Monday Motivators

Sharing roads.

It's just skin
and shoes
and dirt.

Walkeduponwalkeduponwalkedupon.
Until there's nothing left but stones
and grit
and miles of paths.

I take these steps with grace.
Knowing I'm met with skin
and shoes
and dirt
before me.

---------------
Thank you, ladies, for walking beside me.  I can't wait for next year!
xoxo
Amy

Monday Motivators (on a Tuesday)

We're attempting to carry on a sense of normalcy as we are now surrounded by cardboard boxes and hopes for an easy move these next 2 weeks.  (Which may explain Miller's seventeen screaming temper tantrums last week...)

Blog postings and internet use will be light for me since I tend to get sucked down the internet rabbit hole when I'm procrastinating.  (Which is pretty much all the time...)

Until next time, I'm wishing a leisurely couple of weeks for all of us. :)

Hunting: Keys

We (hopefully!) close escrow on our new house next Friday.  I'm still holding back my little brain from diving deep into decorating and renovating ideas.  (Confession: I've been known to lay in bed for hours contemplating cardigans to wear the next day.  Designing a house could be extremely detrimental to my sleep habits.)

So until I allow my brain full access to day (and night) dreaming about ideal home spaces, I'm etsy window shopping for a new keychain to properly showcase some new to me keys. 

{Reclaimed Leather Keychain from Banoo}

{Serotonin Keychain from Molecular Muse}

{Upcycled License Plate Keychain from Pluma Accessories}

{Monarch Butterfly Leather Keychain/Bag Carrier from Kookii}

{Enamel She Ra Keychain from Cartoon Junk}

Monday Motivators

Miller's been reaching for the camera a lot lately.  Every time I bring it out to snap some pictures, his little hands pop up and he jumps at the chance to hold it on his own. 

Sometimes I have to hold myself back from cringing as he teeters the heavy camera over a slab of concrete or a bathtub.  But with a click and a giggle, I'm mesmerized by how proud he is of himself and the quiet memory he's captured.

There's a beautiful language within artistic expression.  I'm forever learning, loving, and tuning my own ear to it.  I can only hope that my little ones are listening for the same. 

It's evident from these shots, that Miller's already steps ahead of me.

Celebrate

Sunny breezes, sugar highs, and new sights to see. 
It was a busy weekend. 
A busy, wonderful weekend.

I do hope yours was just as sweet.

{Dying eggs}

{Painting cookies with food coloring}

{Finding treasures}

{New specs}

Monday Motivators

Crawl, crawl, crawl, crawl, and rest.

Monday Motivators

We saw a woman washing her hair with street water today.  She sat at the edge of the grass using a cup to scoop up running water.  Over and over she poured cupfuls through her hands and down her head.  WE SAW A WOMAN WASHING HER HAIR WITH STREET WATER TODAY!

I couldn't breathe.  In slow motion my eyes strained to capture the absurdity, the sorrow of what was happening.  Typing this image now, I'm again at a loss for breath.

A roof to warm, space to spread, ground to name- it's becoming a constant challenge to keep myself from bursting into tears when I think of the enormity of what a home of our own represents.

And then at the same time, I realize it's only a house.  That roof to warm, space to spread, ground to name is simply just a house.

 
A home, our home, has been here all along.

I am blessed.
I am blessed.
I AM BLESSED!

There will never EVER be enough breath for me to come close to showing how thankful I am.

Now go breathe in your family, your friends, your home.  Because you, dear reader, are so blessed too.

"Well, the turkey's done."

I know, I know, you aren't supposed to get too excited until there are keys in your hands...
I know, I know, an inspection can find serious issues and blow this whole grand plan in the dumps...

But...

WE!  ARE!  BUYING!  A!  HOUSE!

So enjoy some giggles for us as we soak in the anxiety that is about to bless our lives.

Monday Motivators

Home.
We're closer to you.
A new door.

Home.
Sharing a mirror.
Filling a closet.
Peeking through your window.
Digging through your dirt.
Making noise.
Noise.
Noise.

Home.
We're knocking.
We're shouting hello!
You're about to let us in.

Home.
We're standing on your mat.
We're patiently waiting.

For the Fans...

There's a lot of comfort in planning a day around naps and work schedules and the appropriate snack time to eat two or three oreo cookies.  (Which, for the record, I wish could be every snack time.)

Thanks for loving these faces as much as I do.

Monday Motivators

2 pairs of shoes
a lone bobcat
the spilled contents of a toy doctor's kit
a whistle
and 4 board books.

i'm sure they've been under the dining table for days.
i'm sure they'll stay there a few more.

we're making a mess.
again.

i could be more productive.
i couldn't be more satisfied.

Hunting: Backyard

It's been only a week. 
Maybe I'm a little overly optimistic, but so far the house hunting adventure hasn't felt too far over our heads.
Again, it's only been a week.

Today I'm focusing on yard space and the potential for great elements to entertain, picnic in the breeze, and grow a few vegetables.

I hope you'll enjoy joining me today.

Oh the many meals we'd eat in a spot like this... (via Design Sponge)

Dressing up a plain wooden fence...(via Sunset)

Adding a bit of lit up marble magic to that plain wooden fence...(via Garden Drama)

Awesome website that instructs you when and where to plant your garden customized to your zip code...(via Sprout Robot)

Monday Motivators

At brunch on Sunday I sipped my coffee and casually glanced over to the table next to mine.  A woman held her baby close and effortlessly lifted her shirt to nurse him.  She continued her conversation with her friends while the words at my own table drifted away.  I sucked in my breath and bit my tongue to keep any tears at bay.

Ivy and I are in the process of weaning.  A decision I made and validated with my doctor to find balance in my hormones again.  Coupled with a lack of deep sleep, postpartum anxiety and compulsive thinking were loudly dominating any quiet moments I could find.  After six months of hoping I could just wish them away, I shared my fears out loud and watched them start to crumble.

Even though Ivy still nurses twice a day, looks up at me with a sweet busy grin, tugs my cheeks, lips, and shirt, I already miss it.  It's an ache I never realized would be so painful.

The fog that I felt like I've been creeping through these last six months has lifted significantly since I've started dropping feedings.  I can see blue skies again.

Nostalgia is sweet.  Healthy, connected, anxiety free quiet moments are so much sweeter. 

Maternite Henri Matisse, 1939*

Young Mother Nursing Her Child Mary Cassatt, 1906*

Motherhood August Renoir, 1886*

Maternite Pablo Picasso, 1963*

Ivy's first 

*images found via the lovely blog marvelous kiddo

I'm tech savvy, y'all!

 

And by "tech savvy" I mean "I'm procrastinating folding a mountain of laundry."  Obviously.

Monday Motivators

i referred to myself as a "woman" this week.
after a shocking breath, i realized i wasn't afraid of it.
all of the sudden i was curled up and embraced by such a simple word.  

{something that i would have never picked out for myself, is now my new favorite top and has shifted me into realizing the "woman i want to be".  oh, clothes, you can be much more than fabric.}

I'd love to know what's surprising you this week?