Slice of Life

image from SweetBeets

Oh my. So much to blog about. A visit from one of my dearest friends, Father's Day (and the perfect batch of cinnamon rolls to go with), another bi-ped in the family, the exclamation point at the end of T-ball season; just to catch up on the happenings would make an epic post.
And then there are the musings, the introspection about priorities, about my "great work" and the things that entice me to "come down," the cleaning conundrum, the mosquito lamentation (sustained 4 bites in seriously less than three minutes this evening). Hmmm...five years from now, I wonder what I will wish I had written about?

I know I'll want to read about the fact that my baby girl is a card-carrying member of the bipedal club. Girlfriend decided she was done with crawling last Thursday afternoon and it's been mostly walking since. I know I use the word magical to describe a lot of things (especially things pertaining to my childrens progress), but I really don't know a better way to convey my feelings about things like those first clumsily triumphant steps. Every time I see Lily come toddling towards me, I think to myself, "there will only be like two collective weeks in my entire life of first steps." I sit, sponge-like on the floor, arms spread wide, waiting for her to tumble into me, soaking up the dum-dee-dum rhythm of learning feet, and the excitement of a new world of possibility. She's also taken to toting a stuffed monkey around with her and doing tricks with her lower jaw and bottom toofies - so cute and funny.

Summer continues to be hard for me in spite of my efforts to triumph over the doldrums. It's not like a 24/7 sulk-fest around here, but sometimes I feel a little stir-crazy. A little trapped and sweaty. A little irritated that entropy seems to be the principle force at work in my life. A little stifled by the endlessness of laundry, food preparation, kitchen clean-up and clutter control. Any lovely outdoor moments we can manage are even more savory these days than they were three months ago. Last night we had popsicles in the back yard after dinner. The mosquitoes were surprisingly (mercifully!) absent, we filled up the sandbox/pool for the kids. Henry swam fully clothed. Lily splashed fully naked. My soul was fully...full, content to forget about the long, hot day that would begin in twelve-ish hours, and just revel in the long, nuanced glances at my hot husband, the hour of togetherness, the refreshment of otter pops, and the sounds of happy children in our tiny backyard.

Here are some pictures of our recent life:

what she looks like when we take the ponytail out