London Eli Scout
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
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Five Finds Friday (touring college and of course – boots & tea)
This week was fasssst. And pretty lovely and pretty regular and there was a golden conversation with the most wonderful of humans and there were long hard stares directed at me from teens and there were jobs that got checked off to the to do list and a major frustration financially and a car battery that died but a dad who bought a portable recharger and it was the kind of week we all lived – up and down like the ocean waves. And here we are – FRIDAY! funny I like teenagers. And I like raising them and being around them. And I like laughing about them. And you…
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today. (teens are wonderful wonderful too – PSA)
I know I’ve written a LOT about my feelings this year – about graduation and kids growing up and oh whatever floated across my mind. (This may not be called “My Space” but it sure as heck IS my space.) I stand by all these feelings. They are true and they are mine and I have felt them all. (And I still do and I still will. Parenting and motherhood AND LIFE are just all bubbling over with feelings. It’s what makes us HUMAN. Sitting in my living room yesterday with friends and co-workers (how lucky that they are both?) we watched our teenagers drive off in one car together…
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evening thoughts or why I can’t get it together this month
Two weeks before Christmas I started a bathroom remodel project. It was supposed to take two weeks. Maybe even finished before Christmas. The mirrors were hung this week and the towel hooks are in place and it’s April. So goes everything in my life. (Side note: I adore the finished product and couldn’t be happier with the whole shebang. It was worth the wait.) Last week was Break Week and I didn’t even come close to finishing my long list of MUST DO items. I think the only mantra in our house lately has been the one that has all of us looking at a clock and exclaiming, “Are you…
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five finds friday. snow cream. snow tubing. London’s cute hair and laughter from junior high.
But the time just goes by so fast even when the days are slow or the world is weird. funny Last weekend my friend Sara and her family stopped by for a Sunday visit as they were driving through town. It was all sorts of delightful and we had such a lovely time catching up and chatting and enjoying one another’s company, something we’ve been doing for the past THIRTY-FIVE years. That number makes me both laugh and cry. Who are we? How can we be so old? But what really made us laugh was pulling the boxes out of the attic and rifling through the memories I have hoarded…
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Bergen Hawkeye, HomeLife, Keiglets, London Eli Scout, Mosely Ella Claiborne, Otto Fox Wilder, Piper Finn Willow
teens. parenting them.
I feel like I haven’t talked about too many hard things over here lately. I think it’s because – they’re all hard things. This year has been full of hard things. And yet. We’re all okay. At my house. In this moment. We’re okay. Nothing is currently on fire. You know what I mean? Everything feels hard. And nothing is really that hard. That’s how cliche extreme my brain feels lately. The teen years are vastly different than the toddler years. (I mean, sort of. They’re both years where some kid is always hungry. And where some kid always needs you. But just – differently, you know. Teens are messy…
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five finds friday (the one about writing a book and my daughter going to college)
We’ve made it. Cheers and high fives because it’s been a long week. But look – wasn’t the beach beautiful? funny I’ve been working my way through a couple of boxes in the attic that are stuffed to overflowing with keepsakes and memories. And I keep finding gems like this. Behold the glory of ALL of our haircuts. What a family! flavorful Last week I ate dinner with Jo and Jason at a local restaurant – Hare & Field. It was delightful. (And the company was oh-so-fun.) I can never seem to stray from their Fish and Chips, which I love. But I also tried their parmesan gnocchi – my…
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weekend ramble. (a weekend both peaceful & productive)
You know you’re old when a little yard work on Saturday leaves you with aching muscles and tired shoulders on Sunday. Sometimes I think about owning a home with ten acres and a manicured lawn and four bathrooms and multiple levels. But then I think about all the work it takes to maintain all that. And I’m content with my single acre and my brick ranch after all. This weekend was a good one. Full of two things I wish every weekend could boast – both productivity AND rest. That’s a win for me. Saturday had us tidying the lawn and trimming back bushes that threatened to grow past the…
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Parenting Teens: Say Yes
I’m not an expert, but I do have some experience. One of my teens is a grown up. Three are currently residing under my roof. And one more joins the trifecta this month. (I need a hug. Or a wad of cash for car insurance. Both. I need both.) Here’s one little tiny slice of advice. Say yes. To everything you possibly can say yes to. There are SO many nos in the lives of your teens. Sometimes their lives feel like one gigantic NO. And there are loads and plenty of things you must say NO to for your kids. Hitch hiking. Tik Tok. Diving headfirst into unknown waters.…
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five finds friday (ukuleles & queso)
The task of motherhood is a full time one. Anyone who has been a parent and anyone who has been a child knows this. And yet, not any of us, stay at home parent nor 80 hour work week parent, actually has a full time schedule to commit to that one role – the role of parent. This has been a week of full on parenting tasks. Swinging back into school routine is painful for all of us. Add in lengthy allergy appointments and big teen discussions/decisions that always occur late into the evening and work deadlines and it’s a sweet little recipe for exhaustion and frustration. I thought I’d…
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sixteen. a birthday post.
I was 29 years old, just hours away from turning 30, when I met her for the first time. It was a terribly long, incredibly painful delivery. And yes, I have pretty much forgotten exactly how it really felt, although if I let myself, I can remember enough. We had two names picked out for her. We had decided to wait until we met her to make the final decision. Emerson Scout Elizabeth or London Elizabeth Scout. She was beautiful and she was instantly popular. Riley was infatuated with her. My mom adored her. She had a fan club longer than all the letters in her unusually long name. I…
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what whole 30 taught me
It was before Christmas when I tried my first (and thus far my only) attempt at Whole 30. If you’re unfamiliar with Whole 30, you can learn more about it on the Whole 30 website. Basically it’s just a program that helps you to manage what good foods go in your body and what bad foods stay out. It’s a 30 day plan to kick sugar and processed foods out of your diet and to break food habits you might need help overcoming. Why did I try Whole 30? I don’t have a neat and tidy answer. I had been thinking about it off and on for several years. I’ve…
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Five Finds Friday (this, that & the other, also blanket sweaters, food documentaries and college thoughts)
It’s been a little while so let’s see if I have Friday Fives within my abilities this week. You just never know. funny During last week’s writing class at Meadowlark, we worked on a project where we created bad titles and then tried to turn them into good poems. It was fun and I loved hearing what the kids did with their poetry. Some titles that they created were . . . Where Did My Sibling Go?What’s on My Sandwich?The Obsolete OreoUncle Hitler’s Birthday The time spent together with this group of bright and funny and interesting kids is always time well spent. fashionable Here, I just don’t know.…
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Five Finds Friday (good and bad drinks and one of my favorite novels)
This week has been less speedy, but not less full. Maybe it was the rain. The rain sloooooows me down. I’m sure the boys’ tomato plants are grateful for the rain, but it’s not my favorite thing. In the end, though, we made it to Friday . . . . funny This week we made iced tea for our weekly community dinner. Everyone had served almost all of the contents of the pitcher into their glasses when I poured the final glass of tea for Otto. Setting down the empty pitcher, I took a sip of my son’s beverage before I handed it to him. It.…
