-
love. via sour dough bread.
I love my kids. But that’s nothing unusual – right? Moms love their kids. It’s kind of our job. But you know what is extra special and humbling and wonderful? When other people love your kids. When other humans in your life nourish your kid’s strengths and encourage her talents. That’s lovely. That’s beautiful. Mosely loves to bake bread. She has been trying a handful of recipes off and on for years. Some with wild success – rosemary bread, for example. Some with not-her-favorite results. Bread is finicky. Dough rising is affected by temperature and humidity and length of time. I’ve never been a pro at it myself. But Mosely…
-
five finds friday (the right ice, a great kid, gorgeous views)
I’m not sure how quality this Five Finds can be this week. I never enjoy the return to the work week after a fantastic vacation – but this week has been extra The Worst. Talk about Slow Motion. That’s my speed currently. Or backwards. That speed too. Can’t seem to kick the sickies and don’t love dwelling on it. So I’ll give it a go over here – typing as slow as I’ve been moving all week long. funny On the road (with nearly 5,000 miles under our belt) we listened to a variety of different podcasts. One of the funniest was one recommended to us called Everything is Alive.…
-
Five Finds Friday (quelf the game, oatmeal in the Instant Pot, kind words)
We’re back to school this week. It’s been good to be back to routine but it’s been painfully difficult to get out of bed on these cold mornings. It was also a four day school week and that has me thinking that ALL weeks should be four day school weeks. Can I start a utopian society where people only work for four days a week for about five hours each day? I think we’d all be more productive and just embrace working harder for a short time, knowing you had lots of free time coming. Who wants in on my future society? Happy Friday y’all. funny …
-
As Seen Through the Door Frame: A Monday Night Poem
My desk is wherever I am. Tonight it’s the extra leaf at the end of the dining room table. I’ve spread my supplies wide, stacked in an order that follows my brain and makes Lacey Logic. I hear laughing. My Piper and her friend Hanna. They’ve asked to bake chocolate chip cookies together. Before they began, they prepared. Not the flour and the butter, but themselves. They have raided the dress up closet and put on fancy Cinderella style dresses waist aprons and grins. They have turned on the music of the Okee Dokee Brothers. Singing. Laughing. Dropping cookie dough on the floor. I’m actually working here…
-
Five Finds Friday (haircuts & surprises)
This week felt slow and fast. Camp took up all the driving times. The experiences were great for the kids. But I’m sort of glad they’re done. funny I couldn’t find the laundry detergent. It was a recent purchase so I knew it wasn’t empty. Yet. I looked around the laundry room. Questioned the house residents. And then. I found it. It was in the freezer. Obviously. All I had to do was think like a twelve year old boy. (I had asked him to put something in the chest freezer. The chest freezer is beside the washing machine. The laundry detergent usually sits…
-
Five Finds Friday (surprise! & the warmest socks & the silliest picture)
We all know why this week sped right past all of us. Yes – it’s already Friday you guys. Here we go …… FUNNY Humor plays a vital role in my life. If it’s not outright sustaining, it absolutely is what makes certain days feel endurable. (Is endurable a word?) Our friend Abby has endeared herself to my children through several methods. One – she sends stellar care packages that have rather specific instructions on the outside. Instructions such as “For Kids Eyes Only” and “Whatever You Do – Don’t Let Your Mom Open This Box”. Two – she shows up in surprise ways and says yes…
-
Happy Birthday Mosely Elliot!
Today our home changes. Today, for the first time in the history of our family, there are TWO teenagers living under our roof. Two teenage girls. They are both taller than me. They are both better artists and better cooks than I am. They both wear my clothes and they both have captured my whole heart. Happy thirteenth birthday Mosely! Your brown eyes are expressive and lovely and you have been blessed with simply the most obedient hair on the planet. You love Ryder with a deep and abiding affection and care daily for his needs. I love your new style of Manga drawing that…
-
my date with mosely, good things are coming
Hi friends. This weekend the weather has been my favorite. A pleasant sort of warmth. A breezy sort of breeze. Pollen low and skies clear. Mosely and I sauntered off to enjoy her Christmas gift date – tickets to see The Sound of Music. (Best Christmas gift idea ever – by the way. I’ve enjoyed four incredible dates to events I’ve really wanted to see too – with people I really like seeing them with. Only one date left to go!) Mosely had gotten a snazzy new short haircut the day before (we have the best hairdresser!) and she looked so cute. Our seats were pretty much as far back…
-
happy birthday mosely. today you turn twelve.
Mosely Elliot Claiborne. She’s turning twelve and we all know that sounds like a big age when your previous decade has been full of littles and single digits and learning how to ride bikes and read books and bake cookies. Twelve is a big deal. She gets to sit up front (and now London has competition for that privilege) and she is basically the same height that I am and practically the same shoe size and her brown eyes twinkle when she laughs and she wears her frustrations on her sleeve and across her expressive face and I am pleased and humbled and proud to call her my girl. She…
-
real life conversations overheard.
Mosely and Bergen were chatting on the front porch. “Hey Bergen,” she says. “We have matching pants – both jeans.” “Yeah,” Bergen acknowledges. “Well, kind of, I guess,” Mosely changes her tone. “Your jeans are not really blue. They’re more like green and brown with dirt all over them.” To which Bergen Hawkeye responds, with a shrug of his eight-year-old boy shoulders, “I lead a rugged life.”
-
this week at Wildwood …..
Friday afternoon brought new kittens. And these kittens brought about a new haircut for Mosely. How would newborn kittens require a haircut for a kid? Well. If you’re nine and it’s dark outside and you want to check out the welfare and health of the brand spankin’ new kittens and you think it would be harsh to shine a bright light on a passel of newborn tinies then maybe you would decide to use a candle. And if you’re Mosely you might think a birthday candle would be sufficient light for such an adventure. You’d be wrong, of course. Wrong on so many levels. And in your error and in…
-
Nine. Mosely’s turn.
It always happens to Mosely. It’s because her birthday is only a few days before Christmas. I never forget this cute girl’s birthday. Not ever. But I always underestimate the amount of effort and/or time it will take to pull a birthday event together. Wait – who am I kidding? I do this for every birthday in our house. I have it all planned in my mind. Gift ideas. Theme. Location. Guests. Odds and ends. But then – oh – then. The time always evaporates. Always. And then suddenly it’s two days before the birthday and the one gift I want to find is sold out and the place is booked…
-
Mosely said . . .
“Something smells like it’s burning. Quick, everybody – check your bums.”
