home from Afghanistan!
cheesy pose- classic awkward family photo blog submission
———————————————————————————-
There are so many definitions of home, because home really isn’t about a place. It’s about who your with.
Mom and Dad’s in Georgetown. Late hours spent laughing in an old English pub downtown. Sitting on the roof of Whole Foods with with old friends, catching up. A house in Pflugerville that holds four generations of family members and many of my husband’s youthful memories. A cluttered little house in Killeen.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros sum it up well for me right now…
“Ah home,
let me come home,
home is whenever I’m with you.
Ah, home,
I’m comin home,
home is when I’m alone with you.”
It feels good right now to be home.
tired mama and daddy, ready to be home
Posted in days of spring, hubby, lovebites
Tags: army friends, extended family, family party, grandparents, great grandparents, home, kevin and rachel, kyle graduation, nick, pflugerville
« Older posts
|
by mamabrit
3 comments