My Mom's Here

One might think that less events, conflicts, and chaos is the best.  Quietness and kept schedules are the foundation for normalcy.  Well, after last week's lowlight of our alleged painter/witness to a robber/robber himself/victim of being held up at gunpoint while we were off the premises, and the highlight of Mike's excellent interview, the lowlight of my swollen eyes and overwhelming tiredness, and the exciting highlight of house hunting in our prospective new area, the lowlight of watching a small paperclip fall down the back of David's throat while checking out of Whole Foods, and the highlight of my cousin moving in with us for his first job - I have never been so close to bursting into random song than now.  Yeah, there were a few tears.  But the encore-to-crying song is then sweeter and more earnest. In High School, I couldn't wait to get into the empty stairwells, and bust out a little tune while I sped up or down the stairs.  My friend Dana said, "per...

Twas 10 days before Christmas and all through the house not a child was peeping, we already caught our one mouse. The stockings are hung and the fourth is being made As I sat on the couch, the mail, I needed to read. The children are playing all quiet and calm,  Now I can get some things on my "to do" list done. When I peeked at the kitchen and what do I see Mac and cheese being made by someone who's three. The flour was out, and so was the mac,  in a pot, in the oven of play, there it sat.   Then our bowls were prepped,  Naomi's, David's and mine.  "Delicious," I said as I muddled over this one.  I will not rebuke, I'm making today lots of fun,  "So yummy, and crunchy, and mmm...yum. yum." We went to the toy store, the train store, out for lunch Mailed our cards, to the cleaners, and got into the holiday crunch. With fake cheese on the breast of the stove and the floor, We pulled out the vacuum and cleaned up a little more. There...

I rarely sit alone and eat lunch.  Generally, lunch is a bustling table between clementine loving and amiable David, and talkative and inquisitive Naomi.  But on Monday, I had two wonderful helpers with me all day.  Two of my music students, were having a picnic during our indian summer afternoon with the kids on the lawn, and I was having a quiet lunch.  Sitting and eating lunch alone, however rare it is, usually leads me to either set myself up in front of the computer, put my cell phone nearby, or have a magazine, agenda, or book at hand.  But I sat at the head of our dining room table.  Bookcases to my back, and kitchen to my front, windows to my right and a piano to my left.  I never sit here. The morning of this quiet lunch, I was jolted awake with a looming comment that Mike had casually stated when talking to friends about the job search, "I wish I had more interviews." Somehow this statement nudged me swiftly from a deep sleep to being wide...

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4 Oh dear!  That is frightening and exciting all at the same time.  Is there an in between?  Between Naomi posing as a Pink Pirate Princess for halloween fun, getting ready to dress up as Princess Aurora for Evie's "Princess and the Pop Star" birthday movie in a "Carriage," and my infatuation with Disney World and all the princesses therein, I am am inundated with the idea of a crown. What really is a crown?  My friend Anita and I were discussing it a while back.  It denotes position, it sparkles, it is polished and kept in a safe spot when not being worn, it stands tall and poised, shows authority, reveals someone in a position of trust, leadership, and regality.  Without a crown, someone could be walking by, and you would never know their bloodline or stature.  They immediately become average-joe-like and once the crown is r...

This month was interesting in particular. I attempted all kinds of things like over-scheduling, scheduling (which if you know me is quite progress), nagging, bragging, baking, eating on-the-fly, and cleaning (even more progress). The last which is really out of my comfort zone. Well, I like to be quite comfortable and not get up and clean and generally spend more time thinking about how I'm going to schedule my cleaning, read blogs about cleaning, or dream up a way I'm going to clean which completely tires me out and keeps me from cleaning even more so. These ideas mind me of back in January, when I couldn't get up and clean, and I watched my friend efficiently and thoroughly clean my house. I had never been forced to sit and watch something like this, but I learned a great deal. When I saw the large amount of dirt, dust, and grime that was behind furniture and under beds, I was sure if I ever got better, I had no clue how to run a household and had to learn fast. I...

Our soil is saturated. We have had many days of rain and then we had a hurricane . . . and then it continued to rain this past week. As I ran the last few bottles out to our recycling curb Friday morning, I noticed the overgrown weeds trying to choke our pole bean plants and scallions, and how everything, including the soil, was soaked. Realizing that one child was having a nap and the other was busy with crafting, I took a few minutes to start rescuing my scallions and beans. I was pretty impressed with how quickly and easily the weeds pulled out of the saturated ground. Just a few tugs and pulls and I had a pile of dead weeds and a clean looking garden in minutes. Except for this tree-like vine. Hmm..that wouldn't come out so easily. Those weedy roots hold on so dearly to their soil when the ground is under-saturated. They must get a little foothold, and continue to grow, plowing through the soil to the next spot they can get a foothold. I usually dislike pulling the ...

Officially home: A blank canvas of a day. Of a week. Of a month. Temptations of idle time always loom, but in the end those wasted minutes and hours come back to haunt in piles and a full sink. 'Idle time' for me is randomly surfing online, having 7 or so tabs open with 3 different search topics, a few virtual shopping carts, and an afternoon power-nap turning into a 2 hour deep sleep. It could also be as simple as 'not planning.' I can now see the days in weeks, which has really helped me. One day for cleaning, one or two or five for shopping, one for laundry, hoping to get it all done in the M-F so the S & S is for family days, and not executing neglected chores. But shopping in one day is not necessarily practical with 2 little helpers - I guess it could be if I didn't mind spending time reading labels to be sure there are no food colorings, excess salt, or too many ingredients I can't pronounce because I'm locked into a huge labyrinth of a ...