snaps

if i had more hands, i would've made another heart for the other double rainbow ;)

silly rock-jumping photos from our mini-vacation.  we got lots of funny looks from grouchy people in the parking lot as our photo shoot stretched on and on and we just died laughing...

farmer's market....watching the live music and snacking our way through

nubble lighthouse----i can't even begin to explain to you how much the kids were bitching and whining about how cold it was

practice thanksgiving at mimi's----joey was very pleased to eat this ginormous turkey leg....his fav

spending lots of time doing THIS....and picking ticks off of the dog

pure happiness.  leaves are my new favorite babysitter.

free fun.  rolling down the hill at the park for an hour.  i just took the pictures. ;)

we have been full throttle busy lately, between vacationing and hanging with friends...and oh yeah, FIFTH GRADE MATH HOMEWORK.  fit in flute and ccd and birthday parties and softball and then all the other fun stuff on the calendar...there are certainly plenty of reasons to fall into bed completely useless every night at around 7pm.  this weekend proves to be no different.  i'm headed out to mindy's retreat , we have a big family "church" dinner at boo's house, a double header, ccd classes, a hike to take...lots of family stuff.  and to top it all off, we have a dad who is home for the weekend AND is getting paid again.  certainly reason to celebrate last night with sushi and fancy wine (for john).  going to try to find some quiet moments to lay on my left side (totally necessary lately) and send some deep breaths to these double rainbows who have been so cooperative and laid back during all these adventures. 

'tis the season for getting out of dodge

'tis the season for going inward, quieting time, self care, whole foods, crock pot meals, and face-to-face connections.  there is something healing about sitting down with a friend over a steaming cup of tea.  there is something about sending the kids outside and watching them rake up the leaves, only to jump in them and toss them back all over the lawn.  and then start again. 

this weekend, despite the government shutdown and lack of pay, we are going to take some time as a family and go look at the changing leaves.  it will involve a couple of fantastic restaurants, some magazines by the pool while the kids splash around, stomping through streets of crunchy leaves, a few lighthouses, and lots of boogery tissues. 

i am craving this time away...a time to escape from making three meals a day for five (or seven, if you want to count the double rainbows!....or eight, if you want to count my puppy!) people.  i'm starting my mini-vacation off tonight with my monthly faith discussion meeting...one of the things that really fills me up and recharges me.  coupled with some chapters from mandy steward's new book "thrashing about with god: finding faith on the other side of everything", i should be good to go for a nice, relaxing weekend!  hopefully it involves a decaf pumpkin spice americano, too.  xoxo

(*a big thank you to my dad and nan for watching rusty for us!*)

Hiding

Figuring out how to be pregnant with twins, hold down a massage job, deal with the reality of a husband who is out of the country at least three days of the week, and manage three growing, wild children can be a challenge.

Lots of people ask me how I do it.  Especially now since my friends know that my daily glass (or two) of wine has been removed from the equation.

The answer is simple-----I hide. And I lock the door.  Hiding is even better after I indulged and bought myself the best king sized comfy blanket for my bed.   All it takes is a little bit of hiding to rejuvenate me and get me ready to conquer the rest of the day.


I'm all about hiding from reality.

The power of the circle

Yesterday I traveled back to the coast to meet up with a small but powerful group of women.  We sat around a table, ate snacks, and talked about the things that are important to us.  We talked about our goals, about our projects, and about the things we'd like to accomplish.  I left ignited by their passions, and curious about how I can kick-start my own.  I think every woman should have the luxury of circling with people that motivate them to reach for their goals----women who help them show up and lift them up when they need it.  I'm not sure what I did right in this life, but I am so lucky to have so many of these people in my life, always popping up when I need them most. 
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In other news, check out Mindy's upcoming offering----The Wishstudio Fall Creative Alchemy Retreat (the Alchemy of Small Stories and Indie Kindred screening!).  It will be an awesome opportunity for local folks who crave connections with kindred spirits, and who want to tap into the power of their own stories.  I will be attending Jen Lee's screening if anyone wants to make a night out of it! 

gratitude roundup

 fresh juice to nourish and energize

lots of deep breaths at the ocean lately, and time to circle with my beloved friends

renewed creative energy, and the promise of a blank canvas

a trip to squam----sitting by the fire, pumping four kegs, hugging the best people in the world

taking the time to create food that makes me feel good...

 field tripping with my littlest girl

 fall softball!

lots of family time, feeding my soul...


i love fall and all the peace that it brings.  looking forward to slowing down (when though?) and drinking more tea.  wearing slippers.  watching movies.  snuggling under quilts.  going to bed early.  xoxo

turn, turn, turn

all the final lazy days of the summer seemed to blend into one another.  as soon as i managed to clean all the towels in the laundry and make a nice fluffy stack of them, then we'd take another trip to the beach, and i'd be back at square one.  our big snack bag was perpetually filled with smooshed granola bars and banged up pieces of fruit.  there was sand, on everything.  the bottoms of our feet were dirty, and we were happy.

this summer was hands down the best we've ever had.  which is sort of ironic because at the start of it, i sort of expected that it would be a major challenge.  being pregnant with twins and then suddenly having three children home all.day.long., which a husband that travels heavily...i just assumed that most days i was going to feel like pulling out my hair.  this summer pleasantly surprised me. the rhythm was perfect-----i was still able to nap, and nourish, and care of myself when i needed to....but because i did, when the kids were ready to go, i was able to go along with them and keep up.  we did lots of hiking and walking and exploring.  we went somewhere nearly every day, even if it was for a couple of hours.  we enjoyed each other (gasp!).  there were definitely moments where the sibling rivalry got old....or where i yearned for a little more time for myself.  but when i got that time alone, a funny thing happen.

i missed the damn kids!

again, pleasantly surprised.

this is the second week of the oldest ones being back at school.  the littlest one starts pre-K tomorrow.  suddenly, there is going to be lots of tiny pockets of time for *me*.  i bought myself a year gym membership with the expectation that if i don't use it until after february or march, that's OK.  i talked with my friends about setting up some sort of pre-K kid share system so our tiny pockets of alone time can occasionally be longer pockets.  i'm learning to love the routine of grocery shopping on my own without the kids in tow.  i'm also learning to love walking around stores and actually buying treats for myself when it strikes me!  which is huge, trust me.  it's taken a while to get here.  this pregnancy has forced me to slow down, while simultaneously allowing me to enjoy the times while we are packing it all in.  i am eternally grateful to the parents of the rainbows, and to the universe for bringing us together.

i love the change of seasons, especially summer to fall.  even though the days are still hot and muggy here and feel tediously long, i SO look forward to the quiet moments where i sit with a steaming cup of tea on my lap, taking it all in. 

away away away again

we've been away, soaking up all the natural beauty that this world has to offer!  also fitting in as much summer fun as we can before it fades away in a short couple of weeks.  here's a little teaser of where's we've been...

this has been by far the busiest and BEST summer we've ever had.  i feel so blessed that i'm feeling healthy and energetic enough to keep up with my active little family!

well hello there, vacation

we just got back for a miniature, whirlwind vacation.  sometimes it just takes leaving for a little bit to recharge!  and we're certainly recharged.  we started the weekend off with a little love note over lunch::

then we went to a family reunion at my dad's house and had a chance to just relax, catch up with people with love, and of course i got a chance to eat my niece's face off, to i was a happy camper::

yesterday morning, we got up early and hit the road.  we headed up the coast and hit all of our favorite spots.  we started in newburyport, and treated ourselves to our most favorite bagels, and we actually got a table in the outside dining area.  then we walked over to the farmer's market, listened to some music, and got ourselves some drink treats (apple/cran/ginger iced tea and a blueberry smoothie) and some cinnamon sugar donuts for the kids.  we got back in the car, and drove further up the coast looking for a parking spot so we could go to the beach.  evidently, everyone else in the world also wanted to go to the beach, and everyone was looking for a spot, too!  we ended up at rye state park, which was very rocky and kind of secluded, and there were only a handful of people there.  it ended up being the perfect spot and we spent hours lounging in the sun, catching crabs, eating chips, and dipping our toes in the freezing cold water!

when we finally got up to portsmouth, we spent our time walking around and eating!  we went to our favorite spot, flatbread pizza company, and ate so much it was ridiculous.  i was very happy to have a nice big glass of their rootbeer on tap!  lulu was happy to misbehave and watch the man working the huge brick oven.  she was his #1 fan.  later on in the night (after we found out our hotel pool was drained and empty!), i took the older kids out for gelato and actually got to talk to them and enjoy it!  we got some fudge and a decaf latte for johnny to make up for having him sit in the hotel room with our overtired little girl (who passed out and hogged a whole bed).  i had the pleasure of splitting a full sized bed with grace and joey (lucky me!) but was rewarded in the morning by an awesome breakfast at our favorite spot, the friendly toast.  believe it or not, our waiter was actually friendly, and we didn't spend $100!  after breakfast we rushed back home to get rusty.  we all missed our puppy very much.  then it was a day full of camps and library events and general crankiness and re-entry!  overall, an awesome getaway.

green juice ridonkulousness

want to try a ridonkulously refreshing and delicious green juice recipe?  we made this the other day and it lasted a couple of minutes before it was all gone.  it made enough for me, johnny, and lulu (i had a couple of glasses, on ice)

knock your socks off "special treat" juice::

* 1.5 cups of diced fresh pineapple (doesn't need to be exact---add more or less to your taste)
*  3 large handfuls of baby kale (we use olivia's organics)
* 1/2 bunch of cilantro
*  one whole english cucumber, scrubbed, with skin on
*  one lime, with skin taken off

getting back on the juicing wagon feels (and tastes) amazing!

finding magic in nothing

this summer has been so hot!  and  beautiful.  the days are flying by and i can't believe that august is right around the corner.  we have a couple of mini escapes planned----one to portsmouth (and various coastal favorite spots) this weekend, and then a trip to watertown, NY and ithaca, NY in two weeks.  john has five days off this week, and then almost twelve days off at the beginning of august.  which is such a blessing, because he's been working so much, and away lots of nights during the week. i have lots of little people keeping me company----my three kids, their friends in and out, neighbors and friends over almost every day----but there's something about having johnny home that just makes life better.

what every day looks like around here....

i'm heading out of the first trimester, and feeling my energy return.  although, i've felt pretty fantastic all along.  i'm still in awe of the whole process---and how i expected things to be physically difficult, and then getting cut such a break from the universe.  i feel fantastic.  i'm sporting a basketball tummy and pretty much live in my bathing suit, and just periodically dip myself in the pool to cool off.  it's been too hot to cook, which has been a fantastic excuse to make everyone eat cereal for dinner, or to get takeout (yay, takeout!). 

(this was a couple of weeks ago.  i'm much more basketball-y now)

my car is filled with wet, sandy towels and beach chairs.  our deck is strewn with discarded clothes.  we all sleep together every night in my air conditioned bedroom (it broke last night though...plan B?).  we go to the beach every day, meet up with friends, share granola bars and cherries.  we rent movies and eat nachos and i wear john's underwear around like shorts.  i get stacks of teen magazines from the library and we all lay around and read them and gossip about justin beiber.  nothing major ever happens, but i'm hoping the magic is in the little moments for the kids.  because that's where i find my magic.  in the everyday moments, just being together.

strawberry and cherry picking!

town beach swim lessons girl!

first ice cream/go kart/batting cages trip this summer

district champions!  go windham wildcats! (we've spent LOTS of time on the field this summer...)