green green, everywhere green

The Leprechauns caused mischief at school today. They left desks overturned, papers strewn about the floors, and piles of gold coins and chocolates. I took my camera out at lunch time to snatch up all that green. Believe me, there was a TON of it!

I was inspired to capture all the green today when I remembered that I had done a similar thing last year.

I think I have begun a St. Patrick's Day tradition here on this blog...

...a collage o'green.

slush puppie lovin'

This was a "moment" we had Saturday evening at the fair. In the middle of kid chaos they discovered the Slush Puppie display. There were some bummed feelings over the fact that there were not enough "puppies" to accommodate all of the kiddos, hence the dejected middle-man there in the picture below. But not to fear! We sorted it out with individual slushie pictures, and thus the very fun and colorful collage above. Hurray! Peace and harmony won in the end.

And now it is Monday and I am off and running towards a very crazy next two weeks which will end with a visit to my very favorite place. I am counting down the days.

Happy Monday!
xoxo

good to the last lick?

Me: Bean, what are you doing?! Are you seriously licking that bubble?

Bean: Yep.

Because that is exactly the first thing that crosses your mind to try when you blow bubbles. Right?

(thoughtful pause)

No, me neither.

On another note, we just had a Daddy-Bean-Mama evening as Z was off at a slumber party.

We let her choose anywhere for dinner. It was a hard toss up between Subway, McDonalds, and Carls Jr. She chose Subway (and that awful red colored power drink that her brother introduced to her, which I told her was her last one ever.) I am not a fan of any of those places, but if I had to choose, it would be Subway for its semi-ability to make a semi-nutritious fast food option. That is if you don't get the hot pastrami sandwich, a bag of chips, and a red colored drink. Which no one in my family got this time, but I'm just using that as an example.

We ate our sandwiches on lawn chairs in our driveway. Then came in to play a round of Payday with bowls of Moose Tracks to accompany us. I did not eat any this time, but I will say that it is the deadliest temptation to have ever entered my home. My hubby knows this and offers an apologetic eye when he sees me spot him carrying it in from the store. At that moment you can hear a dagnabit! escape from my mouth.

Then we watched a 1976 episode of Hello Kitty which, hello, I never knew existed until a few hours ago when I discovered it on insta-Netflix. I completely missed that part of my Hello Kitty obsession in my pre-adolescent years. The hubby and I looked at each other over Bean's head while watching the show and gave each other a agreeing look of, this is HORRIBLE. (So much so that I quietly picked up my novel, Mockingjay, a must-read, to relieve me of the torture.) Of course Bean loved it. And there's TWELVE more episodes to watch. And TWO more seasons on Netflix, which will be our little secret. (Wink)

And because the HK episode was a long 30 minutes we ended the night with a Veggie Tales movie about a princess and lots of singing peas. I totally missed the plot line as I was still stuck in my book, but I did look up from time to time to witness the Veggies lifting and holding things with their invisible arms. Does that seem odd to anybody else but me??

Bean is now asleep in our room in the "Bean Bed": her second bed, on the floor next to ours, which is relegated to those nights when it is too scary to sleep in her own, or, which she informed us, is the bed she comes to when she just "feels like visiting us" in the middle of the night. So glad she is old enough now to articulate this because since she was a wee one I have often wondered about her night waking motives.

And now as I type I do believe that Scott has probably already hit the R.E.M. stage himself. This means that the house is quiet. It is a Saturday night. Church does not start until 10am tomorrow, which means that I can crawl into bed and read until I finish my book.  

And that, my friends, is a glorious way to end my Saturday. 

xoxo

Yep. All boy.

All boy. All the time.
Energetic, snot-nosed, messy-mouthed, tough-skinned, opinionated, train-lovin', snack-lovin', fast growin', and heart breakin' blue-eyed. Yes he's a ball chaser, dirt lover, and little dog obsessed.
(Might just drive a big 'ol Ford one day.)
He's a big boy wannabe, let-me-tell-you-how-it's-gonna-be, creature of habit.

Let this be a warning:

He's not gonna give up his Y chromosomal ways any time soon. Nope.

 And you'll never be able to catch him.

A little day trip to Fort Ross

In 1812, they landed on the northwestern coast of the Americas eager to expand upon their sea otter fur trade industry and explore what the Americas could offer. They traveled across the seas from Russia and  could not have landed at more beautiful spot along the American coastline. 

If you were a Russian sailor, fur trader, or one of the Alaskan natives they "brought" with them, you would have first built your settlement, your fortress, to protect you from the Spanish that had come from the south, or the natives that had been there since time began.

You would have established a home.

And a place to worship your god in the orthodox way you were used to.

Someone among you would have fashioned a bell to call you to worship.

(And it would ring two centuries later on a foggy July morning.)

Your settlement would extend beyond your fortress and travel south as you built your farms and your community. A walk along the bluffs, with a majestic view of the ocean, would be your daily dose of medicine. You would never tire of the beauty as you thanked God for leading you to such a paradise.

 

As those of your own passed on you would find a small hill to claim as a resting place. You would mark their graves with the orthodox cross, watching the community of the dead grow in numbers: a reminder that your home is not here on earth. 

You would have grown used to the hard work, the mild weather, the dance of fog and sun in the summer months, the rhythmic sound of the surf, the salt on your skin. Your life among the mild, peaceful, coastal  elements would have been in stark contrast to that of your country of birth.

Two hundred years later as I stepped foot inside their fortress, and walked the land they once occupied, it was not hard to imagine that they would have welcomed the change.

*******

For more info on Fort Ross, click here. For an explanation of the grave crosses, click here.

Mother's Day

It is Mother's Day and I am posting a picture my hubby snapped while we were on the beach yesterday. To be on the other side of the lens for once is kind of nice. After uploading this picture I had a few mental notes:

1. Pretty good composition Pal. Way to go. Like I'm not sure if I could have done better?

2. Nice wind-blown look, but it's kinda...fresh. Blustery can be beautiful?

3. When my son starts parting his hair in the middle like Luke Skywalker, it's time to call my girlfriend up and get him in for a hair cut.

4. I can't remember the last time I actually had a picture like this with my children. I am sooooo thankful I handed the hubby my camera. 

So we took my parents over to the coast yesterday afternoon on a pre-Mother's Day outing. Our mission was to get to the beach and more importantly dine at Phil's Fish Market--a local place that serves up some pretty tasty grub. It's right on the beach and always packed. I received quite the teasing for calling it Fred's Fish Shack. I can still hear my mom on the phone, "I've never heard of Fred's Fish Shack...but I've eaten at Phil's Fish Market." And then in the car on the way there I got an earful from everyone. Personally, I like my alliteration the best, so whatever.

I really do not have a lot of pictures with my mom in them so I made a point to snap some of her with me and her grand kids, despite the fact that she complained she wasn't camera ready (lipstick). Fuey with it mom. You need to have more pictures with those who love you!

In honor of her today I want to share what I love about her...

She loves her children and grandchildren passionately. 

She has a sensitive heart.

She values friendship...is a friend to me!

She is also a faithful friend and keeps in touch with those she has known all her life. My most vivid memories of growing up were of being with family friends, lots of them. I believe this instilled in me the same natural bent to fostering friends and having a large circle of them.

She loves to be with me..and my family.

My family adores her. My kids LOVE Grammy. For this, I am so blessed.

She is a woman of prayer. I have always known that my mom is my number one prayer fan. In fact, she probably prays more for me than I do for myself. 

She loves nature...flowers, the beach, road trips.

She is always willing to learn about herself and grow, even when it is hard, and exhausting.

She is still married (and still deeply my loves) my father. To have two parents together, forever, is more than a blessing. It's a gift.

She loves my husband like a son. That top picture of her in the collage? Laughing at him...because he can tease her and she loves it.
She has always let me be me. Supported me.

She will drop anything to go shopping with me.

She loves to talk with me.

She is a my number one fan. Always encouraging. Always believing in me, often more than I am in myself.

For all these things I am thankful and aware that I am blessed with a mother who has loved me without inhibition. I have always felt her love and known of its presence and influence in my life. It has shaped who I am, decisions I have made, and ultimately how I have mother my own children. I cannot imagine my life without her.

So on this day Mom, know that I love you, I love you, I love you. I am so thankful to have you in my life and hope your day is spent in with the knowledge of how much you mean to me...which is a lot, a ton, more than I can hold, or express, or ever completely show you.

Happy Mother's Day

xoxo

blame it on the DNA

Do you not know that a magnetic attraction pulls a boy towards anything with wheels? (An appropriate simile would be "like a moth drawn to the light.") He spots them in a pile of toys. He glues himself to the window when the garbage truck comes by. He dreams of driving a train. Thomas the Tank is his BFF. Almost every parent of a boy eventually declares his son to be the most avid of wheel lovers. 

One day not long after his birth, we stand and watch in disbelief as he utters his first vroom vroom. Dad turns to us and says, "I never taught him that! Did he hear it from someone? He must have heard it somewhere?!"  I am certain there is an undiscovered gene marker for "making vehicle noises" hidden deep in their DNA code. (There is also probably another gene marker for "making guns and using all manner of gun noises" wouldn't you agree mothers?) Because if you are a mother of a boy you swear that his boyness is eerily innate.  It is just a simple truth, a boy is just plain tickled by anything that has wheels. Don't even try to understand it.

This little guy is just the sweetest. The crazy thing? We share a sliver of the same DNA. Not that I am a lover of wheels, but we are blood related. His mother and I are third cousins, but grew up like sisters. She has known me the longest of any of my friends and our mothers played as girls. It was an odd feeling to watch him tinker on the ground with his new set of wheels and know that, even if we do not share the same wheel obsession, we are connected by blood and ancestry.

And then to see my 10 year old bend down and join him in taking those wheels for a spin gave me a chuckle. No matter that my son is 8 years the elder, he too is still drawn to the set of wheels, like a moth to the light. For a brief moment, these two vroom vroomed together in quiet acknowledgment of their shared DNA.

Yep. They're related.

weekend finds

Ready to hear about my weekend "finds"?

I went away to the mountains this past weekend--a retreat with some women, friends, sisters.

We were retreating from motherhood for a weekend to get some space, refresh, have uninterrupted conversation. The men held down the forts back at home, fed our kids pancakes and grilled cheeses for dinner, stayed up late and played Monopoly. Oh, and all slept in the same bed. While putting my daughter to bed last night she said, "Mama, I'm so glad your home. When you're home everything is normal." 

So I'll begin my weekend finds with one that is actually my daughter's: It is good to have Daddy time and do things the Daddy Way (sometimes), but deep down she must admit that routine, sugar-free meals, and restful sleep are actually good for her body and soul. (Do I dare say my job is done?)

Find number two: When you leave your camera in the car (up in the mountains) without the lens cap on the lens will gather condensation, and then continue to fog up in the warming morning air, after every wipe. Good for my patience level? No. But good for softening little bokeh that are dancing on the edges of the picture? Yes. 

Finds numbered three through fourteen are listed below.

I found that...

3. I love little turquoise stars. Simple as that. 4. Rusted old scales hanging in an antique shop look cool.  5. The knees of my jeans will get soaked on a dewy damp lawn when attempting to stoop to tiny daisy flower level.   6. My friend loves colored depression glass. (I love learning something new about a friend!)   7. I wanted to take this little clay pot with me but thought it was cuter in his cubby home so I left it undisturbed.   8. You can find your reflection in an antique Juice-o-matic.   9. I'd rather pick up my camera than pick up a book. Which is saying a lot because I am an avid reader.  10. Spotting a swing with out one of my children in it, just makes me miss my children.  11. I love numbers and letters. But I already knew this so it's not really a new find. This 8 was cool though. 12. Broken windows are only cool on other people's buildings.  13. I need to plant some flowers so I can have this little flower pot.  14. Little blue glass ink pots tucked away in a little home make me smile.

Find number fifteen: standing in the center of a grove of California Redwoods is a spiritual experience. Maybe it's something about the majesty of their height or the fact that they grow in families. Their roots grow shallow but spread out for hundreds of feet, entangling their roots with each other to form a massive support system. A new find? No, but one that I am reminded of when I stand at the feet of a Royal Redwood. Strength is not found in singularity but in community. A lesson I seem to forget.

And lastly, find number sixteen? Discovered after I came home when I finally got around to checking my email inbox. My collage entry for iheartfaces from last week won 6th place out of over 500 entries. What a sweet surprise. :) And my mother knew before me, who told my hubby. So I guess find number seventeen would be discovering that my mom is my number one fan, seeing as how she made it a point to check the iheartfaces website this weekend, while I had completely forgot about the contest and would not have thought to look until probably tomorrow. Hmmm, maybe find number eighteen would be: I need to go away more often because clearly my brain can't hold it all. 

Did you find anything exciting this past weekend? Do tell.

 Happy Monday! 

Umbrella Outtakes...Oh JOY!

The following are left overs from our umbrella time. This one below...I know she is my daughter, but I think she is the most beautiful Bean on this planet, inside and out.  I do love her so.

And these pictures below...a testimony to her Bean-ness. As I was looking at these, my memory flashed before me scenes of her as a baby: smiley and joyful, easy (except for the sleep thing), and relational. She would smile at anyone, anything, a doorknob. She would beam a smile at you from across the room when you walked by. In her toddler years that smiley disposition developed into a sense of humor that caught us off guard. Knee slapping laughter. Nights of trying to make her big brother laugh after we put them to bed in a shared room. Where did this come from? Maybe she inherited some of her dad's wit, or Papa's corniness? When we review old videos we are reminded of how early she caught onto the understanding that laughter engages people. And she is, to this day, fond of being with people. (Dinner time is social hour, she is the last to clean off her plate.)  As she has grown older she has become quite articulate, and hilariously frank.  She is a sensitive, soft, tender, and emotive soul, blended together with a kick of comedic relief that still catches us off guard. As I write this I wonder if all parents think their child is the funniest creature on the earth? Perhaps so. But now that I pause and reflect,  I realize that Bean is just a joyful joyful creature. And that joy bleeds out the seams and cracks of her skin. 

She is still that baby that smiles at life, because she believes that life is worthy of her joy.

I am so blessed to be her mama.

iheartfaces challenge: collages (I heart collages!)

Last night, Bean and I went outside after dinner to play with our new umbrella. I was strolling through a store a few days ago and this umbrella was waiting for a nice person like me to purchase it for only $6.99. Bean is a lover of umbrellas. (She was devastated when her Hello Kitty one broke recently.) With more spring rain coming our way this week, I thought Bean might like to sport a spiffy new umbrella. 

Bean + cute umbrella = fun pictures.

I put my two favorite pictures together for the iheartfaces weekly photo challenge.

It's collage week over there. My favorite! I heart collages.
I especially heart Bean collages.
Go check out all the other fun pictures over at iheartfaces.

What to do with an unwilling subject...

Fire off a gazillion frames in hopes of catching a good one?

And then put the unwilling subject in a time out.

What a stinker.

Happy Monday blogging world!

xoxo


p.s. If you didn't check in yesterday, read about the unwilling subject's special family story.
It is way more touching than today's post. :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you...

...Lily the Great!
(Can I just say how much I like this girl and she's not even my own.)

Her lovely mother asked me to take some pictures because she had a vision of "pictures in a field". 

"No more of the tired Sears portraits," she said. Ok. I can't do boring, tired Sears portraits anyway.

So we headed out to a nearby field (there are a lot of them in this town) and then made our way up to a local winery (there are also a lot of those).

So yeah, I didn't know until after our time that Miss Lily is totally allergic to outside stuff (pollen, springy type things) and I was totally dragging her through the fields and flowers like we were on some Sound of Music shoot.  But she was totally game for it all. (She's Lily the Great!)

And did you know that she is a master bubble blower? Of course. Not all Lily's are great, but this one is for sure. And she even had to battle some breeze to get those bubbles to work. (And I had to fire off a gazillion pictures to get those bubbles before they popped. It was a work out people.)

We headed up to the winery to check the place out. I had never taken photos up there before, but I heard it was lovely. And, oh my, it was. Made me want to get married again (to the same man) just so I could have my guests overlook the vineyards and we could dance on the terrace. (And then we could leave for a month long honeymoon to somewhere sunny and coastal.)

Lily did her own dancing on the terrace, making that skirt twirl and billow with air. 

I loved the band aids. There is nothing else in the world that screams I am a little kid more than two knees patched up by band aids.

We headed back down to the fields one more time just to capture Lily and her mom in the setting sun. I just love Lily looking right at me, hanging onto her mom, the sun pouring over their hair...

Now. Here's where I was about to end my post. But I thought it wouldn't be complete without me tagging on some outtakes. My favorite part of watching a movie is heading straight to the special features section to see if there is a gag reel. (Am I the only one?) Anyway, after spending a couple of hours with these two I discovered very quickly that these two are stand up comedians. Mom should really quit her day job and become a talk show host. Lily will be the comic relief. The two had this funny, playful vibe going on that was just hysterical. So, this is for you mom...

Lily's still blowing bubbles...

Sweet Lovely Lily. 

When I asked her what her mom was doing behind me, this is what she gave me.

Two peas in a pod, I tell ya.

(Seriously, the could have their own talk show.)