happy mother’s day

Hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I have been looking at pictures from childhood and thinking about my own mother, whom we will see in a month and a half. I love this picture, particularly because I can imagine Bee and me in this same pose (even our hair cuts look the same!).

We went on a lovely little hike deep in the redwoods today. We are trying to slowly work our kids up to longer distances and less complaining while hiking. Snacks seem to be key.

But man, check that out. Shorts AND dark socks. And on Mother’s Day, too. Torture!

And we went to my favorite place for wings, where I indulgently ordered myself an extra platter. It was MSG heaven, and I have leftovers calling my name now.

This is a very fitting fortune for Mother’s Day, isn’t it?

a lovely little getaway

F and I are all packed up and ready to go on a trip all by our lonesome selves. WHAT???!!!??? Yes, it’s true. For my 40th birthday, we are flying off to Mexico for a little hiking spa adventure. It looks strangely wrong to have the words “hiking” and “spa” next to each other, but boy am I happy that they’re paired. At one point, F had convinced himself that massages were free, and he was plotting his full days of massages and pedicures, but that part did turn out to only be a very pleasant dream.

The kids are nervous. I am nervous. Fifth Aunt Grandma K is nervous. Probably the only person who’s not nervous is F, and he just doesn’t do that sort of unproductive worrying. But I am excited too. And nervous. But definitely excited. And definitely nervous.

I’ll be taking photos, in case you Instagram. I’d love for you to be my Instagram buddy.

40

Today I turned 40.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this birthday. People always talk about this being such a significant birthday, the kind whose arrival prompts soul searching and life questioning, and I worried that I would feel somehow feel like I hadn’t done enough.

But today was a good day. It was a day full of love, with so many friends reaching out and the most thoughtful gestures from my family. It was special without being fussy. Today was a happy day, and totally angst free.

And to think, I even went out and got myself a mid-life crisis hairdo. Not that you can tell from this picture, but I bleached the ends of my hair, which I’m told will get lighter as the toner washes out. I’ve been wanting to do it for some time now, and it seemed like the perfect time, and I love it.

the triumphant return

Ladies and gentlemen, a little good news: LEGGINGS are back in our lives.
H O O R A Y ! ! !

Yes, it did take a slow and persistent campaign of low-grade positive reinforcement, but I am here to tell you that BRAIN-WASHING WORKS.

Speaking of, have all you Americans voted? In an attempt at an early civics lesson, I took Bee with me to drop off my absentee ballot. On the way home, it became apparent that it’s basically useless to be shy with the security guard who asks you who you voted for if your child runs down the street screaming it.

a sigh of relief

Halloween is almost here.  Sigh.  I don’t actually enjoy Halloween very much, and yet every year I resign myself to making costumes. Can you believe I started seeing costume pins on Pinterest in August? Those pinners are even ahead of Target!

But good news flash: this year, I am excused from costume duty! F is here to save the day! H O O R A Y !

Much busyness is occurring:

The boys have been busy, and I believe the girl will get involved next. Double hooray if she decides she doesn’t want to be a princess after all!