It’s a good day when the front door looks like this.

This means the mail was good to us today. Like a box from Grandma Krissy. And packages with handwritten messages and thick paper envelopes that crumple delightfully when you squeeze them. Being that we are all shameless mail-lovers, when we see the mail lady get out of her truck, signaling a walk to the door for packages bigger than our little box can hold, it turns into a scene much like the alligator feeding frenzy at the zoo. We go bananas. Lainey once followed me out into the driveway naked, running, screaming. And then, because we are so excited, we don’t even make it much past the front door. Or take the time to look for scissors. I, in some animalistic satiation of getting to the prize, rip plastic tape with my teeth while Lainey rifles through bubble wrap and tissue paper like a mad bone-digging dog. And no matter what’s inside those boxes, there is happiness. There is squealing. There is the joyful proclamation of contents. “A book! A hat! A new part for the microwave!”

Today, there was a hat. A happy yellow hat my mama made for me.

And homemade sweaters for the girls that feel cold and heavy, like the perfect quilt. It was a very good mail day.

And Nella got her own pair of Nella Cordelia Mary Janes from Pitter Patter (all proceeds of the sale of this shoe go to The ONEder Fund).

Yes, a very good mail day indeed.

Also, another shop, The Meg Shop is offering 50% of the proceeds of Nella’s ONEder Fund bracelet to go The ONEder Fund. Me loves me some shoppin’ for a good cause.

The weather’s been a little wishy-washy, and I like it. Keeps me on my toes. I like waking up to the hissing of the coffee pot and shuffling outside holding both a hot cup and a bit of curiousity as to what’s in store. Flip flops or boots? Hats or tank tops? One day we’re suitin’ up for the pool, the next layering tights and sweaters for chilly winds and the promise of late night plumes of thick, delicious smoke from our chimney. Today was the latter.

We escaped this chilly morning, to the back of our neighborhood, where we climbed a fence to sneak into our favorite park.

Photos courtesty of Daddy

I wondered why I don’t do this every morning even though I know that’s a bit unrealistic. We need the balance of staying in our pajamas too long, dropping oatmeal-ed spoons on the carpet and remembering we left wet clothes in the washer overnight to make mornings like these more enchanting.

I felt small, in a good way, among this intricate web of slash pines that swallowed us like boats that disappear along the mysterious space where sea meets sky. We noticed everything–velvety cattails, cold red berries, prickly puffs of tiny dried blooms that danced in the wind.

Starting your day like this? It’s like the blast of the gun that triggers the screeching of tires at the Indy 500. You can’t help but move forward.

We need the push. There’s lots to do. Nella’s party is under way. It’s no secret I love parties, especially when it’s the celebration marking the day I held out my arms to grasp the slippery little bodies that would change my world. I may go big with details as I enjoy every bit of making it special, but we do very well at keeping cost low. I’d love to share more creative ideas on the blog on how to inexpensively make magical moments for your littles…will try to find more ways of doing that this year without overload. For now, a little peek into the party planning.

Found one of my favorite party shops HERE. Retro dime store notions…small dollah, no hollah.

And we’re happy to welcome back another fabulous sponsor, Elizabeth St., who’s supplied us with some more of our favorite treats for Nella’s party…whimsical pinwheels.

Lots more goods there to check out including beautiful handmade headbands and pins. Check it. Use coupon code ENJOY10 to get 10% off your entire order.

Of course all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy. Wait, did I slaughter that? That doesn’t rhyme. Is that really how it goes? Whatever. Anyway, after running in to the pediatrician’s for a catch-up on Nella’s shots (who, for the record, didn’t make a peep. Just puckered up in the biggest, sweetest pouty lip in the history of mankind), on the way home Starbucks hot cocoa called me like the sirens of Titan. And if you give a girl a hot chocolate, she’s going to ask for the perfect pale pink speckled donut to go with it.

From this day forward, I hereby swear never to serve hocho again unless it is heaped with whipped cream and drizzled with rich chocolate. Seriously.

And, as any other crazy day that begins with loveliness, it must be bookended–concluded with loveliness to match its beginning.

Two jammied sisters, desperately in love, playing in the crib together did the job.

Our P.T. would love this…her little upper body strength is rockin’ the crib bar pull-up.

But therapy takes a back seat to the real reason I love this time. I caught it–the magical glance of my beautiful spirited three-year-old and my sweet soulful almost-one-year-old. I caught a glimpse of their love like a firefly in a glass.

Bookend THAT, Baby.

Thank you again and again (it will keep comin’) for what you are doing out there with The ONEder Fund and these beautiful children. It is amazing where this has gone…where this is going. Powerful. And you know what I love about all of it? While there have been some amazing generous larger donations, most of this is from little bits. Five dollars. Ten dollars. Twenty. It DOES matter. Every voice matters. Look what it’s done. This whole fundraiser has been such delicious icing on an otherwise completely fulfilling cake of a year. It’s taught me more about how capable each and every one of us truly is. And I thank you for that.

“Sometimes grace manifests as synchronicity-its energy brings together people or events in a soothing, helpful, or dramatic way when you most need it and least expect it. At other times grace is the energy that suddenly illuminates us with understanding, allowing us to see what we had not been able to grasp before. Grace can also lift us into an altered state of consciousness in which we feel suffused by an unfamiliar energy -an indescribable combination of love, hope, and fearlessness.” ~Caroline Myss

Thank you again, KC, for sharing a quote that is, without fail, what I’m hoping to convey.

Much love tonight. Something good coming for Friday. I think you’re gonna like it.

I have the usual smattering of photos tonight. And the corresponding stories that string together the trivial nothingness of loungey mornings, alphabet puzzle afternoons and Elmo bubble bath nights.

But diving into our cherished mundane without first acknowledging this beautiful thing that’s happening right now wouldn’t be right.

I don’t even know what to say. I thought $15,000 would be grand. And look where it’s going. I feel hopeful and connected, motivated and humbled. And this crazy rush to keep going. Like when you lace up your tennis shoes to run two blocks and find that twelve blocks, an adrenaline rush and a victorious smile later you’ve decided you’re going to run a marathon. And then you do.

If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches of the same tree.
W.B. Yeats

Perhaps it is that in itself that amazes me so much. That sense of community–that you all care, that you’re all clicking to watch that bar inch up the graph with us, that this is not our fundraiser but yours. And that’s exactly what I hoped for.

This belongs to a whole lot of families. And it’s not over.

Thank you, Friends. Thank you for your words I have wept over. Thank you not only for making meaningful donations and spreading the news, but thank you for seeing what we see. Thank you for knowing these families are lucky and blessed. Because that’s where it begins. Recognized potential.

Kind of like the potential you saw in a ‘lil ‘ol $15,000 goal. Let’s run a marathon, shall we?

Please continue to share the word.

And how do I proceed without seeming completely jolting?

I’ll soften the blow first.

There. That’ll do.

I’m in an interesting place right now. Ridiculously busy and juggling a mess of balls, and at the same time reflecting a whole heck of a lot on this crazy year. One year ago, right now, I was here.

I want to remember all of it. I want it to hurt and, at the same time, I want it to feel good, if that makes any sense. I’ve organzied a lot of meaningful to-dos next week. And I’m so very excited for what it’s all going to mean.

Mostly though, I’m just feeling a whole lot of love.

Our evening fire Florida chill has faded this week, replaced by the kind of weather that makes you say cheesy things to the neighbors when you’re taking out your trash…like “Pretty gorgeous day, eh?”

It’s always pleasantly ironic to see swimsuits drying on tree knots while somewhere, not far away, mittens dry over hissing heating registers.

This one’s growing gills like her sister. If she hears bathwater, she instinctively starts paddling toward the tub. And pools? Fuhget about it.

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Lainey’s really into bringing her own grocery cart to the store with me lately. It’s the funniest thing. She looks like a miniature mom, picking up packages and pretending to read the price before chucking it in her little plastic piece-of-crap-on-wheels.

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SWIPER in action. It’s her nickname. Wanna see?

Notice the way she’s eyein’ Lainey’s chalk all subtle like in the right hand corner.

…and makes her move when Sister’s out of sight…

…enter her signature swipe…

And there you have it. Swiper scores.

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Finished this evening with a relaxing bath. Only Lainey’s Barbie head was creepin’ me out with her bug-eyed stare.

Ever heard of Yuzu? It smells divine. All grapefruity and citrusy. I think Barbie wanted to steal my new bath products.

Heal My Sole Natural body products (homemade!)

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I’m happy to welcome returning sponsor, Loving Shop. Handmade Tutus which Lainey happens to love.

Lainey’s wearing Fall Skies Tutu.

Nice little Valentine’s Day treat, eh? Since Lainey’s ballet teacher once wore a real Nutcracker-ish tutu for class one day, Lainey’s been obsessed with anything that looks like it. Hence the frequency of tutu wearing around the house lately.
Check ’em out. And, for the next two weeks, 10% of all shop proceeds will go to…yup, you guessed it. The ONEder Fund.

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So that is it tonight, my friends.

Thank you again, for everything you are doing to help rock the ONEder Fund. I’ve seen your blogs, I’ve read your Facebook statuses. You’re putting effort into this…and that makes it your race to the finish line too. It’s amazing, really. And thank you to all the new Facebook friends I’ve made this week! Welcome aboard. If I could bake a batch of cookies in Farmville, I would…and serve them to you with a “Nice to meet y’all.” But I’ve never been to Farmville.

Oh, one more thing. The Pitter Patter Shop has some precious handmade shoes and booties, and ALL the proceeds from the Nella Cordelia Mary Jane Bootie will be goin’ to the ONEder Fund, so head on over to check them out!

And Happy Monday!

I felt victorious yesterday as I hauled the last large plastic garbage bag heaped with old shoes, pilled sweaters, and a few cast off skirts that hit me mid-calf for a nice calf-turned-coffee-can effect into the garage next to the other Goodwill mounds. I had done it. In true new-year, new-me fashion, I had knocked off the first of resolutions with an intense two-day closet purging.

And even though the brand name on my new shoe rack is ironic considering my natural tendencies, I’d at least like to pay homage to another one of my attempts in fooling myself that the purchase of a new shoe rack (or bin or basket or shelf) is suddenly going to change everything. It’s going to be different this time, right? All I needed was this shoe rack, Man. I’ve been waiting all my life for this baby.

Regardless of the shoe rack’s success, there is something to be said about the biological rhythms we feel with each new season.

I like to burrow into my cave with the holidays. I crave change and renewal with a new year. I yearn for a good spring cleaning when the breeze shifts in March, and I dream of flowers and pink and pastel gingham cotton just about the time the Peeps hit the shelves come Spring. In July, my soul is fed with hot pavement and cold popsicles, in October I want to don aprons and bake pies, and come November, the cycle begins again.

Nurture or Nature? Who knows. I take it and run.

It is a new year. And yes, an afternoon game of Candyland or a trip to the lake is so much more important than my house being clean. But there’s also a happy medium, and it’s time my bedroom becomes the sanctuary it deserves to be. I will make my bed. I will pick up my crap. Because, come afternoon, sunlight comes pouring in our back window, spilling onto our covers in a way that begs you to bask in it. Because there’s a small round table by my bed that, when cleared, has the perfect spot for a tea cup and a book. Because, when I actually take the time to create the space we deserve, it makes me happy.

So I cleaned. I purged. I simplified. And, in doing so, I cleared spaces in my mind that feel more capable to take on opportunities. Not to mention, I didn’t feel quite so guilty today when the accomplishment list was on the meager side. We bathed and fed and watched Little Bear. Oh, and we played Doctor. And, for the record, my blood pressure was “eleven four,” my throat “looks dirty,” and my temperature was, I’m sorry to say, sixteen.

The new year has been kind so far.

New Year’s firework show in neighbor’s driveway.

We enjoyed our first handful of harvest from our garden, despite having to blanket our small plot a few nights ago from the southern chill.

We still got our green beans.

She dressed herself, and she’s really into the whole stripes overboard thing right now.

I’m sitting here smiling just writing this because I’ve never fancied myself a gardener, but here I am, pluckin’ beans in January, postin’ pics of trowels and meaty greens and it feels damn good.

We must surprise ourselves every once in awhile, eh?

My diving head first into New Year’s resolutions has been nicely balanced with slower-paced, gentler ambitions like taking more time to enjoy those I love.

In the form of girlfriends corralled in my kitchen clutching coffee cups and cradling babies…

Nella and new Baby Kinsley

…and being fully present for these girls during dedicated moments for them-time. No phones. No wandering thoughts. Just them.

Daddy says she is “wild and bossy” with her babies. She yells at them and flips them around all crazy while she hollers. Funniest thing ever.

I am forgiving of myself and accept that life is messy, and sometimes being good enough means balancing a phone, a laundry basket, a baby, and a pot of overcooked sticky macaroni. But there is also something to be said about proclaiming resolutions–saying them out loud so we feel their importance. We’ll rearrive, reclaim, and reaffirm it all months later. And that’s okay too. But I think just by wanting to be more subtracts the “enough” from “good enough” and what you are left with is good. We are good moms and wives and daughters and friends because we recognize our faults, embrace our imperfections, create meaningful challenges and weave them all together in some brilliant tapestry of wanting to be better, to be more. That, in itself, makes us pretty damn good.

And this one?

My, has she grown this month, surfacing some new qualities that have remained hidden until this blessed moment of three-and-more-than-a-half.

Like, she’s suddenly a peacemaker.

In a recent faceoff of Dog vs. Cat on a walk to the lake, she intervened.

Amid the hissing and tail-raising and Latte’s aggresive stance, I watch as Lainey scoops Latte up, holds her down, finds a nice distance from the cat and plops to the cement, humming sweetly, in this motherly tone, consoling phrases like “Oh, it’s okay. Don’t be scared. It’s a nice kitty.”

She charmed them both into friendship, she did.

And, as I said, she picks out not only her own clothes but Nella’s too. And insists that stripes with stripes with stripes isn’t too much.

Finally, I’m starting off my year loving this new art from a very talented, effervescent, life-loving crazy fun girl.

Abernathy Bland.

We found each other shortly after Nella was born, and her art and her crazy musings have inspired me along the way. She just left her day job and I’m woo-hooing her courage and her creativity in flight. Check her out.

2011 commences with my clean closet, a peaceful space in my bedroom, and some sponsors here I’m proud to represent.

On My Side Inspirational Tees.

The unique and conversation-sparking jewelry of the talented Mark Poulin.

…and Me You Health, presenting daily challenges to promote well being. It’s easy, free, insightful and encourages a great sense of community and accountability.

For fun, I’ll pop the cork off 2011 with today’s Me You Health challenge: Share 5 Things off your Bucket List.

1. Take an overnight train trip in the mountains with my family. Sleeper cars. Lying in bed knowing we’re going somewhere. Hearing the thumpthumpthump of the tracks underneath us. Heaven, I tell you.
2. Swim with sharks. Not because I want to. I’d hate it. I’m terrified of sharks and I live in Florida. But overcoming it would be really powerful. And doing something that scares you is good.
3. See U2 in concert with my brother and sister.
4. Learn how to play the guitar.
5. Read Anne of Green Gables to my girls. In late night sections where they’re tucked in and sleepy and barely staying awake but begging me to read another chapter because surely, Anne is eventually going to fall in love with Gilbert, right?

Your turn. If you comment…please share 5 things from your bucket list. As Mary Oliver says, What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Tell me.

We’re planning a birthday party ’round these parts. Much to come.