I’m officially deciding that for me to complete the 30 Day Photography Challenge, it doesn’t matter that I actually take the photo on that exact day. It’ll just work better for me that way. Plus, I don’t feel as much pressure…who needs pressure with something that is supposed to be fun anyhow, right?  I had grand plans today to photograph the Seattle Space Needle, but we had a mishap (mishap = puke) and I totally forgot about it. So I used an old (old = two days) image.

This post is kind of all over the place, but most of the images are from our trip to T-Town to visit Brian, Darcy & Dexter. The last time we were there it was summertime and we let Mags run in the water park practically nudie. This time we were all wearing our sweaters, but February was playing games with us and let us sit outside on their deck for majority of the afternoon.

I’ve really missed having some family photos taken of us lately and was hoping that I could use Darcy’s eye to capture a few, but Maggie had other plans. She was more interested in the ducks and dogs than posing with a cute smile. I had to let it go, which I find challenging at times.

There are few things in life that I love more than a good plan, so I struggle sometimes when something I’ve got on my mind doesn’t go my way. I sometimes see this come through in Maggie’s personality and I feel sorry for Barry – that he has to live with double planners. (double planners = bossy people)

Darcy did grab my camera and snapped a couple shots…none of which are great, but depict the situation pretty well. I was intent on trying to get Mags to take a photo on a stone bench, Barry was minding Syd and trying to convince me to forget about it, and Maggie was practically jumping into the duck pond. So it goes sometimes.

The rest of the evening was splendid. (splendid = running out of diapers and sipping on wine) The men had to make a heroic trip to the corner store to pick up some diapers after we discovered that Maggie really used the last diaper that we’d brought.  Bad planning on my part, I suppose.  Ironic for the girl that loves a good plan, right?

This whole weekend was an absolute pile of goodness. I love weekends like this and we’ve been pretty low key for a few weeks, so having a jam-packed weekend seemed to feel just right. On Friday Maggie and I met up with Cole and Caroline to see what the newly remodeled aquatics center was like. It did not disappoint. It was AWESOME and we’ll go back again for sure. Maggie has been in the water quite a bit, but this was the first time that I felt like she was really pumped up about it, it was if she’d turned into a fish.

Saturday we met up with Krista and Lance and had brunch at their house, which for some reason I’ve held onto the wrong address and it took us a while to get there. All in all, it was fun to let the kids play and the adults talk. At one point Krista and I were upstairs with the kids while Lance and Barry stayed downstairs talking. Krista and I are so similar in our loudness and the dudes are way more laid back. We were shrieking, laughing and being not quiet while we played with Will & Mags.

The men, on the other hand, had a quiet calm conversation that we couldn’t hear from the top of the stairs. It was a serious conversation and they both took turns talking, never interrupting one other. So unlike Krista and myself. Girls will be girls. Can that be the excuse.

After we left the Hoffman household, we headed over to Brian and Darcy’s for the evening. I may or may not have eaten too many pieces of shrimp and sipped a bit too much wine while at their house. Sometimes that happens when we’re all together…the shrimp and wine combo is killer.  So much fun though.

We didn’t watch the Super Bowl today, instead we went to the beach. (The above photos are from last week and our attempt at a self-timer portrait…photos from this weekend to come). We thought we were clever by going to the beach, but every other little family that didn’t want to watch the Super Bowl was there too. It was still fun.

And now.

We’re about to enjoy a delicious dessert to cap off our weekend. Pictures to come from the photo challenge, etc.

Ta to the Ta!

Just like most of my days today I wore jeans, a sweater and whatever else was on top of the laundry pile or at my finger tips. When I saw today’s picture was what I wore, I thought I’d dress it up a bit, but by the time I remembered to take the photo I was already dressed. Keepin’ it real for y’all. 

Yesterday we headed down to the beach to catch the sunset and watch some of the ferries come and go. I tend to forget how easy it is to access the water and what entertainment it can be down there.

We ran into other little families out to catch the last moments of the day, bundled up and pausing to point out the passing boats and trains. Every time we saw another kid, Maggie would stop, point and yell “baby” at the top of  her lungs. She thinks people are either babies or adults, she doesn’t quite grasp the idea of ‘kid’ yet.

Also, my parents got back from their vacation last night and spent the night at our house. I kid you not when I tell you that my dad strutted into the kitchen topless this morning just so we could see his tan. At first, we were all wondering where in the world his shirt was, but then after he puffed his chest a few times, we oohhed and ahhhed at how sun-kissed he was.

I am so happy they’re home. I still talked to them frequently while they were away, but it never felt natural (with the international phone charges and all) as it does when they’re home. I talk with my mom sometimes multiple times a day, so I practically felt like I was missing a limb sometimes not being able to share with her some of our shenanigans.

Maggie got more comfortable with the idea of talking on the phone while they were gone because on Sunday (the pictures of her in red) she was all a sudden talking to my mom without either Barry or I knowing it. We were both in different rooms and heard  a loud “Hi, Nama!!!” followed by a bunch of affirmative answers and stretches of silence. Sure enough, when I checked,  my mom was on the other end of the line.

Remember that I’m doing the 30 Day Photo Challenge? I decided that today’s self-portrait will be a shared one and it will also be a up close and personal one. The other option was one with Maggie picking her nose, so I’m pleased with this one.

You know how I was so jazzed up yesterday about February coming and book group? Well, it was all for a good reason. Last night book group was a total and utter hit. We were missing a couple girls, of the ones that were there, we actually all read the book! We eventually talked about the book (Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken) but spent the first part of the evening sipping on wine, eating cheese and laughing about wildly inappropriate stories….well, our version of wildly inappropriate, which is extremely tame. It was a splendid time, of course I didn’t bring my camera.

Today I was still feeling like I was walking around with a bit of pep in my step and then we went to the grocery store and Maggie puked in the middle of everything. It was entirely my fault too because I had given her some food to snack on in the car while we drove, thinking that we’d moved past the No Food in the Car rule that was established after our drive to Carmel. Turns out the girl still gets sick facing forward. The No Food in the Car rule stands.

So there we were covered in puke at the grocery store. Luckily it was right next to customer service and they had somebody out helping us pronto….I plan to never return to that store again, unless I am wearing a mask and wig. Maggie is fine and we’d been planning on going to the park, but the puke smell that we were wearing wasn’t going to get us any friends at the park, so we headed home to at least change. While we were at home it started hailing….which we ran around in, but that stopped being fun after a few minutes.

Instead of piling back into the car, we started to make our pizza dough for dinner and get ready for Maggie’s nap. Barry called in the middle of pounding the dough out and now I’m wondering if my phone is buried in the middle of one of the dough balls. We’ll find out soon enough.  When I put Maggie down for her nap, I realized that she was covered in flour and crusty dough because she really got into it while I chatted on the phone with Barry.

I guess the whole point in all of this puking and pounding is this: I’m still jazzed up. The sun is out and I swear I can hear birds chirping in the trees in the mornings when I take the dogs for a walk. They’re announcing that it’s almost time to get TOTALLY jazzed up and think about packing away our sweaters. But then it hails and we (the birds and me) are reminded that just because Mr. Sun gave a quick shout-out, by no means does that mean winter is over.

You know what though? We’ll just have to wait and see what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about that….he is the final word, after all.

And that is the end of this deliriously boring post. Smell ya later.

Before I go any further, I implore you to watch Maggie’s latest jam session on the harmonica. Last night Barry and I were sitting with her in the front room and she stood in the middle of the room just stomping her foot and playing her harmonica while we clapped along. She was rocking out and stomping her foot super hard, I had to try and record it. The video is a very toned down version of what she was doing minutes before, but the transition into the computer room meant she lost a little steam. Still funny though…at least to us.

We’ve been having so much fun here now that the snow is melted and our regular routines are back in full swing. Maggie has developed into somewhat of a boss (not sure where she gets that from…must be Barry) and is very, very specific about how we play games with her. Lately Barry has transformed back into Captain B-Nut and they rush up and down the hallway making all kinds of noise. Mags especially likes to run by the mirror to check herself out. (Side note: how cute is Barry? So cute. Best dad ever.)

Last night Barry and I sat on the kitchen floor while she ran circles around the kitchen and hallway. For the first part of the game we accommodated her bossiness and worked with her to say “excuse me” when bustling by. Once she figured out what ‘excuse me’ actually means, she kept saying it to us and the dogs, except it sounds like ‘new me,’ a perfect compliment to her version of thank-you, which is ‘nee-new.’

Eventually though we got bored with her telling US what to do (make sure our legs were stretched out, eyes closed, backs against the cabinets) so we started to throw her for a few loops by switching positions, singing and even kissing, she isn’t a fan of us kissing, but I suppose most kids don’t like to see their parents kiss, right? At first she was really sweet about us not doing it exactly how she wanted, but towards the end she really wanted to restore order to the game. Of course we appeased her.

I feel extremely  cheerful today…perhaps it is the sun peeking through the clouds or the fact that I have book group tonight and get to see some friends. Maybe I’m feeling good about finishing Maggie’s first year photo book (hallelujah!) and can move on to her next one. Yesterday in a fit of needing a change, we reorganized furniture in our house and Maggie’s room. Things here are in constant flux, but the changes feel SO good and fresh. Bring it on, Spring!!!

In these past weeks I’ve been bustin’ my tail to finish Maggie’s book, I’ve found myself looking at tons of old photos and I’m going to try hard to keep  myself from sharing a billion of them, but some are just too good to pass up. (See above image to get my drift.) Since tomorrow is February, my favorite month, I’m going to do a 30 Day Photography Challenge. Since there aren’t 30 days in February, I’ll have to swing into March, but that seems like a great transition.

Alrighty. Did you watch the video of Mags jammin’?  Hilarious stuff around here, folks.

One of my all time favorite photos.

Barry took Maggie on a date to visit his parents and I’m hunkered down at home working on a few projects. It took me a while to get into the groove of being here alone, but now I’m blasting music and working through some photos. In putting the final touches on Maggie’s first year book, I have found myself trying to ignore the tears that well up in my eyes and the lump that forms in my throat.  Maggie has had so much love in her life. Our families amaze me, our friends astound me and I’m starting to think that we’re okay parents.

I’ve always  maintained that I keep the blog to document our life, because I’m never going to be a scrapbooker and I don’t feel like I’ve got time to sit down and journal things out. Blogging is an outlet for me that feels right. I have struggled lately with writing and have found myself holding back from writing about things out of fear that someone might find it offensive or think it’s about them.  And usually my version of a rant is about somebody’s smelly breath or rude people at IKEA (hate that place, but that’s a story for a different day) and not anything deep or out of this world.

But working on Maggie’s photo book? I’m struck by how many important moments I captured with my camera that I’ve already forgotten about. I bet I blogged about a lot of them, but I don’t have time to go back and read about it all. I hope the details are there. ALL the details.

I basically answered my own question and squelched my worry. I’m going to keep blogging and if stinky breath and disrespectful people happen to be in my post, hopefully it won’t be about you.  And if it is? Go brush your teeth and try to fall on the side life that is a bit more happy, jolly and helpful.

We’ve got a whole lot of love here and we’re going to document the shit out of it.

]]> http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/there-ya-go/feed/ 1 http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/i-took-both-the-dogs-on-a-walk-today-and-it-was-a-circus/ http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/i-took-both-the-dogs-on-a-walk-today-and-it-was-a-circus/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:58:12 +0000 hannah http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/?p=7619

Things have been semi-boring on the blogging front as of late, so I threw together a fantastic picture of my afternoon walk. If it looks like Maggie is floating it is only because there isn’t a fancy way to draw our backpack and she was a crucial part of the walk! I held back from putting a crown on her head, I felt like Syd might get offended.

Anyhow, I took the hooligans on a walk today and it was a workout.  Sparky would be a perfect dog if there were NO OTHER DOGS ON THE PLANET. It wasn’t so bad, but I found myself wishing that that pesky snow would return so he’d take another chill pill. But did you see that sunshine in my drawing? Yep, it was out in full force today. We came home and stayed outside for ages….Maggie even took her coat off and frolicked with the dogs. Yippee!

Maggie found the frisbee and it turned out that Sparky was a little more than excited to see it. I like how Sydney is a little bit confused about Sparky’s aggressiveness. And then Sydney and Maggie basically switch places with Sparky once again kind of being a bully about the frisbee.

Since I have now started to do an entire post about Syd and Sparky, I think it is time for me to shut this baby down and go do something else. I’ll leave you with this parting shot of Maggie enjoying one of her favorite books: