A Present

Ruby:
"Daddy, what happened to this bird?"

Evan:
"What are you talking about Sweetheart?"

Ruby, yelling:
"Flashdance! Did you bring us a present? That's really nice, but we can't touch it. 
We don't eat every bird, we only eat chickens with no heads.

Ruby, stroking kitty and whispering:
"Flashdance, why did you got a bird for us. 
Did you kill it? My daddy throwed it out. 
Can you say sorry? Can you kiss? 
Flashdog!"

footnote: This is a mockingbird, the Texas state bird. So named for it's uncanny ability to mimic the calls of other feathered brethren.  It is illegal to kill one, so my little pet has broken the law to bring me this elegant snack. I wonder if her new found generosity has anything to do with the expensive all-meat kitty food I recently switched to...

Don't Forgetta Bacheloretta

Theme: South American Bachelorette
Bride: Heidi "Gameface" Johnson
Pup: Aero Pants Johnson
Beach: plastic
Lake: adjascent
Hostesses: Felicia and Shayla
House: in the family
Fish Tacos: yes
Bouquet: from my yard
Hair fashion: glue guns
Beverages: coffee, serranotinis, coconut water
Prohibited: Boys. Kids. Shoes.
Dancing: mandatory
Costume changes: 3-5 per day
Night swimming: Heckyes

Party photos taken by the lovely Felicia of feliciagrahamphotography.com
All images subject to copyright feliciagraham 2012©

father's day: Stolen!

 That's right. Today is supposed to be all about the boys, and my kiddos and I are the lucky recipients of the best daddies ever, but! I spent most of the afternoon thinking about how much I love being a mommy.

I was holding Jesse and he threw his chubby arms around my neck and laid his over-sized head on my shoulder and I started thinking about how amazing these little people are and how I love them so hard that it hurts. Children are kinda magic you know, they are so fresh and bright that you can still see God's fingerprints all over their faces. I really don't know how people can be both a parent and an atheist at the same time, they must not be paying attention to all the miracles.

Gosh I sound like a raging sap. Whatever. I was holding my little boy this morning and I just started crying. Not  that smiling, whisk a tear from one eye kind of crying, but the sobbing, sweating, saltwater face wash kind of weeping that you should never do in public. Puffy eyes, snorty, weird noises ghoulish mascara kind of debacle.

Sure, I could blame the soaring music of the musicians we were watching or the 6am bedtime I accidentally had because I was trying not to watch a scary movie in bed with Evan, but no! No excuses. I will own that being a mother will break you and make you into the best version of yourself, strong yet humble, indulgent but sacrificing, selfless but greedy for more. It also might turn you from a cool kid who trots the globe into a blubbering weirdo who only dreams of grassy pastures full of skipping children.

Sorry Evan for stealing your father's day thunder. not really

Roadtrippin'

Evan also did the lion's share of the driving. Heroic.

We have returned! Our road trip to St. Louis was pretty superb. Lovely wedding, communal cousin bathing, roasted meats, badminton, farm animals, charades, many cups of coffee and the joy of the open road.

Evan took all of the photos this time, since I overdid it at work and can't use my right hand much due to a stress fracture. Ridiculous injury. Here are a few gems I rescued from his ipod of the "road" segment of our travels.

5 minute grassy dash to stave off leg stiffness

Jesse charmed the patrons at a Muskogee Braums

country diner-complete with gravy plates, senior citizen waitstaff, and large vats of ranch dressing

JUNGLEMAN, a birthday

What can I say about my sweet Jesse? I can't believe he's already two and yet I can't believe I've only known him for two years. It's a constant wonder and delight to watch  his personality and tastes emerge, so very different from his sister's. He has a much shorter attention span for movies than she, but a much longer one for drawing. The other night he sat on my lap for an entire hour, colored pencil clasped in chubby hand painstakingly filling five sheets of paper with spidery lines until not one patch of space remained. I soaked up the satisfying warm weight of him, kissing his yellow head and peering over his little shoulder while imagining all of his future artistic conquerings as only proud mommies can.

He's talking more and more each day and it's too bad for Ruby because when he says "Betty. Hurt. Arm. Ouch. Band-aid!" with a teary voice I now am able to punish her properly. (he calls her Betty, cute weirdo) This also means he can say "I love you Mommy," or compliment my outfits "Pretty Mommy. Pretty red." Heart melting. He is turning into a really helpful little gentleman. I often catch him throwing trash away at home or even in the park and he's dedeuced what items in the house are most important to each of us and loves to plop them in our laps unprompted- pink blanket for Ruby, ipod for Evan, coffee or laptop (eek!) for mommy. He loves mimicking Ruby (today they dressed as mermaids), playing trains and making the stuffed animals hug each other. Swimming, books, kitties, car rides, tacos and wrestling with daddy.

We took him out for a festive birthday breakfast of banana nut pancakes and a short road trip to Hamilton Pool for a hiking and swimming adventure. He had the time of his life and so did we. I love you Jesse! You're the best little man I've ever met and I can't wait to see how you grow, just don't be too quick about it.

love,
Mami

National Doughnut Day

Hello! I've just come home from 3 days at a lake house in the country, no phone, no internet, no boys. I co-hosted a bachelorette party and it was lovely. We had spicy foods, fancy drinks, bouts of lazy floating in the water, dance parties, coffee, many costume changes, a photo booth, a pup, and lots of laughs and games with flowers in our hair. A total success if I do say so myself.

We've had a wild week with the festival, Jesse's birthday, Evan in the studio and no mommy for the longest stretch we've ever attempted. I'm tired, but happy and grateful for all of our lovely friends who covered shifts, watched the kids, brought food, did dishes and just made it all come together. We are a lucky bunch to be loved by such folk.

Speaking of friends, we spent an afternoon with some of our favorites to celebrate National Doughnut Day. "National Doughnut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Doughnut Day event created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I." I mean, who really needs a reason to eat fried bread drizzled with sugar, but I'll take it gladly. And so will that cheeky squirrel.