the lies they tell

If one more effortlessly thin celebrity explains her lightening quick weight loss with the excuse that she doesn't really work at it , she just chases her adorable children around all day I might loose it. I spend my days chasing two immensely energetic little boys around without the aid of housekeepers or nannies. In the last month or so Johnny has really come into his own as a little boy. Last night when Ty called from work to chat I was supervising the boys as they experimented with what made the best sled on the staircase (i.e. cardboard box, sleeping bag, etc.) and couldn't talk. If I look away for 2 seconds, someone is going to break an arm. When we are out of the house, Johnny must be toted around at all times because the moment those adorable toes touch the ground that kid sprints towards the nearest safety hazard, usually a busy road or heavy equipment. I run all day long, not counting my daily workout. It has not helped me reach any of my weight loss goals. I am exhausted, but not any thinner. I'm just saying.

phoenix

My toes still hurt from the surgery last month. This is, of course, exacerbated by the fact that small people are constant dropping light sabers on them ( they have handles, I can't imagine why they are so tricky to keep a hold of). My podiatrist told me I should be able to run by Feb. 2, which is a good thing because I haven't been exercising near as much as I should be, it's just not as fun. Saturday is supposed to be a beautiful day, 57 degrees and sunny. I think I'll try out my new tootsies and ignore the smarting that still occurs. I need the sun, the solitude, the something for only me. We have been talking about lots of important things lately and without running I have no time to work through them in my head. It makes me antsy and strangely lazy, afraid to do anything, maybe then I can prevent change. I am not really afraid of change, it just makes me nervous. I sort of want to snuggle up under my covers and sleep because then I don't think about things, I just have bright, wild dreams. I have been thinking lots about Nienie and how their whole life changed in one instant and how, like a phoenix, she is rising beautifully from the ashes of their tragedy. I have no ashes to rise from, I have no great tragedy, no great heartache, no great trial. My life is full of great joys, but lots of little tragedies and heartaches and trials. Hopefully, I can rise anyway.

s.a.d.

Do you feel just a little depressed when you look out the window in the morning and see that, once again, it is cold and overcast? Do you you find yourself just wanting to stay indoors wearing mukluks and eating cinnamon chocolate chip cookies while drinking hot licorice spice tea? Do your poor fingers and toes have a slight bluish tinge to them? Do you find yourself searching for all sorts of homemaker-y projects involving bright colors? Did the two warm days last week completely change your outlook on life, if only for 48 hours? If so, you may be one of millions of Americans suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. You're not alone. Ask your doctor about moving somewhere winter-free or even prescribing an early spring. Don't let S.A.D. get you down. Join the millions who live in Florida or Texas or even California and warm up today.

living vicariously

I don't have little girls and I want it to be perfectly clear that I am totally O.K. with that. However, today I was making a tutu for the daughter of a friend and needed a model.

I could just die, could you? 'Cause I could. just. die.

chicken little, personified

The other day after playgroup I noticed that Tommy had a new goose egg on his forehead. He hadn't complained of any incidents or accidents during the playgroup , but it certainly hadn't been there earlier in the day and it was a pretty big one. I asked what had happened. "Well," he responded, "there was this giant fireball that came soaring out out of the sky and bounced off the cliff and hit me right in the head!" Oh, I see.

how to beat the winter doldrums

Find something dark and sad on Craig's List and paint it tomato red. Or if you are my lucky friends, you go to Hawaii. Hmmmm, no trip in my future, must find something new to paint

self-fulfilling prophecy

My friend, Carrie had a delightful idea for holiday gifts. You know the twelve gifts for a baby thing? She found twelve women in her life she felt exemplified each of the gifts. Thoughtful, no? Anyhoo, she gave each of us a lovely bracelet with our quality on it and a delightful little letter explaining why she had chosen the quality for each of us. She chose beauty for me. So sweet. At any rate she wrote me a lovely letter describing how she felt that I was always one to see the beauty around me. So here's the thing. Since she gave me that gift I really have been seeing the beauty around me, even more than before. I've been noticing the reflection of the moon on the water and the sun in my little boys hair and the absolutely beautiful flowers on my kitchen window sill. So, this post is just a little thank you note to her for helping me to really see the beauty all around me.

magic jammies

Our church is shared between two congregations. We alternate time slots every year. Last year we had the 9 am spot. This was lovely because church was out of the way early in the day, bad because I, for some reason, cannot get the four of us anywhere by 9 am on time. This year we have the 11:30 slot, very bad for naps but I do have a shot at being on time. We don't even have to rush- delightful. The boys came down in their pajamas and climbed into our bed. We spent an hour tickling and bouncing and snuggling. We then ate waffles in our slippers and took our sweet time. We were almost on time to meeting. Church is great and all but this is what Sunday morning should be like. There is something spiritual about little boys who smell like shampoo and maple syrup who fit into our arms just perfectly who want nothing more than to be together.

well played, Home Depot, well played

Last spring I bought new appliances for my kitchen. Hooray! Unfortunately my brand new, top-of-the-line dishwasher was not nearly as fantastic as I had imagined. I tried changing soaps and drying agents. I tried loading the dishes in a different pattern, I had service men look at it. Nothing. I had to wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher if I wanted them to be clean when they came out. Ugh! This was not OK. I spent the summer and fall trying to figure out why this very expensive dishwasher was doing nothing for me. Finally, while my in laws were here for the holidays my father-in-law convinced me that it wasn't just me- the thing was rotten. I called the maker and they sent out a tech who informed me that this particular company while fabulous at most appliances was really not so great when it came to dishwashers- this one had no heating element,disposal or drying system to speak of- yikes. I marched back to Home Depot all in a lather because I had specifically requested those very features. I was ready for a fight, let me tell you. I began by calmly and firmly explaining my problem and that was as far as I got before the tough looking manager assured me that they would fix everything. They helped me choose a new and even slightly more expensive model and arranged all the details in a matter of moments. They actually gave me change when I left. They were lovely and I will definitely buy my next new appliance at Home Depot because they were super great about everything. I never did get to throw the huge temper tantrum I had in reserve but I can save it for another day.

cheer

(See slideshow on the right)
So Christmas at our house was a little nutty. We had all of Ty's family visiting. I must say that I have what are quite possibly the best in-laws ever. The uncles all play with my boys beautifully. They run and wrestle and video game all day long. My sons and their cousin Reese are completely enamored with them. Ty's parents took great care of me after my surgeries (conviently scheduled while I had lots of extra adults to help around the house). They love our boys and they are so good to me. Santa brought lots of wonderful things and Uncle Troy took beautiful photos of it all. I have to admit though, once I put the last family member on the their plane home, we were exhausted and glad to have a week or so to recover before life begins again in earnest.