When She Wants To

Anna had her first swimming lesson today. She loved it of course - it was made evident by the sullen look on her face when she had to get out of the pool after just 30 minutes. She was eager to try all of the new toys and games Miss Alex offered in the pool...as long as she did not have to go under water. She's adamant that she not have to do this (even though I know she wants to - I just think she wants to do it when SHE decides to do it).

Anna also didn't want to take a nap when I wanted her to today. Instead, she asked to read stories and play quietly in her room. After an hour of talking (some to me, some to herself) and playing, I heard her call out "Mommy." I went in to get her a few minutes later and she was fast asleep on the carpet, having decided that she did want to take a nap after all. I snapped a picture with my phone, proof to remind her that she can sleep with lights on (when she wants to)!

Anna's First Hair Cut

Today was the day. Anna needed a little trim before Uncle Blair and Aunt Carolyn's wedding, as she has the very important role of flower girl next weekend! Anna was adamant that she did not want to go to the salon, no matter how fun I made it sound. Despite her hesitation, she was so brave, and it took just minutes for her tentative feelings to turn around. She loved the squishy chair, the fish cape, Alisa (who did a wonderful job with her), the fact that she got to have her hair blown out just like mommy does (I did not ask them to do this, and frankly, I missed her curls), and the lollipop at the end. 

Is it silly that I was sentimental? She just seemed so grown up sitting in that chair, enjoying a morning at the spa. I had visions of mom-daughter pedicures in the not-so-distant future and Anna begging to get her hair highlighted or her ears pierced. When she does, I'll be opening the tiny envelope with her little blond curls, wondering where our toddler went.

Still wondering about this hair cut thing.

Thoroughly enjoying it now! Can you believe I didn't bring my camera to Anna's first hair cut? Thank goodness for iPhones. 

Can you believe this girl?

The Last Days of Summer

While it's still officially summer, I can feel autumn creeping in. The cool morning air, the geese honking overhead, and even the occasional orange or red-leafed tree remind me each day that I need to savor the warm sun on my face and the feel of the grass under my bare feet. We've tried this week to do just that.

Anna made two trips to the pool this week. I'm feeling pretty bummed that it may have been our last swim in the outdoor pool for the season. It's really been the cure for even the toughest days when Anna is acting all of her three years, and I, despite my almost 35 years, am also acting like a three-year-old. Besides that, and more importantly, Anna has become such a confident, happy little fish, and she's really made all of her progress on her own. It's been just plain fun. This week is the first of swimming lessons at a new indoor swimming pool in Ann Arbor, and I hope she finds as much joy in it as she's found in the pool all summer long.

We have a new toy that's helping us enjoy the last days of summer. I never pictured Blake on a riding lawn mower when I married him almost 6 years ago (next Sunday!), but he looks good on one. And when Anna is riding along, with her noise-reduing ear muffs of course, it's an even better look.

In grand finale style, we decided to do our first (annual?) backyard campout last night. The idea of it was more fun than the actual event, but I have hopes that future years will see improvement. I wouldn't trade the snuggles shared in our sleeping bags, the excitement in Anna's voice and on her face, or the learning (in retrospect, there are a number of things we could have done differently to make it more "successful"). We didn't last long in the tent, and it had nothing to do with bugs, temperature, or discomfort. After settling in too late at 9:30pm way overtired and excited and hyped up on marshmallows and star gazing, Anna was still flopping around like a fish out of water after nearly an hour. She wanted to go inside, then she didn't, then she wanted to go inside again. We were bargaining and making threats (if you're don't lay down and at least try to rest, we're going inside!) When we went in at 10:30pm, I promised a tearful Anna that we'd spend time in the tent in the morning, and she finally fell quiet around 11pm. I really am looking forward to trying again next year.

Preparations (required popsicles and patience)

Uncle Blair and Aunt Carolyn came over for burgers and a bonfire, and as always, Anna got her hands on the camera. 

Not sure what she's doing, but it's a cute photo.

A bonfire is never complete without very sticky marshmallows.

Snuggled in...at least for a little while.

I love autumn. It has always been my favorite season, and I'm usually more than ready for it, but something about summer this year has me wanting a little bit more. Maybe, just maybe, we can squeeze in on more day at the pool before I start thinking about the fun things on my autumn list.

Dairy-Free Berry Crisp

Yesterday we picked more berries with our berry-picking friends. The raspberries were ripe and ready for little hands to pick and little mouths to eat. When we picked blueberries a few weeks ago, I adapted a recipe I found online to make a dairy-free blueberry and peach crisp. It was amazing, so I decided to do something similar with the raspberries.

Dairy Free Berry Crisp

4 cups berries (I used blueberries and raspberries this time. Last time I used half blueberries and half peaches)

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp cane sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger (or use 1 Tbsp grated fresh if you have it)

Pinch of salt

Topping

1.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/3 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the berries, lemon juice, ginger, sugar, and flour. Gently fold ingredients together, and pour mixture into a 9x9 glass baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the topping ingredients, and then spread the mixture over the berries.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Vacation, Part 3

Finally, the final installment of our vacation photos. It feels like so long ago now, I'm struggling to remember what we did for the last two days. I think it went something like this:

A trip to the state park to wander the skyline trail.

Photo courtesy of Anna.

Running down sand dunes, and carrying a little girl back up.

Wandering around downtown Ludington, telling Anna stories about our childhood days there, how Daddy and Mommy met when they were just 7 and 10 years old, how we played at this beach, walked this pier, and watched the sunset here more than 20 years ago.

Eating pizza at Sportsmans, breakfast at The Old Hamlin, and ice cream and sorbet at the House of Flavors.

Another Anna shot.

Vacation, Part 2

Sunday we drove to the west side of the state to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. Grilling, drinking cold beers and new cocktails, spending hours at the beach, bike-riding, and just generally relaxing with each other - that was our agenda. Thank you, Kyle, Lisa, Ellie, and Josie for hosting and spending time with us!

The first night...

The kids' table.

Sweet, silly sisters!

This girl LOVES riding bikes!

Days at the beach...

Vacation, Part 1

Mo D will be celebrating a very special birthday on September 3rd, so we started our vacation in Midland, kicking off a month (or two) of 60th birthday celebrations for Mo.

She really wanted a professional family photo for her birthday, one with all of the kids and grandkids - it's not often all of our schedules match up. We all came together on Saturday afternoon for dinner and a photo shoot, courtesy of Krysha. She took some beautiful photos, despite the challenging subjects and the weather! Anna, just hours before the pictures were taken, did a nose dive onto the pavement while walking Riley, so Krysha also had some major Photoshop work to do on Anna's cheek and nose.

We were supposed to meet back at the house for cake and ice cream after pictures, according to Mo D's plan. She was in the dark about the real agenda, a little surprise party that Papa D arranged. She was, to my amazement, completely unaware and totally surprised. Friends and family gathered, gave gifts, and said a few funny and thoughtful words to honor my mom. Tears were shed, and there was plenty of laughter, thanks to Uncle Loren and Grammie Jan! I was so happy to honor and celebrate my mom and thrilled that so many of us could gather together to do it - she so deserves it!

My favorite photo from the night...Jan is in the foreground showering my mom with "gifts." My mom's face says it all!

Running Inspiration, Next Steps

I finally downloaded the Nike GPS app for my iPhone. I can't believe what a difference it made for my run today. For the first time ever, I had immediate feedback about my pace (I couldn't help but check it every few minutes) and distance, and surprisingly, I found myself gliding along at a 9.5-minute-mile pace. I was motivated by something different today; I've never been too concerned about pace, but having the feedback motivated me to challenge myself, and it makes me want to keep trying for more.

I feel a little stuck with my running, though, among other things. I'm at the point where, if we weren't on the cusp of trying to get pregnant again, I'd be moving forward more purposefully in other (career/self-improvement/creative) areas of my life. Of course, we've been on the cusp for a while, as our timeline keeps changing due to things like moving and general feelings of readiness. I've been wanting to to pick up another Spinning class, I want to pursue yoga more intentionally, and eventually, begin teacher training, I want to take another acting class (which I will likely do in the fall) and maybe even use what I learn for something. I know I can move ahead on some of these things, and maybe I should given that one never knows how long it could take to get pregnant or if one even will get pregnant; however, I keep seeing myself staring at a positive pregnancy test partway through the training for a half marathon. I can't say I expect to be able to run anywhere but the toilet in those first three months, so stopping my training at that point would be a bit of a let-down.

Regardless of the crossroads, I'm still inspired. Even more inspiring than the new app are my running friends. If you're in the mood for a little running inspiration, check out Lisa's and Amy's recent blog posts. They will definitely get you in the mood.

Welcomed Home

I'm back, physically if not mentally, from our week-long three-part getaway. I have a few pictures to post (of course) and highlights to share, but it's going to take some time to sort through them all.

Our getaway was perfectly timed; we were all ready to leave last week, departing just as Anna was feeling better and my funk needed treatment. We returned last night, a day early actually, all of us feeling a little bit homesick and ready to be back in our own space. While the house is a cluttered mess of laundry, unopened mail, and unpacked bags, we used our extra time at home this morning not to clean up, but rather to eat homemade pancakes with strawberry sauce, do yoga (Me), ride bikes (Anna and Daddy), and move storage boxes out of our unusable, damp storage space into the finished part of the (now cluttered) basement until further options are explored (Me and Blake).

With Blake in a golf tournament all weekend, Anna and I will be spending as much time as possible at the pool and with our friends, hanging on to that vacation feeling for as long as possible. Do you know that feeling? It's when you don't think too much about what to cook or about cleaning the house or about what you have to do next week. It's a feeling I don't often recognize until it goes away upon returning home. It's one that's eluded me slightly this last week with a chaotic mind that is preoccupied with what to do about our "school-year" schedule in Anna's third year. It's one, though, that I can try to keep going when we end our vacation at the start of a weekend with no specific plans and good weather on the horizon.

Funk

It's been one week since we've seen any friends for a play date. Anna is still sick (although feeling better since her fever broke), most likely from the common childhood illness, Roseola. We've been instructed that, until the rash goes away, she's still contagious (really?!), so we're still somewhat isolated, and we're really missing our friends! We're irritable and stir-crazy and feeling particularly grateful that 1) I did NOT get summoned for jury duty when I called in this weekend, and 2) we have a little getaway planned to visit family and the beach in a few days.

Being sick is, of course, no fun for a kid or the parents, but being sick in the summertime is jut plain crappy. We watched all the DVD's we can stand when Anna was really funky. We've colored, done craft projects, puttered about outside, but she hasn't felt like doing much of anything out there. I've made countless suggestions like games or puzzles, but they hold no interest for her, even after the fever has gone away. We took a bike ride to visit the horses down the street this morning, and on such a mild, breezy day, it was delicious. But, we're still itching to go to the pool, to see kids again, to do something FUN! I'm officially in a funk and out of creative energy, and with Anna grumpy too, we're quite the pair. I'm counting the hours until we hop in the car with our floaties and goggles, anxious to see cousins and second cousins.

Until then, I'm asking (begging) for your creative ideas. We (or maybe I) need to do something FUN, something NEW, something ENERGIZING to shift me out of my stuck gear (without exposing other little ones). Suggestions, please?

Weather-Ready

Anna is under the weather today; she came down with a fever last night. She was anything but sick the night before, though, when Mo and Papa Mox were visiting. I snapped just a few photos while they were here, mostly of Anna with her rain and snow accessories. We were too busy working, playing, talking, eating, and drinking I guess!

Where We Are

At the moment, I'm sitting in the hallway outside Anna's room, sending e-mails, brainstorming groceries for the list, and now, blogging. I've been doing this (sitting in the hallway while she puts herself to sleep) since Anna had a major bout with separation anxiety of the degree you read about in books. It's way better now, but I kinda like the few minutes of quiet time I get on the computer as she's settling into bed.

Blake is working in the garage hanging pegboard so we can declutter enough to park our cars in there. We have a four car garage, and we still don't have room to park with all the packing paper, a few remaining boxes, and general disarray. We are taking, what feels like, baby steps every day to get settled in the house. I suppose that's because our focus the last two weekends has been on the landscaping and the garage, so we still have no pictures on the walls or decorations to make our place feel more comfortable and lived in. The four foot tall weeds, however, are gone from our flower beds, and Blake has spread five yards of mulch! I am also cleaning grout in our kitchen, one measly tile at a time. This wouldn't be so frustrating had we not paid someone to do it already, and they didn't get it clean. I later found the nasty chemical that will do it (the usual natural cleaners I use will not touch this damage). It's so harsh, though, that I can't do it with Anna around, which means working only during nap time or after bed time. It's going to take me a while.

This weekend we were home and away. Anna and I procrastinated making dinner Friday night by hanging in our neighbor's front yard. Anna and Sofia jumped through the sprinkler, while Paul and I chatted about the next day's block party. Actually, Anna discovered that you can drink the water from the sprinkler, so she spent most of her time funneling the spray into her mouth.

We worked on the yard Saturday morning and prepared food (pasta salad and a delicious dairy-free blueberry crisp with our freshly picked berries) to bring to our first neighborhood block party that afternoon. We swam in the neighbor's pool, talked to our new friends, and embraced the feeling of community that we'd desired for so long. We were surrounded by kids Anna's age and some older girls who she particularly loved, one of which helped her onto the diving board countless times. Two of those times actually resulted in a jump (with a floatie) into Daddy's arms in the water! We walked home following the neighbor's tractor that carried our coolers and chairs, my stomach full of beer, burger and blueberries and my mind totally comforted by our surroundings.

Sunday was our away day. Anna and Blake hit the hardware store while I did yoga. Then came golf for Blake. We all met at Uncle Blair and Aunt Carolyn's new place in the afternoon. I met a friend downtown for dinner that night (where we saw Christian Slater) and enjoyed the best gimlet over much-needed girl talk.

It all seems like a pretty good balance of work and play, but I still feel utterly exhausted. I'm guessing too many months of late nights before and after the move have left me with little capacity to cope with the mood swings that accompany being three (and nearly thirty-five in my case). So, I can also be found alternating between huge smiles and bursts of exhausted tears. Seriously, though, one minute Anna is making me laugh and glow in amazement as I watch her hands flitter around her body while she tells me a story with words she made made up in the moment. The next minute I'm raising my voice (OK, yelling) at her to STOP yelling at ME during quiet time, STOP stalling and get into bed, STOP pushing my every button!

It's the beginning of August, and I'm also a little bit sad that we have just one month of this summer left. For the next four weeks, I hope you'll find me mostly at the pool, on the deck, by the bonfire, and at the beach with my friends and family.