On bodily changes

I'm not 21.
Not exuding a pregnancy glow.
And definitely not workin' a Barbie tan.
I'm not a fan of everything in the JC Penney Juniors section.
I own Spanx.

And I'm working with what I have:

A husband I'm honored to adore.
A child I love to kiss.
Family I pray to bless.
Friends who've got my back.
Words to teach me.
God to guide me.

Moles, cellulite, spider veins, unruly eyebrows--thank you for making me interesting. Thank you for being the footnotes to my story. But don't you ever, ever try to steal the plot line.

It's mine.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's...

dog?

I've officially become a dog person. Grew up around cats (R.I.P., WeeBee and Bobby) but have kinda morphed into a full-fledged dog lover. Except the ones that cost a lot. Like Marley.

I digress.

Meet "Baby." I want her. Sure, she's mixed breed--a kind of pug/boston/beagle? (not sure), but she had me at "you betcha I'll let you rub my tummy even though I don't know you."

She's kinda ugly. And on the short side. But she melted my puppy-lovin' heart.

She lives in Missouri.

And has owners. It's for the better.

Baby, remember our bond. I'll miss you.

Hello, Time? Wait up! Thank you.

Gone are the days of leaving Wilder to play alone for 5 minutes...content on a blankie with a few toys. My kid is all over the place. My Swiffer Sweeper in Pampers.

And he's ten months. I pore over newborn photos and wonder where my baby went!

Some cool stuff that's going on:

~bathes in the regular bathtub; this is a special bonding time with Daddy; he splashes a lot and plays with a red cup
~he army crawls FAST, and climbs on the furniture
~we lowered his crib as low as it will go
~leans against tables/chairs/couch and pats each surface
~talks
~self-feeds; he loves cheese
~goes from tummy to sitting up
~forms his lips into an "O" when focused or excited about something
~makes a humming sound when he crawls
~loves walking with our holding both his hands
~has one tooth!
~behaves very well for our occasional babysitter, Ashley
~has some kind of curl situation going on (I'm trying not to get my hopes up)
~likes being thrown in the air
~turns pages in books (and pats them!)
~babbles--mostly "da-da"
~I am addicted to estate saling

Playing with cousin Max, who's two.
Too bad they don't live closer to one another; they have fun together--pinching, whacking, staring. Ya know, the kind of stuff we wish we could do to our adult friends.

Cookies will cure your woes

Baking is one of my many therapies.

What? You thought I was stable?

Pshaw.

These snickerdoodles (the cookies and the dough, but mostly the dough) had me in a euphoric state for oh, at least an hour. They're nothing fancy. But, I'd never made them before (culprit--never had the cream of tartar).

Here's the etymology of "snickerdoodle," according to Wikipedia:

"The Joy of Cooking claims that snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln, which means "snail dumpling." A different author suggests that the word "snicker" comes from the Dutch word snekrad, or the German word Schnecke, which both describe a snail-like shape. Yet another theory suggests that the name comes from a New Englad tradition of fanciful, whimsical cookie names. There is also a series of tall tales about a hero named "Snickerdoodle" from the early 1900s which may be related to the name of the cookie."

Click here for full article & a recipe.

Hey, I was curious.

She done got her Bachelor's

I used to coax (she would say yank) her spiraled hair into a side pony tail until she was, uh, 6? I can't remember. I want to, but I can't. Guess that's time's curse for you. I think of those antique window frames I see all over the place--their glass intact but the paint chipping off the frame's edges. That's what memories are like for me. Some are there. A lot are missing. Or chipped and about to fall off. I grovel for the remnants.

We made "dough" in her Little Tikes kitchen. I'd sneak down to the pantry...get a pan, some flour, sugar. We'd mix that with water from the bathroom faucet, and, presto! Then we'd sample it.

Ew.

My little sister's finished her bachelor's in biology. Donned the cap and gown, waltzed her toned gams across the stage, and, finished. I helped her trash her professor/mentor's office with paper, confetti, TP, saran wrap. I had to mask how honored I was to share that memory with her.

I ooze pride, but am sad, too. I have to clunk myself on the head and say, "Mindy, she's grown up, married, for Pete's (who's Pete?) sake--you can't protect her anymore-and by the way, it was never your place!"

Congratulations, Sissy. You are forever my darling.

Marlboro Man

...I realize that's what the Pioneer Woman calls her husband, but, that's what we called Marley LONG BEFORE I was enlightened by the Woman's musings. I swear.

Anyway, Marley's doing better. (despite the starved orphan look)


I thought of one pro to his having a cancer scare. He went from 26 pounds to 23.7 pounds. Much healthier for a Boston. He's back to his usual self.


Atta boy. Sick 'em.

Never mind that he has no idea what that means.

Saturdays are for sleeping in and throwing away to-do lists.

Isn't my crawling baby cute? I love that things are novel for him. Even laundry baskets.

***

What I want most for you, at this moment, with my dimply albino thighs sticking to the green vinyl on the chair that cost me a quarter, is for you to laugh.

That's it.

Go guttural. Even if you don't think I'm funny, maybe you can call up a friend & she'll get you goin'.

B&Ws

I love this sequence by Shawn:



oh. my.

A shout out to Calvin

Two things:
Either a) we did a crummy job of wiping off Wilder's face after dinner and bath, or, b) he's turning orange from too much orange food.
Ok, three things:
I don't know how to edit photos?

But he's still delectable.

LoveNote

I found this note in the basement. It's from when Shawn was finishing up his degree, and I made him lunch with a heart note--he was in all kinds of art courses, including jewelry making. (unfortunately, that class didn't involve diamonds...)

It made me ponder a couple of things:

That sure was sweet. I need to write Shawn some notes.

Secondly:

In oh, let's say, 8 years, will I find some similar artifact, and, if so, will I like what it speaks of myself? Will I say, "aw, that's sweet; I was a cool person!"?

I want to. I hope to.

Disclaimer: I apologize if you think the note is too gushy or PDA. I won't be apologizing; it's part of the curriculum in the self-imposed, self-taught Assertiveness 101 class I'm in this summer. I'll let ya know what grade I get.

We ate donuts and the milk accompanying them was good.

Apparently donuts are bad for you.

Hmmmm....

I've talked about The Donut Whole before...but in my sugar HIGHEEEyy decided to blog about it again...


This time, my favorite was the Homer--it's the pink one with rainbow colored sprinkles..yeah, there in the corner.

It didn't stay there long.

I will now proceed to eat just lettuce this week. Just lettuce.

Yep, just lettuce. I will..

*cough*

I'm ok with humidity, cuz...

The zoo the zoo THE ZOO!

You'd think I would have wheeled us back to the car after seeing this:

Or this:
But how could I deny a face like this?

(ok, I admit he looks a little ornery)

But I'm glad we stayed because we got to see these guys:


And these butt buddies:
And a sneak peek at the not-yet-open lion exhibit because I "know people"
Oh, and these guys (anyone have any vintage flamingo stands I can put in the yard?):
Even though I wish I could have been at home napping, like this dude (an unshy bear if you can't tell):

I knew I'd done right when 3 hours later, Wilder was still doing this:
uh huuuuh.

Mum's Day

Mum's Day was so good I could have eaten it. Then I figured that while my memory hasn't always served me the keenest, the Day deserved to be cradled there, if even in faintest form, than to not reside there at all.

And I ate chocolate instead.
That was a fun one to whip up.

So were these:

My life's significance has multiplied since becoming a mother, and I wasn't sure how I would feel about it on the actual "here is when we honor you" day. It can be summed up in a word: pride.

Pride over the beautiful son who belongs, has always belonged, in our journey. Pride at the friends and family who've loved and patienced me into the mom I am now.

Ok maybe one more word: gratitude.

For these people:
I'm lucky you are my Mommy (on the left, for my new readers) and Mother-in-Law. I want each day to be a song for you. All of the love and energies that you put into your babies to come back to you. You'll say it has.

I'm grateful we could fit 15? (I lost count) people in our home for celebrating Mum's Day, my Birthday, Shawn's belated Birthday, and Wilder's dedication. I'm grateful Auntie Erin made a surprise visit for Wilder's special day, and Auntie Andrea helped get him ready for church. I'm thankful Grandpa Mustache insisted on holding Wilder for a really long time--because he wanted to.

I'm thankful we vowed to raise Wilder to love God and to love people.

Perhaps now you see why I really wanted to eat Mum's Day.

Had a hard time...

...choosing pics (from just one afternoon) to post. So here's all of them.

those curl tufts on the sides get me every time!

He's an army-crawler now. Oh, dear me...getting his first tooth, too.

And ohhhh, he looks like SHAWN.

This is...

my new favorite thing!!!!

My Wilder necklace. Purchased from Kylie with Early Jewelry, a Lawrence, KS-based business. My neighbor, who's the talented artist's sister, introduced me to the line. And it's amazing. Here's a snippet from the site:

Kylie Earlene Grater’s farm beginnings in Riley, Kansas lend a unique aesthetic to her original pieces. Growing up in the rural Midwest, she was able to look out onto the Plains, their vast horizons, and crops that rotated with the seasons.

The simplicity of rural life, the changing of the weather, and the cycles of planting, and harvesting have all influenced Grater’s approach to creating jewelry. Her close contact with these organic influences, in part, determines her materials: feather, cow bone, and leather, to name a few.

This necklace is sterling silver, hand engraved with a "W" and hand-stamped with a broken arrow symbol.

I wear it every day.

And proudly so. What momma wouldn't?

Click here for a link to Early Jewelry's blog. "In 2009 Kylie will blog the creation of 300 designs as an expansion of her current collections throughout the year. This new project is born of a desire to document a more interactive creative process with the Early Jewelry audience and all 300 designs will be available for purchase thru the blog."

gErBeR

Just sayin'.

Stranger to No One

Click here for more Flickr photos showcased by James Turrell.

We haven’t met yet
When we do
I’ll smile
Nod politely
Say, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Will you know I really mean it?
Will you know I want to know you?
Will you shake my hand firmly?
Or provide a limp grip
Indicating your opinion
Of yourself? Of life?
A defeatist overflow?

Or will you rise up?
Greet me confidently
Eagerly
Ready to exchange?

When we meet
You don’t have to like me
Or understand the joy
I feel knowing I’ve just met
Someone really special

Someone with unique
Fingerprints
Blood type
Nuances
Tendencies
Ratty socks
Scowls
Moles

Dreams and visions.

How can one be intimidated?
Why not say “hello”?
Why not wave across
The driveway
Smile
Gesture

We’re just people.

-mh