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  • 10 Confessions

    Because MooncatBlue told me to


    (she threatened to send chupacabras to steal my underwear if I did not comply so what choice did I have.)

    1. I am deathly afraid of seahorses, I know this is not logical in any sense but when I see images of them I want to faint.  This fear adds an element of risk to visiting aquariums.
    2. I am not a patient person. I might appear patient but I have to work my hardest at not yelling “come on, get the lead out” at any number of people and situations. When I manage to control this part of myself and behave in a calm and patient manner, I feel nothing less than victorious. This happens 37 times a day.
    3. I will do anything to avoid washing silverware and will let it pile in the sink for days until we run out of spoons or Trevor comes home and washes them (whichever comes first)
    4. I will also do anything to avoid putting laundry away, I will happily wash and hang and fold laundry but will feign any number of illnesses to avoid actually putting the stuff in my drawers. ha ha,  i said “stuff in my drawers”.
    5. Sometimes I hide behind my camera.
    6. I only shaved one armpit last week; I was taking a bath before bed and was extremely tired. It was not until an hour later that this occurred to me. I am ashamed to admit it took me another 24 hours before I bothered to “even things out”.
    7. I will not throw out underwear until the elastic is shot; this is the point where I cannot tell the waist from the leg holes and invariably end up putting them on all crookedly and have to cut them off because this is easier than taking off my pants (see impatience, #2).
    8. I’m on Facebook and sometimes I even post things there.
    9. I don’t act it but I am really pretty angry about having asthma and about missing out on so much these past few years because I couldn’t breathe.
    10. I might be blogging again.  I say might because if I say I AM blogging again but have a hard time blogging and change my mind then I end up feeling badly about it.  But I think I have found my spark again, I just don’t want to scare it away by talking about it. Oh wait, did I do that just now? Shhhh.


    If you would like to confess then consider yourself tagged (if you are having a hard time with motivation let me know and I can send mooncatblue’s chupacabra along to steal your underpants since mine were not worth stealing).



  • Self Portrait Challenge
    September’s theme: portals



    Another Portal




    This is where the sleeping happens and sometimes the not sleeping and this is where we hold our children during the night and this is where he keeps his papers and all that he writes and this is where I sometimes go for quiet, when I want to write things down.


    This is where i feel most vulnerable. When night falls and I fear that they need me more than I can give fully and I worry about how fast life is passing, this is where I lay and hope that everything will turn out for the best while knowing that life does not always work that way.

    This is also where we wake up with the sun and begin the day by laughing or talking about bees and this is where I paint when I feel like painting and this is where I keep the blanket she crocheted for me when I was so very small and this is where he and I look across the bed at one another and whisper about love as they are sleeping and this is between us.

    when I climb these stairs, I am my truest self.

    More SPC entries here


  •  Gold Panning, The Truth, Cookie of Doom
    ~~~~
    A few days ago we went panning for gold on a river in western Maine.  We didn’t discover any gold but instead found spring salamanders and enjoyed lunch with our toes in the icy waters.

    Jesse decided yesterday that he wanted to make an entire batch of cookie dough and then bake it up as one enormous cookie of doom.
    So he did.

    apparently, it did not taste like doom

    The Truth

    The truth is that a plane truly did drop candy out of the sky; our town has a yearly weekend celebration which culminates in events at the airport. This year a plane dropped candy in the open field and the kids chased it down.



    It was like something from a dream.

  • Candyland
    ~~~~~

    Would you believe me if I told you that a plane dropped candy out of the sky and
    they ran to gather it?

    I swear it’s true.

  • Garden Joy



  • If You’ve Got The Berries Honey, We’ve Got The Time

    (i know, i know)

    nothing makes her happier

    one for you, three for me


    there is usually a 7-10 day window when we have all three berries at once; this is cause for a great berry party.


    Jesse versus swimmer’s itch
     
    Jesse found the Big Dipper in his spots so he WON.
     
    I win too.

    dinner in a garden hod = happiness.
     
    pink fingerlings!
     
     
    The summer has turned and we finally have sunny days. I am trying to keep up with the garden but we want to swim and grill and roll in the grass and these are all important things.  My lungs are stable; I am guessing I may be on this gluten-free, casein-free Feingold diet forever but this is ok because I am myself again and this is worth more than cheese.  No, really, it is, ha ha.
     
    This week Jesse and I are getting ready to drive down to Wakefield, MA for the Northeast Unschooling Conference, we are both SO looking forward to meetiing some of our fellow unschoolers and taking a small trip together.  Will you be there?

     
    I will be, as long as I can find clean pants and my toothbrush.
     


     


  • It Has Been A Wet Summer But We Plod On, Soggy Pants And All
    ~~~~~
    While I moan about the rain, it doesn’t stop me; I take the kids and the dog and we go out and look for damp things, we look for the mushrooms and the toads and salamanders and then we come home and compare mosquito bites.

    If you ask her for a kiss, she will lean in so slowly, so carefully

    and then she gives you a kiss and tears about the yard like it’s Christmas, or free ice cream day at Dairy Whip

    there is no cure for this

    only more dog kisses but this is a good thing so it’s ok

    Jesse does a lot of bike riding and shrieking

     there is no cure for this, either

    Roo is contemplative

    and thoughtful.

    Have you ever asked how many raisins you can fit on a tropical drink umbrella?
    the answer is at least nine.

    there are many things I could tell you right now, but really what I want to tell you is how we are mostly happy doing what we love

    and this is more than enough

  •  

    The Morel Of The Story

    (or: the story of the morel)

    sauteed Morel mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, chives and pasta.

     

    swoon.

     


  • Bunnies, Buttons and Stickers That Say HAM
    ~~~
    Nothing makes a 9 year old happier than a sticker that says bio-hazard
    you know you want some

    unless it’s a sticker that says pimento cheese

    ham meets ham and cheese

    I might be hormonal

    yes, it appears that I am

    yes please

    thanks

    POOP.

    (all of these amazing bunnies are available HERE; she also makes custom rabbits with the saying of your choice). 

    Jesse felt a bit tired of people calling him a girl so he wanted some buttons to help clarify the matter:
    “I’m A Boy”

    and when this does not work, he breaks out the big guns with:
    “I’m A Boy, Get Over it”

    custom buttons from here.

    la la la.

  •  

    Poker Face

    We play for pennies, rubber bands, cookies, marbles, kisses even.  It does not matter though, the thrill is in keeping a straight face that no-one can read.

    She keeps her cards in her sweater so that I cannot peek by accident.

    Five card stud, deuces and jacks are wild.

    Your Turn.