We made the decision a while back that Claudine would move into Mia’s room sometime this summer and that we would get bunk beds. Mia’s pretty excited about the bunk beds, but I’m not sure she fully understands the implications of what it means to share her room with her sister. Honestly, if we didn’t have all this stuff from our business to contend with, I think we’d leave things as is since Mia enjoys her privacy and sometimes shuts her door so that she can play by herself in peace. But being that we have boxes, ribbon, packing supplies, labels, etc. etc. stored and tucked into every single available crevice in the apartment, I think it’s time. Most people are amazed that the evidence of the business isn’t very obvious when they come over (we hide things very well), but I don’t enjoy sleeping over flat packing boxes stored under my bed. As you can guess, this storage dilemma has really tested the nerves of my OCD tendencies.

So aside from having to make decisions about redecorating Mia’s room to accommodate both girls, I’m really looking forward to having a dedicated space in which to store all our packaging materials and act as our shipping center. I’m fantasizing about flat drawers for storing our wrapping papers instead of having them rolled up and tucked in between the wall and a dresser, and little compartments for all our labels and ribbons, something like this (by the way, doesn’t the price tag seem a little expensive for Ikea, or is it me??) instead of having them stored in separate little boxes that we can never seem to find again. We’ll also store our printers, shipping scale and labelwriter in this room because if it’s one thing that I hate, it’s having to stare at printers and cables when I’m sitting in bed. The other great thing about this move? We won’t have to sneak into either of the girls’ rooms at night while they’re asleep if we forget to take a shipping or gift box from under their beds or closets before bedtime (one of any parent’s worst nightmares…sneaking into the room of a sleeping child, then having the child stare back at you with open eyes while trying to be all stealth about retrieving something from under the crib).

So as you can see, it’s a win-win situation for all. I figure by the time the girls are old enough to want their own rooms again, we’ll have our own space for the business stuff outside the home (I wish I, hope, I pray…)

Do you ever feel like you’re just chugging along in life, playing catch up but never actually get ahead? This is how we’re feeling these days - trying to just get by and not fall behind. I think we’re both really tired and I might even be a little down, but I’m realizing that I’m craving a change in routine, scenery, or a shakeup in this little life that we’re in. I know, I know, be happy for what you have, but I’ve been so unmotivated lately, especially with my freelance projects which I’m having a hard time mustering any creativity and focus for. I also haven’t had the energy to invest in some new W&S projects that we want to get going. Surprisingly, the mini heat wave did change things up a bit and it was nice to put on all my favorite sandals and paint my toes a cheerful color. Since it’s unlikely that anything big will change around here, I’m focusing on little pleasures like bringing in these magnolia blossoms inside the house.

So, update on the travel plans since everyone made such lovely suggestions (and yes! Probably what we need is to get away). We did rent a beach house for a week out on the North Fork on Long Island in August, but I’m still undecided about our long weekend in June. I’ve priced out and fantasized about nearly every kind of vacation and was very close to booking something in either Cape Cod or Miami, but in the end, we are feeling guilted into the fact that what we probably should do is visit Mark’s Dad in upstate NY, who we don’t see very often. Not our first choice for a trip we’d like to be rejuvenating and relaxing, but…it would be the right thing to do. As a consolation of sorts (unless finances the second half of this year really dictate otherwise) I’ve decided that we’ll be going to Paris next year and after some thought, I’ve decided that I’d like to go with the kids. When I think about going to Paris, I really can’t imagine not going with Mia, who I know would soak in every bit of it.

I think this is what we need to shake ourselves out of the doldrums - something big to look forward to. I figure we’ll rent an apartment for a week to keep costs down so we can cook (eating out every single meal with the kids is close to my idea of hell anyway), but I’m thinking of starting a Paris fund so we can start saving for it now. Who knows where we’ll be in a year, but I’m hoping that we can keep this date that I’ve made.

Sure, why not. These were on the menu for a fundraiser party Mark catered tonight. I haven’t tried them yet as I am still on my sugarfast (this is day 7, I’m trying to go for 2 weeks) but he did save me a few that are being stored in the freezer once I’m done. Can’t wait to try!

I think we pissed off the weather gods with all our complaining about the cold spring we’ve been having because it responded with a little mini heat wave over the weekend. It’s completely weird to be in sweaters one day and sunscreen and sundresses the next. I’d forgotten what it feels like to have that tight, itchy skin from being outside for most of the day, despite copious amounts of sunscreen slathered on. It was that hot. Mark was busy this weekend with the Flea and prepping for a catering gig for Monday, so aside from a family trip to Ikea and Fairway in Red Hook, the girls were with me. Hot days are best spent getting mint iced tea at the Farmers Market and lying on a blanket in the shade in Prospect Park, our first real picnic of the year. Both the girls were ecstatic to put on summer dresses for the first time this season. They kept admiring themselves in the mirror while Claudine repeatedly whispered with a heavy sigh, “wow. These are very fancy dresses”.

Hot weather here in on our end of the street also marks the return of impromptu stoop and sidewalk parties with our neighbors. Sprinklers are put out to cool down, sidewalks are colored with chalk mud, watergun fights and scooter races ensue, and beer, wine and pizza is shared by all. It can be a bit of a zoo with all the kids and water flying around and I have a feeling that our block is getting a reputation as the most annoying block to walk on during the summertime in our neighborhood, but this is urban living. Kind of like how I grew up playing kick the can and spud, except our parents were inside while all the kids from the block played on the street. Times have changed in that regard, but the spirit is the same.

I’m thinking of making Mark a t-shirt that says “I’m the baker” because it occurred to me that some people might think I’m the one who bakes since I’m the main blogger, the one who tweets and especially because I’m customer service. This is why I’m glad that the Brooklyn Flea is all his, so that he can have a turn as the “face” of the business, though, as I understood it, some visitors were a bit puzzled to find Mark at the table last weekend and not some Asian girl they associate with W&S because of our avatar. So do I help with the baking at all? No. Remember when I wrote this?. It’s still true. I haven’t cooked a real meal in well over 3 years, maybe longer. I know what you’re thinking: how could one so into food not cook at all? I really don’t know.

But this post isn’t about that, it’s about Mark, who works long days into the night to get all our orders out, baking like he’s 2 people instead of 1 person, all while taking care of the kids and cooking all our meals (yes, I am working late into the night as well, in case you were wondering where I am in all this). Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t get enough credit since he’s often behind the scenes. You know, he’s like the drummer and I’m the lead singer if we were in a band. But seriously, if you’re at the Flea tomorrow (btw, watermelon coolers will be back tomorrow!), say hello to Mark and give him a pat on the back. He literally hasn’t had a moment’s rest or a work-free evening since Christmas. That’s no joke.

Remember when you were a kid and your best friend meant everything? That friendship was so intense that it often crossed over to awkward and uncomfortable competitiveness and jealousy. Like the worst thing that could happen to you at that age was your best friend hooking up with some other girl and dropping you for that person. As adults, I think it’s hard to replicate that same kind of intense friendship, and for years I yearned for close girlfriends like I had in high school who I could call at a drop of a hat whenever I needed. It was a big void in my life for many years and these days I do feel like I have a few friendships that come close, but lately I’ve been feeling a bit insecure and solitary. In the past few months, however, I have met up with several people who I’ve met online through Twitter (yeah, call me a geek. My friends do). Aside from this disappointment, I have met Mari, Catherine (who shares the same birthday as me), and Re Jin (whose wonderful bowls are shown above).

It’s so weird to think that I converse with my online friends daily and more often than my real life friends (through little 48×48 px avatars, no less), but I’ve enjoyed each and every face to face meeting I’ve had so far and hope that some of these virtual friendships move into real-life friendships. Who would ever think that you’d be able to make friends from strangers you meet online?? Although now I’m reminded that I met a group of moms in my neighborhood 5 years ago from a parenting message board (the old urbanbaby for those of you that know) and although we’re now in 3 different countries after years of weekly playdates, we’re still in touch. It used to be hard to meet people, especially for hermits like me who work from home all day, but not so anymore. And thank god.

…and this year we’ve included some of our newest treats with our classic shortbreads and brownie to create a box sweet enough to give to mom. You can find our special Mother’s Day box in our all shops including here and orders will be taken up until May 3rd for guaranteed shipping in time for Mother’ Day. (I like the new paper so much that we might just switch our classic gift box wrapping to this).

So our last post was a recipe for bran scones (and they really are delicious - perhaps my favorite scones yet), but Mark didn’t delve into the reason why he was making them in the first place. Unsurprisingly with her picky diet, Claudine has terrible constipation. This prompts us to try and sneak all kinds of fiber and dried fruit into her food (hence the prunes and bran in those scones). Sometimes she can pick them out and won’t touch a smoothie, for example, if there is something suspiciously off about the taste, but other times we succeed and she’ll unknowingly stuff herself with all the things that will hopefully make her more regular.

Despite all of our efforts, it isn’t easy, and when she feels the urge a few times a day, she’ll suddenly drop on all fours, rock back and forth and groan like she’s in labor. I know we shouldn’t be laughing at her obvious struggles here, but her “method” really does resemble giving birth. Apparently it’s become so normal to us that we hardly notice it anymore until someone else witnesses the “birthing process” and exclaims, rather in horror, “what is happening to your child!?” while Mark and I (and Mia) continue to go about our business. Then one of the three of us will just say, “oh, she’s pooping” and turn to whatever it is we’re doing until the person saids again, quite urgently, “Isn’t there something you can do?!”. But no, we feel like we’ve tried everything (unless you have any new ideas) and sometimes we suspect that Claudine is so used to pooping in this fashion that it’s just the way she goes now, constipated or not. If she’s not having a successful “session”, she’ll sometimes pop right back up and pick up where she left off almost as suddenly as when she dropped on all fours. But it’s quite an exhausting process, as you might be able to guess, especially for a little 2 year old and more often than not, she’ll take a break and rest on the floor sucking her thumb until the next urge to push. Sad, yes?