The Baby Dunk

I have always been drawn to the water.  My mom tells the story of my very first swim class, when I was six-months old.  The instructor had the parents take a big breath of air, and blow into their baby's face, which causes them to hold their breath and shut their eyes, and then dunk them under quickly.  All of the other babies were screaming when they came up from their surprise underwater adventure...but not me.  I was happy as a little water-logged clam- and so started my love affair with the water.  It seems only right that little Vijay follow in my footsteps.  He loves the water...splashing, laughing and squealing with delight.  Want to see how a baby dunk works?  Here, Vijay and his grandpa take a little swim...

Have a great weekend, and if you are in the Mystic, CT area on Saturday, stop by from 11-1 and pay me a visit at Bank Square Books!  Hope to see you there!

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Embracing the Change

Sometimes I still think of myself as young...as in teenager, early twenties.  I realize that 28 is not old by any stretch of the imagination...but I am no longer the same girl that I was in those years.   I feel this in terms of my responsibilities (does anything make you grow up faster than having a baby, caring for another life so fully?), and in terms of my body.

At the end of each long day, my back is aching from carrying a 25 pound baby, my hands are chapped from washing incessantly, and my hair, when left to its own devises, sprouts gray.  I look in the mirror and see how tired my face looks.  And my stomach, once I am tired from all of the bending and lifting, and can no longer hold it together, relaxes into a little pooch.  This is new to me, and I am still getting used to seeing myself in this light.

These thoughts played on my mind when it came time to choose a new swimsuit.  I have always been a bikini girl, but no longer.  Somehow, a one-piece felt more appropriate.  I wanted the coverage for all of the aforementioned bending and lifting, and frankly, I didn't want to have to worry about sucking in my stomach on top of everything else.  Lucky for me, one-pieces are all the rage, and I was able to find two super cute suits (and on sale, nonetheless).  While on vacation, I asked my mom to capture a few candid shots of me in my new suits.  When she showed me the pictures, I was so surprised to see a youthful 'me' reflected back.  I look tan, and relaxed, and that smile...well, it is the real deal.  Perhaps, just perhaps, I have been a bit hard on myself.  What a good reminder to stop focusing on the negatives, and start appreciating just what this body of mine has been through in the past year.

Anyone else out there made the switch to one-pieces recently?

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Wild Blackberries

On one of our last days in Northern Michigan, we discovered a hidden treasure by the side of our country lane.  A seemingly endless supply of blackberries, growing completely wild and untamed.

We ran home for a basket, and quickly returned to the thorny patch.  Within twenty minutes or so, we had completely filled our basket (and our bellies!).

We decided to mix the berries, along with granola, into softened vanilla ice cream...the perfect treat for a hot summer day (speaking of granola...does anyone have a great recipe for a crunchy, oat-y, nutty, healthy, granola?).  While the little one couldn't indulge in our frozen treat, he seemed to enjoy his berry mash.

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Cottage Living

Whenever I pick up a magazine and see a perfectly styled cottage, or one with all white decor, I laugh to myself...clearly, those people do not know the true joys of cottage living.

Our family cottage has been a mainstay of our summers for the last twenty years.  It has undergone a few changes here and there, mainly an addition to add a bathroom and a few bedrooms, but all in all, the footprint, and decor has stayed the same.  It is a cottage, in every sense of the word...no pretenses, no fussiness, just pure, sweet cottage living.  What exactly is cottage living, you might ask?

Cottage living is mismatched pillows, kooky signs (people seem to think these make great hostess gifts), stacks of boardgames, and vintage kitchenware (that wasn't even close to 'vintage' when it was purchased).

Cottage living is wearing your bathing suit from sun-up to sun-down, running in and out of the house with sandy feet (and hoping mom doesn't notice), and wiling away the afternoon on the old wicker porch rockers.

Cottage living is swimming until even the dog tires, playing with decade-old toys (and realizing they beat plastic toys, hands down), and napping whenever and wherever.

Cottage living is eating family dinner on the porch (or, sometimes, on special nights, in the tree-house), passing platters of corn, watermelon and bbq chicken...but it can also mean being too tired to cook by the end of a sun-and-sand soaked day...and having a cold beer and a bowl of cereal for dinner, instead.

Cottage living is what you look forward to for the entire year...and then just like that, its over...nothing but a perfect memory.

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Summering

I stayed true to my promise and actually allowed myself to have a real vacation- no work, no blogging, no email...just swimming, sunsets, family dinners, and relaxation.  It was heavenly. Perhaps best of all, we missed the East Coast heat wave, and instead floated the days away in the cool, clear waters of Torch Lake in Northern Michigan.

My little one is such a water baby.  He would take a morning, afternoon and evening swim, splashing in the gentle waves, allowing us to dunk him under, and squealing with glee.  He is going to quite the little fish, taking after his mom (that would be me).  If I may brag...I dove right back in to water skiing and wakeboarding as if no time had passed (it had been awhile, since no one would allow me to indulge in my love of water sports while pregnant!).  But there was plenty of other summering activities, besides water sports and infant dunking, to be had...

We picked bushels of cherries and raspberries, which we promptly baked into all kinds of sweet goodness.

We celebrated the 4th with sparklers and a sunset that rivaled the fireworks.

We visited picturesque farms, and introduced the little one to skittish sheep and noisy roosters.

There were garden walks at dusk, to soothe a baby that was cutting his first tooth.  It finally came through...an exciting, but altogether exhausting endeavor for all of us!

And finally...on the nights that we had visitors, the guitar would make an appearance, and in between heated games of gin rummy, we would listen as our guests serenaded us.  We make you sing for your supper at the lake house.

All in all...it was a perfect vacation.  I am coming home with a clean slate...spending time away from the online world did wonders for my head space.  Before this trip, I had been stressing over the silliest things, and spending too much time questioning and doubting my unique talents.

I find that, for me, too much time spent on blogs, pouring over others words, and pictures, and comparing numbers of comments, can be a dangerous pastime.  It often leads me down a dark road of self-doubt.  It was nice to come up for air, and to clear out my mental space to make room for my voice to come back through.  It's nice to be back here...I missed this space, I missed engaging with my readers, I missed sharing little glimpses of my life.  Thanks for being here...

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