Grace in small things: "Pink as can be!" edition (September 14, 2016)

1. Zo, showing her legos to Grammy and Papa via FaceTime: "Look! They're pink as can be!"
2. Kids wanting to work with me today, and they had some iPad time, so snuggled up next to me in the bed, they on their iPads, me on my computer...nice to have them there...
3. Loving being on the MOPS steering committee...such great women...and I wasn't really expecting to learn a lot from the experience, but no question I am...
4. Boiled shrimp for dinner...my mother-in-law is from Florida...she knows how to do it right...absolutely delicious...
5. Made some headway on my endless TO DO lists today...and also am looking at making some pretty big changes so long lists are a thing of the past...stay tuned...

XOXO

Grace in small things, September 12, 2016

1. Warm morning walk with the dog first thing...warm morning walks are definitely numbered around here. And on a related note, can I just tell you how much I LOVE how ridiculously excited my kids are for winter and skiing??
2. Dry cleaning household items...it's like getting new stuff...so satisfying...
3. Cleaning and laundry and cooking today...we've been on the go and I've been very busy with work...nice to do some house stuff for a change...
4. Painting Sissy's nails sparkle purple this morning at her request...
5. Spent time with the kids separately this evening...Luke took a bath and Zo didn't which staggered things nicely so each got some individual attention...one of the hardest things about having twins is how little alone time I get with each of them...and they crave it...it's hard...
6. Kids have been laying out clothes the night before, they like to lay them like they will look on. They call it "making a me." "Mommy, can I make a me?" they'll ask. And then one day recently Luke put his clothes out and then got into them and said, "Mommy! I made the me come to life!"

XO

Grace in small things: Osprey edition (September 11, 2016)

1. Biking and botanic gardens--and some super cool osprey watching (mommy, daddy, two getting-grown-up babies)--this afternoon with my boy...
2. Downtown earlier with my girl...Fringe, which I've never been in before (and they've got some cool stuff, definitely want to go back someday when I'm doing more than window shopping), has this great setup for kids with a white lacey tent and sheepskin rug and cloth (stuffed) logs and fire and sticks and hot dogs and marshmallows. "Mommy," said Zo from inside the tent, "Want to go camping with me?" So I crawled inside and we roasted pretend hot dogs and marshmallows and talked about how fun camping is and how soft the rug was and what a delightful place to play. (And Grammy, you'd be proud of your granddaughter, she insisted we put out the play fire before we left the campsite...)
3. Hot springs all of us earlier so Daddy could see the kids swimming...
4. Kids and I watched Footloose before bed (the original) (which was rated PG so I thought it would be fine but while watching it I though may be a little too mature for the kids... teenagers--even good teenagers--smoked in movies back then, for example...so strange...) Anyway...Luke and I were talking about how for a dance you pick a girl that you like and ask her to come with you. "Mommy, I like you," he said after thinking about it for a minute, giving me a big hug...
5. About to go out for stars on the porch...Mars is a big feature in our patch of sky at the moment...love how red it is...

XO

Grace in small things, rubber ducky race edition (September 10, 2016)

1. A great day hanging out with the kiddos, we had so much fun at the rubber ducky race (and got to see our artist friend Julia), the kids had the best time rescuing the ducks that got stuck. We all got wet and dirty but it was a beautiful warm day and the river was low so I didn't have to worry about them and the water...such a fun time...
2. Long and leisurely lunch right on the river. We saw an otter! And the kids were perfectly behaved...
3. I got to watch a game of "Ninja Football" once we got home...
4. And now the kids are playing "Crash the Alien" where one person pretends to be an alien, and the other tries to crash them over with pillows...too cute...
5. Loving the warm weather...I know it's not here for much longer...

Happy weekend!

XOXO

What we're reading, watching, listening to: September, 2016 edition

Things we've enjoyed—and would highly recommend—as we move out of summer and into fall:

Kid books

• Beautiful Birds by Jean Roussen and Emmanuelle Walker—An ABC book with birds, the illustrations are spectacularly cool. Also like how inside the front cover are eggs and on the back cover they've all hatched...
• Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn't Sit Still by Karlin Gray and Christine Davenier—The kids are excited about gymnastics lessons and this book is inspiring them. I get teary each time I read it and 14-year-old Nadia scores the first perfect 10 but they don't have the scoreboard programmed to show it. Such a sweet book...
• Silly Wonderful You by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Patrick McDonnell—A mama talking to her toddler about how her life is so noisy and messy now that she has a child but also so incredibly filled with love...
• Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson—Another ABC book, this one photographs of things in the city that look like letters...so cool...

Grownup books

• The Art of the Photograph by Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard—It's been a really long time since I bought a book and I talked myself out of this one I found in a bookstore on a weekend vacation with my mom and then went back and got it. I'm so glad I did. I'm learning a lot...
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky—You know, this book is interesting and engaging so far (first 50 pages or so), but I'm having a little trouble getting into it, much as I'm liking it. Jury's out on how far I'll get. Not sure Russian novels and 4-year-olds mix...feel like I need some long, leisurely reading hours on the porch...a luxury I currently do not have...
• The House by the Sea by May Sarton—I borrowed this from my mom and have read it very slowly...it just seemed like a book to digest in small chunks...it's the daily happenings of a writer who moved to costal Maine and is for the most part relishing the solitude. I like the small pleasures she finds. I love that this is one of my mom's favorite books...I can see her in it...

Music

• You Are my Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell—This has been a constant in our car lately, it's kids songs but the singers are amazing and the songs are done in a very sophisticated way...it hasn't gotten old after what feels like a million plays either...

Movies and TV

• Stranger Things—Oh, how I love Stranger Things. I just finished Season 1 last night. It's scary. The story's cool. The acting is great. It's its own thing, which I love. A number of nights I watched this right before bed and then couldn't sleep after. I love that twin brothers have created it. And that they tried and tried to sell it...showing that even very good ideas need some nurturing and love and persistence sometimes. I can't wait for Season 2. I actually think I'm going to watch Season 1 again...
• Last Week Tonight With John Oliver—This is the one show I make an effort to consistently watch. Honestly it's been a little uneven this season, but when it's funny, it's so very funny...
• Kubo and the Two Strings—A kids movie that played like and indie film and was so good, so original and so complex, I feel like adults could watch it multiple times and get something new out of it each time. This is definitely one for our video library...
• Mad Tiger—Seen at our local monthly foreign film night, it's the story of a Japanese band in New York and how things kind of fall apart. Loved watching the strangeness of this, and also had so much empathy for the main character who was trying to find his way...

Anything you've found fabulous lately??

Happy reading/watching/listening!

XOXO

Grace in small things: Daddy! Check out our spider! edition (September 8, 2016)

1. We caught a great big brown spider in the "bug hotel" this morning. (He was in the upstairs bathtub. And fast. And jumpy. There was definitely some screeching on my part.) Kids could not wait to show Daddy...
2. I've been playing songs somewhat randomly from the music on my phone for the kids at bedtime. Tonight a song by Supergrass I don't even know how it is in my music, don't ever remember listening to it, but it's got the lines, "Bite me!" and "I want to pack you in my suitcase." Luke has declared it his favorite song and said, "My favorite song is so funny! They say such funny things in my favorite song!" Love that the kids listen to (and like) more than just kid music...
3. Kids are very interested in Broncos football...will be fun to watch with Grammy and Papa this fall, they are big fans...
4. Thought I had to travel tomorrow but I don't...think we're going to head over to the hot springs in the morning instead...was looking forward to my (very short) trip, but nice to have found time as well...
5. Kids have been asking to sleep together in the same room a lot lately...not sure what that's about...preschool transition maybe? Regardless, it's super cute they want to be together...

XOXO

Grace in small things: September 6, 2016

1. Starting to get some bits of color on Emerald Mountain across from us...I love fall...
2. Took a nice little hike with the dog today mid-day...super warm out...nice to be able to take a break and get out...
3. Kids seem to be loving preschool...and Zo made me a plastic rainbow bead necklace today...and Luke a painting with blue and green glitter paint circles that is just the coolest...
4. Snuggled up with the kids before bedtime, reading some great books together...
5. My husband doing the grocery shopping on the way home from work...he's so amazing...

XOXO

Grace in small things: First time ever on Cold Springs Trail edition (Labor Day, 2016)

1. Unbridled joy from Zo riding on the spinny thing at the playground this afternoon...
2. And our first hike ever on Cold Springs Trail...which I've been meaning to take the kids on all summer, so glad we snuck it in under the wire. It's great...and so close to us...and dog and bike friendly and the gentlest little creek running next to the trail and this amazing picnic structure and two cute little ponds...love...
3. Jeff bought jelly bean packs for the kids when we were out and about today...but half were yummy jelly beans and half were disgusting like "spoiled milk" and "dog food" and "moldy cheese." Hilarity ensued...those poor kids really wanted jelly beans...but weren't sure if it was worth the 50-50 risk of the grossness they might get...
4. The sound of the wind in the trees today, the aspens and the pines...and the creek burbling...
5. The kids learned Simon Says from somewhere (I think a TV show) and had a great time bossing Mommy around on the hike: "Simon says stop." "Simon says run." "Simon says spin around in circles." Etc. Pretty darn cute...
6. Talking to my brother this evening...love him...
7. Kids asking to sleep together in Zoey's room tonight...they definitely have their moments when they don't get along, but overall they are such great friends...love it...

Happy Labor Day!

XOXO

Grace in small things, weekend edition (September 4, 2016)

1. Great time all of us at the air show...such a fun event...
2. Thunder and lightening and rain over the weekend...
3. A surprise overnight visit from my cousin and her husband yesterday...lovely to see them and spend some time together...
4. Luke running with arms outstretched and flapping, pretending to be a bird...
5. Farmer's market with friends...got some peaches, yum...and the kids making a bridge/dam across the small creek, so industrious...

XOXO

Grace in small things, September 2, 2016

1. Being awakened this morning by my mom and dad calling...lovely to talk with them first thing... 
2. A morning spent with great friends...
3. Laying in the park today, air warm, smelling of grass that's drying, Luke snuggled up close to me, listening to Zo play close by, watching the clouds go by, including a huge one that we (Luke and I) decided looked like a whale would look if it were swimming over you
4. Luke looking deep into my eyes and telling me the color was "orangey-brown" (otherwise known as hazel)...
5. The cushions on our chairs that we sit on out on the deck in the evenings have been away to be dry cleaned, but they are back. And so white! (It's been a couple years since they've been cleaned.) Yay cushions. We've made do out there without them, but it hasn't been comfortable...

Happy weekend!

XOXO