Somewhere in this world...

..... a pig sprouted wings and is fluttering around ever so gaily among the butterflies in a dewy green meadow filled with daisies and tulips. And in the underworld, the little demons are enjoying a rare treat of popsicles and ice cream cake. Because.....





Butter Bean is napping. All by himself on a bed. And it's been like 30 minutes! Insane. This child sleeps great at night, but daytime sleep is a whole other story. Usually it's just ~15 minute cat naps in the sling or in my lap, and if I attempt to put him down at all, he either wakes up immediately or sleeps for about 3-7 minutes before he's wide awake again. I'm guessing it's because he did end up getting the cold his sister has, but still. It's nice for a change. And what am I doing with this precious time? I'm on the internet of course. I can hear my mother's heavy sigh now. "oh, Jackie..."

And now I hear a wakeful babe. It was fun while it lasted.

Easter.

pics coming soon...

Not. Go. Ing. An. Y. Where. To. Mor. Row.

Or the next day, or the next. Suddenly the Peach is sick. Again, poor thing. This has got to be literally like the 8th time for her this season. And it seems like we've been driving here and there (looong trips mind you, not just local errands) visiting these people, picking up that person, dropping off this person. Just simply too much for a 4 month old. And unfortunately Butter Bean is not one of those babies who is lulled to sleep by a moving car. In fact he hates it. And it's only getting worse, because each time we have to drive somewhere for longer than like 10 minutes he starts to get annoyed of being in the car seat, cries, then cries harder each second that I don't rescue him from the Car Seat Of Doom. Driving back home from the mountain Easter Sunday, normally about a 1 1/2, sometimes 2 hour drive, took FOUR HOURS. We stopped five times in between hungry baby, sad baby, preschool-sized bladders, angry baby, etc. So now he pretty much associates the car seat with being neglected by mama and being miserable, and I dread any trip in the near future, even those to the grocery store. We have one trip to do for the weekend of April 5th-6th, but maybe by then we'll have done enough short in-town driving that he'll somewhat calm down about the car seat thing. Also hopefully Peach will be well again by then. Also I hope Butter Bean doesn't get sick. Gah!!! Suffice it to say that it will feel good to stay at home tomorrow and not have to get in the car at all.

Snowy foggy heart.

Spring is officially here, but I'm not so thrilled about it. Bizarre, right? I took this photo out the bedroom window March 14th, thinking it would probably be the last real snow of the season. It was sort of bittersweet.

And now it's seventy-something degrees outside and I'm resenting it. I'm in a hole-up-and-eat-soup kind of mood and I want more snow. That way I have a good reason to do nothing but eat soup and bake bread and do art projects with the kids for an entire week. Spring means all kinds of nice quaint sunshiny-warm things like flowers and birds and baby llamas and what have you but it also means spring cleaning and yardwork and baring skin.... Aha! There it is folks. Quite possibly a major cause of all this nonsense. I'd love to go tanning and get a pedicure and a massage and be all like "Spring, you don't intimidate me! Tell that bitch, summer, to bring it on! I'm ready for swimsuits and sandals and shorts and tank-tops and baby llamas!" But the truth is, bouncing back from this second baby is proving to be a lot more difficult than it was the first time around; physically, mentally, and emotionally, and of course they all sort of play off of one another and it becomes a vicious cycle. I guess I'm being pretty vague here and really it's just a vent anyway so I'll go ahead and wrap it up and spare both my readers a self-pity sob story. I suppose there's hope when I get to wake up and hang out with these sorts of cuteness every day...

I guess sun isn't all that bad.

Sometimes it's so hard, but...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy. . . practice compassion. - The Dalai Lama

ummm...

Lately I've been completely obsessed with some photography projects that I've found online via flickr, etc. So far my favorite has been Seedpod's, discovered via Soule Mama. She seems to capture raw bits and pieces of nature in a warm and calming way, and I could stare at them all day. But today I discovered this. A close second, maybe even my new favorite but for very different reasons, obviously. Quite simply, very intruiging. What do you have on your person this very second? And what does that stuff say about you? What doesn't it say about you? These photos are only a teeny bit revealing, just a wee little glimpse into that individual's day or personality. Some of them are surprising, some expected, some make me wish I could have a cigarette right now. I look at them and think things like; "oh yeah, I carry around an assortment of like 472 pens/pencils and markers, too!" or "eegads... electical tape, box cutter, and, um, drill bits?! hmm." But I have to wonder, am I interesting-looking enough to be stopped on the street and asked to have my personal belongings photographed? Although I did notice that none of these people seemed to be wearing sweats, and none of the "everyday essentials" included diapers and fairy coloring books.

Two of my favorite quotes.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”

~Albert Einstein~Scientist(1879-1955)

That head of hers.

"Mom, I don't have a brain. It went out of my head. It's in California."

Goodness gracious me, what a problem! And then what happened? I'll tell you.

She said "I don't have a phone to call it. [Her brain, in Cali, apparently.] Oh here's a phone. Does it have the right numbers to call California? Oh good, it does. But I don't know what to say because I don't have a brain to think!"

Now that is a predicament!


And bedtime. It's like Peach does this and that thoughout the day, going here and there and playing, doing whatever, having a grand ol' time. But around 20 minutes before official Getting Ready for Doom Bed time starts, is when inspiration hits. And this of course, makes it difficult to initiate bedtime schtuff. And so that the newly inspired activity can be interrupted, then recommenced seamlesly in the morning, we've taken to writing things down so as not to forget them and that way peace prevails. I'll share with you, the latest. From the mouth of the peach, verbatim:

"How to run the Circus tomorrow morning:
Yell out 'filly-dup!' then start the circus. Put a rag over my head and bound onto the pillow. Then throw a magic bracelet over Madi's head and she disappears. Then she comes back. The bracelet disappears and a magic goat puts a rag over everyone's faces and they all disappear. Then say 'ta-da!'. Then I wave the magic goat up and I have a hiking stick. Then my walking stick, I mean my hiking stick disappears and I go camping. Then the circus is over. Everyone glooms over them and hugs and kisses. And waves. And tears open the sharp and mermaids come out."

That last part I had to get clarification on. I ask "the sharp?" And she clarifies... "yes, the SHARP. It's kind of like a shark because it sounds like shark but it's a sharp. A sharp wave and it opens and the mermaids come out. But I don't say sharp wave, I just say sharp."

Love it.

International Women's Day.

International Women's Day.
Everything I would have wanted to say is said better right here. Amanda's always so inspiring. List of cool links toward the bottom of the post.

Quote of the Day.

Latest and greatest Peachism: "It's full of princess love in this house, right mama?"

Also, we read this book sometimes, and cite the classic "Now I lay me down to sleep..." prayer before bed usually. The Peach one night wanted to say her own prayer she had made up. I agreed. "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. I love princesses. Amen."
And I keep waiting, waiting, waiting for the princess phase to pass....

Shiny Happy Things.

A cheer-thyself-up post, because spring is such a tease.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.
-Helen Keller

Sunshine: The Peach's room. Lovely afternoon warmth and the "mobile" we made for her room, got the idea from one of the DIY posts on the always eye-candy Design Sponge.

And Sonshine: Happy little Butter Bean. He really is a happy baby, and such a joy. Always so quick to smile, and the cooing and laughing is to die for, so adorable! He's reaching for and grabbing at things, putting it all in his mouth of course, rolls over from belly to back, and is close to scooching on his belly it seems... pulling with his arms and pulling his legs under himself when he's on his belly. I can't believe it's been over three months already since his beautiful birth, and yet it seems like he's just always been here with us.

The End. Happy March.