What's Wrong with this picture? (Or why you should respect the laws of Karma)

After you stop laughing, I'll tell you the story..........
ready?

The other night I was trying my best to be SUPER MOM. Will was at baseball so the feeding, bathing, bedding of two wild animals fell to myself. I thought I was doing pretty well. I usually let Bobby and Emma play together for a little bit, then I take Bobby out and let Emma play for a few minutes by herself while I get Bob's pjs on.

So.. I may or may not have already been grumbling about how I can't believe that Will never makes Emma put the bath toys back in the bin before she gets out of the bath.

And.. I may or may not have stopped long enough on my way back to the tub, after drying Bobby off and getting him dressed for bed, to get Emma out of the tub to look at the tv and declare "Holy - bad haircut, cheezy suit combo - Batman" to one of the Jeopardy contestants that night.
And in the instant that it took me to utter those words I was aware of a blue blur streaking back into the bathroom. And in the time it took me to walk the few steps from the hallway to said bathroom....the damage had been done.

So I laughed, ran and got the camera, took a few pictures.

And Emma in her infinite wisdom (still in the tub playing at this point) looks at Bobby, then looks at me, and says "Mom, I think Bobby's going to need some new pajamas."

My Little Joys

After thoroughly enjoying the list of life's little joys here, I thought I'd start my own list and add to it as they come to me.









A few of my favorite things




* old fashioned pipe smoke * newborn chihuahua puppies * crunchy peeps * coffee * Farm District in the Fall * a sleeping baby * cloud gazing * just cut alfalfa * July thunderstorm * eating watermelon on the back porch * swinging * popsicles * hot apple pie * roasting marshmallows over the campfire * cool, crisp mornings * milkweed sailboats * canteloupe ice cream * playing cribbage * waking up early * staying up late * Dr. Mario * Disneyland * star gazing * Levis * riding bareback * flame kissed ribs * a good book * sand between my toes * A cup of Christmas Tea * hot baths * August meteor showers * black licorice *

Book Report: The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn

By Janis Hallowell

A story about a 14-year-old girl, Francesca, proclaimed to be the Blessed Virgin with child by Chester, a local homeless man. The story is told in turn by four characters: Francesca, Chester, Sid - Francesca's troubled school-age friend, and Anne - Francesca's paleobotanist Mother.
The novel brought up some good questions while I was reading it:
What would it be like to have a saint or holy person declared in your hometown?
Who would they surround themselves with?
Would there be signs or miracles?
Would organized religion take notice?
Would there be a grand exit complete with flowers and fruit (such as in Saint Dorothy's case)?

All in all the book was a quick and enjoyable read. It really didn't address the divine nature or spirituality of any of the characters but rather a lark based on one man's assumptions.

Spring Sprung and then...

Sunday morning I woke to one of the first signs of spring at our house.

My crocus bloomed. Yeah! That means the daffodils will also begin to bloom very soon. Wanting to share my 'spring fever' with someone, I quickly found Emma and dragged her over so she could see too. I pointed out the blooms and we had a 10 second conversation about something and we parted ways.

The next thing I know, Emma is trotting up to me with a cheesy grin on her face, exclaiming "Look at the pretty bouquet of flowers I picked for Daddy!".

My eyes widened in horror, I took a deep breath, shook my head, and replied "That Daddy, He doesn't know just how lucky he is."

We took the bouquet into the kitchen and put in a glass of water so that we could at least enjoy the flowers for a day or two. So now, I'm back to waiting for colorful signs of spring in the yard again. And I don't think I'll point it out to Emma next time.

Book Report: Marley & Me

I saw the movie previews. They didn't rate too high on my to watch radar. And the book certainly wasn't on my to read list. But Jacko recommended it more than once and Will checked it out from the library so I read it. The warning I got from Jacko was that it was a little bit sad. Oh great I thought to myself. I'm going to need my kleenex box for this one. The book chronicles the life of a couple as they welcome an energetic, yellow lab puppy into their lives. It is filled with the almost always comical mischief that a puppy is capable of and the changes their owners must accept in their own lives. And yes, I got to the end and it was a little bit sad. But it also made me think. Isn't every great "good dog" book a little bit sad? Think Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows. When you compare Marley & Me to that, I think this book is quite tame.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. The movie still isn't very high on my to see list. And if I ever start thinking I want a yellow lab puppy, I'll read this book again.

Success

You can use most any measure
When you're speaking of success.
You can measure it in fancy home,
Expensive car or dress.

But the measure of your real success
Is the one you cannot spend.
It's the way your kids describe you
When they're talking to a friend.

- Martin Buxbaum

I ran across this poem in the Dear Abby section of the newspaper yahoo and I had a Mommy pause. What would my kids say about me to their friends? Bobby is still 100% a mama's boy so I think I'm okay there. Emma, on the other hand, hmmm.... what would she say? I think I'll ask her tonight.

Book Report: A Short History of Nearly Everything

By Bill Bryson

As Timbra kindly reminded me the other day "Weren't you making fun of Will for getting that book?"
Why yes I was. I mercilessly poked fun at Will for getting what I deemed to be a boring book. But I found myself needing something to listen to while I ran so I decided I'd try to enlighten myself. In my defense, I vaguely remember Will saying something about how this book was a history of civilization. Which is why I discounted it as much as I did. I wasn't really interested in re-hashing the Middle Ages and the Fall of the Roman Empire.
I was pleasantly surprised then when I started the book that it is a history of the tangible world's existence i.e. planets, electrons, elements, dinosaurs, man....now this is right up my alley.

It covers basic biology, chemistry, astronomy, biochemistry, evolution and I found myself reminiscing about all the things "I used to know". It was a great "been out of high school 10 years" kind of refresher. I'll admit that just as it was then, there were parts (read - physics) that I just don't get and I still am not that interested in, but all in all it was a good listen.

Book Report: The Abstinence Teacher

I recently read The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. After picking it up and putting it back on the shelf at the library three different times I finally decided I should just check it out already. My hesitations included many of my usual issues: I'm not really into the adult book thing (swearing even in print just isn't for me) and judging by the title its probably gonna have a lot to do with sex. But I started it, and I actually liked it. There is something to being able to wrap yourself up in other people's messy lives and then being able to shut the book and come back to reality. In short, it's about a divorced sex ed teacher who finds herself forced into teaching an abstinence only curriculum even though she doesn't agree with it. I was a little shocked to find so much new-age religion in it, but I guess I should have seen that coming. My one complaint is that I found the ending kind of lacking. With so much sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll throughout the book, I had expected a re-arranging of the cosmos kind of ending and that it was not.