Pancake Saturday

On Saturday mornings Kent makes pancakes.
It is his day to get Greta up and be the first to approach her atomic overnight diaper, and mine to stay in bed and smile to myself.
Then they go downstairs and turn up Kent's 80's music to a level that stresses me out (were I downstairs) and start in on what we now call Kent's Homemade Pancake Recipe which has been written down and taped on the inside of the cupboard door, being used that often.
I usually come down in time to set the table and ask that we turn down the music enough to be able to talk to one another.
Just like clockwork.
I LOVE pancake Saturdays.

Return of The Red Balloon.

Calamity struck our home yesterday.
One of those moments where the happy veil of childhood is peeled away for a time and a sad reality is presented.
Two hours prior to The Event, we were all riding home in the car with a happy red balloon bouncing around the seats. Thanks Red Robin!
Fast forward two hours and with arms outstretched to the sky and eyes wide in horror, Greta is bawling and panic stricken, as her balloon had just slipped out of her hands, over the trees, into the clouds and out of sight. She is completely helpless to recall the red balloon she loved so much, and being unable to follow it, she is left on the lawn to weep and calculate her loss.
The rest of the evening and night were punctuated by waves of grief.  Sometimes she would look us in the eyes and say "It will come back next day!"  As if daring us to shatter her hopes. And being unable to do so while looking into those droopy tear filled eyes we romanticized the whole thing and said "Why Greta Girl, your balloon is just on a grand adventure... I think it is on it's way to... Paris!" (Paris being the most familiar distant local she knows of thanks to the Madeline books.)
Which struck a chord and settled her for a time. Still, she had a few good sobs in bed last night and I could hear her well into the night repeating over and over to herself "What can I do? Oh, what can I dooo?"
She was in great spirits again this morning, all pinned on the hope that when we went outside we would see her balloon, who surely would have come back to her in the night. "He will knock and the door, and I will say "What?" and he will be back!"
Needless to say that there was a fabulous melt down when the porch stood as empty as the skies. And the car ride this morning was a somber affair. 
"Mommy?" (looking out the window hopelessly) 
"Yes Sweet Thing?"
"I have a hard time."
"Yeah, I know you are. I'm so sorry."
But, this is the story of The Return of the Red Balloon.
And it came about just as she had imagined. Around the time daddy usually comes home from work, there was a knock at the door. And do you know who it was?
I let Greta open it and who do you think was floating there looking very proud of itself?
Greta's genuinely surprised GASP! was my favorite part of today, followed by "My balloon....it came back to me!"
And attached was a sweet little note from Madeline and a few treats all the way from Paris, France*.  Apparently Madeline had picked up her red balloon while it was sight seeing and thought it best to send it back to us right away.
Greta was very impressed by her kind gesture, and has been singing the praises of Madeline and the prodigal balloon all evening. Needless to say, all other stuffed animals were passed over as Red Balloon got a special "Good night, see you in the morning!" and her Madeline doll was chosen as bed fellow guest of honor.

Don't you wish all of life's sad realities resolved themselves this way?

*Bartell, Drug

Zimbags Launch!

The last few months I have been working on a total re-brand of a great non profit organization called Zimbags.
From new colors, to logo, packaging, tags, website, and ads it's been an exciting project to work on!
You should come check it out. Great things are happening in the lives of women around the world through Zimbags (mine included).  http://www.zimbags.com/

FULL TERM

Heck yes full term.
I've finally made it, and as far as I'm concerned tomorrow Oliver is officially wearing out his welcome in his current rent space. My toes are a tappin'.
I have no problem admitting that to me being pregnant is not always the glowing magical experience people tell other people it is when their own memory grows fuzzy. I love motherhood, but praise be to God it gets better than this.
Granted, the wiggly baby in the tummy is cool.
But other things that are cool:
Holding your baby in your arms (!), sleeping on your stomach or your back or a stomach side twist (which is my personal favorite). Not losing sleep over something lame like having to pee, eating an Italian sub, drinking coffee that isn't decaf, eating any old cheese you come across without having to hunt down whether it's been pasteurized or not, springing out of bed, a chair, a car, walking like someone in their 20's not their 90's...to name a few.
So, I packed our hospital bag, and finished the leftover odd projects in the kids's room*. I painted my fingers, toes, and shaved my legs, as I prepare my body for war. 
Now there's nothing left to do but wait...
(Except I have a three year old, so there really is always plenty to do.)


Ps- I'm over H1N1 (Awesome!) for those of you still wondering. Thanks for the prayers and sweet words of encouragement!

*Pictures to come...
cool clocks and image by...

Happy Easter!

We had a quiet day at home celebrating The Risen Lord yesterday.
The Easter bunny brought all kinds of treats for Greta and we enjoyed Hot Crossed Buns and the traditional ham to keep up with traditions. But we were a little disappointed to be sick and unable to observe the usual festivities.
But Greta didn't know any better, and had an amazing time! Her favorite part was the Easter Egg hunt.  Her grandma bought her a delightful little bug themed set, which included a little net to catch eggs in. She has been hunting eggs for two days straight now.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday and are finding clever ways to use up all that leftover ham!

In bed.

 

I'm in bed sipping on one of those giant plastic mugs with the crinkly straws they give out at the hospital. Which can only mean we've had a recent trip to labor and delivery. But don't worry, no baby! You'd have heard the trumpets and fanfair if Oliver was born.

But I was feeling pretty rotten on Wednesday, (back aches, fever,chills) and only feeling worse throughout the day so we went in to make sure Boots and I were ok.

And with all our false alarms, I'm so glad we did. My fever was stressing him out some (I can only imagine. I was hot on the outside, he must have been sweltering on the inside!) And despite all my efforts to drink and drink, I was as dehydrated as a fish out of water. At least that's how it felt.

So long story short, after 3 liters of IV fluids, lots of tests, and monitors going beep beep, the labs came back with the surprising conclusion that I have H1N1. Hello? 2009 called and wants its epidemic back.

Both Kent and I were not expecting that. And we got the impression that everyone was ready to see the back of us after the prognosis. And I don't blame them! You don't want the swine flu around little babies and pregnant ladies.

So as fast as they could prescribe Tamiflu we were on our way back home.

Thankfully, the medicine seems to be working and Oliver seems to be none the wiser today.

And the greatest comfort to come out of it all has been my mom:)

She's been here the last two days to watch Greta (who has been having a blast with all that Grandma attention!) On top of cooking and cleaning and setting things to rights so capably that I have nothing left to do but rest and be so thankful.

Hoping to be on the mend soon!

 

Image via pinterest (I can't find the photographer though...)

 

 

Time out to plan.

Kent and I Got Away this weekend.

We took off Sunday afternoon and spent the night and next day in Bellevue. A very mini vacation of sorts, and it was heavenly!

We shopped and ate at places we would never take Greta (or Oliver) where the menus lacked anything resembling Mac n cheese. So we did sushi, Mediterranean, and ate some of the best steak we've ever had. We both know full well that this was our last day away from home and kids for what will probably be a nice long time. So we lived it up and got room service, breakfast in bed*, and this pregnant lady thoroughly enjoyed valet parking or any other perks that could be thrown our way.

But the best part, and the whole reason we decided to take 24 hours away in the first place was to plan the next ten years of our life together.

We finished a great book series on marriage and were inspired to take it's advice and imagine a day ten years from now. What will our life look like? Our children will be 10 and 13, and we will be...old enough. What does our home look like? Our jobs, finances, health. Do we still go on dates? How often? What does our Sabbath look like? How do our children relate to us? The idea being once you know where you want to be, you start living each day in an intentional way to get you there. Fancy term: reverse engineering.

So we both got a journal and started a dialogue with one another. This weekend was only the kick off. We still have a mile long list of practical questions to ask and answer.

But when we are done we will cover and bind them, and revisit our little book when we make big decisions, or need to check in to see if we are still on track with our priorities.

Life throws curves, and we are expecting those too, but it was such a fun and calming experience to pause and begin looking forward to the next 10 years.

Ps- You might be thinking...Hey, these aren't instagrams? And you are right! We got a new camera just in time for Boots. It is SO much fun to play with!

We are still learning how to work all the settings, but even now we are blown away by how much more interesting things appear through a good lens.

* Lattes and a Grand Marnier Waffle with vanilla bean creme and berry compote. Nom! Kent had marscapone stuffed french toast with candied walnuts and apples. Our first hotel breakfast in bed...and I dearly hope it's not the last.