Tales of Me and the Husband

winter isn’t the worst.

i really dragged february through the mud last week, and i thought it’d only be fair to give the month a few reasons why it’s not the total and entire bane of my existence. because fluffy white robes, staying in your pajamas till 3 then determining that maybe you should just stay in them all day, not really needing to leave the house at all without feeling badly about it… those are all good things (in small doses). things collectively slow down in february and i get a lot of those days moms write about. the slow, mundane ones that we’re told to cherish. “these are the days! the moments are long but the years are short!” and a lot of the time, i really do love them. plopping parker and anders on the couch and getting them all snuggled up in blankets, watching the smiles spread across their faces because they are as excited to get snuggled up together under blankets as you are to tuck all the edges in for maximum warmth, reading books, crawling fast behind anders and saying, “i’m going to get you!” while he crawls away until collapsing on his belly and kicking his feet laughing, painting pictures and not caring so much about the mess, making banana pancakes, hearing parker ask for you to help him count to 300 (while he’s on the toilet), drinking hot coffee every morning that seems more like a necessity than a luxury in february, seeing the pinkest evening sky over snow covered trees (just last week! it was amazing!), listening to music both new and old, and having a little dance party. the days move slow, and there’s a lot to notice in each of them when you’re not racing through the hours. each is giving us more and more daylight, as we inch closer to spring and bare feet and sun on our faces. winter is not totally my thing, but i’m still going to give credit where credit is due. we’re all snug in tight and there’s something really nice about that (most of the time).

 

weekend links.

This is how they were when I came down the other day. Steve’s eating cereal and Parker’s ready for… I’m not sure. Does he know something we don’t know? This is him, in one costume or another, 75% of the time.
OK Go once again proving they’re cooler than the rest of us.
Instagram now allows switching between multiple accounts! (Good news for… a lot of us with more than one account.)

Delete the FB app off your phone and save on battery life. (It’s true. I learned this while abroad and my battery was going down so fast. Now I go into FB through Safari on my phone.)

Laughed so hard at this.

My Valentine’s Day present to Steve (gosh, we’re becoming really boring and predictable… and this is his second pair).

I just saw this at a toy store yesterday and I can see how it’s actually relaxing.

J. Crew does sunglasses now and they’re awesome.

Throwback: Steve and Lindsey’s Frozen duet.

I really want to make these chicken sesame bowls. I’ve had soba noodles sitting in my pantry for like six months too. Perfect.

I am obsessed with Lindsay’s barn-made-home. Obsessed. Her kitchen reveal is no exception!

See you next week! Happy Valentine’s Day!

sick day(s).






February is not my month, you guys. I mean February is trying to kick my ass straight to the curb you guys. First, it’s February! I mean, look at its spelling! Of course it’s pissed off and trying to drag us all down with it. FEB-ROO-ARY. Don’t lie, that’s how you say it in your head every time you write it out. But then, it has one measly Hallmark-manufactured holiday to call its own. And once that’s over, there’s nothing redeeming about it. Nothing! It’s like winter’s last pathetic stronghold before we DEAR GOD PLEASE begin seeing the signs of spring that March ushers in. February sucks. It just does. 
But then! But thennnn. This February is actually trying to kill me. Colds, and coughs, and sore throats, and snow, and snow days on top of snow days! (It is soooo much less snow than this time last year, so my drama seems misplaced, no? I’m aware.) I’m tired of February days before I even sit up out of bed! I’m like encouraging my children to watch another Daniel Tiger when they’re like, “Please Mom! No more Daniel Tiger!” “ANOTHER DANIEL TIGER OR ELSE KIDS UGGA MUGGA.” 
February. You’re the worst. What’s redeeming though: I am getting better (you’re probably starting to wonder, “gosh, was she really sick? what was it? what’s the prognosis? sure hope she’s gonna be okay!” …..mmm… just a cold.) Pounding Congaplex,  tea, Vitamin C, the whole nine yards. And my nose, my poor nose. If I blow one more time, I swear it may actually shrivel up and fall off. Anders, the poor little guy, had a cough that kept us both up at various points in the night, and he hated it, I could tell, and I hated it for him. Babies shouldn’t be able to get colds, amen? Also redeeming: aside from the snow (which isn’t really so bad unless you’ve got a cold and thus are housebound) is the weather! I went for a long walk with the boys on Sunday and I think it was nearly 50 degrees! I was hot! (I was wearing my ridiculous parka, but nevertheless my point remains.)
Oh, and it is Valentine’s Day soon which isn’t terrible. I’ve got a couple cute Valentine’s around this house. Some chocolates already stowed away for William and Lindsey and then I think I’ll make some chocolate covered strawberries with Parker. We’ve sent Valentine’s cards (on time!) and I’ve even put up a decoration! That… keeps falling down because I’ve only secured it with washi tape.
But still, I’m sticking with it. February is not my month.

three months gone, three months home.

we’ve been home for three months now. which is, give or take a few days, the same length of time we were gone. steve and i cannot fully grasp this. how can it be? to us, it felt like we were gone for such a long time. we remarked, so often, how funny time felt while we were there. (i wrote a little about it here.) it bears repeating. it really was so strange. time moved altogether differently while we were there. and now that we’ve been home the same time we were gone, we’re being reminded of this strange phenomenon again. through it all, i keep wondering, what does this mean about the pace of our life here?
i haven’t done anything by way of an album or framing, so grabbing them for this post is probably the most time i’ve spent looking at our pictures aside from showing them to some friends. it’s hard to capture the feelings they conjure. it’s a mix of disbelief, wonder, nostalgia, wishing, sadness, happiness, a decent dose of what were we thinking. the kids were smaller, younger, haircuts were different, anders had more chub and wasn’t even crawling when we left. it was home for three months and i miss it.

weekend links.

Superbowl weekend! Are you doing anything fun? We might go to a friend’s house, and we’re also supposed to get snow (we have NONE right now.). I hope to catch up on some sleep and quiet time. It’s been a rough week–and mostly housebound too (Parker’s sick!). I am embarrassed to admit I sent way too many of those ridiculous Snapchat filter videos of myself to sisters and friends (and almost peed my pants doing so about a thousand times). Got me through the slow days!
Speaking of Superbowl, this appetizer is so delicious and so easy. (Not technically a man’s man appetizer, but they’ll probably still eat it all.)

Are you eating paleo? 13 paleo-friendly breakfasts that aren’t eggs. (Number 8 looks amazing.)

“Richer parents tend to have room in their budget to force brussels sprouts on their children and throw out what gets rejected.” Why so many rich kids come to enjoy the taste of healthier foods.

I love these comics.

I am, quite literally (seriously, been back to look at them five times in two days), obsessed with these handmade shoes. Saving up for… all of them?

I am unnaturally obsessed with Ikea hacks. The idea that something so inexpensive could be made SO AMAZING is the best. Ashley’s round up is a good one. The lockers turned credenza!

This meme. Nailed it.

This shirtdress! (With skinny jeans and a sweater in the winter!)

This dubsmash video is the best.

Refugee girls dress up as what they want to be when they grow up. I really liked this.

Have a good weekend!

nap thwarted.

the day began with so much promise. anders did not leak through his diaper! my sheets would not need to be stripped, cleaned, the bed then remade! i felt (relatively; relatively is key) rested! steve already had the coffee ready by the time i got downstairs! i poured myself a cup! here we go! come at me monday!

and then.

anders, who’s in that funny doesn’t-need-two-naps-but-still-needs-two-naps stage managed to put a nap off till noon. which is actually great, if it were a long nap. that caveat is important, friends! but a fleeting thirty minutes later and he was awake while parker and i were making valentine’s day cards. cutting hearts, gluing, paint, scissors. i ran upstairs hoping to catch anders sleepy enough so he’d go back down while shouting to parker, “do not come upstairs!” and not shouting but praying in my head, “and do not paint the walls, or furniture or cut your eyelashes off while i am up there!”

i scooped anders up and managed to quickly nurse him before he really got out of his sleepiness. he was just beginning to doze off again–yes! success! go back down and have some parker time!–when who comes creeping in outfitted with a headlamp but parker hunt. i whisper yell while making gestures (but gentle ones! cannot wake anders who is still attached to my person!) “go downstairs! out!” my entire face pointing at the door, crazy eyes in that if-looks-could-kill way. he doesn’t, and then proceeds to sneeze because he has a cold. anders stirs. opens his eyes. the battle is lost.

parker got a timeout. and a looooong (longer than necessary, but that’s what i’m good at, ask steve) explanation while he was on the toilet (the perfect time for them to listen well) as to why he must not do that EVEREVEREVER AGAIN. i was sure to add, “unless it’s an emergency. like you are hurt. or the house is on fire.”

(i’m sure, with that exception i added, he will soon come up and interrupt another nap with a “my cuticle is bleeding!”)

then anders proceeds to refuse being put down, and refuse anything but hang on my hip for the next four hours.

at 3 i called steve. “you need to come home now.”

thank the sweet lord, he did come home, bundled both boys, took them for a walk. and where am i? sipping wine at a cafe and writing this post!

it was one of those days. oh was it ever.

(pictures above are just before they both left for their walk when i went skipping, nay, speeding to the cafe shouting, “freedom!!!!!!!” a la william wallace minus the horse and blue paint.)

12 things to love about anders emmett hunt at 14 months old.

1. he’s still not walking, just standing and then promptly looking around for everyone to notice and clap, or one person to notice and tell everyone else, “look at anders!” upon which everyone notices and claps.
2. the desperate giggle/cry that he does juuuuust before he’s about to make contact with nana (nursing)
3. the way he’ll take food in his mouth, food i know he likes, and if he’s not interested he opens his mouth and just lets it fall out and onto his lap or the ground like it ain’t no thing; you’ll clean that up later, mom, right?
4. the way he wakes up in bed, so cuddly and smiley and will actually lay his head on my chest for a cuddle
5. his naughtiness; keeping anders alive is a 24/7 job, moreso than i remember with parker! he climbs anything he possibly can, such that sometimes we overturn our kitchen chairs just to give ourselves a break from the constant monitoring
6. the way he will just crawl over to the book nook, no announcement necessary (not sure what an announcement would look like anyway), and begin flipping through all the board books that are at his level. standing up, grabbing one, flipping through it, throwing it off to the side, standing up, grabbing one… repeat.
7. his feet. i cannot get enough of his feet. watching them while he stands is especially cute. when he goes up on tiptoes! gosh i could stare at baby feet all day long.
8. the way he very much prefers to fall asleep on me on the couch at night and go up when i do, instead of being put in a crib closer to 8 pm.
9. his hair. it’s sometimes a rat’s nest these days and he don’t care, not one bit.
10. the way he cranes his neck in the car to see the tv screen if a movie is on. (sorry, rear-facing child!)
11. the way he’s already beginning to hold his own and exert his opinions (especially if big brother parker does something he doesn’t like)
12. um… everything? i adore this child.

lately.

1. citrus, a winter staple round here, in my favorite new pehr basket
2. bundled up for a walk (that lasted two minutes before he cried and wanted to come home)
3. out for my mom’s birthday lunch + my most flattering angle
4. bloom2bloom blooms! use hunt20 for your own discount! v-day comin’ up!

in college, i didn’t really love psychology, and i definitely did not like philosophy and yet here i am, in an almost-constant state of reflection which, to me, seems like something someone would do if he (or she) enjoyed those subjects–or at least psychology? yes? no? does that make any sense? we had dinner with old friends of ours the other night. i mean, i haven’t seen them since i was in 4th grade. so, i was telling steve, “yeah, i haven’t seen them since i was 11, so like 15 years.” and he was like… “more like 20 years.” what! offended! but yet totally true. and then i was having lunch with my sister and somehow it came up that steve and i have been together for 10 years and she was shocked, baffled, incredulous. and the thing is so am i! these are my days, my life, i’m actually living it, and yet i am routinely struck by how anything in my life can be “20 years ago” without referencing me as nothing more than a mere newborn. steve and i? together for 10 years? um, pretty sure i was in like 2nd grade 10 years ago. (there’s a cradle-robbing joke here somewhere…)
do you get what i’m saying though? do you also feel this? sometimes i look around and think what is happening?! and you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
wife and you may ask yourself well… how did i get here? nailed it, talking heads!
RIGHT?!
(this is not a mid-life crisis, i’m pretty sure. just musings on life. thanks for bearing with me.)

weekend links.

My Mom and Dad have been here this week and thus I’ve done very little in the way of blogging or emails! We’ve watched some movies, run errands, crafted (we brought this to make with his class!) at Parker’s school, and stayed far too long in our robes in the morning. Nonsense! It’s never too long for that. Anyway, hi! I’ve missed you. 

We’re talking about rearranging some rooms in the house in preparation for Parker and Anders to share one (not yet! But in the next year?). I love this Ikea bed post.

The different ways moms-to-be around the world pack their hospital bags. Pretty amazing.

I love Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard even more now.

Way too premature (it’s not even February), but I love this. The colors!

50 Most Instagrammed Places in the US. That picture of Acadia is so beautiful.

I’m on snapchat! I don’t totally understand it. Like, I accidentally tapped a friend’s message to me and then it was gone and I couldn’t get it back? WTH? But anyway, here we are. I’m @itsahuntlife. Please tell me about accidental snaps before my reputation is entirely gone.

Parker was sent this hoodie and is now referring to it as his ninja outfit. It’s great.

I’m trying this right now (as, I guess, a foundation?) and so far so good. Moisturizing too!

P.S. The above lipstick! (I feel like a diva every single time I mention/link/buy makeup. Who am I lately?)

See you next week!!

taking stock / 11

Making: beef stew in the crockpot; when 5:00 rolls around and I realize dinner is already cooking and I can sit down and do nothing, I throw a little party. And… pour myself some Chimay. 
Cooking: (kind of the same as making if you’re not crafty like me?) eggs and Applegate pork sausage recently!
Drinking: red wine from Trader Joe’s; an organic merlot–$6.99!
Reading: four books, simultaneously. And none of them particularly quickly, which is surprising… not at all.
Wanting: a vacation to some place warm! Me and everyone else who’s… not living in some place that’s warm right now.
Looking: at summer rentals in Colorado; we have a wedding to go to!  
Eating: oranges! roasted vegetables! 
Wishing: that I had a fruit tree outside my kitchen like my California friend. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
Enjoying: this Bachelor season. I can’t help it. I’m a sucker for trashy TV.
Loving: having my Mom and Dad here!
Hoping: our winter goes easy on us (more in temperature than inches of snow! Those freezing days are the worst.)
Needing: this dress in blush and a reason to wear it!!!
Smelling: my sister’s new body butter; not in her shop yet, but I get to be her guinea pig. (It’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it.)
Feeling: happy, most of the time; I’ve also been really good about this Vitamin D every day and I think it’s making a difference.
Wearing: slippers, slippers, slippers.
Watching: Inside Out; gosh, I love it (soundtrack is great too, FYI) 
Bookmarking: this pin; we’re thinking about changing around our first floor a bit, and I love this TV/collage wall arrangement.

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