A Day's Delights

Today was one of those days that just couldn't have been much better.

One of those wonderful, ordinary, lovely days in which nothing extra special happens, but is full of all kinds of things that are so very special.

Today was a long time coming, the first day I've had off after working 10 in a row.

And it was good.  

Kind of like God said it would be when he mandated rest.

That God.  So wise.

The Saint of a husband of mine let me sleep in.

Around 9:00, two smiling faces accompanied a giant cup of coffee into my bedroom.

And we all crawled in, and snuggled, and sang "head and shoulders knees and toes", and tickled, and giggled, and the coffee got cold, and I couldn't have been happier.

(Haydon touched his own head for the first time today as we sang - I was so excited to see him making that connection!)

Then I and the boy went for a walk down Ottawa Street.

And I love Ottawa Street.

(as my husband said the other day - I wish there were more "love" words in the English language, 'cause when I see that written down, it looks silly putting love next to a street when 

I love God 

and I love my son 

and I love good books

...but you get the idea)

We strolled, and we browsed, and we chatted with shop-owners and artists, and I bought clothes, and my boy got to play, and then we walked home in the sunshine 'cause I missed the bus by about 30 seconds, and figured I might as well spend the next half hour getting some exercise in the sunshine rather than standing in the cold at a bus stop.

As we walked, we sang, 'cause that's just what I do.

And we danced, 'cause I tend to do that too.

And I'm sure I looked ridiculous singing and dancing my way down Cannon Street with a stroller.

And I'm sure I couldn't care less.

Haydon was tired.

He wanted to sleep so badly.

And I wanted him to stay awake and have lunch before his nap so badly.

So I kept tickling him, and singing louder, and involving the stroller in my dance.

And he kept giggling, and squirming, and yawning...

And somehow managed to sleep and laugh at the same time, twitching and smiling as I played with his ear lobes or poked his belly.

After lunch, that St. James got home.

And we waited for the poor little boy to put himself to sleep (sometimes he does so well, other times it seems to take forever - today he managed to poo just after I put him down, prolonging the whole thing even more by throwing a bum change into the mix).

Then that Saintly guy and I had a nap of our own.

Mmmmm.  Naps are so good.

And I tip-toed out before either of those great guys woke up, and I snuck into the bath and enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet and hot water before I trudged downstairs with a load of dirty diapers.

My mama got me a gift card for my birthday, and I asked St. James if he minded if I ran to the store for a bit to buy some clothes I needed (I use that word liberally.  we don't really know need).

And of course, he said yes.

And of course, when I walked in the door two hours later, dinner was ready.

Chicken parmagiana.

And he kissed me, and put on his coat, and went to work and didn't even get to eat it with us.

(He'll be fed at work - he can pick off the restaurant's menu.  It's not as bad as I made it sound)

but it sure is as good as I made it sound.  

Haydon loved it - he ate a whole chicken breast!

And then he played while I tidied.

And we headed upstairs, and got ready for bed, and I blew raspberries on his chubby little tummy as we put on his pjs.

And read our stories.

And nursed, and prayed.

And hugged, and kissed.

And tucked in.

And now, I sit, after doing those tasks that seem mundane, but mean that we're alive - laundry, dishes.

In the background, Crosby, Stills &Nash sing "Our house, is a very very very fine house!" over the hum of the dishwasher.

To one side is a beautiful vase of bright orange and red Gerber daisies - a birthday gift from my mom-in-law,

on the other a sleeping, sighing dog.

My heart is so full.

I am so blessed.  

Waupoos Island

We had an absolutely lovely vacation.

We shared a beautiful cottage on Waupoos Island with St. James' family.  It was one lovely week.  Waupoos Island is this neat little island in Prince Edward County (I know!  Twice in as many weeks!  We had scheduled this vacay a long time ago - it was just a fluke that we ended up visiting my parents there a couple of weeks ago).  The island is small; it has maybe 15 cottages on it, no stores, no paved roads, no phone service.  It's home to a giant herd of sheep, and about 10 goats.  I have to confess I was a little leary at the idea of spending a week on an island with my in-laws, but it turned out to be great.  We had a little boat to shuttle us back and forth to the mainland, which was about 5 minutes away.  We spent some days just chilling on the island, and went across to check out some of the beautiful tastes and sights of Prince Edward County.

It was everything a vacation should be.  I rested, I played, I ate good food, I enjoyed good company.  There was no phone, no TV, no internet (although there was a computer - St. James brought his laptop to play some games on, his chosen way to relax).  There were people to share meal-making and child care.  There was water nearby (I went for a couple good long swims - so nice not to have to turn around at the end of a lane!).  And there was time. Time spent evaluating life and thinking about what's important.

And here are some of the things I thought about and decided.

Less internet is a good thing.  

I walked into this beautiful cottage, and immediately started thinking about how I could blog about it.  What pictures I could take to showcase the beautiful decorating.  Instead, I journaled that night.  And I didn't even have to think about who might be reading and how I was presenting myself.  And I was able to reflect without being on a stage.  And that's a good thing (apparently this is a Martha Stewart phrase, which I was unaware of - I say it all the time.  There was a book of hers at the cottage titled "Good Things" that was full of, well, you can guess...good things one can make).  Anyway, I have resolved to spend less time on facebook.  I'm going to aim to try to only check in the morning, maybe at lunch, and once around supper time, then put it away and not check in the evening.  I'm also going to stop charging my iPhone in the bedroom so that I'm not looking at it in bed.  James and I often are sitting in bed, each staring at our own little screen, and that is ridiculous.

Less stuff is a good thing.

It was good to be in a nice, open space that wasn't cluttered.  It was good to know that we got by comfortably with the things we had taken with us.  I am going to start getting rid of stuff, left, right and centre.  If we borrowed something from you, you're getting it back.  If I don't need it, or it's not beautiful, it's not staying.

Less spending is a good thing.

Ok, so this is not something that we practiced while on vacation, but something we decided to do.  We have toyed with the idea of doing a spending fast a couple of times before, but never actually done it.  We're going to do it this time.  Between now and Christmas, we are not going to purchase anything other than food, hygiene necessities, and any baby essentials that come up.  There are a few things that we've decided we do need to buy (closet doors and baby gates now that that kid is on the move, a carrier that James is comfortable with - he's decided he'll babywear!, I may need some clothes if I start a new job).  We'll eat out twice a month, as that is something that our friends often do after church, and time with friends is important to us.  It's going to be tough!  James and I are both pretty bad at justifying purchases with "It was a really good deal!" or "We'll use it in the future!".  I'm also horrible at not planning meals carefully, and then buying prepared food or eating out 'cause it's easier.  I'll blog about the challenge - and I'm going to "confess" everything we buy in the next few months.  By not spending, we are hoping to take a significant chunk out of our debt, and move one step closer to the dream kitchen that is percolating in my mind.


More sleep is GREAT thing!
We slept!  Haydon slept!  He's figured out going to bed - FINALLY!  He had some great naps, and went to bed easily so that we could enjoy playing games with other adults in the evenings - THANK GOD!  He's still getting up twice in the night - although, there was one night, when he only got up at 2, and slept until 6 after that, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  And he's also getting up pretttty early (like, 5?).  But, it's getting MUCH better.


And now we're back to life, back to reality.  My house feels cluttered and disorganized.  I have decisions to make about jobs that are overwhelming.  I have all these things that I want to do to make life full and more enjoyable - like decluttering and all that jazz, but they take time.  Trying to balance the desire to do my best with giving myself grace in the areas I can't always excel at is tricky.  But I am inspired and motivated to tackle life in a new way, and am excited to see what's to come.  


...and looking forward to our next vacation.  St. James and I booked a B&B in Stratford for our fifth anniversary.  Bring on October 15!