Where's Mary Poppins When You Need Her?

As I browsed through my email this afternoon, my two oldest children were lying on the living room floor watching Mary Poppins.  She is one of their "favorite people in the world" and they have often discussed the idea that if I were ever unable to take care of them for a week or two Mary Poppins would be their first pick for a nanny.  Despite her stern demeanor and no-nonsense approach to childish indiscretions, they appreciate the order she brings to the Banks' home and the change brought to the children's behavior through her tough love.

Remember Someone Forgotten for Memorial Day

Up the street from us there is an old, run down house.  Peeling paint, cracked sidewalk, and a rusted out car on the law complete the forlorn look of the place.  A tattered black POW/MIA flag flutters from a makeshift flag pole and a pot of faded plastic flowers hangs year 'round from a branch in the yard's only tree.  In the summer dandelions and tall grasses grow knee high and in the winter snow piles high around the house, smooth and fluffy except for a few footprints between the house and driveway.

The first time I saw the house, a little shiver went down my spine.  It looked so forgotten and unhappy.  At night it looked downright creepy.  Through an open window I could see the single bulb of a shadeless lamp spreading a feeble light around a room piled high with boxes, stacks of papers, and seemingly useless debris.  I wondered what kind of a person could live in such a house.

It's Six O' Clock: the True Story of a Day in My Life

It's six o' clock and Dad's almost home:

The baby attempted to completely unload the clean laundry basket.

The local chemist is hard at work on a top-secret potient.

Brilliant minds work at this table.  Think Dad will be impressed with our completed bean sticks for learning place value?

The baby emptied the kleenex box.

Playing outside was lots of fun, but the fire place was so inviting.  "We'll hang up our coats after we have some hot chocolate, okay, Mom?"  Was that really two hours ago?  Where does the time go?

I was going to vacuum....really, I was.

Breakfast, lunch and snacks....oh, my!

Someone decided to move into the living room, packed ALL their clothes into a laundry basket, sat on top of it all, and asked their brother to push them down the stairs.  Mom was so relieved that there was no blood or broken bones she forgot to have the mess cleaned up.

Oh, well.  At least there's chili in the crockpot....if we can only find a place to put our bowls so we can eat it.

Back Online

Dear Computer,

I missed you when your hard drive crashed.  Life just isn't as much fun without my email, facebook, or blog to write.  I missed my cyber friends and their blogs.  I missed printing out worksheets from online and I missed being able to order library books online.  I'm so glad your back, up, and running.

I didn't, however, miss my kids often bemoaning the fact that they used their weekly computer time early on in the week and didn't have any left over.  I didn't miss the movies we watch on you since our dvd player broke.  I didn't even miss the news, which I read on MSNBC due to the fact that we have no tv.  In fact, I rather enjoyed being completely clueless over the holidays.  One could almost pretend that life revolved only around the happy family times we enjoyed and that the rest of the world really didn't affect us.

Your arrival is met with mixed feelings.  All in all, though, I'm glad you're back.  If only I didn't have to tell the kids....

Sincerely,
A Reluctant Fan

A Backpacking Analogy

I was standing at the top of the stairs, baby hanging from one hip, a basket of laundry hanging from the other.  Downstairs my six year old was sobbing over a math worksheet gone awry while my four year old lay on the toy-room floor screaming, "I don't care if you never let me out of here. I'm NOT going to clean this mess up!"  The crockpot was on, but only half of dinner's ingredients had made their way into the pot and, at close to noon, I still hadn't brushed my teeth.

Welcome To the World, Vayla

Little Vayla Lydia joined our family just a little over two weeks ago on March 14th.  Why we women care to share, and hear, each other's birth giving traumas, I don't know.  But I find others' stories fascinating and I like telling a story, so I write the story of Vayla and my life together so far.

Fall Musings

I stand in the driveway on a gray and rainy day. I was taking out the trash, but am momentarily distracted. The sound of the rain on the hood of my rain jacket, the chilly fall air, and the brilliant display of fall colors in the trees makes me wish I were far away from the comforts of my warm, dry home. I close my eyes. The rain sounds the same here and I can almost feel the trail beneath my feet.

New Mom Thoughts From 2005

I came across this unfinished rambling I began writing five years ago, soon after my oldest son turned one. Although the paragraphs seem somewhat hopeful, the last line comes across as a rather jaded and abrupt ending. I remember thinking I would come back to it someday - the day I got it all figured out....