Rainy Day Play

It is a rare occasion that we have an overcast, wet day. Penelope isn't used to the sounds of raindrops and the lack of sunshine through the windows. Not able to go outside and play today; still, its a nice change from the extreme heat of summer. 

Playing around with a little photo editing in between study breaks and baby girl's nap time.

Salt

There is something about the salt.

Purifying. Humbling. I am small.

I breathe it in the air,

Swim it in the surf.

Raw. Grit. Crystals on my skin.

A memory of summertime senses.

Gulf of Mexico

The Austin Zoo

With an upcoming deployment, we have been trying to take as many small vacations together as possible, squeezing them in the cracks of Abhi's somewhat demanding work schedule. We had a nice little family outing around Austin with a visit to the Austin Zoo along with a little sightseeing and plenty of shopping this weekend.

I've been to a good amount of zoos in the States and the Austin Zoo is quite different than your typical zoo. Its actually a non-profit animal sanctuary for rescued and abandoned animals, which I love. Many of the animals had suffered from injuries or abandonment in the past. The Austin Zoo was small in size, but we didn't mind because staying outside in the summer heat for long periods of time isn't really an option for us with little Penelope.

Reaching for her furry friend.

Penelope loved the animals; she wanted to touch everything.

On a funny note, while we were observing the primates a group of about 8 zooworkers ran out with their nets searching for one of their animals that escaped! We're guessing it was a monkey because they were searching high in the trees, and the rest of the monkeys seemed to get riled up in excitement that one of their friends was on the loose.

Cheering on his escaped comrade.

11 Months of Sweetness

One of Those Days

Ever have one of those days that just straight-up suck?

You know, one of those days where pretty much everything that can go wrong does go wrong? Heck, even the things that can't go wrong still end up in shambles!

When you feel like everything in your life must be conspiring against you like some kind of big cosmic practical joke.

Yesterday was one of those days, here's a little glimpse...

In the morning the toilet clogged BIG TIME.While attempting to unclog said toilet I managed to spray sewage water all over the bathroom, myself, my husband...i'll just say household items got ruined.

We've been fighting a diaper rash with Penelope so I've been letting her move around without a diaper for periods throughout the day. Well she ended up peeing in the middle of the kitchen floor while I was cooking lunch...ok, we got this, quick and easy cleanup and then i'll throw her diaper on. While I'm cleaning her piddle puddle she moved across the room and decided to do number 2. Yes, I said it. She crapped on the floor. Do I have a puppy or a baby? Sometimes I get confused. On to the next mess.

Not much later, Abhi ran down the street to buy a plunger at Home Depot, thinking I was upstairs when I was actually outside walking to the dumpster. I got locked out of the house (while cooking the same lunch) with the burner and pressure cooker on whistling in the kitchen....ummm yeah...can someone say burnt lentils?

Sometimes you just need to take a moment. Not even a whole minute. Just a moment to breathe. Pardon my French but this calm little reminder to breathe in the good shit, breathe out the bullshit was just too real for me yesterday. Aaaahhh. Better?

There were a lot of other little doh! moments throughout the day that had me thinking that I was stuck in a bad infomercial,"but wait, there's more!"... but I think we get the gist here. And besides, that's not the point. The point is, what do we do with days like these? Moan, groan, and trudge your way through it so that we can live to write a blog post about it? Sure. ORR...we could try a different approach.

Be thankful.

When I'm down in the pits over everything that has gone wrong, what helps me to snap out of my woe-is-me stupor is to remind myself of all that is GOOD in my life. I remember that my family and I are healthy, we have everything we could possibly need. I see my husband laugh, or my baby full of wonder as she discovers something new and I'm reminded that these precious moments trump all the crap that went on minutes before. God has given me everything I could need to live a joyous, healthy, fruitful life.

The perfect life doesn't come without bumps, bruises and pee puddles. Instead it accepts the messes for what they are, cleans them up, and says thank you for the Lysol wipes.

Dirty Little Feet

I've quickly come to learn that the messier a substance is, the more my little Penelope enjoys it- whatever "it" may be.

She will crawl around the house looking for something to get into. Opening cabinets to discover what may be inside, grabbing vegetables, peeling away skins of onions, taking chomps of raw potatoes only to realize she doesn't like the taste. When I'm not looking she even tries to crawl faster, I believe as an attempt to make a quick getaway to the next little disaster she can muster up around the house. Making her way to the bookshelf to pull books onto the floor, remove their covers, bend and rip pages, chew on the bindings...sigh...

Never satisfied with the many plastic "baby-safe," "approved," "guaranteed-to-make-your-child-intelligent" types of toys that she has; Penelope much prefers the dangerous lifestyle. Attempting to climb the stairs, then crying for someone to help her when she's stuck on top of the first step. Making her way to plugs, cables, wires, outlets, sneaking her way behind the t.v....double sigh....

We have some planters on our porch where we grow herbs and various flowers. One of Penelope's favorite pastimes is sitting in front of those planters and digging her hands into the dirt and pulling at the leaves of the plants. She is so perfectly content just sitting with her little hands buried in the soil, occasionally pulling out handfuls to examine the dark matter. If I don't watch her closely she will happily shove handfuls of soil into her mouth as well...triple sigh...

I could spend my days chasing her around the house saying "no" to this and "don't touch that," and of course if it is dangerous we are quick to keep her away and try to teach her what a dangerous situation is. Or I could very well keep her pinned up in her pack-n-play with a handful of toys to keep her occupied and confined. But there is nothing that makes me happier at the end of the day than seeing my little girl with messy hands and dirty little feet, knowing that she spent her time as she was supposed to; playing, exploring, learning, tasting, touching, feeling, discovering, growing...happy sigh...  :)

Daily Reminder

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, student, homemaker, wannabe athlete there are constant demands of things to do, research, learning the best ways to live your life, improve your life, prepare for the future etc. Life can be overwhelming. You know the feeling, don't you? It is so important to remind ourselves that we are but human and all we can do is our best. Leave the worry, the stress of the unknown, and do what you can with what you have where you are.