Scenes From a Weekend

*As in - Last weekend - because I am still terribly behind here due to major computer issues and ongoing genius bar consultations. 

YEAH! Pop - Up

Anyway, I got the chance to spend two whole days with two boys in tow. Leon, Hayes and I packed up and crashed my best friend's place in Korea Town last weekend where we cozied up in pajamas and ordered in burgers and watched movies the first night, then headed downtown bright and early to visit my Friend Elizabeth and her husband's newest venture Yeah! Furniture, hosting a jam packed two-week pop up extravaganza in the Hudson Loft to help celebrate the launch of this new line.

The agenda was chalk full of great events ranging from crafting workshops for kids (and adults) to discussions revolving around all kinds of interesting topics led by an array of inspiring folks, as well as beautifully stocked catering tables handing out samples from a few favorite local food stops, to wine pourings, to flower booths, to art shows, film screenings and so on. Literally the list went on an on. Every event I made it to proved a complete blast. And I would say they did a fantastic job of showing how you can work to promote yourself, and each other in a warm and authentic way that in turn, helps engage and connect the community at hand. I know I met quite a few familiar online faces  so it was nice to get to know them a little better there in the skin, in such a such a welcoming space. Nothing like the kind of try hard hipster stigma these L.A gigs tend to wear.

Though the best part of it all was having all my attention there with Leon. It's so hard these days, to get that with any of them that I really cherish the times when I am able. I had my friend there to help with the baby so I got to really soak up my time there with him. Watching his God's Eye construction at the Crafting Community's neon colored yarn decked booth, sharing a Popsicle in the lobby, conversations over dinner and even a long day at the Rose Bowl flea market where he was such a good sport and so much fun to have by our side. That kid's whole vibe is infectious. Proof is in everywhere we went, vendors and strangers alike stopped to hug or talk to him. There were more than a couple times I stood back and watched with pride over how much palpable joy he carries with him and how much it seems to transpire when he is with others. On the flip side though it also gave me a heavy heart in realizing how much I take for granted on the rush of a regular week with each of them. Because of all the good things I have to say about the gifts a big family brings, there are times like these where it pains me to admit how sliced my time and attention as a mother to four has become.

Hopefully though I'll be making more of an effort from here on out to secure these special days with each of them, alone. To stop and fully appreciate what unique and incredible people we are raising. God knows it whips by in a flash and what I am learning more and more is that the greatest milestones are not necessarily the ones that you mark in the books or share in photos, but more the small moments you start to see them as their own, working through a particular situation or carrying on an ordinary conversation where it tends to assure you that they are indeed stocked full of all the qualities you could want and hope for in the those fleeting days when they are brand new.