Summer Fun's in Full Swing

I've been writing this post for a long while, saving it for a time when corresponding photos are ready to upload. But the post just keeps getting longer... and the photos keep getting put off. So, here's the recap of our May... Photos will follow. Promise.

At the start of May, Deeda and I basically said, "see you next month" and let the craziness ensue. As a result, I have actually come to realize that relaxing may, in fact, be easier away from the casa than at the casa. For one, sometimes the kids aren't with you when you're not at home... Two, when they are with you, there are more hands around to hold them. Three, I can't do the weekend list of chores if I am not here. So, I have no choice but to chill. That all said, I find myself weary after all our adventures in the last 30 days. AND I maintain that a weekend at home with no todos is about as good as (and in our case as rare as) a vacation.

May saw not one but two conventions for The Dental Network. Deeda is still brimming with new and exciting ideas... The boys and I managed swimmingly on our own, complete with a 7:30 a.m. meeting on day three. Made it on time thank you very much.


On the heals of Deeda's his out of town adventures I spent three nights in Orlando with the CP gang learning software stuff and having a great time. It was a working event but something about Florida, a hotel and dinner among good friends made is seem an awful lot like vacation to me. To top it off, we went to see the Blue Man Group. It's a visual feast and laughing felt so good. Meanwhile, Deeda and the boys seemed to manage just fine on their own... nonetheless, I bought $40 worth of Spiderman guilt gifts at the Orlando airport. Deeda is really the one who deserved a gift.

In between Deeda's convention and my conference we squeezed in a trip to Austin. We played with the Slack's on their boat and had our inaugural meal at Buster's Barbecue, a new venture Nana and Papa are enjoying being a part of. It was a quick but good visit.

Memorial Day weekend, we hit the road for Dallas to enjoy what has become somewhat of a family tradition of pool time and catching up with Grandaddy, Nennie and the Perritte aunts. Though, none of us stand a chance of catching up with Aunt Alyssa, it was good to work on our tans.

I am happy to report G seems to have retained his swimming skills. That said, he nearly had to sit the swim time out after a good bonk on the chin the previous weekend that resulted in two stitches. The minor emergency experience was truly the best it could have been. He didn't hit his head on the side of the neighborhood pool. Just the chin. Thank heavens. We didn't have to wait in the ER for hours. Thank heavens. And nobody passed out. A dose of good judgement told me to leave the room. And G was super brave about the whole thing. His bravery is truly an inspiration. I could see the fear in his eyes, and at the very same time the courage. Have I mentioned once or twice in this space how proud I am of that boy?

This past weekend, we made a long weekend of it in Galveston enjoying some quality time with the Bromley's and some new friends, too. Accommodations were superb! It's good to know people who know people... In total we had six kids and six adults. The 1:1 ratio is excellent for beach going. G reported tonight at bedtime (in a moment of clarity amidst total delirium brought on by total exhaustion) his favorite parts were playing at the beach, making sandcastles and sleeping on the top bunk! My favorite parts were the good friends, good food, good photo ops and a good look at the starry sky with Deeda.

Already we've had a lot of adventures this summer and the fun has just begun. All this traveling and some really good advertising makes me wonder about the swagger wagon...

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is my new favorite holiday. Today I was completely selfish and kept the boys all to myself. I had a little piece of heaven with each of them. My best days and my favorite memories are the ones we make when we're home with no agenda other than being a family.

The first actually came yesterday when Deeda came waltzing across the front yard at a block party like a knight in shining armor coming to the rescue after three nights away from home. I wasn't expecting him and I have to admit, I literally had to catch my breath. I was truly happy to see him. I missed him and secondarily, I missed his help.

The second came with the Bear this morning... we had one of those interactions that's a little deeper than the average coo and hair pulling. I can see the wheels spinning behind his eyes.

Later, G and I chilled on the sofa. We rested under the blanket, watched the world outside through the picture window and chatted about our plans for the afternoon.

Other highlights include a brief dance party G, B and Deeda stirred up. The giggling coming from G's room was enough to draw me in with the video camera. Later G and Deeda washed my car while B and I napped. The house was daytime quiet. The kind of quiet I usually only get late at night. daytime quiet is way better because it's rare. Very rare.

It was really a great day. I didn't do any laundry today. Even though it's piled up waiting for me. We didn't go to the store today... and I don't have our weekly meal plan in place....

We hit the neighborhood pizza joint for an early dinner. It was dinner out with a four year old and a 6 month old. It wasn't the most relaxing... Who's big idea was it anyway? (mine). But it was good. And the kitchen was clean when we got home. Best of all... on our way out the door a woman looked at me and said, "your children were so well-behaved." Whoever you are, nice lady at the restaurant, THANK YOU. Thanks for noticing. We're trying our very best!

Picture Spring

Last month I took an online photography class hosted at Big Picture Scrapbooking and taught by the wonderful Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters. I had a great time!

I learned of the class at the (now somewhat infamous) Mom 2.0 conference (because I can't stop talking about it). And though I was skeptical that I would be able to make time to shoot a photo every day, I thought I'd try. In the end, I came close. There were times when I had to play catch up, but I am proud to say I completed 29 of 30 assignments. Letting myself have that one, is a lesson in and of itself.

Carrying the camera with me even to and from the office provided more opportunities than I imagined it would. I also had time to play with and learn more about my still new Birthday lens. Most of all, I was inspired and truly enjoyed interacting with the class and posting my images to the classroom gallery. Many a night I was up far too late "playing." Having a personal project in the works rather than on a perma-back burner does wonders for my mental state of "not having enough time."

The hardest assignment (I thought) was a self portrait. That was day #2 or #3 and I thought, "oh lord, I can't do this." But I did. And I included the portraits in this slide show to prove it. My favorite assignment was probably "catch lights" because it was all about catching the light in eyes. I had two wonderful subjects for that one! Past that, I had a good time playing with shallow depth of field and blown out color.

I feel like the collection I came up with documents what turned out to be a month of some major milestones. B crawled for the first time and G learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Moreover, the blooms that were just beginning on April 1 had fully sprung by the end of the month. And, I admit there are a lot of flowers here. But flowers are easy targets for a girl with a camera AND let's not forget the class was called Picture Spring.

On April 29, my photo was featured on Shutter Sisters. I thought I might burst when I clicked there to see who the instructor picked to feature that day! Because no matter how often my mom (love you mom) and the rest of the family comment on my photos, a little recognition from Tracey Clark felt REALLY good.

I planned all along to somehow collect and share the photos. The slide show posted here seemed like a good way to share with everyone. Quality is degraded in a big way... but it was fun to put together. For the high quality version, I am going to print a photo book. It will be fun to flip through in about 20 years.

Dee Dog

Last Friday Deeda and I had to choose to let our Dee dog go so she could take her place in heaven. Even though, there was no question it was time, I would consider it among the hardest things we’ve ever had to do.

Dee was our first child. A problem child, but our first child. Despite her somewhat unfavorable habits that became affectionately named “dumpster diving” and “jail breaks,” we loved her deeply and she loved us back with thousands of daily greetings, kisses and leg humping, of course.

Before G arrived, we were concerned about how she would react to becoming a big sister. She never disappointed. In fact, her patience was amazing. She, too, came to love G despite the fact he dethroned her. Likewise, G came to love her. The grief that came over him when I told him the news was heartbreaking, but heartwarming at the same time. While my own grief multiplied when I felt his too, I also felt proud of his ability to love so truly. And later, as we continued to discuss heaven and God, I was warmed by his questions about where “exactly” heaven is, how you get there and how many hands God must have to make all the animals and people in the world.
I literally watched Dee age over the last couple years and more so in the last few months as her geriatric problems multiplied. Guided by a wonderful vet we managed her medical problems as best we could with meds. But last Wednesday, she couldn’t get comfortable. By Thursday she wasn’t walking. Friday the vet seemed to think she had “thrown a clot” or essentially had a stroke. She wasn’t eating…

The house has been quiet. No knock at the back door. No clanking collar at the water bowl. No snoring. Man, she could bring the house down…

We’ve moved the trash can to the kitchen, but keep going to the laundry room with the garbage. I shut the gate before I get out of my car, just the same as I used to, and I am reminded there’s no dog waiting to escape or wagging her tail at the back door.

She is missed. There is a void. We’ve suffered a lot of family loss in just a few months… it’s never easy. But losing something that’s been a part of everyday is especially difficult. Dee was truly one of a kind. Our poo poo head.

All About April

B is six months old. How can that be? In one week he had his six month shots, crawled across the living room floor and sprouted his first tooth. Busy week for the little guy.

Specs: He weighs in at 18 lbs 12 oz, he’s 27.25” long and his head is 18”.

The new thing is a whining thing… in a cute way… almost the way a puppy whimpers with excitement. mmmmmm. mm.mmmmm.mmm.mmmm.

He continues to be an easy, easy (knock on wood) baby who virtually puts himself to sleep and stays that way (knock on wood again).

He thinks G is the funniest thing EVER. In fact, while mom and dad can get an occasional laugh, G is the one who can really get him going. Already, that baby wants to be where his big brother is and playing with whatever his big brother is playing with. He even seems to have an affinity for Buzz and Lightning.

Big brother remains cooler than ever with sharing his stuff and his parents with the little one. He loves the little guy as much as we do. He also loves riding his bike. One afternoon a couple weeks ago Mr. Claus caught his attention and convinced him he could do it without training wheels (we’d be trying but must have sounded something like the Charlie Brown teacher). Not unlike learning to jump off the diving board or catch a baseball, the pride and accomplishment this child feels when he learns something new is wonderful to witness. He sits awfully tall and proud on that bike seat.

He’s also learning to write his name and is more and more into writing notes and drawing. His favorite thing to draw right now is people. Super heroes and families we know are among his favorite subjects.

We saw the end of the first Tball season last weekend... Best part about it? I think he likes the trophey (a.k.a. his Piston Cup a la Cars) as much as anything... maybe short his LA Dodgers hat which he pretty much hasn't taken off since he got it.

the moves

I read somewhere that this is the golden age of babyhood. B is 5 months (22 weeks today) and is such a happy boy.

I know because he offers up big smiles all the time. Huge smiles. They come over his face starting with his mouth up to his eyes and I swear his ears probably wiggle as the wave of emotion passes over his face. It's a process. Wide on both sides... Which reminds me how Grant's smiles at this age used to remind us of Harrison Ford... crooked from one side to the other.

B has some moves these days. His favorite is the two legged kick. It's almost like he's going to do that break dance move where you lay on your back, kick and arch your back until suddenly you're standing... you know the one? I wouldn't be suprised to see him do it. I mean, he's been doing his cruches... got the stomach muscles all toned. Seriously, he lifts his melon and his shoulders up off the floor trying to sit all the way. If he could get his spine to stiffen up, he'd be upright, all the time. Won't be long...

Move number two is impressive for a boy this age. The inch worm. (isn't that also a break dance?) Just this week, we've noticed some major progress in his tummy time scooting. I've seen him full on, up on his knees a couple times.... then he works his body like an inch worm along the floor right off the blanket we have down, onto the rug and then he spits up. on the rug. nine times ouf of 10. Never on the blanket. truly. never. on. the. blanket.

Yes, we still have spit up like no other. The bibs and burb cloths are in constant rotation. we change clothes a lot more, too and the result is truly a mountain of laundry. I folded for a full hour the other night. I was behind... and I was determined to clear the dining room table... but seriously, an hour? That's a lot of folding.

We started solids about a month ago. Just following the four month appointment. At first he wasn't so sure. And we didn't have a good routine in place, so it was total chaos. Now we've finally fallen into the mode of feeding B while our dinner cooks. Then he's usually pretty cooperative and content to hang and digest while we eat. He's had all his fruits and I am starting veggies Monday.

B has found his voice in a big way... it started about a month ago with squeels of delight. Loud ones! Now, he "talks" to his toys and you can tell when he's giving them a talking to... he wants to do more than he can...

His coordination has come on so strong. When he reaches out for a toy, he usually gets it these days. He will hold his pacifier in his hand and from time to time, get it back into his mouth.

He "sings" in the car to and from school. And tonight he hummed himself to sleep in my arms, smelling all yummy with his hair all freshly washed and fuzzy.

And I realize, now I am just making a list. But at least I am getting the list of all these things out of my head and into the record. I know from experience with G that I won't remember. I am constantly referencing my journals with G, trying to piece togehter timetables of when what happens and when he did what.

To quote Ferris Bueler, "Life moves pretty fast..." We celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss earlier this month. As part of our celebration* we showed G the wedding video. He was super impressed and liked our costumes a lot. It was so fun to see everyone 10 years ago. Especially the kids. G didn't beleive for one second that baby in the video was his cool cousin Alex...

About the same time as our anni, G's teacher Miss Vanessa became Mrs. Vanessa and went on a honeymoon to Disney (which G thought sounded like a great idea. In fact, he's currently planning our next vacation. He wants to go back to Sam's house in Colorado and to the beach).

Anyway, the wedding talk seems to have made an impression on my eldest ladies man. So much so he's made a move on his classmate Isabella and they have announced their plans to marry. She's going to wear her snow white costume and G is going to where his daddy's tuxedo. This talk has been going on consistently for weeks. And just this week we got an invitation to her house for a housewarming party. Of course, we have to go. Meet the inlaws and all...

A real ladies man we are raising here. This kid literally picked up several cute and sassy divas in their 20s outside a cupcake store in uptown park on a Friday night. It was our anniversary* we celebrated with the entire extended family at Cafe Express. I wanted to do something special with G so we dashed to the cupcake store across the way (where they incidentally charge $36/doz). On our way out, he says "Hi ladies, we got some good cupcakes."

That G. He's a real softy. Sensitive type... he hugged B the other day in the kitchen and B really did kinda hug him back, wrapped his arm around his neck and cooed. It was a real moment. I looked at G and thought he might cry. He realized it was a moment every bit as much as I did. On the opposite end of the spectrum, G was getting in a bit of trouble tonight. I was standing in the hall, holding B facing outward with one arm and pointing my finger at G while I lectured with a raised voice on the reasons not to goof around until you fall down and get hurt in the bathroom. Anyway, B must have been smiling at G while I was bitching. Cuz, G glanced at his Bro and kinda smirked in the middle of his pout. And I saw my future flash before my eyes! These two already have a brotherly form of communication and a bond... and it's only just begun.

I can't let the update go without mentioning the stomach virus we barely suvived last week. Had us down like dominoes, on a 24 hour rotation nearly to the minute. Probably picked it up in the doc office while there for B's ear infection... which I thought was a sinus infection since G had that along with a fever the week before. Wellness would be so nice, but I know the casa won't be truly rested or well for a few more months. I have found myself in a total daze more often. Just out of it. Need to find a way to get my me time and my sleep in.

In extracurricular news:

Deeda put in a great stent for the 2010 HSL&R. I think it's safe to say on his behalf he thoroughly enjoys the work, loves the cause and the commraderie. He even got G a spot in the grand entry parade, carrying on what I will officially call a family tradition.

T-ball is super fun. Practice on tuesdays, games on saturdays...Tball at age four is really something. In his first game, G's was standing on third when the coach told him to "run after the ball." Coach meant, run home after the batter hits the ball. Grant heard what he said literally and when the ball was hit, G dashed into the outfield after the ball. It was like something from a movie. complete with the visual of a tiny child in a HUGE batting helmet looking like a bobble head running after the ball.

I hosted an event for about 30 Friends of Red at the casa last night...wine was a good draw for some bonding and furthering the effort to turn the great school around the corner into a neighborhood school again. I am also enrolled in a photo class for the month of April and continue to be inspired by bread crumbs I am following from my new connnections at Mom 2.0.

So- I think that's the summary. Geeeshh... it's a lot! I wouldn't blame anyone for not reading ALL THIS blabbing... but at this point, I am just trying to catch up and maintian the family record. Once again, I will vow to post more often. shorter blurbs. more reader friendly. I know.

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* Oh yeah, the asterisks. I didn't want to interrupt the story I was telling to stop and tell another. I don't know why, but I really was feeling a lot of anticipation and excitement for ouranniversary this year. Ten years! It's a big deal. So much has happen in that time and it's a nice even number to measure just how much has gone down. One tile kitchen floor. Two houses. Two kids. Vacations. Infamous nights out. A lot of nights at home (the best)...

Anyhoo, we had great intentions to get away or at least get out for a better than average date night. As it turned out, Deeda babysat while I spent the evening on our anniversary with the Raben clan due to the death of dear Mamu/Rubye's. Her death was both a loss and a blessing. She will be missed.

The days that followed were frustrating. We had a house full of family... we wanted to celebrate our anniversary... and I wanted to be with the family too... We didn't even have sufficient time to exchange cards until nearly a week later... much less have a real talk and contemplate our life together... I was so frustrated over the whole thing. Did I mention I was frustrated?

And then I made an important realization. A distinction really. Marriage is about two people, yes. But it's also about family. It's the whole enchilda. And even though the family stuff was all in our face and seemed to be impairing our anniversary celebration, in the end it helped me see that. I am so grateful for our family. All of them. I wrote something really good to that end in C's card. It was better than what I am coming up with right now. But you get the gist.

Mom 2.0 Inspired

Since it would surely be sacrilege to attend Mom 2.0 and not post something about it on my blog, here goes.

This conference, geared toward mom bloggers, celebrated motherhood, talked about maintaining authenticity in the face of marketing endorsements and encouraged this influential market to use its collective voice to its full potential. Talk of how the community of mom bloggers (though built in cyberspace, it really is a community) raises their audience up by sharing their experiences was another recurring theme. It's true. No doubt. Reading and relating to a story feels good. It reminds me I am not the only one whose life feels like this.

And that’s just the most concise way I can offer the gist of what was covered over two days. There’s plenty more, but what I really want to get to is the feelings my time among these amazing ladies elicited. I left the Four Seasons hotel Saturday afternoon, empowered, inspired, high, mindful, grateful, warm AND fuzzy. I wanted to figure out how to bottle the mix of emotions. I hardly remember driving home, I was so lost in thought. I came straight to my keyboard to put down some notes. Anything to capture the essence of the day. And then I remembered what drew me to the event in the first place. This feeling had already been bottled!


No wonder this video has gone truly viral. More than 50,000 hits last I looked. This piece by Katherine Center is, to me, the essence of what keeps me going when I feel like this motherhood gig is too much. This is important work, and it is work. The line “what you’re doing matters” was a theme of Mom 2.0. It’s a phrase I will repeat to myself again and again.

I’ve been a little hoodoovoodoo about this whole thing since I stumbled upon it about a month ago. It just seemed like the universe aligned to get me there. I am so glad it did.

It actually started last summer. I was in Kinkos dropping off a Fed Ex. A little girl approached me and said,

“My mommy wrote a book. You should read it.”

She handed me a card. I smiled at the girl and her mom and walked out the door having a little conversation with myself about how a mom would find time to write a book and how cute it was that the girl was so proud of her mom…. I put the card in my wallet.

Flash forward. About three weeks ago. I come across the card. I start bumping around and see the video. I watch it twice (and 20 times since) and tear up. So good! At the end I notice the mention of Opmom. Opmom.com (now http://www.thetastefullife.com/) is the site my friend Carrie Pacini started… It is a small world after all. Hmmmm? Wheels turning, already inspired and I hadn't even registered yet.

When I got to the speaker list, I was floored. The lineup was truly incredible. The more I read, the more excited I got. Admittedly, what excited me the very most was a bit of star power. One of my absolute favorite bloggers, Heather Armstrong, was booked as a keynote.

For my grandparent readership, Heather Armstrong was on the list of Forbes Most Influential Women in Media in 2009. Number 26. If you read her post at dooce.com about being number 26 you’ll get a sense for why I love reading her blog. Her success as a blogger is groundbreaking. She also just penned a deal with HGTV. Quite a case study. Above all, she makes me laugh and sometimes I really need a laugh. She writes (for all the world to read) the kind of things I only say in my head. I relate to her. We’re a lot alike. Only she’s on the Forbes list with Oprah and Barbra WaWa.

And here comes the point. The source of some of the empowerment that came for me personally at Mom 2.0 is the fact that we are alike. I sat there in awe of Heather Armstrong, and so many other ladies I met. So many. And guess what? They aren’t so different from me. Short of the long: I left reminded that I can accomplish big, cool and powerful things, too. I don’t know what big things I am out to accomplish, but being reminded I can is a start.

It’s easy to get busy getting by. Day to day. Hamster wheel syndrome. “Time to make the donuts”… Time to feed the baby. Time to go to work. Doldrums. It happens to me and I am one of the lucky ones who really loves my husband, kids and work. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to be unhappy in any of these areas AND live in the wheel.

This is not to say that the daily grind isn't part of "what matters." It all matters. Cooking dinner on a weeknight can be a chore, but sitting down to the table as a family matters. It all matters. The good. The bad. And the ugly. It's all part of life and very necessary.

It's just that to set out to do big, cool and powerful things, I need some time to focus on something besides the things that are required. Getting up and going to work is required. Doing laundry is required. The store. Picking up the house. The good ole todo list. It should be called the have to list. By the time all the perquisites are done, there’s not much time left (if any) to dive into the higher level coursework so to speak. The want to list.

Time to move up from Life 101. Step one: make and take time to daydream and formulate full thoughts, theories and ideas. Time to be me. Not mommy me. Not wife me. Not marketer me. Just me. So, I can be open to and look for inspiration. I love being all those other versions of myself. But after Mom 2.0 kids, I need to be the first version of myself from time to time.

I am one of bajillions of women desperate for some time to herself. I get it. I am not saying anything new here. I am just saying, this event reminded me how powerful taking the time can be. By taking time to find passion and enthusiasm we live bigger, better lives. When I go out and get empowered, I bring it home to the dinner table for the boys to see. The "time out" I took last week is really all it took to stop fussing, breathe, get inspired and fired up. Battery charged. It was so worth it. It was so simple. It was super special. I am still flying!