pin THIS!

I don't know how some people do it, really I don't.  How is the world full of people who manage to make their homes look perfect, like something out of a Pottery Barn catalogue, and keep their children always looking ready for a Crew Cuts photo shoot, and then still have time to blog about it all?

My life isn't perfect.  My home is quasi-disastrous at times.  My two-year-old's hair is often unkempt and my four-month-old has a bald spot in back.  And I don't even have time to blog about how imperfect it all is.

Anyway, here's my little homage to Pinterest-worthy perfection.

** Full disclosure: These images are not photoshopped.  I'm stating this for the record, because they are so amazing, you'll be tempted to think they were edited to achieve this level of perfection. **

Are you ready?

This is a pile of Nathan's work gloves, knee pads, and masks that has been sitting on our staircase for about a month.  I keep moving them to the basement or somewhere else less objectionable, and they keep winding up here again after another evening's hard work on the attic project.

This is our kitchen floor, right next to our kitchen table.  The kitchen table that is usually covered with tools, or at the very least, bills and other mail needing to be sorted and dealt with.  You might think this is a garage or basement due to the extremely sharp and dangerous electric saw sitting there, but no, it's my kitchen floor.  I should have gotten a picture of the time Nathan stored it in the nursery for a couple of days.

This is our little screened in porch.  We have plans to fix it up someday and try to make it somewhat pleasant.  In the meantime, we have a lovely wooden swing my Dad made us, and we like to swing on it.  Nell has a sweet little adirondack chair, as you can see, and she likes to sit out on the porch, too.  And for some reason, Nathan sometimes puts his blow torch out here.  Because that's normal.  And safe.  {Don't worry; I hastily removed said dangerous object.}

This is the area at the top of the stairs, looking into Nathan's home office space.  During the course of the attic renovation project, Nathan's office became increasingly filled with tools, light fixtures, empty boxes, wood scraps, and other sundry items to the point where it is now hazardous to even attempt to walk through the door.  I needed to access the printer the other day to print some things for my violin studio, and I almost died.

Don't believe me?  How about a close-up?



Yep.

I'm pretty sure someone could break into our house and ransack that room, and we wouldn't even notice.  Ever.

Poor over-worked Nathan.  One of these evenings, now that the attic project is essentially complete (!!), we're going to tackle that office.  I'm going to help him, because if he gets buried alive, I want to be there to dig him out.

This is standing at the top of the stairs and looking to the left, where the spiral staircase is that goes up to the attic.  You might be horrified by the green shag carpet on those stair treads... or you might not even notice that particular feature due to the mountains of, um, stuff.  Stuff that used to be stored in the attic prior to the renovation project commencing.  Stuff accumulating from the project as it unfolds.  Plus bonus stuff the origins of which elude me.

This is the bedroom next to Nell's room, the room I'm planning on turning into her "big girl room."  All it really needs is a new light fixture and it should be move-in-ready, right?  Well, if the brother-in-law can get his stuff out of there.  Which, in his defense, is probably impossible because there's so much of it where would it all go?  I'm beginning to think this may be his permanent storage unit.  That's okay; Nell and Ree can share a 120 square foot room.

This is a little section of our back yard.  Back when I was about 41 weeks pregnant with Ree, I cleared all those branches from an area next to our garage to try to make that space a little nicer, and carried them as far as I could muster the energy to carry them.  Then Ree was born, and the branches lingered in that lovely spot.  The grass and weeds grew up around them since we couldn't mow that area.

And on the left hand side there, yes, that is a weed that grew too tall and too large to bear its own weight.

I'm kind of picturing that little emoji emoticon of laughing until you cry.  It seems somehow fitting.

So go on, friends, pin away to your Pinterest boards!  If this life of ours isn't Pinterest-worthy, I don't know what is.

Nell & Luke 15

This girl.

She really exemplifies the spirit of Luke chapter 15 from the Bible, I think.

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' "

Except instead of sheep {or sinners}, for Nell, it's food.  Cheerios, for example, or clementine slices, or chickpeas.  Whatever she's eating, if one falls to the floor from her high chair, she is quite distressed until the food is returned to her.  Never mind the 27 other Cheerios still on her tray, ONE IS MISSING AND LIFE CANNOT GO ON UNTIL IT IS RETRIEVED.

So there you have it.  Deep Biblical understanding from a toddler.
 

The Quotable Husband

Recently Nathan was on some website - downloading a TV show I think - when an ad of a highly questionable nature popped up and started playing.  I'm sitting in the living room with him, and suddenly I hear from his computer, "blah blah blah.... until I found such-and-such-a-site, where you can chat with beautiful women any time of the night, and it's all free!"

And Nathan, pretending like I wasn't right there raising my eyebrows at him, didn't even glance my way, as he said aloud, "Oh, nice, and it's even free!  Yeeeeesssssss!"

* * *

Then this happened on Sunday:

Me: Hey, I'm back to the weight I was before I got pregnant with Nell.  I still feel like I look different, though.
Nathan: I don't think you look any worse than you always did.
Me: ...
Nathan: Wait, that didn't come out right...!

* * *

{But then this happened, too.}

texting with the family

Within the past few months, my parents and my brother Jonathan have all gotten smart phones and joined the world of texting.  I have to say, it's fun to be able to keep in touch with family that way, on a small and casual day-to-day basis.  And sometimes, they really make me laugh!

{Nell's uncle doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to her chubbiness; he once greeted the sight of her in a diaper with the exclamation, "Whoah, hellloooo, Chubbster!"}

Then there was this exchange, my dear old Dad checking in with me after I told him I had fallen down the stairs and gotten quite an impressive bruise on my lower back.  Well, sort of between my lower back and my butt, hah.

Aw shucks.  Thanks, Dad.

some things to laugh about

Yesterday was a long day for me, with gigs from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and only fifteen minutes at home in all that time to nurse Nell really quickly.  I returned home tired and hungry and in need of some cheer.

I checked facebook and just happened to find three highly entertaining things recently posted by friends.  Hopefully you'll find them as funny as I did, and your day will be brightened like mine was!

Amazon.com: Playmobil Security Check Point

{Read the customer reviews.  So funny.}

Amazon.com: Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer

{Again, it's all about the customer reviews.}


And, saving the best for last: If you haven't seen Kid Snippets, you must remedy that fact immediately.  I'm here to help.  Basically, the makers of these film shorts ask kids to imaginatively playact a given scenario, and then they act it out with adult actors, complete with absolutely perfect lip-synching to the kids' voices.  Here are a few of my favorites to get you started:





After the first episode I watched, I was sitting here going, "Whaaatt?  I don't get it.  What is this?"

So naturally, I watched another.  And another.  And... all of them.





Until there were tears in my eyes from the laughing.





{Be sure to check out the Kid History videos, too!  We're particularly fond of #6.}

my students lately

I think we're overdue for a post featuring some of the things my students have said lately, don't you?

1.

A conversation with eight-grade violin student E. C.:

Sarah: Who's your favorite violinist?

E: You mean in this room?

Sarah: There are only two violinists in this room!  No, I mean, who's your favorite violinist in the world?

E: Myself.

pause*

Sarah: Why did you ask if I meant in the room or in the world if your answer was someone in the room anyway?

E: I don't know.

*{I admit it, I laughed out loud}

In case you're wondering if a completely self-assured, confident eighth grade boy exists, the answer is yes.

2.

Nine-year-old E. K. made me laugh at her lesson last week when she said, "My dad is old.  He's 43.  My mom is old too, but she wears makeup to try to look younger."

3.

My student T., who's about nine or ten right now, was challenged by a teacher at her school to do something (anything) for twenty-one days in a row without missing a day.  She picked practicing her violin!  That warmed my heart, of course.  And she stuck with it and succeeded!  But not only that... she has continued to practice every day without missing a day for over forty days now!

When she reached her goal of 21 days, her mom took her to see From the Top live to celebrate T's achievement.  T. loved it, although she did seem a little perturbed when she told me about the really incredible young violinist she heard perform.  I could tell the wheels were turning in her head... it was the first time she had encountered a truly remarkable player not much older than herself.  After her lesson that week, her mom told me, "I do think that hearing such an exceptional little violinist might have made her wonder why she's playing the violin, if she's not that good."

I was thinking about that as T. and her mom left the lesson, and suddenly I dashed out the door after them.  T. turned back towards me, and I simply said, "You know, T., you don't have to be the best in the world at something to enjoy it a whole lot."

{If I didn't think that was true, I don't suppose I'd be playing the violin myself, either.}

4.

Nine-year-old E. K. (yes, her again... what can I say, this girl is often good for blog material) was playing Minuet 1 in her lesson recently, and we were working on keeping a steady tempo without rushing.  After playing through a section, she stopped, concerned, and asked me, "Uh oh, did I fasten it up?"

So cute.

Also, when I demonstrated a section for her at her lesson last week, she said in quiet admiration, "You're so good!"

{Who needs fame and fortune?  I have sweet little students who think I'm pretty great.}

5.

M., a very young cellist in the youth orchestra I conduct, is just about the cutest little guy imaginable.  Recently in rehearsal I said to a violinist, "Hey now K., why can't I get you to look up at me at the end for the ritardando?"  And M. piped up, "Maybe she can't look at you because she's intimidated by your great beauty!"

{awwww.}

6.

N. is playing her violin for a production of Fiddler on the Roof this month, and T. is playing with his school choir and at his church Christmas Eve service, and J. is playing in his school talent show, and E. plays at his church quite regularly, and wow, it just makes me happy that my students go out into the world and fill it with music.

7.

Tonight I got an email from a student's dad, saying that Z. had left his lesson in great spirits after sight-reading Christmas music duets with me.  Apparently he was feeling tired and a bit down when he came to his lesson, and he returned home "in such a good mood."

8.

A final one from young cellist M. again.  He recently said in a rehearsal, "Miss Sarah, Miss Sarah!"  I reminded him to raise his hand if he had a question, and he waved his hand, saying, "Well, it's not really a question, but Miss Sarah, you know that note the cellos have that we were just working on?  I'm going to play that note with proud."

Yes, with proud.

I thought of him saying that over the past weekend while I was playing an arrangement of the Carol of the Bells in a Christmas concert.  I'm not sure why his little comment popped into my head as I played soaring high notes, but it did, and I found myself thinking that I would play those notes "with proud."

So here's to you, M.  We should all play our own parts in life with the kind of joy, sparkle, intelligence, and "proud" that you do.

an innovative pacifier

Dear Nell,

If you ever need therapy in your adult life someday, you can probably blame it on this:

I walked in to the living room the other day to see your father allowing you to use the tip of his nose as a pacifier.

I wasn't sure whether to be horrified or amused.

Oddly enough, you seemed quite happy with the arrangement.

Nonetheless, I rescued you and provided you with a slightly more sanitary option.

Love,

Mom


Oh, and just because she's cute:

                                         

on parenthood and reading to kids

Recently I was telling Nathan how, if I forget to take this whole parenting thing one day at a time, it can get a little overwhelming.  Right now I feel like I can handle the diapers and night feedings, but when I think ahead to having to really parent this precious girl as she gets older, well, am I really going to be up to the task of raising her to be an obedient child, a morally and ethically upright person, an individual capable of contributing to society and making the world a better place?

I said to Nathan, "Right now, getting up with her twice in the night to feed her is totally doable, but will I be able to read her the same books 500 times apiece?"

Nathan's contribution to the conversation was this:

"I get dibs on the first reading of each book, and you can take it from there."

iPhone {mis}adventures

Life's been a bit different for the past week.  Last Sunday night, Nathan inadvertently laundered my iPhone. 

It was on the bed, and when he washed the sheets, he just pulled them off the bed and scooped up my phone in the pile.

I noticed its absence before too long, and soon enough we realized what must have happened, so we rescued it before it had gone through the whole cycle, at least, and as it dries out, some of its functionality is returning.  

I can still take pictures!  And send texts!

I just can't make calls.  Oh well.

{That's only the primary purpose of a phone, after all.}

I'm looking on the bright side: I have a husband who does laundry!

Don't be too jealous.

weekend highs and lows

It really hasn't been the best of weekends for me. I mean, there have been good things, for sure, but then I came down with my third cold in a row, which basically means I've been sick for over a month, almost constantly, which is not okay with me.

And the really low point of the past few days? Realizing on Saturday when I went to practice that I have no idea where my entire stack of sheet music is. I had it on Friday when I left quartet rehearsal. Did it fall out of my case without my noticing? Did I take it out and put it somewhere and forget where? I keep wracking my brain trying to remember what could have happened and coming up with nothing. It's among the most frustrating feelings ever. Have I mentioned that I have to give my master's recital in four little weeks? And now my music -- all of it -- has gone missing. So, to say that I'm panicking about this might be an understatement.

Of course I can buy new music if it doesn't turn up, but those parts had all my fingerings and bowings, every comment from my teacher that I wrote down, every thing I was working on. So the loss is more significant to me than just the sheet music itself.

Today I stayed home from church, sick in bed, dozing on and off all morning. And I had to miss a get-together with friends I had really been looking forward to. When Nathan and Andrew got home, Andrew offered to make me a breakfast burrito. Egg, hash browns, and what I call "soysages" -- you know, those meatless breakfast sausages. He brought it to me in bed.

It was delicious.

While I ate we talked about an orchestra concert he was going to, and I said, "I wish I could play in that orchestra, it sounds like fun."

Andrew replied, "I have already submitted your resume. They are looking for pregnant women in their late twenties."

Haha. If only landing orchestra jobs were that easy, right?

So, there were bright points in an otherwise dismal couple of days.

Another bright spot?

Hearing Nathan's arrangement of the National Anthem performed, under his direction, for the third year in a row by the Massachusetts All-State Chorus in Symphony Hall yesterday.

{those enthusiastic high school kids are prompt about putting stuff up on youtube}

If you had seen me during this, hand over my heart, you might have seen a single tear of pride slip down my right cheek.

I blame pregnancy hormones.

sick in bed

Today is the second day in a row I've had to cancel things and just stay home and rest. Sore throat, cough, runny nose, and to top it off, I've pretty much lost my voice. And everything aches, even my face and my eyeballs. Isn't it great how pregnancy lowers your immune system? So that when the nausea of the first trimester wears off, you can still get plenty sick from time to time. This is my second cold in about three weeks. It's hard not to feel slightly annoyed with the students who come to their violin lessons coughing and wheezing... I'm trying to have the courtesy I sometimes wish others had, and stay home for a couple of days until I feel better.

This morning I said to Nathan, "Do you have time to make us* a cocktail?"**

He: "Sure, of course. I'm going to pee first, is that ok?"

Me: "My glass is on the dresser there."

He: "I don't think I'll use your glass; I'll use the restroom if that's ok with you."

Of course I was pointing out the location of my glass for my juice, but I love how he makes me laugh.

*Remember, I like to speak in the plural these days.

**This is what we call juice and seltzer water around here; fear not, I am not drinking alcoholic beverages at 9:00 am while pregnant.

communication

I'm sharing with you today's strategy for getting my husband's attention, in case you might find it useful someday.

Notice the hour that elapsed between my first and second text.

Time between my second text and his reply? Less than a minute. Success.

a good laugh

Sometimes we all just need a good laugh, don't you think? I have a Pinterest board specifically for pinning pictures that make me laugh. Here are some of my favorites:

Cookie Monster baking fail:

Poor T-Rex has short arms:

Haven't we all done this?

Yup.

I can't lie, I've definitely done this:

And it somehow seems appropriate to end with this one:

relationship humor

Found this via A Cup of Jo, and it made me laugh.

While it's funny, I do think it's often true of relationships... do you think so?

we don't do normal

This is the post in which I reveal just how quirky I can be, and how bizarre things can get around here.

A couple of mornings ago Nathan was getting ready to leave for a class, and I was still lying in bed, slowly waking up.

And I said to him, joking of course, "Will you come lick the morning crusties out of my eyes like a mother cat?"

And he replied, "No, I don't have time; I'm running late."

Like my request was totally normal. (It wasn't.)

Like we do that kind of thing around here all the time. (We don't.)

Like if he hadn't been running late, he would have gladly obliged. (I hope not.)

Maybe he was being funny.

Or maybe he hadn't been paying close attention to the nature of my request.

We may never know.

But in the meantime...

Every time I think about this scenario...

I laugh until I cry.

It just cracks me up.

{But as we know, everything cracks me up these days.}

Okay, so we're pretty weird. But we like it that way. We think "normal" people are, well, a little boring.

conversations around here

number one:

Sarah, lying in bed working on homework on Shiny (my Macbook Pro): Hey, have you seen my Mendelssohn book? I can't find it anywhere.

Nathan: Where have you looked?

Sarah: Pretty much everywhere I can see from my vantage point lying here in bed.

Nathan: *rolls eyes*

number two:

Nathan: Why do people announce how much their babies weigh?

Sarah: I don't know, it's just a thing you do I guess.

Nathan: We will not tell anyone how much our baby weighs. If it is a boy, he would be ashamed to weigh so little, and if it is a girl, it would be impolite to discuss her weight publicly.

number three:

Sarah: Hey, when your head is on your pillow like that, our new white flannel pillowcases really bring out the white hairs you have coming in.

Nathan: !!!... why you little... !!!

number four:

Sarah: I feel like I look really fat these days.

Nathan: Well, I don't think you look fat at all, so if you average our perceptions, worse case scenario is you look a little fat.

Sarah: ... thanks? ...

vintage weight-gain ads

I think I'll just keeping reminding myself of this as I go through this pregnancy.

Yes, let's add some attractive pounds right away! I don't even need ironized yeast to do it!

{Although perhaps the kind of figure I see in my future isn't exactly what the advertisers had in mind...}