Summer Days

It was a hectic summer - and my camera has been on perpetual back log but I did manage over the last few evening to process some photos of the girls from summer. Bean is getting harder and harder to wrestle down for pictures - she wants nothing to do with me and my camera anymore - I count myself lucky to have snagged the few that I did. Now if I can only get them together.... 

Hello, Maureen's Sister! (or Blog Fail)

I admit it - I have been terribly remiss in maintaining my blog. I have been incredibly busy with learning the new job (which I love) and balancing family life (which I also love) - so something had to slide by the wayside. My camera's CF card is also on perpetual backlog, so I suppose that makes two slides.

What I have been doing - is spending time on the sofa cruising Pinterest for things I will (most likely never) make and clothes I drool over. This requires no more energy than a slight swipe of my finger on the iPad and I do this in a "my-mind-is-numb-because-I-have-been-working-and-caring-for-small-children-who-are-hiding-their-mission-to-drive-me-insane-behind-their-adorably-cute-faces" kinda way at the end of the day. Many of us are guilty of this exact crime - admit it.

 Which brings me to this oldie of a gem text message between my beloved husband and myself.

I mean thank goodness for mobile technology or these moments would have been lost forever. Sadly  (or happily depending on your viewpoint) I have more than one of these literary masterpieces saved.

last day

{click} I took this photo walking in this morning - my last Friday here. I started here in July of 2007 and have had the great fortune of working with some of the warmest, kindest, hardworking folks I have known. I start my new job on March 4th and I couldn't be more excited - and a tad bit nervous. While I am looking forward to the new adventures that lie ahead, it's always sad to leave behind the comfortable known. I remind myself, that it is the leaps that make the adventure that much more exhilarating.

Sophie Says...

Sophie: Mom, where can I get some brainwashing pills?

Me: Some what? Why???

Sophie (shrugs): Oh, just curious. (as she exits the room skipping)

Me: (silence)

I still don't know why. I'm not sure whether to be amused, or nervous. If I post something to the effect we bought a horse...

Love is a journey

Dear Eric,
Today is Valentine's Day - our fourth together. I know that for the most part, we don't elaborately celebrate this holiday, but this year I wanted to take a moment to let you know how much I love and appreciate you. There are not enough words for me to adequately express to you how happy I am to wake up to you and our little family everyday. Sure, some days are hectic, chaotic, exhausting and grumpy - but I wouldn't trade one moment of the craziest day for anything else in the world. There are moments, when we are all sitting together, that I just pause to give myself a reality check that this is all mine. I look at the life and family we have built together and smile at how lucky we are - how blessed we have been - even through the roughest of times.

I smile every time I think about the first moment I met you - or more correctly - the first time I saw you, since it would be a couple of months until we had an actual conversation. You were just a head popping over the shoulder of an old high school friend at a bar. I remember thinking to myself "Who is that really cute guy?". It took me a few weeks to slyly find out your name.

I will never forget our first real conversation. You nonchalantly came up to me a few months later and asked me how many commandments I had broken. It was one of the most original conversation starters I have ever heard. I don't believe most romances start off with the battle ground topic of religion and the Old Testament - but looking back, and I may not have known it then, but I fell a little bit in love you that night.

You brought me Milk Duds at a barbeque because you knew I adored them and then asked me out for dinner. I was incredibly nervous about our first date; I bought two new outfits and considered canceling about six times. I liked you, not only in a crush-kinda-way, but in a I-really-like-being-around-this- person-and-I-would-hate-a-failed-attempt-at-romance-to-ruin-that-way. I'm so happy I didn't.

Our first date was perfect. We just fell into comfortable conversation, as though we were two separated old souls that had finally found each other once again. After that first dinner, walking down the sidewalk, you put your arm around my shoulders as though I was already yours and you, mine. I love how nervous you were to kiss me goodnight. I love that goodnight kiss. I love that you called me the next day and most every day after that.

I love so many things about you. I love the way you make me laugh after I have had a rough day. I love that you encourage me to challenge myself and to take leaps. I love that you embrace the ridiculous and help find and create humor in our every day. I love that every night you have a "bedtime snack"of cookies or a whoopie pie, even while you claim to not have a sweet tooth. I love your sense of adventure in trying new things - whether they be new foods or a desire to explore new corners of our neighborhood, country or foreign land. I love your appreciation of art and music.

I love the way you are not afraid to be silly with Sophie and Violet - wearing pink feather boas and princess tiaras. I love watching you snuggle with Violet while reading her bedtime stories. I love the way you help Sophie with her homework or run outside with her in the cold to so she can watch a space station pass overhead. I love the way you love both our girls. I love the way you love me.

I was looking through our "old fashioned" photo album the other day. It is sadly (and ironically) lacking in actual photos, but I have saved little pieces of our collected history in the pockets. Old ticket stubs from movies, football games, concerts, Parisian business cards from cafés we ate at on our honeymoon... you know me, I hate clutter and holding on to things, but these "things" I could not bear to part with. There are too many now to fit in the pockets of that album - the glued seams have started to spilt. I will have to find a pretty little box to store them in. One day, I will find that box has become so full of memories, that we will need yet another box. I look forward to endless adventures with you - what ever they may be - and filling lots and lots of memory boxes with you. Some may be more exciting than others, but they will all be with you. I look forward to watching our children grow up and in turn, growing old with you. These thoughts are bliss.

There is an invisible thread that binds us together - not only our hearts, but our souls.

Happy Valentine's Day, my husband.

I love you.

~Amber


{Original artwork by Susannah Tucker}

Sophie Says...

Eric: Hey Sophie, it's getting close to bedtime.

Sophie: (watching tv) *sigh*

Me: Might want to think about jammies.

Sophie: (watching tv) *double sigh* (lifts butt up off floor) Talk to the booty 'cause the face is off duty.

Me: (trying to not laugh out loud while using my stern mom voice) Now.

Sophie: (double sigh) Fine, fine.

Where in the world does she come up with this stuff?!?!

Snow-tacular 2013

That lump with the antennae - that's one of our cars. It was fun to dig it out after the storm passed.

Like many New Englanders, we endured (and survived) the Blizzard of February 2013. Eric and I found ourselves - separately - at the grocery store stocking up on essentials: beer, wine, 8lbs of tator tots, ice cream sandwiches, toilet paper, donuts and baby formula. (I will let you guess who bought what, but you will probably choose wrong.) If we were going to die of snow, we were going to so Charmin style - comfortable.

When I was in line, the woman in front of me had 2 dozen eggs, 2 loaves of bread and 15 gallons of spring water. She looked at my register offerings and I am pretty sure she was judging me and that I came up wanting in her eyes. I started to feel that maybe I wasn't taking this thing seriously enough. But no way was I stepping out of line and fighting with blue haired old ladies over the last of the bread and water. I set my course. We have municipal water - it was highly unlikely I was going to be out of water. Perhaps, if I lived outside the city and had a well, stocking up on water would make more sense. But if city water goes - it's pretty catastrophic outside and a few bottles of Poland Spring is probably going to be the least of my worries.

Someone shared that while they were at the store, they were next to a woman who had over $500 of groceries already rung up with another cart to go. When it hit $500, she asked if she could put some stuff back. Don't you wish you were behind her in line? What was she expecting? And what if the power went out? Most those groceries would spoil! Argh!!!!

I was, however, held responsible for failing to find the Redbox thingie (official name for it) - so we were SOL on the new movie front. My husband was speechless... I handed him a beer. He seemed appeased.

For the most part, we basically spent 36 hours in jammies, eating junk food and peeking periodically out the windows to make sure the world was still there.

What does one do for 36 snowbound hours?  So glad you asked. Here's the Snowmagedan photo wrap up of a lazy New England Woman and her iphone.

In case you were wondering what 8lbs of tator tots look like, I will provide a "scale photo" for your viewing pleasure:

Of course, one can only eat so many tator tots. Add that to one's boredom and one ends up trying to build a tator tot house for tiny outdoor critters. But the problem with tator tot construction is this; when you thaw them out enough to stick toothpicks in them, they start to fall apart and fail inspections. Also, one runs the risk of being caught by one's husband playing with prized tots and hearing, "Amber! Tator tots are not toys!" Followed by a loud sigh.

Collapsed Tator Tot Construction

I moved on from the tots and over to the laptop. We didn't lose internet. Not good. Online shopping is an acceptable snowed-in activity. I bought another ceramic pig to join Spider Pig (I may have developed a ceramic pig problem. If the husband brings this up, I shall remind him of his tator tot hoarding issue. It's always wise to remember one's leverage): 

Of course, it wasn't all fun and no work. Bean has a science fair project due in a few weeks. We decided it would be fun to experiment with yeast and it's effects in bread making. We made three loaves - one with the correct amount of yeast, one with no yeast and one with twice as much. I think we will have to make a forth loaf and put even more yeast in. I am at odds with myself over the results. I was oddly disappointed the third loaf with double the yeast didn't explode, while also equally glad it didn't so I didn't have to clean the oven. Not only did we not run out of water, we had plenty of bread. Bonus: The house did smell warm and lovely. (Also, we did not run out of tator tots)

So, there it is. Our survival story. Gripping. Moving. Powerful. Hollywood Insider gave it 5 stars.