with thanksgiving

I was sitting at my desk in our crazy Hub just now, having been hard at work for a few hours on preparing to teach. I was reading a book that dealt with the importance of imagination in inspiring people. I had my headphones on, the world shut out - when a line of 8 3-year-olds burst in, faces all smiling, hair glittering with tinsel, singing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" to me (it's a MOPS day at New Hope). Call me a sap, but it was beautiful I almost cried. Talk about inspiration! They made my day.

a new low ...

... in dumb things I do without thinking. I was late leaving church today for lunch, and as I hit the crash bar on the door and rolled outside, I was automatically mashing the "unlock" button on my key chain as I headed toward my vehicle. All fine and good, except I wasn't hearing that tell-tale click from the doors actually unlocking. That's when it hit me: I was staring at my bike. Yes, I tried to be good today and rode my bike, but I guess I am more a creature of habit than I thought. Perhaps the bike lock key would have helped more. Add it to the list of things I do that continually offer you hilarity at my expense.

holy laughter

Yesterday I was listening to something Erwin said in November about how we always associate the "Sacred" with the boring, mundane, old, (yawn) ... you get the picture. And he asked: why can't we learn to think of the sacred and holy in the same breath as laughter, joy, pleasure, praise? It made me think of two hilarious episodes I have recently enjoyed in our family.

One: right before our Thanksgiving Trip to Virginia, I was tucking the kids in bed when Michael randomly announced that he would make a following declaration out loud at the Thanksgiving Meal. "Down with Spuds!" he cried out in a loud voice, and immediately cracked himself up. He laughed so hard I thought I would have to get him off the top bunk just to get some control. I swear the whole bedframe was shaking as he convulsed in peal after peal of belly laughter. The girls went around saying it for days.

Two: On Sunday I made lemonade out of some Meyer lemons we bought off someone at church. It was delicious, but strong stuff. In fact, so strong that I told Caroline (who was politely sipping through a grimace) that it would "put hair on your chest." She lost it. She laughed hysterically. Meanwhile Michael lifted his shirt and examined his chest for hair, and Ela nearly burst into tears telling Mommy she never wanted to have hair on her chest. Robin calmly assured her there was nothing to fear. But Caroline only laughed harder with those silent, shaking heaves that leave you gasping for air. She literally fell off her chair, slipping bonelessly off the seat and ended up flat on her back on the floor. I was howling at the whole thing. Now the girls toast each other and talk about how strong drinks put hair on their chests.

Holy laughter indeed. And we needed it today: we found out that our sweet, 10-year old dog Emma is just shot through with cancer. All five of us are resolved to enjoy the time we have left. There's holiness there as well.

haiku

Here is Caroline's haiku (with assist) from today's Writing Wednesday:

pink and red leading
inside is white and creamy
my radish does grow.

Michael's (no assist):

A dog, sitting in the
dirt, look quick--what's there?
Nothing but a hole.

yes, dad, i still do get motion sickness

A guy I know in Salt Lake City had taken a really cool picture of his three kids on a little merry-go-round at a neighborhood park and I thought I'd like to try it since we have one in our little park. I failed to factor in the following:

1. There is way more light down here than there is almost anywhere else in the US. This matters because part of the fun was to slow the shutter speed down enough to make the background really blurry, but slowing the shutter speed lets in MORE light, and when you're starting with oceans of light already.... and yes, it was almost sunset. Still just lots of light.
2. I really have serious problems with motion sickness. And this shot required me riding the merry-go-round with the children. Serious problems. As in, I have to be the driver in any mountains, or else I will be miserable. It's really not a control thing, honey, it's my stomach.

The kids thought it was hilarious. Here are some of the shots I liked:






When we were done, I had to collapse.

could* and hot

So the other night, the 8-year-old comes storming out of his room, in a hurry, asking if he can get some paper and pencil to write down a poem while he was thinking about it. I said sure, and today this is what I found.

"Could and Hot"

I'm could and hot,
sick and not,
and have an upset stomach.
The light is on,
I've got some girls,
the room is hot,
I'm sick and not.
Got a clock?
motion, motion, all that motion,
It makes me so crasy.
It's very hot and I've
some snot.

The End
11/6/08

* I think he meant, "cold."

hey, what's for dinner?

It's no secret that since Andy has taken over the kitchen, this girl has basically forgotten how to cook. Well, it's not completely true, but the meals for which I am responsible are involved and extravagant: meatballs, lasagna, pizza, calzones (apparently I am Italian?), all from scratch. So on the evenings that Andy's not home to feed us (4ish each week), I'm usually at a loss for what to do. I don't like to touch or look at raw chicken. You can really only eat spaghetti so many times each month before they start complaining. I don't like TV dinners. Or Hamburger Helper. Or canned, sodium rich soups. Andy can make a gourmet stir fry out of just about nothing. Not I.

Last year, I met this couple, Brad and Darlene, who owns a little store over in the Cape called Dinner by Design (site). The deal with this is that you place your order, go into the kitchen, and make a bunch of meals at once. Then you take them home and throw them in the freezer to have at any point in the month. At first, it sounded a little strange to me, but I tried it, and it's actually fantastic. First off: yes, you are making frozen dinners. However, instead of getting a frozen dinner at the grocery store that has unpronounceable and incomprehensible ingredients in it, your dinner has real chicken, veggies you recognize, and seasonings that you put in yourself. So you still actually know what you are feeding your family. When you go into the kitchen, there is a separate station for each meal option and everything is ready for you to put together. The best part is that Brad and Darlene follow right behind you and clean up. I want them to come to my house too!

I don't normally do shameless plugs on here, but if you are in the Fort Myers/Cape area and are meal challenged at all, Brad and Darlene are just awesome. My children love the dinners (I went last night and Elanor said "Mommy, I love the design dinners. I am so glad you are getting more design dinners!"). A full meal will do for us for two meals, especially if Andy's not home for one of them, but generally even if he is. They also do half meals if you're just cooking for two (or, like a lot of my friends, two actual eaters). If you don't have time to go in and make the meals, you can pay a little extra and they'll make them for you and you just pick them up. The last two times I've done it, I've gone in with friends and it's a lot of fun to do together.

If you're in my neighborhood, give it a try! If you're not, look anyway and see if there is a kitchen near you. You can't get any nicer than Brad and Darlene, but I imagine the food at the other ones is just as good.