One Of Those Days

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . feeling overwhelmed and stressed in a hundred little ways today. I got a lot done, but there's always so very much more to do.

. . . feeling a little helpless when my daughter felt sick to her stomach.

. . . pining for my blender.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Phillip being very supportive and comforting when he got home tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

. . . making good soup.

A Pillow Fight and Fro Yo in the Cold

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Anna starting to cry just as we were sitting down to eat frozen yogurt. We should have known better than to go out so close to her bedtime. I ate most of my yogurt outside, pacing to and fro trying to calm my little girl. She never really settled down until we started walking home. Live and learn.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . tossing pillows around with Daniel.

. . . playing Uno with the big kids.

. . . relaxing on the couch with my sweetheart after a long day.

Sleep, and the Lack Thereof

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . spending half of church pacing outside, trying to get my tired and fussy baby to fall asleep in the sling.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching Joy bound up to the podium and read her Primary talk without a hitch. I was really proud of her, and gave her a big thumbs-up when she came back to her seat.

. . . taking a nap.

. . . looking at the family portraits my dad shot when we were all together this past weekend. They turned out really well.

Sick, Clumsy, and Smoked

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . waking up feeling tired and a little sick to my stomach. Not sure whether I caught a bug or whether my poor GI track is struggling to recover from back-to-back Thanksgiving feasts.

. . . setting our blender jar unevenly in its base, and having it fall down and shatter on the floor when I turned away. Fortunately the jar costs just $15 to replace, but I feel like a klutz and I mourn the dearth of smoothies in our home until the new jar arrives.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . playing Uno with Joy and Daniel. Daniel smoked us twice, even though we were looking at all his cards to help him choose which ones to discard. When he woke up from his afternoon nap, the first thing he said was, "Play Uno!"

. . . smiling and "chatting" with Anna as she lay on her play mat.

. . . Phillip washing the dishes for me because I wasn't feeling well. Thank you, sweetheart.

Bravery and Bedlam

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . getting a flat tire on the freeway tonight. Fortunately we made it to the shoulder and Phillip was able to change it successfully and safely.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching Joy and Red Grandma trim the big Christmas tree at the cabin.

. . . having a conversation with Anna. We both said "aah" a lot.

. . . attending a second Thanksgiving dinner with Phillip's uncle and aunt, and their whole family. All of their kids’ in-laws live in the area, so they attend in-law Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday then gather at their parents' home for dinner on Friday. I believe there were fifteen adults and about as many kids in attendance. It was bedlam, but it was a friendly, joyful sort of bedlam.

. . . Joy helping her daddy change our tire. There was a point when he need some light and couldn't spare a hand to hold a flashlight, and since I was feeding Anna at the time Phillip asked Joy to come hold the light for a minute. She was a little nervous about the cars passing on the other side of the car, but she agreed to come help. I was proud of her for being so brave.

Things To Be Thankful For

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . actually feeling rested when I woke up because I went to bed early last night. It was glorious to actually have energy and be in a good mood when I got up this morning.

. . . spending the day with family.

. . . eating some delicious turkey.

Uno with Dos

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . being really tired.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . visiting some friends.

. . . playing Uno with Joy and Daniel. Joy understands the rules pretty well, though she doesn't always grasp the strategy of the game (and she usually forgets to say "Uno"). Daniel just gets that you put cards in a pile, and colors or numbers are somehow involved (I'm sure that exercises his brain in some way or other). We all manage to have fun, regardless of who wins (or how they win).

Craig and Nick

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . nicking poor Daniel's ears as I trimmed his hair. I'm still trying to get the hang of those clippers.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . seeing Anna smile.

. . . Daniel gasping with delight when I handed him some raisins.

. . . bumping into a friend at the grocery store.

And another thing . . .

. . . Joy was playing with a stuffed dog tonight, and she explained to me that she needed to buy him a bed but didn't have enough money. She asked me to give her $90 in imaginary cash. I encouraged her to save up her money to buy the bed she wanted, but she was kind of vague about her source of pretend income, so I suggested she try looking on Craig's List to see if anyone was selling a used bed that she could afford. A minute later she reported that she had found a great deal that easily fit her budget. She even had enough left over to buy her dog an imaginary bathtub.

Hugs, Kisses, and Burritos

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . hearing Joy say "I'm a kissing machine."

. . . hugging my kids.

. . . praying for help being the parent my kids need, and being reminded that they're God's kids, too, and He cares how they turn out. If I live worthy of His help and consistently seek His guidance, He'll help me be what they need.

. . . Phillip arriving home with a big smile on his face.

. . . making a dinner everyone enjoyed (Huzzah for burritos!).

. . . a relative sending me their yogurt maker in the mail. Looking forward to experimenting.

Love, Water, and Soup

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . being really, really tired by the end of the day. I need to get to sleep earlier.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . someone bringing me a glass of water when my voice started to give out as I taught a Relief Society lesson this morning.

. . . listening to the rain outside.

. . . a triple play at dinner: great soup, great bread, great smoothie.

. . . hugging Phillip.

And another thing . . .

. . . this morning a Sunday school teacher asked what the scriptural phrase "God is love" means. I reflected that everything God does is done in a loving way, and because He loves us. He created the beauties of this earth to bring us happiness; He gives us commandments to show us how to avoid some sorrows and gain eternal joy; and so on. May I parent the same way He does.

Garlic and Jeans

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . clearing tons of clutter off my desk while Phillip took the kids to a birthday party.

. . . more garlic shoots coming up in the borrowed garden.

. . . shopping for jeans and finding a pair that look good and feel like heaven.

. . . eating vanilla ice cream.

. . . cooking apple crisp with Phillip.

Chicken and Potatoes

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . losing my temper with Daniel over something trivial. I tried to make it up to him by finding positive ways to interact the rest of the evening. Sometimes I'm so glad kids have short memories.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . dancing to The Mummer's Dance with Anna.

. . . successfully roasting my first whole chicken. I say "successful" in the sense that it didn't burn or dry out, and I managed to remove most of the meat from the bones. It could have used some more flavor, though--perhaps more salt, or some herbs under the skin. I also finally cooked some skillet potatoes that had good texture and weren't bland.

. . . Phillip liking the chicken and loving the potatoes; he couldn't stop talking about how great they were. I was also pleasantly surprised that Joy ate a bunch of the chicken and tried a piece of broccoli. You can't please everyone, though--Daniel wouldn't have anything to do with the chicken or the broccoli. I tried to convince him that the potatoes were french fries and he permitted me to put some on his plate, but he wouldn't touch them. Maybe next time.

And another thing . . .

. . . when I was growing up, chicken was all white meat at our house and never contained bones. I didn't even know you could buy chicken thighs until my college roommate Cathy decided to put some in a soup. I still prefer breast meat in soup and in recipes where chicken is just a convenient protein letting other flavors take center stage, but when the chicken is the star I find I prefer dark leg meat. It's more flavorful, and doesn't get dry and tough as easily as breast meat does.

Scrambled

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . reading someone's forum sig: "If you can't take the heat, don't annoy the dragon."

. . . taking a nap. I wouldn't have made it through the day without it.

. . . Joy helping me do a little service for a sweet elderly sister in our ward.

. . . hugging my husband.

. . . watching Matt again.

And another thing . . .

. . . childbirth tends to scramble my brain for a little while. Today when the kids and I ran an errand, we got a few minutes from the house before I realized I had forgotten my cell phone and the maps I printed off. And I was on the wrong freeway.

Dinner Questions

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . eating fresh, homemade bread.

. . . watching Anna smile and kick her feet.

. . . finally planning dinners and a grocery list for the coming week. I'm still trying to figure out how to consistently get dinner on the table. If I wait until Anna goes to bed at 7:30 to start cooking, we don't sit down to eat until the big kids' bedtime. I'm sure I'll figure it out, just in time for everything to change. Ah well--I keep trying to remind myself that someday I'll look back and miss these days.

. . . talking about our favorite memories of the day over dinner.

And another thing . . .

. . . this evening I got to talking with another mom about the pressure we feel to make the holidays creative and fun for our kids. While it's great to have traditions and make fun memories, sometimes less really is more. My kids need my love and attention more than they need a half dozen crafts or parties with a stressed out parent.

Fruity Pasta and Anna Smiles

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel deciding to cool down his macaroni by pouring smoothie into his bowl. I let out a howl of dismay at the tragic waste of a smoothie, but once I calmed down I realized that when we drained most of the liquid back into his cup he was perfectly content to eat fruity pasta and drink slightly cheesy smoothie. Phillip commented, "Nothing personal, but you sometimes overreact." Sigh--it's true, especially where spilled smoothies are concerned.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . seeing some garlic shoots coming up in the borrowed garden.

. . . gazing at a planet through the boughs of a tall pine tree. I think the planet was Mars.

. . . some neighbors inviting us to a play group.

. . . watching Anna stare in fascination at her own hands.

. . . hearing Daniel call his smoothie a "foofie."

. . . seeing Anna respond to my smiles by smiling back. Moments like that are pure gold.

. . . having a silly conversation with Daniel. He would say "Y!" in reference to the Y on my BYU shirt, and I would reply "I don't know!" We both thought it was hilarious, even the tenth time around.

Gamma Lids and Jeans

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel sticking a Cheerio halfway up his nose. Ew.

. . . shopping for jeans. Every brand seems to have a dozen different variations to choose from, and none of them seem to come in my size.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . finally putting wheat and flour into some five-gallon buckets I recently bought. It was a really struggle to get the lids on. Thank goodness someone turned me on to gamma lids, so I'll never have to pry the main lid off again.

. . . helping my kids figure out how to resolve a conflict on their own. Lately I've been reading Siblings Without Rivalry, which is an interesting read and seems to have a lot of good insights. Among other things, the authors encourage parents to have kids resolve their own conflicts most of the time. This afternoon when Joy wanted a cereal box to stand up and Daniel wanted it to lay on its side, they yelled for me to mediate and I encouraged them to work out a solution they could both live with. Joy suggested that it stay up most of the time, and they'd put it on its side when Daniel wanted to get cereal out to snack on. Daniel was perfectly happy with that proposition. Cool.

Roller Coasters and Pinterest Pains

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Joy giving me a hug when she learned that I was bummed about something.

. . . a comment in Relief Society that the Gospel is like a seat belt on a roller coaster. Sometimes I feel like I've climbed aboard a wild ride, and it is good to know that no matter what happens, if I follow God's counsel I'll come through all right in the end.

. . . posting about our recent Arches trip on the family blog. It's fun to relive the memories.

And another thing . . .

. . . I have very mixed feelings about pinterest.com. I decided to create an account as a convenient way to organize recipes I want to try. It has great potential, but I think the site is experiencing some growing pains.

First of all, when I requested an invite I got an email that they had put me on a waiting list. I waited several days, then asked a friend with an existing account if she would send me an invite. She did, and seconds later I had an account. I had to create it through Facebook (or Twitter, but I have no account with them), and Pinterest automatically made me a follower of a dozen or so Facebook friends. Okaaaaay. It also made me a follower of half a dozen people I've never heard of. Maybe I'm not adventurous enough, but I just didn't like that. I unfollowed them, then set to work creating some pinboards.

I made a couple recipe pinboards, then decided to make some humor ones since I'd found some delightful comics on my first visit to the site. Unfortunately, I'm good at finding funny comics and quotes by accident, but when I intentionally go looking for them all I seem to find is pages full of swear words and mildly crude humor. Bleck.

Of course, the content is the pinners' responsibility, not the site's. My biggest gripe with the site is that I get error messages a lot. I can't even access one of my pinboards, and when I tried creating a second version and repinning two recipes directly from their sites they never even showed up. Siiiigh. Few things are more frustrating than technology that doesn't work the way it should.

So, the jury is still out on Pinterest. I love the concept, but if half the recipes I save become inaccessible then there's no point in continuing. Plus, the site is proving to be a real time-sucker, and that's the last thing I need in my life right now.

Lazy Baby Gazes

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel being distraught that I didn't let him close the bathroom door for me this morning. Usually I try to indulge his door-closing obsession but--um--I was in a hurry. Sorry, Dude.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . spending downtime with Anna, just watching her kick her little feet and curiously look around for a while. It's so much easier to enjoy the simple pleasures of life when you don't have a million tasks clamoring for your attention. I'm finally beginning to understand while people go on cruises. I used to think it was a boring waste of time to sit around on a boat for days, but now I realize it can be a welcome relief to set aside your cares for a week and just relax, preferably with people you love.

. . . watching the rain fall among the trees while I was cozy inside the cabin.

The iPad and Moses

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . typing on my dad's iPad. Yes, the thing is a marvel of modern technology and it is nice to have Internet access virtually anywhere, but are arrow keys and an undo function too much to ask? Maybe they exist and I'm just a newb.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . hanging out with my parents at their cabin.

. . . reading Mom's Martha Stewart magazine and watching half of The Ten Commandments with her. It is nice to spend time doing things just because I genuinely want to do them. At home I always have so little time and so much to do; here I have lots of free time and little to do. It's a nice change, at least for a weekend.

Schizophrenic Soup

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . Daniel tearing a page out of one of our picture books.

. . . cooking what turned out to be one of the blandest, most disappointing recipes I've tried in years. I spent twenty minutes stirring more and more things into it just to make it palatable. When we finally sat down to dinner, Phillip and I agreed that the soup was good, but it had so many random flavors in it that it seemed kind of schizophrenic.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . playing a game with Joy.

. . . making a good smoothie.

And another thing . . .

. . . Daniel's language skills are progressing by leaps and bounds. This morning he referred to himself and his little sister as "Danyo" and "Anna" instead of "Da-da" and "Mih-mih." I'm proud of him, but I'll miss hearing him call his sister Mih-mih. I may keep doing it for a few more years.

Stars and Morning Glories

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . pulling up yet another morning glory vine in the borrowed garden, and discovering that I'd uprooted a pea plant with it.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . yanking enough morning glories out of the borrowed garden to fill another trash can.

. . . walking into Trader Joe's and seeing dozens of boxes of their holiday chocolate star cookies. I could eat those all day. If they'd had Pink Lady apples in stock, too, I might have hugged every employee I met.

. . . seeing Anna smile.

And another thing . . .

. . . Joy borrowed Chutes and Ladders from a friend, and as we played it I noticed an interesting pattern. Every chute or ladder is flanked by illustrations showing good or bad choices and their consequences. The bad consequences tend to be directly related to the bad choices--if you pull a cat's tail you get scratched; if you carry twenty dishes at a time, you may drop some and break them. On the other hand, many of the good consequences seem only indirectly related to the good choices, especially if those choices involve chores. The kids who mows the lawn gets to go to the circus; the one who vacuums goes to the movies; the one who takes out the trash gets a big bowl of ice cream.

I guess you can make the point that if you do your chores you'll have time (and perhaps money) to do fun things, but what about the satisfaction of a clean home and a job well done? Is it hard to depict that in a kid-friendly illustration, or does our society only value work as a mean to obtain a treat?

Voting, Chili, and Not Enough Time

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . waking up super tired because I stayed up too late and Anna woke up an hour early.

. . . feeling like there's always so much to do and so very little time to do it. I know it's just a phase, but it's still a bummer sometimes.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . remembering that I had all the components for 5-Can Chili on hand, including some browned ground beef in the freezer. Sometimes I savor cooking, and other times I just want to eat good food as soon as possible.

. . . Joy getting excited when I told her it was time to go vote.

. . . Daniel giving me a big hug.

A Day in the Life

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . hearing Daniel try to say "trapezoid." It came out more like "ong."

And another thing . . .

. . . Sometimes when I get to the end of a day I feel like I've been very busy doing a hundred little things, but I can't remember what any of them are. Today I decided to keep track:

Feed Anna at 5:02am
Put Anna back to bed
Turn on the heater
Feed Anna at 7:36am
Help Daniel out of his crib
Get everyone dressed
Prepare breakfast
Eat breakfast while bouncing on an exercise ball to soothe Anna
Try to persuade Daniel to leave Joy's blocks alone
Fail to persuade Daniel to leave Joy's blocks alone
Shepherd kids out to car
Say a quick morning prayer as I'm walking because I forgot to do it when I woke up
Drop Joy off at preschool
Listen to her teacher tell me Joy has a major aversion to going out in the rain
Discover that the toy bag containing Joy's doll was left at church yesterday
Put Anna to bed
Tidy up front room a bit

Oversee Daniel's speech therapy session
Put bananas in the freezer for future smoothies
Get Anna's next-size-up clothes out of storage
Remove kids' warm weather clothes from dresser drawers
Sort through stuff the hospital sent home with me two months ago
Check email
Forward the upcoming lesson schedule to one of the teachers
Note school vacation days on my calendar
Put a toy out of reach after Daniel chucked it at the wall
Gather plastic bags to recycle
Have a snack with Daniel
Finish yesterday's blog post
Punch holes in some papers for my Relief Society notebook
Research correct bottle nipple size for a two-month-old
Get said two-month-old out of bed
Nurse Anna
Admire Anna's toes
Talk with Daniel about the blocks he's playing with
Glower at messy desk, which is barely visible beneath piles of clutter
Put Daniel in time-out for throwing blocks in Anna's direction (none of them hit her)
Put blocks away
Drop off plastic bags to be recycled
Pick up Joy from school
Talk with her about the fun things she did today
Shepherd the kids inside
Prepare lunch
Say a silent prayer of thanks that Anna was content in her swing the whole time I made lunch
Eat lunch
Put kids down for naps
Prepare a home evening lesson
Check email
Log in to telecommute
Note an email announcing that a coworker brought cream puffs to share at the office
Lament that telecommuters miss out on communal cream puffs
Work
Try to sit with better posture
Text Phillip that I love him
Get a reply text that he loves me, too
Remember Joy running over to hug me at the end of church yesterday
Smile
Get a little drowsy
Consider taking nap
Get drowsier
Take nap
Dream I'm hosting a cupcake party
Dream I get a text from one of Herman Cain's harassment accusers (dreams are so random)
Awake to the sound of Joy's Lego airplane crash-landing in the bathroom
Spend the next half hour groggily trying to wake up the rest of the way
Consider waking Anna to nurse
Decide to let her sleep
Color with Joy
Help Daniel out of his crib
Have a snack with the big kids
Make a doctor appointment
Nurse Anna after she wakes up
Try to help the big kids resolve a conflict, with decent success
Begin thawing meat for dinner
Change yet another Anna diaper
Put Joy in time out for bugging Daniel after he and I asked her to stop
Hear Daniel asking to play with Joy a minute later
Get Joy out of time out on condition that she play nicely
Try to figure out why my fed, clean, rested baby is fussing
Offer Daniel a piece of paper to color on; two kids coloring on one page wasn't working
Compliment my kids' colorful pictures
Suggest Joy ask Daniel's permission before coloring on his page; he says no
Bend down with Anna so Joy can kiss her for the tenth time
Bounce Anna a lot
Suggest Daniel ask Joy's permission before coloring on her page; she says she'd prefer he didn't
Tell Joy that Anna wants a break from being kissed
Watch Joy kiss Daniel instead; he screams
Thank Joy for tidying the table a bit
Bounce Anna some more
Nearly trip on Joy's scooter
Recruit Daniel's help cleaning up crayons
Compliment Anna on a nice burp
High five Daniel when we finish with the crayons
Bounce Anna some more
Get a text from Phillip that he'll be home a little late
Pointedly ask Daniel what we color on; he correctly replies "paper"
Take Daniel's pen away because he's still coloring on furniture
Clean spit-up off my sleeve
Put Anna's Moses basket away
Change Daniel's diaper
Tell Joy to give Anna some space
Turn off a faucet someone left slightly on (maybe Joy, maybe me)
Put more wipes in the diaper bag
Read to Joy
Kiss my husband when he arrives home
Hand him Anna
Start preparing dinner
Set up the step stool so Joy can help me press hamburger patties
Set the table
Nurse Anna
Delegate burger grilling and tomato slicing to Phillip
Realize we have no lettuce for the burgers
Change yet another Anna diaper
Put Anna in her swing
Put some books away
Remind the big kids not to jump on my bed
Toast hamburger buns
Burn my finger getting the buns out of the toaster
Give Daniel a nice cup to drink from since he hasn't thrown any dishes lately
Give Anna a goodnight kiss before Phillip puts her to bed
Eat dinner
Compliment Phillip's delicious smoothie
Watch Daniel wind up and pitch his empty cup across the table
Check the cup for damage; none visible

Resolve to give Daniel the cheap cup again for the next month or so
Sit down on the couch for home evening with my family

Hold Daniel on my shoulders during the hymn because Joy's on Daddy's lap as he plays the piano

Teach a home evening lesson

Toss Joy's pool ring around for our activity

Eat the rest of our haunted shack for home evening refreshments

Dress Joy for bed (Daddy took care of Daniel)

Brush Joy's teeth

Have family story time

Help Joy read a verse for family scripture study

Discuss a picture from our big Book of Mormon with Joy

Help Daniel say family prayer

Put Daniel to bed

Remind Daniel how to pull a blanket over him so he doesn't get cold

Plug in the kids' heater

Sing a short Primary song

Tell the kids I love them

Answer one last question from Joy

Close the kids' door

Coordinate calendars with Phillip

Discuss possible family reunion plans while Phillip does the dishes (it's my turn tomorrow)

Talk about a panel discussion Phillip attended last week

Discuss future career ideas

Talk about how his PhD research is progressing

Plan my day tomorrow

Change into pajamas and brush teeth

Look through some papers I brought home from Joy's preschool

Finally put those hole-punched papers in my RS binder

Put an outdated paper in the shredder pile

Set two alarms on my cell phone for tomorrow

Pray with Phillip before he falls asleep

Study for tomorrow's local election

Publish this post

Remove contact lenses

Do a few yoga stretches

Pray

Fall asleep

Daughters

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . hanging out with Pink Grandma and Aunt Laura.

. . . seeing Anna smile.

And another thing . . .

. . . it was a little surreal to look at Anna while Phillip held her in church and Pink Grandma held her this afternoon. Most of the time when Anna is awake she's in my arms or the sling, with her face just a few inches from mine. Somehow she looks a little different when she's across the room from me.

. . . this morning in Relief Society I taught a lesson about the new book Daughters in My Kingdom, a history of Relief Society recently published by the Church and distributed to every sister who wanted a copy. Apart from being an interesting read, it made me feel that I have a rich heritage of love and service to live up to. I'm grateful for the way RS has enriched me over the years, and the way it constantly encourages me to look outside myself for ways to lift others. That still doesn't come naturally to me by any stretch, but as Emerson said, that which we persist in doing becomes easier.

Tuberous Fare

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Phillip showing Daniel how to make a paper airplane.

. . . having warm potato soup waiting when Phillip walked in out of the cold tonight. It's nice to serve someone food they're excited to eat.

. . . watching the big kids play together and learn to work through their disagreements (some of the time).

Frankenstein and Epidurals

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . shopping at Bath & Body Works alone while Pink Grandma watched the kids for a little while. It was lovely to browse at my own pace without worrying that one of my bambinos would knock over a display or ask to buy a dozen different things.

. . . dancing with Pink Grandma and the kids back at home.

. . . eating a Twix bar.

. . . attending book group. We discussed Frankenstein (and also our childbirth experiences, because that's what women do when one or more of them is pregnant or has a new baby).

Tired and Geeky

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . hearing a loud thud in the front room, then both of the big kids saying, "Uh oh."

. . . Anna waking up early from her naps. That tends to make both parties tired and fussy--Anna because she didn't get quite enough sleep, and me because I didn't get enough down time to rest and regroup, and because I end up spending at least an hour doing the "soothe-the-baby dance" with a ten-pound infant. I feel like a boxer who only gets half a second's rest between rounds.

. . . trying to schedule a play date around semi-unpredictable naps. Who know planning fun could be so stressful?

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . this conversation--Joy: "Little, say light saber." Daniel: "Yigh-yigh fayfer."

And another thing . . .

. . . Phillip turned on Return of the Jedi this morning so he could play the menacing Empire music for Joy. Before we knew it, both the big kids were watching spellbound as Ewoks and and Tie fighters flashed across the screen. I guess my kids have now been officially initiated into the world of geekdom, since they've seen their first Star Wars film. For the next few hours, Joy kept asking why Luke's dad was bad. Maybe we should have shown her the earlier movies first.

The Morning Glory War

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . waking up this morning feeling hammered.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . pulling weeds in the borrowed garden. I was only able to spend a short time there this morning, but I want to get in the habit of going regularly, even if it's just for a few minutes. That's still plenty of time to check my crops and pull a few weeds. A dozen morning glories down, scores to go.

. . . watching a praying mantis walk. They're very elegant, in an alien sort of way.

. . . making a good smoothie. Since I produce smoothie mud about half the time, it's always rather gratifying when I blend up something that tastes really good. It's especially satisfying if Phillip is there to sample it, because he's such a fan of smoothies. It's always fun to serve him a winner.

Treats and Lockdown

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . waking up exhausted because I stayed up too late again. I finally asked Phillip to rig the computer to start shutting down at 11pm again, to minimize the temptation to stay up late.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . attending a short Halloween program at Joy's preschool. The kids filed in wearing their costumes, then sang a couple songs and made spooky sound effects while Joy's teacher read a (very slightly) scary story.

. . . taking the kids trick-or-treating. I took Joy and Daniel to a few houses on our block, and people were very generous (partly because so few children knock on our doors around here, so the residents had plenty of candy to share). As I walked home, I reflected that generosity is yet another thing to love about Halloween.

. . . seeing Anna smile.