in the fog and playing in the rain

A secret garden with floating lilypads, a mountaintop escape in the middle of rainy season tucked in a vast green rainforest. Just the perfect spot to run to when the city gets too claustrophobic, the perfect for city girls to escape to when they just want nature. We do need it too, you know.

With truffle oil and honey to complete our cheese and biscuits evening, her with her pinotage and me with my chai tea, we sat on a 'floating' lanai and caught up with our lives. Our last one on one was in LA, the day we cruised through the beachfront and drank wine like our lives depended on it. 

Couldn't think of anyone else to have shared this weekend with.

More about Moon Garden? Jump over to here.

something she needs

 Because once in a while it feels nice to be dolled up.

Because once in a while you're allowed to feel amazing especially when that 17 week bump makes you feel like a whale.

And because once in a while a girl just needs it, even just for that little moment.

chapter eight of book ten

Whoever expected my life to have this many chapters? With this many books?  

They told me that I would be constantly learning, but they didn't tell me that my novels would have a series that outlasted The Sopranos. May not be as interesting as a tv show, but sure keeps me on my toes. 

But this year will be a whole other chapter. Perhaps even another book in itself. 

This year I will become a mother of two. 

And all I can think about is if I am ready for this. 

It was only yesterday that my little boy was born and to this day, every minute, I wonder how my actions will shape the person he will be when he grows up. I wonder how my personality echoes in his own and how much of his fathers mirrors his. Will his identity be an imitation of what we teach him? What about his charm, his temperament or his individuality? We teach him this. Everything we know we pass onto him. Life in progress they say. As we grow, they grow. As we learn, they learn. All I want in the end is for him to know that we taught him well. And now there will be one more to teach. 

That's pretty scary. 

The not so scary part? Knowing I'll have another little person to love. Knowing that I'll have that newborn smell tracing my clothes again. Knowing that there's plenty of room for this extra tiny person in this already full heart of mine. Knowing that there'll be two little bodies in between my husband and I in bed. Knowing that my little boy will teach all the things that he learned from us. 

Maybe not so scary after all. 

This new book?  I think it'll be one that I won't want to put down.

Little stolen kisses

Two years ago, they sat on a couch and he told his baby cousin stories as she rolled her little infant head around. He had no clue what to do with the little baby sitting next to him. Today, she runs around sharing her little giggles, holding his hand, showing him what a little girls world is like. His protective side was sad when she cried, he beamed when she called his name, he stood up for her when the others snatched things for her.

He'll be a good big brother. 

I can't wait. 

Things i want to remember

He tells me everything is okay when he is told he can't have something. He likes to know that it's okay to not have something even if he really wants it. He knows humility. And he knows patience. 

He pulls my face with such force just to give me a butterfly and eskimo kisses.

He knows how to give love. He knows that his affection matters.

He seeks validation after discovering he has read a word perfectly. 

I want to remember our lunch dates. And our dinner dates too. 

I want to remember how his little feet stand perfectly next to mine. I can't believe they are over half of mine. 

His imagination is unimaginable, how he creates a world only he can understand.

I want to remember how his lower lip quivers when he gets upset, how his wet, long eyelashes enhance his big eyes. How he hides when he is embarrassed, how he doesn't like to show his emotions in front of other people but also how he is so transparent.

He loves to play his little blue guitar, he sings 'Yellow' word for word, and his eclectic taste in music has me listening to classical music on full blast on some mornings.

He has memorised the words to 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' and asks me to play it 20 times in one car ride and he bounces along to the beat as he sings along.

I want to remember his little fingers, his button nose, his little toes that are growing so quickly. 

He is so independent at just three years old, he likes to do things because he "can know how to do it".

I want to remember how I love him so much my heart overflows.

{inspired by Susannah Conway's Things I want to remember post}