what if . . . rest?

 I was just feeling tired in the middle of the day and decided to just relax for a few minutes and take care of myself.  I am in no way an infectious disease expert but I found myself wondering if perhaps feeling tired just might possibly (I know people who have studied this far more than I have been saying things like this for a very long time, so I am speaking a bit tongue in cheek) . . . if feeling tired just might possibly be a signal that my body needs rest?  

It seems that viral load is a pretty big contributing factor to "catching" Covid-19.  What if feeling tired might mean that I was unknowingly exposed to some corona virus bugs and my body is working on fighting those off?  

Maybe not.  Maybe so.  

I think what I am working on remembering is that I am the one who most often puts expectations on myself.  What if I gave myself permission to listen to my body and rest when it feels tired?  

What are your thoughts on rest these days?  

I'd love to hear. 

Kelly

home-making

We have certainly been taking the adventures 

that are falling to us . . . 

birthday lunches and park playdates 

with friends visiting from out of town

work trips and double dates

sleepovers, breakfast dates, mudpie making and phone calls

library lunch, playdates, scooter riding, 

watching webinars about homeschooling for the 

coming school year and spontaneous Thai dinners with friends!  

curriculum pick up, Moms in Prayer summer edition

summer finale Nana camps, food trucks 

early to bed nights, early morning bike rides to the grocery store 

last meeting of book club with some of our homeschool buddies, climbing trees, reading books 

rain storms, dinners at friends' houses and Junk Fest

We have had a blast, are tired and happy and thankful . . . 

and the house is a mess and details have been left unattended to so this afternoon it has felt so, so very good to tend my home and garden.  

Homemaking is not a very popular word any more but there is truly nothing I would rather do than have the privilege of helping to shape a home where myself and three other precious to me people get to live out our days, discover our dreams, grow into who we are to be . . . 

"Home. Cozy, pillows on a couch, blankets and a dog. Everyone who should be here is here. There’s a comfortable familiarity between us and I don’t have to figure out how to be. It’s a feeling that I’m not in a hurry or that I don’t have to be somewhere else. Home is what I come back to, not what I go out to. It’s the reset button, the safety net, the place where I know I can be my “self” just as I am and the people in my home will love and support me, will help me, will soothe me." - Julie Bogart, the Homeschool Alliance

and so I am delighting in an afternoon slow enough to both notice and take a photo of our tomatoes' progress

an afternoon when I know we are all done going out for the day, we will stay here and be home through dinner and going to bed and waking up again and we don't have to be anywhere tomorrow morning.  

feeling the satisfaction of getting the dishwasher and washing machine going, changing over laundry, putting in a second load . . . even if I don't further organize the things I've been gathering up (in a WAY outdated tub!) for school this year

reading books to this cutie pie!  

These are both excellent by the way!  

beginning to get books loaded into our library crate 

to be out of our house and go back

enjoying the glimpses of organization and order that Cora has imposed of her own volition

 having time to notice and not just rush on to the next thing, that the plant with the yellowing leaves needs some attention and so does the laundry on the floor . . . 

appreciating the normal things

even if the picking up isn't perfect, 

being grateful for a cleaner floor

noticing colors and patterns and texture 

amidst the mundane messes

relishing walking out the door besides for the purpose of leaving the house

seeing that our pumpkin vine is beginning to flower 

and also seeing everything else

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some "home time" in the coming days.  You deserve it.  Your people deserve it.  What is one of your favorite things about being home?

Kelly

perennials

are very generous flowers to come back each year!


This year we had a huge hailstorm at the beginning of June and I am oh so thankful for the flowers that have come back since our veggie/herb garden and all of our flowers got destroyed that night.  


Kelly

a couple more photos of the entryway

I am really enjoying being able to decorate with flowers from our own yard!

The whole shebang! Entry way with a school-ish theme for fall.

our tomatoes are ripe!!!

These made for a great lunch today!

Our garden adventure is working.

Do you garden?

Kelly

last day in Chicago

We spent five days in Chicago. We went because Adrian's Granny & cousin who live in England as well as his dad were going to be in town and we wanted to meet up with all of them for a visit. It was wonderful to get to spend time together. They left on Sunday and we stayed two extra days even though it meant Adrian had to work during the day, telecommuting from cafes and coffee shops with free wifi.

We had an amazing breakfast on our last day in Chicago. We went to a place called Orange that I've been wanting to try out for about six years now, since my very first visit to Chicago with my mom, aunt and our friend, Sheryl.

It was really yummy! I had the pancake flight. I think the pancakes change weekly and all four stacks are centered around a theme. This one was August fruits. Yum!

Adrian had steak and eggs benedict on brioche toast. It was really yummy as well.

Sweet David had sweet potato fries & cheerios. It turned out to be harder than I expected to feed him with his dairy allergy while eating out the whole trip. I was SUPER impressed with E,leaven though! I stopped in to buy my first ever French macaroons and asked if she would mind filling up David's cup with soy milk for me. Everywhere else I had made this request I had paid a pretty hefty price for a cup of soy milk but what are you going to do without a refrigerator? I reached for my wallet and she told me that it was okay, I didn't owe her anything. Wow! Thank you, E,leaven!

After breakfast, Adrian got to work and David and I walked to Navy Pier to go to the Children's Museum! We had such a good time.

Enjoy the pics.

horse made of "stuff"

love this photo of my walking explorer

cool sound tubes

different perspective

It's the simple things. He loved the stairs.

They had an awesome play space that gave me lots of ideas for early childhood type stuff. I feel like I "know" elementary age having taught that age for so long but this early childhood stuff is new to me. There was a really nice girl who worked there and had a great chat.

lots of sounds, textures, moving things

In another area of the museum there was a "garden". The ground was made of brown corduroy covered bolster type things so that there were "rows" that the kids really could "plant" the crops down in.

neat ball ramp!

down they come

kid sized entrance into the museum of miniatures

waiting for our train to take the El back to the airport

The balloon was well worth the $1.99 price tag at a grocery store off Michigan Avenue the day before. David got to enjoy one of his favorite things in all the world while Mama got to enjoy a little shopping time pushing the stroller with the balloon attached.

Have you been to any children's museums?

Which ones should we add to our list to visit in the future?

Kelly

first and last photos by Adrian, all other photos by Mama

ten on ten - July 2011

We are in the middle of a wonderful family reunion.

Here are ten shots from our day.

bonding

gathering

climbing

"sittin' pretty"

exploring

service

gardening

catering

shoes

the beginning of farewells

{this one to Lady Em}

Things that I did not capture in photos today and yet want to remember . . .

an awesome video put together by my cousin Jon for our family to enjoy

5 first steps taken by a certain little man!

me practically throwing myself out the front door and in the path of a young couple with a stroller to meet them when all of the neighbors we've met so far have grown children