Blackberry Picking

What an adventure! Melanie & I devised a plan to take our families (& anyone else) blackberry picking this morning. Somewhere we got our wires crossed. She left at 8:30am. I thought we were leaving at 9:00am. She went on ahead because she had to return by 11:00am. Our family got close to the farm only to find out Melanie had overshot the location (very poor road marking) & was arriving the same time as us. She'd been in the car alone well over 1 hour with two small children. She was able to stay all of 15 minutes before having to head back. That girl is amazing. I would have fallen completely apart.

I learned a few things today.

1. It's always hot in Texas in June.
2. It sounds good to a 3 year old until you have to pick them.
3. Most blackberries grow on thorned bushes.
4. We're definitely doing this again!

It was a great day for our family. It started a little rocky with Danijela complaining about the "bites" & falling a couple times. It was also very hot, very early. Then something happened & she was having fun. I was frantically picking blackberries because I wanted as many as possible to make blackberry jam. Luka was a trooper. Tata was just Tata. Cool & living in the moment. We were all a little bloodied & sweating by the end. The blackberries were slim pickin's so we only managed to gather 3 lbs. It didn't matter. We had a great time. It reminded Danny of the "old country" when he was a boy picking cherries. Today was special.

Vote Today!

I need your help. I need everyone's input. A shed is about to be constructed in our backyard. What color? Should it be painted the funky Bermuda Blue like the house? Or some other color? If another color, what? I need help here so please give me your input. Seriously.

K for Kiley

D for Danijela

C for Cole

Daddy Dive

One Day

GQ

Thought

So I've declared this isn't about words & yet I have a thought to share. Most of my childhood memories are associated with pictures. It's curious. Is it really a memory of mine? Or a picture with a story that was relayed to me over & over? I'm sure it's some of both. I often wonder how different childhood will seem to our kids with all we have documented. I have thousands of images (some with words) of Danijela & Luka. What will they think? What will they remember? Just a thought.

The Deal

Okay. This is the deal. Moon Cookie will never be known for the words. They just don't come as quickly as the images. And apparently I need time to be clever. It ain't happening, people. The sad truth is this blog is the only way I can remember what I did last week. This & our children are my motivations for even continuing. I'm compelled to document that I wasn't a complete lame mom. I've never worked so hard in my life.

Dear Cara

I miss you. Macaroni Mondays are not the same without you. I think about you often & hope life in San Francisco is as crazy wonderful as I imagine. I still owe you photographs from Brooklyn's baby shower. It's on my mind often. Darn I wish I hadn't done them in RAW. Please know I have not forgotten & WILL get them to you.

Flower Power

Day Two

Retrieved! Robert managed to retrieve most of the deleted images off my memory card. So here are some of the snap shots from Danijela's first gymnastics class. So cool. I'm amazed at how the excitement has not waned at all. She's even developed sores on her toes from practicing her summersault over and over (that sounds funny). She was concerned her "injuries" would interfere with her class. No chance! She showed about three seconds of shyness today. The remainder of the hour she grinned, waved, and made sure everyone saw what she could do. Tata & Mama didn't even get reprimanded once. Oh, I do think it's funny that on the way home she said "Mama, tell me about my ginnastics." Not totally sure why but she wanted me to tell her everything I saw. It might have been that she didn't know what to call everything. Neither did I.

Lip Schtick

I guess I knew it was coming. I never guessed it would start as early as three. I want to include here that we've never purchased any lip products of any kind for Danijela. She's aquired them via family & friends. I have to say that while it can seem innocent enough it actually wigs me out personally. Anytime Danijela mentions a person is pretty I always come back with "You know what makes them truly beautiful? Their heart. Your heart is what makes you beautiful. That means how you love others."

I pray that Danijela never loses sight of what is important in life. I'll do my part to guide her. Surface beauty is incredibly fleeting. It's something the world gives great value that has no eternal value whatsoever. Love you, sweet girl. Next time you ask me "Mama, where are my lips?" (this is what she calls it) I might not remember.

Sugar

Lukalele

Bloody Mess

It was a bloody mess. And, by the way, do you realize how difficult it is to take a picture of your own shoulder? Melanie & I took the kids to a library event at the mall. Yes, they opened a 0 - 12 year old branch at a spendy mall nearby. We arrived & Luka promptly started climbing on things. This is a child who has fallen (head first) down the stairs at our house & turned around to try again. He has no fear and, apparently, little common sense. Gotta love the boy.

Well, he was getting up into everything he shouldn't & managed to face plant into a planter. He actually cried. I scooped him up like any decent parent. I patted him on the back & pretty quickly he was itching to get down. A woman walked up to me & said "I think your son's nose is bleeding." Hum. I pulled him off my shoulder & blood was running out of his nose. My shoulder soaked. Wonder what made her think his nose "might" be bleeding. Dude would not let me wipe it. He was mad & wanted to get down to play. It was downhill from there.

Summersault

The big news is Danijela can execute a summersault. They must have shown it to the kids or she remembers it from Andi. I honestly don't remember seeing the coaches teach them on Thursday. In any event the girl practiced & practiced & practiced. She can clearly summersault as of this evening. Since Thursday she has been asking to go to gymnastics about every hour or so.

Gymnastics

I love the way Danijela says "Ginnastic." Her cousin, Andi, is a natural gymnist. And Danijela happens to adore her. Well ... Danijela spent time in Austin with Andi recently. Grammy relayed to me that she found Danijela off in a corner practicing her ginnastic. After she returned she & I discussed the possibility of taking gymnatics. Note: Don't discuss anything with a 3 year old that will not happen within a few hours. I knew this.

I honestly had every intention of seeking out gymnastics classes for her, but the girl was in a hurry. I've never seen Danijela so excited about anything & it was really cool. We settled on a free trial class at The Little Gym (that week). She sat on my lap as I talked to the gym. She kept telling me to tell them her name. To tell them she could lift her leg. To tell them "this" & she would get down to execute a "move."

Then began the calls to all family & friends about gymnastics. She wanted to know when each individual planned to come watch her. Some of you received a call. It was amazing to us. Well, I regretably erased the images from her first class (don't ask). She loved it. She waved & waved. She smiled. Oh, and she told Tata & Mama to not open the door (to the gym) again because she was working on her gymnastics. I think she mentioned the word privacy. She has since told me to wave to her more, to tell her "good job" more often & not interrupt her "work."

Caliente

This was the first sign of hot anything in the blue house in 28 days. While I certainly think John is a handsome man (great smile!) I'm actually referring to the gas on the stove. I cannot tell you the relief we experienced after 28 days without hot anything. After he left I darted to the shower to experience it all. No more toting babies (including me) around town for baths, no more camp stoves, no more cold angry Angela's either. Or at least we can dream.

Gratitude

Our friends have been awesome in the midst of this weird house stuff. Well, it the midst of life in general. God is trying to teach me & might have given up. I'm that stubborn & unteachable at times. I have the most amazing people in my life. I know Dejan does too, but I'm talking to my chicks right now. If I could I would burrow my way into a hole & dwell. That actually sounds appealing to a person like me. By nature I'm an introvert. You may not believe that if you know me, but I am. Social situations are difficult & I usually end up with a headache. I'm not sure what that is all about. I'm always thankful I was there, but it's usually a bit painful. The process is just so hard at times. I want to be different. I'm just not. Not yet. And it's not for a lack of trying.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Melanie, Devra, Sundee & Tracy specifically. Thank you to sooooo many other friends that offered to help us out. I know it's from your heart. I know it's genuine. And I am so thankful.

I think I'll go take a warm shower. Yes, I can take a shower & not shiver as of about 30 minutes ago. Not sure why it isn't hot, but I'm so glad it isn't ice cold. Hey, I have to wash the blood off from Luka's fall. More about that later.

H2O

HUGE. Not having hot water (or gas) for almost one month is a much bigger deal than I wish to admit. It actually makes me furious at times. I honestly thought in the not too distant past that I wanted (& could be) in the Peace Corp. One of my past boyfriends & I broke up because he said the difference between us had something to do with the fact that I could happily live on a dirt floor with nothing else. While I don't consider myself a "things" person ... I like me some warm (or scalding hot) water. The even sadder thing about this commentary is no hot water also (still) means no stove, oven or heater. I, apparently, am only concerned about my hot shower. My daily oasis. My three minutes of solitude. Amazing how something so insignificant can drive a woman nuts.

I Heart IKEA

I've driven way too far too many times to visit the IKEA vortex. You go in & come out hours later. And you are usually exhausted, confused or both. This isn't heirloom quality stuff but is sturdy, typically streamlined & relatively inexpensive. If you do it just right you can get some groovy stuff.

This dining table is my favorite find. The picture doesn't do it justice. It has a retro look with white top & chrome legs. It was the last one (floor model) & I snagged it. I got it for almost half the price. Never hurts to ask! The chairs (6) are finally available so I'm headed there tomorrow. This is our first dining table. Whooo!

That same day I found this huge carpet (12 x 12). It was also the last one so was pulled down from the display for me. Most of the larger carpets look very Persian & busy. This one was a much more simple design & almost looks Asian. It was crazy inexpensive for the size.

It took forever to decide on this. Above I'd only assembled the first two sections of unit (mix & match) for our "office" by the front door. I picked glossy white fronts & contemporary pulls. I've since added another two (different) sections. It looks better in person.

With all the above I have not yet spent what I did on Danijela's trundle bed. I consider that heirloom quality & something I expect to last a lifetime (or two). Or at least that was my internal argument for putting out the cash.

Big Girl Bed

It was a long time coming. Danijela has been in a crib until we moved to the Blue House. There had been so many changes (new brother, move, apartment life, move again) that we just waited to move her out of it. She has never once tried to climb out & has always seems perfectly content. We've been talking up the "big girl bed" move for sometime. Then I spent a good month searching for THE trundle bed. I found this one on-line at Charles P. Rogers. This picture does not do it justice. It really is very stylin' & seems timeless to me. The hope is this will be her only bed & then will stay with us when she leaves home. Below is a much better image of the bed that caught my eye.

Visitor

Sweet Cole has lived skin-to-skin with his mama since he was born. That girl carries him everywhere in a sling. Honestly, I have no idea how she physically does it. He typically has a pretty serious look on his face (when he's awake). However, lately he's started being much more alert more often & smiles easily. Incredibly easy. He also doesn't cry often. Today in church Melanie had him in the service. He smiled & cooed right through the whole thing. Our two kiddos would never have lasted. It was very sweet getting a chance to glance at him down the row. He's come to visit the Blue House often because his equally sweet mama is always wanting to help us out. Again, I have no idea where that girl gets the mental or physical strength. In the midst of newborns I could hardly see past the end of my own nose. Heck, it doesn't take a newborn for me to be short sighted. Love you, Mel.

Girl Power

I know where we were. We were in the blue house living area. I don't remember exactly what we were playing but she was writing on foreign currency. I've saved some over the last 20 years & I'm sure my sister gave her some with her cash register. People are probably horrified we allow her to do this. It's just paper. It's just stuff. Could be worth millions one day, but so is she (every day). Don't get me wrong. We teach our children to care for their "things" because they are a gift. But we try not to emphasize the "things" part & teach them to let go. In this case we really didn't care. She has no idea this is more than pretty paper.

Whatever. She couldn't be more precious.