Grace in One Thing

I just discovered this "Grace In Small Things" (GIST) site that is inspiring, yet surprisingly challenging...the act of recognizing the grace in five small things every day. This may not even count as "grace" but it was a proud moment.

Doing my final check of the night on the kids, I was hit with the tell tale waft of....well, you know. I wondered who did the deed, hoping it wasn't Bear, who was wearing a a full body sleeper, instead of a two piece like his sister. Yep, it was Bear and it was a big one. I stood for a moment watching his chest rise and fall in the steady breath of sleep and decided I couldn't chance waking him.

Mission Impossible music please....

Carefully, oh so carefully, I pulled each leg out of of the sleeper, removed the dirty diaper (in spite of the loud velcro "braaack" of diaper tape), deftly kept the offending mess out of his crib, held his legs up, negotiated the many dirty wipes back into the dirty diaper, kept him from rolling over (which he kept trying to do), and got the clean diaper on...ahem..by flashlight. Amazingly, the kid stayed asleep. I walked out of the room with a squishy, warm, rolled up diaper in hand and did my best fist pumping, lip synched "Yes!"

Grace. In small things.

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger. A busy blogger. A non blogger. I've gone weeks without posting. I blame it on the weather. It's been great. We're enjoying one of the best summers in ten years, but it's winding down. You can really see it in the afternoons. The way the light hits the trees at about 4:00 p.m: it's softer, slightly more golden, lower. It reminds me of school, of football and fresh starts.

Boo & Bear have been "accepted" into playschool. I know it sounds ridiculous that our not-even-two year old kids will be attending a school that preps them for preschool, nevertheless, I'm excited, not only for the social opportunities that await mom and kids but for the excuse to buy them supplies. New shoes, a new outfit, or crayons? I might even splurge and get the 64 crayon box set with the built in sharpener. Forget about the kids, I'll keep those.

City. Good.

Pix, the ultimate dessert destination.

I know what you're thinking. "Oh thank God she finally put up a new post so we don't have to look at those damn toys anymore!" Sorry, I got busy.

I just returned from a trade show in Portland, hence the busyness. One of the highlights of this trip is an annual dinner with some great friends. We've realized that now we've been doing this dinner for ten years, and every year they give us a hip, urban experience, something I need desperately. So I return home with memories of cute waiters, rosemary chocolates, and a new song on my Ipod--Portland based "Starfu**er" (yes, their name is an obscenity), check out the song German Love.

The Carnage

In the morning, everyone is fresh and eager to play...

but after hours of being hugged, kissed, fed, dropped, and set in the spilled liquid of the day, we're tired.


CSI tired.

We're rattled...

spent...

...downright exhausted!

Maybe hiding under the bed all day isn't such a bad idea.

Crime scenes have not been altered. Well, except when they had to go back to the toybox.