Motherhood

night of nothing (and everything)

Posted on Oct 22, 2011 in Motherhood, Simplicity

last night, my huz and I decided I needed some time away from the house, work, everything.

i thought about making dinner plans, thought about seeing a movie, and then decided that what i really needed was a night with no agenda.

i left the dishes on the table, kissed the babies, went out.

I window shopped. have you seen the children’s clothing at anthropologie?

this is for a toddler. (not my toddler, alas.)

and then i spent a good, long time at the bookstore. i checked out the bestsellers, browsed the history section, investigated book covers. don’t you love chris cleave’s covers? i spent a good bit of time checking out this:

wowza. have you seen ellen’s house? check out the slideshow here, which unfortunately doesn’t include photos of the bathroom, because it just might be the most perfect bathroom i’ve ever seen. a tub overlooking a private garden. were more beautiful words ever spoken?

and then i finally settled on a book to buy:

talk about a great cover. (excuse the amazon.com “look inside” thingamajig.) and talk about a great title.

and then i came home and had a glass of wine. it was pretty perfect. i realized, driving home, how rarely i do anything these days that doesn’t involve some agenda or list of things to do, and how rarely i even leave the house alone, without my arms overflowing with children and diapers and sippy cups and toys and snacks and “dammit, forgot my sunglasses” and “hold on, just one more thing” and “wait, mommy! i need to go potty!” it was just me, and space, and time. and it was wonderful.

have an excellent weekend.

kiddos

Posted on Oct 11, 2011 in Motherhood

my wonderful neighbor and friend snapped these pics of the kids last week. pure joy.

art therapy

Posted on Oct 5, 2011 in Motherhood, Uncategorized

I’m no child psychiatrist, but by the looks of the family pictures that my big girl’s been drawing in school, someone might be having trouble adjusting to the fact that her little sis is here to stay.

working shifts

Posted on Jun 7, 2011 in Motherhood, Productivity, Writing

I’ve been self-employed for well over a decade now, and a mom for just three of those years. In my life before kids, my work day was comprised of some combination of writing, researching stories/conducting phone interviews, exercising, lunch (sometimes at an actual restaurant, while wearing actual makeup), dog-walking, and, if I’m being honest, “Oprah.”

Now? Two days a week, I have childcare in the morning. Two days, a sitter comes in the afternoon. On the day I have no childcare, I squeeze what I can into naptime and usually spend some time at my desk after dinner.