State of Obvious

Carly has been fascinated with pumpkins this fall season. Everywhere we go: "Look! Punkys! Punkys!" Josh went to a pumpkin patch for cub scouts and got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Tonight we gutted and carved it. Carly's fascination is henceforth fear. Perhaps it was wiggling the dangly pumpkin guts in her face, or the insistent command "Not too close, Carly!" repeatedly issued from her brother while I carved out the face. Maybe it was the candle inside, or Josh jumping out from behind tables, chairs, corners every time she entered a room. Any way you slice it, Carly decided pumpkins were scawy. Some pictures of the fun: Josh's best scary face Carving it up: A pretty good impression of our pumpkin face: Carly "washing"...I'm not sure why she called it washing: The Headless Horseman: Happy Halloween!

I am very fortunate that both of my children have been willing cuddlers. I love snuggling up with them, feeling the smooth plump baby skin they both still have, hearing them breath, listening to the fast thumping of their hearts. Today, Carly and I are both sick. Not just "oh my nose is runny sick". Oh no! Sick like "I sound like I have typhoid, stay away" SICK. I've been teetering on the sick side of things for a couple of weeks now. I haven't been able to sleep enough and normal every day activities leave me on the bad side of functioning. Carly started with the sniffles last week and passed them on to me (why oh why must I kiss those sweet infected cheeks and fingers so often!), the sniffles have bloomed into a hacking cough and on/off fever. What makes this doubly joyful is that I have a choir concert Friday and Saturday night! But back to the subject at hand. Eric put the feverish and sniffly Carly in my bed with me before he left for work. I enjoy havi...

Snippets from our drive home: Carly was singing, mostly baby babble for the words but clearly a mimic of her brother's favorite song "Any More" by Maroon 5. Unfortunately for Carly, her rendition sounded more like "la la la en ee mo en ee mo" which sounded a bit more like "enima enima" and was the cause for much laughter from her fellow passengers. Eric and I were teasing Josh - big shock I know - about girls. While denying, for the most part, that he even thinks about them, I did get him to confide in me that he thinks a certain girl is prettier than another. Eric also tried to get him to divulge who is prettier than who, to no avail. However, as we were getting out of the car, Josh turned to his dad and said "I'll tell you if you buy me a new toy." Slick, very slick. p.s. We have a Ford Edge...so ya I'm amused with my title for this post. It doesn't take much, I know. p.s.s. Here is the promised pictures of Carly in the "li...

Some days I feel like.... ...a servant. The floor is never swept unless I sweep it. The clothes are not folded unless I fold them. The windows are not washed, the shelves are not dusted, the floor is not vacuumed unless I do it. ...a carpet. Come spill your juice, your complaints, your frustrations upon me. Stomp and grind and flop down right on top of me and I will take it with bland silence and perhaps a stray tack or two sticking out. ...a megaphone. My voice will rise and rise until it soars above the noise, until those that hear it want to run with their ears covered, until every word - happy, sad, mad or otherwise - is a yell meant to silence those around me and proclaim my rightness . ...a failure. Like I am never enough, like my habits are too ingrained, my ticks are too quirky. I know the right things to do and yet cannot do them. Perhaps will not do them is more accurate. ...I am blessed. In spite of it all - maybe because of it all, I am amazingly blessed. The children I yel...

A couple incidents that I found very amusing: Today, after bringing in a mountain of groceries, Eric said to Josh "Stay here and help your mother put away the groceries." Josh grumbles for a few minutes (surely he is just toooo tired to help after his long long day!) and then Eric says again "just stay and help her." Josh turns to him and says "And what are you going to do dad?" Eric, who had every intention of going in the other room to play on the computer, turned a little pink and stayed to help. We are starting to try and potty train Carly. She is telling us after she goes so that is a step forward. Yesterday she wanted to go potty and so Eric took her to the bathroom. She sat down and immediately grabbed a book to read. Eric was so proud. I did get a pic with my phone and will upload it soon.

Be warned, this is quite a long post. However, faithful and/or random reader, I would love to hear your feedback on this particular post. The following is an excerpt that I'd like to have opinions on. So read on, reader, and then post a reply. kkthxbye The moons had already begun to rise; blood red Haldorian, Manvey with its silver rings, and the smallest, Looz, the color of flesh. Tamyrn unwrapped the scarf from around her face and began to clean the sand from her eyes. The harsh winds not only made travel arduous, but caused the sand to stick to her eyes like mud. Even after she had wiped it away, she could still feel the hard grit in her eyes. Her hair and clothes seemed to be infested, her hands worn smooth by the constant thrash of the sand against them. Her father, Damian, was already issuing orders in a steady stream. He was not a tall man, but strongly built with a powerful voice and manner. His eyes were metallic blue, and they flashed and sparked when he was angry. Si...

Fall is in the air today, that subtle sweet change that you can sense more than feel, almost as if nature is exhaling the heavy breath of summer. Fall was Mom's favorite time of year. She loved when the trees would begin their dazzling show of orange, red and yellow splendor. She loved the smell of apples and the fresh cider from the mill. She loved the cooler air and the excitement that precedes the rich bounty of Thanksgiving meals and Christmas surprises. She would stash gifts away all through the year, sometimes forgetting where she put them for years, but in the fall she'd begin shopping in earnest. Today as I left the produce market she was there, surrounding me almost as completely as the air. It was like she was drifting with the light breeze, her infectious smile and sparkling eyes as visible as the steely blue sky above. Driving home I fought the feeling that time is slipping through my fingers as smoothly as silk cloth. I want to grab the moments before they fade bu...