afternoon baths

girls who wear glasses (just to be fashionable)

watching the kids play “freeze dance”

hanging out at the big sister’s school

falling asleep at the dinner tray…

…repeatedly

this picture, taken by emma

the guy with the pink-tipped beard, fabulous jewelry and bird in his hair who goes to roller disco in central park.

* * *

[more awesome things]

~ freshly painted fingernails
~ sunny weekends in late-spring
~ l’Occitane hand cream with lavender
~ baby curls
~ good people that watch your back and prop you up when you need it most.
~ my mother-in-law, who called yesterday to say she noticed i’ve lost weight, and that i’m looking good. (yes, i have the BEST mother-in-law)
~ this poem, Motto, by Langston Hughes:

I play it cool
I dig all jive
That’s the reason
I stay alive
My motto
As I live and learn

Is dig and be dug in return

* * *

Happy weekend, friends. Love you bunches. Seriously.
Dig it.
xoxo

* * *

[random things of note]

~ eliza still doesn’t walk. she scoots, she pulls up and holds on, she toddles fast without letting go, she practically flies, but she will not walk yet. i’m enjoying the calm before she sets out into an inevitable sprint…

~ mother’s day was sweet and sour, then sweet again. emma picked out a new perfume for me, and the family picked me up after my church-work at 2pm. our usual favorite brunch-spot was a little off, but i couldn’t really criticize the food since i got violently ill after just two sips of my drink (methinks the wasabi is to blame). i secretly thought Bear was so silly/typically food-obsessed when he insisted on making brunch AND dinner plans for the day, but after a shower and a rest, having a chance to do-over our mother’s day meal at a beautifully trendy spot under the High Line, surrounded by light breeze and excellent soundtrack, was just right.

~ the drama show at school was darling, and it’s fun watching emma on stage. BUT, being parent-helper for a week of tech rehearsals reminds me why i was a Performance major NOT an Education major in college…not sure i could survive those children every day without getting arrested for assault or grossly inappropriate language around a group of unwieldy kindergarteners (is that a crime?). teachers, you are amazing, strong people, and i am ever in awe of what you do.

~ i was a huge Donna Summer fan (just last week i was trying to explain MacArthur Park to an under-30 friend. someome left a cake out in the rain…). hours and hours of my childhood were spent wearing an improvised disco outfit (usually a gypsy top stolen from mom’s closet and a blanket wrapped around my waist as a skirt; sometimes a feather or two clipped into my hair), dancing to 45′s on my little record player. between this and the recent loss of my favorite Beastie Boy, MCA, i’m feeling that nostalgic sadness at the growing up/growing old process. (see also: cancer is a nasty beast.)

~ i’m wondering if it’s too late to make magical, fun, inexpensive plans for memorial day. i need to put my toes on sand and hear some ocean waves, and i need to laugh a little more freely, and i need to just take some deep breaths and make some long lists and do some light reading and drink a sparkling beverage or two. also, i’d like to wear a big floppy sun hat. (unfortunately, i have to sing on that sunday morning. open to suggestions, though.)

love you all, my friends.
yes, yes i do.
xoxo

* * *

* * *

she keeps me busy, and the house messy. she keeps me smiling and laughing and talking out loud. she keeps me dancing. she keeps me humble (it’s hard to be snooty when you’re covered in food and toddler-spittle by noon). she keeps me in her heart, and i keep her in mine.

she’s loved, and she knows it. she’s confident and funny. she’s a little cranky sometimes, but she knows how to hang out in nice restaurants and turn on the best-behavior switch around People that Notice. she’s short but sweet.

ElizaBelle, i’m so glad – and still so amazed – that you’re here.
xo

* * *

* * *

Emma’s not a “best friend” kind of girl. She has lots of buddies (and has lately broadened the scope of her “BFF” list to include a few grown-ups), but she’s not really possessive about them, doesn’t need to whittle it down to a BEST person or status. She has a confidence in her own friendliness and friends that I admire and hope she never loses.

There are some standouts, though. Kids (and grown-ups, too) that feel so much more like family; people that are really part of our lives, that we’d go far, far out of our way for. People that mean the world to us.

We’ve got more than anyone could ask for, really – so many people that nurture us and look out for us, and let us in just because – and we feel so very very lucky.

* * *

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust”

* * *

[on the left: Emma and Keilani, 2012. on the right: Easter 2011. K is two years older than Emma, but they're like two peas in a pod, sweet "cousins" by choice. You only need to look at the picture on the right to see just how much Emma admires K.]

i love urban pictures. i love nyc in the springtime. i love (rare) weekend days when we’re all off work at the same time, and we meet up with friends for hours upon hours. i love central park. i love taking the long walk home as the weather cools down. i love when the kids are so exhausted from the fullness they fall sound asleep as soon as heads hit pillows (dirty faces and fingernails left for tomorrow). i love nights with my grown-up friends, talking, singing, dancing and laughing far past a sensible hour.

i love all this, and so much more.
and i’m grateful for those little details, and so many more.

xoxo

* * *

happy weekend, my friends.
i hope that whatever you’re doing, it’s filled with free time, relaxation, and the kind of silly fun that makes you laugh so hard that tears pour out of your eyes.

i’m headed out this evening with a stellar cast of MommyFriends (aka “partners in crime”); probably best not to wait up…

xoxo

* * *

* * *

[random bits]

~ with the exception of the American Girl, emma has always preferred stuffed animals over baby-dolls. eliza, on the other hand, loooooves her dollies. (file this under: little differences)

~ emma spent hours yesterday packing her luggage for our disney world trip. we’re not going until the end of june, but she’s apparently all set.

~ can someone please remind me that i need to make 10 octupus costumes for the kids’ Beatles show next month? i really do need to update the to-do list.

~ ok. so i read that 50 shades of grey book that’s all the talk in with the playground-moms…titilating for sure, but i’m not sure what ALL the hype is about. i guess this is the official emergence of “e-reader as vehicle for secret mommy-time”, huh?

~ fyi, if you’re wondering what the right soundtrack is for a 90-degree first-day-back-from spring-break day in April, i’d suggest a random mix of Beck’s Guero, the Beastie Boys, and Britney. then again, maybe i’m just stuck on the letter B today…

~ did i tell y’all that i’m taking up running? no, seriously. i’m going to start running tomorrow morning. no, really. i totally am!

~ talk to you later, friends. it’s already hot outside, baby needs a nap, and it’s time to get rolling.

* * *

[irish dancing is her favorite]

* * *

you guys….i did it! i made it through a week of unprecedented stress and fear…successfully! i worked a job that i’m under-qualified and reasonably-terrified of, and it was ok! this is obviously a post for another time (because i could NOT have done it on my own, and i’m still gathering my “lessons-learned” list), but i’m just so relieved and exhausted.

after all nine masses were finished for the week, we managed to snap some pictures in our Easter finery (before heading to Chez Sorgi for a 9-hour dinner party). we clean up pretty well, yeah?

so…still lots to do (the job goes on), but i’m feeling like nothing’s too far out of reach. and i’m feeling like editing/posting more pictures. and i’m feeling like sharing.

call it “The Spirit of Easter Renewal”.
or maybe “The Good Feeling of a long nap and a few days off after four sleepless weeks”.
…or something.

much love to you, my friends; hope you are all feeling sunny and bright. let’s catch up soon!
xoxo

* * *

GON OUT
BACKSON
BISY
BACKSON

* * *

not trying to be elusive or deprive you of your daily eliza-belle and emma-magnolia fix, but there are simply not enough minutes in the days right now. i’ve got a new job, i’m in a bit over my head, and if i can make it through lent, holy week, and easter without a fully-staged meltdown, it will indeed be miraculous. so far so good, though…

xoxo

* * *

* * *

if we’re on winter break and you want to stay in your pajamas all day, i’m fine with that (although if we’re going to the playground, i’m gonna ask you to add a coat).

if it’s ash wednesday and you’re soooo envious of the ashes on my forehead, i won’t complain when you repeatedly rub your face against mine, trying to get the ash imprint on your forehead too.

if it’s a no-uniform/dress-down day at school, i will love watching you and your friends flex your fashion sense.

if you and your sister want to play and giggle and play chase and hide-and-seek all day, i will appreciate it and smile.

i love who you are.
i love age 6, and age 1 is still so meltingly cuddly and sweet.
i love that you’re mine, but you’re also so much your own.

xoxo

* * *