Mama to the Rescue!

This week got off to a pretty crazy start. Ruby had her first trip (and hopefully last) to the urgent care clinic to mend a smushed finger. She had been out running errands with my Mother-in-law while I was a work and had somehow trapped her finger in a hardwood display at a flooring store.

I'm the kind of person who tends to overreact in emergency situations, but miraculously, I stayed (somewhat) calm as I left work and drove over to the hospital.

I kind of felt like I saved the day when I burst into the room and scooped her up in my arms. Even the tone of her cries changed from pain to relief that I was finally there. She calmed down a whole bunch and we watched an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba while we waited for the doctor.

Thankfully, it wasn't bad enough to stitch, but they did need to glue it shut to stop the bleeding. The whole ordeal totally sucked, but I couldn't help but be grateful the whole time that it wasn't anything worse. Sincerely, thank you, Lord.

(You can see where it is bandaged on her right hand in the photo above.)

This little girl wore herself out from crying and took a crazy long nap when we got home. I noticed that she had already started messing with the bandage, so I tried to replace it as carefully as I could. Ruby held so still while whimpering just a bit while I played nurse. I was SO proud of her for being so compliant!

And then the sweetest thing in the world happened...

When I was all finished, Ruby looked right into my eyes, leaned towards me and planted a kiss on my face. Melt my heart!

You don't even understand the magnitude of this. Ruby will kiss other babies, her dollys - anything but an adult if she isn't practically forced to. So for her to initiate a kiss at her own will...it was like a little 'thank you'. Something I never want to forget...xx

The Wishlist

I might as well put it out there. I don't need these things to be happy, but you only turn 30 once, right? Or maybe I'll be turning 29 again...

1. Garland from Confetti Systems. Yes, I would decorate my house with this.

2. The new Home by Novogratz book by Bob & Cortney Novogratz. These folks are living MY dream - a house full of kids (7!) in New York City surrounded by aesthetically pleasing design. Need I say more?

They're releasing a collection of home items with retailer CB2 beginning October 4th. I haven't even seen their offerings and I WANT IT ALL.

3. Hunter Boots. I don't even care what color. Not because they're stylish or practical (by any means), but because it would make me a REAL BLOGGER.

4. Vinyls. You can never go wrong in buying me vinyl (unless it is a band I don't like). Even then, that sweet crackling *accompaniment of an actual record player could make the worst of the worst sound slightly better.

I've resisted the mass appeal of Mumford & Sons for as long as I could possibly handle, but their new single "I Will Wait" just completely won me over. Don't tell anybody. And I can't say that I could listen to this album from start to finish, but I am *slowly* warming up to this bluegrass jazz.

Also, Sucre's A Minor Bird turned out to be a pleasant musical surprise. The singer, Stacy King, is also one of the Eisley girls and I like their stuff enough. Sucre might actually be better though. Have a listen and tell me what you think.

I would also be happy to accept Instax film, diptyque candles, and giftcards to J.Crew or Madewell. Though I'm hesitant to invest a lot of money in my wardrobe when I don't know how much longer it'll be before Baby #2. And I'm not hinting at anything. But I AM turning 30, you know. The clock is ticking...xx

Dearest October

Even if it wasn't my birthday month, I'm pretty sure October would still be my favorite. This normally would be the post where I list off all the material things I would like for my birthday (it's on the 21st, so there's still plenty of time for shipping). But I already know what I'm getting...

For the big thirtieth (I know, YIKES), I wanted to do something special. Something memorable. Something that would properly kick off this next decade. 

A little over a week ago, I hadn't heard about the Influence Conference yet, but when I stumbled across it (via the #SheReadsTruth community), I just knew that I HAD to be there. Unfortunately, spontaneity was something that got packed away in a drawer along with my pre-pregnancy black skinny jeans. I'm a Mama now, so I don't just up and leave for a long weekend by myself. Especially because I'm a Mama now!!

I casually mentioned it at dinner.

"You should definitely go!" said Wayde. There were a lot of reasons not to, so I dismissed it as quickly as I brought it up.

Fast forward to a late night conversation with my husband. This time he brought up the conference and insisted that I make it happen. It took a lot of guts to type in my credit card information (thus sealing the deal and my fate), but I clicked confirm and now it's all happening. I even found some roomies at the hotel where it'll be hosted.

There's even a possibility that a friend from church is going to put her spontaneity pants on and go with me! Which should make the 8 hour drive a lot more enjoyable. So there it is! The BIG birthday present:)

Phewsh, that was a lot of words. Props to you if you made it through the whole thing. I'll post some pictures to make up for it...xx

Return of the Letter Man

You've seen this guy before. Chances are, it won't be the last time. Des Moines' own Eiffel Tower, if you will.

It's been pretty quiet at our place the last week or so. Papa was on tour with Parlours again, so Ruby & I stayed with my parents while he was away. It makes getting around in the mornings for work a heck of a lot easier. Plus, having meals cooked for us is a treat.

Papa is back, but his schedule is booking up again. These pics are from a little walk I went on last night with just Ruby. We drove downtown to the library and I let her run around the sculpture garden afterwards.

Ruby ADORES this place. We are definitely grateful to have something like this in our city.

The days feel like they are blurring together. It feels like all I do is work, clean, & sleep. Even my sleep isn't that restful. This is a hard season.
I know it won't always be this way. It is more important that I am present & engaged with my daughter now than it is to be creative & do the things that I want. And the older she gets, the easier it is to include her in those activities. It's already going by way too fast.

But for now, I hold on to this: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us aasurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1, NLT 

Hello, Fall.

The fairest of the seasons is finally here! Time for scarves, layers, boots, blankets, bonfires, hot drinks, & football season. My hubby is especially excited for that last one;)

When we came back from our trip from California last month, I definitely experienced a discontent with our simple life in Iowa (mainly to do with the landscape). Having lived here most of my life, I always felt like I missed out on growing up near a beach or large body of water.

But then I am reminded every Fall of how cleansing it is to experience four different seasons. Having such a visual signifier of change can motivate me to make new goals or help put certain things to rest. Autumns here almost make up for a lack of an ocean. Almost:)

This Fall brings about many new changes for our little family. Changes at work, church, and possibly our living situation. Papa starts a brand new job next week, which has us toying with the idea of purchasing a house. We have held off for a variety of reasons, but the more we think about it, the more it makes sense for us at this time. The whole process definitely makes me nervous, but I am looking forward to taking it with stride and patience...

I have also started reading this book, Blog Inc. by Joy Cho of Oh, Joy! If you are thinking of starting your own blog, it's a great resource to get one launched. Plus, it is so beautifully designed as are all of Cho's other collaborations with Meg Mateo Ilasco (Craft Inc, anyone?)

Throughout my life, I've maintained a variety of diaries both online & off. I've journaled pretty much since I could hold a pen, so writing is a very natural expression of documenting my comings & goings. Deciding how much to share with "the public" though is a lot harder for me to do. Needless to say, I'm still trying to figure out how to balance that with my passion for blogging.

Thank you, readers - whoever you are - for keeping me somewhat accountable. There's over 180 million other blogs out there, so I appreciate that you've taken the time to visit mine. xx

Mamas / Daughters/ Sisters/ Friends

This past weekend, I got to enjoy the company of some of my dearest friends in the world, Dena & Maren.

I got to know these idential twin sisters through the internet a few years ago. Dena had met Wayde at college and they all became friends at that time. When Wayde and I got married, I received a message from the girls requesting our address to send a card for our wedding. The three of us hit it off immediately and maxed out our Facebook thread (for those of you wondering, it cut us off at 1000 messages). We have since taken our conversations to Gmail;)

The twins live in the Minneapolis area (which isn't that far), but since becoming Mamas (Maren gave birth to a daughter, June, back in April), it has become harder & harder to set aside time for a girls weekend. Needless to say, this recent one was MUCH NEEDED and long overdue.

It was such a treat to see Ruby & June interacting and enjoying each other's company. I truly hope this is the beginning of a life-long friendship for these two.

Our time together was relatively low key, but no ladies' weekend is complete without a late-night snack/ gab fest. We pretty much gorged ourselves on goodies from Trader Joe's.

We all ate at Zombie Burger on Sunday before they headed home. This place is fastly becoming a go-to spot to take our out-of-town visitors. I recommend the Zombie Burger Salad;)

I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life. Here's hoping our next weekend together is in the not-too-distant future! xx

On the Radio...

In promotion of All is Here, the new album from Parlours, Wayde & Dana represented the band for an interview at Iowa Public Radio the other week. Ruby & I even had the privilege of joining them in the studio! As an avid listener, it was pretty rad to see where all the magic happens.

Ruby likes to make herself known, so we didn't last long for the actual taping. The interview was conducted John Pemble, who is not only one of our favorite presenters, but a friend as well;)

The interview has yet to air, but when it does, I will try to post the link here. There are lots of fun things in store for Parlours, including a tour next week taking the band down to Texas. And if you haven't already seen the new music video for "Stay With You", here it is!! Enjoy...

An Old-Fashioned Rally

While this blog will never be used to endorse a particular political party, I am sharing some of the photos from the presidential rally our family checked out this past weekend. A huge draw for us was to see one of my favorite bands, The National, perform live. Also, to experience a little piece of history in Iowa.

The rally took place at Living History Farms, which made for a pretty poignant backdrop for such an event.
 

While I like to consider myself an Independent voter, I do find it important to educate myself on where the candidates stand. This election has taken on a whole new level of meaning when I think of my daughter and the future of this country. And though I'm not 100% percent certain who I'll be voting for this November, I will be casting my vote.

Parlours CD Release Party!

Parlours celebrated the release of their first full length album, All is Here, with a packed out CD release party at Wooly's Friday night. Fresh from their West Coast tour, the band finally got to share the new tunes with family & friends in their hometown.

The good news is you don't have to wait until their next show to buy the album either - All is Here is now available on iTunes HERE.

Thanks for bearing with me on the Parlours postings. I share these updates about the band because it is a big part of our lives.

I don't know what the future holds for Parlours, but it's an exciting time for the band and I truly think they put out a great album. It's been on repeat in my car since I opened it and I am only falling more in love with the songs. Seriously, go buy it and tell me what you think of it...xx

It's Always Sunny in California Pt.4

I couldn’t close out the series of California posts without including Ruby & Mason’s last baby date—at a restaurant called RUBY’S, nonetheless! There’s no better way to enjoy your last couple hours in Cali than having burgers & shakes on a cliff-side overlooking the Pacific.

I have a lot of great memories in California, and not just from this visit. And it’s always sad to leave. This trip was so good for my soul on so many levels; I can’t even begin to explain how much I needed it or how grateful I am to my friends for hosting Ruby & me. From the bottom of my heart—thank you. Until next time…xx