Laura Marné: February 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

Not the Cheap Stuff

While I was making lunch today, things got suspiciously quiet. Any time things get quiet with a toddler around, it's time to go investigate and see what they have found to entertain themselves. The majority of the time, it is something you would prefer they didn't find. As I was coming out of the kitchen, Marné came walking in with streams of toilet paper hanging on both her arms. She looked like a little ghost. It made me laugh. Now she knows where the toilet paper lives and how much fun it is to play with. We've been playing with the pile of soft, squeezable toilet paper since. Spencer and I go back and forth between buying luxury toilet paper and the cheap stuff. Too bad it wasn't a roll of the cheap stuff.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

More, drink?

Little Miss Marné is learning how to communicate things better all the time. Spencer was trying to teach her the sign for "drink" so she could help us remember to give her a sippy. We used to leave it in a place she could reach until she started dumping them over and pouring out ALL of the liquid onto the floor. Her sign for drink is plugging her nose and tipping her head back. It makes me laugh every time.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I AM good enough.

Sometimes (ok, most of the time (ok, just about every single time)), I struggle when things aren't perfect. When the house is a wreck, when dinner doesn't turn out the way I want, when I make something and it just looks plain ugly, when I'm late, when my hair looks flat or too poofy, you get the picture. It's just lame, and it gets me down. I know it shouldn't and blah blah blah, but it does. But, deep down inside, I know it shouldn't really bother me. It IS NOT a reflection of me or who I am. Last night, my sweet husband and I were talking. I was only semi-involved in the conversation because of all the things swirling around in my head. He asked me what I was thinking about, and I said, "Stuff. Just lots of stuff." So, he asked, "What stuff?" I asked if he wanted the short list of categories or all the little sub-categories, too. Of course, he wanted to know it all. He's great like that. And at the end of my long list of silly things, he said to me, "You are good enough. You are good enough." I am so hard on myself, and I shouldn't be. I do my best, and it really is good enough. I can't be perfect all of the time, and it's okay.

So, today I launched myself into organizing and beautifying my surroundings. I started with organizing the cupboards in the guest bathroom. (It's the smallest space in the house.) I'm moving out from there. And, I'm feeling great. I also finally started writing in Marné's journal. Something I meant to start before she was born. Two years later, I finally sat down to write. I'd been frustrated that I had missed starting at the beginning, and couldn't bare the thought of starting part way through. Part way through is better than never starting at all!

I finally decided to get rid of the dead, DeaD, DEAD herbs on my window sill. They have been long gone since Christmas break. I think stuff like that can really wear on you without thinking about it. Who wants dead herbs on their window sill in their room? I had set out to have a lush herb garden picturing myself using the herbs in fantastic culinary creations. I used some a few times before they died, so, I'm finally ready for round two. (If anyone has some awesome tips on growing herbs, I'd surely appreciate them.)

Here's to re-organizing, re-vamping, re-growing, and finally starting ALL the things in our lives that tell us we are not good enough. We are good enough.

Parmesan Risotto

A little while ago, I stumbled upon a cute little blog called My Muffin Thursdays with super yummy recipes. I have wanted to try the parmesan risotto recipe since I first saw it. I finally tried it last night, and it was delicious! There are so many other recipes that look fabulous, and I can't wait to try them. Go check it out!