A Look Back

It's hard to believe that ten years ago I didn't have a cell phone, much less one that could take pictures and video whenever I please. Yesterday, however, technology snuck up on me and my phone was running out of storage space and I had to lighten the load. Needless to say, the hundreds of photos and videos were slowing things down. I downloaded (or uploaded? who knows) them all to my computer and now I'm ready to start all over! It makes me smile to look at the past couple of years as seen through the lens of my phone and know that these totally un-posed, unplanned, and often unclear pictures tell the story of my very ordinary everyday life.

Just a few highlights from the past six months:

 Anderson "helping" me to unpack the groceries

 First trip to 31 Flavors

 Washing daddy's car

 The "treat" Anderson insisted on having at the grocery

 Feeding the animals at the elementary school farm

 Unexpected hospital bed rest while Gabe was away in Austin

Baby Beck's early arrival

 First day home with my two boys. (Looking rather terrible, I might add!)

Love those little hands

Trips to Rite Aid always require a sit on the cows at The Beef Palace

Let's not forget how the nanny dresses Anderson

Anderson gets his own "coffee" when we go through the Starbucks drive-thru (A very regular occurrence since Baby Beck)

Anderson "making dirt" out of his crackers

 Baby Beck sleeping with mama in the mornings

 First smile

 Anderson's current obsession (which may or may not ever get hung from the ceiling in his bedroom as intended)

 Plop plop fountain at the Spectrum for Father's Day

 A very rare date night (it was our anniversary, after all)

 Trips to Rite Aid that ended at the Beef Palace

Baby Beck in a sun hat (too cute, really)

I bought this fabric at Ikea to make some pillows for Anderson's room and he carried it around the house for 3 days (I have yet to make the pillows)

Who cares that the quality is lackluster, at best. These snapshots of the everyday help this "mom brain" to remember even the smallest moments.

Bad Days

Bad days stink. I hate them. Fortunately I don't seem to experience them all that often, but when I do, watch out. Today was no exception. Just one of those days when you feel you'd be better off staying inside, under the covers, in your most comfy fat clothes with a bowl of ice cream. Of course, none of that was an option, but hopefully the dark chocolate bar filled with carmel and black sea salt I just bought will suffice.

5 Years

It's funny. I find myself on a daily basis commenting on how fast time seems to fly. How I feel as though I can't keep up and that I need the days to slow down just a little. Just long enough to catch my breath, take it all in, and get my walls painted. My boys are growing so fast and I'm certainly not getting any younger. But what I find most perplexing is that no matter how fast time seems to pass, I am always surprised when I think about my relationship with Gabe. Today marks our fifth wedding anniversary and yet it seems like so many more years have passed. I suppose it's in part because we were together for five years before getting married, but I also believe there is a quite different reason. When you are with someone who is truly your other half you just feel that they have always been there. Our lives have become so intertwined that it is hard to remember a time when he wasn't around. And I like it that way. And so happy anniversary to us. It has been a very {amazing, fabulous, at times difficult, adventurous, fun} real five years and I can't wait to experience so many more.

Third Time's the Charm (or something like that)

I have not posted on this blog since January of 2010 and, well, frankly, I have not missed it all that much. But just the other day I found myself thinking that I wish I were better about documenting life. That I really would like an outlet of sorts in which to scribe my thoughts, feelings, and general nonsense. So here goes. My third and final attempt at maintaining a blog. If I cannot keep it up this time I'm done. Finished. I will forever say goodbye to on-line journaling and hope for the best in terms of my memory. Though that really is a shot in the dark given what has happened to my once exceptional memory since birthing two kids. I can barely remember what I ate this morning and I have had to check my calendar three times today just to remember what I have planned for the week.

So here I begin to write, once again, with all the best intentions. And I am not going to worry this time. I am not going to bother to make attempts at witty posts or worry about how elementary my writing may sound. I am not going to take this little diary in any one direction to gain an audience. I'm just going to be me. If I want to talk about how my kids are driving me nuts or what I am making for dinner or why I just can't stop thinking about wallpapering at least one wall in my house, so be it. I will. And I know I'll be happier for it. Because I will have an outlet. A place where I can get things out and I can chronicle the ordinary days without having to touch pen to paper. Because really, I just hate the way my writing looks.

Here goes. Good luck to me.