Dirt Don't Hurt

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the rare, beautiful weather and go hiking, after an extremely long day on Friday and Saturday. Luke had a great time collecting every leaf in the forest, and after walking about two miles, we decided to sit and soak up the sun.
As I went to sit on a bench, I saw this sign.


I read it out loud to Shane because it seemed so perfect, and then we joked about how whomever considered this place to be still and silent had never been there with Luke.
Two minutes later, Luke asked if he could take off his shoes. Instantly, Shane and I both said no. It was wet, muddy, and not really all that warm, but then we looked at each other, shrugged, and changed our no to an okay. Luke was thrilled, and before we knew it, these clean little piggies...

Threw sticks in the water

Collected leaves

And soon, they looked like this.

He didn't care. He laughed and ran and squished mud between his feet and said, EWW DIRTY, while I grabbed a moment to nurse Tommy. (Note: It is beyond ridiculously easy to nurse in the Hotslings AP.)

It was neither quiet nor still, but for us and one little boy with very muddy feet, it was most definitely a place that we all felt the happiness of our dreams come true.

Be Still

With two energetic boys, I mainly take photos of movement. Capturing a still life is something I've never tried before, so it was fun for me.

I love flowers in cut glass vases because you can see the green stems. These are probably the last fresh flowers we'll get to cut for many months.


Orange and black jellybeans! As much as I love candy, I think black licorice anything is an abomination and should be outlawed, but Shane and Luke both love them.

Last weekend, my bestie Leah came to visit and drank this delicious pina colada martini. I had a triple chocolate bliss martini and while it was SO good, it wasn't as pretty as Leah's!

I know this doesn't really count as still life, but he's pretty still when he sleeps!

You Capture: Red

'Tis the season for red, isn't it? Red mums, red leaves, red noses from the chill in the air.

Of course, I have the obligatory red leaves. I like these leaves because they're not yet all the way red, making me think (hope?) that maybe summer hasn't completely left us yet.

Then there's Luke in his new red coat ($10, thank you Old Navy!) about to get a piggy back ride at a nearby Arboretum. We spent an hour and a half hiking and running on Sunday. Tommy slept in the sling the entire time, and it was just a lovely way to spend the morning with my three favorite boys in the whole wide world.

I wish that this photo looked better, but I snapped it with my phone two seconds before I devoured this piece of RED velvet cake. It was amazing, but I'd already consumed roughly 8000 calories at dinner, so I'm pretty sure I suffered a minor heart attack after eating it. SO WORTH IT.

Finally, this is my favorite red lipstick. It is matte and very old Hollywood. Unfortunately, it is also very hard to pull off unless you are wearing the right outfit and eye makeup, so I only wear it about twice a year. As a testament to how little I wear it, I bought this tube four years ago with Leah (we walked into the MAC store and demanded that teach us to wear red lipstick), and it looks hardly used! Speaking of Leah, she's just beginning blogging again and is going through a tough time, so if you have a free moment, could you please swing by her site? I will love you forever!

I hope you enjoyed my red captures!

Step By Step

Big hand, little hand

They both hold my heart.

Judge Not

Since becoming a mom almost three years ago, I've always felt the whole mommy wars was blown out of proportion. At least, whenever people would tell me they felt judged for formula feeding, I always had a hard time believing it. Truly, I've received so many rude comments and statements from co-workers and family members about breastfeeding (especially about nursing past a year) that I felt like I got more rudeness for NOT bottle feeding, plus you always hear about people being so rude to moms who nurse in public (although I've thankfully never felt this). At the very least, I knew that I'd never said anything to anyone about how they feed their kid, because hey, it's just important that babies are being fed, right? Granted, I'm guilty of thinking my way is the best simply because it works so well for me, but who isn't guilty of that at times? Sometimes I can be a total Judge-y McJudgerson, but I like to remember the adage that if you can't say something nice to someone, then maybe don't say anything at all.

Saturday night, Shane and I went out to dinner with Tommy, while Luke stayed home with Grandma. I ordered a caramel appletini because I'd just fed Tommy and knew that I was going to eat SO MUCH food that I wouldn't feel the alcohol, and Tommy certainly wouldn't. After I ordered, the waitress looked at me, looked at Tommy, and icily said, "So, you're obviously not breastfeeding, then" in the same tone of voice that one would say, "So, you're obviously the worst mother ever, then." Shane and I looked at each other and I had to collect my wits for a second before I said, "No, I am. My midwife said one drink is fine, thanks." And then it was like someone flipped a switch, and she happily chatted to me about how she heard that red wine and dark beers are good for nursing and how her sister is a home birth midwife and so on.

But really, what if I wasn't breastfeeding because I was on a medication that could be passed to the baby? Or what if I'd tried really hard and it didn't work out? Or what if I just didn't want to do it? How would she have made me feel, then? She made me feel judged, and I WAS breastfeeding. In a society where we're given so many mixed messages, is it so hard for women to just support each other? We're told that we need to be happy and glowing during pregnancy and that the second the baby is born, we must jump right back into our old jeans and have a perfect body. And if we don't, well, that's what plastic surgery is for. We're told that strong, independent women work outside of the home so if you choose to stay home, you're letting women everywhere down, yet we're also made to feel that if we work outside of the home, we're letting someone else raise our children and we're failing as a mom.
There are so many mixed messages that come at women, that come at moms, that it's not easy. The least we can do for each other is smile at another mom, tell her her baby is beautiful, and that she's doing a great job. Don't worry about if she's going back to work or if she's giving her baby breast or bottle, just let her know that she's doing the best job possible, because you know what? She probably is, but she probably doesn't think it, and even if she doesn't believe you... you'll probably make her day.

And in the meantime? Just let me drink my martini in peace!