Short break

just wanted to let you know i'll be back hopefully next week with lots of photos - my parents and my brother and his family are arriving tomorrow and will spend the weekend with us. it's been a LONG time since our family has all come together so it'll be a good reunion. also this weekend is Skye's all-city swim meet, the conclusion to her summer swim team. so, we have a packed weekend ahead. hoping for great weather and fun times!

Cordelia

i've been waiting to put up some pictures of the cordelia lilies that have bloomed - i'm afraid you are going to have to be satisfied with the photo i took with my point-and-shoot camera. my film shots will follow, perhaps next week? it's been crazy busy here, so i haven't had much time with my camera. and of course, a recent photo of Cordelia to go with her lilies...doesn't she look great sporting my pink headphones? :)

Five Senses Friday

it's been a while since i've done a five senses friday... for those of you who are new to the blog, i started doing these after i started reading Abby's blog, abby try again. she does them every week and they are fun to read and to write!


smelling:  our cordelia lilies - yes, they are finally blooming, after weeks of worrying about them getting gobbled up by the bunnies and wondering when they would bloom. i'll post some pictures of them soon - they are gorgeous!

hearing:  been listening to KT Tunstall and wondering when she's going to have another album out?

seeing:  a new project i've been working on...i'll share more about them soon, but know that i've started painting again and it has been lots of fun.

tasting:  sweet, sweet mangoes

feeling:  content...i know it's a feeling that's fleeting, so i'm going to try to enjoy it as much as i can right now because tomorrow, i may feel entirely different! :)

Swimmer

so what have i been doing with my time while i haven't been blogging? i'm afraid all my energies are sent towards the pool these days. and this short video will show you why:

it was a truly exciting moment for us, and of course, esp for Skye. :) she won her heat and placed 6th overall. and Claire, inspired by all the swimmers around her is THIS close to swimming too.

Happy Birthday, Mum!

it's my mum's 70th birthday today - happy happy birthday! we can't celebrate together today, but the whole family is planning to get together at the end of the month to celebrate. my parents and my brother and his family will all come to Madison - i can't even remember the last time we all got together! it's been way too long.

here is a picture of my mum with Cordelia soon after she was born - she was here for 2 weeks taking care of all of us!

summer days

pool, pool, pool, and more pool! that's how our days have been for the past 2 weeks. i've been struggling to adjust to the new schedule and finally, this week, i feel like i am moving with the flow. we go to the pool in the morning for Skye and Claire's swim lessons and swim team practice. we often take it easy in the afternoons, but if the girls are hot, they want to go back to the pool. so we are getting pickled in the chlorine and turning into little brown fishes. :) i've been away from the blog because it's been overwhelming on most days.

Skye has become quite a swimmer in the past 2 weeks. the swim team practices every day have made quite a difference! when summer first began, she couldn't swim across the width of the pool without stopping. now, she swims lengths without stopping!! it's such fun to watch her swim in the swim meets. there'll be more of that as the summer progresses.

Claire is getting very comfortable in the water and is oh-so-close to swimming. if i didn't have Cordelia to hold, i could work with her and get her swimming before the summer is over, but alas, such is not the case. i remember i worked so hard with Skye in the water before Claire came. such luxuries when you have just one child!!

i've managed to take some photos. people have been asking for more photos of Cordelia whose face does seem to change every week, so here they are! and Cordelia is in such a fun stage. she smiles and laughs, responds to us in her baby way - so beautiful! she's trying so hard to lift her body up when she is on her back. i feel like she is quite impatient to be up and moving, just like her sisters!