A Happy Day

 

 

 

May is quite the celebratory month around here: Mother's day, our anniversary, and one short day later, my birthday!  Today I was thoroughly surprised with a typewriter from none other than my two girls (of course choreographed by there very sweet daddy).  We were all very excited to put it to use.  I have actually been dreaming about one of these for some time now (although owning one makes me feel a bit like this guy or this guy, or a little like the staff of Deuce Hotel).  It is wonderful to hear a little "click click click" as I go about doing my chores, knowing the girls are practicing their writing.  Too cute.

There's a little "love pile up."  Warning: if you lie down around our house, Hugo will do one of these full body hugs on you.  What can I say?  He's a lover.

And if you squint at that last picture, you can see an assortment of whiskey that I bought for Ben for our anniversary (a typewriter?  whiskey?  What is this, Mad Men?).  I am definitely not a big drinker, but I did my best, and hopefully found some interesting things for him to sip on over the coming year.  You know, sometimes a man needs something manly like whiskey.

I am counting down the hours until we enjoy a chocolate frozen custard cake tonight.  Seven and counting.

I think 29 is going to be a good year... I just have a feeling.

8 Years, then and now

 (us in 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2012)

It's 8 years ago, and we're basically kids.  We get married the year of the cicada on a hot, humid, and humming May morning.  Barely old enough to legally buy a drink (ahem, perhaps I wasn't quite old enough), and thrilled with the opportunity to play house.  You make meals on the evenings that I get home late from class.  We love flying a kite at Piedmont park and playing board games.  We adopt a puppy and suddenly we really start to feel like a little family.

We finish up college, and are ready for an adventure.  Fast forward one move to Boston later.  We love cooking for friends, going out for walks, and camping.  Life is sweet.  I dream and dream of a baby, and when she comes, spend one full year smiling from ear to ear. You make a wonderful dad.

We move "back home," as our family grows.  A new home, a new job, and two new babies, and we learn all about patience, gentleness, and how to love one another more fully.  Who could imagine the joy these years would hold for us?  We love this little family and are quick to laugh at the silliness that abounds in the life around us.  We love a good family bikeride and a (slightly) competitive crossword puzzle.  We are the best of friends, you and I, and I have never felt lonely in all these years because of it.  

It still sometimes feels like we're playing house, but when I look at you I realize we've matured.  Yes, I think we're adults now, and life is still a wonderful adventure.  I am truly blessed.

A Little Weekend Happy Dance

There's really no greater joy than just being together. Wishing you and yours a happy weekend!

February 10: I love

a lunch date with Ben! It feels so silly and thrilling to be out with no kids. And of course we had to try out the new burger place across the street from his office. Because we seem to be on the quest for the perfect burger in Norther Virginia here's the verdict: excellent burger, toppings and sides, but we weren't so much fans of the brioche bun (too much bread!). And the company? 5 stars.

A Birthday Present

It's always so hard to come up with a good present for a post-Christmas Birthday. Not only does it have to be a good present compared to other birthday presents, but it has to be a good present compared to Christmas presents. And with Ben's birthday falling on December 28th, he truly does have a Christmas birthday. Whew!

(steel cut oats, blueberries, almonds, and raw milk. The best!)

This year, I knew just the thing: the most perfect, wonderful present I could think of. The opportunity to sleep in, one day a week, for the whole year.

(We're not actually sleeping. Nor are we, apparently, very good at pretending)

I had some doubts about my ability to keep up with it: getting up with the earliest riser. I have been known to like sleeping in myself. But so far, it's the best! I get up with the first one or two little ones who are awake, and get some lovely time in a quiet house. I make coffee, light a candle, and today, even made some delicious steel cut oats for breakfast.

And I suppose the truth is that Ben doesn't even like to sleep in that late. Which is good, because I think we would miss him too much.

And today, not only did he wake up to coffee and a hot breakfast, but a blanket of snow. Magic!

In which we get away

Ben and I snuck away. At least that is how it felt-- tiptoeing out the front door while Lily slept and Zosia played with blocks. We had said our goodbyes. Lined up pajamas on beds and laid out food on the counter. We left the babies with two women who are like second mothers, and off we drove with turkey sandwiches and many hours of uninterrupted time together.

We went on a walk along dim country roads, stayed at yet another cute little b and b in rural Virginia (with a claw foot tub in our bedroom! Man, have I been missing out), pondered questions like, "And what should this next little one be named?"

Slept in, drove right into the mountains and embarked upon a challenging hike-- a long hike that my burgeoning little hiker isn't quite ready for. Just when our ears were frozen through and our tummies grumbling, we stumbled upon the loveliest little lodge, complete with piping hot coffee, restrooms, and a warm hearth.

It was just perfect-- a little miracle to top off the loveliest of weekends. We drove home along winding roads, and I just couldn't help myself: we stopped along the way to pick up a Christmas tree as a special surprise for those two smiling little faces waiting in the front window.

New Beginning

It's a tradition around here for me to snap a picture of Ben on the first day of a new job. Above: this morning, on his way out of the house (Lily doesn't seem quite as excited as Ben). Below: on his way out of our apartment some five years ago starting his previous job (will there be a day that I look back upon today's picture and think Ben looks as fresh-faced as he does in the last?).

It feels a bit like the first day of school. Ben even requested that I give him a haircut last night, isn't that cute? And there is certainly that buzz of excitement: a new workplace, a new work community, a new project. He's thrilled, and that sort of means we all are. And who could complain about the new dress code? A t-shirt and shorts? Yes please!

Moosewood!

Are there any places you have dreamed about? Perhaps they're from books you've read, movies you've watched, stories you've heard? They can gain a sort of mythic status, these places, growing larger than life in your imagination.

Well, ever since I've been introduced to many of the Moosewood cookbooks, Moosewood, the famous vegetarian restaurant in downtown Ithaca, has been such a place. We have cooked our way through Sundays at Moosewood, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, and Moosewood Celebrates, falling in love with their creative, healthy, delicious meals. Modified recipes from these pages have made it into our family cookbook, this blog, our thanksgiving table, to mention a few. Even now that we are not a vegetarian family, we still regularly cook from these books.

And now, Moosewood is programmed into our gps, because we actually got to visit! Can you believe it? And it was just as I had imagined: simple, tasty, fresh. It was just like eating supper at a good friend's house, complete with a breezy patio with white Christmas lights. The only thing more heavenly than the Chocolate Ricotta Mousse was the drive back to our cabin through miles of farmland with Ben and jazz music.

Hiking

My heart still longs for the beautiful potential of a hike: the miles under my feet, the many views in my memories, the discovery of beauty. So we snuck away, us two delinquent parents, and made a morning of it, going to our favorite hiking spot in the area, one we walked on many times as teenagers, sneaking away for kisses behind trees.

And it was all still there, just as I remembered it: the muddy path that emerges onto a beautiful stream, the big rocks that are perfect for hopping, the swimming hole, the surprising opening to the Potomac River. We spent the morning chasing each other up hills (note to self: Ben always wins), dipping our feet in cold water, and eating what could only be described as a peanut butter and jelly ball. And the trees are still just fine for sneaking kisses.

This Saturday: the people

What's so amazing to me about each time that we get together with our families is the sheer quantity of love that exists in that gathering.

There's grandma love (one of the world's most powerful loves, I have learned)...

which can come from a grandma or those that are like a grandma:

Kissy-kissy love (discovered by our two year old at the pool yesterday, I'll have you know. Kissing a three year old named Angelo. Can you believe it?):

Daddy and Mommy love:

Aunt and Uncle love:

(that's my Aunt Basia, celebrating 60 tears of joy and life)

Sister love (my mom busting a gut laughing... a classic sight in our family):

Make that many generations of sister love (not even counting the budding love between Zosia and Lily):

And then the sheer love of life. That's Basia dancing...

to this (a gentleman who has played wine glasses in Alexandria since Ben and I were children):

And Zosia pretending to be a pirate. Pretty scary, don't you think?


Being surrounded by such love: what a joy.