MIMI'S BABY SHOWER

Fact: I have been eating way too much pie recently.  Most of it has to do with this pie themed baby shower that I threw this past Saturday. Some of it has to do with all the leftover pizza (pie!) from the deck-building activities from that very same day.  I will not tell you exactly how much pie I've been eating because that is just embarrassing, but I will share some photos from the shower. 

Mimi was the lady of the hour, and we are so excited to meet her little girl. We asked guests to sign children's books instead of a card, so I wanted to keep that in the theme, but thought it would be fun to be even more specific with the food, so I went with a pie bar.  Let's be real, I love pie. I was so into this. There was savory ham and cheese pie, galettes, different kinds of fruit pies, and chocolate whoopie pies.  My sister helped me round up a bunch of children's books from the library about pies (there are so many! and I had such a good time reading them). For refreshments, I cored and pureed two halves of a watermelon, filled the empty halves back with the puree and set out soda water, ginger ale, lemonade and mint so that each guest could make their own watermelon (virgin) cocktails. Those drinks were refreshing! 

And now...for the cutest pictures ever....

I MEAN......

FIVE THINGS

lovely goods in the mail from TL Made : moleskin and lavender soap

hold on flowers, hold on!

sniffing lavender in caroline's herb garden in search of mint

found it

deck building!

SLOANE AT TEN MONTHS

When you are raising a baby, the nature of it is such that the current moment consumes you so that it is difficult to grasp what it might be like even just a few months down the road. So when parents who have gone before me told me things like, ‘the first few months will go by SO fast’, you can understand that concept with your mind, but it isn’t until you are at the other end of those first few months that you are like, ‘HOLY MOLY. That went by fast.” – and then are quick to disperse that tidbit to other parents who are in that stage, even while knowing that they won’t know until they know. Another thing that several parents told me is that the age of 9 and 10 months start getting really fun and get increasingly better each month. I remember grasping to try to imagine what that might be like, but now that I’m in it, I wholeheartedly agree. These days, Sloane keeps K. and I laughing and fascinated at all the new things that she is learning and doing.

She is getting to be quite the walker. She is all over the place and she is getting quick, too. When she is trying to walk especially fast, her legs get a little bow-legged and off she goes. She often imitates our facial expressions – making ‘O’ faces, wide-mouthed faces, and blowing air right back in my face when I blow on hers. She eats like a champ; it seems like her appetite for food has vastly increased in this past month, and she is eating all sorts of fruits, vegetables, tofu, beans, and meats... like a big human!

I love watching how she discovers things. It really makes me look at regular everyday objects in a new way. Watching her as she looks, really looks, at an object - turning it over in her hand so that she can see every side and aspect of it – is one of my favorite things.

One other change is how she clings to me more. Perhaps this is her figuring out where her home base is, as she ventures further and further out into the world. She definitely recognizes me and K. as her people, which is good, and I love how she comes tottering over to me with a smile when she needs a rest or a reassuring hug. It also means that she whines more to be picked up and sometimes has more stranger aversion, which is new, but she is figuring out her perimeters. She also does this thing with Rusty where she starts walking over to him really quickly and excitedly, but if he starts running in her direction, she immediately turns around and comes back to home base (me). She also automatically wraps her arms around my leg if there is a loud noise or she gets surprised. It feels good to be somebody’s home base.

....another balloon??

TWO balloons! 

TIDBITS ON A TUESDAY MORNING

^It has been incredibly difficult to get up in the mornings these past couple of days for work. This morning, I wanted to get back into bed so very badly once I got up to turn off my alarm, but I knew that would mean a high chance of oversleeping, so I laid down on the floor instead. You know, the logic being that I wouldn’t be able to fall into a deep enough sleep, but that at least I was horizontal for a little longer. I still fell asleep for 5 more minutes.

^June is going to be a very busy month.

^Note to self: GET EYEDROPS. You can’t keep living like this.

^I overheard someone say, “No problem, it’s easy cheesy.” It made me wince.

^I mulled over the word, ‘avuncular’, for a few minutes this morning. The dictionary says, “of or relating to an uncle.” Or second definition: “suggestive of an uncle especially in kindliness or geniality.” Examples of the word in a sentence: “a man known for his avuncular charm.” Rhymes with avuncular: “carbuncular, peduncular.” I had to know, is there an aunt version? And yes, in fact, there is. The word is, ‘materteral’- which doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely as ‘avuncular’, and it doesn’t show up in the Merriam-Webster. FYI (and it matters for the next point...)

^An avuncular co-worker said to me, “So is Sloane driving yet?” with a joking twinkle in his eye. (Yes, a twinkle. I don’t use this descriptor lightly.) I laughed. “They grow up fast, don’t they?”  “Yes,” I said. “It seems like she is learning something new every day!” “Let me tell you a funny story,” he said. “I was showing a friend a picture of my grandson the other day, and my friend said, ‘They grow so fast!’, and I said, ‘No kidding! His mom is MY baby!’” I don't know, this made me happy. 

^I had two eggs and one entire giant avocado this morning for breakfast. It felt luxurious. Also, this video.

^We got Sloane a couple of balls to play with – a small soccer ball and a small volleyball. She has been picking them up to carry around and we think she is saying, “bah” for ball but she also says this for other things, so who knows, but anyways, K.’s mom got us a big watermelon this past weekend and when Sloane saw it, she circled it, assessed the situation, gave it a few pats, and then, logically, tried to pick it up.

A SUMMER WEDDING

Our friends, Maya and Sang, got married this past weekend. It was wonderful and special because they have been together for a long time and we were happy to celebrate and cheer them on into their new life together in Charlottesville, VA. The location and details of the wedding were beautiful and romantic and even though I only got to capture a few on my phone, I thought it worth sharing those few here:

PIES IN MY SKY

Some days I rise with the ease of a seasoned mother, greet my sweet baby with enthusiasm, nurse my baby, get myself washed up, make-up on, clothes on, change and dress my baby, go downstairs to feed the baby breakfast, make and feed myself breakfast, pack baby’s milk and lunch, pack my own lunch and belongings, and get out the door before 7:30AM. Today was not such a morning. It was one of those mornings where the baby gets up at 5AM instead of 6AM, and is bright-eyed and chipper as can be, while I felt smothered with exhaustion and was bleary-eyed and half asleep even as I finally stumbled out the door. Tough mornings usually aren’t the majority or the norm, but on days like today, when I finally did get into the office clutching my giant cup of coffee as if it is the only thing that will save me and then got to my desk to find TWENTY DEAD FLIES strewn all over the desk, I was like, IS THIS SOME SICK JOKE? Everyone has rough mornings now and then, I don’t’ describe mine for any other reason than to point out the fact that sometimes it is funny in the way that it is only funny if you are reading it like a story, and can decide for yourself it is a comedy or tragedy. And if you were wondering, I have no idea why my desk was chosen to be the dead fly zone, we think a bunch of them fell dead from the ceiling and just happened to land on my desk.

Flies aside, I keep meaning to post photos of the pies that I have been making but I realized the longer I put it off, the less chance I will do it, so this post has a bunch of photos of pies, you’re welcome.

That up there is a fresh strawberry pie that I have made about three times in the past two weeks. And yes, I would eat most of it myself.  That’s what happens with me and this pie. It is just graham cracker crust, fresh strawberries tossed in a sugar, cornstarch, water, sure-jell mixture that turns into a glaze, topped with whipped cream (i made the filling like the one here). The simplicity of the pie somehow justifies into me sometimes eating the whole thing.

Down there below is my venture into lemon pies during my lemon phase that I ate through last month. I made Bill Smith's Atlantic Beach Pie after listening to this NPR news segment. This pie calls for a really simple saltine cracker crust, which I love for its salty contrast to the tart lemon, and so I used that crust to make a lemon meringue, which was way too edible, even without the meringue topping which never peaked albeit my constant whisking.

atlantic beach pie above, meringue-less lemon meringue below

Making simple fruit pies like these is the kind of simple that I can get my mind around even while navigating the busy of the everyday. It also offers a welcome respite, whether it be in the form of enjoying it with friends over tea and coffee, or eating by myself standing over the pie on the kitchen counter with a fork while waiting for Sloane’s baby food to finish steaming.

LAUREN MOFFAT SWIMSUITS

Memorial Day means the beginning of summer! and with that, swimsuits:
 i love these Lauren Moffat suits that Madewell has on their website right now. 

Out of my price range, yes, but boy are they lovely. 

THESE DAYS

These photos are from Mother's Day a few weeks ago. My first one! That was a good weekend. And you see that dress I'm wearing there? Ken bought it for me as a Mother's Day present. He picked it out, all of his own accord, can you believe it?  I love it, and you will probably see me in too many times over the summer.

Some other updates: 

My favorite parts of the day these days: seeing Sloane in the morning, picking her up after work. Second favorite: talking to Ken at the end of the work day. Third favorite: my morning cup of coffee. Fourth favorite: Sinking into bed at night. Fifth favorite: Insanity workout?  Yeah, that’s happening.

Currently listening to: Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom album. 

Currently breakfasting on: Sautéed kale or broccoli with a fried egg. My body loves me for this right now. 

Currently snacking on: Strawberries. We have strawberries coming out of our ears and we all love it, especially Sloane. 

Currently busy with: bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, deck building,

Current website obsession: www.humansofnewyork.com

Currently reading: Everyday Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timms.

Currently (re)learning: to be aware, soak in and enjoy the moment. Time is flying by at lightening speed and I'm riding the bolt like a cowgirl.