dedicated to dirty dishes ( sorry about that)

I woke up the other morning to a messy kitchen. The pots and pans I used to make dinner the night before still resided on the same burners I used to cook food on. There was clearly no attempt on my part- or Kyle's part, for that matter, to get those things clean.  As I inspected them the next morning, the residue of olive oil, noodles and onions made this pretty apparent. I even noticed one pan was kind of hanging a little bit off the edge of the burner; almost like someone kind of threw the thing back on the stove not really caring where it landed. I suppose that little doing may have been from my hungry boyfriend who was anxious to fill his belly after a hard day of work. But, needless to say, even after dinner I didn't notice that pan awkwardly sitting on my stovetop, nor would I have even cared if I did notice it.
I was tired.
I just wanted to relax with my family for the evening and have a glass of wine.
The mess on the stove and in the sink was going to hang out over night.

Waking up to it the next morning was no fun, though. It doesn't exactly give you that-"Oh, what a wonderful morning it is!" kind of effect.  Instead, it's just a little depressing. Especially when you have a crying baby who is wanting her morning sippy cup of milk.  Right when I took a glance at the sink- I knew it was not going to be easy to get my hands on it. I was sure that cup was located at the bottom of that mountain of dishes. I took a deep breath in and did what I knew I had to do. I started digging. I had to excavate through all the ceramic to finally find the gem - that precious plastic sippy-  that makes my daughters heart so happy. I cleaned it quickly. Filled that sucker up with milk, and placed it in her cute little hands. She was pleased immediately. Tears stopped as her sweet morning milk filled her tummy.

After I managed to get a couple cups of coffee in my system, I strapped Sage onto my back. My Inner Cleaning Goddess was coming out and I was motivated to clean and whip that kitchen of mine into shape. I scrubbed pots and pans while Sage tugged on my ears and gently pulled on my hair with her chubby little fingers. I just loved having her little self attached tightly to my back during this process. I need to carry her around like this more often.

I finished tending to the needs of my kitchen and even managed to give the vase of flowers sitting on our counter some fresh water to drink. They needed it and I needed to be done with anything related to domestic chores. I decided it would be a good thing for Sage and I to get out of the house for a bit.  I just needed to locate the car keys and prepare the both of us for the blustery, cold winter air that was waiting to greet us outside our front door. That cold air sometimes hurts our cheeks and takes our breath away.

As I was getting a diaper bag together, I decided the book store was going to be our destination. A wonderful little gift card I was given by my own mama inspired me to go to this store.  I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed when we first walked in. There were just so many books with beautiful titles and covers. With eyes wide-opened, I pushed Sage in her umbrella stroller while she observed her surroundings and slowly snacked on her little bowl of blueberries. Together we roamed the aisles; back and forth, back and forth. I finally settled on three. And one book is a novel about a group of women and how they juggle their careers and creative needs-- while at the same time follow through with the roles that come with motherhood and caring for a home. After the morning I had of scrubbing dishes, I'm excited to meet these women and see how they handle everything.

Sage was into my book finds, too.
She took her own little time to look them over and found joy in them in her own little seventeen month old way.

This photograph showcases her mullet hairdo. So lovely it is.