HomeLife
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
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Five Finds Friday (25) (handmade rings & dancing music)
Why, hello there Friday. Fancy meeting you here again. FUNNY That yard sale fiasco was last weekend. I mean, it was alright. On the positive side, we did clear out a lot of unnecessary items from our home and this house could certainly use a bit of purging as I tend to live with five pint-sized hoarders. But the funny thing is, Piper and her friend Matthew hosted a lemonade stand and bake stand that day. Hands down and nowhere close, they made far more money peddling over sweetened lemonade and homemade cookies than I did selling my household possessions. FASHIONABLE When we hit the trail with a group a…
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invite them over.
I almost didn’t write this post. Because it seems …. I don’t know. Something I don’t want it to seem. Maybe it will sound as if I have my act together. Because I know that in many many many ways, I certainly do not. All of us have our lists. You know – our skill sets and our weaknesses. Our pros and cons. We might make delicious strawberry jam but we somehow cook the chewiest beef stew ever. (That problem’s mine, you guys.) We might plan well but execute poorly. (Another one of mine.) Maybe our finger nails are lovely and well manicured but our toenails better stay hidden in socks and…
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when Mother’s Day is messy
In the world of blogging and platforms and building your tribe (and whatever other words we have created post Windows 95), word on the street says you should write about whatever is “trending”. Time your posts to be about approaching holidays and topics that are on point and subjects being covered in the news and in mainstream media. Write about what people are talking about. Eh. Sometimes that lands in my lap. I mean, at Christmas I probably had some Christmas posts. I’m sure occasionally I talk about something that someone “important” somewhere is talking about too. I guess. Generally I just write about what I write about – you…
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would you do it all over again?
Would you do it all over again? It’s the kind of question your brain asks itself at 2:26 in the morning after you’ve watched an unrealistic romantic comedy and the screen has gone black and the volume has gone mute and the only sound you hear is the shaking and whirring of the uneven ceiling fan. Would you do it all over again? It’s the sort of impossible question that barely deserves a response but there’s this glimmer and sliver of your heart that feels compelled to think it through. No one is really asking. You know you’re only talking to yourself. But your self is still kinda curious and…
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holding on with both hands
I am in danger of running out of words to describe how genuinely FUN it is to be the mom of these kids. I’m reminded of a visit to the farm in recent months. A morning walk to the pond to “fish” with my two boys. The entire walk down we chatted about worms and books and mountains and deer tracks and the beauty of mornings and the various shades of green nature can produce. While they fished, I read a book. I overheard their quiet enthusiasm. Their exchange about lure choices and Otto’s reverence for the manner in which the water ripples after a stiff breeze. And I was aware…
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echoes of other things
Last weekend I’m driving down the road with my dad riding shotgun. (I can remember switching roles like that for the first time. Fifteen and eager to impress and anxious to receive legal governmental permission for what my dad had been allowing me to do with farm trucks since I was twelve years old. Driving a car on the road.) Five kids are in the back. Every seat is occupied. Grandpa is telling a story to the kids and introducing them to his version of classic Country & Western music in the form of Chris LeDoux. He’s got the song “A Five Dollar Fine for Whining” blaring and he’s making that…
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A Grove Co. Giveaway You Won’t Want To Miss
Don’t you think Grove Collaborative is a much prettier name than ePantry? I do! (Although Berg says he thinks ePantry is better – more practical. More literal. Which makes sense as that eleven year old is one of the most literal human beings I’ve ever met.) But you know what? I like the name to be pretty just like I like my soaps and sprays to look pretty – and smell pretty too. I’m SO excited for you guys about this giveaway. It’s ALL of my favorites. Seriously. ALL of them. Look at that pack of beautiful goodness. (And you don’t have to choose the lavender scent, but I mean,…
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Five Finds Friday (23) (weddings & grandpa & big feet)
FUNNY I am certain that I declare this far too often. However. Here I go again. I think my kids are genuinely funny people. This week we wrapped up our science chapter about Uranus and Neptune. (It was a very short chapter because, who actually cares about these planets?) The science book suggested that the kids create a mini play about the two young siblings who first discovered Uranus. The kids immediately asked, “Can we do a video instead?” I mean, I was probably not even going to require the completion of the book’s suggestion as it would be the shortest play ever. But I said yes to the video,…
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honestly.
I think I’m going to take the phrase “I’m just going to be honest” out of my vernacular. And then I am going to just be honest without announcing it.
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just run on sentences and nonsense over here.
Some nights your internet goes out for about seven hours due to some “scheduled outage in your area”. Some nights you stay up far too late (just like in your college days) chatting with an old friend. Some days your words are a little too used up and your jokes are a little too inappropriate and you just shut the screen down and walk away, no post for the day, and accept it for what it is. Some nights your eyes close for too many minutes in between the sentences. Those are the perfect times for random blog entries of bits and flotsam and maybe this post would best be…
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Five Finds Friday (22) (buffs & cute hairstyles for my girls & extra photos)
FUNNY What my ten-year-old reads for pleasure. Some kids outgrow their mom in height by the sixth grade. My kid is going to outgrow his mom in brains by the sixth grade. FASHIONABLE Probably because of my die hard, long term commitment to the television show Survivor, I was introduced years ago to the buff. The buff is headwear that serves many many purposes. Some use it as a headband. Some use it as a beanie. Some as a neck warmer. Few use it as a tube top. I use it as my favorite head wrap for camping, sleep too late to shower days and just don’t feel like dealing…
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An Ode To Ryder
O Fluffy Walking Rug, you are always underfoot, nearby and keenly aware of our Comings & Goings. You like car rides, chasing presidential cats and chewing wooden blocks. When we come back home after a short excursion there is neither creature nor man who has ever greeted us more enthusiastically. I wish chickens were boring to you and I wish your beard never got dirty. I wish your barks were silenced after midnight and you never got car sick. But I’ve seldom loved a dog as I love you. I like your hairy face, gentle eyes and companionable silence. The way your dog eyes watch…
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probably too late.
Most nights my eight-year-old shares the bed with me. (I know what we all think about this. But only one child sharing the bed is a vast improvement over this time last year, when all five were sharing the same square footage. She’ll transition to her own bed permanently eventually I feel almost certain.) At any rate, there she was, lying in bed and watching me through the open door at the bathroom sink. I was looking in the mirror, applying night cream to my face. “Oh, are you still trying to put cream on Mommy?” she asked, her voice all sweet and interested. “Yes. I am. What do you…
