Penmanship

INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING

WES is talking with LYNDSAY about his day at AFI. They are deep in conversation about one of his projects. LYNDSAY is seated on a dark leather couch, WES on a light leather recliner. Finn plays happily among them, and LYNDSAY and WES notice how well-behaved he is at the moment.

LYNDSAY
Finn is being really good!

WES
He IS being really quiet. Where is he?

LYNDSAY
(gestures over WES's shoulder)
He's right there — playing behind your chair.

WES and LYNDSAY exchange a charged look. They know Finn and quiet don't mix.

WES
What's he doing?

LYNDSAY
(addresses FINN)
Finn? Finn...

FINN smiles guiltily out from behind the chair. He is holding a ball point pen.

LYNDSAY
He's got a pen! And I think he's coloring on the chair.

WES
What color is the back of the chair?!?!

LYNDSAY spins WES and chair around in a panic, scooting FINN out of the way.

LYNDSAY
Black. It's black fabric.

LYNDSAY is noticeably relieved. WES also lets out a breath of relief. Then Finn reveals his other artistic canvas.

FINN
Momma, Finn color!

LYNDSAY captures a few shots of FINN's handiwork on her iPhone. FINN poses proudly for the camera. Scene closes on everyone laughing at FINN's adorable, sneaky nature.

The ABCs of Me

(I found this list on Facebook, actually. A friend had posted it. But I changed it up in Illustrator and did my own version. Let me know if you post the ABCs of you!)

A Perfect Pier

Much better than LAST TIME.

Boots

It's almost fall, y'all! And that makes me start thinking about boots. I LOVE these:

They are from Sofft shoes. Technically they are a "comfort" shoe company, but man they make some stinkin' cute shoes (if you overlook the occasional frumpy pair). All of their boots are gorgeous. I've bought from them before and I love their quality and fit (they have some great styles for when you have "pregnant feet," and nothing seems comfy enough). Check 'em out if you haven't before, HERE. What fashion trend makes you excited for fall?

A Morning with Maya

We like to call her "Little Ah-Goo."

Sunday Faces

Sleepy Boy:

Pride and Joy:

Wesley Roy:

Happy Sunday!

A Scene of Domesticity

Today was a laundry sort of day. Mostly ironing. (Groan.) And what goes better with monotonous domestic tasks than a good Jane Austen tale? So I ironed all the live long day to Pride & Prejudice (pausing to feed, love, and tend to Finn and Maya). Finn watched the end of the movie with me after his nap this afternoon. At the very end of the movie, when Mr. Darcy is walking through the field and sees Lizzy (aka the best part of the movie), Finn suddenly pointed to the screen and exclaimed, "Dadda Momma!" I said, "Yes, Finn, that IS Dadda and Momma." He grinned at me. :)

I love, I love, I love that movie! (I admit I am always a little vexed that they might not actually get together by the end of the movie. I tend to bite my nails. Wes says as a movie watcher I am good at "suspending disbelief." So this must be me "suspending obvious reality," since I know they get together. Every time. In all of the Pride and Prejudice movies...and the book.)

What's your favorite for a good romantic thrill, or loyal laundry companion?

My Visitors

Hi, blog friends! Maya here. My Grandma and Papa just came to visit me this past week. I had so much fun with them! Here are some photos we all took together:

Grandma and Papa really made me giggle.

Finn loves Papa!

Wait, Mom, I was chewing on my hand in that one...
Can you post a few where I look a little better?

I had lots of faces to make for the camera. Then I got a wee bit fussy (dinner time, of course). So I let everyone know it was time to go in. Can't wait to see you again, Grandma and Papa!

Love,

Sneak Peek

"Gwamma and Papa" Johnson came this past week. I am still compiling and working on the photos we took. But I HAD to post this little gem. More to come!

Motherhood: My Choice

Motherhood. I chose motherhood (I remember the moment I realized I was ready for it). I still choose it. I choose it willingly, happily, over other things that I could be doing. I choose not to work outside of the home, but stay at home and play. I choose to keep my home clean, beautiful, spiritual, and healthy. I choose to use every bit of education that I have pursued to benefit my children and myself.

I am so fortunate to be able to do this.

I also know what I gave up to do this. I gave up a well-paid, full time job as a graphic designer. I was good at that job. I am still good at that job. I gave up the ability to travel on a whim. To dine out when and wherever I want, at fancy places where double strollers can't fit. I liked to do those things. But I am happy to give them up for a while. I gave up a fancy working girl's wardrobe (or rather, packed it away in my closet for now). I gave up insensible foot wear (for the most part). I gave up a lot of sleep.

I gave up laziness. I gave up selfishness. I gave up the part of me that was happy to go through my life thinking only of my little world, for a new world that has opened up before me like none I could have imagined for myself.

It is my choice. No one else's. I choose this life, and I choose to love it. I choose the right. The right for me. For my children. And I know that I am blessed because of it.

You are the trip I did not take;
You are the pearls I cannot buy;
You are my blue Italian lake;
You are my piece of foreign sky.
(“To My Child,” quoted in Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest [1965], 54)

Flossing Finn

I walked into my bedroom to find this today. Luckily I caught it in time before he cut off all circulation to his little arm.

Corners Of My House

Kitchen sill.

Sittin' still.

Featured on Give Away Today!

Hop on over to Give Away Today for a giveaway from Beautify My Blog! It will be going on all day August 14th. Good luck! Click on the logo below to visit the site.

Wes Grylls

This is awesome:
CLICK HERE

Growers: Finn and his vocabulary

Since Finn has basically watched Maya and me lie around in our sick beds all week, he was getting rather antsy. So I took him for some "dips" today. (Chicken nuggets from Wendy's, in regular terms.) We sat down at the table and I realized I didn't have any ketchup for his fries. I got some out of the fridge, squirted it on a napkin, and said, "Here you go!" He looked down and his eyebrows shot up. "Ketchup? Perfect!!!"

Super cute. :)

My Realistic Romance

I once fancied a love affair wild and alluring.
Now I desire one safe and enduring.

My Dearest Wesley,

Just kidding.

Dear Wes,
Currently you are away visiting, as you put it, the Land of Ice (even though I tried to start that silly argument about how Greenland is actually icier than Iceland, and Iceland is green, but Icelanders wanted to preserve their treasure of a home by SAYING it was icey...and you interjected and said you were merely playing with the word order). Currently I am admiring Maya and listening to the Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets soundtrack on the Spektone iPod player that I FIXED! Tonight I made the most delicious dinner I have ever made. Quite possibly! It was Sweet and Sour Chicken with pineapple in the sauce over brown rice. You are going to LOVE IT. Love it. Why have I never made it before? Because I wanted to wait until you were gone in case it didn't turn out (and then I just wouldn't tell you I ever made it at all). Did Finn love it, too? Of course not. Oh, he tried it! And the combination of the sweetness and sourness made him practically go into convulsions at the table. He smiled weakly, almost apologetically, and politely said "Pineapple OWWWW." And then hurried off to shake his dragon in Maya's poor snotty face and roar loudly, while I enjoyed my meal.

Since I was feeling a bit better today, I organized the back room. I have a table now! And I carefully and lovingly put a few of your things in order. But nothing that would cause any trouble. I threw nothing away. I even gave you part of a drawer. I also came across the 4 photos we took for our engagement photo. You know the ones—shot against the green bedspread hung over the window in your apartment. I had highlights. You had regular glasses and a shaved baby face. You pushed the shutter release from the camera 6 feet away. And then we composed them to look a bit like photos taken in a photo booth. They made me smile really big, and chuckle. Then I hung them on the wall right over your computer. That way you can tell me, every single day, how much better you think you look now.

I imagine you out in the middle of nowhere (since that is where you said you are), listening to Icelandic radio stations, and fighting the fog. I'm not terribly sad to miss the whole story of your adventures during our short conversations. I know your photos and footage will speak for you when you come home. I can't wait to see the manifestation of your creative efforts—they never cease to amaze me. In the mean time, I'm holding down the fort, loving our children, and counting the days until you come home so that you can make Finn's waffles in the morning while I sleep in. :)

Oh, and Finn pooped on the floor today.
Love you!


“Don’t you think I was made for you? I feel like you had me ordered—and I was delivered to you.”
—Zelda Fitgerald


Want the recipe for Sweet and Sour chicken? Visit Lickable Spoon HERE.

I Heart Affrin...and Finn.

Today I have a horrible cold. Finn started the trend last week with a short lived two day head cold. Then Maya's nose started running Friday night, and has escalated to a full-on cold. It's her first illness, poor thing. And now it feels like I have a brick wall in my head. Normally a cold wouldn't be such a set back. But the catch is Wes is in Iceland. He left yesterday (follow along HERE). Just in time for me to get sick along with Maya. Hmmm. No fun. Currently I am exhausted. I am longing for sleep to take me away. Desperate for it, even. I was chugging along at a decent pace, but somewhere around 5 this evening it was as if my body said, "STOP! You're done. Go to bed right now." Only, that was an impossibility, of course. I managed to get Maya to bed at 7, thinking I could be in bed by 8. I am not sure WHAT the heck was going on with Finn tonight, but he decided his little body couldn't fall asleep until 10:30. And by not go to sleep I mean throw an hour long "episode" about wanting to watch some specific scene in "Disaur moobie, Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa." I couldn't find the blessed scene to save my life. Here is how the rest of our night went once I tried to get Finn down for the night:

(Sound of Finn's hollow footsteps on wood floor. He appears by my bedside.)
"Mama, go sleep Dada's bed."
"OK, get in and lie down."
(He gets in, burrowing under the pillows. He flops around a bit, then settles on the edge of my pillow. He plays with my ear, pulling on it. Normally it would be sweet and endearing, but tonight it kind of hurts.)
"Finn, please don't pull on Mama's ear."
"Mama, waffle."
"No. Lie down."
"Mama, EAT."
"It's late, Finn. You've already had enough food tonight. Lie down."
"Meemo fruit nacks, Mama."
"DOWN."
(White noise machine turned on by Finn whirs loudly. My head pounds. It's too much sound, conflicting with the baby monitor transmitting Maya's white noise machine.)
"Finn, turn the sound off."
"No, Mama."
"OFF, or Mama will be sad. Mama is sick and her head hurts."
"Mama hurt head?"
(Finn hits me on the top of my head.)
"Yes, Mama's head especially hurts. Now lie down."
(I turn off the noise machine. Finn turns it back on. It's hot. Finn wants me to put 3 pillows on my body so that he can lie on the pillows on me. The brick wall in my head feels like someone's hitting it with a hammer. I throw the pillows off and turn off the sound machine again. Finn starts tunelessly humming.)
"Shhhhh. Put your head on Dada's pillow."
(I can't take it any more. I get up, rummage through the medicine box until I find some Affrin. Spray spray. I head back to bed, prop up my head and wait for it to work. Finn reaches over and painfully yanks out the clip in my hair. I'm edging on hysteria.)
"FINN!!"
"No, Mama! Finn's!"
(I start to cry. Because I am tired. Because I am sick. And because my husband is in Iceland and I miss him.)
"Oh no, Mama, hurt head?"
(Finn starts kissing my eyebrows, head, ear, chin. It's very sweet. He hugs my head. Pats my cheek.)
"Finn, can you say a prayer for Mama?"
(He folds his hands and says, "Mama, Dada, Finn, Baby Maya." We haven't been able to get him to fold his hands for a prayer in weeks. He must have known I needed him.)
"Can you say, 'Please bless Mama to feel better?'"
"Peeze bess Mama better."
(I start crying again because he's so sweet and I feel bad for yelling at him.)
"Oh, Mama."
"Oh, Finn."
(We lie very still. The Affrin kicks in. Finn falls asleep while tugging on my ear. I lie awake unable to sleep because I know Maya could wake up any second needing me. It's going to be a long night...but I feel very blessed.)

Sunday Faces

Technically this isn't a "Sunday face" because all of our Sunday faces are sneezy and sick. But we did happen to catch this moment this week when Wes was on his computer, holding Maya. She had been fussing, and Wes was calming her down. She reached out and grabbed his ring finger and clutched with all her little might. It was a very sweet moment. And she quickly cheers up when she sees the camera.