1. Enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of my mom’s labor. We’ve been to A-Town a few times to visit and each time we pull into the driveway, I am shocked at my parent’s estate. (Yes, mom, I said estate) My mom’s vegetable garden is remarkable right now. I keep checking to see if my thumb is going to turn green…..
2. Taking pictures of Audrey. I’m very committed to the project I’ve started of documenting her each day from her 6th to 7th month. This means that I’m picking up my camera each day and pointing it in her direction….I’ve even heard myself ask Maggie to move OUT of the frame, pretty sure that hasn’t ever happened to her when I’m holding the camera. Alas, I love taking pictures of Audrey and this project has been fun so far.
3. Going to the top of the Space Needle. We’ve been talking (FOREVER!!) about getting rid of our red car, both Barry and I have felt like it wasn’t safe to be driving, especially since we sometimes take the girls in it. Barry, being King of Research, has been a TON of reading about every single automobile ever invented. The other day he showed up after work with the keys to a truck for a 24 hour test drive. After we finished dinner, we loaded up the girls and headed out for a test drive. Once we hit the freeway, we realized we had no idea of where to go…and since we were already headed South, I suggested The Seattle Center. It was getting dark and the fountain was closed, but we found ourselves at the base of The Space Needle. The price didn’t detour us and so we headed up…..the girls in their jammies, no diaper. This is what we looked like going up and the free photo. Ummmm…….wow.
Aside from looking like a pile of misfits, we picked the most glorious night to be up there. Obviously the picture of all of us is with a fake backgraound, but the one below of Barry holding Maggie is of the full moon in the distance. We got up there right as the sun was setting and were torn over which side to be on, both were spectacular!
4. Our backyard. I absolutely love our backyard when the weather is nice. If we ever move, it won’t be because I need less space outside….being outside is our little slice of heaven. It truly feels like an extension of our home and I’m ever so thankful that we filled in the koi pond because I can guarantee you that I would have died from worry if we hadn’t.
5. Spending time with friends. We went to see “Brave” with the Merks the other night and Cameron’s behavior confirmed to me that he is one of the sweetest boys I know. When we got there, he offered to help Maggie carry her lawn chair or backpack and after we unloaded, he invited her to get ice cream at the bottom of the hill. Charlyn, Dave, Barry and I watched as he and Maggie held hands as they maneuvered through the crowd until they reached the line for ice cream. While they were waiting in line, they held a conversation, with Cameron putting his hands on his knees and bending down when it was Maggie’s turn to talk. Based on the below photo, I think Maggie likes her friend Cameron. (By the way, doesn’t everybody wear a tutu to the movies?)
6. Watching Sister Act. These two sisters just slay me. The other day we were in Maggie’s room and Maggie showed up with the piano – and started giving Audrey a dissertation on how to play the piano. She plunked it down in front of Audrey and Auge-Podge started playing. Maggie practically jumped for joy when this happened. “I taught Augie how to play ‘capano’, Mama!!” **Side note, I think I had Krista’s copy of the Sister Act 2 movie for years and years and knew it by heart. Remember this song? Clearly Audrey is paying attention. And I’m not REALLY watching the movie, but now I kind of want to.
7. Wondering about my girls. We keep saying that we think Audrey is going to be a little bit more of a bruiser because when she literally gets tossed around by her sister, she comes up laughing. And Maggie. Maggie is sweet and compassionate and well-meaning. But after seen the TEENAGERS at the outdoor movie the other night, I became fearful of my future. I’m about sound really old, but have you seen what teenagers wear these days? And where are the parents of those kids that were wandering around unattended??? I am hopeful that the work we’re doing now and the conversations we’re having will help us down the road…..I have to believe that!!!
Otherwise, this is what my girls will look like when I start talking:
8. Family time. As I mentioned above, time in Anacortes always means that we get to spend time at Camp Janet. But it also means that I try to squeeze in a visit with Midge. I think I take after Midge in a lot of ways and I love to pick her brain about being a mother and her experiences of raising four kids. When we’re visiting Midge, she talks with Maggie the same exact way that I know she talked with me as a youngster.
9. Rearranging furniture. My mom picked up this desk and chair for me at a garage sale – for $15 – and it fits perfectly into Maggie’s room. We’d been needing a space for her to work on her ‘projects’ that wasn’t also used to eat on or store bedtime books and this set up works perfectly….for now. My house is in constant flux, I wonder if I’ll ever stop moving pictures or furniture.
10. Listening to music. My grandparents got Maggie a little pony from their recent road trip to North Dakota and for whatever reason it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen’s cover of “Pony Boy” that I used to love. Human Touch was one of my first albums and this was my favorite song on the entire album. I’ve also been listening to Miley Cyrus’ new song…..you can imagine how random the rest of my playlist is.
