We were like super-family this morning. No one had to rush around to get ready, things were calm and steady. We made it to school earlier than usual and just as I was telling the boys how proud of us I was, I lifted Judah’s back pack and felt it strangely light. I had one of those Oprah “Ah-Ha!” moments only in the opposite sense.

No. Snack. In. Bag.

I recounted our morning: I had coffee, I mastered liquid eye liner (mark that down for the books), Little Gingers were fed and diapered…I really have no idea how snack got left out. Especially after mastering the liquid eyeliner…like really? That should prove the morning was on track.

You roll with the punches, go with the flow or whatever and little man got his snack in time for his morning break.

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 I’ve had my eye on this idea for a while now and since things have settled down enough with our schedule that I’m able to get it going, I thought I’d share it with you. I’ve opened up shop again, but it’s just a little different than before. You can read about it here  but I’ll give you a little tidbit. Token is a clothing shop where 80% of the profits go to Charity: Water. I’ve known about Charity: Water for a little bit now and I love their vision. They are transparent about their projects and my favorite thing is that 100% of donations go to actual water projects. The operating costs like staff salaries are taken care of by other methods like private donors or foundations. They provide stories and photos from the field and let you see how your donations are helping. Something so easily taken for granted like clean water, is brought to whole villages. I love it!

 Of course, if you don’t find anything in the shop, you can always donate through Charity: Water’s site.

I’m excited to get it going!

I’ve been working on being totally present in each moment, giving it my all. It’s not always easy, my focus strays or the unexpected things that life is so famous for, come up. The difficulty for me in being totally present in each moment isn’t that the moments are boring; because God knows they are sitcom worthy. The difficulty lies in being perceptive enough to know what should accompany us in those moments. 

I’m realizing more and more that whether I want it to be there or not, there’s a double standard with Judah and Jacob. Judah needs full attention nearly 100% of the time. He hardly ever gets those multitasking moments where I’m washing dishes and meeting his needs, simply because his needs can’t be met that way.

 Jacob’s typical two year old brain understands most of the time the there are things that need to be done. Most of the time multitasking, folding laundry together, is significant quality time for him. Then sometimes, it’s apparent that nothing should accompany us, not laundry, not dishes and sometimes not even trips to the park. Sometimes I just need to be right there, letting him fill the moment.So this week, I’ve been tinkering with the balancing act. Finding a new groove. That’s the thing about motherhood, you find a groove and it works for a while and then, slowly, like growing out of a comfortable pair of shoes, it doesn’t fit anymore.

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I sort of feel like my batteries have been recharged today. We played hooky from school this morning, with legitimate reasons, and today I was reminded of how significant the small things are. Like little monkey-boys who jump on beds and short ichats with G-Ma. And I’m completely proud of Judah. He’s learning impulse control and I know it’s not easy for him. In our home, we hang photos high enough so he can’t reach them and we don’t put out knick-knacks and anything that’s free standing must be tightly secured or little mister will smash it to the ground. He knows he shouldn’t do it, but that impulse is too strong for him to resist. Our bedroom has been gated off since moving here. It’s the one place in our home that has low pictures, knick-knacks etc…and this week, I took the gate down so we could start helping Judah learn to control himself. He’s done so well and when I catch him easing towards something to knock it over, he pauses and thinks twice. It’s one of those little breakthroughs that while small, is the gateway to bigger things and thus worthy of celebration. We look kind of upset, but really Jacob was intently telling me a “pretend story” and I was doing my darnedest not to laugh. Something about kitty cats and spaceships…? Let me tell you, oh we celebrated this week. Laundry got folded, our shower got fixed, leaves got raked and floors were vacuumed. So, yeah we celebrated with gusto! Whip cream fun, extra long bike rides and longer stints at the park and massive dance parties. Oh and a late evening ride that resulted in a little Starbucks indulgence.  How can I resist a free (birthday coupon) hot chocolate and banana bread? I shushed the annoy little voice reminding me of calories and sugar and it flew away quicker than the ginormous fly that’s been holed up in our house all week. By the way, that sucker has outstayed it’s welcome. You hear that fly?

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Movie theaters are interesting places. The smells, greasy seat rests and whispers of fellow movie goers sort of bring back that pubescent teenager in me. I recall my very first movie in theaters, not as pubescent teenager but as an even younger version of myself. I think I saw Honey I Shrunk the Kids. I think I basically screamed and cried through enough of the movie to embarrass my parents and older brother. I may or may not have caused my family to leave early.

Proudly, I’ve overcome my aversion to movies in theaters and on the rare occasion that date night includes a movie, it’s like I time warp back to my 16 year old self; Silly, giddy and willing to submerge my hand in buttery popcorn and drench it down with coke like a child without any inhibitions.

I’m 85% sure the woman sitting next to us was slathering on mosquito repellent just before the movie began and for a split second I worried I’d missed out on something and should I be plastering my arms with some too? Someone played a cat meowing sound of some sort during every silent part, and as juvenile as it was, none of us could stop giggling. Every. Time. What can I say, coke and popcorn mix on empty stomachs does things to the brain. But it was funny.

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The clouds are shredding their heaviness and there’s a soft pitter patter falling on our sun-porch roof and a chilly crispness in the air that solidifies Fall’s arrival. The babies are in bed and Josh and I are unwinding from the day. There’s nothing better than dark rainy evenings for unwinding and I love the quiet hush.


It’s taken a little bit, but California is slowly working it’s way into my heart. From the moment we moved here, we fell in love with the weather and the gorgeous aesthetics of our area, but finding that comfortable fit and learning to live without the southern charm I’m so used to was difficult. I never really loved living in Kansas City, but we had friendships there (still do) and family just a days drive away, so it was easy to settle in. Over the weekend Josh commented on how he feels like he’s finally settled here. I feel the same. I think we understand the bustle of the city a little better and the perceived unfriendliness of passers by. Transition isn’t always easy, especially when you’re transitioning into a place where there’s no comfort zone. But finally we’re settled. And we’re happy and it feels good.

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At the gas station the other afternoon (while stranded with a malfunctioning car) a cute hipster girl pulled up in her 1990 honda civic and filled her tank. As she got back in her car and took a moment to text a friend, she nonchalantly picked her nose and…wait for it…popped her finger in her mouth. When I say hipster girl, I mean she was my age. She had a much cooler hair cut and actually looked good in her skinny jeans, but she was a grown woman.

Maybe she was giving off the “leave me alone, I eat boogers” vibe to the two fellows checking her out or maybe she just didn’t care. Either way, she reminded me that it’s important to live openly…owning up to my mistakes and letting go of the pretense of perfection. But let the record state that I am not for eating boogers. Just for giving up the pride in my heart that makes me want everyone to think I “have it all together”. I guess that kicks off this week’s gratitude post. Thank you hipster girl.

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I just realized that I am drinking out of Judah’s water cup, which means I’ve been swallowing who knows how much backwash. Oh yes, it’s all glitter and glamour over here.

I’m taking this week to prep for my parents arrival on Friday and I’m making lists of projects I want to do while my mom is staying with us. If I can’t capitalize on my mom’s time while she’s here, then what is this world coming to, right? But really, I’m making lists of little projects I want to get done, knowing that I’ll probably spend the entire time lounging around with her and my little gingers. Either way, at least there’ll be a list.

While I make lists and pretend to fold the laundry, I thought I’d share some odds and ends from our weekend (and some from last week). Happy Monday, ya’ll!!