Life's been good to me so far

Recording that I had a great Thursday.

Seriously, I was happy all day without any ridiculous misery at all.

Some of the contributing factors:

-the beautiful weather, especially as it facilitates keeping windows and doors open, kids playing outside, and car windows being rolled down
-a couple of early morning hours spent slaving en masse really paying off, so that the whole house seems so CLEAN
-time to knit a few rows
-time to myself to write,
-and having so many ideas that I feel I might burst
-Elise looking ridiculously adorable in green cords and a brown knit shirt with gold pinstripes, in her curly headed, mischevious way
-nanny making a big Christmas tree collage and leaf and flower crowns and cut snowflakes, with my happy kids
-Naus Berry Farm being open again! I went today and got a dozen cinnamon rolls, honey wheat bread baked today and sliced fresh, and some more of those incredible fuzzy-looking brain coral esque flowers I had last fall...my whole house has had that warm, yeasty smell since I got it all home this afternoon, it's like curling up in a warm blanket just to breathe in here
-the XM Radio station Lithium
-the grocery store being full of cranberries, gorgeous green beans (finally!), pomegranates, and black berries on sale. The apples! The pumpkins! The mums and poinsettias! I am seriously drunk on the holiday season, and already mentally planning my Thanksgiving menu.
-Salvation Army bell ringers being back
-offering up my house as the next meetup for the natural parenting group I'm a part of, down here, and thinking of how awesome that would be
-emailing Nancy back (overdue), which just makes me feel connected to her
-still maintaining my success with no refined sugar or flour. I had a GI doc tell me on Monday how much I need to lose weight as my first step to being better, with or without more surgery, and I think it might have been what I needed, to some degree. I think I've lost like 2 pounds so far, but I'm trying not to watch it too closely.

Laura came over here last night and we made tacos for everybody and then she and I took all the kids over to the bookstore for an evening La Leche League meeting that ended up just being her, Kristin and I sitting around talking about female genitalia for an hour and a half while our kids ran around playing. It was fun :p Really though from how awful vaginal tearing in birth can be to how baffled by pubic hair toddlers are, and on to the chocolate molds of the Girls Next Door lady parts that were featured on E!, there's just no end to the talk about what my nephew calls "Da-paw-dan".

Ananda, Aaron and I are at the very harrowing near-end of The Order of The Phoenix (HP5). They've been gasping, yelling and pumping their fists in the air, when not tearing up. It's awfully fun reading them this stuff.

By jove, I think I'll go on and post pictures!

( From our Tampa Trip last month )
( Halloween )
( Miami Book Fair International )

Mondays are manic for us. In good ways for the most part, but they wipe me out. Today I got up and got the boys fed and dressed, and took them to LLL over at the Y. Aaron as usual had a great time playing with Darion (Eli wasn't there today) and I as usual had a great time talking to Kristen. There were a lot more people there than usual, and because the YMCA summer camp kids are using our normal big ol' room, we're crammed into this tiny office until school starts again. So it's a lot louder and a lot more crowded, but still basically works. It's wonderful to sit around with mamas who want to know what to do with a baby who won't quit switching sides all night long; just to get that perspective, you know, from chicks who AREN'T leaving the baby to cry it out alone...A few of them have a "field trip" planned Wednesday morning to the Fire Station, and Aaron is SO excited about that. The fire station! WITH Darion and Eli!

Came home, lunch, bought some stuff with money from things I've sold, online, and then at 2:30 we headed up to all kinds of stuff. Everyone but me needs a big briefcase/diaper bag/dance bag stocked and ready to go with them. I dropped Grant off at "Southland" (formerly Cutler Ridge) Mall, where he had a meeting with someone about a website, then took Aaron to dance class. Touched base with the sahm of 3 4 and under who wants to get together with me. Went back to get Grant, dropped him off at Starbucks (where they have a wireless network he can use to work), went back to get Aaron and drop off Annie. Found out he actually danced today! Not just for tap, either, ballet too. And he loved it, and was super excited and said he wants to keep going now :) I LOVE their teacher, she really takes the time to squat down and look at them in the eye to talk, take them by the hand individually and work on their rough spots, etc... So then I take the boys to Starbucks, we get stuff (fruit and pumpkin loaf for Isaac and I, cookie and OJ for Aaron), sit and hang out, run into the pastor from the church we're attending, talk about his new baby, get compliments on how well behaved and adorable the boys are :) Go back and pick up Annie, with Grant in tow, stopping for gas along the way. All 5.5 of us then go to BJ's, rejoin, and shop to the tune of $300 in stocking up. Their product selection has improved some, I can get Kashi crackers and better natural cheese and stuff like that there now. Incredible deals in the produce section, and it is the cat's lucky day. Back in the parking lot, once I've changed Isaac's diaper and Grant has got the van loaded and the kids' seatbelts are on...it's 8 pm! How the heck did that happen?!

So we take the highway home, and Grant and A and A unload the van while I clean out the fridge and then they all play outside (in the dark no less :P), while I break down giant packages of meat into freezable portions, and start cooking jambalaya for "dinner" (what do you call it when it's ready at like 10?) It came out awesome. And once I enforced the "You have to at least sit with us and try one bite" rule A and A actually ate some. Sara, I got a pot roast so I can make that recipe you sent me the other day, with the rosemary :)

So then we did Isaac's bedtime routine, I read Ananda a chapter and she and Aaron two picture books, Grant brushed a lot of teeth, we fed her fish, I comforted someone about a weird noise, and now...Wow. I need a freaking massage.

Things flow, though. Like Isaac napped during all that driving around in the afternoon, and although he was really loud in BJ's, that's a loud warehouse with a bajillion people inside who don't care, and he was happy. And I think Aaron was able to dance because he had been to LLL earlier in the day - he really opens up there, with the nice talking grown ups and friendly AP'd kids. Nothing like the park kids or whatever. Grant got this finished and approved - http://www.schneblywinery.com - I think it looks AWESOME btw, he took all of the pictures and designed their logo and bottle labels and everything. That's just a place holder but once they're approved for out of state sales he's building the big one, and he gets 15% of online sales, which is huge the way they're taking off :D...and he secured another deal, too. Plus our kitchen is beyond stocked.

My eyes were closing and I was yawning every paragraph, though, reading to Ananda tonight. I have dishes to wash and diapers to fold and put away. If we had a movie to sit together and watch, just the two of us, I would totally be dumb enough to do it.

I'll leave you all with two asinine lists.

( Words Isaac says )
( Things Annie's Fish Has Been Named So Far )