Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Friends, Pumpkins, Tractor Rides, Oh My!

Happy Halloween!  Although this may not be a Halloween post specifically, it is a fall themed post.  As we did last year, my friend and her kids ventured to my parent's house where we had our very own pumpkin picking day at our very own pumpkin patch.  My dad has been totally into planting pumpkins the last few years, and we take advantage of the dozens that fill this part of his garden.

And this year, the kids even got a tractor ride.  By dad happened to be home and spent most of the time taking the kids around the yard.  They thought it was pretty much the best thing ever.











Tonight we'll be spending time at a friend's house, handing out candy.  Although we may not trick-or-treat, who doesn't love getting candy from a group of super heroes?  This year Baxter will be Spiderman and Atticus is the Hulk.  Don't worry, I'll make sure to take some photos so you can witness all of the cuteness that is guaranteed to ensue :)

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Statistics


No, I will not be coming to you with a plethora of random facts or some intriguing information.  I wish.  Unfortunately, I am talking about statistics, as in my introduction to statistics class.  Ugh.

I know that some people get and even like statistics, but I am far from one of them.  The past nine weeks have been some of the hardest, most boring and challenging of my school life.  I am not a genius, but I am proud to say that I work hard at my classes and usually pass with a good grade.

I like a challenging class usually, but if you add how uninterested I am in the material and the fact that I usually doze off while reading my textbook, it makes it a little beyond challenging.  Honestly, at this point I just want to get it over with a passing grade.  I am not failing, but everything in me wants to just stop doing the work.

Thankfully, I can't do that because then all this time I've spent doing it would be a waste.  So, I will continue to plug away and pray that the next five weeks fly by faster than I can hope.  I don't think I have wished for Christmas to come soon since I was 15, but then again, I haven't ever taken a statistics class either.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Weekend Wear

This past Sunday was a little different than our usual routine.  Most weeks we spend the afternoon with one of our families, but this week we had the day completely to ourselves.  We love seeing our family, but it was nice to not have any sort of an agenda.  We enjoyed the crisp fall weather by walking to breakfast, enjoyed relaxing while the boys napped, and spent the afternoon/evening raking leaves at our new house.

There wasn't anything too spectacular, but it was low-key and relaxing, which was much needed after being pretty busy the last couple of weeks.


Top: Thrifted // Cardigan: F21 // Jeans: Gap // Boots: Office London

Friday, October 26, 2012

Philadelphia

The movie Philadelphia centers around Tom Hanks, a successful lawyer working at a prestigious law firm, who is also gay, and who has kept his sexual orientation to himself.  After contracting AIDS, his employers fire him.  This leads him to seek out representation in order to bring an unlawful dismissal suit against his former employer, only no one is willing to help him, including Denzel Washington.  Then there comes a point when Washington sees the prejudice and discrimination that Hanks experiences and has a change of heart.

This film, released in 1993, shows the fear, stigma and discrimination that surrounded those who were homosexual as this new disease and the details about it were being uncovered.  Antonio Banderas also stars in this film as Hanks' life partner.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Where We're Living, and Why


Not everyone would choose to live in the city, but then again, not everyone would want to live outside it either.  For Eric and I, we were torn between the pros of each option.  Outside the city meant more of a yard, a tire swing, and tree forts.  Within the city meant friends close by, more diversity, and walking distance from almost anything.  Eric and I preferred living in the city, but knew the value of  living outside it, as we both grew up more in the country.

When we were considering moving, the area to which we wanted to move concerned us the most.  As a multi-racial family, there is a dynamic that many other families don't have the consider.  Being white parents of black children, we want to make diversity a common experience in our children's lives, but that isn't as readily available outside the city (at least where we live).  Conversely, we want to foster our children's imaginations and independence, which we felt like was a little more difficult with the restraints within a city.

This conversation was ongoing for months, even before we spoke with our realtor.  The more and more we talked about it, the more it seemed like we were going to have to give something up with the decision we made.  And then, we found our house.

Granted, it doesn't have the biggest yard we've ever seen, but it is one of the biggest yards we've ever seen in our city.  We might not have a great tire swing tree, but we have enough room for football or soccer or baseball field.  This house made it possible for us to live in a place where diversity is right outside our front door, and yard where imagination can flourish out the back.

For a long while, it seemed like an almost impossible decision.  Then we discovered that if you're lucky, you can find the best of both worlds.  And now that we've found it, I don't think we'll be giving it up anytime soon.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Weekend Wear

So, that whole back to normal post was probably the reason I did so poorly blog posting this weekend, and this week.  You know when we declare that something is going to go one way, and it seems guaranteed for it to go the other?  Yeah, that's what happened.

But that doesn't detract from how busy our weekend actually was.  We had a wedding reception on Friday night, left for a wedding three hours north on Saturday morning and didn't get back until 5pm on Sunday.

The best part, besides how much fun the receptions were, was the fact that I wore Eric's grandma's dress to one of the parties.  Yep, Eric's grandma bought this dress in the 70s, kept it, and I wore it to our wedding on Friday.

It's such a glorious dress, although the only downfall is that it's pretty hard to dance in.  But it's worth it.




Thursday, October 18, 2012

Back to Normal


Over the last week and a half, we've all been pretty under the weather, and sadly, that meant an ear infection for Baxter.  Add Eric's busy schedule and traveling, and writing blog posts really didn't happen.  But we're now all on the mend and getting back to our normal schedule.  Hooray for healthy kiddos!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Friends with Kids


I know a lot of people say it, that it's really nice when your friends have kids around the same time as you, and as I've discovered about many things in parenting, what they say is true.  Not only is it great to have friends with kids, it's even better to have friends who are also stay at home moms.  I absolutely love the time we get to spend together during the day, the time our kids get to spend playing with other kids, and ability to have fun outings that get both me and the boys out of the house.

I have a feeling that I'd go a little stir crazy if I didn't have other adults to talk with throughout the day (besides the cashier at Target or the barista at Starbucks).  I know that I am very fortunate to be a stay at home mom and I am thankful for it, but honestly, that doesn't mean spending all of your time talking with toddlers is easy or mentally stimulating.

Besides, who doesn't love a little extra time with friends during the week or a reason to pick up Starbucks?

Friday, October 12, 2012

Fight Club

Fight Club.  Such an awesome film.  When I watched it last weekend it wasn't the first time I'd seen it, and it was just as good.  Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are just incredible and the story has you thinking and trying to figure things out the entire time.  You are oftentimes just as confused as Norton's character, but not too much that you lose interest.  And then there's the end.  You really don't see it coming, unless you've seen the film already, and even then it's still great.

Edward Norton's character works at an insurance company assessing car accidents to determine if a recall should be issued.  He's miserable.  He finds some solice by attending support groups for issues and diseases he doesn't have, but then Marla starts to show up and it ruins everything for him. Until he meets Tyler (Brad Pitt) on one of his flights and his life forever changes.  As you might gather from the title, they start fight club, a club where a group of guys meet to fight, literally.  But then it becomes so much more.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Welcome Autumn

I know that fall has officially begun, but it just doesn't seem like it until there are colorful leaves on the trees, some on the ground to play in, and cool weather that requires cute hats.  Last week when we visited some friends, all those things came together to create a beautiful fall day.

So outside the kiddos went to rake and then run through leaves as my friend and I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee watching our kids play together and enjoy all things that make fall my favorite.  It was a good day indeed.








Monday, October 8, 2012

Weekend Wear



Scarf: Target // Top: Thrifted // Jeans: H&M // Boots: Esprit 

On Saturday, we started our day at a Polish parade.  I am polish via my father, who is very proud of his heritage and annually attends this parade.  It had been quite a while since I've joined him (think, young childhood) and the boys' first time ever.  It was pretty cold, but not unbearable if you bundled up and had a cup of hot chocolate that my father, very thoughtfully, brought.

This was my, stay warm and be comfortable as you walk to a parade attire.  Nothing fancy, but it did keep me warm and my feet didn't hurt a bit.  Outfit success!

I think that this type of outfit will most likely be my go-to look a lot of the fall/winter as it's comfy, warm and easy to keep up with two toddlers while wearing.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sunday Mornings




Life can get so busy so fast, especially on the weekends.  Sometimes by Sunday night, we're more exhausted than we were on Friday, when the weekend began.  We fill our time with all the things we want and need to do.  For us, the one time during our oftentimes crazy weekend that is meant for us to slow down is Sunday mornings.  It's almost a sacred part of our weekend.  We never make plans, we don't go anywhere (except to the bakery for muffins), we just enjoy being together as a family.  We try to take it slow, doing things that we enjoy and that are relaxing.  The boys play outside as Eric and I sit on the porch.  He works on his fantasy football team as I catch up on Pinterest, we talk about the week ahead, and just soak up not having an agenda.  

These few short hours we take for ourselves each Sunday morning give us a boost to start the week off right.  It's something that we truly cherish.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Bobby

Bobby is a film that takes place on the day Robert Kennedy was assassinated at the hotel where his campaign headquarters were located..  Although, it centers around his campaign and the California primary, it really isn't about him.  The film focuses on numerous characters, each connected and impacted by Kennedy's policies and eventual death.  Something that I really liked about the film was that every time you saw Senator Kennedy's face it was actual footage, the only use of a look-a-like was for scenes showing his back.

The characters in this film range as far as the cast itself.  There is a couple marrying to avoid deployment to Vietnam after being drafted, an alcoholic performer, hotel manager, campaign volunteers and staff, hotel staff, a drug dealer, a Wall Street broker and bus boys.  And each of these varying characters have weight behind their name; Shia Labeouf, Joshua Jackson, Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Lawrence Fishburne, Nick Cannon, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Lindsey Lohan and William H Macy.

When we started the movie, I was under the impression that it was old and didn't have any idea about how extensive the cast is.  It was actually released in 2006.  I ended up really liking the entire thing, and enjoyed seeing the perspectives of all of the characters and their viewpoint during this time in history.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Itching to Craft

Since our house is so close to being done, I have been refraining from doing anything too crafty because I want to make sure I can use it once we move in.  And, I just haven't had a lot of time with the house and school.  But despite being so busy, I have yearning to do something creative.

What's best about waiting until we move is the fact that I will have a crafting corner in the new house. It will be a space that my sewing machine can stay out, and I'll have lots of storage space for everything I have.  Oh glorious!

Until that sweet, sweet day, I have been pinning things that I want to make, and will hopefully be able to find a home for it in our new house.








Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Artprize

While driving through downtown last Wednesday morning, Baxter saw a few pieces of art out of his window.  Right now, Artprize is going on, which is the world's largest open art competition, so there is art everywhere downtown.  Upon seeing said art, he yells, "mom, I want to go to the art show!"  I respond by telling him that we're going to the library, which we were, but he wasn't having it.  So, during our drive to the library, I made plans with Eric for all of us to head downtown to Artprize once he got home.

So, as soon as Eric got home we started our walk downtown.  We live just outside of the downtown area, so it was a nice 20 minute walk.  Once we got there, Baxter was super excited.  If we stayed in one area too long, he would command, "Let's go, I want to see more art."

There is no limit to what people can create, so we saw art made of paper, metal, wood, stone, and even a giant kaleidoscope.  But what's better than seeing the art, is seeing my son so excited about the art.  It's very important to us to give our kids opportunities to experience new things, and hopefully become well rounded and we have something so cool just a short walk away.