nature photo thursday

mordecai
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Last Wednesday morning, John and I were both in the kitchen at the same time fixing breakfast (unusual for us on a weekday). As my gaze drifted out the window, I hear him say, "Who put the fake bird on our deck?" A moment later we both see the fake bird turn its head. I rushed to get the camera so I could get a photo of this seeming rarity, but unfortunately the photo is a touch hazy (I took it through the window because I was afraid if I went outside, the bird would fly away).

Two days later I heard John recounting the story to a friend and found out he named the bird Mordecai.

"You named a bird you're never going to see again?"

"Actually, I've already seen him three more times. This is his territory."

If John's gone for any amount of time now, I can usually find him in the backyard with his neck craned, searching the trees for his new feathered friend. He's infatuated with that bird.

housewarming gift

candle from Stephanie
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Here's what was inside the red package. The box said, "The friendship circle is an enduring symbol throughout the world. This one is inspired by an ancient Mayan ritual in which tribes would gather to celebrate peace and togetherness." Sounds good to me.

Thanks Stephanie for brightening my day and our home and for being the coolest blogger I've met thus far. Maybe someday we can actually meet in person (hopefully long before Sydney and Margot are old enough to attend the Girls Rock Camp).

i love the color red...

red envelope package
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

...especially when I receive red packages! Last Saturday our new postman Tony (well, new to us; he's been on this route for 7 years or something like that...very nice guy) delivered a box and this red box from red ENVELOPE is what was inside (I've admired items from their site before, but never actually received anything from them, so I was super excited!). This package was from Stephanie -- my new favorite friend I recently met in the blogworld. She linked to my blog from a comment I left on someone else's blog, left me a comment, I then visited her blog and left five comments in one evening because I felt like every entry was something else we had in common (definitely unusual for me). When she found out we moved into a new house she asked if I would mind sending her our address so she could send us a housewarming present. What? Of course I'll send you my address if you want to send me a gift. How cool is that? It definitely ranks up their as one of the most thoughtful things anyone has done for me. So do you want to see what was inside? Next blog entry for that (I still haven't figured out how to post more than one photo in a post...help me Hannah, please).

nature photo thursday

green moth
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

It seems that several of the blogs I read regularly now are participating in self portrait tuesday (you can see what this is all about here, here, here and here). Well, I'm not quite ready to post a photo of myself every Tuesday (mostly because I prefer being on this side of the camera and I don't think I'll actually remember to take one every week), but I have been thinking about doing a different kind of photo day. So, since it's Thursday (as good a day as any I suppose) and my husband isn't home from work yet and I'm actually posting to my blog rather than reading everyone else's , I thought I would post this photo of a green moth I took the last week we lived in our old home. I have never seen a moth like this (if all moths looked like this I don't think I'd be annoyed with them) and was very taken with it when I noticed it outside our front door. I'm just glad it didn't fly away before I had a chance to find our camera amidst all the packed boxes.

daddy mac

me and my daddy
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

I'm not sure how I stayed up until 4:30am cleaning out my email inbox and searching for ideas to give my husband for my upcoming birthday (I don't mind telling you it's July 2nd because birthdays are my favorite) and did not post this photo for Father's Day. I suppose I just ran out of time. So, it's one day late, but Happy Father's Day John. Margot is so lucky to have you for a daddy.

Margot is actually wearing one of John's Father's Day presents...it's a black onesie with "ROCKSTAR" printed in a heavy metal-type font. My husband has always wanted to be a rockstar, but is beginning to realize it ain't gonna happen. So now his dream is for Margot to be a rockstar. He's already planning for her to go here.

Other than grooming her for rockstardom, we also read to her a lot. But don't let this photo fool you...recently, she has taken up the habit of eating board books. I continually remind Margot that, "We READ the book, we don't EAT the book." At which point she usually responds by looking at me as if I should know that she's just trying to get her daily intake of fiber. Enjoy your snack honey.

the whole family

mcclain family at joseph wedding
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

[**Note: If you're wondering what all these pictures are all about, scroll down to the miss southern belle post and work back to here.]Margot is definitely the cutest of the three of us, but here's a family shot all the same. I hesitated to include this one because for some reason I feel weird posting a picture of myself on my blog, but obviously I didn't feel too weird or I wouldn't have done it. This is the last photo from this event, I promise.

standing alone

wanting to walk at joseph wedding
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Am I done indulging? Not quite. This shot includes the sandals and fan program I mentioned before.

don't you just want to eat those cheeks?

margot standing at joseph wedding
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

almost a smile

joseph wedding half smile
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

did someone call me?

joseph wedding huh
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

contemplation

joseph wedding contemplation
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

I love that Margot looks like she is having some seriously deep thought.

more southern belle goodness

joseph wedding side smile
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

How could any self-respecting mother who thinks her daughter is absolutely beautiful be expected to choose one out of all these pictures? Well, even if you expect me to, I can't, so you're gettin' the whole lot of 'em. Indulge me. I'll have to post them all separately though, which totally stinks but I have yet to figure out how to post several photos in one post (I realize this is totally annoying and loses the flow that would come from viewing them in one post, but trust me, it's more annoying for me that I haven't figured this technology out yet).

miss southern belle

classic margot at joseph wedding
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

This photo is too sweet -- I almost can't stand it (thanks Hannah for sending this and the others to me). John, Margot and I went to a wedding at an old farmstead outside of Wichita, KS this past weekend and I decided that it was the perfect event for this adorable seersucker dress (with matching hat and sandals). The programs were even printed on fans (such a fantastic idea), which was a perfect addition to Margot's outfit (photos to come in subsequent post). I realize I'm biased, but it's photos like this that make me seriously consider exploiting my daughter's good looks as a model for some baby product. Can you blame me?

the name of this blog

porch swing side shot horizontal
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

Here is a photo of my new front porch swing. It was the inspiration for the name of this blog, which I chose for two reasons:
1) I am very excited to have a front porch swing for the first time in my life and
2) I figured this blog would be a place for me to share my thoughts, contemplate life, be with good friends, brag about my daughter...all things I expect to do on my real front porch swing and here, my cyber porch swing.

More photos of our new home will be forthcoming...once I figure out how to post more than one picture in a post that is, which honestly could be awhile, so don't hold your breath.

back tack goodies

back tack goodies
Originally uploaded by kmmcclain.

This is the amazing pile of goodies I received from my back tack buddy this past week. Here's an excerpt from the note they included to describe the fabric:
"The striped linen is 18th century mattress ticking bought in an antiques market in Bologna, Italy. The beige canvas is 'toile bache', which is used by Hermes to make summer bags. This also comes from Italy, but not a market. The brown ribbon is also vintage."

OK, how cool is that? I don't feel worthy to receive fabric which I'm sure has such a storied history. It's been crazy around here unpacking and getting settled in our new home, so I haven't had much time to think about what I'm going to do with all this wonderful stuff. I'm hoping to dedicate some time to it this weekend. Thanks back-tack buddy for such great inspiration!

a week of firsts

I think I've developed a twitch from not being able to post to my blog or do my daily readings of blogs for the past week. So much has happened and there's so much to tell, but I only have time for a quick post.

Last week was a week of firsts for us:
1. We moved into our first house (well, our first stand-alone house, our previous house was a townhome).
2. I received my first package at our new home -- my back tack swap package filled with super cool fabric and other goodies (photo of the fab stuff to come).
3. Margot took her first steps on her own. She took two of them and then fell down but was smiling to whole time!

Posting will still be sketchy until Monday (when we finally get high speed internet hooked up), but I will be back with lots of new photos to share!