Snapshots

Much of what I love about pictures are that they are snapshots of life.  A moment of time that you otherwise may have easily forgotten.  I love candids, or I guess, as the real photographers call them "Documentary Style Photographs."  I don't really like it when people know I'm taking the picture... especially because my subjects (ahem...) usually make stupid faces when they know they are the subjects.

 
My sister and her kids came to visit a few weeks ago.  We usually only get together once a year. (one of the many reasons I scowl at the mere mention of the east coast. grumble. grumble. grumble.)  I usually take a lot of pictures while they are here.  Enough to tide me over until their next visit.  These are a few of my favorites.

Woops

Today I took a mental health day and stayed home with the fam.  We slept in.  Biked to the zoo.  Took Frank for a walk.  It was good.  Gwen got her arm painted (instead of her face) at the zoo. Which was fine... except... it was warm, we were biking, she was sweaty... we stopped in at a coffee shop for a treat on the way home.  Someone had a dog sitting at the table next to us and Gwen started her "I miss Jess" sniffles.  She came over and sat on my lap for a minute.  When we were on our way again, I noticed Gwen's shoulder Octopus wasn't quite as happy as it had been.  It took me a few minutes before I figured out why.  Everyday I learn lessons, today's lesson: As a mother you try to think of everything, but alas you will never ever think of everything.  

(ie. how to avoid a painted octopus stamped onto your shirt)

Growing up

I met up with my best friend from nursing school at a conference on friday.  We hadn't seen each other in 6 years, but instantly we were chatting like no time had passed.  All day I tried to focus on the speaker and not think about my dog; my family.  Oddly enough, at the end of the conference, during our "what else has been going on in the last six years", my friend said; "Oh, and both of our dogs died."  She had had two beautiful, loving, lap-dog Rottweilers.  I dog sat them a couple times and adored them.  Each of them were as big as I was, but somehow they had no clue of that and would try to cuddle like a teacup poodle.  She told me about them; I told her about Jessie.  And then she said this, "Yeah, that's really hard.  You know, that's like the real grown up stuff.  Yeah, you have kids and all that, but once you have to make that decision, as a family, and you lose a member of the family... It's just... grown up."  And that's why I love her.  She wasn't over the top with empathy.  She didn't make me cry.  She didn't want the whole sad story.  But she understood.  And she was right.  It's hard to be the grown up.

In the spirit of good friends and not growing up:

Jessie-roo

Jessie aka

Jessie-roo aka

Desert Dog aka

Sausage Dog

 

I got her when I was 21, in college, living alone for the first time, and lonely.  They guessed she was around 3.  She was my buddy.  She had issues but I liked being needed.  She had a past life that I would see hints of every now and then.  She had been picked up as a stray; she was a scavenger.  She once picked up and tried to eat the same dirty discarded sucker off the side of the road, three afternoon walks in a row forcing me to take it home with us and throw it away.  She had a BB shot you could feel through her skin over her ribs on her left side; someone had shot her.  She feared men for about the first 2 years that I had her.  We used to run and hike Cowiche Canyon.  She hated to be alone.  When I worked nights, she used to sleep in my spot all night with Matt, and then when I'd get home she would move to Matt's side of the bed and sleep all day with me.  She knew when I was in labor with Gwen and that day she was physically ill.  My girls were her girls.  She once ate a dozen cupcakes off the counter, leaving not a crumb of evidence.  She loved to ride in the car.  There were times when she would find the car door open and she would get in and refuse to get out until we took her for a ride.  She trained Frankie for us.  She was fun.  She was smart.  She was mine.  And I am grateful.

If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.

-Marjorie Garber

Mud Pie

It's sunny and 72.  The girls are fed, dressed and sent outside to blow off steam.  I shout out the door "And PLEASE girls, can we NOT make a bunch of mud today?"  Gwen: "Yes mom, we won't make a bunch of mud."  Note to self... Semantics.



20min later I find this:

"ARG! Girls, I just asked you not to do mud today!"  Gwen: "No mom, you asked us not to make a bunch of mud."  Grumble grumble grumble.  She's so much like me it hurts.

Butterflies. They may be pretty but they're still bugs.

Last weekend we had visitors.  Three of my favorite people came into town.  I got my toddler fix and my girls got to dote on an adorable little man.  The long weekend was full of late evenings chatting, good food, and even better company.  As the weekend drew to a close I knew my girls were going to be devastated when their little buddy Ez had to get on a plane home.  I started plotting an outing.  

Sure enough, as soon as we pulled away from the departures terminal I peeked in the rear view; Gwendo was trying to hold it together while her eyes were welling up with tears, and Super T just lost it, huge crocodile tears and sobs.  I was glad I had a plan, I headed to the the Pacific Science Center.  For the most part it was a hit.  As per usual, my girls were entertaining.  Throughout the insect exhibit the girls were pleasantly creeped out.  When we came upon the Madagascar Cockroaches Tula chirped "I wish I could touch one!"  Yeah kid, if only... Next came the butterfly exhibit.  The teen volunteer explained to us the rules of butterfly conduct and let us into the building.  The girls freaked, and not in a good way.  I could tell that they were on the verge of screaming like the little girls that they are.  They were SERIOUSLY not ok with these crazy beautiful - but still essentially just - bugs threatening to land on them at any given moment!  Then the inevitable happened... one landed on Gwen.  On her shoulder.  She instantly turned into Lurch, haunched back, shoulder pointed to the sky, pretty sure her knee went straight immobilized and she panic whispered: "MOM!! GET IT OFFFFFF!!!"  Tula plastered herself to my leg and made some hideous alien panic noise.  Seriously, it was all I could do to not fall to the ground laughing.  I said "I'm not allowed to touch it.  It'll just fly away in a sec."  And yes, maybe I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't just flick it off her shoulder a little too much... After a few seconds and after it didn't fly away, I did straighten her shirt a little and the pretty little thing took off.  I chuckled and Gwen said, "No really mom, WE HAVE to Get OUT of here."  It's times like these that I wonder what my life would be like if I had had boys.

So, we were done with the science center.  BUT (!) worry not, being the brilliant mother that I am, I bought us a membership!  We can have such lively adventures with butterflies any time we want!!  

 
 

We decided to hit the fountain.  And again, being the brilliant mother that I am, I brought swim suits (forgot towels though, DOH)!  Gwen did her best 'budding artist' impression and sketched both the fountain and the space needle.  She did not however, sketch a single butterfly.

SURPRISE!! It's August!

So, to finish off this totally crap-tastic summer we've been having, Mother Nature decided that this week it should be 70.  LOOKOUT!  Skip the sunscreen and grab your vitamin D supplements cause it just ain't happenin' here!  Believe you me, no one (or thing) was as surprised to hear that it was August as my sad little garden.  Poor garden thought it was May, and really it was doing really good for May... but alas it's August... and I have yet to harvest a darn thing from the ground!  That being said, I almost have a snap pea, I almost have some lettuce, my apples are sure to be juicy from all this rain, and oh baby, Mama's got some Hops!  Now, with a little more sun and perhaps some *gasp* heat I may be able to secure a tomato or two... but that may be pushing it.  

In other news, I've been learning some interesting information about the life cycle of Lady bugs (yawn).  I won't bore you with the details but to summarize, my hops were troubled with aphids earlier in the year and now my hops are covered in these:  

Which are what the inter-googles tell me are juvenile and larval Lady Bugs.  BlaZOW! Take that you aphid slime!

How did I not know this?

How is it that I was left so sadly unaware of all that is... SOCCER?  

Soccer really is a lot of fun.  I did not know this. Forgive me, for many I know this is not news.  I never played soccer when I was a kid.  I didn't even know it existed until the 3rd grade when I saw all of my friends playing it.  All that running around looked exhausting and I felt like I had missed my window (at the ripe old age of 9) for learning a new sport.  I still don't know all the rules but I'm having fun learning them with the girls.  My little ladies are really taking to the sport and I am loving how exhausted they are on Tuesdays!  I'm not saying I wanna be a soccer mom when I grow up, but for right now, it sure is fun watching them run after that ball!

It should be noted that children at play are not playing about; their games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity.                      -Michel de Montaigne