Weekend Things.

Weekend Things.
On Sunday afternoon I sat underneath this Japanese Maple tree in my parents yard and looked up.

It made me think a little bit.

You can choose to look a lot of ways. You can choose to look down at your phone and see all the things you need to do on your iCal, all the people that you compare yourself to on Instagram, or all the time you can waste play Candy Crush. Or you could choose to look around you, and see the many many things you "need" to do - laundry, to-do lists, cleaning, work email, etc. Or you could choose to look up. Look up and notice the sky. Feel the quietly warming air. Notice the birds that are soaring freely above. Notice the Japanese Maple blooming right before your eyes.

It was a little bit of a wake-up call.

I think I'm gonna start looking up more. It's really so very pretty to look up.

A few fun things from the weekend:

It Is Written.
I found out that a blog post I wrote a while ago about Mompetition was quoted in a parenting round-up article by the USA Today Parenting Community! You can see it here (I am #74, haha, it's a small quote in an obviously ginormous article - BUT STILL.)

Chew.
Everett got a package in the mail from his friend Elias from ALASKA. Well, they haven't exactly met yet, even though they were born on the same day. They're birthday buds. Anyway, he got the raddest toy with his name monogrammed right on it and he hasn't taken it out of his mouth since then. I am officially obsessed with Bannor Toys. Thank you so much!

Burpees with Baby.
A snapshot of my view doing burpees by the lake. Everett kind of smirks at me while I do them, and if I'm not looking at him I'm down on the ground looking at the lake. It's kind of brown. Because, Georgia. PS if anyone has any tips on losing baby weight and getting back into shape, I am all ears! I can't seems to shake off these extra lbs. pooling around my waist, hips and thighs. I know, I know, I had a baby and "things will never be the same", but I've been working hard to get back at it. And at this point, I'm doing all I know to do and my old tricks aren't having quite the same effect that they used to.... thoughts? Hacks??

Spring!
Spring. We've been waiting for you. Even though you come with the pollen (my solemn foe), you also come with blooms and humidity and saturated colors and I CAN TAKE MY BABY OUTSIDE. Praise report. Because staying cooped up with him is torture for both of us. So thank you, dear spring, for forcing your way upon winter. I welcome your bravery.

Hot Date. Like, Picante.
We went on a date the other night. It wasn't the kind of date where you dress up snazzy and put on perfume. It was more like, the baby is down for the night, hand the monitor over to my mom... and then what? We debated even going, because of the exhaustion. But gosh, we are tired each and every night so that doesn't seem like a good enough reason to crash into bed and binge-watch Netflix AGAIN. So we decided that good southern Mexican food (which Boston and New York could never offer good versions of) sounded so delicious. I have this rule about Mexican food places though. I don't like smelling my purse the next day. So we dressed down into our sweats and went "casual" AKA I didn't brush my hair and I got to pull out my "Jenny from the Block" sweat suit that everyone I know hates. Seriously. But its so comfyyyyy. And anyways I throw everything in to the washing machine the second I get home because I have a crazy nose and can't handle it. But the margarita is so worth it! Also it was my first marg in 18 months. Yes, you read that correctly.

Presents!
Last week's winner for the Milkmaid Nursing Pillow giveaway has been announced (you can still use the code OYKRISTEN for 15% off on the site!), but there is still a giveaway going on for the Baya Diaper Clutch. Make sure to enter now, it closes Tuesday at midnight!

Have the happiest Monday :) What are you excited about this week?

A Lazy Hour in the Boston Public Garden.

Baaaaahstan.
The past few weeks have been a blur. I've been coupling moving prep and baby prep with an attempt to experience each moment fully engaged. These last experiences of living in New York, these last weeks as a non-mother, these last moments of selfish quiet. It's been sweet. But also a bit alarming. I've felt calm, but there is an undercurrent of expectation about the upcoming transitions.

As a wonderful break from all of these internal musings and introspective processing about LIFE, Stevie & I took a quick road trip up to Boston. It was his birthday weekend (yeeeeee!!) and also his 1-year class reunion, and we hate to miss a good party. Although I stood far too long chit-chatting (my feet/legs/back yelled at me for days after), it was SO GOOD to connect with our dear-hearted Boston buddies. We capped off the weekend with a stroll through one of my favorite Boston landmarks, the Public Garden.

As we wandered through the truly mesmerizing array of tulips, weeping willows and the lazy waters, I was immediately struck with a moment of memory. I remember walking through this exact part of the garden, this exact bend in the path, 3 years earlier. We had just moved to Boston, didn't know a SOUL in this town, and sauntered through the garden in dumbfounded wonder. It was just such a beautiful, new place. I remember saying to Stevie, "Let's really enjoy this day. Because next week, you're going to start classes, and we will meet people, and start to have things to do and life will be different forever. But here and now, we don't know anyone and we don't have any responsibility. Let's enjoy it!" And we did.

Ah, youth. I hadn't even graduated college at that point. My oh my.

And here I am, only 3 years later, walking through the same garden, the fresh aromatic flowers bursting with bloom, and I am pregnant with our first child. Um, whoa. So much has changed in just 3 years. SO MUCH. And now, instead of Boston being a sort of scary, unknown place of potential dreams, it is in our rear view mirror as a marvelous hub of memories. It is safe. I can't believe how quickly this life has happened.

// The originals from Make Way for Ducklings. (Trish, should I cry now or later??) //

// ACTUAL ducklings. //

// Isn't it just so loungy and lovely? //

// We found swans. //

// They were pregnant too! //

// Growing growing growing. //

// This is Stevie's fave: If you look closely, you will see a tiny little bird drinking right next to the squirrel. Priceless shot, Mister Hale. //

One Hour.
I am incredibly grateful for the small moment I got to spend in this sanctuary of bliss. We don't know when we will be back in Boston again, but I have a feeling that the next time, I will be wrestling my son to not jump into the swan water :) And I will probably have another one of those "We've been here before..."-moments. My, oh my.

Happy day to you, friends.