Order? An Ode to Hubbie

Kiddos,

I would be lying to myself and everyone if I thought I was in charge of ANY of the order 

we have in this house right now.  

The reason I know this for sure-  

Hubbie has left for NY and we have hit code red/ threat level orange/

someone please call Maria and make her move in level.  

Kids, you know this, but in case you don't, your grandmother Hubbie is a SAINT!  

She has been holding this house together since April 8.  

I thought I was doing pretty well, and starting to get myself together, 

and found that on the first day without her, by 3pm, 

all four of us were in tears missing our hubs.  

Not only does she DO everything from laundry, 

to the dishwasher, to making sure we have everything we need, 

to helping you keep your rooms organized, to making me a daily to-do list, 

but she does all of this with (in her words- not mine) gusto, zest, etc.  

She makes math facts fun.  

She reads book, after book, after book about dinosaurs, pandas, friendship, 

snakes and every topic in between.  

Someone is having problems with girls at school- no problem.  

Hubbie is reading the American Girl book about friendship with you, 

doing role play scenarios, then she is drawing you a picture of yourself

 holding a "You've got this" poster,

 and sending you off to tackle the next day with a high five.  

Having trouble with sass or talking back?

  She will not give you stares of death or yell "who the F do you think you are?",

she will sit down with you, talk about it rationally, 

then come up with a code word to say to you as a reminder to watch your mouth- 

one kid here may have "apple" as their code word:)

I think Hubbie was worried about leaving us too.  

Her last night here, she got as much organized as she could- 

like any mother preparing to leave on a trip with a house braced to withstand her absence.  

Outfits for the days, carefully wrapped and labeled.  

A final checklist for me, labeled, "Your right now list."

She even completed a few projects in the last couple days before her trip.

We needed some revised order in our kitchen.

Hubbard drove to San Francisco to buy the microwave that fit in this little space.

Hopefully counters clear of clutter = minds clear of clutter.

We also needed to figure out a system to keep track of all things Anna.

No problem, we have parking spaces.

We never lose these things!

(Anna keeps her retainer here during the day or while she is eating.

 Her glasses can park here if she needs to take them off for some reason.)

So, while I know there will be a day when I can dream of leading the organizational charge.

This isn't it. 

Maybe 2015?  Maybe not.

xoxo

mom

Mothering Girls

Dear Girls,

When we set out as parents, we didn't really set out with a deliberate philosophy 

about how we would teach you to be good, kind people.  

We figured it would just happen.  

We had all sorts of ideas about how we would generally parent-

strict schedule, not a lot of television or treats, never would we co-sleep, use pacifiers, bottles, etc. 

 Like MANY others, our standards dropped far below 

the "super judgmental" to reasonable-ish.  

We kept the schedule and gave up on most of the rest.

For the most part, you two have been mild in terms of your social issues. 

I am not saying we have a warranty and can return you for repairs.

This week, not so much.

I searched for a warranty, or at least an owners

We have had a few gut checks this week. 

We heard from other parents about behavior that was not only unkind, but cruel.

Your behavior.

We KNOW you are good, kind people.

Why are you treating others with such cruelty? 

We don't know.

Far more important than that, we want you to treat others with compassion and kindness.

This week, we didn't see that.

Worst of all, you are not treating each other with compassion and kindness.

In these situations I arm myself with as much information as possible.

Luckily for you two and daddy, books for everyone.

You two came home to an American Girl book!

I would say this is already a hit and a great conversation starter about 

what healthy friendship means.

Daddy is the lucky recipient of the #1 best seller 

when you type "parenting girls" into the Amazon search box.

 (Note- I am pretty sure about 1% of sales of this book have been by dads, 

and 99% are moms buying their husbands/co-parents this book and making them read it, 

which is absolutely the case here.)

For myself, just your average Tuesday reading.

So girls, while we are not perfect parents, you can bet your a*&es we have  

ZERO tolerance for the behavior we have been seeing from you.

Your school's theme this year is:

"Do good, kind things, which show that you are a child of God."

We will learn new tools, you will learn new tools. 

We will do better.

Immediately.

xoxo

mom

Fall flower pots

Well kids,

This is exciting. For no one but me.

I love when our flower pots have actual living flowers in them.

No small feat, my friends. 

I tore out many dead flowers and loaded these babies up 

after a trip to Home Depot (more about that later.)

I spend too much time on Pinterest and therefore have unrealistic expectations

for what we can actually keep alive here in our pots at our house.

Not the imaginary pots at a house with drip systems into their pots.

I thought about posting my inspirational images, but that was too depressing.

So, here are our fall pots.  I give myself a B- and room for growth.

xoxo

mom

Fall and muffins

Dear Kiddos,

Have you had enough of my muffins yet?  

I have been on a mission to get some sort of veggie in your brother.

We have tried some zucchini muffins made by one of my favorite

bloggers 71toes.  Recipe here.

We have tried Martha's banana zucchini muffins- delicious! Love the flaxseed in those.

We have tried Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry Muffins 

(I mean....really a cupcake, who are we kidding? How bad can that be? (cue Ina's awkward chuckle).

Finally, we tried a favorite from when I was a kid.  Morning Glory Muffins.

We used the Earthbound Farms recipe and it is so so delicious!

 They are packed with everything from zucchini and carrots to pineapple and golden raisins!

I loved the texture, and that you girls gobbled them up.

Hudson, you were a major fan of 71toes and Martha's muffins, but would have 

nothing to do with these or the BC cupcake.

Alas, these were hot and fresh at about 2pm when the house was quiet.

Hudson, you were sound asleep.

Girls, you were safely tucked at school.

I was so happy to enjoy a hot cup of tea and test these babies ALL BY MYSELF.

It felt so decadent that I pulled out my fav china.

Tiffany & Co. Blackberry Tea Set. I heart you.

 How pretty is that muffin?

 Anyway, we will keep trying different recipes and find the perfect,

 nutritious muffin for you Hudson.

In the meantime, the rest of us can keep on taste testing.... and keep exercising them off

so that our bottoms are not shaped like muffins.

Ugh.

xoxo

mom

Labor Day Weekend in a nutshell

Taylor, Anna, and Hudson,

Our Labor Day weekend was supposed to be nice and quiet.

Of course, it wasn't.

We kicked off our weekend at the Elks with friends and 

wound up shutting down the place at 9pm.  

You swam, we had Papa Johns delivered. 

Ice Cream. Cupcakes.

Cocktails for the parents.

It was a good start to our little long weekend.

 Sadly, I don't remember most of our Saturday morning.

Also, these pics might have been taken on Sunday- I really can't remember.

So- we set out for Dick's sporting goods to get daddy a dove decoy for hunting.

I got a golf skirt and new glove for the golf tournament for school.

We then started wandering this massive store.

You girls wanted to check out the wetsuits after your day of boogie boarding.

As we headed to that section- we saw the bikes.

You girls have bikes.  Both are hand me downs from your boy cousins.  

Both bikes are also made for 5 year old boys.

We checked out the bike section and found these beauties for $129 each- a DEEP discount.

WOOT WOOT!

They tuned them up, sold us some sort of warranty, 

and after about six hours, we were off.

Seriously, we were there so long, Hudson and I went down stairs and got snacks.

 The next morning you two were ready to hit the streets for a bike ride.

 I headed out for a lovely brunch with my friend Cathy and then a quick stroll through TJ Maxx.

I am in love with this rug.

LOVE!

Monday morning- Labor Day

Back on the bikes. 

 THEN!!! 

THE craziest thing ever happened. 

HUBBIE RODE A BIKE.

Seriously, never in my life did I think I would see this.

 Let's get a closer look at this- shall we?

 Our door is freshly painted... and ready for our fall wreath.

I am thinking we have a lopsided fall wreath.

 Monday morning was pretty slow so Anna, you and Hudson threw out the yoga 

mat to relax and check out the neighborhood.

 We finished up this bookcase.

 Then I called Grandma and Papa to meet us for lunch.

It was such fun to get to spend some time with them, and you three were in heaven!!!

 Hudson, you loved chatting with Papa about your guns.

Nerf. Water. Super Soaker. Whatever other type there are.

 Papa looks really excited, no?

 A family picture with all of you looking at the camera and smiling.

Why would we do that?

Hudson, you had just knocked over two beach cruisers at C. Wonder.

Not embarrassing at all.

Really.

I will definitely wear a disguise when I go back and you will not return to that store.

Ever.

 All this cooperative behavior warranted a treat!

Grandma and Papa offered you three ice cream and you have never said no to that.

 So Pinkberry it was.

 It was super hot too, so this was an excellent treat.

When Daddy came home from dove hunting, he came bearing a TON of veggies.

The peppers were so so pretty!

 I have made ALL my tomato recipes now.

 We got to play vegetable santa too and dropped off tons of produce for friends.

All in all a great Labor Day weekend.

Relaxing- no

Super fun with friends and family- check.

xoxo

mom