In the airport

Aug 30, 2010

Sitting in the airport in Pittsburgh after a great weekend away I realize just how much I love and miss my family. I can't wait to get home and give them hugs and kisses. I will wake Scarlett up and not worry about the hour that it will take me to put her back to sleep and sit in bed with Chris and not worry about the fact that we both have to work in the morning. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

26 years of progress...

Aug 25, 2010

My mom started cross stitching this quilt for me when I was in the womb and 26 years later she is finishing it for Scarlett. 


There was a moment somewhere in the past five years where my brain made the switch from dependent youth to independent adult, and in this switch my parents went from my parents to fellow adults.  Now, with the addition of Scarlett, we have progressed from fellow adults to fellow parents.  

My relationship with my parents has always been pretty good, we laugh and we love but we never really learned how to communicate, when I became a parent everything was immediately altered.  I needed my parents, and mostly my mom.  I needed her to watch my belly grow, I needed her to bring home bed pads from the hospital just in case my water broke in the middle of the night (which it did and which I didn't put the pads on the bed, lesson learned...always listen to your mom), I needed her to tell me everything was okay when I was convinced Scarlett was never going to come, I needed to hear her voice encouraging me when it was time to push, I needed to see her eyes swell with tears at the sight of my beautiful little girl, and I need her to continue to give me guidance as I stumble my way through raising a tiny human being.  With the birth of a daughter and a grandchild the communication lines opened.  We now toe the line between daughter, mother and friend.  I can only pray that one day Scarlett will see me the way I see my mom, someone that I love, trust, respect, and need.  

This quilt, will always be a symbol of the bond between my mother and I, a bond that started at my conception and has continued to develop through the birth and life a beautiful little unexpected blessing.  

Thank you mom for being a mother and a friend as I make this transition into parenthood...I have been so lucky to watch you love Scarlett the way you do and can't imagine raising her without you. 

And because a post is never complete with out a picture of Scarlett...here is one my mom sent me while I was at work the other day with the message..."playing with her new toys".  Oh, how spoiled she is going to be.

When it rains it pours...

Aug 20, 2010

I always seem to create all of my blog posts in one day...but my friend Gavin just sent me this picture of Scarlett that he took on his phone during our vacation and I just couldn't resist posting one more picture of Scarlett's sunny little face. 

A letter to Scarlett

Dear Scarlett,

If you see a swing that is screaming to be swung, swing in it.



If  you see a tree that is waiting to be climbed, climb it.


If you see a river that is calling to be swam in, swim in it.


If you see an ocean that yells to be surfed, surf it.


If you see a sunset that is dying to be watched, watch it.


If you see a warning sign that is daring to be crossed, cross it.


If you see a star studded sky that needs to be laid under, lay under it.


Allow yourself to feel dwarfed by a shooting star or a raging ocean, daring as you enter an ice cold river in your birthday suit, and sad in the last moments of a dying sunset.  Sometimes life's greatest memories are made when you experience the worlds beauty with inhibitions aside and emotions uncontrolled.

Dates with Daddy

As hard as it is for me to leave in the morning, I always feel a rush of joy knowing that Scarlett is with the person that she loves most in the world...her daddy. 

Chris will randomly send me a special text message showing me how much she is enjoying her date days with daddy. 
"Missing you at breakfast.  But it means daddy gets his first date with daughter"
"Little coffee date to start the day. "

The joys of owning a home (and a handy husband)...

Aug 17, 2010

We were informed over two months ago that our master bathroom shower was leaking through the ceiling of our neighbors condo...$50 later a plumber informed us there is nothing wrong with the plumbing (thankfully), but the tiles were old and the grout was failing to do it's water proofing job.  So for two months Chris and I have been out of sorts, using the guest bathroom shower, leaving towels all over the house, leaving drops of water in the hall and shuffling our cold feet to the master bathroom to finish our daily routines.

Why is it that when a habit as simple as taking a shower is amiss everything else follows suit?  It should be easy to bring our clothes to the bathroom and hang the towel on the rack no matter where we take a shower.  But alas, we still make the cold wet trek down the hall to the closet and drop a soggy towel on the bed, the floor or the chest in our room that seems to constantly accumulate piles of dirty clothes...that towel lands anywhere but the towel rack in the guest bathroom.  Which of course means the next time I enter the bathroom, take a nice warm shower and reach for a towel, it is NEVER there. Is there anything worse (maybe finding the last little sheet clinging to the cardboard toilet paper roll)?

So, after two months of washing numerous under used "dirty" towels, Chris decided to do something.  Tear out the whole bathroom and start from scratch.  Why fix old caulking, when you can fix the ENTIRE outdated bathroom?  A project that could have taken weeks will now take months (especially since we can't decide how we want the final project to look).  So here we are, changing our towel hanging habits, and just when those habits become routines, we will have a nice new master bathroom to start the cycle all over again.

(Disclaimer - this is not a complaint...I am really looking forward to our new bathroom and the fact that my handy husband has the rest of the summer to finish it...thank you handy husband for taking on this ever growing project!)

A babies world is...

Aug 12, 2010

a diaper change, a perfectly timed nap, 
 a toss in the air, bath time, a book before bed, a toy that squeaks, 
 a tickle from dad, discovering you can make a funny sound, 
 moms face peaking over the crib in the morning, a new taste, 
 a lullaby singing you to sleep, warm milk, 
 walks in a stroller watching the world pass by, 
 summer days spent wearing only a diaper, winter nights cuddled tightly between mom and dad, 
 learning, loving, laughing. 


 Beauty, peace, joy and simplicity is found when you let yourself live in a babies world.

A letter to Scarlett

Aug 10, 2010

Dear Scarlett,

Happy 8 month birthday.  We just got back from our first family vacation.  Twelve days on the road touring the coast of California and the Southern part of Oregon.  One new tooth, a night without mom and dad, many unnecessary midnight wake up calls, and a family bonding experience your dad and I will always cherish made this road trip a success.  Thank you for you patience as we re-scheduled your nap times, shoved peas in your mouth while dodging bumps in the road, and assumed that you could entertain yourself for 40+ hours of driving.  We had our moments, but you were a champ.  We can not wait to continue to show you the world. 

Love,

Mom and Dad

Teething makes me sad...

Aug 5, 2010

Not only does it mean that my little girl is growing up one tooth at a time...it also means fevers, fussy days and sleepless nights.  I have fallen in love with her more and more with every passing stage, thinking that there is no way that the next step in her growth could be better than the last.  Well, teething is that stage, the one that is not better than the last.  Two days of fevers and constant yelps of pain in which nothing seems to soothe makes me one sad mama!  But, the smiles that break through those cries gives me hope that there is light on the other side of the teething tunnel.

And on a totally unrelated to teething subject...here is a picture from our vacation because she is so darn cute.  First time on a swing and loving it.