this moment {strawberries}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are enjoying this week!

Wishing you a weekend full of goodness!

wondering

"Why do babies smell so good?"

Buddy asked this question again this weekend.  He's been thinking about it I can tell.  He has even developed his own theory that involves the vernix soaking into babies skin very deeply and explains why their good smell is stronger right when they are born, and the scent lingers, but gets washed off a bit with each newborn bath.  Ahh, a young boy knowing so much about babies and birth, it makes me proud.

And it makes me wonder.  Wonder, why do babies smell so good.  I am not quite sure, but I know that the smell is intoxicating and wonderful and can sway you to pass the time with your nose buried into their sweet necks and wrinkly fists.  My big kids can't resist the lure of his fragrant ears and feet.  I even adore the scent mingled with that just-spit-up breastmilk smell.  All of it so sweet and warm and oh so fleeting.

There is much I've been wondering lately...

:: Why Lovey picks each and every bloom in our yard, despite the many reminders to let them keep growing.  She loves those flowers so.

:: How a kid-made bird feeder is so delightful.  Maybe it is the anticipation of the birds to come that is the true delight.

:: How that first day of swimsuits and sprinklers in the back yard holds a magic that can't be duplicated any other day of the summer.

:: Why every time I see this cup of toothbrushes that I feel happiness and disbelief all jumbled together.  How did our family grow to be this size, and Pal doesn't even have teeth yet.

:: How it's possible that soccer last weekend involved snowflakes and scarves and this weekend involved sunscreen and sitting out on a blanket.

:: Why, no matter how caught up with laundry I get, that there is always more, and ever more.

:: What the routine will be for the summer.  Wondering alot about my ability as a parent to make it  lovely and calm and fun and memorable.  This summer will be so different than any before, so I have such high hopes.

:: How, with the busy that is to come with summer, I can make sure to enjoy my own summer daydreams too.  I've begun daydreaming what my list might be this year.

:: About my next project.  There are so many, little and big, that I want to do.  So I am always wondering what I can successfully squeeze in between and among this role of mothering.

What, my friends, has you wondering today?

this moment {kid-made lunch}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

this moment {water}

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a weekend of wonderful fun!

Best,
Claudine

booth with a view

We have a fantastic little family diner in our neighborhood.

It is the perfect spot for a Mommy-kid date or a Daddy-kid date.

And every once in awhile we get to enjoy breakfast or lunch, or a bit of both, as a whole family.

The row of stools are usually filled with regulars.

The tables are small and close.

Breakfast and lunch is served all day.

The menu is short.  It fits in a stand that sits on each table.

A burger is a couple bucks.

There is a board that lists specials like eggs benedict and chocolate chip waffles.

And the view from the booth is great.

This weekend Buddy and I took turns taking pictures.

He was fascinated to capture the coffee brewing.

The cracker in the sugar dispenser cracked him up.

He claimed the lemons were sooo tempting.


Me? My favorite part was watching him watch the world around him.

That, and sit close together in that booth with a view.

two cone day

Some days are just like that.  The more ice cream the better.

I consider some days a two cone day.  You would like two ice cream cones.  You need two ice cream cones.

Today was a need two cones day.  And, by a wonderfully lucky way, I got them, both.

The first was dessert for a lunch out with Buddy.

We talked about school and wild animals and Legos, of course.

He had sprinkles.  I had a double scoop in a waffle cone.


The second was some much needed one on one time with Munchkin.  As I explained, time with just the two of us is called a "Mommy Munchkin date."

We colored and colored and colored some more.

We stayed up way, way past bedtime.

We lingered so long that the manager brought us tasting spoons of more flavors.

We watched the train that moves along a track near the ceiling.

He told me he wanted to ride a train.  A big train.  I didn't know that.

He had sprinkles.  Dinosaur ball sprinkles he called them.  I had a double scoop in a waffle cone.


And if you're good at math, that is four scoops and two waffle cones for me.

So now I'm nursing a belly ache.  But loving every lick of time I had with my boys.

making me smile

Things have been a bit, shall I say, crazy around here.  But amidst this crazy busyness I have found many things that are making me smile.

:: Homemade "Inja" masks. Yes, according to Munchkin the N in Ninja is silent.

:: Curls, curls, curls.  Fresh from the tub and hair dryer.

:: Buddy explaining the new game he made up "whoever kisses Mommy the most wins!"  Hmmm, I think I win that one!

:: Listening to "I Love You Sweet Baby" by Kimya Dawson.  Truly, you can't listen without smiling.

:: Bunny Ears.  Worn everywhere.

:: Chocolate bunnies.  As big as your head!

:: A sweet letter from my Aunt telling me how much she enjoys reading my blog.

:: A handful of colorful lizards.

:: The book "the not so big life" which talks about spending your time in meaningful ways.  Now just to find the time to read it!

:: A handmade birthday poster for Poppy.

What is making you smile today?

this moment

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly tradition of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Simple. Ordinary. Extraordinary. 

You can also visit me here at 40 words where I share an image and text in honor of my turning 40 this year.

Feel free to leave a comment and link to your moment!

Have a well weekend!

Script

Scene: 

Living Room

Characters:

Mother --  seated on  sofa, reading a magazine

Son --  playing nearby with Legos, using teeth to separate stuck pieces

Dialogue:

A quiet "ting" noise occurs, as if a Lego has fallen to the hard wood floor.

Son:  sounding a bit scared "Mom, can a Lego knock out a tooth?"

Mother:  "Well I guess it can.  What happened?"

Son:  "I was taking apart Legos with my teeth and my tooth came out."

Mother:  "Oh, that is what I heard fall on the floor.  Was your tooth loose?"

Son:  "No."

Mother:  now peering in son's mouth, trying to sound reassuring without actually freaking out that a Lego could possibly knock out a solidly-in tooth "Well, it must have been a little loose for the tooth to actually come out."

Both now on hands and knees trying to find tooth on the floor.

Mother:  "Well you better find it, do you know why?"

Son:  seeming much more okay with a lost tooth "The Tooth Fairy?"

Mother: "Yep, you know what the Tooth Fairy does, don't you?"

Son:  "Yes, leaves you like one or two dollars for your tooth." 

Hmmm, well I guess The Tooth Fairy that visits this house does...

And about that magazine reading on the sofa thing, it was totally coincidental!  That never happens in real life.  Honestly, it was like for one, maybe two, minutes!  See, I was reading for two minutes, and then, the tooth!

16 candles

I went bowling on my 16th birthday.  It wasn't a bowling party.  It wasn't anything planned.

A friend from school simply showed up to our house with another friend of his (I think it was because that friend had a car) and took me to the bowling alley in the nearest town to celebrate.  I didn't even know that they knew it was my birthday.

That was excitement for a girl turning 16 years old who grew up in a pretty rural area and bowling was a fun night out in town, even though I was not a stellar bowler and gutter balls were par for the course.  Ooof, can I mix my sports metaphors?

Anyway, this spontaneous date of sorts was exciting.  I remember feeling grown up and mature and, well, liked. 

But those feelings don't hold a candle to the feelings of wonder and happiness as I watch my own son learn the sport of bowling.  Wonder at how he is growing in this world.  Happiness that he is gaining confidence and learning about friendships.

But mixed in with that wonder and happiness is the bittersweet layer of letting go.  Letting him go to learn his own technique for getting that 8 pound ball down the lane.  Letting him go to understand for himself how he can be a kind friend.  Letting him go to get a strike, a spare or the dreaded gutter ball of life.

So the letting go is hard, as many of you Mamas understand.  I am just thankful that at this age the bumpers that block the gutters are automatically pulled up and any ball that is hurled, rolled, dropped or pushed down the lane eventually makes it to the end and knocks some pins down.

I just hope I always know when I need to be those bumpers.

this moment

A Friday ritual in which I join Soulemama, and many others, in sharing a single photo.

In her words: "A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please share a link to your moment in the comments for others to find and enjoy.


Wishing you a playful weekend!