photo post photo post photo post

sometimes when jeremy enters our home after a day of work, i respond as if he's just said "please tell me everything you've been thinking for the past few hours, nay, the entire day." with a look that reads "leave nothing out - i don't know if i could stand it."

then i (pinch my mouth between thumb and pointer finger and) go downstairs and switch the laundry.

i like to pretend that this is what it would be like to have a three story home - nah, i don't want one. who wants to walk down three flights of fourteen stairs only to realize at the bottom that their sweet son has switched the mystery light switch in the kitchen that isn't actually that mysterious but in fact turns off the outlet for the washing machine in the basement and then walk back up (jog, i mean) the stairs and flip the switch and then walk back down the stairs to complete the laundry project? not me. :)

we had a loooovely weekend with the amazing sarah and drew, soon-to-be man and wife. i'm telling you, sarah actually looked happier than normal to me in the ten seconds before the engagement ring was so wonderfully pointed out to us (with such fitting "yeah, so, uh.. um.." indication). congratulations, sister bear and future husband. we really love you guys. and we're really excited we get to see you again the day after the day after tomorrow!

we are taking our first post-louisville-move roadtrip to kansas city this weekend for a birthday celebration for jeremy's grandpa. we'll get to spend the weekend with the linnemans and stop off in columbia to catch up with the mcdonnells and shryocks at the corn maze on sunday. we're ready for major family bonding all around.

which reminds me, mrs. melissa m. shryock (who might be the only person actually reading this) is celebrating her birthday today! happy birthday, meliss! i've got a sweet birthday present with your name on it getting to you so soon. it might be a snuggle from joseph and dark chocolate. i love you! :)

off to enjoy ice cream with my husband and find his wallet. it's been missing since this morning. good thing i find things.

tuesday three minutes

it's been a good week so far.

joseph and i walked past a wooden kitchen set in a neighbor's front yard on sunday night. i must have slowed down a lot more than i realized because the woman who owns the house came outside and told us we could have it. for free! a wooden kitchen set for free! i tried to play it cool so that she wouldn't realize she was actually giving it to us for free and change her mind and put a non-free price on it.

i felt like such a mom (because i am a mom) as i set it all up in our kitchen for joseph to find the next morning (he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it on the walk because there was also a toy fire engine on the front porch of the same house). here it is!

we had ian over to play this afternoon. here's a bonus picture of joseph and his best buddy after mama and dada. :)

in other news, we're gearing up bigtime (i'm seriously thinking i may be able to finish the shower curtain in time) for sister bear and drew joining us in louisville this weekend! we're realllly excited to see you guys. i just had the "what can i make you to eat? oh, i'll just make everything we have" feeling. do you like cereal? i'm making granola.

oh, october

it's beginning to look a lot like autumn. mmmm.. i like it. the only thing better than getting out the fall jacket after an extended summer is finding $14 in the pocket. and the only thing better than that is joseph in corduroys.

i am enjoying a little time away from the boys this afternoon. my mug of coffee is assymetrical (it's possible), and i'm sitting next to a bookshelf in a coffee shop wondering what it would be like to just pick up one of the books next to me and read it for the next hour. i think the barista just said "you smell good" to the man in line. um..

one thing that makes me really happy right now is the notable amount of things i want to do that are getting done. for the last few years, i feel like i've been accumulating lists and lists (mostly in my mind, some in a little blue notebook) of "aspirations as of lately," but most of the items remain unchecked for so long that instead of being fun projects i'll do sometime, they become little "man, i never do what i want to do" thoughts of frustration (which isn't true, of course; i most of the time get to do what i want to do, just not crafts/projects).

but suddenly, things are getting done! it's invigorating. of the most recent, 1.) baking homemade bread, 2.) trying out a vanilla macaroon granola recipe, and 3.) making just one of the crafty wonderful things to which i am so often drawn top the list.

bread: baked. (thrice, actually. and quite good. pretty dense.) granola: also baked. (a bit burnt. still enjoyed it. will bake at lower temp for less time in the future.) craft: in progress. (i'm not sure how it happened, but i chose craft project "embroider a shower curtain with a stacked rock design" for the first attempt. i am actually realllly excited about how it's going to look when it's done, and, don't tell jeremy, but i think i'll even add some smooth, relaxing rocks in various locations in our bathroom to complete the theme.)

also, there is a chalkboard in my kitchen. this has been on the mental list for years. thanks, sweet husband of mine. :) right now it has the most lovely all-cursive october calendar.

other than getting to do what i want to do (which, by the way, bread-baking, granola-burning, and curtain-embroidering did not all take place this week, although that would be amazing, but over the course of the past month), this week was really good. a regular monday-friday for joseph and me, complete with a trip to the zoo (in case you wanted to take a look at it) and a walk to the library (yep. walking distance.) and lots and lots of playing with trucks at home.

on saturday, we took a family hike through bernheim forest, an aboretum and research forest about twenty miles south of louisville. we enjoyed about 70 minutest of ups and downs through the trees with camelpak and joseph on our backs and then followed the hike with a 2 1/2 hour nap for all three of us! it was a perfect way to spend our saturday morning (into the afternoon with the napping). top off the evening with leftover chicken vino bianco pasta (recipe courtesy of melissa shryock and the new sister-recipe-exchange-email) two episodes of lost, and you've got a very solid day. it's the episode that ends with the is-he-or-isn't-he-one-of-the-others-character (i think his name's harry. henry? gary?) saying "hmm... if i was one of the others, what would i do? [proceeds to detail scary plan of leading anna lucia and sayid and charlie to secluded location for others-ambush] you guys got any milk?" LOST. yep, a great weekend.

i'm off to find out how louisa of persuasion is doing/peruse etsy and design*sponge until it's time to go home. happy sunday and happy (finally!) fall!

normal day

today began earlier than normal with a belly-ache boy attempting to take care of business. as i sat on the couch, taking gulps larger than the usual of coffee, i remembered this quote:

"normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are." - mary jean iron

doesn't it make you stop?

it could have been my super-deep pondering way that made me think it over a couple of times this morning, or (more likely) the opportunity to take the much needed couple of minutes to remain sitting on the couch as i heard joseph changing all the dials on the alarm clock as jeremy got ready for the day; either way, thinking over these words made me very aware of normalcy this morning.

we moved here almost two months ago, and i would say things are finally beginning to feel normal. louisville is starting to feel like home. the home feelings come in little spurts - a bit of home as i'm listening to music driving home from the grocery store, some more during our after dinner family walk, lots during joseph's bedtime routine. they're so nice. and normal.

hmm.. i thought i'd have more to say about that. maybe it's the lure of jeremy's late night cereal time sounds from the other room that are distracting me. i bought frosted mini wheats yesterday. um..well....

here are some pictures from my [normal] life right now/please let these convince you not to give up on the blog by this post; in the future the tuesday hour will happen before the end of the [cereal eating time of the] day. :)

we'll just pretend joseph peering out of the window of a safari van is normal. :)

it's the start of something new

it's tuesday.

since moving to louisville, i've had, i think, five other tuesdays before this one to begin this project, but not a one of them resulted in its beginning.

joseph's nap is going on 2+ hours, so i think today is the tuesday.

beginning today, i'll be spending just one (but a whole one!) hour here every tuesday. there's a really cute background story to this name, but i'll have to tell you another time (hint: it has to do with my handsome husband). i am beginning this venture in an attempt to find balance in keeping up with a blog - not too much time, not too little time, just a tuesdayhour. i hope you'll read along to keep up with the goings on of the linnemans in louisville.

and, of course, to view many-a-photograph of joseph bourne. here's one to grow on:

(sweet boy's first trip to nord's bakery)

here we go!