a really belated Fourth of July post

This was the first year in a long time that we missed the fireworks on the fourth. We went back and forth about going, but decided it wasn't worth the hassle of the crowds and the mosquito bites if it turned out that Ralph wasn't a fan of them. My sister had everyone over to her house for some good summer food instead-- grilled burgers and a decked out backyard and firefly catching and the sound of fireworks from a distance. It was just as good. Maybe better.

And if you're not going to get fireworks on the fourth, you may as well get blueberry pie, is what I always say. I used Martha's recipe for the crust and the pie and, with Ryan and Ralphie's help, both turned out beautifully. Try it. You'll like it.

peonies, please

 Flowers are so fashionable right now, aren't they? It seems silly, since flowers have been wonderful and beautiful and around since God said, "Let there be flowers." But all it takes is one look at Pinterest to know that every woman needs to wear a flower crown while strolling through the farmer's market to pick out a flowery bouquet that she can carry around in her straw bag, and then maybe a couple mason jars to keep the flowers in when she gets home. 

The internet has made me believe that I need all of these things.

So, when I was walking through the yard a few weeks ago and noticed some tight round buds that just happened to look like peonies growing along the back corner, I was like RAISE THE ROOF. Because peonies are probably the most fashionable flower there is right now. There I was, right on trend, and I hadn't even had to do anything.

It was then that I became obsessed with the peonies. There were eleven of them, closed up so tight, and with big black ants crawling all over the top petals. I checked on them multiple times a day. I talked to them. I adored them. I waited and waited and waited for them to bloom.

And then they did. One by one, the petals opened to reveal the prettiest, most lush flowers I had ever laid eyes on. I loved them. So sue me.

I thought about leaving them to grow and open and last in the yard, but I couldn't resist snipping each one and taking them inside to put in a vase. ("I need a vahhse? A vase? A vahhse?" Name that movie!) And then of course, I had to take their picture.

And I'm glad I did, because they lasted all of two days.

Until next year, peonies. I'll be waiting for you.

hello little blog.

IT'S SUMMERTIME EVERYBODY. Which is my excuse for the lack of frequent writing here. That, and the fact that the power cords for both of our laptops are near-death. Actually, that's not true, mine is totally dead, and Ryan's has to be held in place in a very specific way in order for it to work, which is what I'm doing now, and it's not easy. So.

Anyway, these here pictures are from the weekend before last. After church that Sunday we went down to our old spots by our old apartment and had a good old time. And oh man, sometimes I miss living there so much! We went to our old grocery store for doughnuts, and Ryan said, "Let's walk around the whole store just for fun." So we did. And it was just like old times, except instead of slowly waddling down the aisles with a giant belly, I was pushing a stroller with a baby inside, and they also moved the nut aisle to the other side of the store. Who knows why. Once we picked out our doughnuts, which just happened to match my outfit, what luck, we parked it at the beach and walked around. It was windy and warm and nice to be back.

And now this, which is related in no way to anything I've been talking about so far: Recently I stumbled upon the most ridiculous and wonderful station on Pandora. It's called Old Time Music Radio and I CAN'T STOP LISTENING. It's all banjos and gentle rivers and devil whiskey and wildwood flowers. It's the closest thing to country music that I can get into, and man am I into it. It makes me feel like cooking in my kitchen and hanging out the laundry to dry and, I don't know, churning some butter or something. Ralph can really get down with the banjo pickin' songs, y'all should see it. (It also makes me want to say y'all, see what I'm saying?)

Speaking of Ralph! He has seven teeth now, four on top and three on the bottom. For a little while he only had one tiny eye tooth on the top, which made him look like a tiny baby hillbilly, and resulted in the nickname "Snaggle Tooth" from his parents. But just when I started to seriously worry that maybe he didn't even have his two front teeth at all, they popped right through and we started using the toothbrush his grandma put in his Easter basket. He's army crawling and getting into everything, and just this weekend learned how to fake laugh. He's changing so quickly and deserves more blog posts about the funny things he does. I'll work on it. Because, shoot, I love him so much. 

There's a whole bunch of other stuff I'm quite behind on in the blogging department, like Father's Day and our Fourth of July and our garden, and hopefully I'll find some time during naps to get it all down here. Because as annoying as holding this power cord in place is, recording these happy summer days is so worth the effort. We've had some gooood days. Summer, never leave!

And in case you missed it, here's July's installment of craftiness on You Are My Fave. I'm still so pumped about being able to write and craft for Melanie's blog. It's such a sunny part of my life. I made fake sparkler cupcake toppers this time around, and they were featured on Oh Happy Day as one of Jordan Ferney's favorite party ideas last week, which was an exciting accomplishment indeed! WATCH OUT MARTHA STEWART. 

Just kidding Martha. I love you.

back home

We're back home again after a wonderful week visiting family. I've been playing catch-up with the groceries and the laundry, and I'm having fun getting back into the daily routines I've made for myself over the last few months since having a house to take care of. As fun as the last week with family was, it's really nice to be back in our little house. We missed our toys and our chewed-on books, our sunny dining room, our highchair in the corner, cooking meals in our tiny kitchen, and our beds.

Oh man, we really missed our beds.

the first weekend of summer

It was decided on Friday night that we were going to pull out our good camera and finally take some real, not-iphone pictures over the weekend. So, as soon as we woke up on Saturday morning and the three of us made our way down into the living room for our usual Saturday morning coffee/playtime/music listening/should we have cereal or eggs or pancakes for breakfast routine, pull out our good camera I did. Just in time for me to capture Ralph practicing his runny-nosed "help me, I'm a poor boy" face. And those flowers up there? They're from my sister-in-law's baby shower three weeks ago. Bravo, cheap grocery store flowers, you're still looking as fresh as ever!

Once we had our breakfast (pancakes, we decided,) we went outside to tidy things up a bit. Our front yard was looking slightly overgrown, so Ryan worked on the lawn while I switched between sweeping up a billion of those whirligig helicopter whatever-you-call-ems that fell off our maple trees and onto the driveway, and helping Ralph practice walking. We got really into it, and ended up spending the majority of the day sweeping and raking and pulling weeds and getting blisters. And when we were done, we rewarded ourselves with a family drive to Target to pick up a little table and chairs to keep outside, and a crappy frozen pizza to eat while using it. After a long, happy day working outside, I'll be darned if that crappy pizza didn't taste glorious.

On Sunday we invited our friends Emily and Adam and their sweet baby Abe over to break in that table and those chairs. We grilled burgers and sweet corn, and served watermelon and potato chips and pickles on the side, and ended up having so much fun that I didn't think to take any pictures until after our friends had gone and there were only three lonely cupcakes and some stray ants from those flowers left.

The rest of Sunday was spent doing lazy things like playing in the grass and eating more watermelon. Turns out Ralph is a big fan of summer food, and I couldn't be more pleased. The kid won't touch pureed peas, but had the time of his life chewing on a corn cob and gnawing on a sour pickle. And that night, when we put him to bed all pink and fresh from a bath, his little hands still had a faint scent of pickle on them. Oh man, it's going to be a fun summer.

PS: These photos are my favorite from the whole weekend. Ralphie knows what he wants. And when he wants it, he wants it NOW. That's my boy!

PPS: I made yarn-wrapped twinkle lights for this month's crafty craft on You Are My Fave. Check 'em out HERE.

belly laughs from ralph: a video

This little one is keeping us in stitches lately. He's such a happy baby, and as long as he gets a couple proper naps during the day, is just the sweetest thing to be around. The silliest things make him laugh-- Ryan using a shovel, the broom, the barks of the dog next door-- it all produces serious belly laughs from Ralphie.

I took this video last weekend after a day of graduation parties and visiting with family. All three of us were pretty wiped, and I was running a fever of 103 that came out of nowhere. We sat down to eat, and Ryan started playing peek-a-boo...and then this happened. It was awesome.

Oh Ralph, you're a peach. I love you.

postpartum style and postpartum stuff

Madeline from Uber Chic for Cheap is doing an awesome series on her blog about Postpartum Style. Not too long ago, she asked me if I'd like to contribute and write a guest post about my postpartum experience. As soon as I opened the email from her I did a fist pump--it was so exciting. I have loads to say about how I felt after having a baby. I've actually been wanting to write about it here for a while, but I was never quite sure how to go about doing it. Writing for Madeline's series was a good way for me to sit down and think about what I wanted to say.

My hormones and I went through the ringer after I had Ralph. I've always thought of myself as a pretty level person, and besides my tendency to cry (I blame it on growing up with 4 other women in the house) I've always been in control of my emotions. I've always been aware of how I'm feeling, and why I'm feeling that way, you know? The first few weeks after giving birth were tough, and I expected all that. So when I felt anxious or moody or upset, it didn't concern me-- I was sure it was all due to lack of sleep. But those feelings continued for months, and I was becoming exhausted with myself. I was overwhelmed by everything. My new little life with Ralphie was so happy, and most days were good, but there was always something lurking, telling me that things were just a bit off. I don't think I was ever depressed, and I didn't have crazy emotional feelings all the time, but I certainly was going through something I had never dealt with before.

The transition between woman and mother is such a big one. My world was turned upside down when I had Ralph. I was learning how to live in an entirely different life, whether I liked it or not. I remember thinking so many times that I just wanted to feel myself again, which is a frustrating feeling when you no longer know who you are anymore. 

The good news is that I'm starting to figure it out again. Things have leveled off, thankfully, and I'm having more and more fun every day getting to know who I am as a mother. I like my life again, and not just the sweet, cute, chubby baby parts of it-- I like the housework and the chores and the errands. I like the quiet nights with Ryan, and the laughing in the kitchen when we make supper together, and the walks in the backyard. I like the days when I have a moment to paint my nails, or work on something I'm proud of, or make a craft, or read a magazine. I wake up in the morning feeling ready to start the day, instead of feeling overwhelmed-- and I like that feeling most of all.

You can read my postpartum style post on Madeline's wonderful blog HERE. If you happen to be an expecting mama, or a new mama, or a seasoned mama struggling through the same things I did, I hope some of my silly style tips help you. And a big fat THANK YOU to sweet Madeline, for asking me to write it, and for posting it-- I wasn't so sure she would after I sent it to her. It's a looooong post, practically a novel. I couldn't stop writing. It felt good.