a good ride

Hey y'all.  I've been single mom'in around here the last few days.  It's been going well, I just have to limit extracurricular activities.  For instance, I could brush the toilet bowl but I choose to squish green cabbage moth eggs off my brassicas instead.  Priorities.

Juniper asks every morning and every evening, "Is daddy home?"  We all miss him terribly and parenting without a partner is hard and exhausting...and rewarding.  We become a tight little pack and I have to be on my game, knowing there's no backup.  Relief only comes once the kids are in bed and I scurry about the home and yard, wrapping up chores that are forty times faster without two children in tow.  

Things I do by moonlight when normal people are sleeping: 

*Plant nursery-clearance strawberries.  

*Pick cabbage moth worms, squish their eggs & spray with lavender water.    

*Plant last-minute-maybe-too-late peas and lettuce.

*Water newly-planted aspens, lilacs and currents.

*Jump on trampoline.  

The last is my favorite.  There's nothing like moonlit trampoline jumping with a baby monitor clutched in your fist.  

Tonight I promised Juniper I would "sit in the rocking chair" after I nursed Hazel down.  Juniper was fast asleep by the time I stepped over the creaky floorboard at the entrance to her room, so I just peeked at her little body all squirreled up under the quilt.  Gosh, I love this parenting gig.  I am so lucky I get to be their mom.  Our days are filled with laughter and frustration, loads of pretend play (my favorite), constant reminders to share and have nice hands, and the giggly, shrieking laughter that is their sisterly connection.  Truly, it's an awesome rollercoaster and I've always been a fan of a good ride. 

:: Our week.  Before the Mr. had to leave, we met up with his brother's family and camped lakeside.  

  ^Cousin Sam (aka Fish), Juniper and Aunt D.^      

   ^Uncle D, Juniper, and my partner in crime.^

^Juniper: "Owen, is you got a trotch [crotch]?"^

^First time on a canoe.^  

Bedtimes were pushed into the wee hours with a campfire and requisite marshmallows.    

Cousin Owen learned to roast his own, then systematically feed them to Sam.  

Like a good cave-baby, Hazel was entranced with the lapping flame.  

Goodbyes leave us feeling both empty and full.  

And even though she had thrown rocks at Owen's head a scant ten minutes earlier, Juniper took it the hardest, running after their truck and bawling, "NOOOOOOO!  YOU WANNA COME BAAAAAACK!"  It was heartwrenching to witness as she threw herself to the ground in the middle of the road.  How to explain how family is so tight...and then gone?  To her, it seems like a lifetime before we see them again.  

::

:: The day my man left, we welcomed a distraction in the form of a county fair and bisecting busy summer schedules with friends we don't see often enough.  

 Pony rides made her dreams come true.

:: Home.  

We have been hot, sweaty, sun-screen sticky, dirty-feet lovin' fools.  

This girl wants to fly.