Tuesday, August 30, 2005

PARTY-RAMA!


KIF_0886
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My mom did some entertaining while I made dinner the other night - blowing bubbles. Clearly this demonstrates full-on "excited" face, which we have been trying to capture on camera for months now. I know I haven't really figured out how to make my pictures display large enough for people to make out any details on this damned blog... so for those of you who want a better display, I hope you click on the picture and it takes you to the Flickr site.

Just to change the subject of this entry completely, I guess I have to apologize for my lame blog content recently. There's almost too much to say - and the moments that I have some "genius" little essay welling up inside me seem to be when I'm in the shower getting ready for bed. Bed totally has priority these days. I mean, I have a great story to tell that involves me falling flat on my face and spraining my toe/foot because I was attacked by a bat. (Seriously - I was dive bombed by a bat 3 times in the hallway of our building back in VT.) And that got me all riled up about stuff, but I never got to put in down in my Doogie Howser journal. I could really write volumes about my family and Myles' career path. Shit. There's a great story about my grandmother's ashes too. Maybe that's after a glass of wine tonight.

Maggie


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here we are looking fancy in our dresses while we play with Maggie in the yard. Maggie is Aunt Gwennie's dog who we get to be with for a while... or at least as long as my sister chooses to stay in the house with all of us. Crazy! The house is almost full - and bursting at the seams with all of our crap. My mom is in heaven, right? And sometimes I am too because the laundry seems to get done and the sippy cups are always washed... it's a mom's fantasy to be taken care of that way (to a point, I guess). For now it's really dreamy.

We have a tough time sleeping in a double bed though. Myles always seems to have a sweaty limb draped over me or poking me in the head, or I'm lying on my side trying to give him space, just about to fall out. Sometimes I can't believe that we shared a double futon for 6 years. Actually, I cant' believe we have been together for 9 years...

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KIF_0883
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
And here we are! We have arrived to my mom's house in great spirits. The anticipation of seeing "Ami" and "Boppy" is finally made into a reality... and we are thrilled. The ever mysterious Uncle Angus made an appearance last night and won the heart of Ruby with a new toy. (It's a crazy noisy thing that simulates hitting a baseball and tells you "good job, you hit a triple!" and plays take me out to the ball game. Perfect.)

Myles has started working with a hand surgeon at Tufts N.E. Medical. His day begins at 6:15 AM and ends (if we're lucky) shortly after 5 PM. But this is all just unpredictable in the medical world - I never really understand his schedules and how long surgery takes and how much traffic will affect his journey home. Then he comes home, gobbles down some food and has a ton of stuff to read afterwards. I'm tired just watching him! I don't even really remember saying goodbye to him in the wee morning hours. It's all very very weird I guess. We were spoiled this summer - having him all to ourselves. Looking forward to Myles' absence this fall makes me feel sick to my stomach. Good thing we have more distractions than ever down here in Boston.

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KIF_0862
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Ruby loves a big slide. Her methods of getting down them kind of gives me a heart attack because it's inevitable that her huge shoes catch on the edge while the rest of her body makes it's way down. She doesn't seem to care though. No major injuries as of yet.

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KIF_0863
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Friday morning we managed to get out of the house for a second and we had a playground date with our buddies Megan, Mark and Fisher. Here Eloise demonstrates that she too can hang with the big kids... sort of. (I'm not really looking forward to the day when both of my kids are climbing up high like Mark.)

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KIF_0838
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Before we left for my mom's house I captured Eloise having a love affair with Peter Rabbit... in the bunny rabbit jammies she picked out when we went shopping the other day. Weeze is such a love bug to everyone and every thing. Bunnies are a new obsession I think.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

The Race


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
When I look at this picture I feel really disgusting. But the reality is that I thought I looked okay while I was sprinting to the finish. Our friend Jess decided to chase after me with her camera too, so I'll have to ask her for some better shots. This was the smallest road race I have ever attended... and I didn' t like it. For the first 2 miles I chatted away with Jess and Kohar, only to discover that they regularly run 7-8 minute miles, at which point I realized that if I kept up with them I would never ever finish the 6.2. So I sent them on their way and decided to draft behind a large woman in red swishy shorts. Drafting in a lame all-Women's 10 K! I'm such a shit! Besides, she had to be twice my age... which is probably why she beat me by a couple of minutes in the end. Depressing. Very very depressing.

Then I went home and had diarrhea. That's what I get. Did you know that the full definition of diarrhea is not just runny poos, but actually having 3 or more stools than your normal daily "output"? Well, I'll spare you the details of mine, but I did have to question whether it qualified as diarrhea or not. I promise to write an entire blog on poop some day, but for the moment I have to hang out with Ruby who is still awake at 9:30 PM.

Race Spectators


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I let Myles dress Ruby and Eloise on the morning of my race... only to be pleasantly greeted by my babies at the finish line in their black Harley Davidson teeshirts, goofy, ill-fitting wiggle pants and their tevas. Then it got cold and rainy so they layered that look with their trusty LL Bean jackets and a spare winter hat. Eloise is wearing the hat because she's had a fever for a few days. Now she's covered in a spotty, itch-less rash and feels all better. I wish I had a picture to post because it's quite a good example of a normal case of ROSEOLA virus.

Gene Wilder?


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Although Eloise is quite adorable here, and her curls are coming into good form on the humid days, I'd have to say that my girls need a little bit more hair on their heads. The discussion of haircuts has begun though, because the weensie mullets are getting kind of silly looking - but without the mullet there's not much left on top. Any suggestions?

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Alright!!


Alright!!
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Classic. This is it - the perfect summer family photo. Ru and Mom with their crazy faces and naked-bum El and Dad looking collected. On closer analysis I am rather confused about our choice to have kept the sunglasses on... that's not really my thing. In fact, there's a secret side to me that wishes I had the ability to wear my sunglasses everywhere - just to annoy people.

Miss Eloise


Miss Eloise
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
In this photo I believe Eloise is attempting to pull apart a rubbery piece of seaweed. It seems silly to comment on, but that's just totally her personality. Determined. Persistent. Particular. I love it because there are elements of her personality that are completely foreign to me. Who knew that a 17 month old could be so full of wisdom?

Almost Excited!


Excited!
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I just discovered these photos that my mom took of us at the beach back at the end of July, and it seems like ages ago already. Here we are trying very hard to get Ruby to do her "excited" face... I'd say we caught her at the beginning of total excitement. I promise to post "full on excited" if we ever get it on camera.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Night Night in Alburg


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We went to a bluegrass festival in Alburg VT this past weekend, which was the nicest little family excursion we have taken in a while. We met our pals Chelsea and Ben and their daughter Hazel and we drank beer in cans while we sat in the sun, listening to good old white people pickin' and strummin'. I have this fantasy that I'll return next year with an RV, so while the girls are sleeping we can try to have "jam sessions" all night long with a bunch of real Americans. Hell, I'd rather hang with redneck Republicans than their Nantucket counterparts! Anyway, we were lucky enough to have Ru and El fall asleep in their trusty double jogger while we watched Del McCoury and his ridiculously impressive band of well-dressed men play music. I think Myles even put his arm around me while we sat on the picnic blanket, under the "Letter D" moon.

Dang.


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I know I know. They shouldn't watch T.V.. It's an atrocity that I never wanted to give in to, but I did. And I am so relieved to have an occasional 15 minutes while they watch Little Bear and his sweet animated friends do absolutely nothing. "They Might Be Giants: Here Come the ABC's" DVD has also changed their world and mine. They call it "Go Go 'g'" - after their favorite song and sometimes zone out to it. Healthy mommy-ing, right? All they need in this photo to make it complete is a giant bag of Cheetos Cheeze Puffs.

Alphabet Cookies


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Eloise fell asleep in the car after the doctor's office and a couple of immunizations... while she was eating a much anticipated letter G cookie. I love this look. It really works for her.

Little Orphan Millie


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
This is what my husband does when we are out. I'm supposed to believe that he's "studying".

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Lucky Me

Ridiculous. I arrive back in Burlington pleasantly comforted by the high groove factor here. Ahh. Groovy hippies. The co-op. Women nursing 3 year olds at farmers market. Tatooed ladies with pit bull puppies on ropes buying organic. It's all so delicious compared to the crisp Nantooshay folks in their Jack Rogers sandals and "peasant" skirts. The bohemian look being relatively IN right now just kills me when a fucking indian skirt (yes, made in India) can be purchased for $350 at a cute little boutique. Dumb asses.

Anyway, the real rage for this entry is based on my most recent read of the September issue of Lucky mag. LUCKY! I love you I love you I love you. You bring me back to the shallow, child-less, self-indulgent Mollie. Miss Nelson was so lucky indeed! Miss Nelson worked in that crazy building laden with trend-junkies and felt like she could hang (ew, exiting third-person-speak immediately... sorry.) And there is nothing like fall fashion to get me really fired up about being materialistic, because I've always struggled with the lack of layering options in the summer. I hate shorts unless they are for running in, bathing suits are a drag, tee shirts are just a canvas for designs of armpit sweat, flip flops don't flatter my flat feet and the sun dress makes me feel like an old lady. Give me cool fall nights for a cozy cropped jacket with a delicious turtleneck underneath, with a scarf and tights and a skirt and boots and GLOVES! The idea just makes me excited to rid my closet of all the lame, ill-fitting summer crap. Fall fashion is what a fashionista lives for. Besides, when you live as far north as we do, your fall clothes last you a good 9 months... which means it's just more reasonable to justify a cashmere piece for it's extended shelf life. Boots too. Fuck are they expensive and beautiful this season. And actually, fuck Burlington for being completely swamped with snow most days - rendering heels of any sort into a conversation piece. Honestly, I can't count how many times I've had to argue my point for impractical shoes up here. They just make me feel good, okay?

So we are back, and I have a lot to think about because this month is short. Then it's down too Boston, where I can hole up in the house I grew up in... barf. I thought I'd be psyched, but the idea of going back to live in the place that I spent 18 years of my life is just daunting. And with two kids running precarious circles around us! I"m not looking forward to it. I like my simple space here in Burlington. I like the town, I like the groove, I like my friends, I like my laundry machine in arms reach of the linen closet, I like my bikepath and I really enjoy being a mom in MY space. Don't get me wrong either. I get along so well with my mom - most women would be jealous - but I just want to be independent with my family and do things my way. I don't want to be living at home at the age of 29, right? Also, I just need those great September and October days to inspire my clothing choices and make me feel like a college girl again - planning my look for the weather and good company.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Back Home


Back Home
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Myles set up a ramp from our couch for Ru and El today. Ruby is surfing here I think... they enjoy rolling everything down it and lying on it too.

Last Beach Day


Last Beach Day
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Oh Evelina! We will miss days at the beach with you, and we still talk about all of your cool games. This is our last moment on Jetties Beach, playing in some random boat and feeling like big girls.

Sconset Walk


Sconset Walk
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We took a good little outing to Sconset in matching outfits. I just love holding both of their little hands.