May 27, 2007 | Mama Smith

water weather

Our week flew by, thus the lack of posting done in minismith land. Despite our flurry of activities, Brighton did manage to coerce me into dragging the pool out of the basement, heralding the beginning of water-play weather. Now he asks for the pool the minute he wakes up in the morning. He is officially hooked on the cups of water to be filled and poured, soggy diapers, and rainbows made via the spraying hose. The summer of a two-year old.

Levi, on the other hand, enjoys watching the squealing, splashing creature from the comfort of the cool shade. He’s not quite sure what to think of the sopping wet Brighton, taking breaks to offer him wet hugs and sloppy kisses though. Or the cups of water that “accidentally” get poured on him by big bro. Brighton got quite a few of these looks…

I enjoy having a distraction for the boys where I can just sit. Absolutely motionless. Soak up the sun and just do nothing. Well, at least for a few minutes before I’m blocking Levi from a surprise water attack or being asked to spray the hose in the air “again! again! again!” by Brighton.

“Someday, you too, Levi, will have a beautiful beer belly just like me.”

Other highlights from the week included:

#1. A much-needed haircut for helmet-head-B

#2. Purchasing and creating space for my new sewing counter! I’m giddy with delight at this IKEA As-Is-Section find. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better piece and now it’s cozily resting in a nook in our home. Ready to be organized and put to work. Pictures to come…

#3. Matthew finishing up his first week of full-time freelancing! He is now kickin’ booty creating gorgeous web sites with some pristine CSS and XHTML coding. Since announcing his decision to go full-time freelance, the projects have been pouring in. Hurray! And he is L-O-V-I-N-G the work…an even bigger Hurray!

#4. Brighton getting cozy on the toilet and laying his first one in the pot. Ahead of our schedule, so we decided it was time to get him his own little potty. No, we are not starting potty training at 21 months of age, but we figured it wouldn’t hurt to have it around.

#5. Our boys finally starting to feel better and (fingers-crossed) seeming to be illness-free for the first time in a good long while.

#6. Starting and finishing a hilariously honest read, I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids. I’m hoping to blog about it when I have time and brainpower to do so. In light of so many of you mommas out there I converse with, this book was dead-on. These gals write from an honest, but winsome standpoint on how so many of us moms are feeling in light of being knocked off our feet by the surprise of motherhood. Just one quick quote I loved from one of the moms they interviewed:

Motherhood is one of those things that’s totally impossible to picture until it happens to you. You think it will be a certain way – you won’t yell at your kids, you’ll have infinite patience, you’ll sit on the floor for hours reading to your kids, you’ll divide the parenting duties fairly with your husband – and then, boom, your baby arrives and your whole world turns upside down. I mean, I always pictured myself with kids, but I didn’t expect to be barely keeping it together 99 percent of the time. The days just flow together, and I’m supposed to cherish it all?

We’re not all the same types of moms, so this won’t vibe with everyone, but it helped me breathe a sigh of relief that I wasn’t crazy or had somehow missed out on getting the “uber-mother-genes” when I was created. More to come on that one of these days…

#7. Purchasing my annual round of herbs to inhabit the one lowly planter on our stoop. Some day I’ll have a garden. Until then, I’ll make sure our basil doesn’t overtake the cilantro, chives, dill and oregano in their tight quarters.

Pesto waiting to be created…

Matthew and I sat outside after our boys were in bed this evening, enjoying margaritas and mango sorbet, the summeresque warmth and long daylight hours, and the smell of brewing rainclouds headed our way. Winter has finally let us be. It feels so good.