RAMBLINGS ON A TUESDAY

I've been swamped at work.  Therefore, very little rhyme or reason to the ramblings today.  ...But isn't that how it should be?

First things first... look at what I'm dealing with now.  She learned about stairs.  What has two thumbs and is not ready for such a mobile baby?  THIS GAL.

This past weekend, I took MiniMon to Ann Arbor: a little hipster haven planted in eastern Michigan; a little slice of Pacific NW nestled in the midst of the Great Lakes.  Downtown is great.  The dining is fabulous.  And the grocery shopping is phenomenal.  Especially if you're a veg-head like I am.

Sol, my sister, my niece, and I arrived in Ann Arbor on Saturday morning, and met my mom and other sister in Sweetwater Cafe.  This lovely lass was sitting at the table next to them and just couldn't help but be all googly over my baby.  Smart lady.  My offspring is pret-ty cool.

I love the city Ann Arbor.
It has some fabulous stores.
Among those shops,
there's one that's the tops.
And it's called Hollander's.
 
(sorry, I know that was shaping up to be a perfect limerick but I just don't have time to rhyme too perfectly)
 But seriously, there's a store called Hollander's, and it sells paper.  And paper.  And more paper.  IT ROCKS.  I got something for my Wall of Whimsy, but I'll post that once it's framed and up on the wall!

Have you ever seen so much paper?

In Kerrytown (Ann Arbor), there's a store called Elephant Ears.  WARNING: DO NOT STEP FOOT IN THIS STORE IF YOU HAVE A CHILD, KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS A CHILD, IF YOU'RE PREGNANT, OR EVEN IF YOU JUST HAVE A HEALTHY OVUM.  It's filled with wonderful tiny things for wonderful tiny people.  Annnnnd they have this shirt: It's Cookie Monster.  In 3 languages.  #solneedsthis  Maybe I should just start a new blog called "Does Sol Need This?"

So we had to eat lunch.  And normally, when I go out to eat, it takes me about 2 seconds to choose what to order.  Because there are 2 vegetarian options in a sea of carnivorous grotesquities [yeah, I just made a word up].
But then you get to Ann Arbor.
And Melanie's party is waiting 30 minutes for Melanie to decide what vegetarian deliciosity [another new word] she's going to get. 
So while we wait, we order samples of different beers (because the beer list is a mile long too... don't even get me started on that). And we order the greatest rosemary-truffle oil french fries ever to touch human lips.  And then Melanie picks her poison: a chickpea-salad sandwich with cucumber yogurt sauce and roasted eggplant.  Ehrmehgerd.  AMAZING.

 Okay, and here's a video of Sol.  Remember how she used to spit her food back out at me?  Now it's the opposite.  She takes a bite, and immediately both her hands go up to her mouth to hold it in.  Can't figure this little lady out.  But it's entertaining, nonetheless.

 

 Now take a look at the following sequence of photos and tell me this isn't love.

 Also downtown, there is a bookstore called Falling Water.  It boasts many fabulous upside-down umbrellas.

 And it introduced me to the greatest book I've ever read.  It's called "C D B!"  by William Steig.  I died laughing.  And I quoted it (and attempted to make up my own version) for the remainder of the weekend.  The book has no words, just letters, but the letters (when read out loud) make sentences.  ie: C D B is "see the bee."  I M N-R-E is "I am Henry."  Just... ohmigosh. #solneedsthis

The below card was in Whole Foods.  Surrounded by cards that featured other quotes by famous people.  This says "Blow out your candles... happy birthday," by D.H. Lawrence.  Call me cynical, but I almost feel like that phrase isn't owned by him.  I feel like someone, somewhere, said that before him.  Maybe that's just me.

These cards were in a bathroom (weird, I know, but seen by almost everyone that way!).  What an amazing message to reinforce in the minds of women everyone.

 The following mints are the cutest little mints you'll ever see.  I got them in the mail from my bestie Kenny.  Aren't they adorbs?

 When in Ann Arbor... you shop at the Briarwood Mall.  I stumbled across these PJ's, and I feel like Sol just needs them.  There's sort of an inside joke associated with dinosaur pajamas, but they're fabulous regardless.  And yes, they're boys pajamas.  I have a tendency to not care which section of the store I'm shopping in when I'm shoppnig for Sol.  My excuse every time?  "It's gender neutral!"  My sisters' response: "No, Melanie... it's not."  #solneedsthis

My mom was in heaven.  Surrounded by her granddaughters, she was one HAPPY lady :)

Oh!  Oh!  Sol's first taste of Pinkberry!  Please see the following photos as a chain of events:
Sol tries Pinkberry, Sol's face shows that she does not care for the Pinkberry, Sol decides that maybe Pinkberry is okay, Sol wants more Pinkberry.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Just in case I didn't see enough cute things that Sol needed (ugh... Christmas shopping, anyone?) I stumbled across this luggage.  Sol and I will do TONS of traveling. I feel like monster luggage would just be an investment.
 

Side note: C D B?

And to relax at the end of a very tiring Monday, I made myself some dinner last night: strawberries, mango, kale, and agua.  MMMMMM.  :)

RAMBLING COMPLETE.

THINGS DESIRED

I bought this a long time ago.
It now hangs in my living room :)

When I was growing up, we had this great-big-long-poem;

it hung in a frame on our living room wall.  

I never read any further than the title, which didn't interest me at all.  

Too bad.  I could have learned a lot.

The framed poem was Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata."

And now?  I read this poem to Sol every single night.  

Its beauty never ceases to amaze me.

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I spent this past weekend with my mom, daughter, sisters, and niece, shopping in Ann Arbor. We arrived home Sunday evening.  I dropped all my bags off in the middle of the living room floor (where most of them still are, yet to be unpacked), got Sol ready for bed, grabbed a couple books, prepared her bottle, and continued on with our nightly routine.

She lied there in my arms, legs kicking around in her little sleep-sack for no reason than just to kick, her chubby little hands holding her own bottle to her mouth, her ever-chameleonic eyes gazing up at me.  I finished Goosey Goosey Gander, finished The Snowy Day, and went on to wrap up our evening with Desiderata.

Profound as it is, with its brilliantly raw, honest words, Desiderata is my daily reminder to focus on the beautiful and important things in life.  And tonight, between the lines of Ehrmann's life lessons, I hug Sol close and say a silent prayer of thanks for the miracle falling asleep in my arms.  And as I set her empty bottle down and give her a pacifier to keep her content through the night, I think about how greatly she's changed my life.  As I carry her up the stairs, carefully and quietly to avoid waking her up, I consider how peaceful our lives really are.  As I lay Sol down in her crib, with her silky little bunny that keeps her company every night, I wonder what grand adventures I might have someday with this little person.  And as I linger for a couple minutes, I watch her sleep under the soft glow of the lamp nearby, and realize just how perfectly this has turned out.  In our quiet little house, on a cold, quiet little November night, my quiet little daughter is fast asleep and dreaming the sweetest, most wonderful little dreams.  And my heart aches - a good ache - because it's attached directly to hers by some invisible cord, and her sweet little sleeping face makes me melt.

Everything is right in the world.  Everything is turning out exactly as it was meant to be.  It makes no difference whether I realize it, whether I understand it, whether it makes sense.  Loneliness won't last forever.  Tears are just tears, and bad days are just days.  Bad days don't make a bad life.  My life with Sol is exactly as it should be, regardless of whether this is what I had planned.  Whether or not it is clear to me,  no doubt my universe is unfolding as it should.  Yours is too.  Embrace it.

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Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. © Max Ehrmann 1927