poetry

When I was in Arizona last week I was talking to my parents about some of the literature we read growing up. My parents are all about the classics. I have memories of them reading us poetry in the evening and one poem that I'll never forget is called Enoch Arden by Alfred Lord Tennyson. A quick summary of the poem is that three young children grow up as best friends in a small village - Enoch, Philip and Annie. Enoch and Philip love Annie and rival over her. As they grow up, Enoch and Annie fall in love and decide to get married (all the while Philip is still in love with her). They get married and have children and Enoch becomes a merchant sailor. He goes to sea, is shipwrecked and goes missing for ten years. In the meantime, Annie (believing that her husband is dead), marries Philip and they have a child together. Then Enoch returns and looks through the window of their home together:

Now when the dead man come to life beheld
His wife no more, and saw the babe
Hers, yet not his, upon the father's knee,
And all the warmth, the peace, the happiness,
And his own children tall and beautiful,
And him, that other, reigning in his place,
Lord of his rights and of his children's love, --
Then he, tho' Miriam Lane had told him all,
Because things seen are mightier than things heard,
Stagger'd and shook, holding the branch, and fear'd
To send abroad a shrill and terrible cry,
Which in one moment, like a blast of doom,
Would shatter all the happiness of the hearth.

He therefore turning softly like a thief,
Lest the harsh shingle should grate underfoot,
And feeling all along the garden-wall,
Lest he should swoon and tumble and be found,
Crept to the gate, and open'd it, and closed,
As lightly as a sick man's chamber-door,
Behind him, and came out upon the waste.

And there he would have knelt, but that his knees
Were feeble, so that falling prone he dug
His fingers into the wet earth, and pray'd.

'Too hard to bear! why did they take me hence?
O God Almighty, blessed Saviour, Thou
That didst uphold me on my lonely isle,
Uphold me, Father, in my loneliness
A little longer! aid me, give me strength
Not to tell her, never to let her know.
Help me not to break in upon her peace.
My children too! must I not speak to these?
They know me not. I should betray myself.
Never: no father's kiss for me -- the girl
So like her mother, and the boy, my son.'


There speech and thought and nature fail'd a little,
And he lay tranced; but when he rose and paced
Back toward his solitary home again,
All down the long and narrow street he went
Beating it in his wearing brain,
As tho' it were the burden of a song,
'Not to tell her, never to let her know.'

I remember my dad reading it and he always got so emotional at that part. As I brought up the poem to my parents last week they went on a quest through their extensive library of classics and found the poem in an old McGuffey Reader. My dad sat in his den chair and read that part again. As his voice got shaky I was reminded of memories of my dad reading when I was living there as a teenager. It's much more meaningful to me now that I'm married and I'm a mother but I'm so grateful to parents who taught us to appreciate classic literature and culture.

You can read the whole poem here (warning - it's very long).

good food, good friends, good birthday

On Sunday night we had some friends over to celebrate my birthday. I made this pizza on the grill, a little salad and a "100 Grand" birthday cake that was delicious.

cute napkins from house 8810.



probably should've used a knife to cut the cake.

It was really nice to eat outside and talk until the stars and our friendly salamander came out. I hate that thing. All in all, it was a good birthday.

twenty-seven things

It's my 27th birthday today so I thought I'd share 27 things that I did in the past year of my life.

my 2nd birthday.

1. Went to New York City.
2. Went to Chicago.
3. Went to Arizona (several times).
4. Went to New Mexico.
5. Had our first family photo shoot.
6. My baby took his first steps.
7. Went to Disneyland twice.
8. Got pregnant.
9. Had a miscarriage.
10. Moved to our first house in San Diego.
11. Learned lots about how to garden (but I still have lots of room for improvement).
12. Perfected my lasagna recipe.
13. Captured the greatest video of William dancing.
14. Saw Harry Potter 7.2 three times (in the theaters).
15. Had tons of visitors at our new house.
16. David and I started hiking.
17. Unsuccessfully tried to start my own business (I'm going to try again next year for students).
18. Became obsessed with Lark Rise to Candleford.
19. Reupholstered a chair.
20. Spent hours on Pinterest (just like all of you!)
21. Read 17 books.
22. Attended a beautiful wedding.
23. Went to the fair.
24. Fell in love with at least ten new things San Diego has to offer.
25. Threw William's first birthday party.
26. Had several beach bonfires.
27. Hugged and kissed my boys dozens and dozens of times.

It's been a good year. Thanks for being around and sharing a lot of these things with me!

a quick trip (which is ironically the best gas station in az)

I've been a lame blogger this week. On Sunday night David was packing up to head to Colorado for most of the week and I thought, "Hey, instead of hanging around here by myself I think I'll go to Arizona and surprise Marcus on his birthday." I knew my mom was throwing him a party so I packed up in the morning and drove by my lonesome all the way to Mesa. It was so hot, I thought I would die. Of course as we rolled into town I noticed the billboards even had an "excessive heat warning" for the week. Great timing. Poor William kept trying to go outside (something he's used to being able to do all year) and every time he opened the door, he would cry. He also had a wicked heat rash, which confirmed that we are now officially wimps.

as soon as we got home, we went in the backyard and enjoyed some cool weather.

I took no pictures but I did have a really good time. My parents spoiled me with dinner at my favorite restaurant, my mom took me shopping at my favorite store (where I scored big time), I went to lunch with some of my awesome sisters and ate my favorite sandwich, got my hair did by my favorite hairstylist, sat down with my parents every evening and watched one of my favorite BBC series and generally had a great time with my family (William actually played with these boys for the first time - it was cute). We missed our favorite guy though and I'm grateful we all made it back together in one piece.

My birthday is on Monday and tomorrow is my "special day". I told David that all I wanted for my birthday was a day all to myself. I plan to go to the foot spa, get some taquitos from California Burrito, use my birthday coupon at Anthropologie and then take a nap. So exciting, I know, but it sounds perfect to me.

growing pains

How did this sweet, tiny baby boy

. . . grow to be this big boy?

It makes me sad. Glad but sad. I miss my baby.

the m.a.n.

Happy Birthday to my little brother, Marticus Tortipus (or more boringly known as "Marcus"). I wish I could say that I was a fantastic older sister to him when we were growing up. Mostly, as the tenth of eleven children, I used what little "power" I had over him to tease him, be annoyed with him constantly and he swears he even has fingernail scars on his arm from me when I was ten. I don't remember that (probably repressed guilt) but I do remember when I started liking hanging out with my little brother.

picture taken by his lovely wife. mustache added for comedic effect.

I was about 15 and Marcus was just entering his teenage years. We were the last two children at home and I started to notice that my brother was unusually cool and interesting. Instead of roaming the neighborhood with his gangly friends and kicking rocks, he would want to sit down at the kitchen table all night and talk about the world. Instead of watching a stupid sitcom on TV, he would turn on the Discovery or History Channel. Instead of reading juvenile fiction he read Dinesh D'Souza. The most unusual part? He wasn't a nerd.

Then he married this really amazing girl who we're all quite smitten with. They are an unusual, unique and perfect pair. Sometimes I look at them and go, "Really? REALLY!" because they're so adorable. 

Here's my favorite funny story about my brother, Marty, that totally illustrates his personality (in my opinion). I've already told it before but it deserves repeating:

- When we went to Ireland a few years ago, Marcus bought a flute (more of a recorder really) as a souvenir on one of the first days in the country and he was determined to learn a song on it. When Marcus sets his mind to something, he does it. So, for the next several days, hour after hour, Marcus taught himself to play "Scarborough Fair". He finally perfected it and I laughed as we sat on this stone wall, overlooking the Irish Sea, as my brother played his flute with such dedication knowing full well that he was dreaming and thinking the same things as me (it's lovely tune, really).

And then he did this and I laugh every time.

Happy Birthday bruder dear!

encouraging nuturing

William has a little bunny that he sleeps with. We call him "Foo Foo". It's pretty adorable when your baby boy latches onto something soft and squishy.

A few months ago, we were at my sister's house and William was playing in my niece, Mary's, room. He came walking into the living room, holding and cuddling one of her baby dolls. I had never seen him hold a doll before and started laughing when my sister said, "Don't make a big deal out of that! In fact, encourage it. Boys need to learn how to be sweet and gentle to babies too." I realized how true that is (Alice is a fount of wisdom). It made me think about how much this world is changing. I think this kind of teaching is part of what's fostering more boys to grow into men who are willing husbands that help around the house more and change the baby's diaper. I'm all for teaching my son to be a man who doesn't think that taking care of the baby is only the woman's job. I want my boys to be involved fathers. I believe that "mothers are primarily responsible for the nuture of their children" but I also believe "that fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners" (from The Family: A Proclamtion to the World). What do you think? Do you encourage or disuade your boys from anything not traditionally seen as masculine?

tortellini pasta salad

I think I've mentioned that my sister-in-law, Darin (who is practically perfect in every way), is a fantastic cook. I think all the women in my family cook well but Darin's recipes are always, always a hit. For example, once we tried Darin's Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette every Sunday dinner salad had this dressing on it.

David is an avid fan of pasta salad so for his birthday I made this along with grilled shrimp and steak with mushroom sauce. It was delicious!

Salad:
1 large package of fresh cheese tortellini
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 cans of olives, sliced
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 jars marinated artichoke hearts, diced

Dressing:
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons dried parsley

Blend together (I use my Magic Bullet) until emulsified.

music is fun, come on everyone!

On August 23rd I am beginning my Fall semester of group musical classes for young children in the San Diego area. These classes (available for children ages 18 months - 5 years) involve singing, dancing, play acting and musical storytelling. We will "musically play" with various musical instruments and other educational toys while focusing on learning songs, simple movement and understanding the different sounds each instrument makes. Each child will learn basic hearing perception of notes as they learn to sing and play. Not to mention it's going to be loads of fun! Every time I think about it, I get really excited!

If you live in the area and are interested in "Miss Lizzy's Music" please contact me at elizabethabryant@gmail.com. You can also view my website here for a class calendar, semester tuition prices, FAQs, a bit about my qualifications and about the program.

all the essentials

I love moments like this one. I'm sitting at my computer, making a dreaded appointment at the DMV and believing that William is playing with his trains in the other room. I become less distracted by my vehicle registration plight as the sound of "clip clop" echos through the halls on the wood floors. Into the room saunters William in my red shoes with a box of leftover Red Vines from our road trip and his cup of milk in a messy, Risky Business outfit (sans socks). I laughed as he posed and said, "cheese". He totally knew he was funny. I love that boy.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

We just returned home from our summer exodus of 2011 (first New Mexico for Bluewater Days, then a few days at my family cabin and then finished off at David's family cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona). I am beat. And ready to never leave my house again. I know that feeling won't last but it feels incredibly nice to be home with all my things, where I know the smells and everything feels cozy. Of course, coming home after a vacation to San Diego is no trial either. Ha!

If you're looking for someone to sing praises of Arizona, look elsewhere. I just can't handle the summer heat. Months of 100+ degree weather doesn't bother everyone (a lot of my family included) but not me. I am a grump for six months straight. However, if you're under the impression that Arizona is only full of cactus, rattlesnakes and haboobs then you'd be wrong. Just look at these pictures.

We didn't do much except relax, take walks on the golf course, watch movies and have a picnic at Paradise Creek. It was beautiful and William had a wonderful time throwing rocks in the water. Of course, he fell in but then he was happy again as soon as someone handed him a particularly large stone.

highlight: this picture of David's dad napping on a small cliff. hilarious. oh dads. they're so funny.

It was cool and beautiful. Now I'm going to bed.

William enjoyed seeing the "chows".



baby love, my baby love

Erin's sweet baby, Hudson, has me in a state of longing for the days when William was new. I love holding him, all swaddled and cozy, as he gazes at me and grins his dimpled grin. Is there a better feeling? If I could bottle it I would be rich and depression would not exist!!! I'm sure of it!

I do miss those sweet newborn gazes but I also dearly love the affectionate pats on the back, face-in-hands kisses and looks of love across the room from my toddler too.

"The greatest gift you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." - Eden Ahbez

cousins (human and canine)

William has had an amazing time with his cousins at the ranch. I felt bad because I didn't play with him for hours because he was having such a blast with his cousins but my ability to play pales in comparison to theirs! Other than his human cousins his constant companion was Jimmy.

climbing the stairs, again and again and again.

We were all dying of laughter when William was following Jimmy around, grabbing his stub tail and saying, "Poopy?"

When he wasn't playing with the older kids or Jimmy, William and Beck were fighting over a light saber and playing checkers. I loved watching him interact with my family and delighting over how cute and social he is (when well-rested, that is).

Now we're at the cabin with Erin and her boys. It is so beautiful and green! We've had thunderstorms every day. I miss David but he's joining us on Friday. Hooray!

By the way, I just found out about Instagram and I'm hooked. If you want to follow me, my username is elizabethbryant (and please do because it will make me feel cool).

William - chillaxing on the front porch rug.