Weekend Inspiration

Try: This weekend, I hope, will be a lazy one. Last Mother's Day, Ray woke up really sick so all of our plans went out the window and I was left feeling.. less than celebrated. This year, I just want to relax at home with my family. And maybe some flowers. Flowers would be good. ;) I'm picturing slow meals outside while Emmett plays, basking in the afternoon shade.

My hair is really long right now and in desperate need of a good haircut, so I've been looking for new styles to try that keep it out of my way while still looking put together and cute. I'm planning to try this one over the weekend.

Buy: I need a swimsuit! It's already summer here in AZ, and we're heading to a friend's pool for the first time tonight. I've been avoiding the idea of a swimsuit with all my might, but it's time. I loved this one from Madewell- so bright and fun and flattering, maybe. It's on the expensive side (aren't all good swimsuits!), so I'll be looking for something like it, but less expensive. :)

Make: For a weekend like the one I'm hoping we'll have, crock-pot meals are perfect. Low energy, low effort, big results. BBQ is on my mind these days. Summer seems to do that to me. So I plan to make this delicious looking Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed pork tomorrow morning to last us through the weekend.

Bake: Every good weekend needs a little baking. Ray plans to head over to the condo tomorrow to finish painting the last bathroom that needs painting (praise the Lord), which leaves plenty of time for Emmett and I to make cookies. :)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Mother's Day!

18/52

"A portrait of my Emmett boy, once a week, every week in 2014."

This week, Emmett loves socks. He noticed his little sock basket in his room the other day and asks to wear socks with his sandals every morning. (I'm raising a 70 year old man!) He especially loves this green sock, and after a couple days of asking to wear it, I finally let him, even though I could only find the one. It made him so happy. He proudly wore that one sock under that one sandal all afternoon. We rode our bike to the store, and ran around the back yard, and he giggled every time he saw that sock on his foot.

He's the sweetest, silliest little boy, and I love him so much it hurts my little heart. I can't imagine my life without him. This week, I want to remember those sweet, silly little knees. Those chubby, soft hands. And that one foot in that one sock. So perfect.

Ode to our back yard

When I look at our back yard, I think "a family lives here."

My parents' back yard is wide open. There are no fences in their neighborhood, so one yard blends into another to create a magical space. As a child, it was green grass as far as the eye could see.

Each afternoon, or first thing in the morning in summer, all the neighbor kids would gather in our common back yard to play. We'd make mud pies on one neighbor's back porch, climb on picnic tables and swing from rope swings, and jump from tire to tire at the neighborhood playground. In the evenings we played capture the flag. I remember running and laughing and warm summer nights.

As a teenager we sat on those same picnic tables. The play turned from mud pies to card games, but that back yard still held magic for me.

When I moved to Arizona, I missed that green, green grass. The desert has it's own kind of beauty, but grass is a part of me. When Ray proposed, I knew right away that I wanted our wedding reception to be held in my parents' back yard. To me, it's the most beautiful place I know. That night was magic, and the back yard was as beautiful as it's ever been.

Since then, Ray and I have dreamed of having a back yard of our own, with green grass for our children. We've had patios, but never grass. I wanted Emmett to grow up with a back yard. To play with roly polies, make mud pies and run through sprinklers. I want him to have a childhood like mine.

 We have that now, in our sweet little rental home. A back yard of our own, with green grass. This little rental isn't ours, not really. But it's perfect for us now. It feels like home, and that back yard.. It's magic.