Today

Today, Corinne and I went to the park before we had to pick up Henry and Svea.  She got a blue pop.

Which makes her tongue blue.

And her teeth.

Henry woke up this morning facing Class Picture Day.  So he took the hair that stands up from the cowlick and he cut it. To the nub. So now there are spikes in the cowlick. Happy picture day.

LATER, he wanted to watch You Tube videos of self defense moves. 

Done.

While Henry is watching how to get out of a bear hug and then chop a board in half, Svea wanted her fingernails and toenails painted black...for her field trip tomorrow to hear the Alabama Symphony.

Don't judge me. Or her. I thought of you, Barbara Josenhans.

So then I'm painting this dog I bought at the thrift store. I know, don't judge me. 

Henry said it looked like a map.

So I asked, a map of what?

He said, a map of Asia to Montgomery.

So I said, should I tell Uncle Johnnie about that?

He thought and thought...and then said, NO. I wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on Uncle Johnnie.

THAT'S MY KID.

And so is this one. Showing her blue tongue, AGAIN:

Spiderman and Bluebird

The Many Faces of Lucas

You know how you go and visit your best friend's new baby and you can't stop taking pictures and you realize at the end of the visit that you have 916 up-close photos of the baby's face?

That's so what I did.

Y'all, meet Lucas.

He's so awesome.

He was saying my name by the time I left.

I seriously heard it.

This is one of my favorites:

I cannot get over those eyelashes...

Lips and lashes, I tell you.

I just couldn't put him down.

Until he got sleepy...

Um, I think he's getting bored of me taking so many pictures.

Or something.

Thank you for such a great visit, Lucas!  Your Aunt Lollie already misses you!

Talking With Henry

Mom, are you taking drugs?

No, Henry, I am not taking drugs.

Well, your pimples are really small (pointing to his eyes).

Do you mean my pupils?

Yes. They are small.

That's because it's not very bright in here.

Oh.





Mom, when you laugh your elbows go up by your ears.

My elbows?

YES. Your elbows (pointing to his shoulder).

What's this, Henry? (pointing to my elbow)

OOOOHHHHH. That's your elbow.

So what's this? (pointing to my shoulder)

That's your FAT elbow.




Svea, I hear your words coming out, but my brain is thinking about something else.

Mom, Marcella has a crush on me.

Did you tell her you are too young for a girlfriend?

No. Because third grade IS old enough.

No, I don't think so.

Well, I hear you Mom, but I'm not gonna do that.

Thank you, Yoga.

When I was 32 years old, I learned how to sit still.

And that has made all the difference in parenting.

I am aware of the things I do well as a parent, but the glaring shortcomings are where my mind rests at the end of the day. More often than not, Brian and I look at each other at the end of the day and truly wonder WHAT are we doing. Besides winging it, that is.

So I'm good at moving and planning and changing diapers with one hand, but I am not good at sitting still or resting or enjoying a lingering puzzle on the floor.  I'm good at not caring what they wear, but I'm not real good at brushing their teeth.

And deciding to stay home for a little while with the kids shifted my sources of affirmation (hello, paycheck and office community) and sense of productivity (I know I kept the kids alive all day, but I have nothing to show for the last 16 hours).

So I found a yoga studio and went to learn to sit still. It took 2 years. And I still consider it a practice, not an achievement.

By being still, I am better for my kids I think. I listen more. Finishing a puzzle on the floor is not so mind-numbingly dreadful. And I have less guilt about the things I still find dreadful.

So, thank you, Yoga, for teaching me to sit still and enjoy it.  I am a better parent because of you.
Namaste, y'all.

Lyrical Hip Hop is Beauty Talking, Yawl.

Lauren and Chehon show us here...

Dollar Store POPS!

Turns out the Dollar Store has lollipops attached to plastic teeth, and Corinne cannot resist:

The lollipop is long gone, but the teeth remain...she kept them in her grip through the entire drive-in movie.

Um, she really wouldn't even join the other children. Oh, well...priorities...

Vocation, Schmo-cation.

Henry: Mom, I want to join the military.

Me: Ok. What does "military" mean?

Henry:  You help people.

Me: Ok.

Henry:  What's your favorite country?  Mine's Japan.  But I like the food of Mexico the best.

Me: Ok.

Henry:  I want to fly in an airplane.

Me: You are sounding like Uncle Brad.

Henry: NO. I want to fly IN an airplane. Uncle Brad FLIES airplanes. I want to fly in and jump out of the airplane with a parachute to fight for freedom.



Svea: Well.....When I grow up, I want to work at Diva Nails and do manicures.

Me:  Yessssssssssssssssss.

Biking With Daddy

Corinne: Faster, dude. RAAAA!

Corinne:  I'm bored. I want to go fast, but not have to do any work.
Daddy: Done.

Me: Really?

I Heart My CSA

Y'all know I love my CSA (community supported agriculture), J. Darby Farm in Montevallo.

Organic veggies and eggs every week, cheaper than Whole Foods. Srsly.

Plus there are goats, chickens, alpacas, llamas, donkeys, horses, bee hives, flowers, herbs...basically it's Eden.

J. Darby got a great write up in Shelby County Living a few months ago that told her story of deciding to cash in everything and build this farm. What a leap. I admire that. And her.

So then my mother-in-law gave me this window frame out of her basement:

Then I mod-podged the magazine article into the glass frames of the window:

Brian helped me attach a picture wire so she could hang it:

Then I gave it to her!
A small, small token to someone who does so much for our community.
Thank you J. Darby Farm!

First Days of School 2012!

Here is Svea, hair in sponge rollers, writing her teacher a note the night before the first day of school.  That precious girl...of course, she forgot the note the next day.

Here they are, the big morning before a full day of school!

Svea, going into 2nd, and Henry, going into 3rd:

And then, the very next morning, her tooth came out on its own!  Second grade knocked her out, I guess.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Fro Yo with KB

We got to see KB for about 57 minutes the other night!  It was so great to see her Stateside!

Corinne appropriately entertained everyone...Henry was psyched to get some water after chugging down 14 toppings on his frozen yogurt...and Svea was feeling every minute of her long day and was ready to go to bed, but she was still glad to see her Aunt.

We miss you KB!

Corinne Loves Sno-Biz!

Fun At The Bridal Expo When Svea Is The Photographer

Happy Enchilada, Sabbath People.

Tonight, I asked Henry if he would take my empty glass to the kitchen and fill it with fresh water, and then bring it back to me.
And he DID IT.

I remember one time, in my early parent training, reading Dooce and wondering why she thought it was so awesome to have kids so they could eventually make her a hotdog.
I hate hotdogs. I didn't get her point at all.
But tonight, tonight, I got it.

Henry refilled my water glass.  It was abundant kindness at the end of a long day.

We spent this week around water...trusting it, floating in it, finding refuge in it, appreciating its challenges and loving it.

Some of us are still holding our noses to its powers, and some of us have no fear of it and there are Puddle Jumpers to wear to save our lives...

We were so grateful (I just accidentally typed "greatful" which I am, indeed, for these people) to be with dear and blessed friends all week to jump in the water...



...laugh, learn, share, grow, and as always, make silly faces:

These friends make up a Sabbath Group we meet with every year. 

We live all over the country. A little more than half of us went to school together. Not me; I married up and into the group.

We have a semi-organized 8 days together to reflect and share all of our angst and joys from the past year.

Which brings me back to water.

When I asked Henry to get me a glass of water, I thought of the John Prine song when he says, "It's a half an inch of water, and you think you're gonna drown...That's the way that the world goes 'round."

I so do that.
And I lovingly passed on that trait to my son. He'll sit in a half an inch of water and think it's his imminent demise...which makes me hope for him a Sabbath group with which he can share his amazing ability to blow things out of proportion. Then recover in grace, and then make the next mountain out of a molehill.

When I was a youth, Shea Shackleford came to my youth group and sang that John Prine song. Then he went off script and told a story about when John Prine was giving a concert and the audience kept yelling out, requesting him to sing "Happy Enchilada!"
He finally told them he didn't know a song called "Happy Enchilada."
Then a lady yelled out, "YOU KNOW, it's a Happy Enchilada and you think you're gonna drown!"

Well, folks, that's the way the the world goes 'round.
And I hope that mine keeps going around and around, coming back to meet these Sabbath folks every year.
I hope that for you, too.