Sunday, August 03, 2008

Recipe for a Family Weekend

Knitting Portion:

I kicked off the weekend by (mostly) finishing the Later Gator mittens from "Stitch n Bitch Nation" for Buttons and she loves them. Yay! I'm going to add googly eyes and then attach some i-cord so they can run through her winter coat.

Food Portion:

My friend Marsha turned us on to mango lassis and Buttons loves them, so I decided to make something special for her this weekend. I don't have a set recipe, but basically it's frozen mango, yogurt (plain or vanilla), sugar and milk in a blender. The girl goes gaga for it.

Family Outings Portion:

Yesterday, Hubby, Buttons and I went into Philadelphia to a gallery where Hubby's brother had a print shown. This was the first time we were able to see his work exhibited and we were all excited. Buttons absolutely loved the city. She went crazy for the skyline, enjoyed the people watching, wanted to hug a building and decided that we should "move there tomorrow". We're planning on go to NYC this fall and I can't imagine the joy she'll have then.

This morning we were contemplating our plans for the day when Buttons told us how much she loves going to church, so we decided to quickly get to the church on time (well we were 7 minutes late). During the summers there aren't any programs for kids, so we all sat together. Making sure Buttons has enough to do during the service (coloring, reading, cutting) doesn't usually make it easy for me to pay attention, but it was nice being together.

Afterwards, we all went to the grocery store and worked on stocking our fridge with food to go with the yummy fruits and veggies from our CSA. Then, after some sustenance, I took Buttons to her first show at our local community theater. After each vignette, she would turn to me and ask "is there more Mama?" Yeah, she loved it and I'm so glad.

Now, I know there are many mommy blogs out there and many of them only talk about how great things are and we all know that's not real life (not all the time anyway). The thing is, it's been a bit crazy since we returned from Belgium, went away for a long weekend with friends, and then took a week long trip to Michigan. We've been going through a rough patch getting back into our groove, so this weekend felt like a series of warm hugs.

No one could have prepared me for mamahood. Sometimes I feel like all I do is say no, give time-outs, prepare food and run from activity to activity. On Saturday the three of us sat together for an afternoon snack in a bar in Philly when "New Soul" came on the radio. Buttons and I became excited and we started singing the words we knew. I watched the joy in her face when it was time to sing the "la la" part of the song and I melted. In that moment, I thought about the time before Buttons and I felt myself step aside to let the me from long ago experience the joy that was happening in my life now. In the rush of daily life I really need to remember to take time to sing the "la la's" with my family. I waited so long for these moments and I want to cherish all of them.

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4 Comments:

At August 4, 2008 at 4:08 PM, Blogger wzgirl said...

Aww, now you've gone and made me cry at work. Damnit. So happy for you guys - you are such a sweet wee family. xo

 
At August 5, 2008 at 10:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

your mittens are just too cute! I can't wait until my husband and I start our family!

Your SP

 
At August 6, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Blogger Robin said...

That's a nice story. I think we all could stand to stop and enjoy the moments we have with our loved ones. I find that a lot of time I don't give Jim the full attention/appreciation he deserves, and I need to be better about that. Enjoying the la-la moments, as it were!

 
At August 7, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I sent you and email that I need a response to this afternoon sweetie. I am getting the finishing touches done on your box now!

Your SP

 

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