awsome

e i g h t
pounds
fourteen
ounces

that is a lot of baby

i might be guilty of
regularly
motioning towards my new baby
and reminding my onetruelove
T H A T hugeness was in my belly

tonight my onetruelove told
me something about nolan being
born that i don’t remember
but i’m sure is true…

nolan was born
i turned and asked my onetruelove if i was done
he said yes
i said “i am awesome”

Nolan Joseph

December 16, 2009

11:56am

8lbs 14oz

20.87 inches

39 Weeks

That is how pregnant I’ll be tomorrow.
And let me tell you, 39 weeks sure is pregnant.
I’m so pregnant that I’m looking forward
to labor and delivery
just so I won’t be pregnant anymore.

And I must look it too.
Starting yesterday complete strangers
have found it appropriate to inform me
that I look like I’m ready to have a baby.

I loathe it when strangers talk to me about being pregnant.
So from now on I’m going to say,
“Yep, and I’m having strong contractions right now.
I hope my water doesn’t break.”

Christmas Shopping

Wilderness Limits

Spiders

Deer

A Fox

A Frog

Lots of Ladybugs

Worms

Bees

just a few of the wildlife we live among.

And apparently lizards...

















But yesterday I found a wildlife limit.

A spider.

Indoors.

A HUGE spider indoors.

I'm talking silver dollar size.

From far away it even looked furry.

Come to think of it, maybe it was navel orange size.

And that dear readers is my bug limit.

I closed the two doors to that room.

Texted my husband there was a huge spider

waiting for him when he got home because

I don't do spiders that big.

Oh, that moving back to urban goodness

would be nice.



Because this lady of the house

is D O N E with wildlife.

Messy

Then & Now

It has been almost
four weeks
since we moved.
Life has changed.

Then: Surrounded by boxes.

Now: Enjoyment of a yard.

Confidential to my Onetruelove

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

A Table Scandal, Of Sorts

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure
of enjoying Sunday lunch
with my main two year old squeeze.
Just me, him, and some Thai food.
So I alone had to endure the awkwardness
when my lunch date lifted up his shirt and
at the top of his lungs screamed b**bies.

While not a completely mortifying moment,
somewhat hysterical if you ask me,
certainly not appropriate table behavior.

Public Apology

It has officially happened.
All those times as a kid an
adult (read: my dad) would
say something akin to
“When you get older you will understand”
or
“You will do the same thing when you pay the bills”
has come true.
And oh how it pains me,
If only to show me how
much of a real grown-up
I’m becoming.
Because only grown-ups
do what I’m about to
publicly apologize for.

A Public Apology to My Dad:
I’m sorry I never turned off the lights when I lived under your roof. Now that we have our own house with a lot of lights, I run around turning them off. Just like you said I would. Dang it.

Pumpkins

I think it rained
e v e r y
s i n g l e
Saturday in October
except one.
Halloween was no exception.
So our 2009 pumpkin picking
excursion was, um,
not that exciting.















Family pumpkin
and Luke’s pumpkin.



















Our pumpkin seeds.
Luke shoveled them in.

Rainy Day Warmth

In our neck of the woods
it has been rainy
rainy
and
rainy.
The sun has peeked out
just enough to taunt us.
Yesterday my wet and icky
rainy day was a little warmer
thanks to…
an afternoon
cup of hot coffee
and a baked goody from
a new neighbor
and a warm bowl of
beef stew.

Creepy Crawly

Tossing a tennis ball
in the empty sun room
has become serious fun
for the little guy.

In the midst of tossing
Luke hollers
"Mama, bee!"

I come to the door.
He hands me a dead spider.

Moments like those make
the yearning for
sidewalks
takeout
and
urban goodness
rage.

Home

I’m feeling very adult
in our new house.
I guess nothing says adult like
your very own
home care & maintenance
responsibilities.
I keep asking where the superintendent is.

Boxes

Tomorrow is the b i g move.
Funny how sad I am to leave
the beautiful Chesapeake Bay backyard
but thrilled to my core to
have our very first house
with our very own backyard.

I'm taking extra special
glances at the Bay as
I finish packing.
Speaking of packing...
I'm slow.
33 weeks pregnant makes for slow packer.

Just A Post Card

It’s busy in our apartment.
We close this week and move on Saturday.
We have a two year old
with two teeth on the verge of breaking through.
I can see them. They taunt us.
I’m pregnant and fluctuate between tiredness and weariness.
So busy is our general state these days.
It was a delightful moment when my
onetruelove found this.

A postcard.
Written by my onetruelove on October 8, 2004
in New York
just less than a month before our wedding
and mailed to me in Washington, DC.

It reads

Priceless Camille,
Every day
From so far away
I long to show you
I love you
But from so far away
It’s hard to just say
And say and say…
Still 32 days-
Is too long to wait
My loveliest thought
I love you.

My onetruelove indeed.

Faris' Office

A Box of Corn

A box of corn landed on my doorstep two days ago.
Compliments of the farm one town over.
They thought I might enjoy some of the
absolute last of the summer corn.
Guess I was a good patron.

Hide & Seek

We can regularly be found
playing a two year old version
of hide and seek.
Sometimes Luke likes to hide
in the middle of the kitchen floor.














The middle of the kitchen floor
is better than
say...
um...
the elevators
down the hall...

24 Hour Life Span

Adult lunch with my onetruelove.
A little spot along the Chesapeake Bay.
A sweet escape in a busy day of
cleaning
decluttering
and packing.
Except…

While we waited for our food to arrive
I counted 9 flies.
N I N E F L I E S.
Three tables plus ours
asked the poor waiter about it.
Said it had been a problem all summer
and that he thought flies only had a
24 hour life span.

The best part of my adult lunch with
my onetruelove…
A sweet old lady requested
something to at least hit
the flies with.
They brought her a fly swatter.

I’m ready to move back to the city.
RIGHT NOW.

Weeks

I’m thinking about my life in weeks.
2 Weeks: Lord willing, we will move to our new home.
5 Weeks: Praise God, we will celebrate five years of marriage.
9 Weeks: Lord willing, we will welcome our second child.

One thing at a time.

Happy Birthday Sasa

A most happy birthday wish for SaSa.

With fond affection,

Camille

October Market Night

Our local Farmer’s Market
is quickly coming to an end.
Amazing local produce during the summer
months helps make
living inthemiddleofnowhere
more bearable.

Amazing Jonagold apples
and what may be the last of the summer basil.





























The very very very last of the cherry tomatoes.
The last two weeks they have
held their cherry tomato
stash just for me.
I love that farm.

Winter inthemiddleofnowhere…
well I’m working on having a happy heart
about that matter.

Afternoon Cookie

pumpkin shaped
sugar cookie
with orange sprinkles,
of course.

Conviction

Children are great.
Great for a lot of things
not the least of which
is showing you the glaring
truth of your own sinful heart.

Last Saturday was Luke’s birthday party
and I had done some uber planning for
an outside by the Chesapeake Bay
barbeque bash (per Master Luke’s party invite!).
Rain spoiled our outside party
and Faris and I were grateful that we
were able to move our party to his
parent’s very comfortable and dry home.
How kind they were to have us on such short notice.

As I was preparing and organizing to move
our party food and supplies
I was grumpy about it.
My husband was kind to me and encouraging.
But I was still grumpy as I was putting things in boxes
and figuring out what to take and leave behind.

And then it happened to me.
I was convicted of my unhappy heart.
I’m trying to teach Luke this:

Do everything without complaining or arguing
-Philippians 2:14

But I was falling supremely short of that on Saturday afternoon.
I turned to my kind husband
confessed my unhappy heart
and then happily went about my business.

As I’ve gone about my daily
chores and activities this week
I’ve been so much more
aware
of my heart his week.
Am I happy and grateful to be
unloading the dishwasher
again
in service to my family?
Am I happy and grateful to be
folding laundry
again
in service to my family?

I’m grateful for the light shining on my sinful heart.
How much easier it is to patiently love a child learning the
same lessons I am still struggling with.

A September Tuesday Morning

How do you spend the morning
after a two year old suffered
through a nighttime stomach virus?
On the boardwalk of course.
Fresh air and nature
served us both well.

Cheese

Someone
somewhere
taught Luke to say cheese
for pictures.
Now when he sees the camera he says cheese.
See for yourself.




And here he is pretending to take a cell phone picture of himself.
Saying cheese of course.















This cheese thing is producing lots a fake Luke faces.
I hope he shakes the habit for picture taking sake!

Tuesday's Sunrise

Do you spy the big ship passing by just before the sun rise?

Party Fare

You need to know about some of our party food.
Three party food items to be exact.

1. Potato-Fennel Gratin courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa.
Delicious.
Scrumptious.
Rich and satisfying.
Oh, and you can make this a day or two ahead and reheat in the oven.
Perfect for parties, company, or a cold evening.
Did I mention you can make this ahead of time?

2. Corn & Tomato Salad from Linda’s Summer 2009 Saladpalooza
This was my favorite salad from this summer’s saladpalooza.
Hang on to this gem for next summer, you won’t be sorry.

¼ cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cups corn (if frozen, thawed)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber

Mix basil, oil, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes and cucumber. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.
Cooks notes: I use way more lime juice and even toss in a little zest. We have used fresh corn cooked in the microwave for this recipe all summer.

3. King Arthur Flour’s Chocolate Indulgence Cake.
Indulgence indeed.
My mom and I think it might be the best chocolate cake e v e r.
Seriously.
E V E R.
Thank goodness Linda’s birthday
is next month. I was look for
a good reason to enjoy
this cake again.

Celebration

Master Luke’s Saturday afternoon birthday party.
Many thanks to Tata and Cido!
They opened their home to us on
just hours notice…
rain forced us to switch our location from
our Chesapeake Bay outside picnic point
to the warm and dry comfort of
their home.
And many thanks to Lindy and Papa Joe
for all-around party assistance.

Party People


















Master Luke, two years old














Luke, Camille, baby in belly, Faris














What Master Luke calls an "everybody kiss"







l to r: carla, joe, carolyn, ned, nader














l to r: ned, carla, luke, nabil, roula














l to r: raja, jenna, joe
background: alice, linda


















l to r: luke, roula, adriana














john-david














Master Luke














l to r: alice, uninvited guest, linda

Party Flare










"happy birthday luke" on the vases






























Since I was anticipating an outside barbeque
I gathered together the forks, knives, and napkins
and secured each bundle with a napkin ring
made out of a trimmed down paper towel holder.

Party Food

More about the food in a separate post.

You need to know about a few of these things.