life – Page 23 – ~HB ADVENTURE~

February 26, 2014

As Fast As I Can

I’m typing this post as quickly as I can for a variety of reasons. One being that Audrey is down for her afternoon nap and I just saw a Chubby Pug mosey her little self into the bedroom, and so that means that she’s going to try to cuddle up next to Audrey….and wake her up from the cuddling and snoring. Hard to get mad about it because it is quite cute when she’s quiet about it. Another reason I’m trying to type this quickly is that Barry and I decided yesterday to completely rearrange our house and it still looks like a hoarder moved in. And to top it off? Our shower (our ONLY place to bathe) decided to not drain the day before yesterday after the girls’ bath.

Not to brag, but I worked a miracle this morning, along with about 3 bottles of heavy chemicals, and got it un plugged. I’m still unclear what the problem was, but I’m happy to not need a plumber or to crawl under the house. (Full disclosure: I would have insisted on NOT crawling under the house, but I’d like to think that I’d be able to fix it if I did offer to crawl under the house. Got it? Good.)

These days I’ve heard myself tell Maggie a few too many times not to be a boss and Audrey not to climb to dangerous spots. I’m trying to rearrange how I frame my words and reminders. of course I don’t want Maggie to be bossy, but I do want her to be a leader, a person that takes charge and follows her instinct. I also want her to be someone that listens to others and respects ideas that aren’t her own. A girlfriend once told me that Maggie isn’t bossy, she’s a leader and I’m going to run with that thinking until otherwise informed. In terms of Audrey climbing and exploring (or being dangerous) I want her to be able to discover the world, but within reason. Yes, she has a big sister to keep up with, but I think there will be a day that isnt’ too far off that Maggie will be following Audrey on an adventure. I want to give Audrey opportunities to safely explore and climb without me hollering at her to “Sit down”.

I long for the days of being able to write something heart-felt and long-winded, but that doesn’t fit into my life right now. I’ve got a house to restore to order so the little people can get back to the business of rearranging in their own way….and I also have to go check to make sure Syd isn’t on top of Audrey. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re spooning.

audrey bell standing on high chair audrey bell towel head

February 15, 2014

Current Snaps

The picture at the bottom of the post, of the frog pin, was mine when I was Maggie’s age. I loved staring at it as a child. It was attached to a purse of mine that my mom made for me as a youngster and hung in my bedroom for years and years. Somehow the pin ended up in our bathroom here at HBHQ and has been in a drawer kicking around. A few days ago Maggie discovered it and wore it with pride for Valentines’s day. Barry and I found a balloon of a huge frog at the grocery store and bought it for her because she loved the pin so much. We’d been hiding the balloon in a closet waiting for Valentine’s day to come.

We’d put the balloon next to the fridge for Maggie to find in the morning/middle of the night when she gets up to get her cup of milk, but weren’t sure what to expect with her reaction to the discovery. Well, in the night/early in the morning (its all about perspective) she climbed into bed and announced “Daddy got me a frog ballooon like my pin and it’s beautiful.” Then she chugged her cup of milk and fell back to sleep. That dang frog balloon has been smooched on by all of us and dragged around the house like a new-found toy. Barry also revived a game “Balloon Bop” from his childhood and we’ve all been playing together.

Audrey has crawled over to me and has now put her hands up my shirt and is pinching that awkward area of my side muffin top. I better go. By the way, Audrey is standing up on her own, and walks with a push cart, but has NO interest in taking steps independently.

Pinch.

Pinch. Pinch.

maggie mae new bay

February 11, 2014

Do You Want To Build a Snowman?

We woke up last week with a dusting of a few inches of snow in our yard and basically spent a large part of our day out in our front and back yard. Maggie was ecstatic and was busy working in her ‘snow bakery’ before we all had our shoes on. After seeing these pictures, I think I officially need to retire Barry’s brown plaid coat. It is damn comfortable, but holy puffiness. (Lara, maybe we should both donate the puffy coats together??).

We also have been blasting the “Frozen” soundtrack through our house for the last month or so. As I’ve written before, I’ve struggled with the “disney” life, but I really, really loved that movie. More specfically, I love that the movie is all about sisters. I also think it’s the first time that Maggie has really connected music to a story. I have some pre-teen memories of creating massive dances to “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” with my friends, and I’m deciding I’m all for anything that my girls choose to be interested in that’ll keep them being kids for as long as possible. Lately, that means that we’re really enjoying “Frozen” so much so that we took Mags to the sing-along version. It was magnificant because there were a bunch of girls there, maybe 12 years old, standing in the aisle beltting out the songs at show-tune volume. It was so cool that they weren’t embarrassed or afraid to do that.

**Mom, as you look at all these snowy pictures, take a long look around where you’re at and take a deep breath. Enjoy it while you can because the snow might have melted, but it’s freakin’ cold still.

barry audrey party two snow day at hbhq-17 party two snow day at hbhq-20 snow day at hbhq-18 snow day at hbhq-24 snow day at hbhq-22