Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My Head is Spinning

Whenever things calm down a little bit life seems to throw us a curve ball. We are moving...quickly. My dad's house sold at auction a week ago and we got notice that we have to be out in two weeks, actually a week and 5 days. That means that I have to pack our apartment and help pack my dad's house, which has about 30 years of accumulated stuff. We also have to find and secure a rental house to move into. We are all very excited at the prospect of a newer, larger house but this whole process is pretty stressful.
So, I guess things may be quiet at Unkamama again...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Look Mom!

 We went on a nature walk/park trip today and John wore his awesome haedlamp that is 32 sizes to big.
I love that he looks like a kid, not just a baby. I miss the days when he was so small, but these days bring me so much laughter. He says the most random things ie, "Why does she want to ride on a disco stick?" How does one even answer that?

I saw this little pill bug and we stopped to say hi. We put down a stick and the "friend" climbed on, which allowed John to get a closer look. He was so gentle but he wanted to take his new friend with us. I had to explain that we couldn't take him away from his family. We ended up making three trips back to see the little guy.


A few feet further John said, "Look Mom, another friend!" It was an ant that also climbed up onto a stick for inspection.

John looked at it for a few minutes and then said "Mom, he loves me."

How rad is my kid with his baby dreads. They formed completely on their own, and yes, I do wash his hair.

Painting a gift for daddy's birthday.

We had such a wonderful day again today :)


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

10 Randoms

Here are ten random things that I am loving/thinking/doing/dreaming...

1. Josh and I have been watching this show, Everest: Beyond the Limit, on Netflix. It has renewed my crazy passion for all things having to do with Sagarmatha. It inspired me to start reading and dreaming about a trek to Base Camp. I have no desire to stand on the summit of Everest, I don't ever want to "conquer" her. I really just want to bask in her presence and beauty.


2. John has started saying "I Love You" about 100 times a day. There is literally nothing better than hearing him call from another room, "Mom....I Love You." He does it for no reason and it completely fill me up when my reserves are low.

3. Josh and I are taking a financial planning class. I hate all things having to do with money. I wish I could barter and just remove myself from the process. I might actually be a little afraid of it since it has been such an issue for us. The bottom line is that we are assholes with our money and have to learn to save and be a little wiser. Josh is about a month away from a promotion, which would mean we are about 6-8 months away from getting a place of our own. If we want it to actually happen we have to be able to stick to a budget, so off to class we go

4. We sold our second car, so we are a one car family. John and I have been walking to the grocery store and a few other places. We have also been sticking closer to home, which slows down the pace of our day in a way I had been dreaming of. It feels good to keep simplifying.

5. Josh turns 30 on Saturday!!! I am about 3 month behind him. I think we are going to plan a night out drinking and laughing with all of our friends in mid-April. 30 feels like such a milestone and for some reason I am truly, deeply excited. I joke about 30-anxiety, but it feels like such a concrete step into adulthood, one that I am happy to take.

6. I found this movie, Barry Munday, and it is my new favorite.


7. My dreads are kicking ass. I need to take a picture of them, but they are locking and have a few beads and junk in them. I love them. I love that they set me apart from all of the other stay at home moms in my area.

Uhhhh, I can't think of anything for 8 through 10. I am going to go back to my book and wait for Josh to come back in so we can watch our show :)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Today I Felt Infinite

Tonight I had a moment, actually several minutes, of perfection. How beautiful it is when every single aspect of an experience is exactly right and I just get to bask in the joy of it all.
We went outside after dinner and John was playing with a few matchbox cars creating a little story for them. Josh and I were listening, but not involved. Then John said my some of my favorite words..."Daddy, come play with me."
***John is sometimes a bit standoffish with his dad. He spends all day with me and Josh is gone a lot for work. As a result, John doesn't want his dad to do things with him some of the time.***
They got on the trampoline and I got to watch my husband be a daddy. Not just a father, someone who provides and lays down rules, but a daddy who loves his boy in ways he doesn't always think to show. They bounced and I sat in the shade. The temperature was so perfect, probably 70 degrees. It was that time of day/evening when the light is perfect and makes even our dried out backyard seem glorious. It was just...infinite. Perfect beyond words. I hesitated to get my camera because I didn't want to miss even a second, but I also wanted a tangible representation of this memory. Here are a few pictures that I snapped, they may not look all that important to you, but trust me...they were.






 I feel that I should explain this shirt, which is pretty much the trashiest thing Josh owns. Its sleeves are cut off, and even though it has a flag, it is actually from the strip club he went to for his bachelor party. I think it is hilarious, but thankfully he only wears it when working on cars.



Sunday, February 13, 2011

Oh my goodness! Things have been so insane here at the Ventura house. Here is the short version of events since mid-Jan.
1. Josh got the flu...bad. He was so exhausted that he passed out twice and ended up in bed for like 4 days. 2. We got to go to this amazing cabin that one of his clients owns. They are so generous to us and let us go by ourselves for the weekend. Pics below
3. I signed up to do my first craft show. This was especially scary because I don't carry stock of anything. Everything I do is custom, so I had to make EVERYTHING before the show.
4. I got the flu...bad. My mom took John for two days and my dad took him for two. It was doubly horrible to be sick and be heartsick missing my baby.
5. John got RSV and was also incredibly sick. Luckily, the universe cut us a break and John waited to get sick until I was moderately better and could take care of him.
6. Once he got better his temper and moods were absolutely out of control. I spent 5 days in tears and frustrated dealing with whining and temper tantrums that I have never experienced.
7. John snapped out of it and I had 5 days to craft almost everything I needed before the crafts show that took place on Feb 12th.
Soooo...I haven'thad a chance to do much of anything, let alone blog. I am so excited to get back to our routine and have some adventures to share. Josh turns 30 on Saturday, so we are having a date night. John started potty training today, which is a big old step off of a cliff because I have zero idea what I am doing :) He is excited though, and I love seeing his little tushy in underpants.

Here are some pics from the last month, including the craft show.


  The Unkamama Crafts Table :)



Sick mama, Sick Baby, Happy Cat

Hugging "Frosty"

Snow Angels

A small taste of this gorgeous cabin



Fort Building at home :)

I hope I get to post more regularly again now that things have calmed down.