The Other Foot.

The other day while catching up with an old friend, amidst gushing about how-freaking-good life has been to me lately, I absentmindedly mentioned that "it almost makes me wonder when the other foot is going to drop". I am a typically optimistic person, yet I have found that in times of great inner calm and great happiness, there is often a bit of me that braces myself for a cyclical life, a bit of me that is familiar with the phrase "all good things must come to an end". But then my phone lit up with a text in response: Maybe it already has.

Those four words flooded me with a new perspective. Maybe life isn't cyclical. Maybe all good things must not necessarily come to an end. Maybe it's "safe" to whole-heartedly enjoy and embrace the good. And hell, maybe it HAS already dropped. 

My first spring robin showed up last week. He was beautiful and brave and regarded me as I snapped photos and video of him with giddy fervor. 

I've been so excited to write this post, to have a chance to linger over the memories of this past week, because it has been just that wonderful. Working night shift can really mess with a person's sleep schedule. I have trouble going to bed early and therefore trouble waking up early. After a while that is SO taxing, especially with two sweet little girls who have to wake mama out of her stupor and isn't very functional before 11am. So last week I decided to grab the bull by the horns and MAKE myself go to bed before the ripe hour of 3am, and to MAKE myself wake up first. 

I've been seeing a lot of 6:30am these days. It has been such a therapuetic experience, just standing there in my kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil while watching the sun ease itself above the horizon to wish me good morning. To snuggle up in my robe and sip my tea while scrolling through seven years worth of family photos. And it allows me time to wake up enough before my little sprites do so that when they do, I am fully energized and ready to be the mama they deserve. The kind of mama that makes home made bread. 

The kind of mama who has the patience to let them help. 

As the daughter of a woman who made bread from scratch every week, I can tell you first hand, there are few things as outrageously fun as a kid than having your mom give you permission to punch the crap out of a plump, fluffy, powdery hunk of dough. My kids were not immune to my cool-mom wiles and were delighted by the whole experience. I believe this will become a regular thing in our household. 

I've been very introspective this week. I've been quietly observing my little family and the way we interact with one another, the way we know and understand each other unlike anyone else knows and understands us. The amazing thing about having children is that while we are each unique and separate, when we come together, we are a singular entity with it's own pulse, it's own aura. We know each others quirks. We all know that Scarlett is whiney, Cecilia does whatever she damn-well pleases, Daddy gets moody, Mommy sleeps a lot. We also know that Scarlett has a sixth sense for a person's mood and strives to make them happy, Cecilia has an amazing sense of humor, Daddy keeps us doing fun and interesting things together, and Mommy keeps the peace. We know these things about each other and we all work together remarkably well.

This weekend was filled with lots of family time. I did crafts with the kids, we had dinner out the four of us, we ran simple errands together, and on Friday when the day was done and the kids were (finally!) tucked in bed at - eek! - 11pm, Scot and I organically fell into our bar stools at the kitchen counter and began feasting on chocolates, cheese, home made bread with Sand Castle's Tuscan Herb olive oil (ohmygodguys, TRY THIS! Perfect for bread-dipping delight. ) and wine, of course. 

We just sat and talked and ate and sipped and laughed, and reminisced for the next hour or so before we tucked ourselves in bed. It was the epitome of a low-key, relaxing evening. It was so enjoyable that we found ourselves the same place, same time the next night for Round 2. 

Sunday night Scot and I decided to go our respective ways - he on his computer programming away happily, and I deeply engrossed in the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy (seriously guys, I *know* it's just a glorified soap opera, but I freaking love.that.show!) when Scot plopped down next to me with his laptop, put some headphones on my ears, pressed "play" and smiled at me. This is what I heard. 

I know. I was crying by the end of the first line of lyrics. 

For those of you may not know, my husband and I were married at 18 and in our nearly-seven-years of marriage, we have hit more than a little turbulance. Separated for a summer, in the process of filing for divorce, custody battles at the forefront of both our minds, we both caught a glimpse of each other again... We decided, what if things just suck for a while? What if we stay together anyway? What if we wait this suckiness out? That was almost two years ago.

I can tell you right now: It did suck for a while. I know there were moments we both questioned our choice to stay. But I also know that next to marrying the guy in the first place, sticking with him is easily the best choice I've ever made. It didn't happen over night, but one day I realized the tension was gone and all that stood in it's place was an intense love only heightened by the storms we have weathered together. He is my team-mate, my best friend, my inspiration. He is my one true North. I love him :) 

And with that lingering bit of Valentines Day mush, I will bid you farewell. Until next time...

<3
T

Our Christmas Season in Pictures...

I worked 12 hours last night and my head is still in a bit of a fog since I didn't get much sleep today, but this blog has been beckoning me. And I did finally download all of those pictures I'd been socking away on my camera. So I figured I'd share the bits of our Christmas season that I managed to capture on camera.

I made home-made butternut squash gnocchi. 

Let me just say, something about baking butternut squash feels incredibly wholesome and homey. I felt a little bit like I was in a Laura Engles Wilder novel, dutifully providing a hearty meal for my brood. Or something like that. Oh, and it smells divine. 

Still steamy! 

Puree that bad boy in your food processor until it looks almost like soup. 

Oh, and be warned: This dough is not your average dough. It's ridiculously sticky. I must've added like 5x the amount of flour this recipe called for and it still was congealed to my hands in ways I've never had dough congealed before. Eventually I decided to just ROLL with in (heh, get it?) and it was fine. Just patt the surface area down good with flour (but not mixing it through out - or else, like I said - you can keep adding flour til kingdom come) and you're set for rolling and slicing. 

Boil it up!

I feel compelled to disclose: That hairy arm right there? Not mine. After a pitiful number of hours in the kitchen, my dear husband pitched in to support the cause. 

If there's one thing I love more than asparagus... 

...It's asparagus in a lemon cream sauce! 

Ta da!!! The finished product!

Now... While this gnocchi recipe was very fun to make, made me feel like my culinary prowess was kicked up one really hefty notch, and was super tasty... It was NOT 5-hours-in-the-kitchen tasty... Which, I'm embarrassed to say, is exactly how long this meal took to prepare. I'm not the fastest chef, but even with that taken into consideration, this was definitely more of an experimental than a staple meal. And honestly, it didn't even taste much different than store-bought potato gnocchi! It was educational though, and the possibilities of WHAT you can put in gnocchi is pretty much endless. Neat-o. 

So there was that... 

Then there was necklace making: 

There were craft-dates GALORE with this awesome chick: 

(Seriously, we just feed off of each other's psychosis for all things seasonal, holiday, traditional, or creative. It's a beautiful thing.) 

(I weirdly don't have a finished picture of these on my camera... Must be on my phone! Oops!)

We dropped a line to Mr. Claus: 

We fashioned some rain snow-makers. 

I made, for my first time ever, cake balls! Which, it is bittersweet to say, are dangerously easy to make... And even easier to make go away! 

I also managed to (FINALLY!) craft this impish little elf, Penelope. I know that Elf on the Shelf is all the rage lately, but I'm proud to say that I had an elf BEFORE the days of elf on the shelf. My mom was just super ahead of the times like that. She made an elf that would arrive every year while we were out getting our Christmas tree, who mysteriously moved to all sorts of zany spots in our home during the holiday season, and then hitched a ride home with the big guy in red Christmas night. I believed in this elf longer than I believed in SANTA, that's how legit he was. I always knew I would make one for my kids some day. And there was an attempt about three years ago which resulted in a clownish and frightning figure with an over-stuffed suit, a freakishly large and fuzzy puff-ball head and too-wide eyes. For fear of scarring my children forever, I spared them and trashed the poor fellow. Penelope, however, she turned out more marvelously than I anticipated she would and I have to admit... Sister's got personality. Like, I kind of wonder if maybe she's a little bit real. Just a little. Also, she digs oral care, which as an aspiring dnetal hygienist, I have to appreciate. 

Aaaaand I think that's it for now because I can't seem to find all of our Christmas morning pictures. I really need to get more organized with our media... Anyway, onward to Valentines Day AND some early party planning for mon petite poisson who will be turning FOUR late this spring/early this summer. I know. It's January. But YOU know how long it took me to get to THIS post, so... Well... Let's just say my pinterest account is getting it's fair share of attention! Can you guess what Little Miss has chosen as her birthday theme? I'll give you a hint: I often refer to Cecilia as "mon petite poisson" and at this years birthday party, it will be a very appropriate nickname! 

Happy guessing!

-T