(no subject)

[altarflame]

Today was like;

-nursed Elise in a half asleep haze; got up

-emailed Grant; told Aaron and Isaac about their evite to Adam's Scavenger Hunt birthday party

-made a big pot of peach oatmeal and a bunch of turkey bacon; sat down at the table with all the kids and prayed and ate

-uber cleaning mode...made Ananda, Aaron and Isaac do all chores plus "above and beyond", even got Jake and Elise performing useful tasks, I swept and vaccumed and desk cleared and so on...this went on for about 2.5 hours before and after the brunch and I'm happy with where we've gotten so far (lots more for tomorrow)

-talked to my sister on the phone

-talked with Isaac at length about why his money obsession is getting kind of crazy, and why any money he finds in, say, Ananda and Aaron's room or on my desk is not his to keep because he found it :p

-had Annie and Aaron get ready for dance, did Elise's hair, did Annie's hair, found Jake a shirt, had everyone find their shoes, packed a snack and my book and my sewing project, and took them on the road listening to our audiobook (I, Coriander)

-dropped off big kids, took little kids to the playground, read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn while they played for 2.5 or so hours, when not obligated to speak with other playground moms, look at their sand castles, get Isaac to push Elise on the swing (huge hernia pain, pushing kids on swings...) and had a group phone call with Daddy

-picked big kids back up, listened to I, Coriander as we headed home (it's about 30 minutes each way)

-had Ananda model the musical theater recital costume she brought home this evening; talked with her about dance in general and where she's at and how committed she is to the company classes. She also demonstrated her splits and "straddles" (the split where your legs are out to the sides instead of front to back) and some other contortionist ballet moves that make me boggle

-had a talk with Aaron about humility and arrogance and the inherent worth of every person - this comes on the heels of me saying, "You're a gimp" and him replying, with a finger-snapped-turned-gun-gesture, "You mean pimp" and then looking down and biting his lip in blushing humilation

-set Ananda and Aaron up with schoolwork

-cooked panko-breaded chicken, sweet potato casserole and baked beans as Bob washed dishes and we talked; sat down at the table with all the kids and prayed and ate

-was amazed that Elise scribbled all over a notecard and then came and explained to me that it says "Elise loves Mama" (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

-checked A and A's schoolwork; set about a long, example-laden, step by step instructional process for borrowing in subtraction because for some reason Ananda forgot that since mastering it a year ago

-bigger group phone call with Daddy

-read Isaac, Jake and Elise Peter and the Wolf, When Winter Comes and Touch and Feel Animals, oversaw teeth brushing

-engaged in silly link sharing, theological debate and pregnancy commisseration on facebook

-saw appalling headlines about spilled oil possibly being carried along currents and reaching the Keys, which horrifies me and made me tear up half a dozen times imagining potential outcomes

-googled information and went through slideshows of images for about an hour and a half, with all of them, on the current oil spill; past oil spills; cleaning up an oil spill; effects on habitats; why we drill for oil anyway; economic impacts large and small; how this rig exploded/flammability in general; where oil comes from...and so on

-had a long conversation with Aaron about pros and cons of oil dependency and suburban living and travel and the environment

-stripped a bed and scrubbed the frame where someone had forgotten to tell me they threw up YESTERDAY MORNING O_O, re-covered - told Aaron he's sleeping with Jake because Jake is scared of the wolf from the book Isaac picked - generally got everyone settled

-set the alarm and brought the cordless phone in the room with me, dodging the empty bed and feeling jumpy because I'm a dork without the man of the house...in the house...at night

Aaaaaaaaaaaand here I am. Largely satisfied as I try to come up with a way to read myself to sleep without the light being on while I'm trying to sleep. Where is that camping lantern...

Grant has been uploading some pics from the road; many of them are really awesome. The set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/itswalkertime/sets/72157623945063305/

---

Some things I've been sharing on facebook lately include:

the solar system as a vast music box... something Aaron and I watched for 15 minutes - twice.

this picture of me all sunburnt


For me to make a poem is like
Groping, blind and clutching
At a man's face to know his features.

My fingers tremble, suspended just above a
Blank expanse I can't quite shake the notion
Is calling softly out to me.

Pulling from the air and there
Are too many cliches to watch for
In this murky, frost-blown haze.

Poetry's a drowned world, suspended
In time and space where no one ever (t)reads;
A ghost town where I stumble, listening.

Braille under my fingertips that crawl
Searching for the tie that binds rhyme
And rhythm with a universal truth.

I doubt truth's universalness as I cock
My head, waiting only to translate as I stopped
Thinking I could create, some time ago.


and, this AMAZING VIDEO:

Thanks Andrea/custard_kisses

As a proud member of the Mustache Campaign For Women's Health, I could not let that one go unposted ;)




.

Comments

[evrydayjnglbtch.livejournal.com]

rock lobster

[theneolistickid.livejournal.com]

I love you. Thank you for taking care of our family and home while I am away, and for letting me go on this trip.

That oil spill in the keys thing is crazy. They should temporarily put a huge condom on the wang that is Florida until this whole thing passes.

[noelove.livejournal.com]

They should temporarily put a huge condom on the wang that is Florida until this whole thing passes.

I just laughed so hard I peed on myself.

[heavynleigh.livejournal.com]

pudding not included. Awww, man!