Sugar and Spice

We had a pretty uneventful, mundane weekend. I was reminded (as I so often am these days) of the one thing I learned from Professor Shelton’s first year property class (yes, I admit, I only learned one thing – it was long before I started practicing civil law that I forgot all about fee simple estates) – that wisdom that was imparted was that “boredom is underrated.” I now long for boredom and have come to appreciate it in ways that I could not have imagined before. So, with that in mind, when I say we had a mundane weekend, I meant that in the absolute best of ways. I truly have learned to savor most things about the mundane, from lying on the couch and watching movies, to eating grilled cheese and playing chase outside in the yard, I can waste away an afternoon with the best of them. Part of my appreciation for these things is that I know they end; therefore, I know I have sweet little time to enjoy them and must make the most of them. Unfortunately, there are other parts of the

You all know I love writing about seeing the world anew through Pumpkin’s little eyes and having all of her little firsts – from butterflies to ice cream – reflected back to me in her beautiful little smile. Unfortunately, my little human mirror doesn’t just reflect the love and light in the world (though she does reflect LOTS of that) – she also reflects the occasional hard, cold dose of reality that forces me to face some things about myself I am not proud to admit. Over the past day or so, Pumpkin has been what I can only describe as ornery. She’s perfectly happy chasing the dog one minute and then screaming and arching her back on the ground in frustration the next. She’s also started the dreaded whining – something less than a cry but more than a frown, sounding something akin to nails on a chalkboard. Add to all of that a mounting and hair-trigger sense of frustration at the slightest annoyance. Seriously, once her little mind has been made up about something, the tiniest th

As we walked into church yesterday, I heard someone whisper , “Look at Aly, she’s a little girl.” It made me well up with tears because I couldn’t deny it. Pumpkin is a full-fledged little girl. As has been our struggle for a month or so now, we spent the hour long service trying to find a balance between Pumpkin’s need for freedom and everyone else’s desire to worship in relative peace (while still trying to get something out of the service ourselves). Quite the juggling act, if I do say so myself. We’ve tried trapping her between us in the aisle, sitting in the back by the music, walking her around – all to no avail. As you can imagine, keeping a 13-month old contained for an hour is a near-impossible feat. And when the older kids come in from Children’s Church, sugared up and ready to run, there is no more “near” about it. My mom (also our priest), recognizing all of us young parents’ being a little stressed over our respective children running amok, made an announcement th

There are three types of people in this world and this weekend I ran into each one of them while I was running the roads with Pumpkin. We’ll call this post, Mommy-locks and the Three Strangers. The first stranger is the type that is overly excitable around babies. You know the type, they tickle and poke at any baby within arm’s reach. Seriously – these people TOUCH children they do not know. It’s odd. It’s as if these people have no concept of personal space, or at least no respect for that space for anyone who can’t articulate their objection to being prodded by a complete stranger. I would love to know what is going through these folks’ minds as they are pinching my baby’s toes. Would they ever consider doing this to a grown person? On second thought, this type probably would. I’ve had two encounters with this type recently that stick out in my mind. The first was in a local children’s store. I just took for granted the fact that the people working in this store had some ap