Portrait Project

November 16, 2013 by Summer

46/52

eloise: there were so many great photos from this week it was very difficult to choose. I kept coming back to this happy close-up of you though and just knew I had to make it a portrait. You have a cold this week but it hasn’t slowed you down. You are getting into everything all of a sudden, drawers are being rummaged through, couches and chairs are being climbed and you want to be outside as often as you can to run around. You are keeping me on my toes!

* joining jodi with the (almost finished- I can’t believe it) 52 project!

{this moment}

November 15, 2013 by Summer

“A single photo. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember”. – joining Soulemama.

making + listening

November 14, 2013 by Summer

MAKING : Sneak Preview of a special softie that’s getting the final touches for a good friend’s daughter’s first birthday party this weekend.

We did some work with watercolors for the first time a few days ago for some lantern making to celebrate the seasons and light changing to colder and darker.

Normally I would never cut up children’s art work like I did with Ellie’s watercolor (that’s a whole other post about respecting children’s art, something I’ve studied and implemented in all of my classrooms when I taught preschool- I touched on it briefly here), but because we had set out to create lanterns and the fact that this was less of an art project and more of a craft project, my conscious didn’t feel as bad, cutting into the painting to create something else with it.

the finished product!

Add a LED light and we had ourselves a lantern!

We took a little walk the other day with the lantern in the dark right before bed and Ellie seemed to think the whole experience was pretty cool. She didn’t want to go inside! (If you want more information about celebrating Martinmas, and how you can make lanterns, you can find some great info here, here and here. We’re not quite sure if Martinmas and it’s religious aspects are something we necessarily want to practice celebrating, but I really like the idea of lighting the darkness and celebrating the seasonal aspect of welcoming autumn and winter).

LISTENING: We’ve been hearing a lot of banjo tunes around these parts these days, some by this guy, some oldies and mostly from Daddy. He’s getting pretty good.

-joining in with Dawn over at Simplethingsnotebook.

An Autumn Walk

November 14, 2013 by Summer

Despite today’s heat, it’s slowly cooling down around these parts. By evening time, the temperature outside requires a jacket and warm hat. It’s dry, the Santa Ana’s come and go and the leaves on many of the trees have changed to reds and browns. Autumn is subtle around these parts, this I know, but there is a definite change in the season. The light of the sun dips down low very early these days. Our nightly walks with the dogs have been interrupted by the cold and the dark and Jeff now takes them on his own with a flashlight. Ellie and I however, have been taking our own end of the day walks around the neighborhood. Usually we make it to the park. Sometimes it’s collecting leaves and pokey acorn balls on a walk around the block. Today… today we discovered a wish flower, in all it’s autumn glory.

* the dress top is an adorable find from the local antique market! It reminded me of a little dress I wore when I was little.

Mother/Daughter

November 13, 2013 by Summer

prompt 12/30

I saw my daughter in my face. I saw that smile that curled up and the twinkle in her eyes. Those same gappy front teeth.

She is me.

I am her.

I dreamt of her years before she was here. I thought of her with dark hair and ivory skin, yet, blond wisps are the reality. Darling, soft, blond, messy hair.

Hair that reminds me of my own Mother. Those same blond wisps my Mother hated for me to touch. “I don’t like my hair played with,” she’d announce. And just like my mother, my daughter throws up her hand, pushing me away when I brush those extra long pieces out of her eyes.

I on the other hand would allow anyone to touch and caress my hair.

I see my daughter. I see my mother. I see me.

The sing songy nature of her play.

The language all her own. One only a mother can understand.

I had the same language. My mother smiles and tells me, “you told us stories just in that way.”

This daughter of mine who loves Mama’s milk, who curls up to me at night but can be furiously independent during the day. I was that to my own mother once upon a time. I was hers and she was mine. And now I’m grown. And my mother and I, we’re kinfolk. Both of us, Mothers, along different parts of this journey. Mothers watching their daughters grow into Mothers, watching their daughters grow… a journey unlike any other.

-playing along with WriteAlm’s November Prompts.

Weekending!

November 11, 2013 by Summer

Jeff and Ellie were under the weather this weekend so we stayed close to home and rested most of the time (they rested, Mama cleaned and organized).

Ellie has been really into watching Jeff and I do our morning routines in the kitchen. She always wants sips of my tea or coffee. Instead of telling her “no” once again, I decided to make her a quick little felt tea bag of her own to pretend with. She seemed to like the idea and the tea bag came out rather nicely for a quick hand sew.

Lots of indoor play with corks and ramekins and a runner Ellie found in the closet.

I worked on new decorations for the holidays with a cup of freshly brewed coffee (Jeff and I are generally tea drinkers but we thought we’d try fresh brewed coffee this week).

A kitchen nature display. A happy space of mine.

How was your weekend?

– joining Amanda over at The Habit!

Portrait Project

November 10, 2013 by Summer

45/52

eloise: my happy, darling, spunky girl. You tickle me with joy every day!

* joining jodi for the 52 project!

{this moment}

November 8, 2013 by Summer

“A single photo. No words. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” – joining Soulemama

Regret

November 7, 2013 by Summer

prompt 6/30

The morning news show was on in the background while I sipped my tea and ate my granola and yogurt. Ellie, still in her pink and orange fox pajamas, was pushing her dolls and stuffed bears around in the stroller Grandma and Grandpa had bought her a few weeks earlier. The Broadway cast of Wicked came on and as soon as the music started, Ellie turned around, wide-eyed. She walked up to the TV stand and stood there staring at the screen. I smiled at her immediate response to my all time favorite musical and continued watching her reaction. “They’re singing and dancing,” I point out, when she turns to me with wonder and amazement. I sit there practically in tears watching my girl and the joy she has found in one of my favorite things.

Regret.

I don’t have many regrets in my life. I have always liked to play the safe card. I’m the goody two-shoes, the one who doesn’t take chances all too often. But, now that I’m older, sitting here, drinking my tea, watching my first-born daughter light up at the sight of costumes and makeup and singing and dancing, I can feel that sigh of regret creep up. If only I had been braver. If only I had tried harder at the craft. If only my quick weekend trip alone all those years ago, just to see that Broadway show would have turned into something more courageous, like a full-on move. Even if I had moved to New York City as a young adult, I may never have built up the nerve to even try out for a show… but, the regret is still there. I could have at least been a part of the city, for a little while. Drank in what New York had to offer. Bright lights, noise, pollution, people always-in close proximity to one another. Now, it makes me cringe. My anxiety starts to build just thinking about using the subway or getting lost after dark. I know I never would have made it out there. But, back then. Back then I was filled with song and spirit. Back then I felt like a piece of New York belonged to me. Bernadette herself had said she’s look for me one day. I failed her. I didn’t even bother to try.

Regret.

It’s something I don’t think of very often. I’m happy. I have a life I was born to live. But every now and then, I see something on TV. The new Broadway cast of Wicked. I read about how a star was born. She took a chance. She moved to New York City. She auditioned for that new musical. She made it on Broadway.

I watch Ellie smile and bop around to the song on the TV. I watch her and those thoughts of regret are quickly pushed out of my head. I start to sing along. Ellie turns and smiles at me. And I know there’s really nowhere else I’d rather be.

*playing along with November’s Prompt-A-Day!

15 Months!

November 6, 2013 by Summer

15 months is here already! This little girl is growing fast! And she just keeps getting more fun! She loves dancing to music and sitting at her table. She has a fascination with chairs and getting into any she sees. She loves dressing her baby doll up and pushing her in the stroller. I occasionally am asked to “nurse” her baby dolls and animals these days when she’s needing some mid day “milky milk”. Daddy and I get lots of hugs and kisses from our sweet girl and we are also learning how to gently ease her through some tough moments as well. Toddler tantrums are in full swing as well. She’s so full of life and energy, it’s hard not to smile when you are around this little girl. We are loving her up!

* Every month I will be taking a photo of Ellie in her rocking chair with her “Pink Baby” (or any toy she deems worthy at the moment).