from my hotel room

I'm working out of town, spending my first night away from the baby. I miss her, but I'm imagining it could be a lot worse. I'm thankful that she's successfully weaned and I'm... um... pretty much physically recovered from that, too. we tapered off like everyone says to do, but I was still surprised it seemed to take so long (to me) for my body to get the message.

anyhoo. facetime is a lovely thing - thanks, apple product, for letting me see and talk to my family on the phone tonight.

we've been in our car a lot lately. for all the travel, I think we've all done extraordinarily well. we've managed to stay both pretty genial and mostly healthy, and we've really had a lovely time seeing family and making the most out of opportunities for work. huge thanks to mom & dad, mrs. mary, and grandma for putting us up. thanks to you all, we had nice places to collapse at the end of the day. :)

hotel shots:

I started my new eating plan right before this stretch of travel, and I feel really good about the choices I've made. I'm also feeling better in general... I think the combination of eating more regularly, making a few adjustments in food choices, and being physically challenged is helping me stay very 'level'. it's kind of a lame word, but that's how I feel. on-kilter. kiltered? level.

we were at Kevin and Linda's when we flipped the channel and learned that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. the public's varied response to his death has sparked a lot of conversation about how Christians should react to things like this. I think these are things worth talking about. I have more to say, but I'm so sleepyyyy...

a phew photos. (I wrote it that way with the 'ph' without thinking and decided to leave it. just so you know that I REALLY KNOW HOW TO SPELL.)

miss kaitlin michelle

did I mention that MY middle name is 'michelle'?

my brother's is 'michael'... we're both named after our father.

my rockstar sister-in-law and her girls:

a quick snapshot of the three girls after church last Sunday:

Kev and I, and our pretty progeny:

bath time!

kaitlin was very good about looking at aunt lu:

meggie peeping from the carseat:

munching on another favorite blanket... grandma made a bigger one for her and this one for her dolly for christmas:

our first doll baby:

I just like this one for the great view of all four teeth:

we got to go celebrate opa's birthday @ hickory hollow:

and pause to do a little cuddling on our brown couch:

we took brother J to see Arcade Fire last night for his birthday, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. the music was great, the band is fun to watch, and their visual show is cool, odd, and ofttimes mesmerizing. I'm really glad we got to see them. note to self: when mgb and I form our band and tour, we simply MUST have a rad visual element. I would also like to wear a twirly, sparkly, majorette dress sometimes.

a fun clip... they only sold seated tickets (so there was no crowd back on the hill), and everyone there seemed to have a blast. I saw distinctly unhip, older people out there clapping and singing along with all the hipsters, and I think that's a testament to the band's appeal.

...aaaaand, I can't get the video to play. sigh. oh well.


home again tomorrow night. I can't wait to totally unpack my bag and go buy vegetables to cook with the hubs. this was me today, in my arcade fire t-shirt:

borrowing The List from JR:

I'm thankful for abundant blessing, and ample opportunity to use gifts.
I need to do more cardio.
I think I'm allergic to walking lunges.
Mother's Day's coming up!
why is it so hard to remember to drink water?
tomorrow's session is almost guaranteed to be a throat-ripper. I'm glad it's almost the weekend.
I have about ten phone calls I need to make. I'm failing in personal communication.
I wish the scale would reflect the way I feel. for now, I'll just enjoy my looser clothes.

-m.y.

more than you wanted?

it's been a full past week, and it appears as though the hits will keep on comin'. on my dance card for this coming week: twenty-four chapters of an accounting course to narrate, baby dr appointment, an audition for some industrial thing, three-year wedding anniversary, a character on a kids educational dvd to voice, a commercial shoot for a car dealership... and, you know, the gym. oh, and my house could use a tidying once-over. heh. the following week I get to go back to Dallas for three days, and the week after than, for two. I'm thankful for work! thank you, Lord. I won't lie, though, it's not without it's stressors, some of which are just personal communications and little, important bits I've let slip through the cracks. but I'd rather enjoy this pretty Saturday morning than dwell on it right now.

I'm in the process of weaning Magz, which has happened pretty organically. we're down to one feeding a day, in the evening before bed, but my body is still trying to figure everything out and my chest has been feeling sort of full and 'ow'. I feel like it's time, but there ARE positive ulterior motives at play, too - not only do I have more work travel coming up, but I'm scheduled to shoot for a couple of days on a movie in Mexico in June (fun!), and want to have her in a good place to succeed if I'm away from her for a few days. as nice as I think it will be to have my body back to myself, I've really treasured the connection of our mealtimes and I'm glad I've been able to feed her this long. so far, she's a good eater and is still willing to try lots of new things.

so many photos for you to enjoy. sooooooooo many!!!! imagine I said that last line like we do when we read Pat the Bunny, or the Baby Elmo book.

first, we went to our friend SC's wedding. sorry, SCH!

she likes playing with mama's pretties, and I confess I don't really mind. she does WANT to put them in her mouth, though, and mama has to thwart her good time with noise about 'just touching'... also, mama needs a haircut.

with daddy @ the reception:

exhibit A of what our visitor was talking to us about at MOPS last week. a kind fellow table-mate snapped our picture for us, and though it's fine (I monkeyed with it a little in iphoto) I wish I'd asked him to take it without the flash. photos taken in natural lighting always look better, even if you have to take a few extra to account for blurriness or whatnot.

next, may I present Sunday in the Park with Magz:

still unsure of the bucket swing, will deal by trying to eat it:

Stayin' Alive:

it's all about the pointing, really. which is good! any communication is welcome.

with daddy:

we went to Froberg's to pick strawberries, and had SUCH a good time! what a cool outing!

tuckered out.

it's too easy.

berry-freaking adorable, right?!

mgb and the baby came with me to work in the metroplex this week, and we got to hook up with Miss L for lunch! which was a total highlight of our trip. she and mgb went to high school together and have been friends for ages.

mgb totally buttercupped me.

and no matter how cool you are, I don't think any Texan can resist the pull of the spring baby-in-the-bluebonnets photo op. we pulled over on the side of the road by the airport:

we got in last night around 1:30. I'm glad for this coffee and I'm glad to be home.

-m.y.

we're committed to our playdates.

the baby and I have been traveling across Texas together! our goal was to end up in Lubbock to visit Aunt Bethy and Eleanor (and Uncle Jer... he got home before we left!), but along the way we got to stop off coming and going to see Marmee and PawPaw and Uncle Kevin, Aunt Linda, and Mo. it was really a great trip - Magz couldn't have traveled better, really, and I think breaking up the travel days really helped both of us. here are some photos taken on the trip:

Beth participated in a craft fair on Saturday... she sold lots of cards!!

see how pretty they are?? tell your friends!

on the way to the pumpkin patch...

stopping off to go to church with the fam in Abilene and hang out awhile before heading to Hico for the night...

the best thing about this trip, other than seeing our dear friends and family, was getting to spend some time just 'being' with my baby. when I'm home, there are always chores to do, work to do, whatever - I really treasured this time to just hang out and enjoy her.

go go, travelin' baby!!

more to say, but it's time to put this girl down for a nap and turn my attention to the laundry and vacuum cleaner. happy tuesday, all!

-m.y.