I was wasting time on Facebook earlier today when I really should've been working (and not just in a "gosh, I should probably be working" kind of way, but in a "OH MY HOLY HELL I HAVE A DEADLINE AND I'M NOT DONE AND THE ONLY CURE FOR THIS PARALYSIS IS MORE SCRAMBLE!" kind of way), and ---like everyone else in the world---I've been reconnecting with people I haven't seen since childhood, and I came across someone's picture of her toddler and commented on it that I miss toddler bellies. Because I do. There is nothing quite like the proud pot-belly of a toddler. My lips twitch with the urge to...
I know, I know; I have been slacking, I owe you a real post, and I was going to write one, I swear. But I'm watching the inauguration on CNN and I'm just... overcome. Me. With my tiny little shriveled, blackened heart. I can't catch my breath.
Yesterday we drove home from New York. It's a shorter drive than it was outbound, as going to Massachusetts requires both going further east and going through NYC in some way (we took the Bronx Expressway, which is always entertaining). But we did it in a single day, departing at about 6:40 in the morning and rolling into our driveway at 8:33 last night. That included three stops for gas/bathrooms/food, so I was pleased with the time we made. And only once did I have to order a child to lay down its head and take a nap before I would need to come back there and EAT IT, so, really, I call the...
Good friends, good food, rotten but lovable children, and a husband who is not only damn cute, he did ALL the dishes---even though we used the china and the silver and it all had to be hand-washed. If THAT isn't the epitome of a home full of love (and well-fed people), I don't know what is. Happy Love Thursday, everyone.
Last night as dinner wound down (which is to say, everyone except Chickadee was done eating, because Chickadee eats with all the speed of grass growing, and I was starting to put things away), I realized I had some strawberries in the fridge that I'd completely forgotten about and were about to be beyond edibility. One of the very warmest and fuzziest results of the meal planning thing we've been doing is that we have greatly decreased the amount of food we throw away. As in, trash night no longer involves pulling huge amounts of food out of the fridge and dumping it in the trash. I hate...
I hope they will always, always remember the day we drove to the polls to BARACK THE VOTE. (And hopefully not just because I took them to Sonic, afterwards.)
Just a quickie, today, as I'm up to my eyeballs in work and we've also got house guests. My dad and stepmom pulled up last night about fifteen minutes before the kids' bedtime, which of course meant there was much running around and waving of arms and hugs and kisses and hollering---and the kids were pretty excited, too. We have all sorts of fun things planned, and these visits always make me realize how time is passing, without my noticing, as I watch my parents marvel over how tall the kids have grown and how grown-up they're looking. This morning I was up and out with the kids,...
It's incredibly hard to type while you're dancing. Especially when you're doing a little jig. And believe you me, I am doing a jig right now. I'm busting a move the way only a woman in an empty house can, because today is THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. (Dun dun dun!) There's absolutely nothing else like the first day of a new school year. The excitement; the inability to sleep the night before (them AND me); the carefully thought-out lunches (unlike the ones I'll throw together in a hurry, later this year); the planned outfits; and---of course---the new shoes. First day of school = new sneakers....
503 days ago a realtor came to my house in New England and put a giant FOR SALE sign on my lawn. Five. Hundred. And three (don't forget the THREE!). Days ago. For 397 days I have carried two mortgages. More accurately, for 397 days Otto has graciously both paid the mortgage on our house AND listened to me whine and wail as I paid the other mortgage. This morning the sale of that house closed. It sold for almost 20% less than the original asking price. My "net proceeds" don't even cover the conservative loan I took against it so that we could buy THIS house. Negotiating the equity split with...
