Wednesday, June 30, 2010

......early morning solitude.....

.....one of the things I love most about summer is that it stays light for so long, allowing for the days to inch their way to later and later bedtimes.....there are nights that I stick to our nightly routine; if it's been a long adventure and we have pushed through nap time.....all of us exhausted and collapsing to bed......but sometimes, I ignore the clock and let everyone hang out, play, and enjoy the long days.....and if it were up to Elsie she'd tell you.....can't go to sweep yet, Maaahee, cuz it still wight out......

.....and when the girls stay up a bit later, they sleep in a bit later......however, when I say later; I mean they wake at 7am, opposed to 6am.....

.....and I have been savoring my mornings.....Stefan gets ready for work, I am groggy eyed, yet present.....until I get that first steamy cup of coffee.....and with the first sip, I am alive....there is something about making the cup.....watching the cream swirl around the blackness of the coffee, the motion of slowly stirring in my sweetener, the steam rising with the aroma that warms me from the inside out.....it's a ritual that I often think about before I go to bed the night before....

......and my mug.....oh, how I will never part with my old, loved, chipped and hearty mug.....there is nothing better to contain the brew that starts off every morning of my present life.....


.....and Stefan showers, joins me for a cup, gets ready for his day......all the while, we catch up.....my lounging and our chatting as I watch him tighten his tie and polish his shoes......I love to start my mornings this way.....

.....but this summer has also allowed me some early morning solitude in my kitchen......alone with my steamy brew......and I savor it.....every minute of just me and my mug and the quiet of the room.....sometimes just a few minutes before the hustle and bustle, laughing, screaming, demanding, fun filled days of raising two toddlers begins.....

.....and this morning, I had 18 minutes alone.....to be exact.....before Callie's enthusiastic holler......


.....however, in my 18 minutes of solitude, I was also able to prep for a pancake party with our pals from the third floor.....Elsie was ecstatic about having Jolie and Stella over for pancakes and play first thing this morning.....


......and in just a few short minutes, I had some pretty yummy baby pancakes......


.....and a happy toddler who was ready to take some down.....Callie eats with so much vitality.....


....and our sweet friend Stella wanted her pancake just right with the toppings in their exact places before she took her fork and went to dig in.....


.....Jolie ate quickly, only to stop every few bites to observe her sister and her friends with a smile and a giggle.....and Elsie ate all of her fruit first and then asked for a pancake with juss butta.....


......and all four of these little individuals brought me so many smiles and genuine joy this morning....me and my coffee loving the scene of the four girls as they asked for more, shared bites with each other, laughs at nothing at all other than the excitement of having breakfast with friends on a random Wednesday morning.....all in their tutus and playful girly-ness....


.....and there are a lot of mommas out there who tell me that they never have the time to eat.....that after taking care of the kids, cleaning up the house, getting littles dressed with teeth brushed and hair smoothed down that they are running out the door without eating themselves.....

.....not me...

......I always make time to eat.....


.....granted, my pancake was freeing cold.....but I still had to partake in the pancake party.....

......then it was off to dancing, playing, singing and reading princess books......so we were feeling pretty productive by 9am.....


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......another great thing about summer is that I have not signed the girls up for any classes......I wanted it nice and slow, lazy and loungey......which has left us plenty of time for building get togethers like the jam sessions we are doing in our playroom every Wednesday afternoon.....




......and I feel like I say it all the time.....but our living situation offers new friends, old friends, neighborly favors, glasses of wine after bedtime, play dates, swaps so a Momma can run an errand or take a jog.....and it just gets better each day.....where else can we find so many friends that all live within a 50 foot radius?.....

.....No, we New Yorkers do not have much space......but there is something to be said about the closeness of family and community that we get in exchange for an attack, a basement, a his and hers closet and an upstairs playroom.....tight quarters allows and forces human interaction......it's the basis and core of how relationships begin, develop and are sustained.....and I am so blessed that my children are able to have this experience and these memories.....


....and to end the day, we headed outside to appreciate the 75 degree, sunny weather.....we skipped our normal dinnertime and watched Callie use her chalk on her face instead of our NYC sidewalk......


.....only to come home to Elsie breaking the vacuum by riding it like an airplane...... leaving me to clean up the bag of popcorn that made it all over the living room floor by hand.....


.....only to get the girls ready for bed but to find out that they pulled out every item of clothes in the bottom drawer of the dresser.....and Callie had started to robe herself with the PJ section.....


......and the blessing of my house's chaos continues until tomorrow morning.......

.....when it's just me, my coffee and my kitchen.....

Sunday, June 27, 2010

.....wuv is everywhere......


.....what I am loving about this weekend so far......or in Elsie's vocabulary, we would say,

.......what we're wuvin' bout dis weekin' so faaaar.....

.....sun hats......


.....and a smidgen of sunblock left on a sweet baby face.....

.....hot and sticky days that remind me of the sunshine state.....

......you would never know that a Texan and a Floridian created two girls that are as anti-heat as ours.....granted, we spent 4 and a half hours in the bright sun at the Seaport on Saturday, but these girls prefer the shade and lose their smiles in the extended blazing sun.....


.....and if I try real hard, I can get a smile or two, but I have to work for them.......however, there is nothing like a summery red cheeked, wet haired, sun screen smelling, balmy and breathy babe who finally cracks a grin that I have had to work for.....


......reunited friends.....


......even after 7 weeks of not seeing each other, these two girls are still the best of friends.....it's been two months since we lost our neighbors, but the little ones still remember.....



......for them it's like time hasn't passed.....just like it is with Caitlin's Mom and me......just like it is with all of my college girls......months can go by until we see one another.....and at the moment of reconnection, it's like time has stood completely still....the first words out of my mouth don't have to be how are you or can you believe this weather......they can be any thought on my mind at that moment and we just go from there.....it's raw, true friendship.....and although it's a different degree, these two year olds already have a taste of the sweetness friendship brings.....



......chalk covered buggies.....


.....Elsie has re-staked the back seat of the stroller after a month long hiatus in the front seat........she has marked her territory with the sidewalk chalk.....it's a win win.....Callie is thrilled to be back in the front.....

.....rough housing with Daddy......




.....I watch them tease, prod, smother, tickle and roll around everywhere......blond hair being tousled all about, belly deep laughing coming from pure joyful places.....and I chuckle at the differences....I get why they want to hang with Daddy so much.....even if I tried, I wouldn't have the strength or the stamina to play like that.....


.....daytime dancing.....



.......Summers here to stay, and those sweet summer girls will dance forever......it's a song that my college girls and I sing at all of our reunions....I couldn't help but think of them while I watched these two....

.....NYC and the oh so many things to do on a summer day.....


......the Seaport is full of large ships, boardwalks, ice cream shops and seaside breezes......this weekend, it was full of hundreds of kids......

......Angelena Ballerina, Sesame Street, Curious George and arts and crafts as a refuge out of the hot sun......


.......my favorite part of the pirate hat Elsie made was the globs of glue that dripped down as she wore it for the few minutes before it too was making her head too hot.....





......we shied away from oversized fish puppets....



......and met new characters that surely entertained.....the line could not move fast enough for the girls to meet their new red headed friend.....


......and all the while, the Daddy's were able to make a pitstop at their establishment of choice to catch the World Cup.....


......what a multi tasker....lovin' on your little and using your GPS to find a place to watch the game....

.....watching my first born begin to act like a first born.....


.....Mommy asked for a picture and she is my pleaser and my imperious organizer.....

......I can relate, Elsie.....I am the same way....

.....winding down a fun filled day on our snuggly, comfy, getting pretty stained and worn red couch.....


......when we first bought this red couch, prekids, mind you; we had it scotch guarded, would flip the cushions so the foam would get worn evenly, and vacuumed it weekly......now this couch only gets a cushion flipped to hide a stain from some sticky hands or spilled sippy cup....and we love it so much more now that it has the stained stories of a growing family.....

.....early morning pedicures.....


.....I'm not really sure why Elsie was up before the roosters to kick off the weekend, but we decided to use the time to beautify.....

......and then I was able to sip my coffee on the floor of my closet while Elsie dried her toes....



.....what a great way to enjoy that first hot and steamy sip of brew on the morning of an open weekend.....just she and I finishing up our beauty routine in one of the smallest crevices in our home......surreal and so satisfying..... 

......pancakes from scratch from Daddy's little chef.....


......Stefan always does breakfast on the weekends.....it's just always been his thing.....he still has his Mom's old pink rolling pin that he uses for his famous biscuits.....but this morning it was pancakes from scratch and he and Elsie bake, cook, and show their culinary flair the exact same way.....


.....they do it big, full of enthusiasm, grandiose and messy....



.....our breakfast buddies make some melt in your mouth pancakes.....


......at least Callie thought so.....she was on her second helping in an instant.....


.....summertime Sunday school dresses....


......and littles who have a zest about going to Sunday school......Elsie loitered around her teacher's personal space until Miss Erica was done having an adult conversation just so she could give her a hug goodbye.....precious....

.....and the last thing I'm wuvin' 'bout dis weekin'....

....sisterly love.....


.....this picture says it all....

....off to enjoy the end of our lazy, family filled weekend.....xoxo