this past weekend, ABN headed to DC for a conference which left EBN and i to fend for ourselves. we did awesome but man, it’s thursday and i’m still exhausted. being a single parent, even temporarily, is no joke.

it turns out friday morning through sunday night can feel like a super long time when you are responsible, on your own, for everything. i’m not sure if i peed and i’m nearly certain i didn’t get more than 2 hours of consecutive sleep (you know, we also had the time change and EBN is no fan of falling back). but we had fun that included a trip to the party supply store for mickey plates and napkins for a mini EBN birthday celebration (more on that next week) and a totally impromptu trip to santa cruz to spend a day in the sun and sand and with a very good friend. and then we ordered sushi, totally not paleo and totally delicious.

i’m not sure who was more excited to see ABN walk through the door. well, in all honesty – we were both asleep when he got home but i sure did cuddle up a bit closer than usual once he was home and EBN let out a shriek that could be heard across our canyon when she climbed into our bed bright and early monday morning.

yes, we can do it on our own – but it’s so much better when the three of us do it together.

back in 2008, shortly after driving across the country, renting an apartment on the top of a big hill, painting walls bright green and  burnt orange (these details are meant to point to us being young and living on the edge…or whatever), and working as a personal shopper (remember that?), it was time to head to the polls.  not only were we voting for our president, but here in california we were also being asked to weigh in on some very important issues – prop 8 being one of them.

while those days of bright walls and blisters feel like a million years ago, the time that it took ABN to work his way through the ballot at the poll is not something i will soon forget.  on that day back in 2008 he received one of his most telling nicknames – the man is a slow voter.

he went in prepared as we both take the job of voting quite seriously.  like the responsible citizens that we are – we read up on ALL the propositions (omg there were so many back in 2008 it was ridiculous) and had figured out our answers before hand.  he had a cheat sheet.  the man was armed and ready.  and yet…his voting was endless.  and i had to pee.

in our old hood, we voted the same way i remember my parents voting when i was growing up – in a neighbor’s garage.  so while ABN took his sweet-ass time, re-reading everything (incase something had changed?!?!), i did my “gotta go” dance – on repeat.  he had the only key to our apartment.

55 minutes later he walked out of the voting booth.

this year, as nov 6th approaches, we have our election guides ready – and we’re educating ourselves on the issues, with highlighters and red pens and google.  while there aren’t nearly as many propositions this go-round (thank goodness), there are still many important decisions to weigh in on.  i’m looking forward to going to the polls as a family and bringing the little one into the booth with me.  it’s never too early to learn about civic duty (and there’s sure to be at least one button for her to push).

and this year, just to be safe, i’m bringing my own set of keys – because i know what i’m dealing with.

today is my favorite person’s birthday:

we’re delaying our celebration until this weekend – but for now, happy birthday wishes to the best partner in crime a girl could have!

we love you big!

it’s been sorta nutty around these parts the last few days.  we are lucky enough to have ABN’s cousin and his family staying with us for a few days and it has been loads of fun.  it’s hard living so far away from our families so whenever we get the chance to spend time together we jump at the opportunity.  watching EBN giggle as she tries to chase her almost 3-year-old cousin around our coffee table leaves us all gasping for air.  but having 3 in the house, under 3 (the youngest is just 2 1/2 months) means that none of us are getting much sleep.  if it’s not one, it’s the other…they seem to tag team.

our mini vacation feels like…a million years ago.  i thought i’d share some photos while the memories still feel like they happened in this lifetime:

scenes from palm springs: date shakes, bottled sodas and tempeh reuben on “jewish” rye, relaxed mama, shared bloody marys, live jazz at WOODYS, morning coffee, palm canyon, awaiting our “couples” photo that never came to be, crossbite, his hand, my arm – healing, dirty martinis and brusselsprout salad, procuitto pizza, meatballs, cruisers, food truck mayhem, dirty feet relax at the pool, my palm springs, pukey in joshua tree, found-ed-s in joshua tree, moscow mules, live rockabilly at WOODYS, a flight of bacon…

vacation is for lovers

A vacation full of cocktails, vintage dresses, reading for more than 5 minutes without falling asleep, sunshine, palm trees, cruiser bikes with baskets and bells, food trucks, eyeliner, car rides (where only I complained), shopping in stores with corners too narrow for strollers, out door dining after 9pm, live music and hiking in the warm desert sun.

Vacation time is a bit of perfection
Kisses from that sweet little girl are the real thing – I can’t wait to get home

typed in my phone – please excuse typos and spelling

i’m thinking in the coming weeks i might attempt a photo an hour post – i like to take photos and in my life, one hour looks dramatically different from the next (at least, i think so).

but for now, let’s start with 3 photos from a day in the life

i took the car seat out of the car so that i could bring some furniture over to a friend’s new place and holy crime-scene batman!  it looks like a bomb of half chewed cheerios and mum mums exploded and that a poor shabbat book got in the way.  you will be happy to know that i went straight from delivering said furniture to the car wash.

a quiet afternoon cuddle for mama and baby – sesame street may or may not have been on.  we were doing so well on the nap front but now, she’s waking up after 45 minutes and although exhausted later in the day, refusing another nap.  it’s a little camp-no-fun around here in the late afternoon but luckily, a bit of tv and a deflated boob-as-a-pillow seem to help a bit.

post-cuddle we had to get back to our household responsibilities and that meant folding laundry.  EBN was really helpful in putting pairs of socks together (or at least picking up socks and throwing them behind her).  earlier in the day i had finally gone through her drawers and her closet and i packed away all the clothing that is too small.  i currently have 6 huge tupperware bins full of onesies, leggings, pjs and sweaters that she has outgrown…it’s sorta ridiculous.