snapshots from our weekend

...in words

Rory began his fight against the squirrels who climb up the skinny metal pole to our bird feeder. He began by smearing cooking oil up and down the pole which was short-term successful. But not as successful as his later discovery: vaseline. It was a great weekend of "get over here! they look like little firemen sliding back down their fire pole!" Rory won the battle. And so did the birds.

While clearing the table, Pandora played Cats in the Cradle. Suddenly I heard the words. This was weird, because I could belt that chorus with the best of them on any road trip. But I'd never listened to the verses. And when I did, I got so sad. Like I had to sit down and have a good cry. Rory couldn't believe I had never heard the lyrics before. But I heard them this time and had a very pregnant moment.

Rory took Ivar and I to our first army surplus show. It was a sight. I believe we were the "preppiest family" in the bunch. No one else brought a stroller and a baby and a pregnant wife. But it was pretty awesome. All sorts of artifacts from different wars, good storytellers selling their goods...and lots of awkward conversationalists too. We celebrated our first gun show by going out for shamrock shakes. It was a good family day.

We made Chicken noodle soup from chicken stock we had made ourselves. How amazing is that?!! It was so delicious. Barefoot Contessa is always talking about how easy it is to make your own chicken broth, so Rory gave it a whirl last weekend and made the soup this weekend. Totally worth it, totally not that hard, and so good.

We unplug our tv the first seven days of every month. As a result, I read lots of books from the first to the seventh. On Saturday I finished Little House in the Big Woods. I got it for my niece Mara for Christmas, and then she let me borrow it back. That was nice of her. Now I'm reading Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry and can't go to bed at night! I am so sucked into this story!

I began taking a bath every night. It's heaven. I bring my book and enjoy some quiet time a the end of the day. I always debate if I should fill the tub, and then once I get in I wonder why I wouldn't do this every free moment of my life?!!

so much to love

I was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher when I heard the cat begin to meow loudly in the livingroom. Then Ivar started repeating over and over, "uh oh. uh oh." And when I rounded the corner I found him shaking his bottle up and down, while continuing to repeat uh oh. The cat was also wet with milk. Ivar looks guilty, doesn't he?

Ivar at 16 months. So much to love.

Dear Ivar,
I love that you shake your finger the whole time we read Five Little Monkey’s. You love it when the doctor says, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” It's especially funny that you use your middle finger. We'll teach you why that is culturally inappropriate later.

I love how you know two signs: all done and birdie. You love how effective "all done" is. When you’re finished eating you flail your arms around and we hop up, wipe you down and free you to your toys. You are proud that you can tell us what you want. We are relieved.

I love that you use Mama and Dadda interchangeably. It is obvious one name is not connected to either one of us in particular, but you use these names with affection and have learned, I am sure, that either one of us will drop what we’re doing to see what you need.

Your words are growing every day. You love pointing out your nose and teeth and ears. You love making animal sounds, “neigh, bow wow, and moo” are the current favorites.

You’ve been sick this week, and we snuggled so much. Oh I wish you would snuggle more often! It is so wonderful to have your head on my chest. But if you’re feeling better, you are much too busy than to cuddle your mom.

We love you baby boy.

diy cell phone thingy

While at the home organization night at church, I was introduced to the contraption they now sell to hold your cell phone while charging so that phone and cord don't have to rest on your counter top. I loved it. And then I was tipped off to the diy tutorials out there for making your own.

So I took a stab.

It's handy. I like it a lot for how it functions. It's made out of a baby shampoo bottle that we just happened to finish off this week. I hung it on some hooks above the outlet because I hope to make one for Rory's phone too, and this way they'll both fit up there.

I don't like how the fabric I used turned all dirty looking with the modge podge. And I really wish I had followed the directions on the tutorial. I took some creative liberty to use random pieces of fabric and that's great, but I'll probably go back and make another with just one fabric, a brighter pattern and no fabric on the inside.

However, one addition I did make that I find to be genius was cutting a hole in the side where the cord can sneak in. I twistie tied up the cord and smooshed it in the bottom. This hides the cord inside the holder so the cord is hidden all the time.

art supply organization

Well, if you've known me for two minutes, you may know that I like to organize things. My drawers and closets and cupboards may not stay organized, but I love the process, I love the sorting and finding a home for each thing. I love purging. This trait has actually surfaced itself in funny ways. Rory has been known to say late at night, "Tonight could you not bring a bin of papers to sort on the couch and just sit here and watch tv with me?"

On Sunday night we had a women's event at our church that was all on home organization. Lovely. I ate it up. And I came home motivated and inspired. So I took myself to Target, bought some new storage bins (the little boxes are a buck!) and for under $20 and in under three hours, got my art supplies in order. Check out the before:

I had stuff everywhere...on a wheely cart, in moving boxes, in a filing cabinet. But I wanted to centralize all of it. Much of it had to go (to my nieces! Who will be getting a super fun and random box of art supplies the next time I see them). Mixed in with the supplies were all sorts of projects I want to tackle. I organized those too and have currently taken over the kitchen table with all of my pre-wedding pictures and invites and wishlists with hopes of throwing it all in a book. Speedy style.

I used nametags to label everything. I like how uniform it makes everything feel. And I like that they say, "Hello my name is" How very friendly. Unfortunately I ran out of the nametags and it is hard to explain how much this bugs me. I can't wait to "finish" this project with proper labeling...

I bought bigger tubs for my ever growing paper and fabric collections. (This was where Target socked it to me...The bigger tubs are $6! Come on! The little tubs were just a buck!)

I am pleased with the result. And super inspired. I currently have three diy art projects going. It is so fun to play in a clean workspace. My mom used to say she could tell how well she cleaned her kitchen based on how quickly I wanted to bake and mess it all up again. That's my plan with these bins. I'll play hard, mess them up, and then some night I'll bring my tubs with me to the couch and have the joy of sorting it all out once again.

art house and andi ashworth

Last Thursday, Troy and Sara hosted their first Art House North event. I am so excited about this new chapter they are beginning. They have moved their family into the smallest house I've ever been in, in order to purchase the church that is now the Art House.

Art House North is an offshoot of the Art House in Nashville, founded by Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth. Charlie and Andi are married, and my assumption is that Peacock is a stage name. Charlie has produced a lot of Sara's music and this couple has been hugely influential in how Troy and Sara approach their ministry, marriage, family and the art of weaving these callings together into a seamless life.

Sara gave me Andi's book, Real Love for Real Life for Ivar's baby shower and it was the first book I read after Ivar was born while nursing. I have sweet, sweet memories of one arm holding Ivar and the other trying to turn the pages of this book in the wee hours, reading by the soft light of the lamp covered in a baby blanket.

The book is all about living into our role as caregiver. To celebrate this call, to recognize the importance of caring for your neighbor, meeting the needs of your family, as well as caring for yourself, your passions, your dreams, your hopes. It is beautifully written and I believe I dog eared every other page because I didn't have a free hand to highlight.

I feel so grateful for this book. The timing was perfect for me when I read it. As a new mom I had a whole new life that was forming around me. I felt raw but open. And as I read this book I took hold of this vision and felt so secure in my new role of caring for this baby, caring for myself, creating a home for my family, caring for our neighbors, keeping an open heart.

On Thursday night, Andi and Charlie spoke at the Art House and told their story of intentional creative living, imaginative dreams and hopes, the art of a seamless life no matter who you are with and what you are doing. I was able to talk to Andi after and tell her how this book shaped my calling. It was a real privilege.

If you're looking for a good read. A book that may help set a new direction or a book that will surely help you create an imaginative vision, go get Real Love for Real Life by Andi Ashworth.

And if you're looking for some really great, thoughtful articles on artful living, check out anything Andi has written on the art house america blog.