R.I.P.

God's Holiest Work

When people say "you must be so busy", I just smile and say "oh yes", but inwardly thinking "it's not really that bad", but then at the end of the day, around 9:00 p.m., when I'm still washing dishes, hoping for a little down time before bed, I think of everything I had hoped to do, and none of it is done. OK I admit it, I guess I am pretty busy. I'm usually able to complete daily cleaning tasks, thanks to Sesame Street's Elmo, but nothing of any consequence, except for cleaning, dressing, undressing, hugging, feeding, diapering and teaching two toddlers how to: take turns, use inside voices, appreciate flowers, be gentle with the cat, not to eat the cat food, dance, play peek-a-boo, not shove all the banana slices in your mouth, negotiate steps, use a fork and much, much, much more. Mothering is God's holiest work according to Oprah (she must have watched Elmo). So be it, this is my road to Zen masterhood.

Here are a few summery photos.

Saturday Night

Mix one free babysitter (gotta love family), two glasses of red wine, one outta-this-world pasta dish, throw in some adult conversation, a surprise sighting of friends at a restaurant, finish with a little ice cream and decaf and oila...Saturday night!

Nature vs Nurture

One fun thing to do with boy/girl twins is to see the "Nature vs Nurture" theory play out. Over the past 18 months we've seen clear gender differences in Boo and Bear's development. Bear loves all things mechanical: opening doors, fiddling with latches and Boo loves stuffed animals, talking and shoes (seriously!). Boo hugs the baby doll and Bear throws it aside, totally uninterested. I decided to put them in the driver's seat of our 24ft company truck and see their reactions.

Hmmm, what is this big round thing?

I'll admit, the view is nice up here.

Now what?

Cool!

If I could just pull that e-brake.

I was meant for this!

No Title, I'm Too Creeped Out

Tonight as I sat with a friend in the front yard, we watched a policeman take pictures of our neighborhood intersection, one block from our house. Later, he came to the door to let us know that a "white man in a black van" tried to lure our neighbor's ten year old son into his car.

Uuugh! I am creeped out, stunned, a little scared even. I can only imagine how his parents must feel. When an evil out there taps your child's shoulder, after you've thanked the universe with all your being that they're safe, held them for an eternity, and are pushing away scenarios of what could have happened, how do you send them into the world again? Right now, I'm thankful that my children are always in my protection...but I know it won't last forever. It can't. It must be the hardest part of parenting...letting them go.

The Long Weekend Revisited

Last Sunday....a great excursion to the beach. The kids weren't sure if they liked walking in the warm sand with bare feet, but it turns out that's a great way to keep them where you want them!

We had a great time, but I felt a nagging twinge of sadness. I tried to cheer myself up with bumper sticker sayings like, "don't believe everything you think", and reminded myself it was that time and I was just feeling sensitive. A group of young mothers sat gossiping, laughing, commiserating. I watched them from the sidelines, outwardly smiling, but secretly missing my own friends, missing that female comaraderie.

Later, after a few miscommunications with M. (my tender self took everything personally) an accidental headbutt to my lip from my son (amazingly painful!), a wrestling match called teeth brushing and two toddlers frustrated by the book selection, the flood gates opened. M. and I got them in my lap, a book ready to go, but I couldn't say anything. It was that silence you hold when the tears are right there. Boo looked up at me, wondering why I wasn't saying anything so I decided to read, voice cracking and all. M. took over while I sobbed in the chair. It only took a couple moments before I felt better and the kids didn't really seem to notice, although I suppose it's not the end of the world if they see their mommy cry. She's human too. Boy is she ever!

P.S. I'm feeling fine now.

A few seconds after this, a two inch tall 'wave' caused Bear to topple into the frigid water. Not a happy camper!

Their first taste of the milkshake (Mom's idea) responsible for the sugar crash an hour later.

Happy Birthday V

I started this post Monday night, but never finished. Hopefully, that can happen later this week.

All in all it's been a good weekend. Laughter, tears, and cake. We had it all.

Today: my stepdaughter's birthday.... she's 28. Hard to believe I first met her when she was 17 and I was a mere 33. V. has always been wonderful, but it has been such a pleasure watching her become an independent young woman. Creative, funny, a beautiful smile with a smidgeon of moodiness....just don't wake her up too early! Anyway, she's visiting with her boyfriend, so I made her a buttermilk cake with berry filling and cream cheese frosting. It was probably one of the best cakes I ever made! Sorry, no pics, we ate it too fast.

OK, now it's Tuesday and I just discovered that we celebrated her birthday on the wrong day. It was today! Today is the 26th...my husband & I both thought the 26th was yesterday. Who knows what V. thought we were doing...she never said a word as we sang Happy Birthday and sat down to eat a special birthday meal. I suppose getting the day wrong is better than forgetting it. And today V. & her boyfriend graciously offered to watch the kids for a couple hours while we went to the show (Star Trek...a must see). What a saint.