lady i swear by all flowers

23 May 2012

I'm sorry, I had to.

Quinny, just before bed tonight.  When he, out of the blue, with no prompting, turned into a kitty. 

Sleep well!

+Chelsea

 

22 May 2012

All of last year, Sebastian and I slept in a lofted non-bed, an oddly shaped slab of plywood cut wide on the top and narrow at the bottom, with a thin sheet of egg-crate foam folded in as a mattress.  Seb can -- and has -- sleep anywhere, but I'm a bit of a baby and my sleep that whole year was very poor, and I had frequent, debilitating headaches and back pain. 

Also, given that it was a small lofted space with no guardrails to speak of, the boys were not allowed up. 

But now.  Now we have a big, blessed bed.  And we spend most of our family time together in that bed.  Snuggling, wrestling, reading, movie-watching, even picnicking.  From the moment we wake in the morning, when those little guys come running (yes, they wake up running) into our room and jump into bed for a brief cuddle before breakfast, to the daddy-monster attacks at the end of the day, it's where we are all together, in that boat of a bed. 

I sleep so much better now.

 

+Chelsea

17 May 2012

I have a special project I am working on this summer, for the novel I've hinted at here now and then.  The novel I never thought I would write, but now that I have been given this time and space for it, it has come to me, or maybe at me, full force.  It is the story that I realized I have been writing, in one form or another, since I first began writing creatively.  It is my goal to have it finished, in manuscript form, by the time I finish my program next summer.  Because this time, in which I have consistent deadlines and discussions about my work, is magic.  And finite.  

And I always work best when there is a finger on the pulse, a little pressure from something outside of myself.

More soon.

 

Yours,

+Chelsea 

16 May 2012

The other day, Quinn found an ant close to our seedlings in the kitchen.  He happily watched that ant crawl across the floor for five minutes and then gently coaxed the ant up onto his hand.  That little critter was so giddy to have an ant crawling up his arm.  He ran into the living room to show his Uncle Dylan, who told him to eat it.  So he did.  He licked the ant right off his arm.  And was immediately devastated that he no longer had an ant crawling on him. 

He is such a goose.

+Chelsea

12 May 2012

A perfect batch of granola, made last weekend.  Stephanie's recipe works like a charm, every time.

Rye Oats
Chopped Macademia Nuts 
Sliced Almonds
Amaranth
Flax Seed
Chinese Five Spice
Dried Tart Cherries

There is a fine crust of toasted amaranth coating most flat surfaces of our apartment right now...

Yours,
+Chelsea

11 May 2012

Twice now, the birds nesting above my bedroom window have de-rooted and made off with my nasturtium.  This is a bummer for many reasons but primarily because we only have two fire escapes to garden on and now I'm wondering if anything I put out on this one will be safe from the birds... We are on the top floor (sixth), so I don't think it could be anything else.  Any ideas on how to protect my plants?

I don't really have plans for this weekend.  Last weekend I attempted to make plans for a May Day festival, but it fell apart and I spent Sunday counting down the hours until Seb got home, trying to keep my boisterous boys entertained with books, when really they just wanted to go out.  But I just couldn't rally the energy.  So I'm trying to keep an open-mind for this weekend.  No plans, no expectations.  It seems to go better that way.

Yours,
+Chelsea 

10 May 2012

All the imaginative play that happens these days... It takes all measures of restraint for me to stand back, to simply watch and let it grow from him. 

It's so beautiful to watch.

 

+Chelsea

9 May 2011

Every night before bed I set my alarm for 5 am.  Thinking that I will get up and exercise, or make breakfast for my family before they wake, or write, or do something.  Though, mostly, the goal is exercising.  And every morning, without fail, I hit snooze until the boys wake up and come padding into our room for morning snuggles.  Which are lovely, but then I spend the morning trying to ready myself for the day amidst the chaos of breakfast preparations and the boys own slow waking crankiness, and it just isn't pleasant.  

This morning, I hit snooze.  I kept grabbing on to my dream for a little bit longer, in those ten minute increments the alarm allows.  And when the boys came in for a cuddle, I kissed them and groggily pulled myself out of bed.  Grumpily.  Another morning, wasted.

But my husband is the most patient and kind of men.  And my work hours are fairly flexible right now.  So I hauled myself down to the gym, even though it would set my day back an hour and a half.  Because it is the habit of going and doing that is the important habit to form.  Really, rising early and going to the gym are two separate things, and trying to learn two new patterns at once is not easy.  Eventually I will learn them both.

Which will in turn allow for my ideal morning of an early work-out, home to make and enjoy breakfast with my boys with my headspace clear and fresh and my body already energized for the day. 

One thing at a time. 

What I listened to on the strider.
My little clown.

+Chelsea

8 May 2012

Hello! 

I'm transitioning, slowly, out of school-mode and into... other-mode, I guess.  I am working pretty much full time during the week, but I have a couple of projects going, one big adventure in the plotting stage. 

I'm still getting used to the breathing room I have now, the sense that time can truly belong to me and not  be constantly tainted by the long list of assignments that are ALWAYS there when school is in session.  I've got a long hold list of books (pleasure reading!) rolling in from the library (do you have any other recommendations?), and several new knitting projects on the needles. 

Also, cooking.  Taking time to listen to what my body needs, what the boys need, what the day calls for, and then feeling around the kitchen for the food that fits us best.  Shopping the farmer's markets again.

And tidying up my pinterest boards.

Happy Summering!

 

+Chelsea 

29 April 2012

Just a quick hello.  It's been a hellish couple of weeks.  But some of it will ease off...after Tuesday!  I am two days away from finishing my first year of grad school.  I don't know what else to say besides that.  I think I will have more words later in the week.

 

Yours,
+Chelsea