The Box

 Have you read this?

It's pretty good, and sparked the conversation that eventually led to The Box.  
The box was once home to a family of cigars,  and is presently the keeping place for all of our home's social networking, news, blogs, random wikipedia facts, and on the rarest occasions phone conversations.We usually, like most people, have our phones joined at our hips. So this is no small deal.
And as awesome as it is to have almost any answer to any question right at our fingers, or recipe, or conversation, or laugh, it is a huge distraction.
And we'd rather be present.
Lately, I have found myself constantly and mindlessly using my phone to fill up bits of my day. Checking the news, reading a blog, what was the weather again? My hand would reach for my phone a little too automatically, and a little too Gollum like.
"We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious."
And do we really need to travel down that road? Because every good nerd knows that it ends tragically. (Although not without a smack of poetic justice.)
And where am I using my imagination if I am stuffing all the odd minutes of my day with random facts and statuses? With Kent and I, what conversations could we be starting? With the kids, what book could we be reading?, or if we really only have a second or two, I'm sure there is a noise we could be making if we blew really hard on the crook of our arms.
So, we put our phones in a box. And the box sits on the counter. This is where our phones live when we are at home.
Our ringers are up, so any messages or calls can be heard, and we can go and check our phones intentionally.
It's been a couple days, and already I am feeling the burden of the ring my phone lighten. It has been a lot easier than I thought it would.
Maybe it's because creating is more satisfying than borrowing.

Water play and a misadventure.

It has been sunny an warm 'round these parts.
Temperatures topping off around 70 in the late afternoon, which is just about where I start think "Ok, slow down here, we are good now, but we are also nearing my heat threshold."
So during Oliver's nap Greta and I will hang out on the deck. She will commence what we call Water Play. Which is essentially the placing and replacing of water into two or more vessels. It will go on for hours if left unchecked, and results in very pruney fingers.
All goes well, until the trusty stick you keep in the back sliding glass door slams shut on you from the inside, and you find yourself hopelessly locked out of the house while your sweet babe is inside the house, napping.
Awesome.
Even Kent didn't have his keys on himself at work. So really, the whole family (except for Oliver) had no hope of seeing the inside of our house ever again.
Although, honestly Greta could 't care less. She loves being outside, and couldn't understand why I had to be so crabby about it.
Well, a call to the locksmith, $200*, and 2 hours later we were back in our kitchen. Oliver slept through the whole thing, praise God, and Greta was ready to go back outside for more Water Play.
I keep the sliding door open now.


*OUCH!

This week in instagram

1. Greta is growing up way too fast. A recent prayer:
"Dear Jesus,
Thank you for the whole world! And even our breath says you love us.
Please forgive our hearts.
Amen"
...."Wasn't that good daddy?"

2. Remember this? Well, we are seeing the fruits of their labor! And what giant blooms! I love to have fresh flowers around the house, and being able to pick my own for little vases here and there, and having blooms on hand to give to the neighbors has been so much fun.

3. I recently read somewhere (I forget where) that when your kids wreak havoc on the world to remember this phrase "Don't get mad, take a picture." And I have found that to be great advice. Something about taking the time to get out your phone and document the damage, and maybe in doing so finding a glimmer of humor in it along the way, cools your temper and gives you a better perspective.
Well last week, in Oliver's life long mission to grab what the world has to offer him, grabbed at our table runner and cup and saucer went crashing down with it. It was a double whammy when you consider, there went my very favorite espresso cup and saucer, one of the few mementos we brought back from Paris, smashed to bits. But my morning shots too? Oh Wog, that one hurts. Take a picture.

4. Oliver has been down for the count since Monday. Fever, throw ups, and no appetite meant one limp sad little baby. But yesterday afternoon his fever broke, and by the evening he found his smile and appetite again! What a relief. When Wog is not happy, no one is happy.

But the weekend is looking hopeful! I hope you are able to enjoy yours too! Xo!

Given Goods!

Zimbags just made its debut over at Given Goods!
Go check it out, also maybe just bag poverty while you're there...

Something for the mommies...

This morning we had a photo shoot for some new Zimbags products coming out this Mother's Day.
Here's a sneak peek!
There's a lot of cuteness coming your way...

Being in the picture

Do you hate having your picture taken as much as I do?
Yesterday, I took so many pictures of myself in an attempt to capture one that I could deem normal enough to post in public places like fb, bio pages, and the like. (A difficult task, thanks to a very expressive face, that refuses to look natural, naturally.)
But I was embarrassed the whole time, and I blurted out the whole thing to Kent when he came home. "I took 1,000 pictures of my face today!!!" With the same guilt and urgency as if I was confessing "I robbed a bank today!!!
Why the sheepishness? I think partly it just feels so narcissistic, but why can I post pictures of our kids with pride and ease, but pictures of me (even pictures I like) I go back and take down almost immediately.
Well, obviously I'm not asking you to give me the answer.  Mostly I'm just telling you, as an act of defiance (against myself) that I took 1,000 pictures of my face yesterday, and I'm going to become more comfortable with it, or at least pretend to be.
So I've added my mug to the sidebar*.
And by the way, I think it's telling that this picture, the one I feel so naked in, I am wearing Stripey Hat (it's my safety blankie), glasses (well, I'm always in those) and I'm covering the other 1/4 of my face with my hand.
Yes, SO comfortable with self photographing.
But this reminded me of this post on "Selfies" on Design Mom.
I find some solace in knowing that at the very least, I'm not the only one.

*Until I lose resolve and take it down.

And the socks come off...

Lately Oliver has decided that socks are for babies.
Try as I might, they come off as soon as he can get his mitts on them.
Wog likes a foot that can breath.

Say what? New Domino!

Erm, considering I have I think 3 years of back issues, and I still routinely grieve the loss of this magazine, this thoroughly excites me!
Anyone else?
As Kent said, "Well I guess we know what we're doing this weekend."
Hope you enjoy yours too!

Ps- Wog is teething.
So we are also doing that this weekend.
Niiiice.

Hello Spring

Spring is around us! The air has that hint of freshness in it.
It's the very same smell that usually awakes my senses this time of year, and alerts me that my wool coat belongs in the closet upstairs, along with my stripey hat*.
But besides the smell, it is the appearance of ranunculus at Trader Joes that tells me, this is it! Spring! You love Spring! And every year I post a picture of them.
I have been getting an enormous amount of joy and delight out of this years. I look at their unique color blends as Greta nibbles on her toast, rearrange their blooms as Oliver fists cheese into his mouth and then crams more into his eyes, and when the kids go to bed I will sometimes take residence in the dining room just to look at them in the peace and quiet. They look excellent in the peace and quiet.
So, I thought I'd take a few pictures (take a picture, it lasts longer). And then they were so lovely that I carried them upstairs to my desk to keep me company as I write you this post.
Aren't they lovely? Aren't they perfect?
We keep them in an old teapot, and Greta always makes sure that there is a little bud for the spout.

*Which of course will NOT be put away with the other winter wear. Because, besides being my favorite hat/article of clothing/possession, it is a comfort to me. And I feel a little naked and lost without it. I will do as I did every year before, and blow right through August wearing it, sweating in it, and pretending that I am perfectly comfortable.