With the exception of the attic playroom (whose day is coming), we have officially painted every single room in this house. YIPPEE!
The last room completed was the entryway/foyer/stairwell. I love it. Thank you, Kyle!!!

Be careful when washing your children in hot water. Sometimes they shrink. Always wash according to the label.

I continue to be surprised at the things that come out of my children's mouth - and by things, I mean of the verbal nature, although the literal contents are also sometimes surprising. For instance, when August spits out an entire black paper binder that he's tucked back in his cheeks for safekeeping.

Or when Brooklyn is repeating something catchy over and over, and I realize that my child is saying, "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner."

This phrase sounds kinda familiar to me, so I call my husband and say, Kyle, listen to what Brooklyn's saying. He listens and promptly bursts out laughing. And he reminded me that it is a Vegas phrase having to do with winning at Blackjack. If you've ever seen the movie 21, it's all over that movie.

So either my daughter has a secret hobby on the side or someone she hangs around does...

I sit here this evening a happy woman. I am delighted to say that the baby shower for Lauren was a HUGE success. I think there were over 50 people here today, and there is no greater feeling than hearing the happy buzz of voices drifting on the air from women who mean so much to you.
It was wonderful to see the rooms of this old house filled with women whose faces were alight with the glow of fellowship, food and celebration. Lauren literally did not move as she opened gift after gift after gift. My mom was so moved to see her friends arrive in droves to honor her, their friendship and now her daughters-in-law. It was so incredible for me, as Donna's oldest daughter, to see as well. I hope someday to have amassed my own network of women whose lives are irrevocably bound by layers upon layers of love, history, time, tears, laughter, fellowship and most of all a common love for Jesus Christ.

During our lifetime, we are blessed if we are able to see our lives connect with other women in what can only be categorized as a quilt of relationships. Different women, different personalities, different interests, different passions, different everything, yet if we choose to invest the time and energy, little threads begin to weave in and among us, tying our hearts to each other's. We share each other's joys - weddings, births, birthdays, anniversaries - and cry for each other's hurts - deaths, divorces, loss of parents and grandparents, miscarriages - and spend time together as our kids are born and grow and change. We work out together, sweating and huffing and puffing. We study the Word together, side by side struggling to climb the narrow path God sets before us. We hug and absorb the sweetness that is the touch of another soul. We smile and share the beauty that is joy being transferred through the air.
And over time, that quilt is there to wrap around us in cold, dark days...as a source of strength, comfort, familiarity and solidarity. And it's a legacy. My mom has such a legacy and I saw it in action today. And it made me proud of her. I stood in the kitchen discussing such a legacy with my friend, Carol. We remembered all the days our moms spent together being young moms and we marveled at the fact that we were now having our turn. And hoping that our little girls would someday be able to rejoice in the legacy of friends we leave to them.
So, amidst cupcakes, Oreo balls, spinach dip, fruit and veggie trays, something greater than just an exchange of gifts took place here today. And I am proud to say that I stretched out my arms to grab the edges of that legacy of friends, of godly women, and wrapped it all around me, taking in the sweet aroma of friendship and inhaling deeply.

For those of you who wonder what happened to me...here I am. It's 11:30 on Thursday night and this is just about the first opportunity I've had to sit down and post anything on this crazy blog. Why, you might ask?

And I would laugh with a note of hysteria creeping into my voice.

Why, indeed. Well, for starters, because things have just been insane. The last day I was able to sit down and do this, I was still 31. Now I'm a whole year older. Well, 32 anyway. As of August 24th.
And let me tell you, my birthday was just about one of the greatest birthdays I've ever had! Kyle took the afternoon off and we gave the kids to my mom and we went to a matinee! To see the Time Traveler's Wife - which I had been waiting to see for months. I own a signed copy of the book and have been a HUGE fan of Audrey Niffenegger ever since reading it. In fact, we advance purchased her second book which isn't even out yet. Sigh.

After the movie, Kyle took me to dinner at Acadia, this fancy, exquisite restaurant where we had a tiny little table in a dark corner - perfect for staring into each others eyes and talking for hours while savoring delicious food. Which is exactly what we did!

The next day, things kicked into gear in my life.

I'm a Core Group leader for Community Bible Study, and our Tuesday training sessions began....followed by more training and more training. And then the actual Bible study began on September 2. And my kids went to Mother's Day Out for the first time. And August ran a fever for 9 days straight, waking up on the first day of MDO running a fever of 102.7... And then Labor Day weekend happened and then we found bugs in our closet that have apparently been eating holes in my clothing. And then we started painting our entry-way and had to pause to deal with our cloth-eating bugs..and the laundry which that has necessitated. Oh, the LAUNDRY!!!!! And I'm hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law here Sunday and I'm viewing the chaos which is currently my house and my feet start jumping and my hands start twitching and I feel the need to go run a mile really really fast to burn off some nervous energy!

So the bugs. Yeah, well, let me just say that I hope you never have to experience this. Thanks to google, I have identified our invaders as casemaking clothes moths and carpet beetles. They steer clear of cotton, but love wool and other fabrics. So they found our sweaters and our suits. And are everywhere. Where they came from I have no idea.

But I am more than a little repulsed at their presence here. Terminix has been here twice and yesterday after he sprayed, we were banished from our house for 4 hours. Since I discovered these little critters (last Thursday), I have done nothing but laundry. With the exception of Sat, Sun and Mon when we were at the Farm for its grand re-opening (pictures to follow later) - my washer and dryer have been running steadily. Thankfully, I have a brand new washer and dryer, so they're efficiently earning their keep!

And I've folded so many clothes and sorted so many clothes and continue to throw them in the wash, transfer them to the dryer and do it all over again so many times I feel like I'm getting dizzy. Not to mention the dry cleaning bill because of course you can't wash the clothes you really need to. So I paid $75 for a stupid dry cleaners to do it!!!! And on top of that, now my entire upstairs smells like mothballs because I practically bought out the Container Store's selection of clothes moth and carpet beetle killers/repellant. Sigh.

So, if you happen to brush shoulders against a very frazzled looking young mom who smells vaguely of detergent and mothballs and who has bags under her eyes while trying to corral her two little toddlers while remembering to buy milk, eggs and bread....it's probably me.

Kyle and I are fans of architecture and while no means legitimate experts, we do feel we have a certain sensibility about us when it comes to what works and what doesn't and occasionally, what should never ever ever have been.

We often wonder how or why an architect ever even bothered to put something down on paper and further, what IDIOT looked at it, approved it and went ahead with building it. And let's not even discuss the people who actually put money into such houses for reasons other than to raze them and use the lot to build something better.

Such a classic "blooper" exists on Waterside Drive, the road that parallels the lake by our house.

For just so many reasons, this house should be destroyed, eliminated, eradicated, scratched out and started over, then the rubble kicked in disgust and a scale model burned in effigy! Yes, I have strong feelings about this.

It faces a beautiful lake: here is the view from this house.


And here is the mistake of a house:


See what I mean????? What nincompoop thought it would be a great idea to build a house that virtually looks like it's mooning you? How could this possibly be the FRONT of a lakeside house? The windows looking out onto the lake are like portholes...the windows facing the hill and concrete patio are floor to ceiling...90% of the landscaping is concrete...30% of the front of the house is garage doors...the whole thing just says, oh, it means nothing to me to live on a lake...I hate lakes...I only live here cause I have to...don't look at me...go away! Which is exactly what I do - walk away from it as fast as I can!

Yesterday, as Kyle and I walked past it and stopped to discuss its complete ridiculousness...I pulled out the camera and he laughed, "I smell a blog post coming on!" Dern tootin.

I've posted before about one of my favorite authors - Maeve Binchy. For years, I read books and would find a common thread among them - on the backs, there would be comparisons to the authors with Maeve Binchy...so clearly this was a woman with some esteem in the genre of books I was reading. Which are difficult to describe...books about real life in foreign countries, perhaps? Sagas of lives? I struggle to categorize them into one-liners, although I'm sure it's not that hard to do.

Maeve is incredibly prolific. Not perhaps, as prolific as say, Carolyn Keene who miraculously continues to produce Nancy Drew novels from beyond the grave! Such talent just can't be stopped! I kid. Not perhaps, as prolific as James Patterson who seems to have a new book out every week. I swear he must have a template where he just inserts new character names and locations. I say that having never read a single book of his and therefore, apologize for the massive generalization. Perhaps slighly less prolific than Danielle Steele whose books are also saga-esque, but oodles more depressing and tawdry. She doesn't do alphabet themes or schmaltzy things, but just writes about life as it really kind of happens, but with an upbeat feel.

I told Kyle yesterday, as I lifted my head from the pages of her newest novel, Heart and Soul, falling into another of her books is like drinking a good cup of hot tea. Soothing, familiar, comforting, home. This may seem strange considering I'm not Irish, and all her books are set in Ireland with Irish characters. That's another thing I like about her books - the characters lace across books. You recognize names, places, people, story lines that pick up years later, perhaps. It's great!

I am happy to say I found Maeve on my own, or rather, with the help of those author blurbs on the backs of existing books. I had no need of Oprah to steer me to her. And in fact, Oprah's plug for Tara Road made me not want to read the book. Although that makes no sense because I read it before Oprah plugged it. Another story...I'm not an Oprah fan.

Anyway, there are times when you want a good nonfiction - to be taught something you would otherwise never learn - whether it's about people or places or things. Or a good spy novel - a John LeCarre or Robert Ludlum. There's romance which makes you turn down the a/c and cuddle under quilts, longing for fire-lit nights. There's humor and mystery...all genres I love to absorb...each with differences that appeal to me in different ways! Much like food!

And then there's the type of book that isn't really a diversion from life, but rather a slice of it from a different perspective. Whether that's life as an Episcopalian pastor (Jan Karon's Mitford series) or life as an Irishperson (Maeve). But something about the style of these authors makes me just plain happy. They're idyllic...and poignant...and somehow real at the same time.

So, I'm back into Maeve. And while the kids are sleeping and I ran out of envelopes to address for Lauren's upcoming shower, I'm going to take advantage of the time I have to dive back in to life in Ireland. See you later!

I love J. Crew and I love J. Crew Crewcuts - the line of clothing they have for little kids. And they have had this gorgeous little girl modeling for them whose hair totally inspired me. For starters, her face looks a LOT like Brooklyn's, and her hair - very French - has been something I've been contemplating for Brooklyn for awhile. It's actually a haircut I've worn before myself! So, I guess it isn't too far-fetched that I'd consider it for my daughter. Anyway, while getting my haircut the other day, I just decided to go for it. And I think it worked.

It looks so chic, French...an atypical little girl haircut...which is EXACTLY the kind of thing I strive to achieve. I'll try to post some better pictures later, but for now, this is all she'd sit still for.

We took the kids to walk across the big bridge that spans the river today, and it was beautiful! And so windy! It made the heat tolerable!

For those of you who don't have kids or aren't thinking kids are the most exciting thing in life, well, bear with me. I agree that kids aren't the most exciting thing in life, but they are incredibly great at adding excitement TO your life. And because they somehow manage to be part of you, part of your husband and yet an entirely SEPARATE person...they do become somewhat fascinating to us, their captive audience and parents.

Which is why I will share what may seem mundane, ordinary and blase to many of you. But in this household, we're at the stage of life where these things mean something big.

So here are our big firsts: Brooklyn is OFFICIALLY and FINALLY potty-trained. Accident free for over 3 weeks.

Secondly: August is walking. For the past few weeks now, he's been dabbling in the fine art of balancing on two legs. Yesterday, he just decided that it was go time. He would walk a few steps, stumble, squat down in a way that only a little block of a human can, lift up his hind end and follow with his balance hands and confident expression. And totter on to his next objective. Over and over and over. He was so determined and so pleased with his efforts. It sounded like a football team was winning a championship game in my house, there was so much cheering and shouting. He loved it.

So, for my friends who humor me and my friends who have kids and are also experiencing life's little firsts - thank you for your time. :)

August 12....a perfect excuse to make frozen lemon mousse...straight from the pages of Real Simple into the pots and pans of my house and ultimately, into my tummy!


1/4 cup lemon juice
4 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a small, heavy bottomed pan, combine the lemon juice, egg yolks and sugar and stir over medium-low heat for about 5-6 minutes until it gets a little thicker. Then remove the pan from heat and pour the contents into a larger bowl, running it through a strainer. You'll need this - it may look like there are little egg bits if you accidentally got any white in with the yolk. Strain all that out.

Dump in the butter and stir it until it all melts.

Cover the bowl with saran wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the lemon stuff, to eliminate air bubbles. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the cream with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture until well combined. Then divide the scrumptious looking mousse into a lined muffin tin (it makes six) or six 4-oz ramekins. Freeze for 2 hours. Then savor...

It's never too early to begin working on pull-ups. Gotta start that back strength early in order to maximize your potential!

I am so behind in posting pictures of August's birthday party! But at long last, here they are. It was a complete success! Despite a storm in the morning, it cleared up and was the perfect hot, sweaty July day we had anticipated for this type of party. The watermelon never tasted more refreshing, the ice cream never colder or sweeter. Stickiness abounded, the kids played with abandon while the moms and dads hung out beneath the fans. August and a few of his buddies found the most exciting party item to be the water bottle bucket which was filled with ice. I think August spent 90% of his time with his hand in the bucket, fishing out ice cubes to munch on. He did pause momentarily to blow out his candle (in a hunk of watermelon) and chomp down some of that.

His uncles found him and managed to work his hair up into spiky wedges which turned into a mohawk contest among the other toddler boys. Aah...sweet summer days. I think there were around 40 people there, and it was the perfect turnout. Our dear friends and sweet family members with all the kids that come attached. We are so richly blessed.