Long Time No See

One cookie and three servings of frozen blueberries later...

Vital Statistics

Grace and Miles visited the doctor this week for a 3-year and 18-month checkup, respectively, and are in great shape (more than could probably be said for their parents right now).


Grace
3 yrs 2 mos
32.2 lbs (60th percentile)
40.5 inches (96th percentile)









Miles
1 yr 6 mos
33.2 lbs (99th percentile)
35.5 inches (99th percentile)

If we ate what our kids eat, and got as much exercise as they do, we'd be in great shape too. For the moment, we content ourselves with knowing that every time we lift one of them, it counts as a few bicep curls; each time we carry one of them upstairs, it's better than a stairclimbing machine. And we enjoy a yummy dessert regularly to reward ourselves for our hard work.

Making the Most

It's the coolest summer I can remember in Seattle. That may not be saying as much as you might think, given that I've spent many summers abroad, but still. So it doesn't take a heat wave to get us in the mood for summer activities. We've gone to the beach bundled in sweatshirts and raincoats, we've splashed in the blow-up pool with our teeth chattering, and today we pulled out the sprinkler because the sun was making a rare appearance. Yep, 70 degrees is "we need to cool off" weather around here.

Summer Days

And So Much More...

When we set the goal of blogging each day during the month of June, we made a list of ideas for the various posts. Despite hitting 25 out of 30 days (wow!), we still have quite a number of ideas left unblogged:

• Grace's 2nd birthday
• a trip to Ocean Shores
• overheard when Grace and Miles shared a room at bedtime
• our garden's progress
• Miles' first steps
• a pet store visit
• Grace's dress-up box
• Vic's chocolate birthday cupcakes (with salted caramel buttercream frosting)
• Miles' haircut
• last Christmas
• Starbucks dates
• the kids' favorite toys

Some of these may yet find their way onto the pages of our blog, but not in June. See you in July!

Memories Needn't Take Up Space

I read a book recently titled Scaling Down: Living Large in a Smaller Space. The authors, Judi Culbertson and Marj Decker, approach the question of home organization and clutter less from a "here's how to store your junk more efficiently" perspective and more from a "here's why you might have so much junk and here's how to part with it so your home functions more efficiently" perspective. I like that. (Minimalism appeals to me on many levels.)


When it comes to baby clothing, people develop sentimental attachments. Now lest any of our readers think sentimentality with regard to baby clothing is silly, let me point out that adults often have trouble parting with clothing they never wear either. It's too small but they wore it for a special occasion and are hoping to be that size again soon. It's completely worn out but they've never found one as comfortable to replace it. It's a terrible color, but it was a present from beloved Aunt Gertrude and they simply can't part with it. They never wear baseball caps anymore, but won't give up the collection they spent years accumulating. You get my point.


So what to do with all of the clothes Grace and Miles wore as little babies? The garments filled two large boxes in our closet, not to mention drawer and closet space in the kids' rooms. And, as is often the case, they had gotten very little wear since the kids grew so quickly -- other children could get great use out of them. Some people choose their favorites, make a quilt out of them, and give away the rest. It's a good idea and one that reduces the clutter significantly. But I'm going one further.


I've taken photos of each of my favorite articles of clothing and will use my seldom-used-these-days graphic design skills to lay out the photos in posters. I'll then frame the posters and hang them as artwork. After I took the photos, I sold or gave away all but two or three things (heirloom-type things which we'll pass on to the kids for their kids someday).


Goal: Keep reminders of the fun and cute things Grace and Miles wore as babies, but reduce clutter in our home and maybe make a little money on the side. Goal achieved? Yep. (Now all I have to do is actually do the layout and print the posters.)

Our Days Are Long

Literally speaking, I guess our days are about as long as ever. I love June and July for their light. In this part of the world this time of year, the sun comes up long before I wake up (5am maybe?) and doesn't set until 9:30 or so. If the day is sunny, the light can last until 10pm.



There's a certain amount of energy that comes from that extra summer light. I mean, when the sun sets at 4:30 in December, and the rain and gray clouds make it seem half dark all day long, don't you just want to curl up in front of a fire by about 6pm, and tuck into bed with a good book by 8? But in the summer everything seems possible, even at 9. Need to do some weeding or wash the car? Want to toss a frisbee with your dog? Hey, no problem -- still plenty of light left. And somehow our stomachs even know the difference in seasons and we find ourselves eating dinner at 8 because we were so busy outside that we didn't realize we were hungry.

We're spending lots more time outside these days. We're doing yardwork, chasing Miles down the sidewalk, keeping Grace from writing in the dust on our cars, trying lunchtime picnics in the backyard, and visiting every park in a five-mile radius. Vic has taken the kids to the zoo twice in two weeks, and we go to one beach or another on a regular basis. We love summer.

Our days are also busy and we are trying so hard not to overdo or overcommit. It's too easy to run from one thing to another when there is so much possible. The reminder at church on Sunday to invest our lives well was so timely. And we still have to accomplish the regular routine -- Vic's work requires quite a bit of time, energy, and organization lately, my work around the house never even approaches being caught up, the kids still need their meals, naps, baths, reading, playing, and consistent parenting...yikes.

No wonder our days are so long.