table talk with The Unicorn

And now, a snippet from tonight at dinner......

Angus: Can I pick my nose at school?
Me: No, you can't. That's not nice manners.
Angus: (after a brief pause) Oh.
Me: Why? Do you do it?
Angus: Yes.
Me: Where do you do it?
Angus : I hide so they won't see me.
Me: Where do you hide?
Angus: Everywhere. Under the tables, other places. In the trash can.

happy monday

if only every monday could be just like yesterday. then i'd have no complaints. school holiday + daddy's return from far too long away + 70 degree weather + momma-made peter pan hats + duct tape & cardboard daddy-made swords + a walk with my boys through the woods and along the river + discovering land art in the james + many many kisses and hugs = just about as good as it gets.

allow me to reiterate, october

As October nears, I'd just like to once again address the month to beg for Mercy. You see, it seemed to have worked last year. We made it through all of last October without incident. So, I thought I'd better try it again. The following is a (still relevant) post from 2008.



October is here. October is not good to us. We have spent 3 of the last 4 Octobers cooped up in hospitals. In 2005, Angus nearly died. Fall allergies and asthma are a bad mix. Especially when you don't know your child has either. The next year, Angus got pneumonia and I was busy having Noah cut from my body. There went October '06. Then last October, Noah had his first hospital stay. Yup, another fall allergy + asthma sufferer. And the kids got Hand, Foot & Mouth disease. (Thanks a lot, icky preschool germs.) There went October 2007 down the drain, too.

So this year, October....I'm begging you to please lay off the Browns. I'm not saying go bother another family---just that maybe you've picked on us enough for right now. What do you say? I"d really like to be able to enjoy your blue skies and cool temperatures, your hayrides and pumpkin patches, your crisp evenings and frosty mornings, trick or treating and cookie baking. What do you say , October? Can we be friends?

gratitude

at least three times a day, i feel or hear myself sounding just like my own mother. sometimes it's in the tone i've used to be just the right amount of firm with my kids. other times i recognize her in my soft and encouraging statements of praise, or in the way i feel holding hands with the boys as we cross the street. but unlike that old cliche, i haven't ever been overtaken with disgust when i notice her in me. i am always just really proud of myself because i know i am doing something right.

thank you, mom, for being who you are. and for knowing how to bring out the best in the me that i am. i'd never know what i was doing without the influence of your guidance from the past, your support in the present, and the irrational faith that you'll always be here for me in the future. i am truly grateful for being blessed with you for my mother.

Jet Generation!

Jet Generation!
Originally uploaded by Hollis Queen

i love sunday mornings around here.