waterbaby.

What do you do when your husband takes the ROOF off of your BEDROOM?

Smile.
Nod.
And go directly to the park.

Thanks, Auntie Scoobs for playing photographer yesterday.

thursday mourning.

I feel myself starting to hunker down. Scheming up big indoor projects in preparation for another Pacific Northwest fall and winter (and spring). This summer felt like my first real summer as a mother. Last summer was a blur of late night feedings and exhaustion. This summer, we camped, we played, we swam, we biked, we ate sand.

Being at home with Claire is about a million times easier when the weather cooperates. What do you do with an energetic toddler who is used to playing outside everyday when it is pouring? How do you cope when the playgrounds are slick and the trails are muddy? I am the only one who is a tiny bit nervous?

Photo courtesy of the lovely Mrs. Miller, taken on our yearly family beach trip to rugged campsites and a cabin with cable TV.

operating instructions.

Honey,
* Take her to the park. No, not that park. The nice one. Let her waddle around and climb on stuff. Let her "drive" the little cars. Keep her away from that little girl that likes to pull on kids' legs. Wear your wedding ring.
* The diaper bag is stocked and ungirlified. Not a tampon to be found. Enjoy. Check the pockets for reinforcements and treats. Mama knows, it can be rough.
* Plan to get nothing done. I promise not to complain no matter what state the house is in when I return. There, it's in writing.
* Lastly, I may accidentally hug the girl first when I get home. She is tiny and has that delicious baby smell. How can you compete with that? I know we'll all be fine. That it is only a couple of days. If I worry or overhelp or call five thousand times, it's only because I'm still new at this. New at leaving this chunk of my heart behind. It's only possible because you're here to guard her and carry her while I'm gone.
Love,
Kar

food & fashion.

Man, internet. You are serious zucchini connoisseurs. Who knew? For the record, I made these and this and this. Oh, and I froze some. Tonight, we'll be sampling Leslie's mom's zucchini and sunflower seeds. Seriously, great ideas. Way to go, all.

I realize that this post would be perhaps a tiny bit more interesting with photos of the food, but I didn't take any. Then we ate it and gave some away.

Instead, I give you more of the girl. Which, I hope you'll agree is more fun to look at than food you can't eat.
What goes perfectly with blue pajama shorts and no top? That's easy. Mama's purse, of course. Looking good, little lady.

reunited.

I took this shot on the way home from the Children's Museum last week. We had a great playdate that was worth the drive north. Girlie and Teddy seemed pretty happy to be back in each other's loving arms.

On a totally unrelated note, what do you do with five frillion tons of zucchini? I can't bake another loaf of bread, internet. I just can't. Help a mother out. What should I do?

what a girl wants.

At the beginning of the summer, I pulled out my wall calendar and started planning. I wanted to make sure I had lined up the quality activities that I was sure Claire needed.

Playdates. Check.
Storytimes. Check.
Parent-tot swim lessons. Check.

I had a plan but, as usual Claire had another. We have had some playdates this summer and we have gone to some storytimes. But somedays we skipped those things to hang out on our own. Or to nap when we felt like it.

We don't do a gymboree class. We don't do swimming lessons. We read a lot. We play a lot. We get really, really messy. And we do it again. And again. And again. It's not quality she wants, it's quantity.

That, and brownie batter.



This post is brought to you in conjunction with Parent Bloggers Network & EA's Wii-Boogie, a family gaming experience. Shake it. Sing it. Create it.

bringing teddyback.

Today I am thankful for Sarah, who came over and watched Claire while I took a nap. Today I am thankful for Kim, who shared with me the secret of clean lovies.

So many of us struggle along in silence. We're afraid to ask for help because we're supposed to be able to handle this. We don't ask the questions because we're just supposed to know what to do. I need to be better at admitting that I am clueless. That I wing it. My girl doesn't need a mother who has everything figured out.

The thing I didn't know this week was that a Teddy can survive a delicate cycle.
What's the mothering thing you want to ask? Post your question anonymously in the comments if you feel like it. Let's be clueless together.

a small lesson.

If your child is attached to a "lovey" and this lovey helps her to sleep, you might discourage her from directing her devotion to a stuffed bear that is only available at Christmastime. Alternately, a supply of duplicate lovies in the basement could really come in handy.
A Sunday experiment with cow's milk went terribly, terribly wrong. Teddy took the brunt of it. Thankfully, the rest of us are washable.

Monday, when every ounce of cow's milk had left her little body, Claire and I went to Macy's and tried out new lovies. After hugging lambs and bears and kitties, she settled for a floppy eared puppy. He hung out with us for storytime and songs and by the time I tucked her in, she had a new best friend.

most favorite muggle.

We accompanied the dada on a worktrip to Bend this week. I love that ordinary things like riding bikes are completely thrilling to Claire. It makes my job so much easier.
In our house, Nate reads us a chapter of the bible every morning before heads to work. Claire always wants to grab "the big book" from dada's lap. For three days this week, she had another "big book" in her sights. For now we'll stick to Goodnight Gorilla and Each Peach Pear Plum.