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Happy Easter! We’re back in the saddle here in Saint Paul after a whirlwind ten days on the East Coast. Overall, I’d say we traveled well. The kids had their moments of glory and moments of dolphin-like high-pitched protest screeches. You know. But the other adults & family we visited were amazing without any of those shrill sounds, surprisingly! Find me over at Blessed is She this week, Fumbling Towards Grace, and The Fisk Files. Sorry I’ve been kinda absent. Getting back in the groove of life back home. Nunu. She was my travel guru. Ready to prove her grandmotherly travel skills of shushing and soothing the baby, stern looks and sweet snuggles with the tantrum-filled toddler, along with hand-holding and whining-whispering the pre-k’er, she did it all. No one can keep up with her pace of walking with this double stroller that saved our bacon. We could never have navigated the airports, parks, and long stretches of sidewalk walking without it. Good thing she remembered to bring it. Tia KK. She is the ultimate auntie. Devoted to her nieces and nephews, she’s always ready to sing them a new song, play a freshly made-up game, or distract them from their deep distress over sharing. She saved all of us from even more crying my taking the saddest child in the room away to love them up. Cannot travel without her. Period. Tia B. My oldest sister runs the computery stuff for a really amazing international film/show streaming web service (think better than Netflix) called Drama…
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I love meeting ladies who are makers, doers, and creatives. It seems like a lot of us are. There’s a special kinship in my heart for these ladies so I bring you a little spring giveaway of products made by woman-owned small shoppes. Even if you don’t win, I hope you can support these ladies with your business. We have to help each other and when you buy from a local, woman owned business, you are supporting her love, passion, and hard work! 1. Store credit at Faberie. etsy * website * fb * pinterest * instagram I bring you Nadya and her sister Anna who co-founded Faberie, artisenal crafted goods. Yarn work, bead work, and pattern design are their passions. They sent over this merino wool hat & scarflet for the kids. How cool is this scarflet? It stays on because it pulls through a little opening so it can be as snug or loose as desired. I’m a fan. Weather-wise, needless to say March is in like a lion and staying like a lion here in the great midwest so the scarflet has covered those parts of BabyLoves I can’t really cover when we’re out for a walk in the sling. The baby wasn’t feeling like being held. Hardcore ab workout squiggles. And my kitchen is loving these cotton washcloths! The nubby parts make scrubbing at our granite countertop (no harsh scrubbers allowed, much to my constant annoyance due to crusty banana or oatmeal) easy. I’ve been using one…
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This is my week, encapsulated. 1. Wanna walk, Buddy? 2. Mom! Mom! He’s doing it! 3. No really, he’s like a drunken sailor in Tintin! 4. Boom! 5. What a yummy plastic toy, mama! 6. Bring it here, Buddy! 7. No? Keep it to yourself, then. If you want to read other people’s recaps of their week, probably, nay, definitely more interesting than mine, head to Kelly’s for the linkup.
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I have no time. I’m sure you don’t either. There’s no time for quality conversations with other adults. There’s no time for quality skin care (thank GOD for my sister’s products or I would look even older than I already felt). There’s not enough time to even make more time. So what do we do? We moms of littles. We moms of many. We moms of one. We working moms. We at home moms. We healthy moms. We struggling moms. We strong moms. We tired moms. We bold moms. We translucent moms. I’ve been hit hard with this. In some ways, since I had my third, I’ve been on the go. In other ways, I was so forced to stop and slow down I thought I’d never be able to have my get up & go again. We have traveled a lot, conference, other conference, weddings, family visits. But I also was in bed for almost two months after I had him because of that pesky infection in my uterus that knocked me supine. Time is slipping away, wriggling away from me. I never have enough time on the phone with my siblings. AA and I never have enough time with each other. I can never get enough of reading with my kids and answering their insistent questions. SuperBoy: So when we die, our bodies decompose, and the deer eat us? Me: Not necessarily the deer, but yes, our body will decompose. SuperBoy: Why not deer? Vultures? Moose? Black Bears? SweetPea: But why…
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My oldest sister gave her this for Christmas. We read it. Every. Single. Day. Sometimes twice. Bridget selected it because she knows I love yarn and she thought the messaging was good. Bridget always researches her gifts and makes great selections. And this one is a real winner. It’s literally a winner of the Caldecott Award. And the illustrations are to die for, and the tale a wonderful one. The story is about a little girl in a dismal town who finds a box of yarn. What she knits with that yarn changes the whole town. Even the trucks and trees get sweaters. Her box keeps giving and giving more and more yarn. There’s an evil archduke (don’t worry, he doesn’t win) who hires three robbers to steal it but for him? No yarn. It’s the triumphant message that you need love in your heart to share love. And yes, she gets the box back. I contacted the author and said I love your book so much–can I give some away to my blog readers?? Very kindly, HarperCollins Children’s division sent me two copies for you! And check out Mac’s website for other books. I can’t wait to get this one. And maybe this one. So hop over to instagram to win one, or enter the raffle below to win the other. USA only, sorry to say. And if you don’t win, please go and buy this for the children in your life. It’s a fabulous book! a Rafflecopter giveaway
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I didn’t get it. I didn’t get it at all before I had kids. Why my friends in law school would cancel. Why they would show up late, not dressed for the occasion, why they would leave early, why they would say no. No, I can’t come for brunch. No, I can’t come for late studying. No, I can’t come back to work on that binder review. I mean, I thought I got it. I babysat for a number of them. They had kids so that meant they were busy and had to worry about things like pediatric dentistry and kindergarten round up or maybe diaper rash. But I didn’t really get it. I didn’t know what it looked like to have a minivan full of small children after a long day of classes and the forecast of all night homework. And their husband was working evening shifts. And they missed a meeting we had scheduled. I didn’t get that when their wife just had a baby, maybe her infection would mean trips back to the hospital and no sleep and crying parents + baby. And therefore law review work wasn’t done. I didn’t get that enthusiasm for community events would be stamped out when their wailing shrieking no-napped toddlers has slammed their fingers in the coolers two too many times and I would be left to cleanup without some of the crew. I thought that they chose to have a family and make commitments to me, their studies, their whatever…
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