Weekending.

Looking back on my photos from the weekend, Friday night seems like ages ago (maybe because I've had two solid nights of sleep since then?!)

Yes, I got to spend the evening with my two favorite little guys ... who are full-speed non-stop ... until they fall asleep. I then had almost two hours to myself at their kitchen counter. a pleasant change of pace from my own. as was the pizza salad Katie ordered me for dinner ... and the espresso that I had after the glass of wine. The TV show is The Brief on Amazon Prime. sadly only eight episodes (and I still have one to go).

The rest of the weekend was almost all about the knitting.

The top row was Saturday - with friends, on my own, watching a new Triple Crown winner. And then about 4:30 yesterday ... bound off ... and a little later, Holly-approved.

This morning I wove in the ends, then washed and dried (in the machine!) Super pleased with the results, but you'll have to wait a few more days to see.

Despite what these photos say, I really did not spend the entire weekend inside. The weather was nice. We had blue skies and clouds, a run and a walk (and two rounds of golf). The butterfly bush in our front yard is full of blooms and bees ... and I can only hope the butterflies get the memo that we're ready for them.

Happy Monday!

Early June Weekending.

Hello and Happy Monday! Thank you for all the great feedback on last Friday's post, especially about mixing up our workouts. I added in weights and Pilates after this morning's walk ... and it feels sore in that good sort of way 😉. Now let me tell you a little about our weekend.

Marc played in the club's Member Member tournament. I have no photos. He did share that after Saturday's round they were in 2nd place and yesterday they played the team that won.

I think my weekend was a lot more fun!

The tournament actually kicked off Friday evening (players only), so I enjoyed Friday night snacks on my own.

I got an early start Saturday morning (with a speed-limit drive!) to meet Katie and the boys back at Ponce City Market and the Beltline. We had a ball ...  coffee and donuts (for the boys), a one-mile walk to Piedmont Park to the playground, then back to the market for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we walked another mile to Krog Street Market, where the boys enjoyed Jeni's ice cream, and then back again. Charlie fell asleep on the walk back so we walked around Ponce City Market to see if Sam would nap. And he did ... finally! 

at Jeni's

Katie and I both agreed it was the kind of day our husbands would hate, but we're definitely going to try it again ... soon!

Sunday morning, Holly and I walked down to the lake. She actually walked the whole way there (it's about 1-1/2 miles); I carried her home.

Then church and that big meeting I'd been planning for weeks. We installed the new team and took a photo.

In spite of that continuing open spot, I'm feeling optimistic about this upcoming year - because this is a great group of ladies!

Marc and I watched two more episodes of The Americans (we're now well into Season 5) and then we went to bed. This last photo is time-stamped just after 8 pm... and this morning my bookmark was on page 25!

I'm glad it's Monday ... I need to rest.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Three on Thursday | The Beltline.

My two favorite little boys didn't have school yesterday. So I had the privilege of joining them and their mom at a new-to-me place in Atlanta - Ponce City Market and the Beltline. Same as last week, today's post doesn't quite fit into Three on Thursday, but I'm going for it anyway!

1. The drive down was awful.
2. It was totally worth it.
3. I'm looking forward to our next visit (hopefully on a weekend!)

Point 1. (and the actual was even worse). 

Thankfully the trip home was much better (see point 3).

Point 2. Where do I start? The cityscape views were amazing ...

headed north before lunch - Ponce City Market is ahead of us

headed north after lunch - the market is behind us 

too cool! Charlie knew about this and made sure I saw 

here's the door more "actual size"

but the up close shots with the boys....totally priceless!

even their mom couldn't convince them to smile!

but hotdogs could!!

Marc loves hotdogs. I don't. I texted him those photos and I think he almost wished he'd been there. (almost. it wasn't raining at home either. and golf.)

Point 3. ...maybe this Saturday.

Short weeks do fly by! I hope you're almost to the end of your to-do list ... because tomorrow is TGIF!

Weekending with Sam and Charlie.

Well, whew! and thank goodness for iPhones. This video - 38 of my favorite (video'd) seconds from the 48 hours Sam and Charlie were with us - shows you how much fun we had.

And this morning, as I sorted through all the photos, I noted a few more things:

The boys play really well ... together and on their own. And it was wonderful to see Marc join in, too. (He did not play golf all weekend. thank goodness!) Charlie has grown up a lot in the 13 months since he and I spent Tuesdays together. Some is certainly just his age (he's 3-1/2 now), but I think it's also being a big brother. It suits him.

Meal times are a Big Deal ... these boys love to eat!

Sam's "lovey" is a drill. He carries it everywhere, even to the dinner table!

Not gonna lie - these two moments from Friday evening were most welcome. (especially because Saturday morning arrived before 5 am.)

yep, the drill goes to bed with him, too

It was also nice to see their parents yesterday morning. They all stayed for brunch to celebrate Mother's Day and my mom joined us. Four generations all together is very special (as is getting five smiles on all five faces).

The rest of Sunday was back to typical, with naps, FaceTime with Sara, a little TV and early bedtime.   We were ready for it!

A Tiny Moment from the Weekend.

With a nod to Juliann, who introduced this Tuesday topic and often fed our blog readers with tiny moments spent with her grandson - thank you, friend!

My mom and I spent a few hours with our two favorite little boys (and their parents) on Sunday afternoon. We timed the visit so the boys were just finishing their naps when we arrived. The afternoon was then full of snacks, drinks, toys, puzzles, potty breaks, trips upstairs for more toys and puzzles. and coloring.

This is a 10 foot long coloring roll (maybe this one?) and the boys actually colored for about 30 minutes. (so did Katie. so did I - except when I was taking photos and video 😊).

I love so much about this photo - those two light brown heads, so focused. how they're sitting on the paper. playing together. Charlie showing Sam. Sam just wanting to do whatever his brother is doing. (my pretty spring pedicure 😉.)

But this moment, five minutes later, really steals my heart.

Happy Tuesday!

Laying Low.

Well, hello there! I've missed y'all ... and I've missed being here, but I was doing important Marmie work this week. A stomach bug flew into Katie's house Tuesday evening and played havoc until Friday. It was a tough bugger, too, because it managed to come home with me.  But after two days of laying low, I woke up this morning feeling much better (I'm even drinking coffee!)

There are certainly moments (minutes ... hours ...?!) of these past five days I look forward to forgetting, but many more I'm glad I captured with my phone.

not a great photo of me for sure, but it's most unusual that I get to sleep/snuggle with little Sam

keeping watch over Charlie and knitting Bateaux Mouches ... gotta love a project you can knit in the almost-dark

I love how resilient these boys are ... that bug was tough, but these boys are tougher! Me, however, I needed a lot of sleep, tea and crackers to recover. In between naps, I've been enjoying The Power and knitting Comfort Fade. One more day of laying low and I just might finish one of them!

Happy Weekend!

Early March Weekending.

In spite of the chilly wet weather, both Marc and I were out and about.  Marc played golf. I took a very cool field trip and spent a wonderful (but long) morning at church to celebrate Gifts of Women Sunday. 

The field trip was to a Hindu temple, specifically the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, with our spring confirmation class (I am fortunate to be a mentor to one of the confirmands). Ten teens and 13 adults visited on Saturday afternoon.

Most of us had no idea what to expect; all of us were blown away. We learned not only about the Hindu religion, but also about the amazing construction process that follows traditions thousands of years old. ...and the Atlanta temple is one of only five in the US (six in North America counting the one in Toronto). 

The temple website is definitely work a click-through - even if just to see the beautiful photography! You can also learn more about that construction process - which took only 17 months and used 1.3 million volunteer hours. All the carving was done by hand, in India and then the pieces were shipped here for assembly. My mind is still boggled!

I hope to have photos from the services to share next week (relying on others' iPhones is sometimes tricky business for Monday blog posts ;-), but it was 100% written and celebrated by women. Our congregation is blessed to have two wonderful female pastors, a beautiful women's choral ensemble, a female guest organist and a host of other females of all ages - acolytes, greeters and ushers - to lead and celebrate worship. I had a very small speaking part to recognize the Presbyterian Women in our congregation; it was inspiring to see about half of the congregation stand for that!

We also spent a good bit of time together at home. We started the second season of Sneaky Pete, cheered the awesome showing of the ACC in the upcoming NCAA tournament and FaceTimed with our favorite boys. I love that I can now take photos from FaceTime (even if they're blurry!).

That's Sam hugging Charlie in the bath and Sam completely and utterly despondent when his dad left the house. The boys fight over who gets to hold the phone ... I think Charlie sometimes lets Sam win. and I think Marc's favorite thing about all of it is that Sam can say Poppa. Katie says that's his first two-syllable word. (yep, just a little jealous).

And in between all of that, I also kept close tabs on the latest (last?) amaryllis bloom. Here it is yesterday afternoon.

Hard to tell it was pouring rain outside, isn't it?!

Photos really do help to tell the stories! I hope you captured something good this weekend, too!

Happy Monday!

Looking Back | February.

Yep, one more catching up post before I'm ready to move on to March! 

Today, I'm looking back at February through the lens of my daily photos:

I've already shared most of these photos here or on Instagram, but I'm still surprised by the story all 28 photos tell together - what a month! The trip to Mexico over the last week was planned, but I had no idea Marc would be such a willing participant in the photos! Then there were the little boys - breakfast on the 11th, followed by two whole days with little Sam on the 14th and 15th. First signs of spring ... and an amaryllis that looks just as lovely when the blooms fade (the 5th) as when they're just beginning (the 10th). 

That "just beginning" bud managed to hold off blooming until we were home and I've enjoyed watching it unfold over the past few days. Its first blossom was a most welcome sight this morning.

One photo I haven't shared here is from the 8th - my mom at her new front door:

We had a mini photoshoot that afternoon so she had a "new home" photo to share with her friends. I'm delighted with the photo (smiles, sunshine, forsythia wreath!), but mostly having my mom so close ... and getting settled. I fully expect her to be a regular feature in these monthly collages going forward - what a blessing!

There was also one part of my February that I purposely omitted from the collage. The 10 day #tblmindbodypilates challenge was something I wanted to accomplish, but I knew it would mostly happen while we were away. and of course I knew I'd want to have vacation photos fill those daily spots. I did take a daily photo to mark each workout (doubling up on days 5 & 6 when we were traveling) and made a mini-collage. 

Pilates with a beach view is definitely more fun than pilates in my living room - but The Balanced Life works great in both places! (although I'm not sure Holly would agree 😉)

And that's a wrap!

Cheers, February - you were wonderful ... but I'm ready to welcome March!

All About Sam.

Thank you all for your good wishes - Sam is much better (and hopefully back at school today).  For sure, this little guy is a trooper; I have to remind myself the gift of two whole days with him was because he didn't feel good! After a good night's sleep, I tackled the dozens of photos and videos I took. Wanna see?!

I brought a basket of new-to-him toys with me - a shape sorter, legos, books and crayons. He especially liked the shape sorter and the crayons.

But of course some of the best play doesn't even require toys. We also had fun playing hide and seek in the laundry room

trying on his brother's PJ's

and dancing to silly songs.

You can certainly get a sense of his fun personality from the photos, but video is even better. Here are my favorite 20 seconds from the last two days.

Today I have some major catch up with my to-do list ... and hopefully I'll find time for some yoga. My body is definitely not used to so much toddler time 😉.

Happy Friday everyone - have a great weekend!

Unraveled Wednesday.

I spent today with little Sam ... who in spite of that big smile you saw from Sunday's breakfast was not well enough for school today. It was honestly hard to tell he was sick, except that he didn't eat much and he took a great nap. Not gonna lie - I needed the break!

naptime entertainment

The knitting is that Heidi tank I shared last week (in a brand new-to-me yarn) and the book is #2 in the Longmire series. I finished listening on the drive home tonight (4-stars!) and might be purchasing #3 to keep me company for tomorrow's drive.

So yes, tomorrow is a Thursday with Sam, and there might not be a post. But hopefully by the weekend, I'll have at least a few fun things to share.

Happy Wednesday!

Mid-February Weekending.

... started out with blue skies and temperatures warm enough to have the roof open in the car - this is Friday afternoon on my drive home.

Thankfully Saturday and Sunday weren't as rainy as the forecast predicted (meaning Marc did leave the house for several hours both days to "hit balls" which judging by the state of his clothes, he did) but I still think the best parts of my weekend were spent indoors:

Catching up with Sara. I listened to her latest 2+ hour podcast and then had a long FaceTime (about much more than Homeland).

Watching the amaryllis. Another flower stalk has started (this is #7!)

and the blooms are still going strong.

Saturday evening we watched Longmire while I snuggled with Holly and worked toward finally seeing colors change on my Parallelogram Scarf.

And then yesterday morning, we met up with our favorite toddlers and their parents for breakfast. Marc hadn't wanted to commit to any daytime plans (in case the weather turned nice), but he agreed to 7:30 am when Katie texted Saturday evening. Leaving the house dark-early in the rain was completely worth it!

I love how Katie can get Sam to smile

and how Charlie can actually make Marc laugh!

What made you laugh this weekend?