Summer Bucket List

It was a whopping 95˚ today in New York City.  If you have central air conditioning, please take a deep breath of it for me.  I seriously have such a love affair with my window AC unit that I would run away and marry it if Joe would allow.  Anyway, summer is here to stay and I thought I'd list the adventures I hope to have this year.

- Trip to the Bronx Zoo
- Swim lessons and multiple afternoons at the neighborhood pool
- Coney Island
- Row the boats in Central Park (possible reschedule for Fall if the heat is too oppressive)
- Ride bikes around Governor's Island
- Visit Niagra Falls
- Hardie family vacation to Bear Lake
- See the PostSecret exhibit at the MoMa

And on days when we're not having giant adventures, Ellie and I will be hitting up various parks around town.  Today we welcomed summer by heading to "dolphin park" by our house.  So named because of a dolphin statue that sprays water.  It's a toddler paradise.

This is the only photo with a glance in my direction AND half a smile.

She was way too busy having fun to bother posing for pictures.

Below you will see a number of things:

- the famed dolphin

- Ellie's preference for staying out of the spray and playing in puddles

- calf high water socks that are sure to be all the rage later this year

- Ellie's continued obsession with dogs, even plastic ones

The end.  (get it?)

Humbled again by thoughts that aren't my own...

The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life.  The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day.
- C.S. Lewis

Do you love how he says "of course" as if to suggest all of us who didn't realize this earlier are just plain silly?  Oh.  Of course.  I knew this was the truth all along.

Now if only I could paraphrase it enough to have it tattooed on my right forearm.  Suggestions?

Two blue lines and my thoughts on the future...

- I'm glad we're moving to an apartment with more space.

- I'm extremely grateful our new place will have an elevator.  (I think this every day as I haul the ever growing toddler and the yet unborn up 5 flights of stairs)

- I realize our timing means that December will ALWAYS be a crazy month in our home.

- I'm trying to be over-the-moon excited, but honestly, it's just not as romantic as the first time around:

maybe when the sickness and exhaustion leave

maybe when my bump looks like more than a large lunch

certainly when I hold that sweet tiny infant in my arms

Yes, we're having a baby.  I feel grateful and humble, and hopeful that the excitement will come soon.  Shortly after learning there would be an addition to our family, I found myself wandering in the Met and I saw two paintings that depict my conflicting hopes and fears for the future.

My hope is that the entrance of our second child will be something like this

I, the serene mother, lovingly hold my tender babe.

I feel the presence of angels ushering me through the haze of the newborn days.

But I worry that being the mother of multiple children will feel more like this

Dear Lord, please don't let it be like this.

Because I would not be handling as calmly as the woman pictured.

Fashion Friday: anything goes

When Mom is sick, wear whatever the heck you want!  Tree frog pajama pants with a t-shirt, sandals and princess crown?  Sure, looks great honey.

Seriously, she brought me the sandals and crown - adamant that she wear them.

What a fashionista.

Me and Her (is that grammatically correct?)

I've made a new goal (it's very informal) to be in more photos with my daughter.  Even if I'm not dressed up, even if they're totally blurry and have funky exposure, even if both our faces don't fit in the frame.

I want to remember our time together - the time when it was me and her.

What about you, fellow mama bloggers - will you join me in this challenge?  I want to see pictures of you and your babes.  Put them up on your blog, send me a link, let's document this motherhood thing!

Mother Appreciation: the post-edition

I know, I know, Mother's Day was forever ago and I totally missd the boat.  But I"m going to share some mother-stuff anyway.  It's always a good day to honor motherhood, right?  I gave a talk in church on Mother's Day (no need to comment on the irony - if you know me, you know these issues) and I shared a few quotes that I think are just amazing:

"One cannot forget mother and remember God.  One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why?  Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one."

Thomas S. Monson, Behold Thy Mother, April 1998 Ensign

"When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman's most sacred role.  While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord's language, the word mother has layers of meaning.  Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve "the mother of all living" - and they did so before she ever bore a child.  Like Eve, our motherhood began before we were born.  Just as worthy men were foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality, righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood.  Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that.  It is the essence of who we are as women.  It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us."

Sheri Dew, Are We Not All Mothers?, 2001 

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother.  Each situation is unique.  Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children...What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."

M. Russel Ballard, Daughters of God, May 2008 Ensign

 I may not be Mother of the Year, but we sure look the part don't we?

Much love to you Eleanor - you made me a mother, I'm trying to make me a better one.

image credit: Kelli Nicole

Grandma Takes New York!

Whoa everybody, sorry about the radio silence over here.  We've had a few busy weeks.  You know, the kind where you're so busy living your life you have no time to blog about the living you've been doing?  And yet, if I don't blog about it, I feel strangely unfilled by the whole experience.  It's twisted, I know.

Anyway, I'm back now and very excited to share some photos with you!  A couple weeks ago, my grandma came to visit.  It was her first time in New York City and we did our best to show her a good time.

Grandma and Ellie on 5th Ave.

We went to Tiffany's and had lunch in Central park on this day.

Grandma and Ellie have some quality time at Union Square Park.

The reason Ellie doesn't look at the camera anymore is that she's gotten really good at ignoring me.

Really, really good.

Grandma sees the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.

Grandma on the Brooklyn Bride (look at that modeling skill!)

Grandma in front of the Met.  This was probably her favorite stop.

She loves the art of the East, so I saw a lot of stuff I don't normally see on this trip.

Also, not pictured is our Broadway adventure. We saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and it was awesome!  I was just too tired to take any photos that night.  Can you blame me?  Grandma wore me out.

I did get a chance to take some quick shots of Ellie with her Great Grandmother.  I have a couple candid pictures of me with my mom's grandparents and I just treasure them.  I hope Ellie will treasure these one day.

Thanks for a fun-filled week Grandma - it was great having you!  I love you.

Quilt Show Extravaganza!

OK, so I know it's old news on the internet because Erin and Debi both posted about it already, but I've yet to give my review.  Holy cow people!  Look at this amazing exhibit I saw in NYC.  I've taken a recent interest in quilting.  It started when I watched How to Make an American Quilt (that Winona Ryder - she gets me every time).  Then Ellie was gifted some very beautiful quilts that I absolutely treasure.  Then I decided I should learn to quilt so I can give treasures to other people.  Then we went to the American Folk Art Museum and fawned over their quilts.  Then there was this special exhibit....it's quite the love affair with quilting right now.

What I loved most about this show:
1. The design of the exhibit - absolutely phenomenal!
2. All these quilts were collected by one woman.  This was 80th birthday wish - to share her collection with New York City.  How sweet is that?
3. This exhibit encouraged viewers to simply have a visual experience.  No need to read long text panels, don't feel obligated to learn the history of every quilt.  Just come SEE it.  I love a low pressure art experience.

Debi with one twin.  It's just unnatural to see her with only one!

Hashi watched the other twin (Ellie's boyfriend, remember?)

There were a couple things I felt uncomfortable about:

1. I started having flashbacks to Alice in Wonderland, when she's being chased by the Queen and all those cards are flying everywhere.  Scariest movie of my childhood.

2. Ellie was having a ball, pushing through people to walk wherever she wanted.  Whenever I looked up at someone to apologize for her rude (but come-on, totally cute) behavior I was met with cold stares from some ladies.  They were not amused.  What gives people?  Apparently quilt enthusiasts are not Ellie's crowd.

Oh well, we still had a good time.  Unforgettable to be sure.

My Friend Kelli

This is my friend Kelli.  She is pretty great.  She's a very talented photographer, but the most important thing you should know about Kelli is that she's super helpful.  I tell you, this girl is just looking for ways to help you out!  While she was in town, Kelli took some great family photos of us (which deserve a post all their own) and she and I went on a little walk through Central Park.  Being the helpful person that she is, Kelli let me borrow her sweet lens to take some photos of emerging spring.  I posted all of them on my photography blog, but here are a few favorites if you'd like a peek.

Not only did she let me borrow her lens, she even let me borrow her friends for some fake engagement photos.

That's Kelli for you - willing to jump in wherever you need her.

See what I mean?

So for all these nice things Kelli does for me, I say thank you.

And I try to help her out by taking sweet photos of her.

Because that's what photographer friends do.

Thanks for everything Kelli!  It was a blast as usual.

Website Issues

Hi everyone.  Please accept my apologies for the lack of new content.  Oh, and I'm sorry the old content cannot be viewed either.  I post my images through a website called Photobucket and some of their accounts have been down (including mine) for more than two days now.  Ridiculous!

Needless to say, frustration abounds.  There are lots of posts coming, just as soon as this gets fixed. 

In the meantime I'll be busy crafting a Photobucket voodoo doll.