Playground Adventures

Posted on July 9, 2012 by lauren

The following pictures were taken exactly one month ago. Hard to believe it was cool enough for us to be wearing sweaters, long sleeves, pants, and even a hat for nearly-bald Emil!

But the essence of the beginning of summer is within these shots. The constant motion, the adventure, the childhood that is happening right before our very eyes. Sometimes I catch glimpses of my own girlhood in my boys: the tree-climbing in bare feet, sweaty breathlessness of constant running through cool grass, dirt up to the elbows and blisters on each palm from monkey bars and climbing fences. It is magical when that happens, and I finally understand what other parents used to tell me before I was a parent. The part about your kids keeping you young.

Before the boys went on their summer nap strike (way back in May and early June), we ventured to the playground half a block away from our house every night after dinner. Usually with popsicles and a banjo or guitar in hand, we pushed or pulled or made the little guys walk down the hill to the new playground behind the elementary school where we plan to send all three of our boys.

And as soon as the wagon stopped (and many times before it stopped), these boys were off like wild bandits, running and jumping and climbing to their hearts’ delight. Shoes never stay on, though we always bring them, for some reason.

Milo is off like a flash, feet barely touching the ground…

… While Emil finds the slide to climb and Oliver finds playground treasures to fill his wagon.

… or hitch a wild wild ride.

And I miss those evenings at the playground, because now those boys are so exhausted by 6:30 that there is no way we can drag them there, even if it’s what Andrew and I really want after all.

The Littlest Music Man

Posted on April 26, 2012 by lauren

Alright, this is going to sound crazy and totally expected all at once.

I swear, Emil is obsessed with music.

I know, I know, I’m sure many of you think I am reading too much into this since he is constantly surrounded by Andrew’s music- guitar, piano, banjo, etc. and we clearly value music in our little family. But it is true. Emil is completely obsessed in a way that the other two boys never were. Yes, they liked music, but Emil passes up all other items, novel things included, for this guitar:

This has become much more obvious to us since he started crawling last week. When placed on the floor with toys and books and all kinds of interesting things, he focuses in on the guitar, anywhere in the room, and goes for it. Dodging between exciting light-up toys and all sorts of wonderful choking hazards, it’s as if he can see nothing but the guitar. Once he reaches it, he strums it over and over and over. Seriously. He strums a guitar.

The other day, I placed him down on the living room rug so I could get the groceries from the car. When I hurried back in, I found him at the foot of the table, straining his body to reach up as high as possible. Of course, the guitar was on the table, and he wanted it.

It’s really cool to see this dynamic unfolding. Andrew is the youngest of three boys and he was the one who really picked up music, and it seems like the same thing is happening already with Emil! Coincidence?

Well, if things don’t pan out with the guitar, Emil’s practicing his model pose. You know, just in case.

Two teeth!

Rockin’ Out Yeah

Posted on April 13, 2012 by lauren

This happened spontaneously right after dinner Wednesday night. No joke. And luckily, I had the camera at hand after taking pictures for the quinoa recipe post. Yes, Milo’s pajamas are unbuttoned all the way down the front. Yes, they have lightening bolts on them. Yes, he is playing guitar with a bright orange pick. Yes. He is awesome.

David Bowie, eat your heart out.

The Revolving Door

Posted on April 5, 2012 by lauren

It has been said by friends, by family, even by me, that our house has a bit of a revolving door. Meaning, once one set of visitors or friends leave, the next are on their way in. The door spins around, some exit, others enter. And I love it.

As Billy and Annie and Reina and Liam headed back to Ohio, I took a day to clean up a bit and restock the pantry & fridge and found myself overcome with calm and eagerness as Jada, Andrew’s cousin, and her husband Jason were on their way. We always enjoy their company, fraught with great conversations, energetic trysts with the kids, and always, always, music and clapping and laughing. They arrived on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, helped me coral all three boys at the zoo for a somewhat whiney and complain-y and I-want-toys-I-want-snacks-buy-me-something-carry-me-esque morning. But no bother. These two handled it like pros, diffusing tantrums, imparting wisdom, using distraction techniques that I seriously considered writing down, and divvying out discipline when needed. I felt somewhat sheepish, but also refreshed to have so much help.

We visited the hippos, which will forever remind me of Emil since it was while I was staring at them, swimming around and around in their gigantic tank on August 20th, 2011 that I realized I was in labor with him! We also caught a peacock trying desperately to get the attention of a somewhat indifferent peahen, shaking his tale feathers and posturing like only such a show-off can. It was beautiful.

And the rest of the day only got better. After lunch, I put the boys down for naps/quiet time and folded some laundry while waiting for our nanny Elisa to arrive to take the big boys for a few hours.

And, feeling rather tired ourselves, Jada, Jason, Emil, and I headed out for a nice walk and a cup of coffee… which goes quite nicely with goat cheese or chocolate chip cookies:

We took our time chatting and perusing, and I found out that Jason, an avid surfer and musician, is dabbling quite a bit in photography & videography in the Wilmington NC area. Check him out here. Jada, as always, has lovely insights into family life and a level-headedness that I find refreshing. She has always been an inspiration to me, and what luck that she happens to be part of Andrew’s family! Plus, she made some pretty fantastic felt animal masks for the littles, and a felt book about a sleepy pirate. Such a creative family, this one.

The mandolin and banjo… two of my favorite instruments!

The weather has cooled off nicely and it actually felt like a real spring day today, so we enjoyed another outdoor dinner.

Sweet potato white bean burgers with dijon and avocado, corn on the cob, asparagus, and a baby greens salad with pomegranates, goat cheese, and candied walnuts with fig balsamic vinegar

The veggie burgers turned out really well- I will have to post the recipe soon, but I did adapt it from this recipe, found on Pinterest. I made quite a few changes, but the basics are there and I highly recommend trying it!

My big boys… love.

My music baby… also love.

Jada with the boys and the stinky dog

Thank you for enriching all of our lives, you two. We love you!

(Another) First Date

Posted on February 1, 2012 by lauren

Tuesday night, I fell in love with Andrew. Again.

It seems that after every child we bring into the world, we have to reaffirm our relationship. At least, that’s how it feels. For over a year, your main focus is growing this new person to add to your family, then birthing him, then getting through the tough first few months and adjusting to a new definition of your family. And it makes sense that the more people you add to a family, the less time you get with each one individually. And I mean this not in a bad way, it’s just the way things are. You have to shift, change, adapt.

We went on a first date. The first date since we had Emil, and the first date in longer than that! I was so excited all day, anticipating spending time with JUST US. I was giddy. Giddy like I was when Andrew and I first started dating some 12 years ago. Kind of ridiculous, right?

We left the rest of the clan at home, big boys asleep in their beds, Emil asleep in our bed, and Elisa waiting downstairs for the inevitable waking of two out of three young men that occurs in our house every night, several times. But having someone you trust watching your kids gives you a sense of freedom and just a bit of carefree, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants abandon. Kind of. I mean, I had my phone on vibrate.

Peabody Opera House- see the Arch?!

We went to see Ryan Adams in concert. Just him, with his guitar(s) and a piano and a whole boatload of people watching. It was fantastic. Have you ever walked into a place, looked around, and thought, “What?! All these people are just like us! Where have you been hiding in this city? Where can I find all of you again?!” We were all eyeballing each other with approving glances. I kind of swooned over the style: tattoos and boots and nerd glasses and dresses and… oh, I was in heaven.

But really, I was just high from my first date. Which, by the way, went swimmingly. Turns out this guy is really funny/smart/handsome/quirky/perfect…

So, I think I’ll hang out with him again sometime.

… if he ever calls me…

The Ghost of Thanksgiving Days Future

Posted on November 29, 2010 by lauren

For the first time EVER, we had a siblings-only Thanksgiving Day feast… at our house! Imagine the joy when Gentle Giant Uncle Jon appeared the day before Thanksgiving to play horsey and get some doctorin’.

And who miraculously and randomly picked out my favorite kind of cheese in the ENORMOUS cheese section at Whole Foods…

And whose wife, my sister-in-law, just so happens to be AMAZING with every child and baby in a ten-thousand-mile radius.

Someone was trying awfully hard to be just like a certain someone else.

Two of the cousins during a get-along session.

Playing piggies.

An after-feast-ival walk in the SNOW! Well, a little bit, anyway.

Ha. And here is where it starts to get hairy. We just didn’t know it yet.

Of course, everything seemed just fine on the outside. Fire roaring in the fireplace. Uncles and Aunts doing an amazing job of not killing us for having no TV for football or movies… guitar lessons for the youngins…

Peace on Earth and milk-fed babes… and the most amazing runner I know…

A sister who managed to bring not one but TWO dishes to share at the feast, plus bring two adorable nephews to munch upon.

Snuggles and rambunciousness abound…

And later, snacks of freshly baked bread (thank you, Andrew) and pecan pie and hot spinach artichoke dip shared by all…

Ah, yes, methinks a visit from the Ghost of Thanksgiving Day Future shall make a visit about now.

Self: Ha, ha, ha! Life is so great! This is fantastic! La, la, la! Gumdrops and daisies!

Future Self: Yeah, laugh now, ’cause in about 10 hours you will be hating life in a major way.

Self: Oh, phooey! Now what’s gotten into you, you spiteful, pessimistic future self? Go on and leave me alone. I’m gloating in self-wonder.

Future Self: Alright. I’ll leave you alone. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Right now you should be putting on an adult diaper,* doing every chore that will need to be done in the next 3 days, and making sure the toilet bowls that you, your husband, and your children will be hovering over are sparkling clean and have no residual odors that will make you wretch anymore than you already will be.**

Self: Wait. What?

Self: What? Future Self? Come back!

*No, it was not food-poisoning.

**And yes, we are all fine now. And apparently it only hit the four of us. No babies (except Oliver) were harmed in the making of this memory.

An Amazing Weekend, Part 2

Posted on November 24, 2010 by lauren

Whew. That last one was a bit of a tear-jerker. If not for you, definitely for me. So now that we all know how much our friends mean to us and yada yada yada, let me move on to some actual events and activities that took place during this amazing weekend.

Full day number one: A lot of playing and running around and playground trips and walks around the neighborhood and talk of night terrors and playing music. Because of our wonderful husbands, Mary and I were able to go out to dinner by ourselves while Jamie and Andrew sat by the fire having romantic guitar-playing sessions with beer and talks about the philosophy of life. AND when Mary and I returned at a whopping 9:30pm we joined them by the fire.

Full day number two (Saturday): Another miraculous day packed with fun.

We started with a walk to Winslow’s Home for breakfast.

Where our numbers grew from eight…

… to ten, as Cat and Garriy joined us from Chicago. I mean, they didn’t drive from Chicago to Winslow’s Home, but you get the picture. It was as if no time had passed since we had last seen them, even though Oliver was just a little bundle of chubbiness the last time we had all been together in DC. Now he is just a big bundle of chubbiness who says things like, “nonononononono!”

Once we were stuffed with goat cheese cookies (to DIE for delicious!), gourmet egg burritos, pancakes, coffee, quiche, and information about the anatomy of the human body, we made our plans for the day.

The City Museum. Crash cart. An ordered lunch from Fozzie’s Sandwich Shop (courtesy of Cat and Garriy). Crash cart no longer needed. Hanging out. Lad’s trip to the playground. A vegetarian feast which I could not have pulled off without the child-rearing and apple-slicing life-saving help from Cat. Who can apparently peel, core, and thinly chop six apples in six minutes with a baby on her hip. Ridiculous.

And who takes the cake for MOST ridiculous person at the party?

This fine young lady who broke the record for longest smile EVER. Seriously. She doesn’t stop smiling. And she just sits happily by herself playing and pondering the meaning of life for hours on end. Smiling.

So now, thanks to Greta, not only do I want a baby girl, I want THIS baby girl. Love her. Wonderful, a pleasure, a beautiful, beautiful pleasure. Just like her mama.

The table… crooked.

Which looks so much better with these people sitting at it.

Winners of the Award for Most Ready Parents

The whole clan.

And due to the overwhelming number of pictures I want need to post of the City Museum, check those out sometime in the near future! And if I don’t get to those within the next day, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am thankful for each and every one of you.

An Amazing Weekend, Part 1

Posted on November 23, 2010 by lauren

I have been thinking. And thinking. And thinking. Uploading picture after picture, and more thinking. How can I do this post justice? Obviously there will be a part 2, which should technically make this post easier. You know, less pressure to express the feelings I want to convey in just one entry. But nothing. I can’t think of the words I need.

Blog writer’s block? I’ve had it before. But this time, it’s just not fair. Because the feelings we feel after this past weekend are so strong, so wholesome, I want nothing more than to put it all down in words. So I can feel it again and again every time I revisit this place.

They are the feelings you feel when you think of fond childhood memories. Warmth, fun, chaos, love, laughter. Oh, laughter. Yesterday my sides hurt. I was actually sore. It took me more than a while to figure it out. Was it lifting Oliver? No, I do that all the time. Had I done something physical that had left my old muscles aching? Not really. Except laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh until my mouth felt frozen and my cheeks ached and my sides actually hurt.

This time, the childhood memories are adult memories too. We welcomed close friends into our home for three days and it wasn’t enough time, if you ask me. The stress I usually feel when preparing for guests has been lost. Maybe indefinitely. It’s not that I don’t care about a mess or if people are comfortable and fed and taken care of, it’s that I am actually relaxed. Happy. Unstressed. These are my people. And I guess that is the way it is supposed to be.

The love is shared.

And love is complicated. Competitive toddler arguments, in the right context, can be downright hilarious. Is it bad that we secretly laughed inside each time a fist met the side of a head, an open hand made contact with a chubby cheek? Perhaps because such fierce love was followed by the typical stuff. A hug, some nice sharing of the coveted “red car,” sweet words and gentle giggles.

I watch these two boys grow up together, now from afar, but always together. They grow with parents who value the same things. Whose discipline often comes at the same time, through the same words. The consistencies create a harmony amidst the chaos of preschooler drama. And we meshed. I wondered so many times why we had taken no family trip until now. Spent no more than a long day playing together.

And amidst all of the wondering, it really didn’t matter. Because now we know.

And we are fueled by the people we love. Energized for more, touched and ready to share our lives with these, our people. We love you and miss you, Mary, Jamie, Ben, and Greta… and stay tuned for more of our favorite people (in the next post) whom we also love and miss already, Cat and Garriy!

*Thank you also, Mary, for taking some of these amazing pictures!*

Music Group

Posted on October 27, 2010 by lauren

When we were still living in DC, Andrew and I entertained the idea of starting a music group in our home for the neighborhood kids. Before that, I had attended a library story hour in Baltimore with my best friend Mary and her little one, long ago when he and Milo were still in diapers and actually just learning how to crawl. I loved the energy this librarian brought to the group every week. And we noticed, as the group grew bigger and bigger, stuffed into a hot library room like sweaty sardines, that the neighborhood obviously loved it as well.

In DC, I attended a story hour at the local library and was sorely disappointed. It was sooooo bad. And so, spoiled by the experience, we discussed starting our OWN music group. But Andrew’s schedule and the apparent lack of young stay-at-home parents in our neighborhood stood in our way.

I remember a conversation I had with Mary right before moving to St. Louis. It was a good talk, though interrupted occasionally by our two rambunctious young men running, whapping, and terrorizing the woods where we stood. Still, the conversation somehow continued, in fragments. It was about creating the lives that we wanted. Vocalizing goals. A “Five-Year Plan,” so to speak. I rambled on, something about a garden, doing better with the blog, staying at home and less rushing around, and… the music group.

And somehow, I think in great part to that conversation, those goals are being realized. We are doing those things to be done… someday, now. And I miss Mary. A ton. Because she is the one who brought this whole idea about these specific goals into my life. Being a stay-at-home mom can be difficult in the goal-setting arena, because every day, simple goals, like cleaning (or just cleaning up), getting the kids dressed and fed, washing, playing and reading and disciplining, putting a nourishing dinner on the table every night, laundry, naps, and alllllll the other stuff in-between… well, those goals are sometimes the only goals that are reached. And sometimes even those goals are left un-achieved.

But, no excuses. Those things will get done. Or not. And life will keep chugging on and before you know it you will have a spotless, and empty, house.

And so, every other Tuesday morning, at 9:15am, we are music group. We are loud, and sing-songy, and ridiculous and probably made fun of behind our own backs. And as 13 children and their caregivers (we were missing three families the day we took this picture) gather in our dining room for coffee and snacks, then our living room for guitar music and children’s songs, we are what we said we would be. Except, I wish we had done this all along.

Mary, I miss you and can’t wait to see you. Thank you for being an inspiration!

Dancin’ Around

Posted on October 21, 2010 by lauren

This video clearly needs very little explanation… but I do feel the need to assure you that Oliver is not crippled in some form or another. This is, actually, just the way he “dances.” Apparently, Andrew and I produce some sort of very strong “falling down” gene.

Please enjoy the insanity. Again.

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