New Growth

We are in a season of new growth here in our family. I am obviously growing physically and the growth that is happening inside of me seems to be manifesting or at least it is reflected throughout our environment.



Cordelia has been maturing as nature intended, but she also seems to sense that she will have a new role as the big sister. We have not given her any reason to think that she will have much for new responsibilities, but she seems to be picking up on the fact that she will need to grow to meet the changes to come. She tells us, "I'm growing up, but I'm still little." We love watching her grow, but are also relishing the present moment with our amazing firstborn.



No doubt that the natural world is really growing as well. Last week I completed all of my major gardening goals. Now it is just about maintenance and enjoyment.

Eric and I are always growing or at least trying to grow. We are fast approaching our 11 year anniversary and I will detail that a bit more next week.

One area of new growth has taken a bit more as far as adjustments... You may recall this post where I discuss our choice to be a one car family. Well, yesterday we made the choice to become a two car family. I am a bit sad that this means giving up some of our family time. However, our current situation has made it fairly clear that we should, as least for now, become a two car family.



So Eric and I went car shopping yesterday and picked up something that will carry our entire brood: ourselves, kids, animals. We went in with different goals. We knew we needed 4wd as we need to be able to drive to our house in the hills during the winter (that was not always something that we could do last winter in our car). Eric wanted something masculine. I didn't really care as long as it met our needs. After a relatively painless process we ended up with a Kia Sorento and before we knew it we had a new beige (no choice on the color) vehicle sitting in the driveway. We decided that the new vehicle must be male for Eric's sake (2 girls, wife, girl dog, girl cats....I even deemed our first car and home to be female). Eric named it The Kraken.

End of Summer

I know that it isn't technically the end of summer, but since I start teaching my class tonight it kind of feels like the end. Well, I started teaching my online course on Monday, but since that all happens on the internet it feels kind of imaginary.

I will get my books, notes, syllabus, etc. in order today and this evening it is off to start a new school year. I will meet my students. I will let class out a bit early, to ease us all back into the semester. The sun will still be out when I leave the classroom and get into the car, but I know that by the end of the semester there will be darkness and snow and we will have slipped through the end of summer, through fall and right into the heart of winter.

I hate to say goodbye to summer (well not the 97 F we expect today) and all of the green growing things, but I am so excited about fall and our first Christmas in our new home.

I still have some veggies to harvest in my garden before the season officially ends. Most of our summer plans have been completed. We traveled to Montana, South Dakota, through Wyoming, Colorado and North Carolina. We have had plenty of company from all around the United States.

So, now I am saying goodbye to summer as I break out my teacher clothes and get back to reality. What a lovely summer this has been!

How do you gauge the end of summer?

A Little Stroll

Yesterday morning started much the same as most days. The whole family was in our bed as Cordelia climbed between Eric and I, blowing raspberries, trying some new sounds, and generally being happy about everything. Eric and I, still half awake, couldn't help but feel so thankful to be awakened so early by such a joyful spirit.

Eventually we got going. I made breakfast, we split a breakfast burrito. Curtains were opened, animals greeted, Eric had coffee and watched tennis. I cleaned up and got myself and then Cordelia ready to head out.

We got going a bit earlier than usual in order to take a quick two mile walk with my parents and a bunch of other folks for a local non-profit. The weather was beautiful, Cordelia quickly snuggled in for a sleep in the Maya Wrap. I did a little chatting, a little walking and had a lovely morning.

1/2 way done with a grueling two mile leisurely stroll.


Done.

Cordelia woke up just as I was finishing the last few minutes of the walk.

Later we went out to lunch with my parents, had some yummy Chinese food and then Eric and I drove around talking for a bit, looking at how green and lush the town has become. First the tulips were blooming, then it was the pink flowering trees, then the irises and the lilacs and the poppies. Ahhh I love it.

Start of Something New

Yesterday was my last official day of work. I got dressed and left the house by 7:30 in the morning. I wore the new black and white dress that my Mom gave me. I admit that I wore it because the high waist and twirly skirt emphasize my ever so tiny baby belly.

Yesterday was a board meeting day (sometimes known as a bored meeting) and I was happy to have the opportunity to say goodbye to the kind people I have met in my job. The meeting was a bit unusual and busy, so it kept me from thinking about the fact that this was my last day of work. I was in the middle of a whispered conversation when I heard our board president call my name. They thanked me for doing my job, gave me the beautiful flowers you see below and gave our baby a gift card to Babies R Us (Trivia: Eric likes to think that Babies R Us is run by actual babies). I was really surprised and quite overwhelmed. My boss and I teared up as we said goodbye. How amazing it is to be so appreciated at a job and to have had the opportunity to work with people who are truly dedicated to others!


After the meeting I drove home with a mixture of sad and happy. Sad to end a very positive chapter in my professional life, but so excited about things to come. I celebrated by having a couple of squares -o-vegan chocolate and some spaghetti sauce.

Last night Eric and I decided to celebrate by doing nothing. We have been so busy with packing and cleaning that it was necessary to just relax a bit. You'll recall that a storm was headed to the city so we decided to change our moving date until Monday/Tuesday instead of this weekend. We figured we could give in to one night of doing very little. So, we had some dinner, talked for hours and watched a bad movie (we both fell asleep).


This morning I awoke to the first wet flakes of the oncoming storm. I guess we're supposed to get a foot or more in the next 24 hours. It's not very cold so the flakes are really heavy and there is a sloppy slush on the ground outside. We'll see how much snow we actually end up with.

I managed the task of "sleeping in" until 7am, Eric is still asleep as I type. I woke up thinking about what to do at work and then recalled that I don't have anything to do at work! So, I turned on the news and snuggled up with Miss Bumblebee.


So far today I am wearing the latest in unemployment fashion. I have on my ancient blue sweater and my t-shirt which reads "I put Ketchup on my Ketchup.'

Oh, my hubby just woke up. Now it's time for some orange juice and some breakfast. I have no idea how I will spend the rest of this day, but I am sure it will be wonderful. What are your plans?

Flowers and Owls

Now that I am coming out of the foggy exhaustion of early pregnancy I am ready to get back to business. I have spent the last few months struggling to stay awake and my creative juices had seemingly disappeared. I would like to think that maybe I was just busy infusing the creative juices into my little one. Or maybe I was just satisfied that creating a human is creative enough... Either way I am feeling the creative bug once again and I am so happy to have the energy to follow through.


I started my craft project with a need for thank you cards (another area which had been a bit neglected--I like to blame everything on early pregnancy). Last Christmas I had saved all of the greeting cards with the intention of using the vibrant paper. I decided it was time to put those Christmas cards to good use.


I apparently had owls and flowers in my head as I set to work making my cards, as you will see.


I cut out all of the glittery snow scenes from the saved Christmas cards. I made petals and stems.

I have had spring on my mind, what can I say?

Owls are just so cute. They are also very easy to make.

After I was done with that I made some bread to deliver to my friend Irish. She took time out to cover all of the items that I will need for a baby. She typed a two page list of everything that she has found useful with her new son. So, she definitely deserves a serious thank you card and some thank you bread.

I felt sooooo much better to have done something beyond napping on the couch although I did some of that too.

Additionally, Eric loved the owls I made so he used them to make the new header for his blog. You can see it here.

Fiddle Dee Dee I was Crafty

I was feeling a little bit crafty the night before last. I wanted a quick craft that would not take more than a short while because I was feeling both crafty and lazy. I decided I was going to make myself a flower clip for my hair. I had seen something like this on several websites (can't remember which ones, sorry) over the years and it seemed more than simple, so I thought I would give it a shot.

First, I found some fabric remnants I had laying around. I cut out several circles in decreasing size. I didn't worry about making the circles very even. I wanted sort of a rough look.

Next I piled the circles on top of each other.

I sewed the circles together through the center. I was really sloppy about it because I wanted some bunching and folding to give the flower more texture.

Then I took three black beads and sewed them into the center of the flower.

I did this twice in order to create two flowers.

Finally I took a metal hair clip and sewed the flowers on top. Voila, a lovely flower hair clip in less than twenty minutes.

If you are one of my seven (that may be a stretch) male readers, I apologize, this is probably not that interesting to you. Unless you enjoy wearing flowers in your hair and/or want to make a flower craft for your special someone.

Kindness Bandit:The Gift that Keeps Giving

The Kindness Bandit has struck again!
This week I decided to give some flowers to a stranger. I received some beautiful flowers from my work. I decided that the only thing that would make me happier than receiving flowers would be to pass them along. So, I made a little card and placed it on top of the flowers.

Then I took the flowers and randomly placed them at someones doorstep. Just a little bit of mystery and kindness for their day!

Week in Review

I thought today I would just show a few pictures that made up my week here in the city:

Spending time with my hubby at the dog park. We take her there several times a week. We sit on the bench and chat while Bumblebee wanders around and sniffs, everything.

I enjoyed the end of the summer flowers. The trees have really been changing this week, but there are still some beautiful flowers blooming around town.

Bumblebee. She generally ignores us at the dog park, but sometimes she comes out of her fugue and remembers that we exist. She will run over to the bench and hop up, in order to charm us. It always works.

Me after a long day at work.

Finally, I spotted this paint job on my way home from work. It made me laugh. In case you need clarification, that is an angel and some flames. Not sure what is going on, but it is pretty funny.

Little Bits of Sunday Night

Here are the little bits that made up my Sunday night:

Freshly cleaned fruit from the Sunflower Market. My colander is sort of like the Noah's Ark of fruit; all fruits come in sets of two.

Some beautiful red flowers, chosen by my hubby. They match my teapot. I had two cups of decaffeinated tea.

Super vegan pizza with mushrooms, kalamata olives, pineapple and artichoke hearts. We ate pizza while watching season two of Alias.

I also found out that my brother and Sara made it to AZ after a long drive with two cats, a poodle and everything they own.

Flowers, Coffee and Neighbor Baby

Yesterday afternoon we met up with our friend Irish and her sweet bundle of baby joy. She had asked Eric to take some photos of her son since he had done such a marvelous job with her pregnancy photos.


We went over to their house and Irish showed me this scrap of paper and I thought I would tell you the story. The scrap of paper reads, "Whoever gets these-have a wonderful day. Pass it on." Irish found this paper along with a bouquet of flowers on the bus. Apparently someone just bought a bouquet to give to a random stranger that they will never meet. I love those kinds of things.

After a few moments we were ready to head outside and take some adorable baby photos.

My job was to keep him entertained by twirling a colorful parasol.

I don't feel like I should show all of him, but here are a few of his sweeter baby bits.

After the successful photo shoot and some lovely conversation and baby snuggling Eric and I headed out to run some errands and have a bit of coffee.

Wonderful simple day!