'Just her size'

Since this crew spent our little ol' easta sunday making sick couches and tending to snotty noses, my moms and I decided we still had to put those pretty Easter dresses to good use. So, we girls went out for tea. Yep, yep... you guessed it... The English Rose was the spot for such a grand affair... this is Chatt town, where else would we go??  

Anyways... I gotta tell ya, I was a little antsy about this. I had images of tea cups and saucers flying through the air and meany pants looks from stuffy old ladies bouncing around in my head. But, I was delighted to see that all the fears I had built up in my head were fruitless. The ladies in the Rose were happy to have us and my girls just made me proud!
It was so charming to watch Lavender enjoying such finery and being such a little lady. And miss Autumn Marie was so into the little spoonfuls of hot tea we shared. And as I watched my little women soaking up all the lovely little details I re-realized that all those cute dainty things really do communicate such important messages. They say "You are such a very special treasure" and "The everyday does not always have to be so ordinary".  I think for me, in the chaos of flying toys and shouts of 'No' and 'Mine' it is just too easy to coast... to be a bit on autopilot.... to just make sure that everyone gets food and is clean (relatively). 

And when I hear Lavender tell her Daddy about the "tiny teacup that was just her size" I beam.

My 32 years

so today is my actual birthday and and I am not one to shy away from spilling the beans on my age... i am exactly 32 years old today and grateful for every moment of it. In fact I don't know why peeps are so into hiding their age... don't they know that every one of those years was not only a glorious gift, but also holds the keys to who you are and why you are... they have the power to reveal the stuff of your life... the achievements, the treasures, the heartbreaks and all the lessons learned in between.


I guess what I love the most about this day of the year coming around are the reflections that this celebration carries with it. There is always a time every birthday where you face yourself... your life... and the stuff of your days over the last year. And somehow I am always surprised surprised by the depth of my joys, how much my kids have grown and all the bittersweetness of that year.

So I guess I'm just here saying... Thank you, god... for my 32 years and for the incredible family I have to share them with.

Boo Ya !!! Got em done!

so I have been basking in the tiniest rays of accomplishment for the past few days...
You know how there are just some things that are always poking at the back of your brain begging and begging you to complete them???
Well, I finally put my little hands to work on some of those guys and got em done!!! Yes!

I wanted to make something for our mantle that was whimsical, but familial... something about or relating to the people who fill this lovely little home... and I finally got it done! I gotta say that the orange is just right... perfect shade and the the vineyness really works the way I wanted too, but I will say it is a little varsityish for me... Perhaps a little bird or something will have to perch itself on that letter.

And I did promise Lavender I would show off all her lovely works of art that we put up in her new "gallery" - got some talent, eh...

and finally I just wanted to show off this lovely paper (I promise it's the last time!). I thought the big glorious blooms and insects were just too pretty not to look at them everyday.

Why is paper so very addictive??

Full, but not too full

this weekend some how hit that nice space between being full and too full... somehow we were able to get a lot done and still do so many of the things we had hoped to squeeze in without feeling to pressed. I don't know why that it such a remarkable thing to achieve, but it is.

here are some highlights:

My Josh ran 13 whopping miles!!
We (i.e. Josh) built a lovely raised garden bed
Got inspired by wonderful art
Heard a kickin' country gospel band
Listened to the thunder
Saw an old acquaintance
Got temporary tattoos
Dug up two random plants in our yard
Finally purchased that lovely lovely paper!
watched Autumn discover her shadow for the first time

I know these 'highlights' gotta seem silly to some, but for us they really were joyous little treasures. And for you cats who weren't able to make it out to 4 Bridges this year, you gotta check out these cats:
Chattanooga's own Peter Delong Vaughn... his simple compositions seem to speak volumes with their ample spaciousness and uncluttered easiness on the eyes. (and his work made the 4 Bridges coveted promotion spot too!)
Amanda Blake (http://www.amandablakeart.com/) and her warm familial images that seem to throw winks to Van Gogh and Gauguin and maybe a little Basquiat too.

And the Jurors choice in awarding Aaron Hequembourg (I threw in a pic for ya) the best 2D mixed media award really did hit the mark. His portraits carry the echoes of many many lives well lived and impress upon the viewer this sense of a profoundly purposeful time so very unlike the one in which we find ourselves. I could say so much more about his work and about the whole collective of artists that we visited with and work that we took in, but
there are many things to be done and minutes upon minutes slipping away.

I hope your weekend was fruitful... always feels so affirmative to get one of those, eh...

Giddy and excited

Apple - Movie Trailers - Where the Wild Things Are

I just can't say enough how excited I am for this flick! From the looks of the trailer, it seems to really capture the magicalness of that book... I loved loved loved reading Where the Wild Things are when I was a kid... scratch that... I just like reading it... then, now... wheneva.

I am so so pleased that Dave Eggers has started a new journey into film writing... (he co-wrote this one with Spike Jonze - spell? - and is working on another flick that looks pretty cool too!) For those of ya who aren't familiar... Eggers wrote 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' and many others.... love love love that guy!

Anyone wanna try and catch this flick together??? gotta wait till Fall... whatta bummer!

Detective Jen

This morning Lavender walks straight up to me in the kitchen and proudly proclaims "I love the painting with the trees where the animals live!"

It took me about a million years to figure out the great mystery... she was referring to Starry Night, which appears in a Classical Baby episode she had just watched. (in the episode they kinda hide animals in the painting.... wha what?? - Baby stuff is strange) What can I say.... the girl has good taste!

Tee hee hee.....

Easta

I know some people seem to be satisfied with merely one Easter egg hunt... but not this fam!!! We did a total of 3 hunts! Yes, 3... I know, I know... you're thinkin' "why do they love eggs that much?" right...?
Well, we ended up with so many because of sickness and the on going task of juggling multiple family schedules.
Nevertheless, I think the kiddos had a blast! I included a million pics to prove it too... eh eh. I really just think that they would be happy searching around the yard for any old thing. Yep, even a old sock would do, if you hid it well enough. The sheer glee that comes across their little faces is just so glorious and contagious too! And what a sense of pride and accomplishment they have upon pouring over their overflowing baskets! I just love watching these kids grow and discover and explore... it really is something special to be a part of a little person's world.








On another note... I have to say that it really was nice to see them all helping one another find Easter eggs and being so very kind. I couldn't believe I didn't even witness one argument over an egg... and thankfully the word 'MINE' did not rear its ugly head till later... I felt like a proud Mamma/Auntie Jen...

There are so many things to be said of this very important holiday... and they don't have anything at all to do with eggs, bunnies or chocolates, but the page is only so long and my kids are revolting at my motherly departure due to my bloggie addiction.
We out!

NEWS!!!

 

We have news!! We have a new family member... and no, it is not a new baby... it is a new puppy! 

We are lucky enough to be blessed with the sweetest pup I have come across in some time. Her name is Chloe and she is a Lab/Shar-pei... Maybe we will start a new trend of Lab-pei and you will all be seeing them all over gossip magazines at the grocery store. 

So far... this is what we know... her coat is amber colored and shines like copper in the sunshine. Her eyes are green and seem to speak volumes already. She is cool and calm, but still loves to play and run outside, especially with Lavender beckoning to her at every turn. This little cutie has already snuck into our hearts and made a little home there. We are blessed to be a family of 5.

Thank you Rachel and family... you brought us such a wonderful gift... words seem to fall short again.

Laughfer Daffer uncut

so my little Laughfer Daffer has been sicky sick the past couple of days and I gotsta say that it is so much easier to be the sick one hanging on by a thread than to watch the sick one hanging on by a thread. I hate seeing my little ones all puny and tired and like little shadows of themselves. It really makes me think about those ones out there who have to live their lives day in and out with a child who is seriously ill. I cannot imagine what kind of strength that would take and how they manage to hold it all together. I guess the world is full of lots of heroes that we will never know.

And finally... for your enjoyment... here are the results of a little questionaire I gave to my little Lavender. Her answers really are quite hilarious and telling too. (thanks, Leah for the fun idea!!)

Mommy according to Lavender 3-09

1. What is something mom always says to you?
That you love me

2. What makes mom happy?
Loving you

3. What makes mom sad?
What is sad????

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Rolling on the floor

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"like me" --- Lavender ust pointed to herself when I asked her this one

6. How old is your mom?
I don't know

7. How tall is your mom?
this tall (hands up)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Play with me

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Play with my toys

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
For me

11. What is your mom really good at?
Checkers

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Plants

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Paint at school

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Banannas

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I dont' know

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Herself

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Games

18. How are you and your mom the same?
I don't know

19. How are you and your mom different?
sigh

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
i don't know, mom

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
School

Cleaning is over rated

so this weekend as the rain came down I found myself holding a little 3 year olds foot and being inundated with cries of "pink... pink... pink... i want the pink poalish!" and as I looked up I awoke to a sight I will treasure for years to come... My sweet husband so intently painting the tiniest of toe nails and one very happy Autumn Marie. It was so funny to see Autumn perched in her little chair watching her sweet Daddy like she had experienced pampering of this level a thousand times before. So funny!
I guess all I wanted to really say today is that I feel so blessed... blessed to have a partner on this journey that loves his girls more than imaginable. And somehow today as I look around my messy little house I see the evidence of this love at every turn. When I go to blog away there is a tiny little polly pocket riding around in a Strawberry Shortcake shoe on Josher's desk... a gift from Lavender that he refuses to put away. At the fridge, his portrait a la Lavender hangs proudly and on top of it the finger painting they did together drying for the 5th straight day. As I look at all of this beautiful mess I realize that I have tried to "clean up" every bit of these things and was stopped by a smitten Daddy. And somehow I don't know how I missed the evidence of his great love for his little women all around me every day. I guess our messy houses can hold the keys to unlocking our hearts and showing us the meaning of our days and the love of the people who fill them... if we let them.

I love you and your big heart Josh Kring.

My window sill

the amarylis that graces my window sill has finally begun to bloom again. It's brilliance impresses and awes me at every glance. I find myself overtaken with memories of the last time it bloomed... the week our little Autumn Marie came into this world. It seems as though that were a lifetime ago. The only constant thing in our world has been change and I am reminded of this every time these two little faces look up at me.
It always amazes me how far they have come in only a year... how differently they move and express themselves. I can't believe Autumn is walking and can ask for specific things. She has begun to leave behind so many baby signs for sounds trying ever so hard to make those words. When I hear her say "BOB peeezzzs!!" I know she wants me to play Boberanne by the Beach boys (her fav new song). I don't know why it is so sweet, but it just is.... it warms my heart and makes me smile and I feel dorky because I want to cry sometimes.  It seems that no matter how much time I spend being with her it is never enough... not for me. I love watching her hobble over with a giant book and plop down in my lap and say PPEEZ.  Perhaps being a mom is mostly about being smitten.