Moonfly Kids

My annual pilgrimage to Atlanta is something I always look forward to, every year, without fail. For one-or sometimes two-weeks during the Thanksgiving holiday, I pack up everything and head to Georgia to visit my sister and her brood. We have been doing this for many years, and with each passing year, with the addition of each new baby, it gets more and more chaotic. But still, we persevere. 

On days like today, when it’s cold and rainy, and we’re surrounded by restless little people, I crave a dose of perpetual sunshine from the desert.  I start thinking about my backyard, a little oasis where I can escape when things get hectic.

My yard wasn’t always an oasis, in fact, when we bought our place, it was just a fenced area covered in rocks.  And, yes, in the desert, rocks totally count as landscaping. But it needed some personality, so I designed a cool space where the dogs could run wild, my son could play, my husband could whip up some mean BBQ, and we could entertain family and friends.

I get a real kick out of the before and after photos, I hope you do too!

Since I took these photos, the plantings have matured and offer more shade and colorful blooms. There are even more toys scattered around, and a sandbox for Nick in the back-a gift from Granny and Grandpa. By far, the backyard is the most popular area of our house.

One of the questions I get most often is about the turf. Let me tell you this, my prerequisites for the yard were that it had to be low maintenance, and it had to have native desert plantings. Since grass is neither one of those, I opted for a high quality turf. I had my doubts, but I decided to try it out. And, the verdict? I love it. It’s preternatural greeness is a little disturbing at times, but over all, it was a great choice for us. It gives Nick a place to play barefoot. The dogs treat it like carpet, so they wouldn’t dare pee on it. There’s really no maintenance, you just rake it or hose it down. It also serves as a thermometer, if the turf is too hot to stand on, it’s probably too hot to be outside anyway!

How lucky is Moonfly? Earnshaw’s put MF’s book/T shirt/bag combo smack in the middle of their “Unwrapped” section in the November issue. This is our second month in a row to appear in Earnshaw’s, and we are very excited. Thanks, Earnshaw’s!

In fact, I’m so stoked about this, that I think it’s time for a SALE…and not just a little sale but a BIG 50% OFF SALE!! Moonfly’s Gift Pack is available right now in our online store, and with new holiday pricing. Check it out right here. Oh, and did I also mention FREE SHIPPING? Yes, I am truly losing it.

Psst!   Cool Mom Picks also reviewed the Moonfly Gift Pack last month, you can read  about it right here.

For my birthday a few weeks ago, I got a few excellent presents. My hubby got me this awesome watch from Sundance. Please note-I don’t wear a watch. I like time to mold itself around me, not the other way around. But my gift is lovely.

Then, my inlaws presented me with this huge box, cleverly covered with pages from Vogue magazine and the most recent Nordstrom catalog. I really just enjoyed looking at it. Bet it was fun to wrap, too.

The fashion-billboard-box contained 1 zero gravity lounger.  For those of you not familiar with this Cadillac of lounging equipment, I urge you to try one on, like right now.  You will never get up again.

My husband, who is a professional lounger-and that is another post altogether-he already has one of these slices of heaven.  And, the sweet, caring husband that he is, he wanted me to have one too.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to combine the two gifts, so, as I am lounging away my Saturday afternoon, I can glance at my watch and say, “Honey, it’s time for another gin & tonic.”  And, like that! a fresh cocktail will appear.

The only flaw to this plan is the wooden whistle my son is holding in this picture.  It’s one of those whistles that makes the sound of a train when you blow in it. While I’m lounging, I’m pretty sure my son will be galloping around me, whistling and shouting “All aboard!” I’ll have to be careful he doesn’t bump into my drink.

The peanut butter obsession has passed, for now…and this week it has been replaced by GLOW STICKS. I’m pretty sure the new obsession was fueled by several after-dark Halloween excursions and supplemented by my mother’s mail-in contributions. Every Halloween (shit, every freakin’ holiday!) my mom sends a care pack of assorted propaganda, including decorations-because she knows I would never be caught dead purchasing a tacky, plastic glow-in-the dark skeleton for myself-themed T-shirts(also would never purchase myself), candy, and GLOW STICKS. Once my DH showed the boy how to unlock the secrets of the GLOW STICK it was all over. My husband has been forced (in order to preserve his sanity) to master the tricks of glow stick use, like cracking them just so, waving them like a light saber, and keeping them in the freezer to extend the glow-life. Every night, Nicholas goes to sleep clutching this fiber optic glow-y thing-y (what in the hell is this thing, anyway?) that was sent to him by, you guessed it, my mom. 

The upside to the glow sticks is that I can now locate my fast-moving toddler in the darkness, especially helpful at the campground after hours.

But now that I think of it…Nick does have some more history with glow sticks.  At his friend Kenny’s first birthday party last May, he was playing with a glowing green bracelet. He managed to bite into it hard enough to break the plastic and get it all over his tongue. When he ran up to me, grunting and holding his mouth open wide, (to better show off the runny glow-goop seeping onto his tiny tongue) it was clear that he was both alarmed and extremely pleased with himself. The fact that I shrieked and ran him over to the sink to immediately start flushing him with water made him so happy I could almost feel his little heart burst with joy. Why does he love toeing the line between safety and danger? Why does he relish his mother going into hysterics over his antics? Where does he get his SICK SENSE OF HUMOR?  Where, where where??? I can only imagine what would have happened the next day if he had pooped glowing-green…the kid would have been over the moon.

At the end of the summer, the vines in my backyard throw down their orange blooms and sprout these strange pods.

My son is endlessly fascinated with them.

My little MacGyver held one to his ear today and proceeded to have an entire conversation with his granny.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my mother in law were to tell me about their conversation later, in detail.  That’s the kind of connection they have.

I am proud to announce that all the clothes in today’s outfit are recycled. I know most of you, like me, are feeling the pinch of the current economic slowdown.  One of the first things to get cut is your wardrobe dollars, at least in my house it is-a huge point of contention, BTW.  My friend Erika is leaving Las Vegas for greener pastures. Thankfully, she thought of me when she was cleaning out her closet, and I inherited a bunch of really cool shit! I think there were at least 12 new outfit possibilities stuffed into that old DSW shopping bag.  I can’t wait to pair up the new goodies with some of my older stuff.

The top, she claims, was a clearance rack find by DKNY.  It’s made of light stretchy mesh and manages to be both classic and modern at the same time.  The cream, cuffed pants are from White Black Market.  They came with a patch of puppy hair stuck on the waistband.  I know Erika’s little pup must have snuggled up on these pants, and, really, can you blame her? They are super comfy-plus, I just adore clothes with history.

The extra long necklace is from Betsy Johnson, scored a couple summers ago. Right after I took this picture, I somehow ripped off the bottom-most bead with my seatbelt and spent the rest of the day searching for it. I finally found it stuffed in the crack of the driver’s seat. Now to find a jeweler who can repair it…recycle, repair, reuse!