fall immersion

and so it begins...

embracing all that is fall in new england-----campfires, smores, soups and pies, apple picking, hoodies, a trip up to squam, a raw night with lots of creative women, incense burning, chili and cornbread eating, pumpkin-patching, a bluegrass concert at a local greenhouse, picking the perfect pumpkin for the front steps. deep breaths...immersion.

xx

grateful september

there are so many beautiful things happening in our lives---i could go on and on with my grateful list. here are just a few...


:: my new comfy skirt...


:: ice cream parties in the middle of the day for no reason...

:: having an amazing group of friends in my life...

:: being married to a great guy who loves me for who i am...

:: little mudgie when she wears headbands...

:: joey's "picture face"...

:: my little family, and my best friend's wedding...

:: swimming with friends in a hotel pool...

:: slip and slides on sale for $5 at the end of the season...

:: my red window on the top of our fireplace...

:: my little meditation area in my bedroom...

:: lulu's bedroom---the thrifted quilt on the wall, and the bench that my dad made out of a vintage baby crib...

:: firepits and smores and family...

:: joey and his bravery during the start of kindergarten!...

:: firewood stacking and nesting for the fall (and our generator during hurricane irene)...


peace, love, and chaos to you all! happy fall. hope you have some rad adventures planned. xx

our new hanging out spot

where before there was nothing...now we have a bright and sunny family hanging out spot! johnny and i made it a point to put our heads together and come up with something fun for the big room you enter when you come into the house, and we came up with turquoise walls, new pictures hanging in the frames, a red sectional and ottoman, and a teal chair. we still need to get tables, lights, and window treatments, but in the meantime, we're enjoying gathering, lounging, and not fighting for spots to sit!

summer lovin'

this summer
has been incredible
long days filled with nothing much...
reading books and watching movies
laying in the grass looking at birds and butterflies

there's been lots of sibling rivalry
but moments of sweet bliss
where everything is right in our world

especially when we are the only people
at the town beach
and there are four lifeguards
watching my three kids,
a hawk circling about the pine trees around us.
and we have a cooler filled with
chips and sandwiches and apples
and a day filled with nothing
waiting for us.


the summer days are numbered
so i'm trying to slow down
and enjoy these last days. xx

life according to joey

sometimes
when i upload my pictures to the computer
i find these little gems
videos that the kids have taken
of each other
of themselves

and i find myself
late at night
looking through the pictures and videos
dying laughing

this one struck me as particularly funny
-----------------------------------------------------

life according to joey

the things that are dangerous?


sitting on the toilet

kissing a woman

never brushing your teeth

living it

it's true, party people
i am falling in love with summer

i've always kind of dug summer,
but never really have been crazy about it
i don't love being hot
tend to get very overheated and exhausted and grumpy

but this summer

oh this summer

i am falling in love
with the beach
and the long days
and the movie nights
and the basketball and softball games in the yard
and the staying up lates
and the drumstick ice cream cones
and the farmers markets
and the dinners on the deck
and the birthday parties outside

and the nights that you most certainly, definitely must take a shower before bed because there's no way on earth that you can place your dirty dirty body on your clean, cool sheets

life is full, and busy, and not-busy, and wonderful. there is not a single day that goes by that i don't thank my lucky stars that i get to mother these children, and live this life that i live. it's as simple as that. a big thank you to the universe when i tuck myself in at night (and an extra big thank you to my husband who works his heinie off so i can live the life i live...)


i hope wherever you are, you are living your ass off. xx

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.