"Lub ewe"

Little Man was up at 5:45 a.m. and proceeded to be Mr. Grump for most of the morning. Nothing would please him - not even a trip to the local children's museum. The gray weather matched his dour mood. After a ho-hum lunch, we put him down for a nap. "Love you," his daddy told him. "Lub ewe," Little Man replied and suddenly all was forgiven because that's what we do as parents.

Finding our personal joys

We went on a beach excursion yesterday. With beach buckets, sippy cups and towels in hand, we took Little Man and his cousin A to savor the salty air and sand between their toes. In reality, it wasn't as poetic, but it was still fun. Both boys were skeptical of the water but as the afternoon wore on, Little Man had his toes in the itty-bitty waves that lapped the shore and was yelling "wah-tur!" out into the great blue sea.

A day before we were in East Hampton, parking along the street to attend a free fair for the local library. We just happened to park by Ina Garten's house (how do I know where she lives, you ask...she was listed in the phonebook in 2002 when I first discovered her coconut cupcakes...right before her show began airing on Food Network). My heart raced as we stood outside her hedges. What would I say if I saw her? Thank you for giving me blueberry crumb cake, grilled lemon chicken and the best guacamole recipe ever? Thank you for helping me feed family and friends for all of my married life and then some? Thank you for butter? All I could whisper was "turkey meatloaf" before turning away.

My people

I haven't blogged in awhile even though every day presents a few blog ideas. I'm still finding my voice in all of this. Work has been extremely character-bulding lately, and we've been hosting overnight guests and preparing for a week's vacation.

Which is where I am now.

We're at my in-laws' second home on Long Island. It's been a really great trip so far. The transition with Little Man has been relatively painless, and my sister and her little family are visiting for the first few days while we're here.

Tonight my mom called in with her movie review of "Julie & Julia." She laughed so hard she cried at some parts because she understood their predicaments in the kitchen. I love that because I think I will understand it as well, and I'm glad I come from such people who know their kitchens and understand the joys and challenges. I do love coming from people who cook. My cousins even started a group on Facebook where we can exchange recipes, which I love.

I think I've had a bit too much wine tonight; we'll see if this post makes sense in the morning.