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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

A Slow Week

I'm thrilled it's Thanksgiving break at last. The Squirt is off of school and we are taking a little family vacay which means cartoons, coffee, slow mornings and loads of family time. 

In the vein of keeping things low-key during a slow week... a little list for y'all. 

making: headway cleaning out my closet
drinking: Earl Grey tea and more tea and more tea. It's the coziest.

wanting: to develop a capsule wardrobe
watching: The Voice. I die for Anita. Also - The Walking Dead. Obviously.

listening: to the tinkle of tiny Legos being dug through
eating: these Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese filling

smelling: artisan bread in the oven
wishing: I could lose the last 5 pounds without changing the way I eat

enjoyingreading The Long Winter (by Laura Ingalls Wilder) out loud with the kids
loving: celebrating 9 years this week with B Daddy
hoping: that our "vacation" to the beach and to see family is somewhat restful
needing: nothing. Life is good.
feeling: at peace with this season of life.

wearing: black yoga pants, a white v-neck and my grey Inside Out hoodie
bookmarking: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. Y’all this book is legitimately hilarious. It would make a great post-turkey read.


Happy Thanksgiving friends! I'm grateful you read and respond to this little place on the big bad Internet. 








Monday, November 17, 2014

The End of an Era


I pulled everything out and made sure it was washed. Then I neatly folded all the sweaters, the jeans, the t-shirts, the tunics, the tank tops, the shorts and the bathing suits. There was the angora sweater Mom bought me when we found out I was expecting. I smiled when I tucked in the dress I wore to a friend's wedding while I was heavily pregnant with my first.  These were the shorts that saw me through those horribly hot days toward the end of my last pregnancy. That was the shirt I wore home from the hospital with Sweet B.

For almost a full year now a dusty box of maternity clothing has been lurking in the corner of my bedroom. As the seasons changed during this last pregnancy, items were called up for duty and then chucked back into it when I outgrew them or the season changed again.  It's been at least a month since I've worn anything in the box and today seemed like the day.

This collection of clothing was traded between my sister and I during each of our 8 pregnancies. Christmas gifts and birthday gifts from our families over the course of 6 years. Some were hand-me-downs my sister had gotten from her friends. There was a great pair of jeans in there from my good friend Leslie. A bathing suit I actually felt cute in from my dear friend Annie. These clothes covered the bellies that sustained the lives of more than 15 beautiful babies. It all came streaming back to me. The months - the YEARS - that these clothes covered my expanding and shrinking, expanding and shrinking to make room for new life.

And then I snapped the lid on and loaded it all in the back of our minivan.

I drove to a local charity that supports women in crisis during pregnancy and I set the boxes down.

As I filled out a donation form for the receptionist I had a full-on mini-freak out. I'm not really going to donate all of this am I?!! Those jeans are super cute. As cute as jeans with a giant elastic waistband can be. What if I need them again?? Wait - what if I REALLY DON'T EVER need them again?

The hubs and I have had enough unplanned pregnancies to merit our own after-school special. We're both on the same page as far as closing this chapter of life goes.  But packing up all those clothes this morning made it feel very final. I'll go so far as to say I was the tiniest bit sad.

Fortunately a strange combination of pride (how awkward would it be to NOT donate this now that it's here?) and charity (there are girls here that actually NEED these clothes) prevailed and I left empty-handed.

I read somewhere that we never outgrow our attachment to sacred things, and if I've learned anything over the past 6 years, it's that motherhood is indeed a sacred thing, from the very first purchase of elastic-waist jeans right down to the last dusty box.


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Trick or Treat


Better late than never eh?

Last weekend was such a blast. Halloween is rapidly becoming one of my favorite holidays because it's pretty much no stress and all fun. Costumes and candy - it doesn't get much better from my point of view.

The Squirt has been really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for about 6 months now and declared back in June that he wanted to be Leonardo for Halloween. (My kids think about Halloween ALL YEAR LONG...anyone else?) Since this is likely the last year I'll have 4 very compliant trick-or-treaters, I declared it the year of the Ninja Turtles and we got rolling on costumes. This year I decided to forgo all sewing in favor of duck tape and fabric glue. (A brilliant decision if I do say so myself.) The base for the boys' costumes was a plain white t-shirt and sweatpants (plain white onesie for the New Kid).

A little Rit dye and voila! TMNT green. I used fabric glue to attach the "six pack" - cut from yellow felt. The initial emblems are cardboard circles cut from an old diaper box and covered in white duck tape. Used a Sharpie to write the letters. The masks and arm/leg bands are strips of old t-shirts. These were seriously the thriftiest costumes ever.
If you are having trouble convincing your daughter to go for your "boy" costume idea, just tell her "tutu" - works like a charm. There are a hundred tutorials for this tutu dress online and the supplies only cost about $10. It took around an hour and was all done while watching Project Runway. #winning
Our neighborhood does holidays right and we had a blast eating pizza (so appropriate right?) and hanging out with our favorite neighbors before the real action got started.
Sweet B and Blue Eyes turned around after 15 or so houses, but the Squirt and his buddy made it all the way around the block this year. 
On Saturday the kids even got to reprise their costumes for my Dad's 60th birthday party. Give these kids weapons and they are happy campers. 

How was your Halloween? Did you sew something amazing? Hit up Target? Or use duck tape and glue ala Leipprandts?

 
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