Milkymilk

The Longest Time

We are back from our annual-ish big family vacation extravaganza. This year: destination San Diego. And, what a difference a year makes. As much as I miss having an itty-bitty baby, daily I am thankful not to have to travel with an infant and a two year old. Okay, not that a toddler and a three year old are easy as pie, and I’m sure anyone next to us on the six hour flight home would gladly inform you there is no pie, or any thing pleasurable, involved. Not to mention, four days later, we are still feeling the three hour time difference EVERY NIGHT when none of the girls will GO TO SLEEP, and I have vowed we will never go to the west coast again as a result.  That said, it was an awesome trip.

It was really wonderful to see our family, and thanks to my lack of sleep deprivation (yea no infants!), I got to really enjoy them this year. We do this thing when we get together where every family takes turns making dinner for everyone. It is super cost effective and ridiculously yummy. I highly recommend it for your next big to-do.

It was a bit of an epiphany trip, if there is such a thing. Skylar and I got a chance to visit Los Angeles, without the kids. We lived there for a number of years. It is where we met; fell in love, got married, and where Harper was conceived. It is not that we have not been back since we left four years ago; we have. It is not that we have moved three times and had two children since we left; our buddies out there have made babies. Some of them have moved as well. It is just that it looks completely different coming form the East Coast. The scale is entirely foreign, the freeways massive beyond comprehension, the sprawl immeasurable. I don’t mean that in a critical way, though. Yes, it is a pain in the ass to get around, but there is something dazzling about the vastness. I sort of fell a little in love with it again, after a very bad breakup.

I also realized for the first time, after two years of mostly complaining, I love Connecticut. What? Who could love Connecticut? Me. Yup. Leafy trees, The Merritt, seasons, over-educated people at every turn with cardigans and kakis, golf, tennis, yacht clubs, light houses, pearls, towns with their own lifestyle magazines, tuna salad sandwiches on the beach, all of it. It is a pretty life.

Spreading the Rock Out

I have no pictures from this week.  There was virus, some vomit, days of fever, changing Harper’s sheets unsure if she had wet the bed or if that was a pool of her own fever sweat.  I did get a little video of Harper’s favorite game: Oh no!  It is a simple game.  Casey tries to climb off the couch, and Harper tackles her, in order to save her from falling off, and then rolls around with the baby in a cuddle/wrestle.  Harper loves it.  It makes Casey cry.  A lot.  So, the video was just sort of sad.

For my 33^rd Birthday it seems Sirius XMU has given me the most bittersweet present.  I am old enough to be cool again.  Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.  I’m actually still wading through if I’m back in style or if I am just really f*ing old.  The music I first fell in love with (well, after Brian Adams Summer of ‘69) is cool again.  On one level it brings back memories of severe awkwardness, of being 14, super cubby and general insecure approval seeking loneliness.  (Being old sort of rocks, in comparison.)  On another, I’ve finally been validated.  Validated by a new generation of Cool.  So, thank you XMU, I guess.  This is a long winded way of saying Dinosaur Jr. is back.  All those notebooks scribbled with J. Mascis is God were only a slight exaggeration. 

 

Today, let’s spread the love by rocking out.

 

And the. Most. Romantic. Song. Ever.

All Songs Considered, just in case you love NPR, too.

 

On another note, this is the most thought provoking article about parenting I’ve read in a while. 

Hope your Father's Day weekend is the best! If you are thinking of making some ymmuy treats for the dad in your life, look no further.

 

UPDATE:

How could I foget to add this?

Spreading the Love

Two weeks in a row!  That must be a recod of some kind around here.

I have a little weakness for indoor rainbows, by Gabriel Dawe via Colossal.

Door 16's To Do Lists are inspirational, and oddly satisfying.

Ridiculously adorable towels for kids, just in time for summer.

A great little tid bit from Teacher Tom about learning your ABCs and 123s.  Reminds me of one of my favorite articles of all time, Children Teach Themselves to Read.

Tooting my own horn a bit here, the Banana Cream Pie I made for Skylar's B-day was on Taste Spotting this week.  Yippee!

Hope your weekend is lovely.

Spreading the Love

It has been too long since we have spread some love around here, so let's do it!

Oh, I wish I was there!  Tent from Something's Hiding in Here, a great resource for everything cool.

I just ordered this aden + anais sleep sac for Casey, mostly likely our last sleep sac purchase ever.  So sad, I figured we'd go out with a bang.

Are you on Pintrest?  I'm madly in love with it!  It is currently my favorite time suck.

Pajamas or nighties?  I'm a nightgown gal myself, which judging my my recent quest for a new nighty, puts me in the 2% of ladies wearing night gowns (and .05% under the age of 65).  My search finally ended at Anthropologie, and yes, cost a pretty penny.  Absolutely worth it.  Of course, with two little ones, sleeping is just about my favorite thing.

Not that you need another reason to love Mark Bittman {SWOOOON}, but this cornstach gelato recipe it to die for.  It is egg-less, so easily a cool treat fit for swimsuit season. 

Ah, swimsuit season.  And, the love stops there.  Unless you have a good natural sunscreen to share?  Oh, we are so in need of one.  Casey goes strait from sheet white, to hot pink, to beet red:(