Why hello there, Weekend.

Today, during Nella’s nap, I forgot to turn the monitor on. I was only a closed door and a living room away, but it was enough to induce that piercing pang of guilt when I finally realized she was awake and had been crying for some time. I’m okay with crying, really. I’ve graduated from the parent who impulsively leaps from chairs in outrageous attempts to pacify the slightest whimpers, but today it hit me differently. I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I wanted to save her–needed to save her. To comfort her and feel the sweet victory that comes from watching her shoulders settle when she saw me. And so I ran, knocking into the coffee table, slipping a bit on a tile square where an ice cube had fallen and melted. I ran to the bedroom, hollering “Mama’s coming, Baby!” while I sprinted. And when I got there? Well, it was beautiful. One of those motherhood rites of passage, a moment of which we’re all entitled.

Across the edge of the crib her tiny fingers were hooked, and a sweet head peeked over–just the top half. She stretched up on tippy toes, apparent by the way she bobbed a little higher after I walked in. Her inhalations were loud and drawn-out–necessary intermissions from her dramatic wails–and her cheeks were red and tear-stained, her hair sweaty and swept to the side. But when she saw me, her eyes squinted into a deep, relieved smile. She knew I was there to rescue her and so her laborious cry stopped mid-breath and transformed to a chuckle. An I’m-so-glad-you’re-here chuckle. Up, up went her arms, familiarly reaching for what she knew was to come. The Scoop and Embrace. Kind of like the Bend and Snap but way better. I pulled her close to me and she thanked me, burrowing her head into my chest, locking her arms around my neck. She rested her head calmy on my shoulder for a good seven seconds or so before she finally pulled her head back, locked her gaze with mine and smiled again. Wider and softer. Oh, it was a moment.

It’s so great to let your kids work things out themselves. But sometimes? Sometimes it just feels good to rescue them.

*****
We’ve spent the last couple days trying to find as many opportunities as we can to miserably face the heat. Like we create ways to make hot even hotter. Quilt tents, erected in the thick of the heat and endured much more peaceably by two kids who don’t seem to mind.

It was this or her real ladybug tent, and seeing as there’s only a small window and a zipper gap for breath in the real tent, we figured the open-air blanket tent was the way to go. She begged for a real fire, but it was 95 degrees in the middle of a June Florida drought and we were surrounded by dry sticks and a parched pine needle blanket. A fake fire would do. At least the marshmallows were real.

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Today was Dot’s birthday, and Lainey wanted to buy her a shirt. She’s very into birthdays now, and there’s nothing that makes me happier than watching my girl make efforts to make other people happy. She cried hard tonight after Dot left when she realized we didn’t sing to her. Everyone should be sung to on their birthdays; yes this is true.

We did take Dot to the mall today though, so Lainey could pick out a shirt for her. We don’t go to the mall very often, so when we do I kind of feel like I have to get in the mall character. Like, for reals, I totes caught Gina who works at the Pretzel Palace leave her kiosk without supervision and walk down to Foot Locker to hit on Danny, the assistant manager, and then I saw them like super making out in front of Orange Julius later. Swear, OMG, totally.

Okay, so we did do the Food Court. And Panda Express.

And maybe I sprayed one too many perfume samples at the Dillards counter. But the best part?

Stairway to Heaven. Also known as…the escalator.

It was the most thrilling part of Lainey’s day. To her, it’s Six Flags theme park. She gets all nervous before we hop on, gripping my hand tighter and carefully eyeing the stair movement, waiting for the perfect time to board–like counting jump rope skips before springing in to a game of double dutch. Once we’re on, she smiles, relieved for all of about five seconds before she starts planning the dismount. When she lands it? It’s victory. And then “Can we do it again?”

The escalator excitement was closely rivaled today by our mall’s new carousel.

And a yellow punch ball.

Who knew malls were so much fun? For the record, I worked at one so I can legitimately make mall jokes. And yes, I gained six pounds from cinnamon sugar pretzel lunch breaks at Auntie Ann’s, so there.

Once we hit JCPenny, Lainey went straight to a rack, pulled a shirt off, walked it over to Dot and, I kid you not, said “Hey look, it’s your color.” And it was. So we bought that very shirt with a “Happy Birthday, Dot. Hope you like it.”

Fun Friday times, Baby.

*****

Thank you for the June challenges you’ve been sharing. I’ve been clicking into the June Challenge Flickr site and enjoying your inspiring words and photos. There have been so many times I’ve made lists in my head and declared great intentions, but it feels good to follow through and make it fun by sharing the challenge and adding a little accountability into the mix.

A few of your challenges:

Ahain 0013:

KellyJo103:


O-sandy:

There’s many more at the June Challenge photostream, and you can share yours there as well. More to be featured on the blog! Thank you for sharing.

*****

Finally, two matters of business.

The Elisalou bag giveaway winner (and drawing from Lainey) is Comment #449, Ginger: I really was wondering when you’d get around to writing about the saddle shoes! SOLD on the bagandkiddrawing combo.

Congratulations, Ginger. Please e-mail your info to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net so I can begin planning my trip to the post office.

*****

And drum roll please for the coolest barrettes Lainey’s currently obsessed with. Our new sponsor, Polkadot Posies, offers a fantastic selection of reasonably priced accessories which happen to include these unique novelty clippies.

Deciding between sweet fairy or little mermaid barrette is now a morning event, and convincing Lainey to let me do her hair is a much easier task indeed when it involves these adorable clips.

Check out the other fine accessories at Polkadot Posies, and use Code “kelleh10” for 10% off your order until June 24. A comment will be randomly selected from this post to win a free hat and flower, winner’s choice.

Happy Father’s Day to all the men we love. Have a great weekend!

Sometimes it is easy to ladle up happenings in our home with strokes of the keyboard and pour them into a nice serving of blog post, one that summarizes fairly well the present state of our lives. Other times, I sit and contemplate just what it is I want to skim off and present–what, out of the all the little moments and feelings and revelations I’ve had in a few days, do I want to piece together with words and publish?

One of my most confidently answered questions is “Do you take pictures all the time?”
Smile.
Why yes, of course I do…in my mind. I am subliminally aware during a quiet moment of cradling Nella’s flour-sack little body to sleep or initiating a raucous round of tummy tickling with Lainey that somewhere in the universe, there is a transcendental viewfinder and a click of a shutter, framing that precious fleeting moment. But these moments are many and, in comparison, photos are few. So, certainly–realistically–no. Any mother who recognizes the rich and multiple occasions in a single day that are photo-worthy will understand that a blog, a memory card, or a keyboard with only twenty-six letters and a sticky “p” key are hardly capable of capturing them.

That’s the beauty of blogging. Overall, anyone’s life is large and intricate, layered with multiple feelings, experiences and moments, most of which are not captured with film or words but preserved in the infinite files of memory. And I like that–the challenge of selecting the most poignant reflections for me to look back on years later and yet the knowledge that there are the unshared moments as well. Just as precious. But just for us.

You’re wondering what I’m getting to. No, this isn’t some passive aggressive declaration. Like when someone updates “I hate men” as their Facebook status and everyone’s wondering what the hell happened and who did her wrong. No wrong done. Just thoughts on something that makes me happy.

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School is out and there are more occasions now for gathering friends. And that makes me happy too.

So does quietly assuming my bystander postion on the lanai and making the decision to take an otherwise undocumented moment of my family and turn it into something we’ll remember for good.

*******

Sister has a big head about her growing independence and her new moves.

She’s a show-off, and she thrusts that little pushcart like it’s her job, steadying her quick stride with just enough resistance so it doesn’t get away from her…because she’s smart like that.

And God forbid a neighbor walks by or she’s going to have to stop and wave.

‘sup, Neighbor?

******

We picked the hottest hour of the day today to hit the park and, because I oddly plan these trips, I chose the non-water park, forgot to pack drinks and wore some black layered impractical button-up/tank combo that might as well have been sheepskin.

I swear the woodchips were smoking. And I was sweating so profusely, one leg wouldn’t stay crossed over the other; it just kept slipping. But kids don’t care. In freezing temps, they pee in their snowsuits and ignore their frostbite just so they can sled down one more hill and in blistering heat, they pay no heed to their moms who are wheezing and hallucinating, begging them to wrap it up. They keep climbing, scouting out the next source of fun, oblivious to any discomfort.

I love learning things from my kids.

As my dad always told me, don’t be a thermometer, be a thermostat. Thermometers only measure the temperature around them. Thermostats change it.

I so enjoyed reading your summer lists and “stole” a lot of suggestions from your list for our growing summer adventures. The winner of the $25 Just Ducky gift certificate goes to Comment #247, Southern Gal:
Love this post.
Create a gallery wall in my den.
Spend time at the beach.
Go tubing down the river.

Southern Gal, please send your contact info to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net.

And I have another fun new sponsor to introduce which is appropriately timed a week after Brett picked up another old cast-off purse of mine, littered with gum wrappers, old receipts, a lone dollar bill and a favorite lipstick I had long forgotten. “Can’t you just pick one bag and stick with it?” he asked.

Hello, Stick-with-it Bag:

My new Elisalou Designs bag, and I love it. My boho bag is sturdy, cute and has two fantastic pockets in the inside so digging for a pen doesn’t leave me fishing around all willy nilly, pulling up a tampon instead (yes, of course this has happened.) Elisalou offers a great selection of unique and catchy fabrics as well as several shapes and designs (wallets, wristlets, Kindle and Ipad bags…). Check them out, and use code SUMMER for 10% off your order!

Oh, and one of you will be winning this boho bag right here (and tucked in its pocket, a picture Lainey drew for you).

A randomly selected comment from this post will be chosen and announced Friday.

One more thing. Are you plugging away on a June challenge? I’d love to have you share a photo that represents your challenge, and several will be shared on the blog. Please upload your photo with a short description (make sure we know what your challenge is) on the June Challenge Flickr group. And if you don’t have a photo to share, feel free to come check out some others.

Looking forward to seeing what you share!

Happy Day.

Ah yes, the saddle shoes. What, those old things? Pshaw. I wasn’t going to bring them up, but since you did, fine. Alright I admit, I forced two pictures hoping you’d notice. I’m in love.

I didn’t want to run tonight–just didn’t feel it. But I challenged myself that every day this month I would hit the pavement, rain or shine. I believe in pushing myself, setting high standards, never settling for just good enough but always raising the bar to learn more, experience more, be more. There are times, though, that ambition must be balanced with reflection and rest. The whole world seems to be constantly striving to keep up with the next best thing and while yes, forward momentum is productive and good, there’s something to be said about that seventh day of rest when, in true Genesis fashion, you take a look around and do the whole “Behold, it is good” declaration.

So tonight I didn’t run but rather walked–slowly and meditatively, the motivating beat of my Ipod replaced by the quiet sounds of post-rain crickets, the distant hum of traffic on I-75, the splatter of puddles disturbed by my stroller wheels. Lainey fell asleep after the first block, her bare feet dangling from the edge of the stroller and her head flopped comfortably to the side. In the darkness, I recognized other neighbors only by their silhouettes and felt relieved that night disguised the dark circles under my eyes, my decision to go braless, and the fact that laundry’s a little backed up, evident by the stained t-shirt I was wearing–a cast-off pulled from a pile of Brett’s and decaled with a large presidential seal of a man holding a spatula and the words “Commander-in-Chef.” Corny, I know.

Instead of my usual run mantra of push harder, stretch further, run faster, think better; I cleared my thoughts tonight of earnestness and imagined rather every deliberate stride unraveling each stress, anxiety, and insecurity–because we all have them–until my gait had nothing to accompany it but pure gratitude and celebration.

While we push, strive and move purposefully toward the future, let there be quiet moments of celebration.

It’s Friday, and I’m mindfully celebrating.

Yesterday, we took a break from physical therapy to whoop and holler our praise for our ambitious girl who surprised us with brand new steps, guided by her walker, but still–so worthy of celebration. This teary mama didn’t know she was so close to such a memorable milestone. Soon, she’ll be doing it on her own.

It’s really pretty awesome how in the beginning, the thought of therapists in your home every week seems so daunting, so life-disturbing. But soon, they’re like part of your family, one more cheerleader clapping and smiling and rooting on your kid as she proudly staggers her first steps across the playroom.

Celebrating summer with afternoon play dates with friends and evening pool dips with family.

Nella’s Booster: Sweet Seat, Use Code BLOGS for 10% off

Maybe I’ll run faster tomorrow. Maybe not. Either way, I will be celebrating.
We push forward, we pull back.

Happy Weekend.
Goodnight.