blogging from Hico. holla!

this post has been in draft mode for the past few days, so I figured I'd better get it out into a real post before things pile up on me too much.

I've been reading Boundaries With Kids by Drs Cloud and Townsend, and have found it SUCH an interesting read. if you've not read this Boundaries book of theirs, you really should. the topic of boundaries is a little fascinating to me - I feel like I've learned a lot about them, having and recognizing and protecting both mine and others' and being quick to acknowledge when something's been crossed, but it's very clear to me that I still have some work to do. one of the most sobering points the book makes is that our children will absorb whatever we model (yikes!) and will only internalize values and behaviors as their challenged to... or as we lovingly allow Magz to be challenged by life and learn take responsibility for herself. It's very much my hope to grow this girl up and equip her for life as best we can, and I'm so glad for books like this.

A little note on the work front: I have been stressing about a gig I was asked to audition for by a company in Los Angeles. if I booked it, it would have meant a sort of travel that would be... well, big. hard. for me, I mean, as a breastfeeding mother who really doesn't want to stop breastfeeding yet. or be out of town and away from my baby for recurring two or three day stints at all, even. I auditioned, knowing I could still turn it down, because it was sort of an honor to be asked and I'm torn between the financial reality of making money for our household and currently desiring to roost more at home and work around H-town. I felt fairly positive about my chances... more often than not, in situations like these I get the work and am forced to make decisions. well, I got a very nice email the other night that essentially said thank you for playing but we've cast someone else, maybe we can work on something else in the future. which was great, fine, I got to thank them for the opportunity and breathe a sigh of relief. but if I'm honest with myself, there WAS a twinge of 'really, you're not hiring me? hello, what's your damage?!' ah, the actor's ego. even if I don't want the job, I still want them to want me. :P

now we shall commence the photo portion of the blogramming:

playing with mama and our toys:

you should hear the drama that happens between the bear and the gloworm when Daddy's in charge of storytime. no really, you should.

wearing sunbonnets at the Midtown farmers market:

we had a lovely, LOVELY baby shower for our friend Tricia who is *sniff* moving all the way to Ohio soon. BUT, she'll be back to visit and bring us a baby to love on. in the meantime, it was tons of fun to shower her with presents and a pretty party! I signed on to bring sweets, so I made mini-vanilla cupcakes and no-bake bird's nest cookies. observe the huge ingredient list below for the cookies:

actually, that ingredient photo isn't really complete. since I used pure peanut butter, I thought maybe the person who wrote the recipe meant the regular kind with added sugars and things, so I drizzled some local honey in the mix, too. these were seriously the easiest cookies I've ever made - behold my impromptu 'double boiler':

behold the finished product on the table with minty malted milk ball 'eggs', along with Tiff's lovely fruit kabob flower pot and those cute paper birds. when I make these cookies again, I'll purchase more chow mein noodles - the trick to getting them to look right and avoiding gobs of chocolate (that resembles poo, let's say it) is to use a lot of noodles so they come out looking 'twiggy':

the sweet centerpiece... some of my little cupcakes are back there on the tiered plates. when I make THEM again, I'm going to ice them thicker before topping them with the toasted coconut:

the second table and sweet girly 'girl' letters:

little notecards for writing blessings for the baby:

pretty, isn't it?!

everyone had a really good time. these two were obviously partied out:

hubz brought this treat home, and I LOVE it.

LOVE.

I'm sorry I drank the last one, mr. bell. it's a character defect.

tummy time a few days ago. getting stronger!

this is the place where Magz usually takes her best (read: longest) naps. it doesn't always work - sometimes she's going to micronap no matter where I put her unless, of course, I sit there and hold her - but the combination of the angle of the couch and the blanket keeping her arms from reflexively flying up is a good one, and if she wakes up there's a good chance she'll be hypnotized by the ceiling fan and fall back to sleep:

and this one is my current fave, taken at Hermann Park.

'ho ho,' she says. 'a lovely park! how droll.'

nighty-night.

-m.y.