My sister occupied Artie at Chik-fil-a today while Ivy and I went hunting for pretty things to style a wedding photo shoot I’m designing for the launch of Enders Events next weekend.  So this is the tidbit she tells me upon my return while we’re trying to pry him from the play area…

He’s looking out the window, enjoying his juice box when a van and trailer pulls up outside.  Before the group of scruffy dudes in knit hats and converses (aka a touring band) even hop out, Artie exclaims, “Look it’s daddy!”

What an eye for touring machines this kid has…crazy.  I wonder if he remembers the many months he spent in one as an infant…miss those days!

You know it’s been a long night when your reaction to a baby peeing all over you is no reaction at all.  It concerns you as much as you’re concerned with breathing.  And when you finally bother to peel your shirt off it’s in front of a window facing the street where this oldish man stands…the one who is perpetually walking his dog and letting it “talk” to yours causing her to freak out…and your first reaction is to wave rather than hide…but he’s too involved in the dog conversation to notice anyway.  So that’s how you might know if you had a long night, just for your reference.

The only way to operate while being the sole caregiver around here is on a constant adrenaline rush.  It’s like I’m never tired…but tired all the time.  And my judgement is shaky.  For example, the other day I taught Artie that a group of birds is called a “flock.”  He has fantastic pronunciation nine times out of ten, but on a different day I might’ve known that word could all too easily transform into one you don’t want your two year old shouting all over the place.  Do you have any idea how frequently you cross paths with a flock?  I do, and for me it’s an unnervingly massive amount of times on any given day.  Flock.

And with that, it was a morning worthy of retail therapy.  I saw a similar pair  of these Ugglebo clogs on my adorable friend Chelsea and had to have them.

I’m going to try to keep these beauties out of the firing range of baby pee.

It’s been smooth sailing here with just me and the babes.  Proof is in these pictures, because if I have the time and energy to play dress up with my little lady and occupy Artie during a mini photo shoot…then I must be doing ok.  Or I’m just obsessed with this doll.

I guess pretty vintage dresses taste pretty yucky.

I really am doing ok solo…other than permanently losing my keys, mistakenly believing that Ivy was miraculously talking about Wonder Pets during some double baby monitor upstairs/downstairs confusion, and increasing my Keurig’s workload by 200%.  Despite all that, we have a nice little routine going complete with daily showers for myself and baths for both kids…a semi huge accomplishment!

So the kids have been cleaned, the pets have been fed, and the trash has made it’s way to the curb (while Ace “babysat” via facetime for the two minutes it took me to sprint outside).  Yeah, it felt a little like that commercial with the daycare run by robots.  But overall, smooth sailing.

No tots on tour this time around.  There are a few things that might serve as a decent distraction over these next three weeks as I watch Artie and Ivy reach for contact through a screen during facetime sessions with their daddy.  Other than the obvious taking care of two kids, two cats, a dog, a house, a recording studio, a messy inbox, etc.

Thinking about our reunion vacation in California is at the top of the list.

Some projects with my wonderful sister in law Robin Gazzara including a crafty fashion contraption we’ll be introducing quite soon as well as planning her wedding (did I mention I do that now, like professionally?)

Possibly a few bottles of Shamong Red courtesy of Valenzano Winery.

Definitely getting on the bike/treadmill/pilates kick I need to lose…oh, let’s just admit it…the extra 20 pounds I’m hanging onto even as Ivy’s almost three months old.

Reading the second and third Hunger Games books (I intentionally saved them for these nights alone…talk about will power).

Writing some children’s stories that have been on hold…all inspired by my son’s adorable proclamations.

The excitement of the band being back together.

And getting a bit back into posting here.  So, here I am.  And here they are…

My ultimate favorite distractions by far.

I was so happy when Stephanie McDowell (who has done some great photos for Ace in the past) contacted me about doing a maternity photo shoot.  There are so many pictures from when I was pregnant with Artie while we were traveling all over…a weekly shot anywhere from Salt Lake to Sydney.  So I’m really happy that now this pregnancy has been captured in it’s own special way!

Here they are!

I’ve watched and guided along more than my fair share of photo shoots for Ace and other bands, and Steph made actually being in front of the camera super easy and comfortable.  If you’re in the Philly/NJ area I highly recommend working with her if you get the chance!

You can head here to see a few more photos from the shoot!

Thanks so much to the Gillespie family for letting us use their beautiful spot by the lake, complete with tons of ivy…perfect for me to always remember being pregnant with Ivy!

There might as well be six feet of snow outside…because it’s that absolutely inconceivable to leave the house in this heat.  So rather than trigger early labor, we’re on lockdown in the a.c. until, I don’t know…October?  Seriously hoping it lets up soon.  To solve summer cabin fever and the dilemma of Artie not knowing what to do with his all of his toy airplanes other than crash them into each other, the freshly painted walls, or the baby doll we’ve been imagining is his baby sister (yikes)…I hit up the old google for a good idea of how to build a “cardboard airport.”

The best result ever came up from a super cute blog that I’m happy to have discovered.  Other than it being a little intimidating because this momma is ridiculously talented (and her son who seems to be a bit older than Artie is way more ready for the special details she built in), it was truly inspirational and just kind of cool to know that only a couple days ago someone else out there decided to do the exact same thing as me.  Especially since I did feel a little crazy when I first thought of building this while my 22 month old “helped” by stealing the scissors, tearing apart my work, unraveling all of the tape, and eventually retreating to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the next room while I slaved away.

I’m quite happy to have re-used the cardboard from my sweet new double stroller that just came in yesterday…trying to do the “re-use” thing a bit more and who can argue against not buying expensive toys on top of that?

So here’s what I came up with:

We have many take-offs and landings ahead of us in this little corner!

We’re all growing by the day…along with Artie’s affection for his baby sister in my belly.

tickle…

tickle…

tickle…

He pets and hugs my belly every night, cooing “aww awww” in the squeaky voice he uses to coax kittens and the like.  We’ve started pretending he’s a big brother to his cousin’s dolls and he takes his job very seriously by wrapping her in blankets, rocking her to sleep, putting hats on her head, and even sharing his beloved blankie.  Sometimes I’ll carry the doll around throughout the day to get him familiar with the picture of what’s to come and he’s nothing but helpful and adoring.  With every full sippy cup I hand over to Artie, Ivy gets drinks through my belly button.

I’m sure there will be some tough times once she’s demanding more attention than a fetus or a doll, but at least at this point Artie is as well adjusted and warmed up to the idea as a 22 month old big brother to be could possibly be!

It’s been about two weeks since my almost two year old had his first legitimate haircut (as in, it wasn’t just me and Ace chasing him around the house with kitchen scissors).  The solution to screams of “ouch” was strapping him down in his booster, stuffing him with cookies, and letting my talented stylist friend Alex quickly snip away.

Before…(everyone we met thought he was almost 3)

After…(now everyone thinks he’s almost 4)

Especially at times like this…

And this…(yes, he’s singing with his beautiful cousin Sophie)

And when he picks up a book of Beetles songs and announces “music!” as he flips through the pages of lines and dots that his daddy doesn’t even make use of…and when he crawls onto my lap while I’m routing out shows and points to the screen saying “oooh nice map!”…and when he places the alphabet magnet letter I next to O and says, “I make a ten!”

Oh, Artie.  You are a ten.

I’ve kind of been having bittersweet feelings about all of the changes coming up.  I’m looking forward to every part of what’s ahead, but my current days are so unbelievably enjoyable I can’t imagine letting go of this time with Artie as the center of my universe.  But I guess we can all learn from the image above…when life hands you lemons…eat them whole.  Also, when the carnival comes to town…go on vacation.  It’s gross.

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I’m notorious for putting important physical objects in “special places.”  Any time Ace can’t find his passport or I’m searching for our water and sewer bill without success…we know it ended up in one of these seemingly wonderful safe spots that I instantly forget about after hiding it away there.  For example, Artie’s birth certificate ended up in torn bill envelope marked “BC” and tucked in an inner zipper compartment of my computer bag.  Ace’s passport?  I just found that in one of my old purses on the top shelf of a closet we never use.  All of the receipts from 2010 that I couldn’t find when it was time to do taxes?  That was here…

I mean, is there really a better place for tax documents than a vintage globe printed ice bucket that sits on a shelf in the hall?  I should mention it’s also home to some sacred Ninja Turtles from my husband’s childhood.  That’s a special place if you ask me!

Staying connected to friends and family (or that boy living in a van and driving around the country from the dirtiest, tiniest venues to slightly less dirty, slightly larger venues and so on and so forth as I talked about in my last Yahoo! post) by email is of course super convenient and helpful.  But sometimes the most important person I email isn’t even in those categories.  Email is a way for me to stay connected to myself and avoid the abyss of special places.

I’m totally addicted to emailing myself.  Not like in an inspirational reminder, “Dear Self, you are awesome” kind of way…thankfully I’m not that crazy.  My emails to myself are pretty straightforward…lists, ideas, photos, notes, reminders, and the like.  I don’t care how many apps exist to help us with those things…emailing myself always works better than any other organizational system that I’ve tried.

And with crazy mom brain in double full effect these days, I don’t know where I’d be without my emails to myself.  Getting organized is such a challenge for me lately, but when I can email myself or do a quick search through my inbox to find a phone number or document that I should’ve filed away somewhere, but just didn’t…well it’s a life saver.

If I could press a button and create digital versions of the physical objects that end up in “special places” around here, they’d find a safe, comfy home in my email and I’d actually be able to find them.  Until that magical day comes, my inbox will remain the one special place that’s truly special rather than terribly nerve-wracking.