snow days

hair accessories

I have this new headband that I love. And I wear it with this dress, which I also love. But truth be told, Alex has no love for the headband. At a recent cocktail party he spent quite a bit of time positioning us so that the flower of my headband faced the wall. And of course, I spent as much time as possible drawing attention to the headband by petting it and crazily casting my eyes toward it. So I'm curious, dear blog-world friends, what would you do? He hates it. I like it. Do I continue to wear it when I'm with him?

And I am a little curious what you think of the headband. It's like this one, but grey...and um, with spots. Be honest. I can take it.

A very stylish and beautiful woman at the cocktail party told me she liked my flower. I was all "THANK YOU! My husband has been making fun of it all night." She asked me why. I told her I didn't know; he just doesn't like my headband. She recoiled almost in horror and replied, "Oh! Well..you can't even tell it's a headband." Like....it was fine when it was just a spotted flower on your head, but a headband...EGADS!

what accent?

Taking photos of these "boys" (as Elly referred to them).....


was worth this....

...I think. Ya'll, my poor car didn't have a chance.

in bed

For the first few years of our marriage Alex and I slept in a full-size bed. I hesitantly agreed to a queen when we moved into our house several years ago. I just felt that distance in the bed could easily correlate to distance in the marriage. But the truth is...we don't cuddle in our sleep. So last week we upgraded to a king-size bed and passed the queen on to Elly since she had long ago outgrown her little toddler bed. And I love this bed. All I want to do is be in the bed. Our whole little family fits just perfectly. This photo is of us on a Friday night....just hanging out in bed. Turns out that more space in the bed actually brought us closer together.

happy monday

I know. I know. It's only the first day of happy week, and I've already posted pictures of my kids. I promise not to go all maternal the entire week, but I have allowed myself two days to devote to the happiness my family brings me.

When Alex and I were dating, we broke up A LOT. But there was one breakup that seemed more final than the rest. (I know this doesn't seem happy, but hang in there; it's going somewhere.) We had been living in New York. Then the breakup. He moved to Chicago. I moved back home with my parents. And I was depressed. Seriously depressed. I really wasn't sure it was a fog I could escape. I didn't think I could get over losing him and I had no desire to keep living without him. It sounds all cheesy and dramatic now, but at the time it was devastating.

But now we are together. And we have two beautiful children. And we are a happy little family.

So often I think about the girl who used to spend hours sitting in shower crying, wondering how her life would turn out. I wish I could send a whisper back in time to her. I wish I could let her know that everything works out. Better than she could ever imagine.

illness

After being diagnosed with strep throat, I realized having a husband with a broken ankle was a HUGE perk. Ahhh....sweet relief.

If it is possible to die from strep throat, then Alex and I nearly did two days ago. In addition to the obvious sore throat, we had fever, chills and full body aches. Occasionally we drifted into consciousness only to moan and shiver and then drift back out again. My poor sick children were left to fend for themselves. Thankfully we all survived. I'm ready to write off last week and start fresh for happy week.

Thank you so much for all the kind and supportive comments you guys left on my last post. I appreciate every one. See you on happy week!

annual emergency

So I've been avoiding telling you guys that Alex drove himself to the emergency room....again. Last time I was all "I told you never to wake me up even if you are bleeding to death" and "don't drip blood on the carpet" and "you better not crash my car while driving yourself to the hospital." This time he left a few messages on my cell phone that were light on words and heavy on the screaming and moaning. When I couldn't get in touch with him, I shrugged and the girls and I headed to the beach as planned.

Turns out that in a brave effort to save a volleyball from crashing to the earth, he broke his fibula.

And I'll be driving him everywhere he needs to go for the next four weeks, which must surely be my penance for forcing him to drive himself to the emergency room (twice).

father's day

I'm so grateful for the love, laughter, silliness and cold, hard cash he brings to this family.

better than coffee

A couple morning perks to being married to an artist:

When I wake up and find a love note taped to my bathroom mirror, the heart is perfectly drawn.

And waking up to find that one of my photographs inspired him to create a pretty new header for my blog.

gratitude

Last week I was sick and lazy, so I skipped out on my yoga mat. Today was my first day back to the practice. My teacher spoke quite a bit about gratitude and I was hit with a flood of emotion. It's not that I don't usually recognize how much I have to be grateful for; it's just that sometimes the realization punches me in the chest causing my heart to swell.

Today I am especially grateful for my two happy, healthy daughters. I am grateful for a husband who loves me. I am grateful he makes it possible for me to stay home with our girls. I am grateful to be home with the girls for another summer. (Of course I am grateful for many more things, but these are the things that were getting me today.) What are you grateful for?

(by the way...Canon took this picture.)

weekend love

A camera. A cell phone. And two dorks on date night. Only a tripod could have made this night any more perfect.

backyard show

"somewhere over the rainbow"

"I wonder which way to Oz"

"I hear this way is nice"

"Or some people go both ways"

"Can you help me down from this post?"

"Whoa!"

"if I only had a brain"

"We're off to see the wizard"

thieves

When I saw the mustaches in the store, I knew thievery would be involved. I just couldn't resist (shamelessly) stealing this idea. Of course we didn't have a professional photographer on hand and instead relied on my handy-dandy tripod, but we still managed to have fun. Try it! You are guaranteed to have a good time.

seven years...and it doesn't even itch

When Alex and I got back together, I decided our wedding anniversary would be a family celebration. Staying married isn't easy, and I think it is something to be celebrated. I want the girls to be aware of how special it is. So...in celebration of our seventh wedding anniversary, we packed up the camera and tripod and headed to my favorite little garden for a few family portraits.


It rained on us the whole time, but we had a blast. Canon even took over as our photographer for a while. Check out her handy work...

We then ate lunch at a little Cuban restaurant and hit up a bakery for celebratory desserts. After that the girls were off to my mom's house so Alex and I could have some time alone with each other. Over a nice dinner we reflected on that day seven years ago....and how much has happened in between. And how happy we are together.
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I also want to say thank you for all the kind and encouraging comments on my last post. You guys are awesome. Thank you for reminding me why I love this little space on the internet. Thank you, thank you!

daddy daughter dance

There was a time, during the first few months of her life, when I imagined that their relationship would consist of scattered weekends together. Hundreds of miles between them. A plane ticket necessary for every meeting. Awkwardness. Exotic adventures planned in attempt to make up for the lost minutes, hours, days and weeks until their next meeting. Two completely separate lives that would occasionally intertwine. The planned divorce would have put so much emotional and physical distance between them, I wasn't sure how well they would even know each other.

But things didn't turn out that way.

They have a unique bond, those two. Special games. Inside jokes. They adore each other. And they were equally excited about their first daddy/daughter dance this weekend.

They had planned to walk home from the dance. But it was dark and raining, so I decided to offer them a ride. When I caught up to them, she and a white balloon were tucked up under the black umbrella. He was walking in the rain wearing her headband, which had become too tight for her early in the evening. I asked them if they would like a ride. And she said, no...she would rather walk home with her daddy.

spring is in the air

Lately I've been....

having picnics in the park.

buying tulips.

making (and eating) tres leches.

shopping for summer clothes.

growing a tissue paper flower garden.

cheering for my Tar Heels.

planning upcoming trips.

running.

watching two completely naked little girls play outside for hours.