stimpson family reunion 2009

it's like i've always said...

hubs surprised me this morning with a beautiful heirloom rocker. he knows that i love the craftsman period of american furniture making, and he brought home this bee-utiful piece, built sometime before or just after 1900. here's what it looks like now:

here's what it probably looked like in the late 1800s:

i thought it was enough to just be the mother of my two girls. but now i get to be their mother AND have this chair. so, yeah. it's even better. i actually think i knew this chair in heaven before i was born.

(thank you, hubs. thank you, thank you.)

mether's day

clockwise from top left: (1) mom & dad bird in the eaves of our porch; (2) hubs picking up the perfect rocker; (3) the perfect rocker; (4) surprise! lotion! (wanna see lotion, mom?!); (5) baby feet on the mantle with bird; (6) the reason.

freedom fighter

here's a little journal entry wherein i try to look on the bright side of a pretty--let's face it-- frustrating sitch. Little is testing me. but it's not just the occasional pop quiz (what happens to mom when i poop here?). it's like the SATs of parenting, set on repeat.

i love everything about this girl, so it's not *usually* hard to forgive the requisite toddler fits. it's just hard to be consistent in dealing with them.


i know she needs me to be tough and to teach her how to cope with boundaries, so i'm doing the work. it kind of reminds me of when we were little and my brother and i would beg my mom to do the scary witch voice. she'd say no, you'll get scared, and we'd say, no we won't! please, please! and then she'd give in and we'd instantly wet our pants and beg her to stop.

hm. not sure how that relates.

here are some clams running:
anyway, i think i'm seeing some improvement. it kills me (in the good way) when she does a complete reversal and says, sure, mom! can you make a happy (face), mom? after i threaten to take away some privilege. or when she tries to get away with something by creeping slowly on tiptoe. i liz a little every time.

we had some fun times today. but hubs wants me to go watch the fun tv with him now, so i'll just have to leave a quick recap:

:: first REAL story at bedtime, during which i actually got to read the words on the page and Little actually listened to and commented about the story. as written. (the book: are you my mother?)

:: on our way home from the park (post poop incident, in changed clothes) we had the kind of fun nature discovery walk i have been waiting for. acorns, rainbows in the sprinklers, pinecones...she totally gets it. *sigh*

my two livs

when i think of my wee livermeyer, i get tiny baby chills of happiness. i use words like: honeydew. marshmalla. sugarpop. butter.

her day is pretty simple:

1:: wake up when her big sister makes her grand appearance on the bed in the morning

2:: smile for an hour

3:: go back to sleep

4:: wake up, smile and coo for a couple hours

5:: repeat steps 3 and 4 until bedtime.

so you can understand my surprise when i go out for an hour or two and hubs, the seasoned parent on duty, calls me up and uses words like: hysterical. meltdown. angry. cannibal.

all i can say is, she knows where her next meal is and isn't coming from. she's like a little bloodhound, and i'm pretty sure i should get the credit for this. who taught her, if not me, that you can play nice and sniff discretely for food at the same time? she also learned from me it's okay to get all nasty up in there when it's clear there won't be anything to eat.

that's my girl.

excuse me, i believe i ordered the LARGE stroller?

Hell-o.

the good news is, you will see me coming in plenty of time make a run for it.

actually, you won't see much of me because i'll be mostly covered by the giant stroller i'm pushing. i'll bet you can't even see me in this picture. (that's me wrapped in the pink blanket.)

darling buds of may

in lieu of a maypole to dance around today, i'm going for ribbons tied to the stroller handle. i do have so very many ribbons.

it's afternoon and the sky is blue. my lil' home fries are snug in their beds. if not sleeping, they are at least not making much noise.

now would you just look at this splendorous woman, all bedecked in chiffon? how did she get all those kids to follow her around? is it the carnation wand? because i could get one of those. so glam.

here are some may wishes i'm hoping for:

:: may i walk until my dogs stop barking

:: may i figure out how many different foods can be grilled

:: may i finally learn to make homemade bread

:: may i coordinate naps

:: may dell fix my computer all the way so i can review my pictures

:: may i finally get birth announcements sent out

:: may i get trader joe's to bring back their frozen pie crust

:: may we all eat many fruity pies

have any good ones to add? happy may day, my peeps.