Fall is here?

We felt it in Oregon, but I wasn't notified on any of my calendars. I was, however, kindly invited to enter the fall season at my knitting group last week. It still doesn't feel like fall but I'm stoked that it's here, it's my favorite season.

I want to post videos of Maggie but maybe they are too big for my blog? I need to upload them elsewhere and paste them in. I want to show Maggie imitating "cold". It makes you laugh every time. I know she started saying other words vaguely when she first starting talking, but I have to say that her favorite word is "shoe". She says it in her little voice and draws it out a bit. As we have a habit of leaving shoes everywhere around the house, she is pleasantly surprised when she comes across a pair of shoes. She always tries them on and parades around for a minute. She is really good at putting them on, even her flip-flops with the back strap (proud momma on that one). Last night we spent pre-bedtime in her room watching her go through her shoe drawer and her trying on one shoe after the next. It was entertaining. The last bit of the night was watching the potty training video I rented from the library. It was classic. She was glued to the skit, I mean really glued. I'm wondering how it's going to play out this week...

Random thoughts-

Take videos and pictures of your kids constantly. I was told to do this and we have, but I never really thought Maggie would change as much as she has or that I would forget all of the priceless things you want to remember.

I don't blog about everything in my life. I definitely pick and choose what I want to share but I can say that I share what I think is most interesting and relevant to my life. For the most part, I like talking about Maggie the most but also some of my pursuits outside of mothering.

I've been feeling lately that life is mysteriously beautiful.

Peanut

Maggie is a peanut. People are amazed at how nimble she is. She climbs over everything and isn't afraid of much. She loves to pull out her shoes and socks and put them on (except sometimes she is adamant about not putting on socks). The peanut part: she weighs around 20 pounds. Tiny little lady. It worries me sometimes but I know she is healthy. She eats a lot, drinks a lot, sleeps really well, has good dipes, and plays a lot. Here is the funny thing. She's got these long stick legs and size 6 feet. Her lita got her a new pair of mary jane shoes (cutest I've seen yet!) that are sturdy and have the look of adult dansko's. Imagine that on Maggie, it's a good laugh. Especially when we hear her clomping down the hall, either in her shoes or mine.

She is talking a lot and forming sentences where you think "did she really say that?" For the most part, yes. But she goes stoic around others, especially if she doesn't know them. She gets such a serious face. She was absolutely not willing to smile or move a muscle in the pediatrician's office. I had fun watching this different side of her.

We love this girl.

Solo

-Solo this weekend, almost over. Sleeping in bed alone and having the days/house to myself is nice and peaceful, but we miss DH!

-Mags was grumpy and cranky this weekend, boo. I'm getting tired of screaming fits. Are terrible twos starting early?

-3 hour naps rock.

-Piece of yesterday: I bought a bridal shower gift at Macys and was headed down the escalator with a stroller, purse, kid in my arms, and big shopping bag that was too small for what was inside. On the way down the escalator the bag crashed and burned. I watched in resignation and horror as the white bath towels were thrown out of the bag and scrunched up at the end of the escalator in all the black grease that keeps the escalator running smoothly. I wasn't really suprised this happened and couldn't do anything about it as it was happening, but jeez. Deep breath...then back up to the 3rd floor. It all ended well - the saleswoman helping me was grandma-age and very sweet with Maggie. She never gave me the look and I've gotten the look before due to cranky child. She exchanged the greasy towel, wiped off  grease on another package, told me where to find the elevator (duh!), and gave me a bigger bag so that I could actually carry it all out.  

-Ready for my own weekend away.

-Scored good finds yesterday. Library book sale and garage sales near my house. Maggie was excited to see this in her backyard (not the bucket :-). Someone also gave me a Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag, TJ's insulated cooler, and J Crew crochet granny square purse for free.

-I really hate flies buzzing around the house.

-Maggie was a champ today at the bridal shower. It was just what I needed. Thank you little one!

Like

*After trying multiple mascaras over the past month to see if my obsession with Aveda could be swayed, I found that it could not. I recommend this mascara to every girl out there. It does not come off during the day and it is not waterproof, so when you do want it to come off, it does really easily. That, and it's environmentally-friendly.

*I've read some really good books lately, see my sidebar. Best one yet? I'm going to have to say The Mermaid Chair by the same author who wrote The Secret Life of Bees. This is saying a lot because How to Make an American Quilt was really good but it lacked depth when I wanted more.

*After cancelling netflix earlier this year and resorting to the occasional Redbox, I realized I could start checking out DVDs from the library too (like older ones I can't get through Redbox). They don't have everything, but they have a lot. I'm also checking out CD's now. Very cool.

*Consignment stores of any kind. My two local favorites are Kids Trading Post and Marla Sue's.

*Coupons. Who doesn't like to save money?

Good stuff

I was touched by this story a few weeks ago as I was driving to work. Make sure to listen to the story, don't just read it.

Just returned from a really great vacation in Bend, Oregon. Pictures and highlights to come. It was a stretch for our family to go but we made it work and it was exactly what we needed and more. The week prior to leaving was a mess, one thing on top of another. I needed time away. I think all of us needed time away.

I feel so good now, ready to take whatever comes. I felt inspired waking up one morning in Oregon thinking I needed to start jogging again and ultimately run a half marathon as my goal. I've done a triathlon, 5k runs, mountain bike races...now I might shoot for this. It seems pretty achievable. It's something I can train for with Maggie if need be and jogging is something I've always liked to do since I was a teenager. I haven't put much time into regular exercise since I became preggers with Maggie and now it just feels like a good time to get back to something. 

Witnessed butterflies mating today in the garden. New one for me. Quite pretty. Maggie is drawn to bees (can you see the one caught flying in the picture?). They are in serious numbers right now enjoying the basil flowers. Maggie has been stung once and she was out there today just staring while bees zoomed around us. I repeatedly told her "hurt" so that she could understand what pinching a bee will do to her. She did understand and pulled her hand away but she still stands there staring. This is one part of loving being a parent - being able to teach but also just standing by watching a young mind take shape on it's own.

Something else ate most of my winter plantings while we were out of town. Grrr...

Apples and lemons

Our fuji apple tree I've posted about here dropped an apple this week. An insect had tasted a bit of it before we got to it, but most of it was delicious! I have a good memory of a huge apple tree in the backyard of a house I lived in up until kindergarden in San Jose. My great grandma was living with our family during that time and I remember her making chunky apple sauce with apples from that tree. Maybe that's what was in the back of my mind when we picked out her fruit tree. The fact that Maggie tried the first apple from the tree planted to celebrate her birth and life is perfect in my book.

As we pick our apples this fall, our lemon tree is gearing up for winter. I wish I saw blood oranges on the other tree, but nope, just lots of bright green new growth. We have lots of little green lemons and we're excited to watch them grow. Maggie was pointing to them, so she's taken notice. Michael is worried she will pick them before they are ready. On this note, our cherry tomato plants in the garden were a great tool for teaching ripe v.s. not ripe. For the most part Maggie got it right by picking ripe tomatoes but we made it tricky for her by planting yellow, red, and heirloom cherry tomatoes (the heirlooms are a beautiful mix of magenta/pink/green-they totally threw me off at first). Every now and then we find an unripe green one in her hands. A couple times I've been gardening and have lost track of her for a minute or two. It's unusually quiet, that's when I know to go looking. Then I find the evidence of where she has been and it makes me smile...a tomato seed or two have dripped onto her shirt. I love this girl.