A Summer Bucket List

1. Get a rockin' tan
2. Eat at Back Door Donuts (more than once?)
3. Witness Meredith's first steps
4. Celebrate Meredith's first birthday
5. Take twice daily walks with hubs & baby as often as possible
6. Go see at least one movie at Free Friday Flicks
7. Take in a Menemsha sunset (or two)
8. Watch the sunrise from the first place the sun hits the U.S.
9. Do our first overnight without the baby
10. Make new friends in our town
11. Hike in Acadia National Park
12. Do a brewery tour
13. Frequent the Farmer's Market
14. Eat lots of fresh fish
15. Eat some fried fish
16. Shut off my computer & internet part of my phone for a week while we're in town. (yikes!)
17. Get a really good pedicure
18. Open our home to friends as much as possible
19. Simply enjoy time with my in-laws on vacation
20. Put away the camera some days and just soak up the beauty and growth in my daughter
21. Read at least five new books
          I Capture the Castle
          The History of Love
          Bel Canto
          A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
          The Art of Racing in the Rain
          The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
          The Glass Castle
28. Figure out ways to feel more at peace in my house
29. Organize the cluttered top of my dresser
30. Make one of those handy dandy jewelry organizers
31. Hike Mt. Monadnock
32. Teach Meredith to High Five
33. Initiate conversations with other moms at the park & resevoir
34. Meet up with some of my blogging friends
35. Stick with the South Beach diet (allowing myself guilt-free cheats on vacation)
36. Feel confident in my bathing suit
37. Recreate some pictures with Meredith, a year later
38. Take a day trip to Portland, ME to see brother in law & good friend
39. Find a pottery class or open studio to start going to in the early fall
40. Continue to work on sticking with a grocery budget while buying healthy, whole foods
41. Figure out how to reach out to our elderly landlord lady who is going through a really hard time.
42. Take family bike rides with our new baby bike trailer
43. Enjoy at least one fireworks display
44. Take full advantage of the family friendly events in our town
45. Soak up the week long vacation I get with my parents
46. Figure out my hair situation. Hate the color. Hate the cut. Gotta get happy with it.
47. Keep our marriage spicy & fun. Summer lovin' is the best.
48. Get lots of newborn snuggles from my friend's new little girl, but don't catch the baby bug.
49. Go meet Chris for lunch at work once or twice
50. Savor summer
  
Linking up with Mama Kat!

To read again, for the first time.

I was reading back through some of Michelle's latest posts the other day. When I came to this one about The Hunger Games, I felt a twinge of jealousy that she was still making her way through the books. I wish that I could re-read the books, but experience them like it was the first time. I feel this way about lots of books.

I'd love to discover the magical world of Harry Potter again. I'd love to sob through the ending of Bridge to Terabithia again. I would love to get caught up in the world of Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl.  I wish I could re-experience the emotional roller coaster of Memoirs of a Geisha. I know there are more, lots and lots more that I can't remember right now. My favorite type of book is one that creates a world to get lost in. The only problem is that there is no way to do this twice. Entering the world for a second time never has the same effect.

Do you feel his way about any books? Which ones?

image 

Blazing heat & big messes.

Yesterday we spent the better part of the day in Meredith's nursery because it's the only room with an A/C unit in it. Chris and I always see how long we can hold out, but we couldn't do that to our sweet little munchkin.



As a result of spending exrta time in her room, Meredith has discovered a new game: pulling all the books off the shelf! It's super cute and super messy :)

 



She also has discovered the joy of pulling everything out of every bag and box she finds in the house. Girlfriend doesn't just pull things out and place them on the ground, either. She legitimately chucks them away from her. Again, very cute, but my house has quickly become impossible to keep tidy. I suppose I should just get used to it? Things probably won't change for quite a long time, am I right?

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. We don't have much planned, but I'm sure we'll manage to have some fun family times.

To Kindle, or not.

Last week, we talked books. You gave me some great reading recommendations. Thanks! This got me thinking. Are you a still an old-fashioned paper book person or have you moved on to a Kindle?

I hadn't really paid the first bit of attention to e-readers until just before Christmas, I think it was Chris who brought it up as a potential gift idea for me. It stuck and I got one wrapped up under the tree.

I love it.  Mostly I love it because it makes reading while nursing possible. Reading a book requires two hands and it is hard to have two truly free hands while nursing. With a kindle, I can simply click a button and turn the page. My kindle truly brought reading back into my life.

I do miss reading books, though. I miss outings to the bookstore. I miss the feel of grainy paper under my fingers. I miss running a hot bath and sinking into it, book in hand.

So I'm torn. I see why people hate the way things are going with Kindles and Nooks, but now that I have one, I am a fan of its perks.

How about you? Will you be clicking away? Or turning pages old school style?

Books

I just finished reading these two books and started Water for Elephants last night. I love when I get into a good groove of reading. I love spending my spare time getting lost in stories instead of aimlessly perusing the internet. In an effort to keep the streak up, I thought I would enlist your help. What books have you read lately that you couldn't put down?

The Small Things

Yesterday, we had no plans. It was very cold and windy outside so even a walk seemed like a bad idea. Sometimes I enjoy not having plans, but yesterday, I was bored. I complained to my husband. I complained on twitter. I wanted to do something but I didn't want to put forth the energy to get out in the frigid weather. Wah.

But then, I started reading this blog. Seriously, if you can read through her posts, particularly this one, without crying I will be shocked. Her story is incredible and she has this amazing perspective. She is a reminder to enjoy the small things. So, that is what I did.



I spent the rest of day enjoying my perfect, precious bundle of joy.



I marveled at her new skill of rolling over. To some, it may not seem like much. But to me, it's a huge step. She has a bit of mobility. She can reach a toy. She can get wedged under the couch.





She is proud of herself.

ready to fly

I squeezed her tight as I opened our new Christmas books that came in the mail. I could burst with excitement as I imagine our little family of three sharing these two books on Christmas Eve. And while I know it won't mean much to her this year, it means the world to me. Having her, having my family, having traditions.





I watched with wonderment and peace she lounged in her jumper. She has this perfect personality combination of curiosity and chillness. Already, she is teaching me things and setting an example for me to imitate.



Even on the most boring of days, this little babe gives me a mound of things to be grateful for, to delight in and to be in awe of.

color coordinated

When I saw this picture on Design Mom a few months ago, I was instantly inspired. Ever since then, when sitting in my rocking chair, I have stared at my bookshelves dreaming of color coordinated books & gadgets. When we moved into our new place back in February, we just kind of threw stuff onto our shelves in an effort to get rid of boxes. I haven't ever felt like they were properly decorated. So, this Friday night, for some reason, i was finally inspired enough to take the plunge. I made stacks of books according to spine color and with the help of my husband and his love of color schemes, I now have bookshelves I love.


What do you think? Would you like color coordinated books? Or would you prefer organization by topic? or book size?

Puerto Rico!

view from our room :)

For February Break, Chris and I went to Puerto Rico with our good friends for a few days in the sun. It was heavenly. We beat a snowstorm in Boston on our way out of town and enjoyed several days of above 80 degree weather. I got sunburned (of course), read a few books, watched lots of Olympics and enjoyed time with my husband and friends. It was a great last hurrah before baby comes.


dinner in Old San Juan

But in no way does the fact that it was a last hurrah make me sad. Chris and I both spent a lot of the week dreaming about our baby, what she will be like and what it will be like to take her (and her future siblings) on vacation. We loved watching little girls running around in the beach, imagining our own little girl doing the same thing. I think this trip actually made us more eager for her to arrive.

date night, just the two of us. both of our favorite part of the trip. coconut shrimp yumminess!

last night at a yummy barbeque place