Happy Mother's Day

::started with purple sparkles, ringlets, blue silk, then irises, and vegetables, wine and noodles. What a day::

We Interrupt The Regularly Scheduled Programing...

to announce a Dog the Bounty Hunter spotting. Approximately 8:15 p.m, Barnes and Noble, Clifton, NJ. Long, blond , permed and bleached. Awesome.

In The Playroom

We have spent an extraordinary amount of time indoors lately due to all of the sickness. The drama that unfolds in the playroom, both real and make-believe, is the stuff, the story in our lives right now. Princesses and dragons, marriages and brawls, elephants and dinosaurs, light and dark.

Outside

Lately I have been trying to be more aware o my surroundings, more in the moment, less in my head. I have spent much too much time dwelling up there these days. There is a whole wide world outside of it. Last weekend (before our latest round of sickness, this one involving yours truly. Ugh.), I sat outside with my knitting watching the snow melt away before my eyes. Dripping from one branch to another. Some squealing from my children in the background but mostly just me, my knitting and the drips. Lovely.

Putting On My Shoes

Today I was inspired to think about myself because yesterday I did not (and yesterday was not unlike most of my days). You see, the general state of "me" affairs is pretty abysmal--my bangs need trimming, my eye brows need plucking, and, sadly, my teeth need brushing. I look bad and I don't smell great either. Baby spit up and other childlike bodily fluids don't make for a great fragrance. Go figure.
And to make matters worse, I watched Coco Before Chanel with my own mama last night and was forced to stare at Audrey Tatou's truly stunningly beautiful face for over an hour.

There has been a lot of talk lately about nurturing ourselves. A few weeks ago, Heather posted about her "spa" day where she and her girlfriends got together to take care of themselves and one another. Soulemama wrote today about one hour each week that she takes for herself to dance. My mom just went off to Yoga class, and I am jumping on this bandwagon. My shoes aren't nearly as cute as Amanda's but they get the job done.

Kitchen Month

Over at Are So Happy, Kyrie is posting about her kitchen this month. I am going to join along even though we are not actually going to have a kitchen for half of this month. But because we are in the middle of renovations, kitchens are on my mind. I am nearly finished packing our current kitchen. Only the essentials are out--those plates, pots, and pans that we will be using minimally over the course of the next month and a half while we wait for our eating quarters to be done (and all of the burly men inside of it now to leave).

I have not made much lately although I have a couple of dishes to try out later on this week. I have been back in the business of making baby food though. I had forgotten how much fun it is to feed a new baby. We have had carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas, and peas so far. I can't decide what to puree up next. Maybe brocolli?

In Ellyn Satter's book Child of Mine, she describes the feeding process as a conversation, a dance almost, between the mother and child. Over the years I have gotten better at reading cues from my children but it is not something I am naturally good at. With this last baby, I am trying to slow down, to watch and listen to him, while he is eating. Satter insists that parent and child have to share control. The mother should, for example, wait for permission from the child before she shovels food into his or her mouth. This sounds so elementary, but I am not sure that I waited with my other children. I make eye contact with Little C, he opens his mouth, and I put the spoon in--what a pleasure.

Happy Birthday

Oh Child of Mine

I love you so.