Mid-May

As usual, all intentions towards blogging fell by the wayside and here we are, two weeks later, with me at the kitchen table, watching Hamilton on Disney+ with the girls, wondering what all we've done over the past two weeks.

I know last Saturday I went out to our beautiful new patio (or cattio, as we call it, since Milo has adopted it as his own personal palace) in the morning when the boys were at a swim meet and the girls were sleeping. I had my laptop, fresh cup of tea, and a Milo, but somehow my laptop immediately went on the ground and I started re-reading a book (the finale of Kresley Cole's Arcana series which she FINALLY finished; I flew through it and then had to re-read it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything and while I loved it I also still can't decide how I feel about it) and then an hour went by and the lazy portion of my day was over. No regrets, but this is why I never get to write anymore.

The final pieces of the pool, patio, and landscaping are coming together. It's rained every day for the last million days, so some final projects have been delayed (like the string lights that need to be hung, our pool shelf chairs that couldn't be delivered in the pouring rain this week), but I love it so much.

The kids are outside ALL THE TIME. They're playing soccer and putt putt and jumping in the pool and I'm realizing we missed having a pool and backyard for the last year even more than I thought. And I thought we missed it A LOT.

We eat dinner on the patio every night, the fan keeping the increasing temperatures tolerable, and the kids play and giggle in the pool and on the turf after dinner while James and I chat in the bug-free safety of the screened in porch. There's something deeply grounding about being in fresh air.

In other finishing touches, I got a new (faux) tree for our entryway and Landon named him Peter and I feel like he's really happy here.

This is my favorite little part of our new home (besides the cattio). I adore that console, I love the piece of art I bought from a Spanish artist before we ever knew we'd move to Dallas, I love the little brass butterfly that was my Grandma Jo's, I love the books and faux orchid I can't kill and the picture of my favorite humans and the glass bowl we got as a wedding gift from my dearest family friends that was the first and still only thing I've ever gotten from Tiffany in that gorgeous blue box. Every bit of this makes me happy.

I've realized that all my pictures are generally of Cora because she's the only one still tied to our schedule and phones while her big siblings gallivant about East Dallas with their friends. So here's Cora at Landon and James's swim meet last Sunday:

I told her and Claire they couldn't have any electronics, so it was old fashioned coloring and bracelet making. I'd show the picture of Claire who did not at all initially appreciate this gift of a cord-free day I was giving her, but I don't think she'd appreciate it and she did come around and spend a big chunk of the swim meet drawing cute animals with Cora and making up stories about them.

Also on Sunday, Cora participated in the White Rock Games with some friends from her school. They were the "Hot Cheetos" team and Cora was VERY EXCITED to get to run against her peers. She really, really likes to run.

It was a HUGE event, I had no idea, and after many rounds, she ultimately came out with the silver medal for the 50 yard dash against at least 100 other kids. It was awesome and she was so excited.

And, crazy story, the 3rd grade girl who won the gold medal turned out to be the daughter of the couple who hosted me when I attended The University of Chicago Law School Admitted Students Weekend in April 2005. I kept watching him in the stands cheering for his running and thinking, I know that guy.... But I've met so many people in the last year- through work and networking and having three children in three new schools- that I couldn't get a lock on why I knew him. Finally, I just yelled out the name I thought it might be- a call back from 18 years ago, when I was newly engaged and he was newly married, and his head turned and he said, "Rebecca?".

It's nice to know I look enough of the same. It was great to catch up - he's now GC of a pretty big company and has 3 girls, one of whom Cora is now dreaming of racing again. Life is a complex tapestry and I love when old threads pop back up again.

(That picture isn't relevant, Maggie just really likes our new law chairs and looks forward to sunning herself in style all summer.)

As I mentioned I have almost no pictures of Claire or Landon, but I did save this text because it is the PERFECT encapsulation of life with an almost-teenager who has a phone. I need an auto response for "I'm at work" and "Text your dad." But I also get tons of "I love you" memes and gifs and random, deep updates into her day and life and if texts about chips are the price I pay for the good stuff, I'll take it.

(Takis are a neon orange spicy chip that I find disgusting and my kids adore; I buy them for birthday parties and that's about it.)

My beloved Bonnie came by last weekend to style me for more of Spring. Her album of outfits is my fashion Bible every morning as I pick out something to wear.

A film student at SMU had asked to feature her in a film project, so this visit involved the film student, a bunch of equipment, and her assitant Ayron and my house, closet, and clothes were so honored ot be part of the project. Bonnie is amazing and I'm so proud of the business she has built based on her talent and enthusiasm for fashion and making women feel amazing.

I'm sharing this video in spite of the fact that I CLEARLY had no idea I'd be on film just because I'm so proud of Bonnie and I love how her work makes me feel at my work.

(Those Sarah Flint Perfect Emma shoes are the workhorses of my closet. One of my best investments ever.) In other highlights, I JUST LEARNED, literally on Friday, that our fridge- this fridge that came with this house we bought seven months ago and is one of the great loves of my life, has a secret interior water dispenser!

I've been walking over to the sink every time I want to fill my glass after getting ice from the freezer. Seven months! Even worse, my husband and children figured this out two months ago and no one told me. In their defense, they "thought I already knew because I always know everything."

It's now Sunday and I'm doing my favorite thing, which is spending time alone downstairs before anyone else wakes up, drinking tea, petting the pets, and savoring this space and home where we are slowly growing roots.

Happiest Mother's Day to all my mama readers. To mother is a verb and it is expressed in so very many ways. I plan to celebrate by watching James and Landon assemble the last of our outdoor furniture, making everyone join me in a family bike ride, finally getting to see the card Cora has been laboring in secret over for the past week, opening a present I know James bought because he told me not to check the credit card app, and eating a delicious dinner he is going to cook while I sip champagne by the pool and watch my ducklings swim. I can't wait for everyone else to wake up so we can get started!