THESE DAYS

Happy Friday !!! Here's a round up of what we've been up to these days. 

The weekdays haven't been terrible! I know it seems like a low standard, but on paper it all seems so overwhelming, so when we get it done and every week I'm amazed that we are doing it. Amazed and grateful. 

We are out of the apples we picked from the orchard a few weeks ago, and I'm sad about it. 

The sky was the exact color of Sloane's shirt !

We were so pleased with our cider and donuts. 

I can't stop seeing Chris and Ken (their dads) in this picture. 

I want to spend as much time outdoors as possible before it gets really cold. 

During a lunch break a few weeks ago I visited a greenhouse to pick out a plant and it was so peaceful and calming in there. 

The cocktails (and the way they present their menu) at Saison are on point.

Sloane is so into collecting sticks, leaves and acorns right now. Her being excited about those things makes me feel so much joy. Almost every morning when we walk out the door, she looks around, takes a big whiff and said, "it's still fall! What a beautiful day!" 

Last Friday it was so nice, we spent some time running around outside after I picked up the girls. That there in her hand is Logans first art project! 

Coconut water and expresso? It works.

 A sleeping baby? The best. 

I can't get enough of these two together. Sloane is such a great older sister to Logan - Logan is so lucky to have her!

Eunice stopped by the other weekend and had her hands full.

     Slow mornings are the best mornings. 

My cousin Joe came to visit, which was so nice because it's been a while since we've seen him. 

I love these people!

We got to hang out at a friend's beautiful backyard.

Sloane collected pine cones to paint, and did a great job painting them different colors.

Note to self, get a fire grate ! And cook chicken over wood burning fire...

And lastly, this. Pumping was the thing I was dreading the most. On the bad days I'm astounded at what sorts of strange and difficult things we as moms have to do. On the good days I'm grateful for such inventions that allow me to provide for my baby. And so far it's going well, so, cheers!

WHAT I'M READING V. 10

....the audiobook edition! I've continued to not have as much time to read as I would like, so I've remedied that by searching the audiobook section of the library (through my Overdrive app). I love that I can still get some books in this way. 

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari:

This book is a commentary on what dating is like in our current digital age and how relationships are impacted by the use of texts, emails and online dating. It's an interesting observation on our culture today, with research and data to back it up. It's not a thorough analysis but I think it captures the phenomenon of a dating culture in an accurate and compelling way, especially since it comes from his point of view. I appreciated his tone (made more apparent because I listened to him read this) and enjoyed his perspective on this topic. 

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante:

This is the fourth and last installment of Ferrante's Neopolitan series and I found it stunning. Ferrante is a masterful storyteller and the way she fleshed out these characters over the span of six decades kept me wondering if this was based on real life experiences and people. I had renewed appreciation for the previous books while reading this one and maybe because of that reason this one might be my favorite of the four. I was also impressed by how she was able to describe the complexities of motherhood, balancing a career, friendship, relationships and feminism through these characters. 

Lila by Marilynne Robinson:

I read this book earlier this year and it's probably my favorite book of this year so far. It is quiet, lovely and makes your heart ache from the way she portrays humanity - vulnerable, resilient, desperate, searching and kind. When I came across the audiobook, I decided to read it a second time and I'm having a different experience with it this way - it makes me feel so sad it's almost unbearable...

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne:

I did a summer study abroad at Cambridge during my law school years a few years ago, and I can recall my international law professor vividly when I think back on that time. He was past his 80s, brilliant, and a wonderful teacher. He was a great lover of gin and the Winnie the Pooh stories - he said because of its simplicity, humor and wisdom. He would quote from it all the time during class and I think of him often while going through this audiobook with Sloane. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WEEKDAYS

Within the deep breath I took before going back to work, was a resolve that I wouldn't dread the busyness of the day-to-day. I didn't want to rush through the week, living only for the respite of the weekend, I want to be excited for each day.

It's a bumper sticker, but it's a bumper sticker that I'm wholeheartedly embracing right now. Reminding myself of the things that I have to look forward to in each normal day has been the most successful way to foster happiness and contentment in my life. That way, my life is not just defined by the milestones and big and exciting things, but the small and indispensable every day things.

One of the biggest mental shifts I made was to make mornings something that I look forward to, and that has helped enormously. Here are some of my other small gems: 

1. Good coffee
2. Snuggling Logan and seeing her smiling face. Watching her beaming at Ken whenever he looks at her.
3. Conversing with Sloane
4. Listening to good podcasts and audiobooks during the day
5. Writing and checking off my to-do list in my bullet journal
6. 5:00 PM - the end of a work day!
7. Crossfit
8. Winding down with my babies and pattering around the house in the evening 

9. A hug and kiss from Ken, regrouping with him.
10. Any sort of reading time I met get
11. My bed

APPLE PICKING WITH BABES

Yes it's true, another post about apple picking! Get excited, you have apples and babies coming your way. 

It was a cold and blustery morning, and we bundled up with hats and scarves and left the house 50 minutes after we had planned. That still felt like a victory;  getting four adults and three kids out the door, fed and dressed is worth celebrating. And we were duly awarded- the crowds hadn't formed just yet, the morning was brisk and sunny and the Fuji apples were ripe for the picking. I had been hyping this up for weeks with Sloane and I was pleased down to my toes that she was excited for it too. She wanted to pick her own apples and ate through about 5-6 little ones, most of them unfinished before being tossed on the ground for the sake of another one asking to be picked: "Papa said I could throw the apple like this here!" I chomped through three big ones - they were SO GOOD. Crispy and ripe apples straight from the tree is probably in my list of top ten best foods ever. 

For starters, an adorable little bear of a baby. I miss her all the time. 

The first thing we did when we got there was fill our bellies with apple donuts and apple cider. I highly recommend this sort of pre-game.  

She loved her cup of hot apple cider.

Teeny tiny people! who are climbing towards the grove of Fuji apples. While we were going up the mountain, I was walking right in front of a group of people who were discussing where the best apples were: "I heard that the best apples are over....." "Wait, you should whisper," said his friend jokingly. "We don't want people to hear," and gave me a big wink and grin. "Ha ha I was totally listening in for it, " I responded jovially, hoping my cheer would mask my deathly serious determination to find the best apples.  It must have worked because they spilled the beans.

I captured this moment because this is Ken polishing off an apple he picked for me.  He may not have meant it that way, but in my book, this is a romantic gesture.  Next up, I'm trying to get him to plant me an apple tree in our backyard.

Look at these cuties! 

Let's end it with the sweet baby bear, shall we? She slept most of the time we were there, but while I was snapping a photo of her she opened her eyes and looked at me like this.  What gives, mom?

oh wait, I'm not done yet.

Family photos! look! we each have one to hold!

A NORMAL DAY

"A normal day! Holding it in my hand this one last moment, I have come to see it as more than an ordinary rock. It is a gem, a jewel. In time of war, in peril of death, people have dug their hands and faces into the earth and remembered this.  In time of sickness and pain, people have buried their faces in pillows and wept for this. In time of loneliness and separation, people have stretched themselves taut and waited for this. In time of hunger, homelessness and want, people have raised bony hands to the skies and stayed alive for this....

A normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it will not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hand to the sky, and want more than all the world your return. And then I will know what I am guessing: that you are, indeed, a common rock and not a jewel, but that a common rock made of the very mass substance of the earth in all its strength and plenty puts a gem to shame.

The day is over, and now I will sleep."

- Mary Jean Irion