tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37289969603987955742024-12-18T19:20:33.867-08:00Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-33792959015447991422011-06-29T09:17:00.000-07:002011-06-29T09:17:03.728-07:00

Today is the day. I have been celebrated, pampered, gifted, and wished well so very much and there is nothing left but to do thirty well. Today my heart is full and overflowing with gratitude and I can't think of a better way to mark this day than to express that. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Waking up to sweet whispers of "Happy Birthday" and a tray

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-25617798750914625442011-06-10T16:47:00.001-07:002011-06-10T16:47:17.157-07:00

Some days it is unfathomable that my oldest child will soon be ten. It’s incredible. I am enjoying this stage more than I expected. Beyond the occasional eye roll and moody tears is this delightful person who I am so glad to know…let alone call my own. Alaina and Jayden’s days are filled with music, dancing around the house, books, lip gloss and nail polish. Childhood lingers with bike

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-60741815890064540172011-06-09T10:24:00.000-07:002011-06-09T10:25:35.189-07:00

The kids have black-out curtains and don't start moving till nine thirty. Which means mama kisses daddy bye around seven thirty and then drifts back off for a couple of hours. Or she reads. Or daydreams. Or spends time with her ipad. All in bed....blissful silence. Brunch. We have given up breakfast. It may be the most important meal of the day but we aren't doing much requiring brainpower. So

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-82094023899016203542011-06-06T12:13:00.000-07:002011-06-06T12:15:10.591-07:00

I was cleaning out the "projects" closet a few days ago and came across this book I had made. It started as a birthday card for a friend and being the wordy girl I am, it morphed into a book. I'd spent days on it and at the last minute decided to skip it and give a gift card instead. I am not sure exactly why. As I read the words written over a year ago, I realized something....they were still

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-3715063049202854362011-06-03T08:50:00.000-07:002011-06-03T08:50:15.579-07:00

This morning I crawled out of bed at 5:45 am and woke my sleeping angels....nearly three hours before they would naturally rise. {May I never type that sentence again. }Because apparently you can only experience the miracle of life at ungodly hours...or at least the miracle of marine biology. The mama I planned on being was all into experiencing nature and never missing an educational

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-33203581067236600592011-06-01T19:04:00.000-07:002011-06-01T19:08:36.433-07:00

{click pic to zoom} If we didn't go to the pool....we would not spend a gagillion minutes looking for suits you had on less than 24 hours agoor the sunscreenor the gogglesthere wouldn't be half a dozen more towels to washnobody would cry because they got sunscreen in their eyesor fight and argue about whose turn it is to sit in the third rowthere would be no passionate pleading to go to the

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-63302756474858358582011-05-31T10:05:00.000-07:002011-05-31T10:46:02.484-07:00

When my babies were babies, I held them for their naps. There was this overwhelming sense of time passing faster than I could absorb the moment. And so when the moment slowed down...I soaked it up. I knew that one day I would long for afternoons with a sleeping baby in my arms and a toddler snuggled close. My mom used to call them my little cats. Piled all over mama...someone usually nursing. She

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-87597718674494253512011-05-29T14:37:00.000-07:002011-05-29T14:44:48.299-07:00

Here is the thing about blogging....you get the end. You get the lesson. You get me.... but courtesy of self reflection and perspective. Often the simple act of pouring out my life through this keyboard helps that to occur. But that is not my intention today. Right now I sit, still frustrated. Before perspective, before I have learned the lesson, before I can embrace the circumstances. I had

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-30706570161062367642011-05-27T17:01:00.000-07:002011-05-27T17:14:52.831-07:00

Summer is here. It's official! We have all been given a reprieve from the routine that goes something like this: Daddy is the responsible adult who gets up when the alarm goes off. Up get the children. Without a lot of prodding... and they get ready. (Don't let anyone ever tell you that lazy relaxed parenting doesn't produce productive children) Mama lays in bed till we are two minutes till late.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-42735861127808734622011-05-26T19:57:00.000-07:002011-05-26T19:57:51.410-07:00

when did you turn four and become a little girl? today.    you bring joy.  and life.and celebration.everyday. Happy Birthday Kaya Faith!

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-56958734351492139132011-05-25T12:38:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:38:19.871-07:00

In my lap sits one of favorite books on the planet. It is a simple story with just a few words on each page, illustrated with the most basic drawings. But it moves me... I have given this book as gifts. Read it to my children. Taught it to my class. I love to read it aloud. I love to recite in my head. It's the book I want to write. As a writer, there is an element of "Why didn't I think of

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-39145135438145162862011-05-18T18:44:00.000-07:002011-05-18T18:44:27.251-07:00

Thirty is upon me. In less than two months... I will turn 30! And I'm freaking out a bit. Not really. Mostly I just feel like I have been pretending to be a grown up and now I really have to be a grown-up.  And I know age is just a number.... but I really {heart}the number 29! I'd keep it. Most days I feel accomplished. I've done a lot, been a lot, and don't feel at all like I wasted my

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-61138034955879930632011-05-18T07:59:00.000-07:002011-05-18T07:59:43.119-07:00

Every once in awhile out of nowhere comes a burst of creative energy. Usually I find some random project to start and maybe or maybe not finish. But I decided my blog needed some help. So I am currently obsessing over that. And it is kind of like when you paint a wall in your house and one new and shiny thing makes everything else look dingy. Yeah...that's how blog makeovers work, too.  So

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-21706436584956101602011-05-13T10:35:00.000-07:002011-05-13T10:36:00.260-07:00

  if you didn't read yesterday's post (that was swallowed by blogger) you might wonder why I would post this overexposed,-messy ponytail,-no makeup, camera phone spontaneous picture.  but if you did (or it magically reappears as promised)...you will see what I see: raindrops on my bright red umbrella happy friday  the end ♥

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-31398836135189462302011-05-12T07:39:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:29:53.577-07:00

My head and my heart are a jumble of things this morning. There is contentment sitting next to me. Cross legged in my chair, music coming though the speakers, happiness in a route 44 cup. The light streaming in the window is diffused by a million grey clouds. Clouds that promise... or at least tease... rain. And the day before me is simple....sweet blessings await. Clean sheets. Oatmeal chocolate

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-76103393090443770422011-05-10T15:34:00.000-07:002011-05-10T15:34:25.363-07:00

★ I can't wait for summer. Summer means birthday parties, father's day, fourth of july, our anniversary, and a million things in between. ★ Impromptu date night. Pizza in bed. Mama is craving papa john's thin crust pizza dipped in garlic butter. Daddy has a wicked cold. Children don't outnumber us tonight and will agreeably be memorized by excessive tv watching. What could be more romantic?

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-31852078642127504482011-05-08T17:55:00.000-07:002011-05-08T17:56:26.092-07:00

You are wonderful. You are brilliant. You are hilarious. You are amazing.But mostly... you are mine.There is nothing more beautiful, nothing more significant, nothing more accomplished than being mama to you. And you gave me more, made me more,on the day that you were born than I will do for youin your entire lifetime.And I am so thankfulfor the chance to love

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-56441768708138461212011-05-06T12:37:00.000-07:002011-05-06T13:36:53.723-07:00

When I peruse through the blogs in my reader or see snippets of life through facebook statuses, I can't help but wonder how it's possible to have such a life... one where the only circumstances are of happiness and humor.  I follow enough bloggers pouring out their heart through tragedy to know that there are those writers as well. But it seems there are two acceptable ways to share your

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-56844698567950208012011-05-04T19:12:00.000-07:002011-05-04T19:13:47.504-07:00

I vowed not to blog until I had something cheerful to say. {So this is me NOT blogging} Soon the girl who thrives on chaos and believes that you should never use a few words to say what you could say in fortyeleven words will emerge and she will make lemonade....sparkly pink lemonade...and serve it at a picnic. But here I am NOT blogging about spending most of the day in the ER wishing I'd gone

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-60137375010739322212011-05-01T19:51:00.000-07:002011-05-01T19:51:20.531-07:00

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-75114347094918616582011-04-29T12:59:00.000-07:002011-04-29T13:00:43.239-07:00

You know those day where you just want to climb back in bed? It's one of those. It's not bad.Just requiring effort. And I am completely out of effort. So I think I should just go with it.I am going to find my softest t shirt. I am going to climb in bed with a book and get lost in someone else's muse.I am going to watch old episodes of grey's anatomy.I am going to eat chips and

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-3989516574671543112011-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:002011-04-28T18:51:44.404-07:00

A few weeks ago a friend called and said "I want to take a picnic to my husband. Tell me what to do." And then my heart did a little dance and I said: "Okay!" Because I {heart} PICNICS. I do. I am not  fan of wilted sandwiches and gloppy potato salad but yummy thoughtful food shared with someone you love? Not much is better. (And yes... my Love Language is acts of service followed closely

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-35523580199745226042011-04-23T12:14:00.000-07:002011-04-23T12:18:44.471-07:00

Last night we celebrated Passover with our closest friends. Last year we pulled off an elaborate dinner with linen table cloths and candelabras. Our tribe was bigger, the dinner more formal, and it is was incredibly beautiful. This year we stuck to the heart of what we want our kids to understand and kept it simple. And simple was beautiful.... Because around a table using creativity to

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-21225719860767907012011-04-19T17:23:00.000-07:002011-04-21T11:19:16.214-07:00

Whenever Kaya Faith has something to say and feels it might not get the attention it deserves, she prefaces it with this: Let. Me. Tell. You.... And then instead of listening intently like she intends us to, we repeat it back to each other. Because she is such a doll. And it is a fun thing to say. Let me tell YOU. No LET me tell you. {Try it now...} But then we listen. {I promise.Usually.}

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728996960398795574.post-27678406869382417262011-04-11T18:46:00.000-07:002011-04-21T12:00:14.865-07:00

Perfect Weekend 50 favorite songs coming through the speakers Bursts of conversation Laughter. And more laughter Amazing food. Simple food. Decadent Food Walking Under the Stars...the wrong direction. And back again....in non walking shoes Shopping. Smelly candles. $5 jeans. Sparkly bracelets Sweet text messages from home Sharing a mirror to get dressed. Hair & Makeup extra girly Anticipation

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523818966458604065noreply@blogger.com1