monkeybars

I spy with my little eye…a baby trying to sneak a handful of dirt.

* * * * *

Impressed by Emma’s dead hang skills. She didn’t even whine about how much her hands hurt, or give up and fall off (like yours truly over here).

Anticipating the arrival of a best friend for an extended summer vacay to the States. I haven’t seen her since she moved to Italy a couple years ago, like some kind of elitist. Since then she had a baby and I’m super stoked to meet him and see her so that I can finally fucking unload all this baby shit I’ve been saving for them. Oh, and by “see her” I mean “kidnap her and her spawn and force them to live in my basement”. Because ‘murca, fuck yeah.

Planning a summertime weekend trip to NYC with the same friend mentioned above. Shhh! Don’t tell RJ. He doesn’t know yet. (RJ: SURPRISE!)

Reading Mindy Kaling’s Is Everybody Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns). Freaking hilarious. I love this chick. Like, maybe I’m in love with her. Probably not, actually, but I could be. Which RJ probably rolls his eyes at because I used to really not like her. It took me a seriously long time to warm up to her because before The Mindy Project I only knew her as Kelly Kapoor, and as Kelly Kapoor she mostly just irritated the shit out of me. But then one day the DVR had nothing except for The Mindy Project so I was basically forced to watch it. Annnnd then she totally grew on me. I feel like I want her to be my best friend. Her book is a super fun read.

Watching Mad Men. Yeah, I know. I’m a solid half-decade late on this. A little more, actually. LEAVE ME ALONE! My friend, TJ, and I have this thing where we watch entire seasons of shows together over the course of a few weeks. I go to his house after the kids are in bed and we watch an episode, maybe two if I feel like I can make it to 10:00 pm. We sit on his couch and he savors a single pudding cup while I inhale 47 cups of Jello. It’s kind of like a date, except I’m married and he’s gay. Just kidding. I’m not married! Just kidding again. I am (blah). But he’s not gay. He’s into bitches. Fly ones. It was fun to pretend for a second, though. Right, TJ? Anyway. It’s really fun and obviously only something people with thriving social lives do.

Listening to Ellie Goulding. All. The. Time. I’m obsessed with her voice in a totally not creepy way. I think.

Loving the fantastic weather.

Happy to be back in the box after two dreadful weeks away from CrossFit.

Wishing for a weekend at home alone. No husband. No kids. Maybe I should’ve labeled this one “Dreaming”…

Needing some fucking style. Desperately. Now accepting donations.

Obsessing over my garden and its progress. I’m so impressed with myself for keeping it alive this long because yes, a month is a long time for me to keep anything other than a human alive. Also, over this amazing succulent I found at the grocery store last weekend.

Contemplating chopping off my hair.

Trying to wean Madden off the bottle and get him hooked on the sippy. So far it’s a no-go.

Looking for some new dinnertime inspiration. I’m getting sick of the same ol’, same ol’ every night. Plus, hot weather calls for a lighter menu. I’m open to suggestions, but just know this: WE ARE PICKY AS FUCK.

Eating graham crackers. All the time. Bought them from the store a couple weeks ago when we first transitioned Madden completely off baby food and I’ve been re-obsessed with them ever since.

Thinking about cleaning out the master bedroom closet. But I’m literally only thinking about it because actually doing it is going to be a depressing nightmare.

Making plans to update the framed photos around my house. Madden is already a year old and even though we have a billion photos of him, none of them are printed out or framed. What kind of shit is that?

Creating lots of new Project Life spreads using all the Studio Calico goodies from my PL subscription kit. Sounds a little lame, doesn’t it? I know. I never thought I’d be into arts and crafts and shit after my 10th birthday but I guess that’s what happens when you grow up to have as exciting a life as I have. I mean, Jesus. What’s next? Taking a liking to cats?

Adjusting my expectations of marriage.

Enjoying sleeping with the windows open and nightly post-dinner family walks.

Wondering if I’m the only one that runs around all day iPhoneographing it up, looking like a fucking weirdo.

Looking forward to welcoming summer over the 3-day weekend. We have lots of plans this upcoming weekend: the pool opens, it’s my birthday, we’re attending a couple of BBQs, and if I can find someone to watch Madden on Monday morning I’ll be competing in my first CrossFit competition.

Celebrating a friend’s impressive college graduation. Like, seriously impressive. In fact, “impressive” might be an understatement. This dude just graduated with a BS in Earth and Space Science: Astrophysics and Planetary Geology. Did I mention he minored in Mathematics (<– that’s the fancy official term; personally, I’m more familiar with its unofficial term, “the worst and most useless fucking subject ever invented”). And did I mention he graduated with a FREAKING FOUR-POINT-OH?! Like I said, impressive. Oh, yeah. And then there’s my birthday. I’m celebrating that, too. But me making it to 27 isn’t nearly as impressive as Matt maintaining a 4.0 throughout 4 fucking years of space science. Party on, dude.

That’s it, playa. That’s all I’ve got this time around. It’s Friday, and time to go get my party on!

So I planted a garden this year. Cool, right? Sure, it’s kind of granola, I know. But I promise I’m not one of those granola types. I don’t even like granola. I like pudding.

yum

The little garden of mine makes me happy. Like, super happy. Not because I’m a crunchy hippie or anything, but because I kept something other than my kids ALIVE! I am horrible at keeping things other than humans alive, so this is a huge accomplishment for me. But before I get ahead of myself let me just put it out there that I’m fully aware we’re still in the beginning stages, and that I still have plenty of time left this season to fuck the whole thing up. Self, consider your…self…warned.

We built and planted our garden just over a month ago (on 4/20, actually, which is the perfect day to do something as hippie as grow your own…food), and, at ~~the risk~~ a 100% chance of sounding cliché, we’re already enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor. Granted the only thing we’ve been able to eat so far is the spinach, and two strawberries, but still. I’m a pretty picky eater and RJ hasn’t really proved to be a big fan of veggies over the years, so our garden is reflective of our super limited taste. No peppers, no tomatoes, no herbs. Huge mistake. I know. I’m already regretting not planting a larger variety of food, and’ve been considering going back to the nursery and picking up some new starters or seeds. For now, though, our baby garden of strawberries, spinach, onions, broccoli, green beans, cucumber, and zucchini will have to do.

I’m freaking amazed at how fast this thing is growing, and that I can consistently see a significant change, literally overnight. My garden is barely a month old, and even though the spinach is the only thing that’s really producing…yet, everything I planted is well on its way to producing. Especially the cucumber. That shit is taking over. Here’s a look at my garden’s progress over the last couple of weeks.