Grey Street

We live in Seattle. We have for the better part of 5 and 1/2 years. So the fact that Winters are long and grey here is not news to us. But for whatever reason, maybe the fact that we got a ton of snow a few weeks ago, this winter is seeming even more grey than usual. Example:

When we went out to the car this morning at 7:15 to go to work and it was still kinda dark out, I looked up at the sky and said “Oh my gosh! Look at the sky!”
Z:“What?”
D: “There are no clouds! It’s clear!”
Z: “No it’s not.”
D: “Yes it is! Look at the moon!”
Z: (after looking at the moon) “Holy crap! It is!”
D: “It’s been so long you’ve forgotten what it looks like, haven’t you?!”



Now at the time, we laughed. It's still funny. But it's also sad, cuz it really is true. The clouds don't have any definition that show where the breaks of sky are and where the clouds start. It's just a solidly grey sky, all the time. But this morning, there were no clouds! We could see Mount Rainier as we drove down I-5! And as the sun came up, it stayed that way!



For about an hour.



And ever since, this has been the view from outside my office window:

Granted, this was taken with my phone. Through a window. So the quality is bound to be bad. But honestly, it's a pretty accurate representation of what it looks like.

My Seattle Winter mantra: Remember the summer. Hold on for the summer.

Baby Love

(If you're for some reason reading this post and wondering what the heck I'm talking about - there was originally a pic here of me and my beautiful newborn nephew. At the request of his parents, I've removed the pic. But if you know me and wanna see the pic, shoot me an email :). And just trust that he's the cutest thing EVER.)

I'm sorry, but could this kid BE any cuter???!!! No, no he could not. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know (although I don't know who that would be), this beautiful specimen of perfection is my new nephew, Eli Benjamin. Sweetest. Baby. Ever. And no, I'm not biased.

Meeting him last week really got the biological clock ticking. I mean, I just celebrated the Big 3-0 so I'm not getting any younger. But while my previous concern about having kids was whether I could handle it or not, now it is whether I could handle moving past the newborn phase. Seriously. Holding Eli is my new very favorite thing in the world. I've held newborns before, but there was just something about having him sleep on my chest the way he did - I don't know. And even the few times that he did cry, I wasn't bothered at all! That shocked me about myself, but I think it may have been because he was truly upset about something (hungry, wet) and not just screaming cuz he needed a nap. Cuz when he needed a nap, he just fell asleep! Brilliant! (I'm looking at you, toddlers! Take note!) So how do you still tolerate your kids when they get older and start to scream for no reason and talk back and you are left to think back to how sweet they were when they were a week old? How does that not just devastate you? I mean, I'm not deluded enough to think that my kids are going to be as angellic as I was as a child (right, Mom?). And if they have even a fraction of the opinionated, stubborn personality of their mother and father, Z and I are doomed.

So until I've reconciled this within myself, I'm opening myself up to anyone who may not care for the newborn stage. I find it hard to imagine, but apparently there are those who find it exhausting and look forward to their kids being able to do things for themselves. So they can drop the kid off with me and I'll take care of them like they're my own. Then, as soon as they start thinking and doing for themselves, back to biological mom and dad they can go. Easy, right?

I'm only partially kidding, by the way.

But seriously, what is cuter than this???:

(Sorry, the pic was removed - but take my word for it)

NOTHING! That's what!