Seasons of love.

Not yet September, and I have an eight month old and a yard full of leaves.

The seasons are changing faster than I ever could have imagined. 

Now accepting applications.

Moms. Just because it's summer doesn't mean your children shouldn't be held to the highest educational standards!

At the Breyer Home For Our Two Children And Their Parents, kids are exposed to a rigorous academic curriculum and expected to develop anywhere from 10-15 new skills during the summer months. These skills include but are not limited to:

Table manners.

Literary appreciation. 

Lawn care.

Personal grooming.

Penmanship.

Photography.

The creative arts.

Physical fitness.

Basic mobility.

Risk-taking.

And accessorization.

 

Sure, this much learning in one summer may seem overzealous or even overbearing to some. But to those who doubt my methods I say:

Can you think of a better way to cram an entire summer's worth of random photos of me not teaching my kids anything into a single post? Because clearly I cannot.

A month and ten days ago.

Oh man, I'm behind. I have about a million pictures to share from this summer and no idea where to begin. I guess we'll start with the Fourth of July? Which probably isn't as far back as I need to go, but whatever.

I thought it would be really neat to make Calvin's pancakes in the shape of stars. Of course I wasn't the one making the pancakes. Despite his mild annoyance at my suggestion, he did it anyway.

Unfortunately, Calvin didn't eat them. Any of them.

In the future, Nate will probably ignore my neat ideas.

Patriotic Bub. Flag hat courtesy of school. I love America as much as the next girl, but that hat is a bit much.

This hat, however, is not. Thanks, Nana.

 Allie came over to play. It was over 100 degrees outside, so there was a lot of this. Look familiar? 

We set off some serious fireworks. Like this one. And a worm. And those snapper things.

I chilled a bit on the toddlers with sparklers thing this year. Good thing, too — Cal and Allie were way into them.

 

Arthur, not so much. He was into our remote.

Eh, maybe next year.

Brain dump.

After having taken most of the summer off from blogging — excluding some lazy posts consisting solely of cute pictures of my kids — you'd better believe I have a few things to throw your way.

It's list time, yo.

(Anyone else follow that up with some sort of 90s "doot doot doot doot, doot doot doot" beat? No? Yeah, me neither.)

1. I've found the perfect shoe. Made by Aerosoles. I don't know if this makes me an old lady or if this makes me brilliant because it is both perfect AND comfortable, but I don't really care. It took me a couple of years, but I am finally wearing an inexpensive wedge sandal that fits my wide foot and goes with everything.

I really I hope I have the same luck when I begin my upcoming search for tall, flat, cognac leather boots. The mere thought of this search stresses me out. Darn you, bunions.*

2. One of the downfalls to our new schedule is going to be TV. In that neither of us will be able to watch whatever we want on it. I've only had to share the remote 1-2 evenings a week for the past decade, so this every night business is going to take some getting used to. Nate is currently engrossed in Breaking Bad; I am obsessed with Downton Abbey. Neither of us has interest in the other. Luckily, we share an affinity for Friday Night Lights, which we've just gotten back into after kind of forgetting about it. But what are we going to do this fall? Nate doesn't want to watch Law & Order: SVU or Grey's Anatomy (oh, Lexie!) and I don't want to watch Monday Night Football or Hell's Kitchen. I suppose we could create some sort of TV watching schedule. Or, you know, turn off the tv and talk to each other.

Eh. Probably the schedule.

3. You should make this salad. It appears to make a TON (truly, I wasn't sure how I was going to mix it, even in my enormous mixing bowl) but turns out after you go back for seconds, thirds, and sevenths, there's really not that much left.

4. I have an odd fascination with colored pants right now. I feel like I want some, but I also feel like they would look horrible on me. And that I'd never wear them because of the horribleness. I am typically pretty willing to take a chance on new trends (see: capri pants, spring 1999), yet I am waffling a bit on this one. But how cute would a pair of pink or red cropped pants be with a jean jacket and black flats? HMMM.

Stay tuned. And if I do show up anywhere wearing pink or red pants, please be kind despite the almost certain horribleness. Points should always be given for fashion bravery, friends. Always. Unless we're talking Chloe Sevigny, who is not so much brave as she is blind. At least I assume that's the case, as there's really no other explanation.

5. Guess who's coming back to town? Guess who has tickets to see him? And guess who didn't have to call her husband to see if he could request time off work so she could go because starting Monday he will be home in the evening?!

I feel like that wasn't a very difficult quiz, but the answers are 1) Joshua Radin 2) Me (and my friend Barbara) and 2) Me

What are the odds I'll have pinkeye again? (Probably pretty good seeing as I'll soon have two germy daycare kids.)

6. I ordered a headband from this Etsy shop for Audra. It. Is. ADORABLE. Moms of girls, take note.

7. You may or may not know this about me, but I hate the Olympics. I have always hated the Olympics. The Olympics get in the way of regular television programming and I am a creature of habit so that annoys me.** Also, I don't like sports. But I've found myself somewhat fascinated by them this year. Either Nate has them on or I put them on for Calvin (because I feel marginally better about him watching people achieve athletic glory over yet another episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates), and then I walk by just as someone sticks a perfect landing or does 8,000 summersaults into a pool and then I kind of can't stop watching. Plus, those female gymnasts are incredible. So incredible that I may have cried a little bit watching them.

I guess maybe I don't really hate the Olympics. Which is a pretty major revelation after 33 years of thinking I do.

8. Nate and I cleaned out our basement two weekends ago in anticipation of our upcoming garage sale. Not entirely sure how we could possibly have enough stuff crammed into our meager 1,200 square feet to warrant an annual garage sale, but we do. I guess it could be all the shopping? Or all the kids? Anyway, if you need random unused baby crap (bottle warmer), picture frames of various shapes and sizes, copious amounts of toddler boys clothing, three martini glasses, nursing textbooks, a grandma-esque glider, a bag full of miscellaneous chargers, a camera that requires film, my 15-year-old college TV set, or really cute Pottery Barn Kids circus crib bedding, let me know. Also, our basement is now really organized and significantly closer to being bug free. I won't tell you how many times I screamed and yelled for Nate (or, more pathetically, Calvin) to squish something, but it was an embarrassing amount. Hundred-year-old houses have waaaay too many basement nooks and crannies and I'm pretty sure some of the insects we found down there were big enough to eat my baby.

I feel itchy.

9. This will surprise no one, I'm sure, but I've already started thinking about Audra's birthday party. First of all, I am a spaz. Second of all, there is no reasonable explanation for her being closer to one than she is to birth. None. Except some sort of time travel. Because I just had her. Like last week or something. Despite the fact that she is eating crackers and babbling and scooting backwards under things. Which I'm choosing to ignore for the moment because it makes me want to cry.

So, her birthday party. I have a few ideas in mind. And just enough time to be dangerous. Now that I have two kids and two parties to throw, I may as well make Etsy my homepage...

10. I finally signed up for Spotify. Why I didn't do this sooner, I do not know. Especially when Facebook has made it pretty clear that everyone but me is using it. And you know Facebook wouldn't lie. In fact, Facebook is dedicated to publicly exposing every little idiotic thing you do...like listen to the Dawson's Creek soundtrack on Spotify. Thank heavens for the "private session" option, which I have only recently discovered. 

Now, off to see if the Felicity soundtrack is available. My friend Gordon assures me it is.

*Aerosoles alone probably don't make me an old lady. Aerosoles and bunions, however, probably do.
**Just in case you couldn't tell from item #2 that I have a slight tv addiction.

Light.

What a summer, you guys. And I don't mean that in a good way. For one thing, until last week it was about a zillion degrees with 300% humidity here. July was gross, and we spent most of it indoors. Which is slightly less than ideal when one of your two children has enough energy to fuel a rocket and you're the kind of mom who doesn't like having a messy house.

For another, most of the summer has been spent with one of us at work and one of us at home. Nate and I haven't seen much of each other, our kids haven't seen much outside the four walls of our house, and we have only seen the pool TWICE, which is a real travesty in my opinion.

Finally, we've taken three trips this summer. Two of the three were to funerals, the most recent of which was for Nate's beloved Grandma Adele.

This probably goes without saying, but extreme heat, opposite schedules, and burying people you love does not an awesome summer make.

June and July: good riddance to you both.

But August? Well, August is looking pretty darned good.

This past weekend it was in the 70s. The 70s! Do you know how good the 70s feels after weeks and weeks and months (ok, exaggerating just a bit) of 90s? Really good. REALLY REALLY GOOD. Calvin got to play outside at home and go to the park twice. We had a picnic last night. Audra went on the swings for the first time. I could breathe without my inhaler and my hair wasn't of Monica-in-Barbados proportions. It was perfection.

Also, Nate starts a new job next week. A new job during regular business hours. This probably means very little to anyone who doesn't know us well, but our families, close friends and anyone else who has ever tried to make plans with us can attest to the magnitude of this news. Eleven years of crazy hospital schedules and multiple jobs and never seeing each other is about to become evenings, weekends, and holidays together as a family. I can't even fathom how this is going to change our lives. There are some negatives, of course — next Monday I'm returning to work full time, Calvin's returning to preschool full time, and Audra's starting daycare full time. I won't lie: I'm brokenhearted about those changes. But I know the trade-off — a normal schedule that includes time for our family, each other, and our friends — will be worth it.

Finally, I get to see my besties in two weeks, because our dear friend April is getting married in Detroit! The five of us haven't been together in nearly two years, and this will be the first time we've had all of our husbands and kids together. And when I say together, I mean together...eight adults and 11 kids in one house for two days. It's going to be a little crazy and a lot of fun and I can't wait to see their sweet faces and hug them all tight.

So, hooray for August and all it will bring. I feel like there is finally, FINALLY, a light at the end of this long, hot, craptastic summer tunnel. And just beyond that light, well...I'm pretty sure there are cooler temps and a pumpkin spice latte waiting for me.

I'm so ready.

S is for...

Seven months old!

Smiles...lots of them, suddenly. She has a precious little grin.

Sleep. We sleep trained her this weekend. Took eight minutes. Not kidding.

Second tooth. She has both of her bottom front teeth now and is MUCH happier.

Second foods. Our girl loves to eat. Carrots, beef and vegetable, and mango are her favorites.

Spit. She spits bananas, turkey and sweet potatoes, and all medicines back at us in a violent and messy manner. 

Selective. This one knows what she wants and is quick to turn up her nose when's she's unimpressed by whatever you're offering.

Separation anxiety. Heaven forbid I move outside her line of vision, even for a second.

Sibling love. She stares at Calvin in awe and with adoration.

Stacking. She could play with that Fisher Price ring stacking toy for hours. It's her favorite.

Sophie the giraffe. She's a close second in the favorites department.

Scoot. She is this close to scooting across the floor. I'm scared.

Snort. The Audie snort is still alive and well and it only gets cuter every day. 

Shock of hair. Her hair is getting so long on top that it hangs in her face without a barrette or headband. Unless it's sticking straight up. That happens a lot, too.

Snuggles. We get a few here and there. 

Sounds. She's making so many! My favorite, of course, is mamamamamama. 

Sweetness. It abounds in Audra. It really does. She is the sweetest little thing on earth.

See?

 

S is also for serious overload, which I know this post is, but gosh. It's impossible to pick only a handful of photos when you're working with that face. And that outfit!