NAMASTE, HUCKLES

i had plans last week to attend the summer solstice in times square yoga madness, a free yoga class held in the middle of times square, but then surprise mystery viruses struck, as they do, and i happily stayed in to spend the day kissing a fevery forehead instead. of course i'd already ordered and rush-shipped a cheap yoga mat to myself through amazon, and of course as i clicked "one-day shipping" at the check out i heard my shoulder devil tell me that now that i'd ordered a yoga mat for the event, i for sure wasn't going to be able to make it. 

as is often the case.

i've missed doing yoga. i used to practice in idaho and then got pregnant and put the mat in storage and there's that whole story. i unwrapped that sucker the other night and laid it out to see how many poses i could remember, and while i may be a little rusty, huck is a natural.

p.s. i posted one of these shots to instagram the other night and it was later brought to my attention that the way my flag was hung at the time was incorrect. i have since researched the matter and remedied the situation.

HAPPY SUMMER!

well and happy summer to you! 

should you ever come to my house and need a tampon, fear not! i do have tampons. you are welome to them. they are located in the green zippered pouch under the bathroom sink, and you may have to use them to blow your nose too because, no, i do not buy tissues. i DO buy lots of wet wipes. hash tag toddler.

so look, i have been trying to sit down and write something ALL DAY and this is all i could come up with. i even tried to blog last night, but in my attempt at typing i dropped my laptop on my face and cut my nose (don't ask). 

so brandon came home the other day like magellan (the holbsgellan, hash tag old school!) with news of a new (to us) public grassy area that apparently nobody knows about that happens to be just down the way from us and he tried to explain to me its location only i am apparently the world's stupidest. what? and where?? you mean by the tennis courts? columbus and who? we were eating rice krispy treats and brownie cookies (brookies? crownies?) with our friends the snows and the shipps (don't go!), so clearly my brain cells were otherwise engaged. finally he walked us down there, and grass! grass as far as the eye could see! i promptly did a cartwheel. i'm really out of shape. i also got a dehydration headache because black pants plus i forgot to bring my water bottle (did i say WATER bottle?) but it was lovely all the same. 

by the way to the soda in my fridge. i have an open fridge policy and i am kind of a soda dealer. a chemical sweetener enabler. free sodas are my one contribution in the hospitality department, so come to our house and play! we have free sodas.

this morning i read something on twitter and it's been bouncing around in my head all afternoon. it was mindy kaling who wrote it (mindy kaling is so my person) and today is her birthday (happy birthday mindy kaling my person!) and she said, "i'm grateful for my fun life." and the thing is, yes. i have a fun life. i have a fun husband in a fun city with a fun job and a really fun kid. my life is frustrating and emotional at times but fun. very fun. and so i'm stealing that from her and i am going to make it my summer mantra, for when things get tough in that superficial way where things aren't really tough and i have no right to be upset about it but upset i get, anyway. 

"i'm grateful for my fun life." 

also this:

huck was down for the count the other day with this mystery virus. his whole face was watery, also there was a mild fever involved. moderate to severe whining. all he wanted in his whole sad world was to watch something he called "eggo twee frock in twubble!" the long story short is there is no such triumph in the world quite like the triumph of a mother who has scrolled, scrolled-scrolled-scrolled through all five seasons of go diego go!, only to actually find an actual episode entitled "rescue of the three-eyed tree frog," just when her toddler was about to lose hope. and oh! it felt almost like accomplishing something real! not to mention the look on huck's poor face when that tree frog showed up and the way he danced about the living room in his clunky green rain boots (sick day gear) while clutching his half-melted chocolate covered strawberry marshmallow (in the shape of a dolphin) (he didn't actually want to eat it, just hold it) . . . well that kind of thing could make any person feel ten feet tall. even five foot me. 

so kristen, my blog mascot, took these photos of us on her phone while we were partying on our secret grass on sunday and kind of at this point my blog wouldn't exist if it weren't for her (except for she doesn't even read my blog!). and a note to self not to lean forward in baggy tee shirts in photos ever again because of the not terribly flattering chubby-look aspect (hash tag not pregnant).

but i kind of love this one. and i kind of love my fun life, too.
hugs for everyone today it's monday!

IN WHICH WE TAKE OVER NATALIE'S BLOG

Ratting out the 'Rat

guest blogging by: Kristen Jex (in partnership with Brandon Holbrook)

I'm Kristen. One of Nat's besties. Occasional personal hairdresser. Weekly babysitter. Musician, Writer, Exotic Half-Japanese Beauty, etc. 

I never read Natalie's blog, (luckily she doesn't mind) but I suspect all you readers out there aren't getting the full spectrum of what is known about Natalie Holbrook. So I am writing an exposé unbeknownst to Natalie even before I beg her to post this, in hopes that you may also enjoy knowing all her weird secrets.  

1) There are no tissues. Anywhere. Her place does not have tissues. Or paper towels. Or napkins. It's awkward in the instance that you sneeze and there's a lot of snot and someone's in the bathroom. Otherwise excellent for the environment.

2) This is how much Dr. Pepper there is in the fridge at all times, not even kidding. I often catch her pulling out a bottle like it were a flask and taking a quick swig in Sacrament meeting. 

3) I know this isn't a weird secret, but I'm myth-busting. Her kid really is as cute and adorable as he is in all the pictures that are probably littered around this blog. His laugh is so cute. I don't know what to do with all the cuteness that explodes out of his face. I usually just succumb to another round of “Ring Around the Rosie” for the millionth time before I pass out. 

4) I've never seen her socks match.

5) I know a girl's gotta have her shoes, but Nat's closet is LEGIT. I ain't never seen so many shoes! 

6) She's really into eye protection. Apparently. I think there's 11 pairs? Is this normal? I don't even know.

7) She never fails to update me on how her stomach is doing whenever we converse. Her insides are strangely indicative of how her life is generally going. Her stomach is like her sixth sense or something. I could pick her up, shake her around a little, and her tummy would probably reveal one of 12 responses like a magic eight ball.

8) I have looked and looked and I can never find a tampon in her bathroom! I don't know where she hides those things. One day I will need one. I must find out where she keeps them. 

9) She frequently finds clothes for Henry in the girl's section. (!)

10) After a hard day's work her eyelashes retire in the following fashion: 

If you've never watched Parks and Recreation I don't know what's wrong with you. Seriously, get on that. Because I'm about to compare Natalie Holbrook to Leslie Knope. 

Natalie is totally into strong female role models and is one herself. She is professional, courteous, well-accomplished and ever beautiful to the world, though behind the scenes, hopelessly flawed, concerned about every single freaking thing on the planet, stubborn, and at times adorably mistaken. Nat has a giant, vulnerable, passionate heart, and also like Leslie, is overly in love with whipped cream.

I'm not a mom (instead I have two ferrets that I take very seriously), so I don't know much about parenting. I gather it's hard. I'm not about to tell you how Natalie does it all, because she doesn't. She gets through the day, you know. So as you look at her pictures and read through her life, know that there's not a whole lot of difference between her and you other awesome moms/gals out there (except for all the strange ass quirks I just mentioned above).

Sorry I rummaged through your stuff and always eat all your snacks, 

Love, Kristen

DUMBO

over the weekend we took advantage of a supremely gorgeous sunny saturday afternoon and walked across the brooklyn bridge for an afternoon in DUMBO. how many times lately have we been to brooklyn, it's getting silly.

DUMBO stands for Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and it's the sliver of neighborhood under the manhattan bridge between brooklyn heights and downtown brooklyn. it's just a handful of streets, and when DUMBO first started "gentrifying" we were living in brooklyn heights just a few blocks up. we used to always scoff at how silly it sounded and "oh, that'll never take off" and then there you have it. shows what we know.

△△△ I CAN'T GET OVER THIS. for the record, huck is drinking water.

△△△ in one of our grander parenting moments, we've been teaching huck the official ins and outs of flashing the peace sign at situationally appropriate moments. i've also been trying to get him to say "you got it, dude!" for weeks but that one hasn't stuck.

△△△ would you just . . . ugh. i'm going to have to eat him he's so cute.

△△△ those are mine! what a world.

△△△ the other day i was talking to a friend who has twin baby boys. she was telling me, "i don't care if their individual personalities are squashed, i just want them to wear matching smocked bubble suits, okay?" and i know what she means. i just want huck to grow up to be the buster to my lucille, is there really something so wrong with that? and the thing is . . . . yes there is. anyway. this made me laugh.

the end.

oh! except to say . . . if you're watching season four of arrested development on netflix, it only gets really good in the last two episodes and then you are just left hanging like a motherboy ball. anyway my eternal crush on buster bluth just keeps on getting stronger. 

p.s. jane's carousel last year, 

the official holbrooklyn tour, for those in need,

the tourists tour of nyc i posted once a million years ago, 

and two random babble posts i forgot to link last week on account of forgetfulness: 

forever 21 yadda yadda

and great fourth of july beach party ideas 

happy tuesday!

p.s.
my dress is forever 21
my shoes are kork-ease,
my bag is from madewell

TO MY BABY DADDY

happy father's day to the dead sexiest red headed dad i know. 

it's a pleasure making babies with you, b. 

here's to ten more! ;)

FROM THE AROUND-HERE-LATELY DEPARTMENT

a lot of photos of absolutely nothing at all are coming at you right now because that's what it is, kids. 

up first, big bird in central park. and sargent huck, reporting for playground duty! i took these photos on the first warm day of the entire year (shorts! my baby in shorts!) and i swear the sunshine was powerful enough that day to turn my solar power back on. 

my step bounced! 

since then the weather been acting all confused and disoriented. mother nature, should we be worried about you? have you had a stroke? it is june outside and today i needed a sweater. 

side note: too many of our good friends are moving out of the city these days and it's really got to stop. 

so let's talk about huck. 

these days with huck are the greatest, two has been the most fun. he's on a major pirate kick, always on the lookout for enemy ships. also he is singing. all. day. long. he's got a quick brain for song lyrics and lately we've been doing a lot of singing as we stroll down the sidewalk. we get funny looks. he makes even the hardest new yorkers smile. every night when i'm putting him to bed he says, "snuggle?" which is huck for "i'd like to put my arm down your shirt while i fall asleep, please." 

i let him because you are only two once.

p.s. five dogs in that stroller. f-i-v-e.

the hat guy is out! i love that hat guy but he is too pricey.

a note on the pink wedges as if anyone cares: i've only taken them out once, they were a gift and i love them, but to wear them you have to bend entire laws of physics. i DID feel like an amazon warrior woman the entire time i had them on.

okay so more huck now. huck is big into having his daddy sing "god bless america" while holding this little american flag, which huck runs through over and over like a bull. i don't know. the way he informs brandon that he'd like to play it is by shouting, "BLESS A ERICA?" 

we had roberta's pizza at madison square eats a couple of weeks ago and it has been haunting me ever since. OH MAH GOSH. i just want it written here for time and all eternity that roberta's is the best pizza in the city. and so it is written.

this was a LONG time ago, but while we're on the subject: we finally went to georgetown cupcake in soho and they are better than, like, all of the cupcakes. look at this! best pizza and best cupcake in one post, this is turning into such a serviceable blog, who'd have seen that one coming?

okay the end.