Reflections on a Small Town

This month has been a whirlwind of activity.  Maddox is in her last weeks of first grade, Graham has been in Norway for the second half of the month, and craziest of all, we are trying to sell our house!  (If I can stop vacuuming and dusting long enough to sit down, I'll share more about that whole experience in another blog this weekend.)  But it's inside this tornado of chaos that I have found myself very reflective about the little town of Orange, Virginia that we have called "home" over the last five years.  We really love this place and I'd like to share a few reasons why we hold it so dear.

I can remember shortly after moving to Orange and meeting a few people, that I was supposed to go to Charleston, SC with some college girlfriends for a 30th birthday celebration.  Graham was deployed at the time and I was pregnant with the twins and the day before the trip, my sister-in-law (and babysitter for the weekend) called to say that my nephew had strep throat and was throwing up on top of that.  The whole trip was in jeopardy but for two new friends from church, Kim and Tracey, who stepped in to take turns keeping Maddox over the weekend.  I was so grateful and she had a blast and became forever buddies with a little firecracker named Elly.  In a small town, people respond graciously to your request for help.

Another more serious example of friends stepping in to help occurred a few years ago.  As I was driving home from Richmond one day, I felt like I had a catch in my chest and couldn't quite get my breath.  By the time I got home I was clammy and dizzy and felt like I was the classic case of a female with heart attack symptoms.  My friend Corie came right down the street, called EMS, and prayed with me until they arrived, then took Maddox to her house to play with her girls for the evening.  My wonderful babysitter Marlene kept the twins a little longer that day and then a  good neighbor and friend, Barbara, picked up Henry and Harper and put them to bed at home.  Graham and I came back from the hospital later that evening, tired but so grateful to our friends. In a small town, people take care of each other.

After Henry and Harper were born, I was totally overwhelmed by motherhood- often feeling trapped within the four walls of my house-and needed a break in scenery, especially when they became mobile.  In swooped a sweetheart of a college-aged girl named Jacquie who, a few days a week for a summer, woke up early and came over to take care of my little movers so Mom could get a break.  In a small town, the babysitters are the BEST!

Maddox began her kindergarten year at Grymes Memorial School and has begged and pleaded to ride the bus just as often as she can every day since then.  Her journey to and from school is only about ten minutes and she loves it.  In a small town, I don't worry about sending a child to school on the bus.

Although we are looking to move somewhere a bit larger, my family has so enjoyed the rural scenery of Orange.  You can't beat the views on Little Skyline Drive, the dairy farm in Somerset that belongs to my friend Heidi, the iconic village of Rapidan, or the silhouettes of horses in pasture as the sun goes down at Rounton Farm.  In a small town, kids can get back to nature.

My girlfriends and I often take advantage of our small town life by making everything an event.  From an Academy Awards birthday party for a friend to a fancy dinner out at The Inn at Willow Grove to a Christmas celebration at The Market at Grelen to an annual November afternoon at the Montpelier Hunt Races, we find reasons to dress up, get out, and take advantage of our life here.  In a small town, you create your own entertainment!

So here's to all the small towns out there!  The sense of community you provide cannot be matched and your benefits are too many to mention.  

Seeing with New Eyes

It is typically in the month of May that I become filled with raging jealousy.  See, I have this kid with some absolutely amazing eyelashes and every year around ballet recital time they get all dolled up with mascara and Mommy can't see straight I'm so envious and Daddy threatens home school and no dating until she's married.  And now those lashes are going to be times two because I've got this other daughter who is dancing at her first recital this weekend and though her lashes have never been touched by mascara, I just know she's got 'em.  The reach-up-to-your-eyebrows-gorgeous-lashes.  They can thank their GranJan and aunties for this inherited blessing because Mama's eyelashes are so stubby, it is just sad, and until last week I thought I didn't have any alternatives other than fakes (which I have certainly tried a time or two).  But when I saw that my sis-in-law was having a mascara party with long lashes guaranteed, I sat up and took note.  Because I don't want to torture myself with child jealousy this go 'round.  And thanks to Younique fiber lashes, I may have just solved the problem for good. . .

 Naked lashes.  No makeup.

 Makeup and regular mascara (L'oreal Telescopic which I've used forever)

 Younique fiber lashes.  Holy moly!

 

So, this Saturday I'll get my girls ready for their dance recital and throw on some eye candy of my very own.  And I'll have fun pretending that those girls got their gorgeous lashes from me! 

Coordinating with Candy Stripes

It is no secret that my love affair with Matilda Jane has been a long and fruitful one.  From the first piece I ever purchased when Maddox was just two years old (a tartan plaid knot dress and ruffle pants) I have loved collecting, coordinating and dressing my girls in MJC and even spent a year selling the wares in Virginia as a trunk keeper.  Recently, seven year-old Maddox would rather be in a tee shirt and shorts than just about anything else, but her three year-old sister Harper is still enjoying all the Matilda Jane hand-me-downs she has acquired.  Last week, my friend had a trunk show in Charlottesville and I ordered a single piece- the Red Rover Bennys.  These cherry red and bubblegum pink striped pants were so adorable that I had to have them for Miss Harper, but it wasn't until they arrived at my door that I began to realize just how many items in her closet already coordinated perfectly.  You see, that is and will always be the beauty of Matilda Jane.  Season after season, items can be pieced together creatively because each collection seems to coordinate with the next.  Lately, I have begun to pass down some of our outgrown items to my nearly-two-year-old niece, Grayson.  Just in time for the next generation to enjoy.

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Harper in her Red Rover Bennys with a MJ dress from Spring 2010.

An adorable strawberry knot dress from the Good Hart collection is a perfect match.  The tutu skirt from the Serendipity line can be layered over the Red Rovers when little one is feeling extra spunky.

My first Matilda Jane model (and her adorable friend Hannah) in a precious outfit from Spring 2012.  Now, that dress can be paired with the Red Rovers as well.

Three fun dresses from the past with just a touch of red that really pops with the Bennys.  

Does anyone else own and love these beauties?  Let me know how you are styling yours!