My time

My kids are eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Snacking on it too. 

No wonder they are growing.

Happy Valentine's Day

Dress Up

Get the Ajax out, people!

I mentioned a couple posts ago some changes in the making this year. It is February, and while we all like to talk about resolutions for a good 1-2 weeks, the "New Year" spirit is really lost after the MLK holiday as we get back to our ordinary day-to-day lives. 

I have made a point not to give up on my resolution , which is to take a break from junk that makes me dissatisfied, grumpy, unhappy, and unhealthy, and to replace it with things that make me happier, healthier, and more satisfied with life.

I found myself after the election, and the horrific loss of 26 beautiful children and their teachers, zapped of joy and tolerance for most things going on around me. Everyday I (we) saw angry posts and headlines from all political viewpoints, and if I saw one more photograph of a gun online after Newtown, I thought I was going to lose it. 

Really? Those sweet little faces are gone from this world, and our reaction is to paint social media with weapons? 

What the hell is wrong with us?

Feeling angry, and grumpy, and all around disillusioned with people, I decided to limit my involvement with social media in January. For a couple of weeks I was successful -- I did not engage online at all. Then I heard about the nice things going on -- pics of new babies, amusing stories shared about life with kids, and exciting milestones and announcements from friends. 

After a massive overhaul on FB (Read: I cleaned house), and limiting my exposure on a daily basis, my hope is to find a good balance between what is enjoyable, and what makes me twitch. I want to cut out all the toxic chatter about who lip-synced what, and stories about how "real Mom's" and "real Men" are supposed to act, and how many pounds so-and-so gained or lost, and so on. 

(And when I say I cleaned house on FB, I don't mean the kind where you pick up the clutter around the house. I got the Ajax and toothbrush out, and scrubbed like a mad woman)

This will be a theme this year. Each month, directly targeting things that chip away at the joy, and adding more of the stuff that feels good. Most things are out of my control, and being a natural worrier, I know there are things I will brood over for myself, my children, my family back home -- but the stuff on the sidelines that isn't good for me, I will do my best to exclude myself from. 

I'm talking about a good, old-fashioned, toxic cleanse.

Not as easy as it sounds.

For Christmas, Santa brought paint, pastels, some canvasses for both kids, paint brushes, and other consumable art supplies. On a recent snow day, Ada decided she wanted to use one of the canvasses, but couldn't decide what to put on it. I suggested she draw something she really likes or finds beautiful.

So, we all sat down with our art supplies and created stuff that makes us happy.

My contribution

A rainbow and a bow in oil pastels. Big surprise.

Quentin's contribution.  This is likely a truck, a blueberry, Ernie (known in our house as "Nernie"), or  a train. It is also possible that it is a bottle of glue, or shampoo, or lotion that he gets joy out of squeezing onto himself or the floor. Hey, it makes him happy.

Excuse me while I go make a pot of tea and look at these bright faces. I will likely worry about something, but hey, baby steps!

The Fan

A few weeks ago, Ada and I decided to go out, just us (and baby, Lee, of course), while Quentin napped, and Sam watched a big football game. My self preservation during football season is to simply find something else to do. If that means stomping around Richmond to enjoy some time at Barnes and Noble, a local coffee shop, or just a day out walking, then I'll take it.

I thought our outing might be a good excuse to document some of my favorite aspects of Richmond, one of them being The Fan, which some of you who have visited us have had the opportunity to drive through. 

The Fan district was given its name for the fan shape that is the collection of streets it makes up. The homes are late 19th, early 20th century residences, although many a number of markets, vintage clothing shops, restaurants, salons, and other random businesses make up this beautiful area of town.

What I enjoy most are the beautiful colors of the homes, and the small details that make this area so unique.

Looking forward to sharing the experience in person with a few more visitors this year. 

Eye Contact

Forecast of the weekend