Eric

     My husband and I recently celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. We both agreed it has been an eventful first year together considering the fact that we welcomed our son into our family in October...our honeymoon baby. According to Eric, out of all moments, the birth of our son Noah is his favorite since our marriage.
     Eric often asks me if I am happy. Well, as George Sand said, "there is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." I know my husband loves me. I know by the way he makes he feel beautiful. I know by the way he looks at me, the way he kisses me. The way he rubs my feet or washes my hair when I am tired after a long day. I know he loves me because his words spoken to me are words of encouragement and affirmation and he listens when I need him. Yes, I am loved. Yes, I am happy.
     Eric's kindness and love give me strength and I am thankful for that.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

I came across my son looking at his own reflection.

Noah all snuggled in with his Mama's bath robe.

Sweet Baby

A Christmas Baptism

     Last Sunday marked the first Sunday of the Advent season and we began our preparation for the celebration of Christmas. Coincidentally, it was also my son's baptism. Originally, I had not chosen December 2nd as the date, but in hind sight I am glad it worked out that way. Reflecting on it now, I have come to discover the beauty in the symbolism that day represents for my son and myself.
     As I said, Advent is a time of preparation, thoughtfulness, and joy and what better way to remind myself of that than through the preparation of of my own son into his own journey of his Faith. That day, in the moment he was cleansed with the baptismal waters, was just the first in many moments until he comes to his final Celebration.
    

 Now, when I light the candles of the Advent wreath, I am reminded of the lighting of the candle at Noah's baptism. It is not just a "countdown" of sorts until Christmas. The light from the candles reminds me of the love God has for us. It reminds me to live in the light of that Love.

       

An Afternoon in Autumn

  Before we welcome in winter and the holiday season, I thought an afternoon spent in the park would be a delightful way to say goodbye to Autumn. Nothing says Fall quite like a good chill in the air and the sound of crunching leaves under foot. So, I packed up the kiddos, bringing along extra blankets for little NoJo, and we headed out!

Leaves!

My Beautiful Babe

He slept the whole time we were out.

My Darling Girl

How I love her so!

Pretend cooking for Mommy.

She was preparing caviar!

   Of course, no day out is complete without a trip to Starbucks...it was cold out after all and we needed something warm to drink.

An Eggnog Latte...

decaf.

Tubby Time

    In my home, bath time is not just another occasion, but a ritual. A ritual which I enjoy putting all of myself into. It's not just a necessity. It is a luxury. A simple pleasure that not only I myself indulge in, I also love pampering my children during their baths. It is such a special time we get to spend together. This afternoon was spent pampering my son, Noah.

Noah's cloth diapers

      A bath in my home includes the works. That not only calls for shampoo and wash, bubbles, bath oils, and delicate scented lotions are all part of the ritual. I have recently discovered a certain brand and fell in love with called Aden + Anais. Their Mum + Bub wash has a nice warm smell as it is scented with sandalwood. Today we stuck with the old traditional stand by...Burt's Bees.

 I brought Noah's tub downstairs so he could have his bath in a nice sunny room. There was such lovely sunshine.

   After a nice long soak, we suds up with a Baby Bee Buttermilk soap bar. It does really make a good soapy lather and the smell is wonderful. Perfect for a sweet little baby.

My Lil Man after his bath. I know, it doesn't look as if he has had a tranquil experience, but he does love his bath. Its the getting out and getting dressed that he hates.

"Look Grammy! I am wearing my Bummis!"

Clean and comfy

    

I Wouldn't Need You - Norah Jones

If I touched myself the way you touched me
If I could hold myself the way you held me
Then I wouldn't need you, no, I wouldn't need you
No, I wouldn't need you to love me.

If I could replace the things you gave me
If I could see my face without the tragedy
Then I wouldn't need you, no, I wouldn't need you
No, I wouldn't need you to love me.

But I do so come back, come back.

If you could see the way I act when I'm alone
If you could hear my voice crack over the phone
Then you'd know I need you, oh, you'd know I need you
Oh, you'd know I need you to love me.

Sense of Smell

     "Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached through the sense of smell than through any other channel." – Oliver Wendell Holmes
  
     The other day while gathering up supplies and tools to clean my home, I discovered that I was pretty much out of every store bought cleaner in my cabinet. In an effort to not only be cleaner, but greener and cheaper, I made my own cleaning solution using a recipe my mother used. Very simply, its equal parts vinegar and hot water. I also added tea tree oil to the mix. I love it for its clean scent and its disinfectant properties. Needless to say, it did the trick and worked very well...on everything! Hooray for a multipurpose cleaner! My favorite part though were the memories from the smell. I was instantly transported back to the home of my adolescence where Fridays were know as cleaning day and the air was so thick with the smell of vinegar it could leave feeling a bit pickled. I pictured my Mom in her kitchen mixing up batches in great big spray bottles and then passing them out to us kids where we in turn would disperse to the rooms of the house to spray and shine. I loved it! I loved how homey it felt because I was reminded of my old home. I will continue to use my Mother's home made vinegar cleaner for the simple joy it brings me, much to the dismay of my 4 year old who, in her own words, thinks the smell is "disgusting" and smells "like poop". Hopefully, this will change and she too in turn will grow to love the scent or her memories of cleaning day won't be as fond as mine.