how the light gets in + the long way home

Making a bit of headway with my books the past few weeks. I started the ninth Inspector Gamache novel, How the Light Gets in, on my flight down to Florida and finished a few days after I got home. While I have enjoyed the entire series so far, this one takes first place for me. A lot of the characters were in turmoil the entire time and there were so many stories that came together and I am so happy that I was able to appreciate every detail due to the fact that I have followed along from these characters inception. 

My favorite (and I think relatable to the current climate in the US) passage in the book:

"Armand Gamache had always held unfashionable beliefs. He believed that light would banish the shadows. That kindness was more powerful than cruelty, and that goodness existed, even in the most desperate places. He believed that evil had its limits. But looking at the young men and women staring at him now, who'd seen something terrible about to happen and had done nothing, Chief Inspector Gamache wondered if he could have been wrong all this time.

Maybe the darkness sometimes won. Maybe evil had no limits."

And now I'm reading The Long Way Home, the tenth installment and my fourth book for the year. If I finished in the next few days I will really be on track with my goal.

The gang is back together (even more-so than before) and they are on the search for a missing villager. Hoping it ends well for everyone.

"Magical." -NPR's Weekend Edition

Leia

oscars

Whew, what a mix-up for best film! But I am happy that Moonlight won! La La Land surely had sweeping victories during this entire awards season but like I said previously.. I really, really enjoyed that film but I didn't feel like there was anything so incredibly spectacular to have the results it did.

I love the shock and excitement from everyone.

And also, can we please just talk about the tour bus people?! I would have just died. My life would have been complete at that point and I literally would've died. Hugged Meryl Streep and just died. Dead.

I was such a Gary. Yes, this is on national television and I have the ability to watch myself meeting all these celebrities but nah, I got my own phone so I'm going to record myself meeting these celebrities. Pics or it never happened, right?

Last but not least, my bae. Presenting for Best Actress. So dreamy.

And now to actually watch all the best films.

Leia

conversations with kennedy

A few days ago I got home from a couple day trip to Florida with Adam; more posts to come! Kennedy always really wants to come with me and always inquires when she can go to Florida or when I'm going to take her on a plane.

Kennedy: "When you take me on a plane for the first time can it be to Paris?"

Yes, let me see what I can do about that while I currently do budget fares on Spirit and travel without a carry-on item. Near exploding bags are worth the savings people!

Howdy.
Leia

the 89th academy awards

I absolutely love going to the movies but frankly 2016 for me was primarily filled with horror films. So with awards season approaching I had this grand scheme of watching the movies I missed out on during an Oscar viewing type party. But then the list of nominee's (for best picture) came out and I realized I hadn't seen any of them and my date for La La Land was still a week away!

I have until Sunday to attempt watching all 8 remaining films on my list. HAHA.

Yeah, good one, Leia. You've seen one of these. While I'm assuming La La Land is going to win; especially with their monopoly on the Golden Globes I am somewhat surprised. I enjoyed the movie, but thought the ending was complete shit! In some aspects it was nice, but I really just thought it was too unbelievable for what it was. Definitely wasn't blown away by the story or by the cinematography. Sure, the acting was good but who knows.

"City of stars, are you shining just for me?"
Leia

yleo 101: intro to essential oils

Ah yes, I've officially begun my journey into the world of essential oils. Last year one of my best friends hosted a Young Living party that I went to (with full intentions of buying something to aide in Piper's bad sleeping habits). Well, I didn't realize they were pricey so I passed. And I waited, and waited, and waited. Well, finally I asked if there were samples that I could use to see if I wanted to dive in. 

Lavender and cedarwood. Yum.

After a few nights we definitely saw a change in her and after a solid week I was officially sleeping through the night again! It was something I didn't really publicize because I knew the moment I started talking about it, everything would come crashing back down.

Well, fast forward (or rewind, however you want to look at it) to about three weeks ago. There are a few Young Living enthusiasts that I follow on Instagram and one of them advertised about a promotion that offered their Peace and Calming oil for free when you bought the premium starter kit (for the first time). Alright, let's just do this thing I've been talking about if for a year!

Hooray! My box of goodness has arrived! Piper started ripping things apart while I was looking at the pretty books and informational items that came with and then she fancied herself a fort; complete with iPad for Zootopia viewing.

My sample stocks have been almost completely drained by this time and ever since Piper's toothcident she has been paci free. Partly due to the injury but it's been long overdue to take it away. Needless to say her nighttime habits have gone back to complete shit and we've been trying different combinations with Piper in hopes of finding the magic sleep cure until I can order my own cedarwood. I'm also still trying to decide which other scents to buy! They are affordable for how long they last but still a pretty penny so I would hate to buy a questionable scent and end up hating it.

Oil me up, Scotty!

Leia

valentine's day

What, I'm behind on posting you say? SURE AM, but thanks as usual for stopping by and checking in on my behind schedule ass. 

This week though, we celebrated Valentine's Day. We ended our weekend by making Kennedy's Valentine's for her class. This of course could not have been any sooner than the night before they were due even though I bought them in January after noticing their stock was almost completely gone already.

The sets I bought were little felt hearts that were sewed and stuffed. I thought they were so cute and would be a nice change from the typical things kids hand out.

And as usual, I was off to a good start. I forgot to put the arms and the legs in the very first one. I truly started to regret my decision and my procrastination. I had twenty-three of these things to put together for Kennedy to decorate!

But eventually we got the process moving like a well-oiled machine and we got them all done.

And now for the fun treats of Valentine's Day! I rounded up some pink and heart themed goodies for the kids and got Brendon a good old fashioned box of Russel Stover's chocolates. I know, I know you can pat me on the back now for being such a thoughtful and creative wife.

 Most everything I gathered was from the Valentine's section at Target. It was ransacked by the time I got my shit together two days before the 'holiday'. The love themed bath bombs were an added treat because the girls are crazy about them. It was the first time I've ever visited LUSH and I was blown away by how many different bath bombs there were! I don't know why I only thought there were a few varieties, but I was pleasantly surprised but also meant I had to really play WILL POWER. Four was literally the least I was able to walk away with, but look how fun they are! And to be fair, two are bubble bars so they are good for a few tub parties.



Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me!
Leia

conversations with kennedy

Kennedy: "Dad, is this you in this picture?"

Brendon: "Yes."

K: "You know how I knew?"

B: "How?"

K: "Because of the tattoo."

B: "Oh, good job"

K: "So have you been to china before?"

B: "Nope."

K: "Oh, I thought tattoos were made in China."

I'm not even sure where she found this picture, it was before Brendon and I were even together but boy am I glad she did because I got to hear the funniest conversation. I'm not sure why it was sparked now since we have both had tattoos for her entire life.

Made in China.

Leia

tales of an early tooth fairy

Where do I even start, I still feel sick to my stomach even three days after the incident. 

Wednesday evening Piper, Kennedy and Ken's friend were playing upstairs in the playroom while I was finishing up a few things for school. No fighting, no bickering. All of a sudden we hear a decent thud and crying from Piper. As per usual, we call up asking if everything is okay and Ken said that Piper, "fell off the wood". To preface this, we are putting laminate wood flooring in the kitchen and living room soon. Initially I bought 100 sq ft to put in the play room to see how the color looked installed and to test it's durability, so there were two rows boxes stacked on top of each other in the playroom. Not very high, maybe 6 or 8 inches off the ground. 

Not even a minute goes by before I round the corner to head upstairs due to the fact that Piper's crying has turned into full on screaming. I make it up to the landing, turn the corner to the second portion where I see Piper. Covered in blood. Blood down the front of her shirt. Blood down her arm. Blood on the wall from her bracing herself to come down the stairs. A trail of blood on the carpet. Hurriedly I pick her up, and I'm frantically trying to get down the stairs without falling. Yelling, screaming, trying to figure out what in the hell happened. Kennedy again says, "I don't know mom she fell off the wood!" She is quickly turning into a bigger wreck than me at the sight of her little sister. She says that Piper was on the wood and fell into one of our stand-up musical toys.

Brendon grabs paper towels and we start blotting the blood to try to find the source. Piper is hysterical. I'm hysterical. Kennedy and Brendon are hysterical. At this point I see Kennedy's friend quickly rushing to get her snow pants on and head home, I have NO idea what was going through her head but I'm sure she was scared shitless.

The blood is obviously coming from her mouth; so we assume she bit her tongue or her lip during the fall. Okay paper towels aren't doing the job, get a kitchen towel. Check tongue; fine. Lift upper lip.. "HOLY SHIT, BRENDON! HER FRONT TOOTH IS GONE!" I could have puked. Her cries and screams were warranted to the fullest. Trying to imagine the pain that she was experiencing from this injury.. I can't. Kennedy is balling. Brendon is upstairs trying to find the tooth. I'm trying to keep myself from nervously laughing and sobbing. My two year old is toothless and will be toothless for years to come.

And thus ensued more panic and hysteria. Rushing around gathering the few things I need to get out of the house and take her to the emergency room. The amount of blood.. I think I've outlined that for you. Her entire tooth down to the root came out. At this point I'm imaging the worst case scenario for her gums/pallet and it's too hard for me at this moment to fully investigate the extent of the damage. She's crying for her paci which now she definitely cannot have.

Ready and flying to the hospital in my car I call up the grandparents to give them a run down and see if my mom wants to keep me company. At this point I'm not sure what I was assuming was going to happen but I imagined that we were going to have a very long night.

We get to the hospital, get checked in and wait. Piper is doing really well. She amazingly fell asleep on the way to the hospital but she does not want to be let go or for anyone to touch her. Getting her on the scale was murder and when they took her blood pressure you would have thought they were cutting off her arm. We see the doctor, and boy was that fun. It's always horrible when you're used as the force to keep your kids still for what they think is torture. The bleeding still hasn't fully stopped and the doctor says she is going to page the on call pediatric dentist to assess whether or not she is going to need a stitch for the slight tear in her gum.

In the meantime she is content watching Zootopia with granny on repeat and being an artist.

Phew, the dentist came and Piper was totally thrilled about it. He told us that she did not need a stitch. Well, he actually said it would just end up being too traumatic to even attempt and I appreciated his honesty. So, we just had to wait to see how the bleeding was after she had something to eat and drink. Luckily it had stopped enough to warrant a safe discharge with instructions to watch it and have her eat a soft food diet over the next few days. And no straws or paci. Ah, yes sounds like a walk in the park to me.

(Which, during this time I ordered Jimmy John's and it took them 40 minutes. Out of all the times we really could've used some comfort food you take more than 10 minutes? Thanks universe.)

After roughly 6 hours from incident to ER and home it's just about 11pm and Piper has calmed down, almost fully to her normal self. I take her into the playroom to see if she's able to tell me what happened. She promptly states, "wood." I ask her if she can tell me what happened next. She said, "window."

You guys. The nausea was back. On the windowsill there are two perfect impressions of her front teeth. Kennedy saw the aftermath of her fall, the last bit where she likely knocked into the toy. I imagine that the boards of wood (we found that they are very slick on top of each other; like ski's on snow) slipped just right and threw her entirely off balance and she collided into the window before she had time to catch herself.

Kennedy was so upset and worried about her little sister the entire time we were gone and she took the time to make Piper a note and thoughtfully attached it to her crib for her to see when she got back. Overall Piper is okay; we have a follow up visit with a dentist to discuss 'space maintenance' and to assess her other front tooth which is currently a little wiggly. Something we're told is normal after a trauma but to mind it's color.

Right now my thoughts are all related to vanity. My beautiful little girl is only going to have one front tooth for years to come. I'm hoping that other kids don't make fun of her. Be forewarned that I am the only one that gets to call her a hobo, pirate, or Jack-o-lantern! Finding the humorous silver lining has helped and also thinking of all the other outcomes that we were lucky enough to avoid. Also, there are so many parents that deal with so much worse when it comes to their children to I'm really remembering to be thankful.

Also, Kennedy seems absolutely terrified to lose a tooth now and I'm sure we're going to have many more talks about how baby teeth come out.

What is the tooth fairy's going rate these days?
Leia

kindergarten fun facts: weeks 18, 19 + 20

Week 18:

Kennedy saw her first play and it was also her first official field trip. All the kindergartners loaded up on buses and headed out to see Owl's Winter and the Wild Swan Theater.

Me: "Kennedy, how was the play today!"

Kennedy: "It was good and about owl's."

M: "Did you learn a lot about owls?"
K: "Yeah, and that they fly at night. And they told us other stories."

M: "Very cool! What were the other stories?"
K: "I don't know mom it was all the way this morning."

And thus ensued some of the best smiles I've ever caught from them on camera. Now if only Piper hadn't been wearing Halloween clothes in January and it hadn't been in the bathroom for brighter lights. 

Week 19:

Ooops.

Week 20:

Me: "So, anything cool this week?"

Kennedy: "Yeah, I learned that a groundhog with a special name comes out to tell us when Summer is coming."

See, I wait til I have photos on the computer until I post but then I usually get sidetracked and things I want to post about slip through the cracks.



Punxsutawney Phil.
Leia