this is how i like it

“eissy!!! gocco bum?” [sissy! rocco come?]

i heard maddalena open the baby gate to go change clothes in her room… rocco heard it too and he got up from his chocolate coconut milk [he was willing to leave it behind, that’s saying something!] and raced to her as fast as he could on his sweet little leggies.

“sure, you can come!” she has the absolute sweetest heart, so she came back to open the gate and take him down the stairs with her so he could join her in her room. [our house floors are a little kooky, but it’s fun!] this is a little routine they’ve been doing for a few weeks, and even though it may try her patience just a tad when he gets crazy among her belongings… she still loves it. and man, he just lives for it.

sometimes i go down there and she’s getting dressed while he messes up her books. sometimes i find that they’ve ridden stuffed horses into my office area and are playing school. 🙂 she’s gearing up to be a big girl! and he goes along with it pretty well. it’s my favorite thing on this planet to hear her explaining things as they go through life together… hearing him respond with “yeaaaah!” and “ooooh! uh huh!” he soaks up every word she says… and then when he’s speaking, she understands what he’s saying more often than i do! he prefers that she unbuckle his carseat now or help him with his banana. “eissy! hop!” [sissy! help!] and it’s pretty much the greatest thing on earth.

see. i just darn stinking love life with them. even through all the hard hard hard sacrifices and humbling moments you experience when you go from no babies to your first baby… something about it has always just been better than anything i gave up. 2am nights with friends? how ’bout… 2am nights with the cutest squish face? easy shopping trips? well, heck. it doesn’t get easier than online shopping. wanna lounge and stare at the tv for hours because of your crappy day? hm, how about a reason larger than your own self to suck it up and keep going? you can still wear sweatpants if you want. actually, you probably should, they’re only going to get dirty. oh wait, is it glamor you want? okay! we can play dress up. 🙂

this time next week, though, the one who introduced me to those greater things in life 😉 will be off having a big time at school! and i realize that isn’t a huge deal in the grandest of grand schemes… except for the fact that to me, it’s just the beginning of the rest of my life. the beginning of losing everything i’ve loved about having small children. i love having babies that keep me company! [character flaw, i can’t be alone.] i love wrangling tiny ones and overcoming challenges together. i love knowing that my end-of-the-day exhaustion is because i put all my efforts in the best place possible. life in the nest is my fav. so, i’m still just not quite ready for my days to change forever and ever. [not to mention… control issues. oh MY.] but life keeps on moving, doesn’t it!! and i know next week will be exciting.

anyway… while i’ve been tempted to go some sort of big for our last week of summer… we should schedule things! get out the door early! adopt some wild animals! buy a castle! get tattoos! fly to paris! really, i think we’re happiest soaking them up slowly together just the same way we like them. happily pursuing the delusion of a never-ending summer. 🙂

also, on a slightly different note! i think i’ve realized that while i love wearing dresses, i seem to always default to being a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl, then adding the fanciness in with accessories. in high school, i loved wearing jeans and a tee [usually some really worn in, soft, thrifted thing… before you could just buy them like that! haha!] with heels and a necklace… now it occurs to me that that hasn’t really changed much! as long as i’ve got my staple jewelry items… plain white tees forever! [okay, or plain white tees with ruffles… also kind of regretting not getting this ruffle-sleeved tee in pink before it sold out in my size.] and ugh, yep, fav shorts are truly just getting more comfortable every second that i live in them. i can’t be the only one that thinks that, either, because they sell out so fast! especially given how ridiculous their prices are. haha!