“A single photo. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” – joining Amanda today! Happy Friday and Happy Solstice!
Making + Listening
Making : I’m almost done with a bunny for a special little girl who’s turning one very soon. Her Mama and I have been friends for ages and our babies are exactly six weeks apart. I’m loving this purple fabric and can’t wait to do more with it. That first picture is my nursing/napping station for afternoon naps these days. I outfit myself with books, sewing and of course the computer. Ellie naps and I get to unwind a bit from the day.
I also finally got the peacock framed and up on the wall.
I’m really digging the colors of the whole thing. It has a Hawaiian, summertime kind of feel and it really looks lovely next to Amanda’s First Day print. I love art and consider myself a collector of sorts, but it is also really neat to outfit your home with pieces you have created as well. Putting up your own art or in this case, crafts, brings a tender, well-loved feeling to your home. Seeing this on the wall inspires me to make more!
Listening: We haven’t been listening to much this past week. But I am starting to rotate in some summertime tunes like this one while doing dishes and cleaning and a little of this too while we play.
What are you Making + Listening?
Joining Dawn today!
A Special Guest for Dinner
I don’t usually talk about my preschool teaching days here. Years of confidentiality agreements and never wanting to disturb anyone’s privacy, I’ve kept the stories of the children whom I cared for safe in my head and heart. But, last night we had a special guest for dinner, one of my former students whose family was in town for the day. And I was so excited to have her and her family over, I just had to write about it here today.
It’s strange how one can care for other people’s children with so much love and respect. I know many people who could never do it. But I often felt like I could easily adopt because of how much I loved some of the children in my care. In fact it had been a bit of an occupational hazard for me, falling in love with other people’s children, because that was just it- they weren’t mine. I couldn’t take them home with me at the end of the day. And when certain children transitioned out of my classroom to an older classroom, it was often terribly hard for me to let them go. It wasn’t every child that I felt this way about. I liked all of the children in my care but I didn’t love all of them. In fact it was a very small percentage of them. I had so many children come and go through my life, throughout my career, I wouldn’t have been able to handle being a preschool teacher otherwise. But there was that small handful of children who touched me. Children who connected with me on a deeper level. This little girl who came to visit was one of them. And it was so neat to watch one of my favorite students play with my own daughter. After years of caring for other children I finally have my own and my two worlds of teacher and mother collided. It was a lovely dinner and a lovely visit. An evening I will cherish as a mother and as a former preschool teacher.
Weekending: Father’s Day Edition
What a glorious weekend! Lots of sunshine! Lots of love and fun! Lots of beer!
Homemade granola, heavy baskets from the farmers market this week(we’re having company this week), and an oh-so-fun picnic in the park with friends. The strawberry shortcake in a jar was made with TLC by a lovely Mama, due to have her first-born any day now. Saturday ended with the regular bath hour and stories with Daddy.
Jeff’s first (official) Fathers Day. Ellie and I made him a book from this place. And Mommy wrote Daddy a note reminding him of all the things I love watching him do with his little girl. We had tea for breakfast and yogurt and homemade granola and then set out for a lovely morning walk/hike along a local beach path. Brunch was breakfast burritos and shakes from another local dive and some play time at the park for Ellie. We even got to visit the local brewery for a special Fathers Day beer.
We had my parents and sisters over for steak and potatoes (Daddies choice) and the joy led into the evening with chatting and play time in the yard. A beautiful Fathers Day Weekend if I do say so myself!
Cheers to all the Dads!
-joining Amanda for Weekending!
Portrait Project
24/52
eloise: you were the flower girl in your uncle Matt’s and aunt Jenn’s wedding this past saturday and you did wonderfully! We stuck you in this very uncomfortable but unforgettably darling flower girl dress and you wore it like a pro. It was so hard not to keep taking photo after photo of my darling angelic looking girl. We changed you out of the poofy thing right after the ceremony. I walked you down the aisle and you seemed pleased with all of the attention you were getting. A happy memory for us indeed. My little flower girl!
-joining Jodi for the 52 project!
{this moment}
A single photo. No Words. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, remember. – joining Soulemama. Happy Friday to you!
(Technically this is from last saturday. But I couldn’t help myself).
June Garden Update
We took pretty much everything out of the raised bed and put in new seedlings and this is the result. It’s looking promising so far and I’m excited. We have pumpkins, tomatoes, squash and lettuce growing in the bed. Last year’s cucumber surprisingly came back in one of the planters and our black pearl tomato is already flowering. I would love to plant more out there, we certainly have room for more beds, but Jeff hasn’t gotten the chance to build any more and so our garden remains small this year. But, this is California and the growing season is quite long so there is still time…
What are you growing in your garden?
-joining Amanda today! Hoping to be back next week with Making + Listening.
A History Lesson Indeed
I grew up in California and unfortunately history was not the strong suit in the public schools I attended. I remember the one U.S. history class I was required to take in high school was taught by the football coach who thought it best we learned from the greats like Matthew Broderick in Glory and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Tuskegee Airmen. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of my U.S. History class but I may have a skewed view of what our nation’s history really looked like.
Even with my mediocre schooling in history, I managed to gain an enjoyment for the subject and love visiting and learning about America’s past. Coming to Boston is always a lesson for me. I come back to California every time, armed with new knowledge about the history of America.
Yesterday the weather was not stellar, so we stayed close to Nana and Papa’s house and decided to finally do the John Adam’s tour (something I had always wanted to do in Jeff’s hometown and something Jeff hadn’t done since he was boy). We only made it into the Adam’s library before Ellie had other plans. Note to self: don’t ever think baby will fall asleep during a walking tour… it will most likely turn into a very upset baby and a looky loo from other visitors until finally you decide the courteous thing would be to bow out, and exit the tour with said wailing baby and instead buy a history book on the Adams’.
We decided to take our own driving tour when Ellie finally decided to drift off to nappynap land in the car seat. As disappointing as it was to miss the house tour, I rather enjoyed driving around the town of Quincy and Braintree. Jeff pointing out not only America’s history, but his own childhood history as well. A park he used to frequent as a child, the ice cream store his brother worked at, his elementary school now the middle school. I loved being passenger to this historical ride and afterward we sat in the driveway waiting for Ellie to wake up and read passages from the books we had bought, learning even more about the establishment of this fine city. A history lesson indeed…
Weekending!
What a whirlwind of a weekend. We made our way to Plymouth, Massachusetts for my brother-in-law’s wedding… on Friday, a rehearsal, a very wet and rainy rehearsal dinner. On saturday, a lovely morning exploring the historic Plymouth and an amazing, clear, sunny and warm afternoon for a beautiful wedding! It was a different experience going to a wedding with an active ten month old but we made it through and she was a hit, my little miss flower girl. Sunday was an after wedding brunch on the shore and a sleepy drive back to Nana and Papa’s house. We have a couple more days here in Massachusetts. We are enjoying every minute of our time here and will miss all of these wonderful family members when we head back to California on Wednesday. How was your weekend?
-joining Amanda today.
Portrait Project
23/52
eloise: This is a picture of you in your Nana and Papa’s back yard. We are here in Boston for the week for your Uncle Matt’s wedding. You did really well on the flight here and you are getting comfortable with all your aunties and uncles and cousins. Everyone thinks you look so big since the last time they saw you and they are all so excited to spend this very special week with you.
-joining Jodi for the 52 project.
summerplayshouse 