A childhood rite of passage, the sprinkler

What could be better Memorial Day weekend than a backyard sprinkler? Behr may not have liked the grass. The water may have been a tad on the cold side. But the sprinkler entertained for hours! Especially once we moved the sprinkler to the warm smooth patio where puddles formed for splashing.

Behr officially loves the sprinkler.

We also taught him how to drink from the hose, but that's a post for another day!

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Congratulations to tellmeastoryjosie you won The Little Blue Truck!

Your Questions, Answered {part two}

What is your favorite part of blogging?

I love that I am creating a record for my family. That is hands down, my favorite part of blogging. I also really enjoy sharing experiences with friends, family, and other bloggers. It is a fun outlet for me. I can't imagine ever giving it up.

What do you dislike most about blogging?

Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with much of the negative side of blogging that some experience. However, I do occasionally get sucked into the numbers. It is hard to remember that blog traffic doesn't define me or my family. 

Why do you blog when you have so much else going on?

I blog first and foremost for my family. It seems counter intuitive to spend time away from my family, for my family. But at the end of the day, this blog is the best record we have. We all look back on it. Just this past weekend I searched for an old post that featured pictures of a story my family was laughing about. 

Also, I hope blogging can become something a bit more for my family, a means for keeping me home during the day with Behr. That would be the ultimate!

Do you plan on staying in DC long term?

We love DC, but know that now is the time to take an adventure. Behr isn't in school, there aren't any other babies on the way. If we want to live or work somewhere else for a while, now is the time. So as we consider next steps for our family we are keeping doors open.


Do you ever feel insecure? How do you combat those feelings?

Yes, all the time. My insecurity primarily stems from other people's opinions of me.  Naturally a people pleaser, I stress out about how I will be perceived. Blogger meet-ups are the hardest for me. I am always afraid that people will stop liking me, think I misrepresent myself on my blog, or some other crazy thing like that.

I often get nervous about letting people down, and in turn over commit. This is the most destructive form of my insecurity, something I really have to work on.

I am also insecure about my working mom status. I hate conversations about work vs. motherhood, because I feel like everyone always has an agenda, or a solution to offer me. People make assumptions, that I am putting my career before my family, that I want an extravagant life style, that money matters more than my child, that I don't enjoy motherhood. None of these assumptions are correct, but they still sting. I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing what is best for my family right now.

To combat these all of my feelings on insecurity? Oh wow, I am not sure I am very good at this. I try to pray when I am feeling insecure, I listen to positive and encouraging music, and I surround myself with encouraging friendships, I stop reading magazines, or blogs that I start comparing myself to. The whole mantra garbage in garbage out...I try to make it apply to all areas of my life.
When you daydream of the perfect life for your family in the fictitious 5 years, what does that include?

Five years from now...in my dreams: We may still live in a city, but we have a farm with a barn where everyone likes to hang out. Our house if full of children, our own and their friends, because we have created a welcoming place that is kid friendly. We enjoy summers outside on a big porch. We have a garden where we grow most of our food, but we also support local farmers. We have a full size freezer so we can buy a whole cow. If we don't live near family, we are blessed to be able to visit them often. I no longer have a traditional day job, but instead support my family through my own business (maybe my etsy shop and blog...maybe something else, who knows!) This dream could go on and on...

If/when Mark is working late or out with the guys, and Behr is happily in bed, what do you watch on TV and what do you make for dinner?

If Mark is out for the evening, I tend to keep dinner really simple but not necessarily healthy. We tend to eat healthy together, so solo style looks like prepackaged tortellini, bagel bites, or mac and cheese, something Behr and I both enjoy that is quick and easy.

Once Behr goes to bed (which is always earlier when we aren't both home for some crazy reason...) I tend to catch up on blogging or make more cards for my etsy shop. But my go to TV shows are Fairly Legal, Parenthood, NCIS, and The Good Wife, but we often watch these together even though I know they aren't Mark's favorite. He's a good sport.

What is your favorite food? The food on your blog always seems healthy, do you ever eat dessert?

I eat my fair share of dessert, but typical crave salty food, not sweets. I make a mean chocolate chip cookie and those are my favorite non-fruit dessert. I am not a huge chocolate fan.

The food on my blog looks healthy because we eat a lot of fruits and veggies from our farm share, or CSA.  I like experimenting with new recipes with CSA food, so that is why they get featured more heavily on the blog. Plus fresh produce makes for better photos.

My absolute favorite, I would eat it any time of day, food is a philly cheesesteak. Kinda gross right? But I love them. Its a good thing I haven't found a place to get an authentic cheesesteak here in DC.

Thanks so much for asking great questions! This has been really fun.

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Be sure to check out part one and my new FAQ page.

Memorial Day Thoughts

Several weeks ago, friends visited us in DC and we enjoyed one of our favorite walks in the city, the Capitol at night. The photos are always stunning, but nothing compares to the real thing.

As I reflect on Memorial Day weekend, I am reminded of the words inscribed above the Supreme Court, "Justice The Guardian of Liberty," and the incredible sacrifices made every day. Sacrifices made  so I can freely walk these streets and gaze up at these buildings, and so much more. I cannot fathom the liberties that you and I share and take for granted every day. The least that we can do is say thank you to those who serve today, and the families of those who came before us.

I look forward to years of sharing our family's heritage of service with Behr, of visiting Arlington with him, and showing Behr the legacy of his grandparents. For now, we will simply remember them in our prayers.

Your Questions, Answered {part one}

When I put out the call for questions, I had no idea what to expect. But the response was surprising! First, I received a lot of questions! Second, most of you asked the same general questions. At the end, it was pretty telling about what I might not be sharing enough about, namely motherhood and work life balance. So without further ado, your answers

What do you think is the hardest part about being a Mom?

I am not sure there is a hardest part. Motherhood offers an extra component to every single thing you do. There is always another life to consider, plan for, or accommodate. It is very rarely ever easy. That being said it is still good. Just because something isn't easy, doesn't make it bad.

For me, personally, having patience is what I struggle with most. I would say I've got it 70% of the time, but when I don't, it is really bad. No one in our house is happy. I get frazzled, I lose my temper, I forget to take a deep breath. That is hard when you are a mom. Not having patience often means Behr is paying the price. After the fact, that causes a lot of guilt.


How many kids do you hope to have?

A full quiver! I hope and pray that we are blessed with a full family. I used to say I wanted seven or nine kids, my mom is one of seven, but now I think my heart has settled around five. Five seems practical. You can still fit in a small home, drive a normal car with each family member securely buckled in, sit around a table together, play games with everyone included. Yes, five; a fun brood, but not totally overwhelming.


Why did you start potty training Behr so early? Do you think you are forcing it? 

We pulled out the potty we had received off our registry to show a friend, and Behr loved it, so we kept it out. We don't make Behr sit on the potty at specific times or even daily, instead we let him show us when he has to poop. He usually goes over towards the bathroom and starts grunting. The whole process has been totally led by him and is also quite humorous.


Since you've been a Mom for a year now, could you make a list for Mom's to be on your fav products, what Behr loved as a baby, etc?

Well, when I first saw this question, I thought I had answered it here, here, here, or most recently, here. But then I realize there isn't a good all encompassing post. I will work on that. Expect it to be coming in the next month or so.

Do you work because you "have" to, or because you "want" to?

I work because I have to.

But I have to work because of my own decisions. Although we are fairly financially responsible, I still have a pile of student loan debt from my undergrad. Until just recently I have been feeling rather entitled. My thoughts went along the lines of..."Since I work, I have a right to buy a new pair of black heels." or when getting starbucks or eating lunch out, "These are the luxuries I grant myself for being such a hard worker."  This line of thought has made me, what my husband jokes, "a money pit." Recently, as I have been struggling with leaving Behr and missing out on fun activities, I have been striving to make an effort to think about him before spending money.

That said, I like my work. And if I do reach the point where I have a choice to stay home, it will likely be a short term decision. I can see myself coming back to this sort of work again, later in my life.


Is it tough to balance working full-time and a family?

This is incredibly difficult for me. Especially because most of the moms at our church and in our community stay at home. I am still working through my own thoughts on this one, and will be writting about it more soon.

How do you balance working full time and serving your family?

Things don't always go smoothly, and I have to be okay with that. I hae learned to turn more invitations down and to volunteer for less. Everyone goes through different seasons of life, and currently I am in a season that is stretched pretty thin.

For a while we had our groceries delivered. I didn't have the bandwidth to make it to the grocery store. Now I go super late at night during the week, the store is less crowded and I get in and out faster.

I only cook 2-3 times a week, the rest of the nights are some form of leftovers from these meals.

I have embraced clutter.

I avoid clothes that need to be dry cleaned. I am loving Boden and Ann Taylor Loft for their high quality items that look dry clean only, but actually go through the laundry surprisingly well.

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Stay tuned, the second half of the questions will be answered next week.

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Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of our favorite book!

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We hope you all have a lovely memorial day weekend.

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Our Graduate + the epic journey that got us there

I don't really know how to write this post. In my head it was going to be about how proud we are of all of Mark's hard work over the past two years, the incredible way he juggled work and family and school and a crazy neurotic blogger wife becomeing a momma for the first time. Leaving the country days after his son was born, knowing he was missing a few small things, but holding firm that this step was leading to a life of being present for more. Because, you know, sometimes you have to make the hard choice now for the better future. Our little family is still in the waiting phase, waiting to see what's next, waiting to see if DC will remain our home, waiting to see where God is taking us, what he has in store for us. But as we celebrate Mark's graduation, the completion of his master's degree from Johns Hopkins, we are proud of him and that's what this post was supposed to be about.

But the real story is how we got there, no not the whole journey, just the day of the actual ceremony. Mark was required to arrive by 2:00. I was required to be seated by 2:45. We left DC around noon, with nearly two hours to spare, the biggest lag time we have ever given ourselves to get to Baltimore. And then it took us 40 minutes and twist and turns to get out of DC, only to sit in bumper to bumper traffic, switching highways for open road, only to be slowed down by on and off visability reducing downpours. Everywhere we looked we were in traffic. No matter how hard we tried to go faster, we slowed down. Finally, at five after 2, a few blocks from the ceremony site, we plotted our Chinese firedrill. Mark jumped out of the car, grabbed his regalia, and began to ran. I got in the driver's seat as Behr woke up and began to scream. I circled the building twice, following the direction of event staff to parking. Lots are full, lots are full. By the third parking lot I resorted to bribery, offering to pay extra, and lying about my condition in hopes of gaining pitty. I am not proud of this moment. Nor was it successful. I can typically charm my way in and out of things, but my efforts were futile. As 3:00 rolled around, I am literally about to burst into tears on the phone with my mother-in-law, proclaiming I am going to miss everything. I find street parking, the very first spot I see, I take. I am 14 blocks away, but desperate to finally park. I pay the meter, juggling Behr, the diaper bag, the umbrella, and my wallet at the meter machine, a gentleman approaches and offers to hold my baby while I pay. Ummm...no. Now my momma senses go on high alert and I feel threatened, the last thing I need. I begin to run, in pouring rain, in a silk dress and heels, over cobblestone and brick sidewalks, carrying a 16 month old, because strollers are not allowed at the graduation ceremony, and the heaviest diaper bag on the planet filled with the essentials for two hours of entertainment. I ditch my umbrella. When we get to the building, my father-in-law spots us immediately. Bless him. I hand him the remaining tickets and elbow my way to the nearest bathroom, closed, and then find another so I can pull myself together, change the worst diaper I have ever seen in my life on the dirty floor because there were not changing tables. At this point, I may or may not have told a group of graduates straigtening their caps and gowns to never believe the world is a baby-friendly place. Once again, not a proud moment. Finally, Behr and I have both stopped crying and we sprint to our seats, over 30 minutes late, but somehow just in time.

The ceremony was wonderful. The speakers were thoughtful, interesting, and brief. Behr clapped with the crowed, and signed "more" every time he heard the word in a speech. My heart melted watching him be so excited to be with the adults, attentive and well behaved. Mark crossed the stage, his brother cheered, Behr clapped so hard, it was as if he truly understand the significance. I passed Behr off to the grandparents so I could return to the car, 14 blocks away to feed the meter, passing a few open spots along the way, I decide to move the car closer and make it back inside in time to meet Mark as he filed out of the ceremony with his classmates. We reunite with the rest of the family and celebrated. We gathered with friends in Federal Hill at The Rowhouse Grille for a fabulous dinner in honor of our graduate!

I could have posted one hundred pictures of these two hanging out. We are already certain they are going to be life long friends, Behr and Evelyn.

I am linking up to small style, even though the rain kept most of my picture taking at bay, I can't resist sharing Behr in a button down with his hair all combed! Behr wore: a plaid shirt from Polo Ralph Lauren via TJ Maxx, hand-me-down khakis, and a Carter's zip up sweater.

Sliced Brussels Sprout Salad

It is no secret that I love my brussels sprouts. As much as I love them straight up roasted, a la Ina, I could not resist the chance to share another recipe with you. My friend Leah hosted a Kentucky Derby party and served pulled pork sandwiches along with this salad. Two simple dishes, but it was fantastically delicious. I tracked down the recipe, so simple its stupid, and have made it twice since!

raw brussels sprouts, slice thinly with a sharp knife

walnuts, toast lightly, crush

toss together

top with freshly grated parmesan

extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste

toss again

add crushed pepper, if desired

And there you have it!

The joy of this recipe is you don't need exact measurements, so I omitted them. 

If you prefer the precise details, hop on over to epicurious.