nuggets: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week
I have 30 minutes before I need to be somewhere. I consider cleaning up last night’s apple pie making mess, harvesting tomatillos, sewing orders or sitting with a blinking cursor and some ideas.
I feel like every “spare” moment I have is like this these days. Sometimes I fantasize about feeling bored. Andy and I keep talking about how full it all is, we keep trying to figure out what might go and we keep discovering that it is all important stuff, stuff that moves us, stuff that we want, need and love. This is just what life looks like for us right now. So, we choose to bear hug the hectic days when we are driving to Spokane to pick up family, showing our home to prospective buyers and preparing dinner for a friend’s birthday all while doing the normal daily stuff like parenting and working. Bear hug.
I loved this little moment right here when I looked up to see my sister-in-law playing with our kids behind Margot painting her birthday present behind a pile of apple peel, next to a bowl of apples intended to tuck into buttery crust adorned with a ‘P’ for our dear friend Pam on her birthday.
So, now. A few nuggets. More to come. I really should also sweep up the “hot chocolate” my daughters lovingly prepared for me.
:: Margot, this minute: opinionated, funny, loving. She is particularly into wearing Ruby’s shirts and anything that is her idea.

:: Ruby, this minute: confident, goofy, observant. She is particularly into knowing exactly where Margot is and what she is doing at all times.
:: Together, this minute: spirited, collaborative, imaginative. They are particularly into dressing and undressing, digging, cooking and painting.

Glad I chose this for my 30 minutes, that didn’t complete in 30, naturally. That instead involved a detour because my niece and daughters woke. We continue to step through our full lives, opening and closing when necessary. It’s real-time choreography and I feel the bear hug beat.
happy day out there
:: :: ::
20 Comments
I so relate. Reading blogs while Gpa is outside with my son, my husband lays on the couch waiting for my MIL who is in the bathroom, so we can all take a walk. Then I have to make a “Pin-the-smile-on-the-chesire-cat” game out of posterboard and the remnants of dinner are still on the table. Somehow the kid will get put to bed, I will get a glass of wine and itll all be okay… wishing you the same!
I used to think when my children were little that “this” is the busiest stage! They are now 21,19, 17,15 and 9. Every stage of life is busy. Sometimes it’s overwhelming but I choose to take one day at a time and do what is the most important today. I’m gradually learning…. My son announced his engagement 3 weeks ago and marries in February. I have so much I want to do for them before the big day. One.day.at.a.time. Love your thoughts 🙂
But don’t you feel so energized when you are busy? As the baby gets older, each day seems a little easier. Yesterday I pulled over about a block from my house because I was so sure that I had forgotten to buckle both kids into their car seats. But no, they were securely latched. It had been so easy to get out of the house and into the car that I was certain a major step had been left out. Now I am looking forward to the day I can leave the house with a purse and NO diaper bag.
My nuggets:
http://myonlysunshine1.blogspot.com/
my mom had surgery last week. and i told her that i was so super excited to just sit and wait … doesn’t that just sound so wrong? and it was and it wasn’t. i didn’t feel like by just sitting that i got anywhere any faster. i didn’t feel like i rested. and i didn’t feel energized. i just felt dull. i think i crave the busy. it keeps my mind in check. and that’s not to say that i don’t ever stop and just be within a moment with my kids. but those quiet moments with three kids feel busy too.
,,,my favorite “nuggs”:,,,
a) hot chocolate prepared by M&R
b) apple shavings piled high
c) R’s pigtails; such cuteness
d) M’s pink cowgirl boots
e) R following M’s lead with the doll
f) the mural on your wall and the picture framed, boy is AC talented!
thanks friend for the warm, sweet nuggs today, somedays they are exactly what is warranted! 3 cheers for today, right now, this minute!
Yes, I totally get this.
Burb~This post & your life reminds me of your favorite childhood book, “Oh, What a Busy Day” by Gyo Fujikawa! I bet I read that book to you 3 times a day for a year…maybe it brainwashed you into this! No, all kidding aside just enjoy this crazy busy time of your life, before you know it you will be a Gram writing on Margot or Ruby’s blog fondly remembering those wonderful days!
I love you…xoxo…Mom
“Margot is particularly into anything that is her idea.”
Love that and the accompanying picture, sums up so much.
Wishing for you a teeny tiny bit of boredom soon, and until then, huge bear hugs.
i know about the “anything that is her idea” part. we have been in that ‘phase’ for a while now…
your tomatillos are gorgeous! mine always look so straggly by this point in the season. this year, i don’t have any and i miss that salsa verde!
This is a darling post. I can’t think of another word that describes it better for me….”darling”.
And I needed this reminder to “bear hug” my crazy life as is.
Thank you tons,
Kelly
Bear hug, I love that! You have such a positive attitude about life. I love coming here for a different perspective and to see the bigger picture. I tend to dwell on the negative side of things and we have been doing the “bear hug” for awhile now, but I had some much more colorful names for it! Thanks so much for creating a place for some of us Negative Nancies to come and get a perspective shift. I needed it. Especially today.
Ok, so I must have missed how you are moving!! can you share the link some time where you talk about that. Is it hard to leave your garden? yes, life is crazy busy but good and worth it. 🙂
You are right that it is all important, and one blessing is not having the time to overthink how well you’re doing any of it (although I’m sure you’re doing just fine.)
Our (less-busy) nuggets this week:
http://3saltydogs.blogspot.com/2011/10/hump-day-nuggets.html
I love this, I feel exactly the same, sooo busy but doing all the things I want to be. Your girls are lovely xxx
You know, I struggle with this all the time…I have a strong impulse to want to slow down, to savor the small things, and not always be rushing to the next item on the agenda. At the same time, I love exploring new stuff, accomplishing things (even as mundane as grading my students’ papers or making playdough with my son), and generally have a hard time sitting down. But dammit, I want to slow down, spend several evenings just reading a novel after the kids go to bed, and savor the beauty of doing nothing.
I like that you embrace your life and your choices fully, without any ambiguity. And that last picture of Margot & Ruby is absolutely darling.
I keep thinking as soon as this baby’s born, I’ll have so much down time! Then I remember I also have a toddler and an unfinished house. Bear hug. Love it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thank you for reminding me to embrace the busy! Our days feel a littlw like that right now- selling our house and buying a new one, second baby on the way, arts and crafts markets to prepare for, and daily life on the farm. It ishard to fit all of that life into the time we have.
I love the last picture of your little girls. There is nothing like little sisters playing together (when they’re not arguing, ahem ….)
I’m always inspired by your relationship with food – the growing, the preserving, the cooking and baking. It is such a wonderful way to show love to your family and to shape your daughters’ relationship with food, too. This is an area in which I always feel inadequate as I don’t love food the way you seem to do (in a very good sense). Coming to this blog inspires me to do a little better.
Love the dirt on the floor! Some things are just worth the mess, right?