Lovely little things, 12

Another round up of this week’s lovely little things.

yeah, the park again!

I know, I  know, three weeks now and all I can talk about is the park. But seriously, friends, we really missed the park. And Monday evening was made for the park. After we got home from school and work we loaded up the stroller and headed off, without jackets! And the running and the swinging and the sliding, it was oh so good. And baby boy makes me hella nervous with his climbing and running and his four-year-old sense of adventure trapped in a one-year-old’s body way of life but even with my fretting and following and jumping every time he teetered near the edge of the slide, that half hour at the park was so good for my soul.

 

next door dinners

Bad neighbors are bad and ok neighbors aren’t much better. But wonderful neighbors will change your life. We got lucky when we moved here two years ago to inherit the absolute best neighbors I’ve ever known. They are there for us when we’re sick, when we need a babysitter, when we need a friend to talk to, and without a doubt when we’re ready to celebrate. And on Saturday night, we celebrated. No specific occasion, because none is needed when you just enjoy getting together with the people who can walk to your house. And the kids ran and played and the adults drank wine and ate delicious food and talked and I got so caught up I didn’t realize that bedtime had come and gone until it was nearly an hour later. And that is just how rainy Saturday evenings should be.

perks of not being a wallflower

I still remember the first comment I got on my blog. It was from a rather popular blogger and she commented only because I had linked to her in my post and I think she felt obligated. I felt immediately amazed and confused and self conscious and nervous. Someone else was reading my stuff. Someone other than my husband. It was scary.

Since then, this little space has grown. Not astronomically, I still feel as though I know each of you by name and, in many cases, your kids’ names. But it has grown. And I have grown. And I’ve found the capacity for digging deep and revealing more of myself and sharing more of myself. And because of that, I’ve met amazing people and enjoyed some truly lovely opportunities. This was one of those weeks of opportunities. Lots of places to write for and lots of things to write about and lots more people to meet and connect with and I’m just so grateful for it all.

for a cause

This week’s cause at Sevenly is Autism Speaks. If you’ve never supported a Sevenly charity before, make this the week you start. I have to stop myself from buying something every single week and I cherish the Sevenly shirts I have like no other. This week, $14 of every item purchased will fund locating devices and other tools for low income families of children with autism prone to wandering. After reading Shell’s post this week on the same topic, we all have a connection and real life stories to remind us why it is so important to support this cause.

favorite words

This conversation between me and my girl:

me: Do you feel like a room without a roof?

her: No!

me: Do you know what happiness is to you?

her: Yes!

me: Good!

me: So… what is happiness to you?

her: Mommy and Daddy!

Don’t ever grow up, my love.

Happy Spring weekend!