my happy list

On my happy list today...

A night of great food and great friends. Thanks, Andie!

A date night planned entirely by my husband, including the babysitter, to look forward to next weekend. Plus, that same husband? He just finished the laundry.

A relaxing hour long walk in the sunshine with my little flower picking girl while my big girl napped with her daddy.

A perfect Sunday afternoon spent just hanging out in the backyard with my two favorite girls.

thursday's weekend recap

Yes, it is Thursday.

Yes, this is another post containing mostly pictures and little substance.

My excuses are as follows:

1) Claire no longer takes an afternoon nap.

2) I have become completely addicted to photoshop, which means the simple task of uploading pictures takes way longer than it should. Especially on days when I take 200 pictures.

3) Claire no longer naps.

4) I have randomly stumbled on many cool photography related sites like the maternal lens that just demand reading time, not to mention hours spent reading through her archives just wishing I could be her.

5) Claire no longer naps.

Okay, enough with the excuses. On to the weekend.

We took our first trip of the season to the beach. It was surprisingly warm and the girls had a blast running, splashing and exploring.

Daddy got a heaping plate of fried seafood. Mommy got some yummy rum punch and got to take a hundred or so pictures of the girls splashing in the water. A good time was had by all.

On memorial day we enjoyed a parade and a family cookout. The girls got a ton of candy at the parade and got to run around outside like nuts with grandparents, uncles and cousins.

Mommy enjoyed more yummy punch and got to take a hundred or so pictures of Claire in the garden. A good time was had by all. Even if I did not quite get the perfect girl with flower picture that I was trying for.

And because no weekend is complete without it, ice cream.

And yes, I realize that this is yet another post that contains mostly pictures of Claire. I have not forgotten my first born. An all Abby post is coming!

claire's day

In our family, tradition dictates that for your birthday you get a party and a special family day. For her special family day this year, Claire picked going for a ride on a Swan Boat at the Public Gardens.

So on Tuesday, it was off to the Public Gardens with Claire and her little black cat Licorice (who you will note made his way into almost every picture).

First a picnic lunch...

Then the playground...

And of course a visit to the Make Way for Ducklings statues...

Somehow I did not get a picture of the Swan Boat itself, but here is one of Claire and I on the boat ride, which turned out to be one of the most strangely relaxing boat rides I have ever been on.

Naturally, I could not resist an attempt to get a nice picture of both girls together with the beautiful park in the background.

And finally, we wrapped up the day with a trip down Newbury Street for ice cream.

Thanks, Claire, for picking such a fun trip!

the party recap

ready to party...

the cat cake...

the presents...

lots of love for the new kitties...

the aftermath...

The menu included the homemade guacamole and strawberry goat cheese salad specially requested by the birthday girl. The orange cat cake decorated by Daddy was a big hit. Claire was laughing from the moment the first guest arrived at noon until the last guest left at 8pm.

I would say the day was a success.

to claire on your third birthday

To my dear second child,

You could open a charm school for toddlers. You are so charming, so cute, so tiny, that you get away with things your sister never did. You laugh. You flirt. You are generally not whiny or demanding, but you definitely know what you want and how to get it. You know how to work people. In short you are a woman in the body of an adorably delicious toddler.

You are shy, independent and very, very smart. When you turn on the charm your smiles and giggles light up the room.

You are big into cats right now. Your crib is filled with your growing collection of random stuffed cats, some found around the house, some gifts, some borrowed. In the morning you meow for me to get you out of your crib.

We do have a big girl bed in the works for you, but to be honest you are still quite happy in your crib. Potty training has also been a bit of a challenge because you flat out refuse to do it. I keep telling you that some day you will just decide you don't want to wear diapers any more and that will be that. I desperately hope this is true, especially since you need to be potty trained to go to preschool in September.

You love being outside. Hot, cold, raining, it does not matter to you. You happily putter around outside for hours picking flowers, arranging sticks and searching for puddles.

Your desires are so refreshingly simple- play play doh, read a book, go outside. You don't ask for much and you are a joy to spend time with.

Each day you remind me what is important. Each day you tell me you love me in the sweetest little voice and I kiss you all over and listen to you squeal with laughter. Each day I am thankful that you came into our lives.

Happy 3rd birthday, my sweetest girl.

With all my love,
Mama

spring is...

dandelions and dirt...

...and a warm breeze in your face...

******

For those of you who were wondering what was inside the little blue box, it was a beautiful pair of earrings selected by my even more beautiful girls with a little coaching from dad.

Mother's day was a wonderful and relaxing day from start to finish. Daddy let me sleep in and then handled all the cooking, cleaning and entertaining, allowing me to sit in the sun and enjoy the day with my girls and my in laws.

But as always, I think the best part of the day was the break from the ever present feeling that I should be doing more with the kids, more for my husband, more around the house, etc, etc. A day when all you are supposed to do is relax truly is a treat.

This week the party preparations are in full swing for Claire's third birthday, which will feature cat decorations and a homemade orange cat cake (or possibly a store bought cake frantically purchased on Sunday morning).

My husband is also bringing home a new toy for me to test out for the next two weeks. A Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 toy to be specific, for those of you that that means anything to. So look for lots of beautiful birthday pictures and excuse me if I am not around much for the next two weeks as I spend every waking minute with my new love.

a promising start to the day...

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to All !!

a wing and a prayer

"Please, God, grant me patience"

"Please, God, help me be the mother I want to be"

These prayers are the prayers that run through my head when the kids are screeching at each other yet again, complaining, demanding, sneezing all over me, yet again. Not listening, yet again. When their issues, their desires, their needs take priority over mine, yet again. When it is raining yet again. When are stuck inside yet again because someone is sick yet again.

Before kids, I considered myself a fairly patient person. Sometimes impatient with myself, impatient with certain tasks, but with friends, in work situations, on the bigger issues, I was very level headed, very patient.

As a mother I have learned to be much more patient than I was then, yet I now find myself, a somewhat questionable Catholic, praying, begging, for more patience. For the strength to be a better mother. For the strength to endure another game, another puzzle, another mess, another lesson to be taught when my head feels like it is going to explode. For more energy and more enthusiasm for days that I know are so very important but also so very hard to get trough.

The girls are getting older. It is getting easier. But still, there are days like this. There is unimaginable joy, there is beauty in the simplest everyday moments, there is wonder in the very existence of these beautiful children, but there is also this. Just as random and unpredictable as the moments of blinding joy, come these moments of sheer frustration with it all.

This motherhood is no easy job.

On a positive note, because I really do want to work on being more positive, yesterday for just a couple of hours the sun came out, we all felt well and we made it outside to enjoy the spring flowers.

On Monday, without complaint my husband single handedly destroyed the massive ant nest that we girls discovered in the outdoor toy box. Who knew ants could eat through a plastic pool?

And finally, in the midst of all this sick I discovered a great new tea. I am a big tea drinker, but I am not a fan of herbal teas, chamomile teas or bedtime teas. Therefor, I would never have even tried this Bedtime Story Herbal Tea if it had not come as a free sample with my regular Lipton and I had not been in desperate need of some soothing at bedtime. The spearmint gives it just enough kick, enough flavor to taste like tea and not dishwater. And oh so soothing.

Just what this mom needed.

i ♥ faces- hats

I really was going to get off my butt and attempt to take some fun hat shots this week. Because truly, I love hats. Hats are fun.

But the reality of the situation is that I am sick, one of my kids is getting over being sick, one of my kids is getting sick and I am up to my eyeballs in other people's photos that I am supposed to be editing.

So I am going with another old favorite this week, enhanced with the CoffeeShop Golden Vintage action which is a look I am loving right now.

like mother, like daughter

In our day to day life, when it often seems like I am saying the same things over and over again and no one hears me at all, it is easy to forget just how closely my girls are watching me. How they take in the tiniest of details and store them away in their developing brains for future use.

French fries dipped in tarter sauce? Must be good if mommy does it.

Or, say, how to run a baby photo session.

"Oh, you look soooo cute Bitty" Abby cooed, as she took shot after shot of her favorite doll posed in my baby basket recently.

My budding little photographer.

her shots

my shot of her

And in other somewhat related news, here is a sneak peek of the tiny little beauty (yes, that tiney, for those of you that know her) that I photographed this past week.

Would you believe that this little beauty happily posed in not one but three outfits? And, oh, those eyes! She has me totally spoiled when it comes to working with babies. Not to mention the fabulous lunch that her mom made.

Perhaps next time I will bring my new assistant!