Growing a ... something

I hate to do this. But I need a blogging sabbatical.

(Especially after I just celebrated my second blogiversary! And especially because this is post #498!)

There is so much change going on in my life now -- some of it good, some of it bad -- and I have been asked to take a look at some of my commitments.

Blogging at this time is just not something I can justify spending an hour on every day.

(And I missed posting my beloved What I'd Wear Wednesday yesterday ... and didn't even realize it until five minutes ago. I've broken my perfect attendance record!)

I'd like to say I'll be back soon. But I really don't know.

You can bet I'll be thinking about all of you that I like to read and wondering how you and your kids are doing.

I just have to sort out what I'm doing with my time and with my life ... and the life I am growing ....

A big day

Today is my two-year blogiversary. Yay! I am also just a few fingers shy of my 500th post. Woo-hoo!

It's also the last day of I'm Sincere Week. I am trying not to be bummed that only two bloggers mentioned to me they wrote a post. Because I don't think anyone else will come forward today with an imitation post, I'm going to go ahead and give out the fun cupid/heart necklace to Janet at Three and Holding for her hilarious post about Version 24.0 in the style of KC at Where's My Cape?. I'm also giving Guinevere Meadow, the other participant, a small prize of some kind for her What I'd Wear Wednesday post -- imitating me! Too funny.

Off to enjoy the long weekend....

Update: Awesome Mom is getting a box of Godiva chocolates for just so happening to be the first commenter. Savor!

Mushy Valentine pleasure

I am posting this because I am a sucker for all things made by children. Completefoolsucker. I still have a picture on my fridge made by the daughter of a woman I did a project with three years ago.

Now that Fly is (sort of) able to make me things, my heart does a little flip-flop when "makes" things.

I am going to need lots of picture frames and keepsake boxes and maybe a second refrigerator.

Fly made me a Valentine's Day craft in the church nursery. It's a flower made out of a paint impression of his hand, with a heart in the flower.

For your mushy Valentine's Day pleasure, here is the poem glued to the Valentine:

A piece of me
I give to you.
I painted this flower
To say "I love you."

The heart is you,
The hand is me,
To show we are friends --
The best there can be.

I hope you save it
And look back someday
At the flower we shared
On this special day.

Mariachi Mama

I bought some black yoga pants on eBay for 99 cents! I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I didn't look at the auction description too closely, though, and I noticed after I bid there were gold studs running down the length of the pants on the outside of the legs.

Undeterred, I put them on this afternoon for the first time. I wasn't sure how I felt about the studs, but the pants fit, they were comfortable, and I knew I wouldn't be going anywhere, anyway.

Then JP came home and saw the pants.

"What, are you in a mariachi band now?" he asked.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Your pants."

"These are not mariachi pants!" I exclaimed. But the seed had been planted. Fear grabbed my heart.

During our ritual after-dinner walk with Fly -- when Fly does his ritual removal of his socks so I end up walking the neighborhood with a tiny pair of dirty socks in my hand -- JP started up again.

"All you need are a sequined vest and a big sombrero."

"Would you stop with the mariachi stuff?!" I smacked his arm with the dirty socks.

Quoting Nacho Libre, JP said, "When you are a mom, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. Just for fun."

(Which has nothing to do with mariachis.)



I really don't think my pants look this bad....



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This post is for Amber at Crazy Bloggin' Canuck. I can't imitate her well, but this post reminded me of her. If you want to write a post in the style of another blogger, please do -- and share!

Morning surprise

In the midst of parenting you -- a high-need, active child with the energy and will of two toddlers -- there are some quiet times with you that I cherish and drink in, wanting the moment to stretch out all day while we enjoy the time with each other.

You gave me a moment like that this morning. It rained all night -- thundered, actually -- yet you slept for 11 hours straight. When you finally woke up, I was there, and you jumped up and down, exuberant to see me. You pointed to the window, and I raised the blind and opened the shutters to let the dim, misty light into your room.

Then you surprised me. You buried your face in the velvet-slippered Boppy, the soft light not too faint to make your pale curls shimmer. You patted the rocking chair with your slender fingers -- your signals to nurse. Even though months have gone by since you nursed in the morning, I couldn’t deny some sweet time spent with you. Content to lie in my lap on the Boppy to nurse and look up into my eyes, I smiled and sang our secret songs. With my hand resting lightly on your chest, I imagined your heart beneath it, beating so closely to my own heart. Then you reached up to rest your hand there. I stroked your gossamer hair. Then you brushed a few of my strands away from my face.

Moments like this are what mothers imagine, hope for and dream of, I thought in this quiet dew-lit morning. And I knew I had never loved you more.

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This post is a cheap imitation of the real thing, written by Amanda at Tumble Dry. If you want to read the real thing, go here. And if you want to write a post in the style of another blogger, please do -- and share!

What I'd Wear Wednesday: Fluttery

What I'd wear today if I could: this top by designer Nanette Lepore, found on Bluefly. (Gotta love the name!) When I saw this spring-y tank top with the cinched waist and ruffles -- and all those butterflies! -- it reminded me of my mother. She calls them flutterbies (annoying my sister to no end), and if this top came in her size, I'd get it for her in an instant.

But I also like it, too. It's got shape without being clingy, and all of those colors in the butterflies means I could wear it with lots of things. You could even wear it under a cool cropped sweater until it warms up.

I usually wear solids, but that gets old and sometimes you just crave a print! (I also usually wear a standard mom-issue T-shirt, but that gets tired too.) This top does the trick.

The Mighty Wind

I was sick recently and, because I'm still nursing Fly, couldn't really take cold medicines. Instead, I drank large quantities of super-immune-boosting, vitamin C-laden juices in the hope of kicking the miserable cold you know where:



Except, all of those juice smoothies didn't quite agree with me and my digestive tract.

One night on the way home from the bookstore, JP was putting Fly into his carseat while I was getting into the front seat, and a Mighty Wind did blow!



"Whew, Fly must need a diaper change," JP said.

"Um ... yeah!" I agreed, as the fabric ceiling liner in the car started peeling off.

Guilty!

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This post is a cheap imitation of the real thing, written by Oh, The Joys. If you want to read the real thing, go here. And if you want to write a post in the style of another blogger, please do -- and share!

Sunday cuteness

Fly loves to play in a pile of blankets and pillows, so I thought I'd try to get him doing it on camera. (JP got a new camera for us after our old camera practically ruined all our Christmas photos -- so of course I'm still figuring the new camera out, and this pic is all blurry.)

Fly just turned 17 months, and there seems to be something new with him every week -- a new word or a new milestone. For example, his latest new word is tree. After too many battles at mealtime, I converted his highchair into a booster seat, so now he eats at the table. I think he's much happier sitting at the table that way.

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This post is a cheap imitation of the real thing, written by Awesome Mom. If you want to read the real thing, go here. And if you want to write a post in the style of another blogger, please do -- and share!

It's I'm Sincere Week!

I'm Sincere Week is here! This week, let some of your favorite bloggers know how much you appreciate them by writing a post in their style, or writing a post that is reminiscent of a typical post they write ... because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And because trying out a new writing style is fun.

I know bloggers -- and some of you have been conditioned to expect giveaways. So at the end of the week, I'm randomly giving away this fun new necklace from Forever 21, to a person who writes an imitation post.



If you participate, write your post, then send me a link to the specific post so I can keep a running list right here. Then snag one of the following buttons for your blog.

If you posted, grab this button:

<img src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/growingalife/sincere3.jpg" />

If someone posted about you, take this button:

<img src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u109/growingalife/flattered3.jpg" />

Have fun!

What I'd Wear Wednesday: DYO

What I'd wear today if I could: some fun design-your-own shoes from Steve Madden. Design! Your! Own! Shoes! (Apparently, I'm a sucker for design-your-own clothing.)

The Steve Madden Web site has a handy tool for selecting a variety of styles (from strappy sandals to snow boots to moccasins) that you fully customize for yourself. Choose the outer and inner shoe material and even the heel of the shoe, in some cases. Here, I've designed a cork wedge slide in a kicky navy and white stripe.

But I also could use a new pair of black flats . . . .


But, sigh, neither one of these shoes really compares to a Steve Madden original like this one:


Now, if that's not a hot-mama shoe, then I don't know what is!

How to get rock-hard abs without really trying*

First, get sick. Catch a cold from your child.

Make sure you get even sicker than your child was, and that your cold lingers for more than a week.

Have an involuntary coughing fit every five to ten minutes. Even while you try to sleep. If you sound as though parts of your lungs or even your intestines are going to come up, you're doing a great job. Coughing fits while trying to put your child to sleep might alarm him at first, but eventually he will make first attempts to hug you every time you cough. The important thing is that your abs are contorted contracted while you cough.

If your cold puts a damper on your 13th wedding anniversary, just think how great those abs are going to look when you finally feel better! And ask your husband for a do-over.



*(Or at least feel like you have rock-hard abs)