Greetings!

We're Here

Just for Daddy. And Grandpa. And anyone else who wonders if we're here and having a good time.

On Holiday

Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. the kids and I are leaving to spend a month in New Hampshire at Clare's Cottage. Our suitcases are packed with minimal clothes, a lot of bathing suits, snacks, plane treats, and 10 cloth diapers. We will spend two weeks alone at the lake (with a brief visit from my friend Christy!), a week with Gigi and Pop Pop, and finally a week with Mario. Spending a month away from home is an undertaking but I am really excited to breathe some fresh cooler! air, to swim in the lake and to explore a true New England summer.

I will have email on the weekends so if you send email be sure to think of it as sort of a snail mail. And if you would like to correspond in the old school snail mail way, let me know! We're open to summer pen pal fun and we will have a mailing address. I think daily trips to the mailbox will become part of our routine! And of course (and thankfully) I will have my cell phone so we can stay in touch.

Happy summer!
xoxo--
Head Lima Bean

For fun: Clare's Cottage Facts.

Friday Morning Play

Testing out our new wings from Aunt Rena and Grandma Junie.
Helping Mama make a few snacks for our guests and our tea party.

A little pre-painting on paper before we moved along to our final canvases.Eating Popsicles on the deck together. Red ones.

I love how kids remind me how simple fun can be so fulfilling. While the kids played Susan and I caught up, prepped the next activity, and just enjoyed hanging out together while our kids played. Next time we need to join them in the Popsicle eating part of the program.

Afternoon happiness is...

Our membership to Edventure. And living downtown right near the museum.
A new camera strap for Mama.
Remembering we have a sand box. And eating orange popsicles right before playing in the sand so things get really fun and sticky sandy.
My favorite popcorn in the whole wide world delivered to my door. Thanks Dad!

Going Home

Blogging is so much more fun than packing. Which is what I really should be doing right now. Mario keeps coming into the back room to see how I'm coming along with this important stuff I'm doing. Soon I tell him, soon I'll be done.

Today was a totally lazy day. Summer in it's purest form. The best part: getting caught in a thunderstorm while feeding the ducks.

So there I was. Two kids fresh out of the pool, post lunch, wearing clean clothes at the pond. In just moments the skies opened up, thunder rumbled softly, we watched the rain drops fall on the pond, Clare and Wesley held their hands out to catch the rain, and we laughed the whole walk home. They loved it. I loved it.

When we got home we all changed into dry clothes, got snuggled up, read Going on a Bear Hunt for the 60th time today, and took delicious long afternoon naps while it rained. And when we got up the rain was gone, the sun was out, my temperature gauge read just 81 degrees and we went to the pool again.

Now it is time to head back home. The kids are currently sleeping and our plan (after many many attempts to figure out the best way to travel with them) is to pack, transfer them to reclined carseats, drive thru Starbucks, listen to our This American Life podcast, and hit the open road. See ya soon Columbia!

Mama's Coffee

Such a helper! Clare likes to help make coffee each morning and this morning was no exception. Daddy is en route to some work thing so Mama was up bright and early reading stories, just sitting on the couch, tip toeing around Wesley's room careful not to wake him, and trying to sneak a few lines into my journal.

I always carry my journal with me hoping for a few moments to jot down my thoughts. (Sometimes I even sneak a few bullet points in while waiting at stoplights.) I am slowly learning that if I don't capture the thought on paper quickly in the midst of all of this mothering it will flutter out of the window.

Today while Daddy is away we are without a car. Here on the island this will translate into a walk to the village to return our current library books (we've gone each morning to get 3 new books!), a coffee stop for Mama, maybe a drop in at Eco-Nook without my wallet to prevent any further damage, swinging at the pier park, feeding the ducks at the pond, and a trip to the swimming pool. Clare is dressed and ready in her pajama to pink bathing suit ensemble that summer days bring. Now we just need Wesley to wake up from his nap!

Organic Guilt

My questions lately to friends: How organic are you? What are you firm about being organic? Why are you organic? How local is your food?

Last night after reading a wonderful email from Eli about the amazing local and organic practices her family follows, Mario and I shared a conversation about our organic/non-organic purchasing. Some friends of our family are firm dairy organics, others are in the process of trying to go 100% organic, a few don't care at all, and some are randomly organic.

Right now we fall into the random organic category. As in totally random depending on where we are, how much it costs, and if there's not an acceptable cheaper substitute. We have a modest grocery budget that we try to stick to each month in order to save our pennies for our other dreams. Non-organic dreams.

The more I learn about greener things the more I want to feed my children more pesticide free foods. Love the concept, love the idea, and wish I could do it without such a high price tag. See, the other greenish practices we adopted in our home like not using paper towels, using cloth napkins, having a diva cup and cloth menstrual products, cloth diapering, recycling, BPA free plastic use, and others haven't cost me a cent. In fact, they actually save money making more room to save for our dreams.

Going organic is the first thing that actually seems to cost us more up front with no direct monetary savings. And so right now we are reluctant to spend the extra bits and unsure of where to draw the lines. Eating healthy, local and conserving our resources are the main priorities for our family. Is there such a thing as a frugal organic? If go organic and we stop for chicken nuggets on the road does that undo our organic intents? Where are the lines drawn?

And so I ask again: How organic are you? How local is your food? What matters most to you? And why?

Evening at the Beach

Wesley swims with Daddy in the tidal pool.
Dora hangs out with our collection of hermit crabs that we hunted up along the shore.

(Aunt Rena found this perfect swim with me Dora for Clare at a garage sale for 25 cents!)
Clare! Daddy! Wait for me!
Our little fish in her 'new to me' goggles.

Beach Daddy Perks

Look Miss Elisa! A new helmet for Wesley!
When Daddy works from the beach it means:

1. Clare and Mommy get to have dates in the morning while Wesley naps at home.

2. We get to go for bike rides to BBQ places for lunch.

3. No commuting time.

4. Mommy gets to have a mid afternoon recess while everyone naps.

Today Wesley enjoyed his first ever bike ride. On Saturday I found this bike seat for $2 at a local garage sale. Now both bikes are equipped to hold kids and we can travel as a family unit anywhere our legs can pedal. I think we have a lot of bike rides in our future!

Missing Aunt Rena

Aunt Rena came to visit! She met Wesley for the first time, celebrated Wesley's first birthday with us, played at the beach, roomed with Clare, took the morning shift, made a great pasta salad, shared lots of fun stories about life as a writer in NYC, entertained us all, read stories to the kids, changed diapers, went for bike rides, and made us all smile. Thanks for coming Aunt Rena!

Mama and Baby

Like every other mama out there, I can't believe that my baby is one. But he is. And I adore him, can't imagine life without him, and love every juicy thing he has brought to our world. Thank you Wesley. I love you.

Happy First Birthday Wesley!

Wesley is officially one! To celebrate his big day our events included: one trip to the beach, two long naps, two trips to Starbucks, one small cake, 12 mini cupcakes, a trip to the pool, dinner at home, and 2 presents from Aunt Rena and Grandma Junie. A great day around here...and now this mama is ready for some snoozing!

Wrestling 101

She's got him pinned for now but I don't think that will last much longer!

5 days till ONE

Our little man is almost one. Tonight when I went for a run around the neighborhood I couldn't help but remember walking and walking and walking with contractions in the July heat trying to get him out a wee bit sooner. As much as a I loved being pregnant I was ready to meet Baby P #2 and to experience birth with our midwife and her team.

At this point last year the birth tub was in place, the birth supplies on hand, Grandpa Mike waited here with us for a few days, we had already been admitted to the hospital for pre-term labor and had 2 trial runs with Clare hanging out with Aunt Mikie. Baby anticipation is just delicious.

Five Senses

I can hear Wesley ripping out pages from Clare's new coloring book.

I can feel the gentle breeze from the constantly running ceiling fan in the red room.

I can see my reflection in an antique mirror from Vermont that my mom gave me on Christmas.
I can taste bits of Sopa de Lima via Moosewood from lunch lingering.

I can smell my new perfume, Sake, that I bought at Eco Nook on St. Simons last week.

What are your senses doing right now?

Fashion Notes

1. Yes. She picked it out herself.
2. Yes. She is throwing a fit.
3. No. She will not wear a dress anymore.

Back Tracking

A week ago we spent three days with our friends at the beach. And for all of the beach pictures and pool parties found on this blog remember that being at home with two kids 24/7 is still a lot of work. But during these few days Caroline and I made a pact.

Pact Rules
1. We are here to have fun.
2. Being at the beach with four children under four will be hard work.
3. We welcome the hard work.
4. Low tide is our friend.
5. Having fun is not always easy or simple.
6. We will drive-thru Starbucks each morning before going to the beach.
7. We will stay up later than we should having girl talk because we can.
8. Everything is washable.
9. I will rescue your kid if he/she drowns.
10. We are totally in this adventure together.

And in the end we did have a great time. We got sandy, we were tired, and we did miss our husbands. But for a huge change, we got a chance to have real uninterrupted conversation. We also learned how to keep a conversation flowing while parenting and our kids had an absolute blast. I picked up new parenting tips and totally admired her children's manners and behavior. Next time we'll have one more in tow...thank goodness for wagons.

P.S. And if anyone can tell us how they get their darling children to sleep at the beach on the beach we would both really like to know how that's done.

If you want to see pictures, you can find lots of them here.

Wesley's Party

This afternoon we hosted a small party to celebrate Wesley's first birthday. His birthday is actually next weekend (7/20) so be on the lookout for a sappy post then about giving birth, planting his placenta, and his sparkling addition to our world.

Last month I read a lot of blogs with mamas who do not throw parties for toddlers because they don't remember them and because they cost too much. After a bit of discussion (including one where we *gasp* planned on combining Clare and Wesley's birthday parties) we decided that we did want to have a simple party. These milestones give us a chance to convene friends, to open our home, and to strengthen existing bonds.

We opted for a basic backyard party. We spruced up the outdoors, added some bubbles, took all of their toys outside, added some sidewalk chalk, and a cooler of Coronas/water/juice boxes. Inside we served a simple supper: tacos, beans, and chips-n-salsa. Everyone arrived, the kids played, we ate, Wesley ate his cake, everyone else ate cupcakes, and at 5:30 p.m. it was all over. Mario and I had fun planning the party, preparing our home, and seeing everyone that came.

As we cleaned up tonight I took great delight because we had no waste from our party aside from the smash cake that ended up everywhere. I took the leftover ingredients from the taco bar and made 2 huge enchilada casseroles! We even put a bit aside for tacos tomorrow night too...all in all leaving me with about 4 pre-prepared meals for our family. Good stuff. Total bonus that a deli tray never could have delivered.

So thank you to those who came to our little party. We had a great time and can't wait till Clare's bigger, badder, even more chocolaty birthday fiesta in September.

Priceless

Celebration

Before

During
After One Year Ago

Cleaning House

Last night we extended our backyard cleanup efforts into our house. This morning when I woke up I felt giddy to have clean counters, clutter free tabletops, dusted bookshelves, and things generally back in their place.

I think the 6 months of house cleaning services that my mom gave to us after Wesley arrived was the best present ever. I loved coming home to a clean house, being forced to pick up and sitting with a cup of tea on the couch in the afternoon knowing that nothing really needed to be done. Around Christmas 2007 the service fired us. Yup. The fired US. We got a letter of termination in the mail. In the letter they said they couldn't find reliable help to work with them and they were cutting clients...since we were new we were among the first to go. Later friends of ours that used them for years were also fired and their company totally folded.

Faced with another high initial cleaning charge, trying to find someone else, and being at the end of our gift funds we never hired another service. So sad but humbling too. Last night we tried a new cleaning system outlined here. 2 Coronas, 2 hours, some peppy music, the timer, and a this outline transformed our home into a much happier place.

I'm especially thrilled that I may be able to even knock this out during nap time if both kids sleep.

Manual Labor

After months and months (and maybe even years) we are finally getting around to tending our home. This morning we blocked 4 hours to mulch, clean, and sand our backyard. Our patio is now inviting, the toys are clean and there's 18 bags of fresh mulch arranged around the area. Good stuff. And it felt amazing to actually be out there doing something together, inexpensive, practical and that we'll enjoy for the rest of the summer.

Sexperiment Update: Day 17

Hats off to the women who committed to 101 and 365 days of sex with their husbands. Our experiment is creeping along and now that I'm a few days into it I have more to share.


1. The project in and of itself is really quite fun. The sexperiment has nothing to do with our children, our house or our work. It is totally about us and is the first project that we have done that focuses solely on each other in a long time. That alone is valuable to me.
2. We are not trying to make baby #3.
3. Knowing that we already agreed to do it each evening makes it futile to play a game inside my head to avoid it. I think sometimes I spend just as much time and energy trying to finagle my way out of having sex. In the sexperiment we just do it...I have no excuses.
4. Mario is loving this crazy project.
5. I love the conversations about the Sexperiment creates with friends.


We have had two days apart and we have missed a few days due to illness...but otherwise the sexperiment is going strong. If I were to do it again I think I would choose a shorter time period, say 10 days and work my way up to the full 30.


And just for fun: a few sex facts.

Home Again

We got home tonight after three days with friends at the beach. More later...after we unpack, edit photos, catch up with Daddy, and read the mail.

Housekeeping Notes

I will be offline for the next few days as we enjoy a visit with friends here on St. Simons. Mario is heading back home and taking the computer with him. I will be snapping lots of photos so I'll have plenty of eye candy to share when we return home to Columbia.

Upcoming posts include: A Sexperiment Update, My One Year Nursing Anniversary, Wesley's First Birthday, Eco-Laundry, Pay it Forward (finally!) and thoughts on Vegetarianism and Dreadlocks.

Three new blogs I am enjoying that may occupy some time for you: Uncommon Grace , The House on Hill Road, and The Artful Parent. But if nothing else I just love this post about being more mindful.

That's all for around here. Have a great week.

Lemonade

Our plans for today included spending some lazy time in pajamas, running errands, going out for lunch together, taking naps and then heading to the beach. There are tidal pools that form after low tide over on East Beach we are eager to explore with the kids. We wanted to spend a leisurely evening together playing in the pools, enjoying a dinner picnic on the beach blanket, taking pictures in the evening light, and just being a family.

Sometime around the very end of nap time the island got a few sprinkles, some loud booms, and several cracks of lightening which put an end to our plans. After hanging out at the house a bit we opted to jump in the car and take a drive. When we got home it was still raining but not thundering anymore. I looked at Mario and asked if he wanted to go swimming with kids. In the spirit of why not? we got everyone changed and into the pool.

And a rainy pool good time saved our plans to tucker these kids out by bed time.

Lesson of the Day: Go to the beach early, often, and take advantage of sunshine when you have it.

Grampin/Gampit's Gone

Today Grampin left the island to return to his home in Northern Virginia. There is a huge empty feeling around our house and a little girl with a lot of questions about where her Grandpin went.

Mario and I lived here on the island after we graduated from William and Mary. Mario worked for a judge in Brunswick and I threw together a string of jobs until I left to attend graduate school at USC. We think of St. Simons Island as our place. We lived here, got married here, and continued to return for vacations. We bought our house here and love coming down whenever we get a chance. But somewhere along the way my father adopted this island too.

If we added up the amount of time we've spent here and compared it to the amount he's spent here over the past ten years I think he would have more time logged. We love having him here and are so happy that he travels to be here too. The kids adore seeing their Grandpa on a regular basis, we spend more time here because he is here, and I can't help but remind myself how lucky I am to get so much time with my dad too. We really look forward to his return this fall.

A Day on St. Simons Island

6:30-7 a.m. Everyone wakes up.
7-8 a.m. Breakfast, sunscreen, swimsuits, pack cooler.
8-10 a.m. Beach time.
10:15-11:30 Wesley naps, we clean up, Clare plays.
11:30-2 p.m. Lunch, errands, hanging out.
2-4:30 p.m. Nap time for everyone.
4:30-5 p.m. Snack.
5-6 p.m. Pool time.
6:3o-7:30 p.m. Dinner, baths (sometimes), stories, play, nursing, and clean up.
7:30 p.m. Bed time.
7:30-10:30 Mama time.

Books I checked out today

Photographing Your Family
by: Joel Satore

Unaccustomed Earth
by: Jhumpa Lahiri

Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without
by: Mollie Katzen

How Starbucks Saved My Life
by: Michael Gates Gill

What Now?
by: Ann Patchett

Journalling as a Spiritual Practice
by: Helen Cepero

I just adore the St. Simons Island library. During naps today I took off and checked out a few books. I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to look at them all but it feels awesome just to have them piled on my nightstand.

You Okay?

Sitting on the milk crate sipping a cup of coffee on the shore this morning Clare ran up to me on one of her many laps in and out of the ocean. She got right up next to me, touched my arm with her sandy hands and asked, "You okay Mommy?"

I looked back at her, took a breath of salt air, felt the morning sun on my skin, looked at the ocean and heard Wesley giggling next to me in the water and confidently replied that I was definately okay.

Every so often she asks me "You okay?" I love the question. Those two words make me stop, be totally present in the moment, and realize that I am really doing just fine. Most of the time I am even better than okay.

Morning at the Beach

This picture taken by Grandpa pretty much sums up our morning. Clare ran all over the place in the state of great jubilation for just being at the beach, I stayed in mama hen mode making sure that nobody got hurt and Wesley crawled all over the place.

Behind me you can see our beach camp which we used a little bit but I've still got to learn how to bring less stuff with us down to the beach each day. We were out from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. and enjoyed breakfast on the beach, a few sand mountains, a long swim, and the pure fact that we could spend this morning by the water.

Oh and that grey milk crate: the greatest beach thing ever. You can put kids in it, stuff in it, sit on it, pull up on it, bury it, and it remains indestructible.