mommyland.

oh hey.
we just got back from the park, aka mommyland.
minivans parked up and down the streets.
kids running around, flying kites, swinging, sliding, wading in the lake.
moms everywhere, some in workout clothes, some dressed to the nines, all keeping an all seeing eye on their little person.
remy and i hit the swings, his favorite, and then sat in the grass and people watched.
the sun shone on our faces and made our eyes squint.
other moms said hi, and stopped to chat.
i felt happy.

i never would have predicted how much i'd love being a mother. how do i explain in words how my heart feels when remington runs to me, wraps his arms around my legs, and jabbers at me to hold him.

the other day, one of my friends asked me if i get bored being a stay at home mom.

yeah, sometimes. but i also got bored being a student and while working full time. there are days when we have nothing planned and i feel restless for adults and wearing nice clothes and having intellectual conversations. i miss being a student a lot, learning about things i never use in the real world.

but. i really love the slow paced life we have right now. i have time to sleep in with remington, bake bread, go to the gym, take a nap if i want, decorate my house, read as many books as i can, work in my flower garden, write, and play with my baby.

and my photography business is keeping me almost busier than i want to be.

i once had a professor who said something that stuck with me. she was in her late fifties and with her second husband. she told us that she had spent way too long trying to stay on top so that she could drive a fancy car and live in a big house. her marriage fell apart and her life fell apart. she told us that now she teaches less, lives in a smaller house, but also has time to play tennis every week with her husband. to walk her dogs and cook dinner.

there are a lot of things i want to do still. go back to school to become a sex therapist, or something in that field. get certified as a pilates instructor. write a book. record an album. and i am working on some of those things.

but for now, while remy is small, i love that i can stay home with him.

and i know i am really, really blessed to be in a financial position to stay home if i want, because a lot of parents don't have that option.

and also, some moms choose to work full time and they are great too. whatever works for you and keeps you happy.

"IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, IT CAN'T BE THAT BAD."

anyway, here are a few things we have been up to lately.

carrots make him the messiest. 

not a fan of bubble bath. 

walking in shoes, a whole different ballgame. 

all the sudden loves stuffed animals. 

this bread is DELICIOUS. i use {this} recipe. 

loves to feed us pretend food. 

it's incredible and adorable to see his imagination at work already.

visiting our firefighter at work. 

sang at a funeral for travis's uncle's mother.

i didn't even know her, but i could feel her presence while i sang. 

this is why i love singing at funerals, you always can feel the person with you. 

skipped church for a hunting expo. i'll make an apostate of him yet. (jk trav, love you.) 

long post coming soon, but trav and i always tease each other about religion,

his dedication and my leaving it. 

remy lovin' on his pop. 

drooling over daybreak's model homes by the lake. 

seriously, go walk through them and prepare to be amazed. 

hanging out with amelia, liana's sweet baby girl. 

seriously you moms of multiples, HOW? 

LOVE having morgan back in slc. 

homemade chicken and noodles, my favorite food growing up. 

use {this} recipe for the noodles, as as for the broth, i kind of just made it up. 

put your chicken (works best with a whole chicken, but all i had were breasts, and it was fine.) 

in a pot, season with salt, pepper, onion, garlic, thyme, poultry seasoning, rosemary,

 whatever else smells good to you. 

pour some white cooking wine in and deglaze. only cook the chicken enough to get a little white on the outside. then add chicken stock, to taste. like, i don't know, 8 cups. add whatever veggies you have. 

carrots, celery, whatevs. add more seasoning. 

oh and i used a ton of paprika, which gave it a nice rich, complex flavor. 

get your broth to where you like it, get it boiling, and then add your noods. 

delish.

what a handsome boy. gah! 

sometimes i wear a zebra dress. 

also, trav and i found an AMAZING italian place. 

please, for the love of marinara, don't go to olive garden. 

go to michelangelo's ristorante. 

i had their pesto gnocci, which they made daily. 

oh man, it was mouthgasmic. 

that about sums it up. oh also, something sweet. 

the other day i went to my parents' for dinner while trav was at the fire department. 

my brother asked me what i had been up to all day. 

it had  been kind of a hard day, full of crying and poopy diapers. i hadn't been able to get much done besides feeding and watching remington. 

i glumly said something like, "just hanging out with remy. didn't really do anything." 

my dad said, "hey, you took care of a helpless child all day long. you did a lot!" 

it's true. 

my dad is smart. 

and these days, i feel so much happiness, it's shooting out my bum. 

....

xo.