less is more

less writing
more living

it's a good thing. xx

sweet little airstream

nothing beats the heat of summer like getting together with some women, a sewing machine, some wine and good snacks, and making art in a vintage airstream! simple scraps of paper, some recycled cardstock, colorful thread, some gluesticks- it doesn't take much to keep a group of mamas entertained for a couple of hours! i am blessed to be part of such fun, spontaneous gatherings that i can look forward to during my long days with the kids while john is away! now i just can't wait until august's gathering! xx

sunkissed

today
we are on a family mission
to find the wonder and joy
in the little things

we are going to a camp house
with friends
and the kids will swim
and hunt for bugs and fish
and the day will drag by
in the best way possible

we might take a little canoe trip
to a tiny island
and pick wild blueberries


summer days like this are the best

free

with friends

simple


when we all roll into bed sunkissed and tired. xx

every single day

every
single
day


is beautiful

sometimes you just have to try harder
to find the good stuff.

being in the moment

sometimes i stop during a busy day and wonder how on earth we got where we are. three kids later, ten years of marriage, settling into our second home. lately i've been spending much less time on the computer, and more time in nature----and more time drinking wine on my deck, battling massive mosquitoes. more time chasing after a two year old who is determined to pee and poop all over every inch of my new cream carpet. more time at the library gathering stacks of summer reading for the kids. more time cooking food for my family in my much-bigger-than-before kitchen. more time holding space for face-to-face meetings. watching a beautiful baby be born. being quiet with a friend in pain. creating art at my table with friends. sitting at my sewing machine and stitching up blankets for the little ones in my life. being a referee for sibling battles. going to bed early. just being in the moment.

what are you doing more of? xx

nothing lasts forever

life is so short
so sweet
and sometimes so not-so-sweet

all we can do
is live
the best that we can
and make every day count

because
it doesn't last forever
it can all be gone
today
now
forever

so go tell the people
you love

hey, i love you

and go tell the people that drive you crazy

hey, you drive me crazy, but i love you anyway

and make today
count.

keeping busy by doing a whole lot of nothing

reporting from our transition time to say that we are all happy and well! we're scheduled to move into our new home this coming monday, which leaves us four more sleeps! in the meantime, we've all been busy with regular life stuff---graduations, homework, soccer practices, hanging with friends, the usual. here are some snapshots of what's been keeping us busy...

lots of hanging around on the tire swings...

lots of hanging out by the bonfire...

some snuggling with new babies...
some hanging with my girl and celebrating her eighth birthday...

and of course, saying goodbye to our old house!...

goals for the weekend

1. get outside in the s.u.n.
2. stay positive
3. celebrate my biggest girl's eighth birthday!
4. eat some good food
5. hang out with some old friends and snuggle some of their babies
6. pack up our PODS that are being delivered this afternoon
7. listen to bob marley
8. sweep up mouse poop in the basement
9. purge and give away lots of our stuff on the curb
10. pack up the basement
11. ignore everything else.

xx

how is this happening? no, really. how is it possible that this is happening?

SOMEONE'S growing up, and fast! and someone takes after his mama and likes to take self portraits. ;)

even though my camera is certainly, most definitely NOT a toy, when a small and very cute boy asks me sweetly if he can "go around the yard and take pictures of myself?", i say yes without any hesitation. and then, weeks later, when i upload these pictures to the computer and go through them, i sit there shaking my head, wondering HOW on earth my little boy is growing up so fast. he has this hysterical "magnum" model look in most of his pictures that make him look so o.l.d.

i am the luckiest that i got blessed with this boy----so sweet, so simple, so dedicated to capturing a moment in time.

blessed mother

i am so blessed
to be the mother
of three beautiful, healthy children
who are my guides
and teachers
now and always.



happy mother's day! xx

into the woods

the kids love to make "potions", just like good little witches. they take buckets and fill them with things from nature. they spend hours mixing and preparing (and then inevitably lulu comes along and dumps them and lots of crying and screaming ensues). even though we live on a pretty quiet street and have our own little fenced in yard now, i'm really looking forward to moving to the woods on new hampshire (fingers crossed!) and having our backyard have lots of woods to explore. i can't wait to see what kinds of potions we can all cook up while nestled among the trees!

saying goodbye

we are in the process
of saying goodbye
to our sweet home
that has served us well
for over seven years.
we love it
our guests love it
we have made babies and raised babies in it
there have been parties
and tears
and dance offs
there was a garden
filled with vegetables
and a woodchuck
who liked to eat them
there are some wonderful neighbors
who watched out for me
when john was away
there were many meals
cooked
and shared
with friends and family
there have been many drinks shared
on the deck
and many baths
shared in the bathtub

we will be sad to leave
but happy to find a bigger space
for the five of us



(our house is under agreement--fingers crossed!) xx

new blog makeover

in honor of wearing the pink pants that someone left on my front lawn
in honor of having a baby in a cast
in honor of having a house full of sick kids and a fridge full on antibiotics
in honor of sanity and insanity
in honor of art nights in barns
in honor of cutting off eight inches of my hair and coloring it red
in honor of YOU...

i did a little blog makeover.

life is crazy, life is my teacher, and i'm constantly learning. peace out! xx

the good stuff exists even though i'm failing at being a good person lately

life has been crazy busy between hanging out with people i love, eating good food, managing sick and/or misbehaving kids, and you know, SELLING OUR HOUSE. i'm quickly realizing that i don't do well with change and upsetting the cart---but i'm trying to be better. it's hard. i've been anxious and mamamc.snappypants. and i'm not proud of that. but there have been sweet moments that i cherish more than anything--

* heart-shaped pieces of bark

* going for our first picnic of the season yesterday, laying on our blanket in the warm sun, eating clementines and fruit leather

* chinese food takeout and watching a movie and drinking wine

* having a clean house

* buying more "little critter" books with joey to expand our existing collection---but he calls them "the little hairy guy books" which makes me want to buy him every single one ever written. reading them in his bottom bunk before bed.

* watching food network shows with grace

* friendly neighbors

* doing two hot stone massages yesterday on nice people

* olivia's organics salad mix

* laying on lulu's bedroom floor reading with the kids tonight

* driving around researching new towns. tonight we explored a new town in a different state! (sounds dramatic but it's only like 10 minutes up the road in NH)

* being so excited to get into bed tonight. trying to wait until 7:30p but i'm not sure i can make it!

kisses to everyone! xx

new england love

only
in
new
england
do people
go hiking
in the snow and mud
with three wild children
while wearing flip flops.


xx

good thing roundup

*this little seven year old girlie that has just become obsessed with reading. up until recently, she's been all about the obtaining of books and not so much about the actual reading of books. but thanks to the geronimo stilton series, she's now a reading maniac and it makes me want to let her stay up past her bedtime (6:30p still, i know! gasp!) and read with me.

** homemade chakra flags hanging all around.

** it's still been cold enough here to have coffee dates in front of the fire with my silly guy. and speaking of joey, he's been feeling MUCH BETTER lately. so i'm hoping that all the testing and going back and forth to children's hospital will be ending soon...(if i've been m.i.a., this is partially why.) do we know what the heck was wrong with him (vomiting and diarrhea for two months!)---no. but i'm just happy it's gone for the time being.

** little superheros in tutus who believe they can conquer the world. and who really, truly believe that they are rainbow brite. she calls herself "lulu ruby rainbow" which comes out like "you-you oo-bee ain-bow". love. (cape and tutu courtesy of auntie stephie---thank you!)

** fancy little bundles that come in the mail, filled with chocolate and healing herbs. love.


so same old same old----life is good, life is busy, life is crazy, life is hard, life is beautiful. all the good things rolled up into one chaotic life. what's shaking in your world? xx

10 random things

random 10

(because i've got nothing else for you)

1. one of my dearest friends emily is here visiting for four days. we are doing all the things we like to do together---like sit on the couch and chat, eat good food, and play with the kids. we are also going out for smoothies and eating kale.

2. i keep making chakra flags and hanging them up around the house. it looks a little cookoo-clocks. i have four banners hanging up currently. i can't stop making them.

3. i just got my first co-op order in from the earthy crunchy place. i spent too much money but saved a lot---and now i have so many fun organic bath and beauty products to play with! yay for me! if you come over, i will spritz you. beware.

4. i had a chai smoothie tonight and now i'm chasing it down with a lot of wine. you know, for like balance.

5. we got new pillows this weekend. john and i hate them because they are too puffy and hurt our necks.

6. i want to purchase something from this lovely company. don't you?

7. i also want to learn to make my own jewerly.

8. i'm also addicted to taking photos through the viewfinder style.

9. i would also like to know if when you get a letter returned to you because of insufficient postage and it says that you need to add .41, do you just add a stamp, or do you have to start over with uncanceled stamps?

10. i love getting the mail. i especially love it if i get magazine or a real letter.

bonus! 11. wheatgrass powder is ass.

i love my life. the end.

naughty little rufflebutts, and bright colors all around

lately i've been doing some major hanging out with this little mischievous rufflebutt. lulu has been out of control---if we turn our backs for a second, something is broken, someone is crying, something is missing, something is destroyed, my wood floors are painted on, crayons are eaten, markers ingested, diapers taken off and smeared, someone's playing with razors, someone's dialing 911. this child is such a teacher to me. with her, my mantra is "let go let flow". i repeat it over and over in my mind, on a loop throughout the day. i've never dealt with this level of naughtiness (and yes, it IS naughty because she knows what she's doing is naughty!) in my life! but somehow, we all look at that cute paint-stained face and that chubby rufflebutt and nobody can be mad at her, even if she just demolished your most cherished family heirloom.

in other news, i've been taking an awesome class called 'got paint,' offered by emily falconbridge. it's gotten my creative juices flowing. gray and i are diving into the little assignments, learning some new techniques, and enjoying getting messy together.

a little someone is also getting involved in the mess-making.

there's something about spring--- the blank-slate-iness of it all, that makes me want to clean, paint, and get my ducks in a row!


also, a BIG shout out to angela and penny for each gifting me ttv cameras to play with! i am consistently awed by the generosity and overall radness of my friends, near and far. (penny's latest post, here, is totally worth checking out and getting on board with!) xx!

home.

this morning it is snowing outside. we are having a "home" day, which i love. (well, it will be a "home" day until we go "out" to our family's house for dinner later, which is a whopping mile away). the paints are already out, the baby is naked and painting like an inspired maniac at the table. i've already had like eight cups of coffee. the older kids are watching old pink panther reruns and jump roping and learning how to walk the dog with the yo-yo. lulu has now painted her lips and surrounding area blue. the paint doesn't wash off. i love the look of snow when it's freshly white because it covers up all the poop brown chunks of unmelted snow we have everywhere. i cut the tip of my finger off last night and i'm worried about 1. how i will take a shower in a little bit and 2. if i will heal in time to give a decent massage next weekend when i have to go to work. typing is hard right now. i love the date night i had last night with john. i love the lobster mac and cheese that i got even more. i love that part of our date involved going to target and buying cleaning supplies (sexy). i love that we came home "late" (like 8:30p), i got a hot pack ready, put it on my tummy, and went to bed (sexy).

the end.

happy happy sunday! hope it's everything you need it to be.

through the viewfinder

one of my other "goals" for 2011 (you know, other than 'get a french press coffee maker and drink more coffee') was to learn how to make and use a through the viewfinder (TTV) contraption. i haven't been able to find an affordable dualflex camera, but a sweet friend of mine let me borrow hers! yesterday i sat down with some supplies and made the contraption (it was a bit of a hot mess---lulu was trying to get her hands on my box cutter and scissors, the kids were playing with my scraps, and i'm a notoriously bad measurer!). i finally (with LOTS of help and intervention from johnny) got it up and working!

if you are interested, here's the pattern i used:

TTV pattern

and here's some more inspiration from hula seventy:

hula's TTV love

i need to make another one using the "proper" supplies (you know, like BLACK tape, which is kind of key...). and i need to get my hands on my own dualflex. but in the meantime, i am loving this new toy to play with...and kind of loving how the first images came out.

<3