travel

Love is...

Thursday, September 25, 2014


Love is...sharing your last bit of apple juice.

And that's saying a LOT coming from this girl. They don't get juice very often, so when I hand her some, it's like, "STOP everything right now while I drink this juice!" 

Today we took the scooters to CW, and they rode in circles, pointing out every fallen leaf. Well, that's an exaggeration. But, they DID point out every pumpkin on display. 

"Mom! Let's go this way! We're going on a 'venture!" 

"Mama! Bumkin! Bumkin! 'nother bumkin!" 

Fall is starting to show her glorious face around here, so I won't even complain that at the end of the day, the inside of my purse looks like I threw it in a forest. A stick, a rock, or a leaf collected from my kids always finds its way inside. I should probably learn to say no.

But, I can't. I'll miss those little treasures in my purse someday. 






She Says: Being Borned

Sunday, September 21, 2014


People warned us. We had heard of the "terrible two's" but we also heard a lot of, "Oh, wait till three!" I have to admit, two with this girl was close to heaven. Her language exploded, and now she is just a little adult. She speaks really well and has intricate ideas and questions. SO many questions! I can hardly keep up. But, along with that has come some more sass, and some more, "But WHYYY do I have to do that?!" Some days are rougher than others, and I've had to keep my patience in check daily. She's doing a lot of growing, and I think C and I as parents are growing as well.


She has also started to come up with the absolute sweetest things, as well. S is such a passionate and caring little girl, and sometimes, she just has more feelings than her little body can hold.


Lately, in an effort to delay bedtime (now that's another hassle) she likes to hear stories about when she was in my belly. I've told her about how I would place my plates of food on my belly and watch her kick it off from inside. She likes that one. I've told her about how mama was just so so tired in the hospital when she was born because we spent a long day waiting for her. 


But, the other night, she asked me a different question. Our conversation went like this:

S: Mama, before I was borned I was in your belly?
Me: Yup. You were in there.
S: So...Pato was right next to me?
Me: No, he wasn't in my belly just yet.
S: So, I was borned first?
Me: You were! But, Pato came soon after.
S: And then it was his turn in your belly?
Me: It was.
S: (silent for a bit) I'm so glad Pato was borned.


When I told C this story, we talked about how she has no memory of what life was like without her Pato. I kind of really like that. Because he's always just been there. An integral part of not just our family as a whole, but an integral part of HER life. She doesn't treat him like a baby, and we think she thinks they're mostly the same (even though she knows they're not the same age.) I am so grateful for these two babies.

And, girl. I'm SO glad he was borned, too.

Flashback: Recipease and Kensington Palace Gardens

Wednesday, September 3, 2014


One of my favorite girls, Casey, recommended this place to us, and I still can't get it out of my mind. She is my London girlfriend who was present at the infamous "Notting Hill Incident." I was determined to replace that memory with a really good one, and this place was just the ticket.


So, I promise I don't typically take pictures of everythinggg I eat. Okay...maybe some things.  But THIS! I of course got the mango lasi, because I can't ever pass one up. They added cardamon to theirs, and now I'm sure I have to make it myself and add in allll the cardamon. It was a great take on the typical mango lasi because it gave it just the perfect amount of spice. And that other delicious looking thing was the smashed spicy avocado toast. You know when the worst part of a meal is that it actually comes to an end. Yeah, that happened.



At the time, I was entirely too full to try out one of these meringues, but I wasn't too full to take a picture of them :) 


Cooking classes are offered here, and if I lived in London, I'd love to take one.


After brunch, we walked over to the Kensington Palace Gardens. I've said it before, but we really lucked out. The weather was so incredible our entire trip. I remember this day being even a bit warmer than I would have preferred. Not having to lug around coats was a total game changer on this trip. (On a side note...I've been asked by a couple people to share my packing tips, so I'll hopefully get around to that in another post. I packed for ten days, and all I brought was a small backpack (with room to spare for souvenirs) and an overnight bag.)




Two Euro posts in one week? I may be able to do this after all.

A Little Q&A


How old are you?
Two...no three!

When was your birthday?
'tember second.

What is your favorite animal?
Sea turtles.

What is your favorite food?
Red apples.

What is is your favorite color?
Pink!

What do you want to be when you are a grown up?
I don't want to grow up and be anything!

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
Laugh! Go to school with him.

What is your favorite thing to do with Mama?
Have a tea party and read books.

What is your favorite thing to do with Pato?
Play blocks. We build a house for all the people! 

What's something you don't like?
I don't like tags on my clothes.

If you could take an airplane somewhere, where would you go?
To the library! 

What's your favorite book?
The Little Prince. (Pop-up book) 

What is something that makes you happy?
You! (I'm melting.) 

What's something that makes you sad?
Crying. 

What is the smelliest thing in the world?
Mr. Poop!

Who is the silliest? 
Me! 

Do you have dreams at night? About what?
I do! About the park. 

What should you do if you find an elephant in your bedroom?
Play with him! (Two minutes later she whispers to me and asks, "Are there any elephants in my room, mama?")

Love this new three-year-old!

Also...in case you missed it...my latest post at What To Expect! I wrote about a moment that I hope I will never ever forget. 

And then she was three!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014




Today has been a whirlwind!

A mixture of birthday excitement and "...at this time three years ago..." and "Mama, tell me a story of when I was a baby!" 

This is the first birthday where she knew what's up, and boy, does this girl think she's a fancy pants-hotshot- big girl now. TOTAL big girl status. 

It is also the first year where I actually felt prepared for the day, and hey! I made a cake! Well, she and I made it together. It was a little wonky, but it was pink and had a ton of sprinkles...so in her eyes, it was perfect. 

The day was spent doing things she liked and it was just the best. Presents, FaceTiming grandparents, donuts, a trip to the aquarium, and TWO restaurants. Spoiled this one. 

But, I wanted to take a second and tell you about this three-year-old. Because already today, she is much older than she was yesterday...

She is compassionate. I can already tell she will be a friend to many.

She laughs loudly. When she laughs, you want to do anything to not let it stop. 

She is a helper. 

She is curious and loves to learn. 

She is an encourager. She loves to cheer others on, and I hope she will always be supportive of those she loves. 

She is grateful. 

She is meticulous.

She is not mean. 

She is quick to forgive.

In short, she is already a better person than I. She has so many qualities I wish I had and I pray that these qualities are ones that grow with her.

feel like time is not being very generous with me, and letting the years slip by too quickly. Time is far too selfish. But for now, I will squeeze out every second I have with my girl. Every awesome, tiring, and loud second. 

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