We had plans tonight to join a bunch of friends for Mexican food, and all week I’ve looked forward to the big leather booths of Mr. Tequila’s. Cheese enchiladas. A cold margarita–on the rocks, salted rim. But my girl is sick, clung to my hip like a koala. Double ear infection. So tonight, we lay low at home, huddled under the full moon.

After two days of, literally, holding her 24/7, I set her on the garage floor yesterday afternoon with a toy while I climbed as fast as I could up the ladder to the attic where I found the baby swing. I was desperate. You know what? That sucker still works.

Lainey sang to her for twenty minutes this morning until she fell asleep.

Two days ago, she was very happy though, and I’m hoping tomorrow brings the blessed hope of Upswing.

Meanwhile, the run down:

Itty Bitty Lizards make us happy.

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My first clothes line was a mad success.
Clothes dried surprisingly quick, they smell like Mother Nature’s sweet breath, and I love looking out our back window to see sleeves and sheets fluttering between our pines. It’s like they’re saying “thank you.”

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Candied Grapefruit Peel.
My dad used to make them when we were little. It wasn’t as complicated as I thought (I followed this recipe), and they are heaven dipped in bittersweet chocolate. It’s a sweet, sour, bitter ménage à trois.

That brown stuff is chocolate, lest you wonder.

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Koala detatched for a moment.

And we snuck away with Dot this afternoon to The Mountains.

That blue clip in Dot’s hair, courtesy of Lainey.

I love that Dot comes every Friday afternoon. And I love that sometimes I forget and when I see her car pull in, it’s a sweet surprise.

We had a picnic in the mountains today.

We tapped our plastic glasses together (“To the mountains!”), Lainey tasted her first pomegranate seeds, and we leaned over the grass as we bit into pithy chunks of fruit that oozed purple juice.

A forty minute vacation to the mountains it was–a small but necessary cushion between the bookends of sick baby duties.

She found a “treasure map,” also known as an old handout for a Halloween party. She informed us it said, “Take two steps left, go to the middle, turn, and walk to the right. There’s a treasure.”

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We may not be at Mr. Tequila’s tonight, but it feels so satisfying to be the one my sick girl needs. It’s when I feel motherhood the most, really. When her warm head is burrowed as close to me as it can get and her arm is wrapped around my side, tucked tightly for back-up security. God forbid, I barely pull away from her, she whimpers, she clutches, she holds on even tighter. I need you. It hits me…I am her everything. Such a privilege it is.

Friday Photo Dump:

Friday Phone Dump photos are taken on the Instagram iPhone app (free) and dropped into a 12×12 collage. I am “etst” on Instagram if you want to follow the feed.

Speaking of Instagram, I printed out a bunch of my favorites and plastered our fridge with them. I love it.

I printed Instagrams at Costco as 4×6 prints with 2 inches of white space I trimmed off, and I attached magnetic tape. There are other, easier print methods though–one being StickyGram which prints them as magnets for you.

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I’ve been using products from our new sponsor for a long time. I’ve been a fan of Arbonne’s baby bath products since Lainey was born, and I’ve used their Vitamin C night cream as well as my favorite, their sea salt scrub on many occasions. So naturally, I’m excited to launch the sponsorship of Arbonne’s Independent Consultant, Michelle Timmons.

All of Arbonne’s products are botanically based and inspired by nature.

Lainey brings me the citris ginger sugar scrub and body butter and says “let’s do spa.” And after we scrub, wash, lather, she holds her hands up to my nose and says, “Mmmmmm…smell.” Sister knows a good thing when she sees it.

Michelle is giving away a $30 gift certificate to two commenters, randomly selected from this post.

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And oh, be still my heart…you know what’s crackling right now?

Our first fire of the season. I have to go…now. The unicorns need to be fed.

Nella just flung a plastic hanger across the room like a ninja and laughed hard.
“Oh my God, she’s back,” Brett announced.

You know those awesome weekends where Sunday evening has you feeling so utterly satisfied? Yeah…have one of those.

Fridays should start something like this, yes?

I love her smile–it’s so big, she has to close her eyes to contain it.

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And if Fridays should start like that, then every week should start by knocking on doors, soliciting candy. It sets a celebratory tone for the days that follow–and a Milk Dud supply to boot.

Slowly, year by year, Lainey has lost her hesitation for trick-or-treating. This year, at four years old, she boldly marched to dim entryways on her own–past synthetic spider webs stretched across hedges and plastic skeletons hung from branches. She didn’t ask to hold our hand or shy away from the big kids. Little Bo Peep is no timid little sheep, at least when handfuls of Starburst are invovled.

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Ballet is still going strong as is the will of the little sister who wants nothing more than to be part of Big Sister’s class.

Thanks to a broken door that wouldn’t stay closed this week, she weasled her way in, and her smile screamed “I know I’m not supposed to be here, but look at me!”

And yesterday, in our hour of imagination exploration with Miss Lulu, we went to the moon. It was quite spectacular.

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Our resident humidity has been swept away and replaced with pleasant breezes and cool cement. We’ve been welcoming each morning with the ceremonious opening of sliding glass doors, and ending each night with talks of what we are anticipating in the coming weeks–a camping trip, an active fireplace, and maybe–just maybe–seeing our breath in the morning.

This time of year, we love our parks. No more hot-stepping across blistering pavement or testing silver slides first for burn patrol.

Since the moment I placed both my girls in a swing–way back when I had to prop blankets around their bodies and anchor their little heads–they smiled. They always smile when they swing.

Our park visit the other night was followed by an impromptu dinner at Chili’s. Brett is practical and resourceful, and whenever I’m looking for excuses to go out to eat (“We don’t have anything in our refrigerator,” a.k.a. “I don’t feel like cooking”), he magically finds leftovers or some brilliant recipe for flour and water. I love going out to eat–to the simplest of places. I love the vibe of our family in a booth, the cheap waxy crayons they bring my kids, that we’re-on-vacation feeling that comes with having someone bring you baskets of chips and salsa and extra napkins. So when Brett actually proposes on his own that we go straight from park to restaurant? I want to marry him all over again.

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Nella and Latte. Their relationship is much like the one Lainey and Latte shared back when she was a half-pint too. Love, hate. Strange silences, silly games, a secret language only they understand. Latte is, literally and figuratively, a female dog. She likes to have the last word. She likes to win. Both my girls have challenged this.

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Among Park, Target, Aleena’s House and Ballet, somehow Fruit Market has found its place among Lainey’s Favorite Places to Visit.

She likes that she can push her own cart and eat free samples. And now, we’ve added shopping for plants and flowers on our market visits.

I’m slowly building a collection of greens to fill my bay window. I’ve allowed myself the privilege of buying a new plant for every week my current collection survives. So far, we have a family of five thriving pots. This is an amazing feat.

The happiness effect my new plants has given me is far too great to let my care-taking efforts weaken. We shall see.

Sister sharing makes me smile.

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Friday Photo Dump:

Friday Phone Dump photos are taken on the Instagram Iphone app (free) and dropped into a 12×12 collage. I am etst on Instragram if you want to follow the feed.

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Our new sponsor this week is a beautiful mama who has a heart for art.

Casey Weigand is a multi-talented artist who paints, hosts art classes for kids in her Dallas studio and offers her blog design expertise. If you’re in the Dallas area, check out her hands-on art classes. And if you’re not in Texas, you can still buy a piece of her beautiful art or benefit from her blog design talents here.

Casey is giving away a $50 gift card toward Casey Leigh art in her shop. One comment will be randomly selected from this post and announced Monday.

Check her out! Her blog is a fabulous, colorful place to browse too.

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It’s Friday. Let the weekend begin!