The Little Things

Thank goodness for beautiful parks and beautiful friends.

My favorite tradition, as a mama, is meeting friends and their kids (Yes! I have found women whose company I love and whose children my own kids adore. Score!) at the playground.

We have our stand-bys and our new spots to check out. Parks that involve a nice walk beforehand, or a quick parking spot and we have arrived. Park days with kids getting dirty, snacks being shared, mamas laughing, and sometimes, crying. Watching our children become friends, learning how to solve problems, make mud cookies, and reach the monkey bars. Listening to one another talk about parenting, our marriages, cooking, movies, books, Target. :)

Thank goodness, indeed.

photo via flickr commons

Little Things

Little things...

I read somewhere that Martha Stewart recommends making your sink area of the kitchen pretty. Okay, so M.S. most likely explained her idea with more sophisticated terms than "pretty" but I went with the idea in a very "Kristen McCann" not "Martha Stewart" way.

See, Martha does things to perfection. I do things quickly and "just enough." The quest for perfection makes my shoulders rise to just under my ears, gives me a headache and makes me begin to sweat. So, I went to Target, bought some pretty bottles (actually, total disclosure, my mom paid for them...) and filled them with hand soap and dish soap.

So, every time I do dishes, it feels kind of pretty. As long as I only look at the bottles and not at the pile of dishes in the sink. From breakfast. Happy weekend.

The Little Things

Today, the little things amounted to a whole lot...

Spending time with 5 wonderful mamas and our collective 9 kiddos at the park

Watching sand being dug, apple slices being shared, 3-year-old problems being resolved

Finding common threads in the lives of very different, yet very close friends

Smelling a beautiful baby's head

Crowding on the sofa, listening to S telling stories to the kids, dozing

Relaxing in the living room, enjoying the cool breeze and the smell of star jasmine through the window

Life is never perfect. There were tears shed today. Boo-boos bandaged. Frustrations aired. Tantrums thrown.

Life is in session. I am trying to embrace it all. The sharing and the tears. The stories and the tantrums.

photo by TracyElaine via Flickr

The Little Things

Some days the cliche is true. "The little things" can really bring a moment of quiet, of peace, of beauty into the day.
A day full of quick breakfasts, singing in the car, playing at the park, washing dishes, cleaning dirty kid feet, brushing teeth, washing dishes (again), doing laundry, buckling bike helmets, and calling scrambled eggs 'dinner.'

My little thing on this beautiful Friday: Mother's Day bouquet, reconstructed. Out with the wilted flowers and in with a cute little display near the front door.