fun, fun, funny in the sun, sun, sunny

you and i

today, may 16th, nate and i have been married for seven years. this is our favorite engagement picture--  the one we keep on our wall to remind us that we were once blissfully, can't-keep-hands-off-each-other, enchantedly in love with each other. 

of course seven years, two kids, and tons of problems later, we are different people. and we love each other differently now. neither one of us could've guessed that the shadow of depression was already falling over our lives, or how that would affect the next seven years. it's been a tremendous seven years, full of many hard, hard times, and i'm glad that he stuck with me.

i guess jeff tweedy kind of summed up the way i feel about how we stand now,

you and i, we might be strangers

however close we get sometimes

it's like we never met.

but you and i, i think we can take it

all the good with the bad,

make something that no one else has

but you and i

from song "you and i" on the new wilco album

happy anniversary, honey. however hard it's been, i'm glad you chose me and i chose you on that day. i can't imagine a better father for my kids, or a more patient and hardworking husband. and let's face it, sometimes you just crack me up. let's keep choosing each other, ok?

mini bowling

i got these vintage mini bowling pins mostly for decoration, but hey, they can be fun too!
*something you're probably figuring out from my pictures: my kids do not like pants. they come inside, off with the pants! the fact the sweet m. is wearing them in these pictures is beyond amazing.

wilco

oh, how i love me some wilco. and even though we have to wait until june 30 for their new album to come out, pitchfork is reporting that you can listen to the entire thing on wilco's website, right here!

p.s. it sounds pretty darn good.
p.p.s. track i can't stop listening to: "you and i," with feist

all i want for mother's day...

i found these on the delightful blog twig & thistle. they're offering them as a free download that you can just print out, cut, and hang on your door! (or give away.)
the post is here
and the download is here.

doesn't this movie look great?

i can't wait to see it.
p.s. sorry about all the videos lately.

i'm so glad when daddy comes home

for lunch.

flaming lips cover madonna

i love the flaming lips. check out this cool cover they did of madonna's "borderline."

The flaming lips Borderline
by cringer

i love this band

the thermals.
also they're from portland, my current favorite city.
also, i think i just heard this song on the season finale of chuck.

popsicles

 
this morning sweet m. and little c. came out wrapped up in their favorite blankets. "wrap us up," sweet m. said, "we're popsicles." (she did mean that she wanted them to look like popsicles, but it was quite chilly outside so she could've meant that too.) i kept wrapping and the blankets kept sliding off.
after a while the blankets slid for the final time, and little c. tripped on his.
"look mom," says m., "little c. melted."

our lives lately

 

have you been watching...

masterpiece classic lately? little dorrit has been on for the last few weeks, and i'm loving it. it's making me glad i have a t.v., even though sometimes i think we should just give ours away.

here is the synopsis from the pbs masterpiece website:

Amy Dorrit's (Claire Foy) gentle spirit has never been dampened by the confining walls of the Marshalsea Prison she's lived in her whole life. Despite the dark shadow of debtor's prison, Amy lovingly cares for her father William Dorrit (Tom Courtenay), the longest serving inmate. A possibly redemptive light unexpectedly shines in the form of Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen), who has been left with the intriguing threads of a mystery after his father's death — threads that will intertwine his family and fate with the Dorrits. Clennam's exhaustive search for answers involves murder, fortunes gained and lost, the upper echelons and lowest dregs of society, and most surprising of all, a tender romance. Adapted by Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice), Little Dorrit, based on the book by Charles Dickens, is a sprawling story as timely as it is moving.

in most of dickens' stories that i've read/seen produced there is at least one character that is just amazingly good. you know, the kind that almost seem too good to be true; completely selfless, sweet, kind, concerned for everyone, devoted. in this novel/movie there are at least two of those characters. 

when some writers attempt to create characters like this it can end negatively. the person seems too perfect, maybe a little "goody two-shoes." but i really enjoy they dickensian characters i've seen who are like this. amy dorrit and arthur clennam in this story, agnes in david copperfield, and a lot of others i can't really think of right now. but i find that when i'm reading these stories i'm inspired and i want to be a better person. i want to work industriously and serve selflessly. plus, let's face it: no one can interweave dozens of characters and plot lines in such an entertaining and convincing way as dickens. (in my opinion, at least.)

the last of the little dorrit series is on tomorrow night, sunday, on pbs. or you can view the entire series online, i believe until may 3rd.

to my not-so-little-anymore c.

so, you've been two for a while now. the last couple months you've finally started sharing your thoughts with us verbally, and it's been so much fun. i knew you would start talking when you wanted/needed to, and you did!
i love it when you say, "knock knock" and when i say, "who's there?" you just say "knock knock" again.
i love it that when you see the scab on my knee you say, "kiss?" and then you kiss my knee to make it better. and when we were reading tonight, and you saw a picture of a girl with a frown, you said, "sad?" and then you gave her a kiss, too.
you love having books read to you. you love to go outside whenever anyone will take you. you love "yo gabba gabba." you love mandarin oranges (and especially the juicy syrup they come in.) you love toast for breakfast. you still love snuggling with me in the morning and you better bet that i'm going to encourage that for as long as i can.
i love you little man!

hooray!

this video of a lady named susan boyle singing on "britain's got talent" made me so happy. trust me, you have to watch it. it made my day, possibly my week.
sometimes you see things that just make you think, anything is possible. and life is lovely.

via

easter weekend, part two

so here's the productive part of the weekend. (sorry i didn't get it posted yesterday; internet problems. actually it'll be a miracle if this post works!)
after looking unsuccessfully all over our relatively small town for a sofa, we decided to look in a larger metropolis to see if we could find what we were looking for (all right, i'll admit it. i'm extremely picky when it comes to interior design, especially couches.) we finally ended up at ikea, where we weren't expecting to find a couch but had a few other items to attend to: bookshelves, curtains, side table.
we had looked for a couch at ikea before and had been less than enthusiastic about their options. but this time they had a new design that we ended up getting! it's not exactly what i had wanted, but it has the basics: good lines, sturdy frame, removable cushion covers that can be dry cleaned, a modern and clean look.


sweet m. saw me taking pictures and wanted to model. isn't she cute?
anyway, now there is only painting, picture-hanging, reorganizing furniture, and a few other minor details to attend to. i'm excited that our front room is FINALLY coming together!

easter weekend, part one

our easter weekend was delightful and highly productive. we decided to head down to my parents' house because sweet m. had monday off of school and we hadn't seen my mom and pops for a good bit of time while they were down under helping nene with her babe.
so off we went! on saturday we had a lovely dinner with lots of family about, complete with lots of chatting afterwards. (my oldest brother is a huge lost fan like myself and we had a great time analyzing the show.) sunday was more quiet, with just the kiddies and the grandparents; the kids got their baskets before church and we had an indoor easter egg hunt after. (the ground was kind of muddy and not conducive to little children in their easter best running amuck.)



my parents have the most lovely magnolia tree in their front yard. i got a little camera happy with it.

my older brother is a sweetie with kids. little c. loves playing with him!

little c. had just woken up when we had the easter egg hunt. when we told him to go find his eggs he started crying! but luckily when he found the candy inside he perked right up.

sweet m. loved her hello kitty easter basket from last year so much that she played with it all year long and wanted to use it again this easter! i was happy to oblige!

*tomorrow: part 2 of our riveting saga...

one of my favorite things: free stuff!

have you heard about mysavings.com? i can't remember where i heard about this gem of a website, but it's amazing! they collect links to free samples all over the web so you can just go on their site and find out about samples and coupons for all sorts of things!

even easier, you can sign up for the daily email and almost everyday you'll find in your inbox a list of great free samples. for instance, today i signed up to receive a free sample of a mr. clean magic eraser, a special kind of paint that you can paint on any surface to turn it into a white board (like chalkboard paint!), and a free year's subscription to metropolitan home magazine! 

it almost sounds too good to be true, but i've been doing it for a while now, and so far i've received most of the things i've signed up for. (i don't keep track of the samples i sign up for so i'm not exactly sure about missing any.) but my favorite is the magazines! so far i've received multiple copies of: body + soul, martha stewart living, woman's day, parents, popular photography, prevention, and i think a couple of others that i'm forgetting. 

try it out if you like! 

(p.s., sometimes they ask you to fill out a short survey and/or enter a friend's email address. as far as i know, they've never contacted the friends i've referred, and the surveys are really simple.)

no blue sky

today is a grey, windy day. i woke up sad. do you ever have a day like that? sad for no reason kind of days? it definitely makes me feel like listening to the weepies.

especially this song, "can't go back now" from their album hideaway. it's a little sappy, but for some reason it really works for me. especially today.
anyway, i l like the song better than the video, but the video is extremely cute:
enjoy!

someday...

we will build our "dream" house. it doesn't have to be fancy, but i would like to incorporate this sweet idea into our design.

via bloesem kids

i win!

so i guess the point of this post is to encourage you to enter giveaways on blogs. even if you're the kind of person who feels like you never win anything (like me.) because i just won one! recently artist jennifer judd-mcgee of the lovely blog swallowfield had a giveaway to celebrate the second anniversary of her etsy shop. i left a comment, and ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing, i WON two of her gorgeous prints! my choice! i chose the simply beautiful

ledger diptych

and the bright and cheery

six little birds. this one's destined for sweet m.'s room!

my heart belongs to red

here are some bits of red loveliness that i've been noticing/wanting lately:

tea and toast butter dish


our love is here to stay limited edition print by enormous champion

quick turn dhurrie rug by john robshaw


party girl wallpaper by flavor paper


flock poster at good shape design

ask design mom week/giveaway

do you like design mom? i love this blog. it's full of great design tips, cool sites for kids' clothes, party and craft ideas, and tons of other helpful information. the blog's creator, gabby, is one talented mommy, and i love her ideas and her style. this week she's hosting "ask design mom" week where she shares readers' questions about all kinds of things and gives her tips plus asks readers for more. plus, if you link to her post here you will be entered in a great giveaway! check it out!

check out

this link for a bunch of indie samplers with free downloads at amazon! there's tracks from bon iver, flight of the conchords, fleet foxes, vetiver, neko case, and tons more goodies!
my only problem is that i have most of the goodies already, darn it!

everything's amazing, nobody's happy

found this clip via swissmiss, another amazing blog. i saw it a while ago and i keep watching it; i wasn't going to share it here but i just think it's so true.
just so you know, his language isn't always the best.

go to sleepy little babe

so i know i have been very remiss in introducing blogland to nene's latest great achievement. as you may know we don't say our kiddies names here, so for now we will be calling this sweetie "baby s." i know, not very unique, but we'll see what we come up with later. i can tell you that i have the honor of her being named after me! (middle name.) isn't that sweet? i feel so honored and so undeserving.
anyway, she's now almost a month old! can't believe it! isn't she beautiful in pink, with her gorgeous dark hair?

here is a short playlist of songs for baby s. some are lullabies, some are cute little ditties, and heck, some just have "baby" in the title.

sea of love -cat power
leo & luna -mark kozelek
firefly -don peris
slumber my darling -alison krauss, edgar meyer, mark o'connor & yo-yo ma
asleep on a sunbeam -belle & sebastian
birds and ships -billy bragg and wilco
little eyes -yo la tengo
if i needed you -townes van zandt
sweet child o' mine -taken by trees
gentle moon -sun kil moon
eyes of green, green, green -gorky's zygotic mynci
little flowers -denison witmer
baby i'm yours -arctic monkeys
** click on the song title to hear the track**
p.s. if any of the links don't work please let me know!

more new math

found this website via design for mankind, one of my favorite blogs. it's called more new math. some are hilarious, some are thought-provoking, all are witty.
enjoy.

if you don't expect too much- you'll love it

are you a fan of flight of the conchords? one of my favorite things about their show is looking for the new zealand tourism poster that's hanging in murray's office every week during the band meeting. they usually have some pretty funny sayings on them. i know i'm a nerd but i write them all down. here are some of my favorites:

new zealand: it's not going anywhere

new zealand: come visit us down underer

new zealand: better than old zealand

new zealand: like scotland, but further

new zealand: take your mum

new zealand: ewe should come

new zealand: only 18 hours from new york

new zealand: worth a go

now, voyager

i've always been interested in transformations: makeover shows, movies about people who drastically change their lives, etc. 

if you ever get a chance, watch this movie with bette davis

she plays a woman who is sad, who feels locked in by her life, who still lives with her controlling mother and has some kind of nervous condition. a friendly psychiatrist treats her kindly and helps her to change her life. when he's getting ready to send her off on her own and she's nervous, he reads some lines from a walt whitman poem to her.
"The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,
Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

those are lines that i keep coming back to in my own life. they run through my head now and then. i feel lost and stuck sometimes, and i have to remind myself that i'm the only one who can get myself unstuck, and that now is the time to do it. now, voyager.

whacha doing?

listening to:

vetiver's latest album: tight knit. listen to clips here. favorite track so far: maureen.
watching:
yo gabba gabba! CONFESSION: i would watch yo gabba gabba even if i didn't have children. it's just that cool, and i'm that much of a dork. plus, JACK BLACK is going to be on the new episode on april 3!. cool.
reading:
the satanic verses by salman rushdie.

the ubiquitous binky

here is little c., and here is his binky, his pasha, his dummy, whatever you want to call it. the two of them go everywhere together; and just try and separate them, oh-ho, just try. you will soon feel the wrath of the two-year-old. i need to hunker down and get more consistent about taking it away from him, but it is proving difficult. with sweet m. it was a pretty natural progression, we started leaving it at home when we went places, then we'd leave it in the crib and she could only have it for naps and bed, then only bed, then not at all. but little c. is a more stubborn child.
do any of you have tips for getting binkies out of the picture?

northern exposure favorite moments, pt. 1

hi everyone. sorry for the long absence. another computer crash and some never-say-die stomach bugs are to blame. it went around the whole family, more than once.

northern exposure was my very favorite tv show when i was in high school. i don't think i ever even saw it in its prime time slot, just in reruns. but there was something about it that just stirred my soul, y'know? i wanted to marry chris when i grew up, and listening to his philosophizing made me want to read more and get smarter.
i don't know if i would like the show as much now. i've been out of high school for eleven years now and i'm a lot more cynical and a lot more demanding in what i'm willing to call good t.v. but here is a moment from northern exposure that i still think is really wonderful, and reminds me why i loved this show in the first place. yes it's cheesy, and yes there is an enya song playing (double cheese!) but it's lovely.


what t.v. shows have been influential in your life?


p.s. nene had her baby on monday, march 2. but i'll let her tell you all about it! i can tell you mom and baby girl s. are both doing well, and our parents are down under for a month to help her adjust.

i knew 2009 was going to be a good year...

i get really excited about new good music. (i have an itunes account that can attest to it.) so if you're feeling down in the winter doldrums and you need something to look forward to, check out pitchfork's list of upcoming album releases...

(my mouth waters and my itunes account braces itself for action just scanning it.)

here are some of the highlights of the list: (at least they're highlights to me!)

january 20
Andrew Bird: Noble Beast [Fat Possum]
Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino] [CD release]
Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light [Secretly Canadian]
Bon Iver: Blood Bank EP [Jagjaguwar]
The Modern Skirts: All of Us in Our Night [Modern Skirts Recordings]

january 27
Loney Dear: Dear John [Polyvinyl]
Of Montreal : An Eluardian Instance EP [Polyvinyl]
Of Montreal : Jon Brion Remix EP [Polyvinyl]

february 3
Ben Kweller: Changing Horses [ATO]

february 17
The Appleseed Cast: Sagarmatha [The Militia Group]
Architecture in Helsinki: "That Beep" single [Polyvinyl]
Beirut/Realpeople: March of the Zapotec/Holland [Pompeii/ Ba Da Bing] [U.S. release]
M. Ward: Hold Time [Merge]
Morrissey: Years of Refusal [Attack/Lost Highway] [U.S. release]
Vetiver: Tight Knit [Sub Pop]

march 3
The Boy Least Likely To: The Law of the Playground [Too Young to Die/+1 Records]
Neko Case: Middle Cyclone [Anti-]