Better Full than Empty

Tinker Toys

2012-01-26T16:16:00.002-06:00

Simon and Vincent received a set of large Tinker Toys for the holidays. These are great toys; I remember building fabulous things with Tinker Toys as a kid. True to form, though, my in-laws never get quite the right thing. They found not regular Tinker Toys, but the jumbo ones, so we have Tinker Toys with wheels the size of saucers and foot-long sticks. Anyways, Simon was just playing with

Swell

2012-01-16T16:21:00.002-06:00

There is nothing quite like going to check on your precious children just before you are ready to collapse from exhaustion. The little faces, sound asleep, always look so angelic and it melts the heart no matter how tough the day was.It is far less special to go check on them and find one covered in vomit after puking in his sleep. Such joy to clean up that up from the floor, wall, bed,

Good at this

2012-01-04T21:27:00.001-06:00

I started doing yoga again recently. I have been doing a 25 minute daily video at home until I become a little more flexible again, then I will be going to the studio once more. Simon is all about doing yoga with me, just like Vincent used to enjoy doing Pilates. It is always fun to watch kids this age try to doing these positions. The other day, Simon and I were doing our yoga, and he kept

2011-08-24T15:59:00.002-05:00

Phenomenal WomanBy Maya Angelou Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.

2011-05-22T13:20:00.002-05:00

In the warmer months, I love to whip up a big salad to take to the office for lunch. Rip up a little lettuce and spinach, toss in a few walnuts and dried cranberries, chop up a hard boiled egg or a little meat left over from the night before if we have any, drizzle it all with a touch of vinaigrette. It is so easy to do, taking just a few minutes.I am frequently dismayed, however, by how often

2011-04-21T23:09:00.001-05:00

I went to the local arts center this evening to hear an author speak. I enjoy going to these talks, whenever time permits. I usually bring along a mindless knitting project, often the cuff or instep of a sock, something that I can work on without thinking about as I listen to the author.This evening, I brought nothing with me. My latest sock is waiting for me to kitchener stitch the toe

2011-02-25T21:36:00.003-06:00

A house does not feel like home to me until the walls have art hanging on them. We moved in here ten years ago. Two young kids, new house, we didn't have a lot of money. Still, art popped up here and there, covering our wall. Print outs of Impressionist masterpieces by my favorites - Van Gogh, Monet, Degas. We grew our collection of larger pieces slowly, and a few years ago began adding a

2011-02-21T22:02:00.002-06:00

"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe."— Shane ClaiborneI saw a version of this quote at a friend's home this evening. I loved it so much that I had to look up the original, and the original is even more wonderful that what I had seen. I have been looking for a quote

2011-02-01T16:08:00.000-06:00

I saw this on StoryPeople today. It's an invention, he said. What's it do? I said. I don't know, he said. It's not finished yet. It reminded me of Vincent.

2011-01-24T14:52:00.002-06:00

Isabella had a slumber party over the weekend, and I love listening to the girls chatter away in the next room when they don't know I am listening.All ten girls were playing some convoluted imagination game involving neighboring countries and their governments when I heard my favorite quote of the party:Girl 1: Attack!!!! Let's invade!Girl 2: Hey! Don't invade us. We are a peace-loving

2011-01-08T21:40:00.001-06:00

I made the strangest cake today. The only ingredients are eggs, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, and five entire clementines - skin, pith and all - topped with dark chocolate. I found the recipe in Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes, a cookbook that I swear makes me gain weight just by reading it. No photos, just a simple ingredient list and short set of directions. The first step of

Fortune Cookie revelation

2010-12-31T18:44:00.000-06:00

Long time, no blog, eh? I keep meaning to get back on the wagon. I even have wonderful posts all composed in my head. Alas, I sit down at the computer and do something else instead. Tonight, though, I am sitting down and am writing what I intended to. So, about a month ago, my mother brought down a bag of fortune cookies. I have no idea why she had an entire bag of fortune cookies, but

2010-08-25T22:36:00.004-05:00

We've struggled with helping Vincent learn to speak in an understandable manner for years. Goodness, back when he was two, we just struggled to get him to speak. He was such a master of non-verbal communication, and truly he still is.His inability to properly say some sounds has impacted his reading ability. While I've asked others for advice on and off over the years and have searched the web

2010-08-20T00:05:00.002-05:00

Notice that it is midnight and I am posting something. The is a little one sleeping in my arms, and I found our conversation just now too funny not to record for future smiles when I reread this.Simon: (awake and crying)Me: Ohhhh, what's up?Simon: Meeeee.Me: (laughs)Simon: (gets up and starts climbing out of bed)Me: Where are you going?Simon: On your lap. (sound asleep twenty seconds later

2010-07-31T21:59:00.004-05:00

If it is nine hundred degrees in the kitchen and everything in the kitchen is sticky, then it must be peach season.Three more canners full of peaches have been put up. That makes twenty eight quarts so far this year. I think it might last until mid-winter if I'm lucky. Considering that Simon finally tried a bite peach in syrup tonight and promptly gobbled up half of the peach, I think I might

2010-07-29T21:27:00.002-05:00

Conversation with Simon last night:Me: Time to be quiet and go to sleep, bop.Simon: I quiet. I no talk. See, I quiet, mama. Lay in my bed; I quiet now mama. I no talk.Me: Shhhh.Simon: Mama, I wiwy* quiet, see? I no talk. Lay with me now, mama. I quiet!Repeat three more times. I think he misunderstands the meaning of "quiet", eh?* wiwy = really for those of you who do not speak

2010-07-24T16:00:00.002-05:00

I'm thinking about names today.Limburger cheese is received with turned up noses. Semi-soft, stinky "artisan" cheeses are placed on tasting trays and given respect.Sauerkraut, gross. Kimchi? Intriguing and exotic. Both are fermented cabbage.Can I interest you in a pair of shower shoes? How about these cute flip-flops from Old Navy?Would you wear a tummy shaper or Spanx? Grandma did too,

2010-06-27T22:53:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, I was sitting in the kitchen eating lunch with the girls when I looked up and saw the neighbors' large, old oak tree fall over. It was not a stormy or windy day, and the tree looked healthy with a full crown of leaves. Yet it simply collapsed, like an antebellum belle in full swoon, the rustle of leave hitting the house replacing the whisper of skirts and crinoline.I'm not sure

The Year of the Bucky Book

2010-06-21T11:44:00.003-05:00

For the last few years, Luis has come home with a Bucky Book every fall. Bucky Books are fund raising coupon books. They cost about $35, and if used, they will save the purchaser many times that amount.The one problem with Bucky Books, in my opinion, is that we live an hour away from Madison and most of the coupons are for Madison businesses.The first year Luis purchased one, we were in the

Spread some mayo on me; I'm facing the sandwich years

2010-06-08T12:31:00.002-05:00

Apparently I am thinking a great deal about the elderly lately because the idea of the "sandwich generation" is on my mind.To be perfectly honest and blunt, I find the idea of a sandwich generation to be a creation straight out of the egos of the baby boomer generation.It seems like the baby boomers have always had the idea that their generation is the first to deal with issues. That is a load

2010-06-04T10:10:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, my uncle was telling me a story about his mother. She was at the very end of her life, days before she passed. He was visiting with her, and she questioned him about his jacket. She felt it was not warm enough for the day, and she wanted him to put on a thicker one. I was reminded of that story yesterday when I was driving through downtown. I saw a woman who appeared to be in

Special Delivery

2010-05-26T14:03:00.005-05:00

*ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong*"Mamam MAMAM" shouted through the open front window.I opened to door to see my little cherub bringing me a fistful of daisies he picked himself.Moments like this make up for all the three year old power struggles.

MIghty Life

2010-05-23T18:13:00.002-05:00

My friend, Bonny, was recently talking about finding her dreams again, creating a Mighty Life List. Yeah, it is kind of like a bucket list; you can read about it on Mighty Girl.It got me thinking about what I might put on my list of dreams. In this life, I'd like to......watch a sunset from the Shoodic Peninsula in Maine....learn to spin yarn....hold my grandchild....enter a photography contest.

Hello again, Christopher Robin

2010-05-19T10:43:00.004-05:00

Childhood is a short season. ~Helen HayesI have my last child going through the Christopher Robin phase.The Christopher Robin phase, to me, is the time when my children lose the baby chunk and when shorts start landing above the knee instead of mid-calf. The little legs look skinny for the first time since the newborn age. The child runs around independently on skinny little legs with knobby

2010-05-17T12:49:00.002-05:00

I am all for ethical treatment of animals in this world, but I tire of people advocating for humane treatment of animals.Word Origin & Historyhumanemid-15c., variant of human, used interchangeably with it until early 18c., when it began to be a distinct word with sense of "having qualities befitting human beings."Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas HarperUntil we can treat all humans on