Friday, October 22, 2010

.....friendship.....

.....it's been hard to open the computer lately.....our lives have been bustling with activity, friends, and festivity to keep up with the fall flair that we have welcomed with it's colorful changes......our home has been filled with new friends, old friends from afar, and a Daddy who returned home after a 6 day business trip....and we girls stayed busy with all the preparation to make our bungalow extra homey for his return......

.....and as many times this past week as I have thought about my little blog and getting comfy in a snug place after the girls are down to fill my open, white screen; I opt to slide in between the sheets and dream of the baby we will soon welcome or I drift off with my grin fixed, as I doze remembering the laughter I shared with friends just hours before......


.....and after 26 years, we still laugh like we did when we were acne prone tweens, we talk in cursive; with sidebar stories that weave us back to the point 45 minutes later, and the time together passes faster than it did on a much anticipated sleep over in high school....

.....but in this time and space in our lives, we marvel about our children, we appreciate our marriages, listen to each other's challenges......we encourage each other's self doubts, listen to each other's frustrations and the cement of so much history together hardens; just enough to strengthen the foundation of a friendship I can only hope my girls will have in their years to come.....it was a perfect combination of time together with my girls and time alone where Allison and I could really maximize the 27 hours we had together....weaving together our past, our present and sharing our dreams of the future.....

.....Ali, thank you for making the haul up here 2.5 hours out of your way so you could spend the night with me and my family....we all love you and I appreciate the effort you apply to enriching our friendship.....

....and although my girls may be too young to experience the endearment of girlfriends, they are off to a good start.....


......Elsie and I had a date this past weekend.....she and I met the Waag girls for some lunch with the ladies and then we sauntered over to FAO Schwartz for an hour....a toy store that is famous for having great activities to do so the parents get suckered into walking out with something new....


.....and as much as my girl would run off with her friends and do her thing, she would always come back for a pat on my leg or to flash me her happy grin.....because at 2.5, almost 3, she gets it.....she knows it's a special day because it's just she and I enjoying each other exclusively.....and I treasure my one on one time with my children in a different way than I do our time together as a family of four.....reliving our day together at bedtime, talking through every detail and event is just as satisfying as actually experiencing it together.....but one of the highlights on days such as these is watching the homecoming of two sisters who missed each other for those several hours......immensely.....

.....and in a sisterly fashion, we quickly made space for some quality time for my two girls.....


.....to say that Callie was ecstatic to be hanging out with her sister, with free reign to make a mess is an understatement.....my girl could not contain herself......


.....and they painted away.....chatting about pumpkins, reciting the colors they were choosing to splash against their orange backdrop, laughing at the dirty water that would accumulate after a few swishes of a paint brush soaked in water colors.....




.....all the while, the house simmered with the festive smell of fall.....we made our first batch of butternut squash soup, tossing in some apples left over from our orchard excursion.....


....testing out the first batch before making a second batch on the day our Daddy returned.....just so he could walk into a candle lit foyer, with the smell of roasted squash and nutmeg simmering......two painted pumpkins resting on the window sill.....home sweet home....


.....and just to keep the girls in the mode of we have a baby coming soon, we also made a long overdo trip out to Long Island this past week to meet sweet Aaron, who is already 8 months old......


......and being that this was the first time we have seen a baby since the girls were told they would be big sisters, I am confident I will have two doting girls that will love being Momma's helpers......


.....we have much to be thankful for this fall season.....and we are grateful......

.......looking forward to a great weekend with Uncle Chad and Shelby who arrive in 9 hours.......


.....more family time, more laughter.....

.....savoring every minute......