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THINKING ABOUT: Some of you that follow our shenanigans on Instagram might recall the abandoned purple van we walk by each day and a video I shared a few months ago in which Max pretends to call Tom the Tow Truck. The eggplant vehicle has a front tire that is flat and it's been that way for 2.5 years now. We're not sure WHY it's still there, but my guess is that the insurance company forgot to pick it up after the hail storm and the owners have since moved away. Anywho, Max continues to voice his concern about the Barney-mobile and as a result it's a topic of discussion at least 3-4 times a week. Le sigh. My commentary is rote at this point and goes something like this, "Yes, Max. I don't know why it's still there. No, we can't fix it. I'm not sure when the tow truck is going to take it away." While making our way around the loop last Wednesday, we passed the van without any mention of the flat tire (Hallelujah!). However, as we got closer to our street, we couldn't help but notice a tow truck tightening the straps on a white sedan. This obviously caught Max's attention, so we stopped to watch the process unfold. Stalking construction sites and large trucks could be considered a "mom hack" that I encourage because it keeps this kid entertained for hours. Huzzah! So while the two of us stood on the sidewalk for about five minutes discussing the various steps of towing a truck, we eventually watched it drive away with the car and proceeded on our route. Sweet readers, within seconds of the tow truck passing us, something inside Max's head clicked and my kid took off in an attempt to catch up with the driver. Imagine this old soul (just 3 ft. tall) sporting a dinosaur tail around his waist zooming off on his scooter and shouting "Hey! Come baaaaaaack! You forgot one!!!" The tow truck was far off in the distance, and I almost fell over at the sight and sounds of what I just witnessed. My eyes welled up with tears because the whole situation was hilarious and Max was so stinking earnest. I eventually caught up with him and tried my best to hold back the giggles as I hugged him tight. A week has passed and I still think that instance goes down as one of my top five favorite Max moments. It reminds me of Brené Brown's idea that "Joy comes to us in the ordinary moments. We risking missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary." And she's right! The best moments come from the unexpected and sneak up on you when you're not prepared for them. Who knew a tow truck and abandoned purple van would tug at the heart strings like they have?!
FEELING: The latest iPhone software update has left my phone acting all kind of crazy. While I love the addition of the dinosaur emojis, I feel like my phone will never be the same. It's extra slow, freezing far more than it should, and quite frankly I'm afraid it's going to crap out on me at any moment. As a result, I've upgraded storage on the iCloud and went ahead and bought an external hard-drive to back up our desktop and laptop while I'm at it because heaven forbid ALL the devices fail me in the midst of this move. I suppose these technological doomsday emotions lit a fire and I'm finally following through with my goal to back up errrrrrrythang.
THANKFUL FOR: You guys!! My favorite Swell Rio Starbucks barista is BAAAACK after a year long hiatus!! She just kind of disappeared on me and I felt sad because we had no closure. There were moments I wanted to inquire about her and ask the other employees, but I held back because I didn't want to be too nosy. Much to my surprise, I placed my order yesterday at the drive-thru and a familiar voice asked me if I wanted that macchiato hot or cold. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but it sounded A LOT like the sweet lady that saw me through many Max meltdowns. Could it be?! Upon rolling up to the window, I was ecstatic to see that it was really her!! Come to find out, she took the last year off so she could adopt her granddaughter. She went on to show me a photo of the little girl and discussed the lengthy/expensive process, but they're together again and the happiness radiated in her smile. I recall the first time she told me about their situation and we connected over the fact that Max and the granddaughter were similar in age. Despite everything she had going on in her life, she was a constant source of kindness and hope for me—especially during those first few months of motherhood. As we near our departure, I want to find a way to thank her for being that compassionate and friendly source of encouragement that she didn't have to be. It meant more to me than she may know.
LISTENING TO: Whenever a student gets the answer correct, my mom tells them to kiss his/her brain. I found myself doing this with Max over the past year and for some reason he confuses his bicep for his brain and kisses the inside of his arm instead. Ha Ha! Last week he finally kissed the palm of his hand and patted his brain and I couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad. I guess it's a sign that he's getting older and smarter, but there's just something so cute about when they attempt to do something and it's inaccurate. It's like when he mispronounces a word like garbage and you kind of wish he'd refer to it as "bage" until he goes to college. #smother
WATCHING: Following @sambartell on Instagram is one of my favorite things. Ever. This past week she and her husband, Graham, began watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey for the first time (How is this possible?) and she graciously documented their binge-watching of season one on her Insta-stories. You guys, the commentary and reaction to "bubbies" and the infamous table flip gave me life. Gah, it made me miss the Giudice and Manzo glory days on Bravo!! Now we're left with Siggy Flicker and cake fights.
READING: It's no surprise that I lived for magazines even as a kid. Whenever Highlights or the American Girl Magazine showed up in our mailbox, I kind of assumed possession of the publication and pored over it until I had to share it with my sister. Oops! As Max gets older and everything becomes so digitized, I think it's important that we introduce tangible options that he can explore and interact with much like I enjoyed doing as a child. Naturally, I was excited to learn about Bravery Magazine and ordered him a copy as soon as the Kickstarter campaign was available. The first issue arrived yesterday and features Jane Goodall throughout the mag. The whole mission behind the magazine is to empower children through stories of brave women and is intended to help them become their own kind of brave. They call it "a guide for dreaming and doing." Who doesn't love that?!
LOVING: Unless there's glitter or polka dots involved, tennis shoes aren't typically my thing. The last "real" pair of sneakers I bought was 3.5 years ago when I was pregnant with Max and desperately needed some support as I waddled around the house. Over time I managed to get a hole near my big toe in said tennis shoes and it became evident that I would need to buy another pair. Thankfully, I got a gift card to J.Crew from my in-laws and snagged this snazzy set of New Balance Sneakers. You guys, they're SO comfortable. I'm kind of obsessed!! Who am I?! Also, the gold detail makes chasing Max around on his scooter while sporting tennies a lot cuter than I ever anticipated. Now I think I need the navy and rose gold combo. I guess sneakers can sometimes be considered adorable...
Enough about me. How are you feeling today? What are you up to? Thanks for stopping by!!
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