if you listen

you can hear, birds sing and flowers grow. if you listen you can hear, my love for you just grow.

Elizabeth Mitchell sings a song, on Gillian and my favorite album of late, that makes me tear up every time. On the way home from Madison was no exception.

We love singing along to music in the car. Gilly gets a sort of ga-ga look in her eye when the CD changer finishes one of my albums (usually some old school Marley circa Catch a Fire, Wagner, or a kid friendly Beck album...anyone else love Guero?!...all of which she will happily sing along with), and, surprisingly, starts Elizabeth's Little Bird .

On Sunday, we sang through most of the album, and, when we arrived at 'if you listen' (I first heard this song, sung by Francoise Hardy, in high school. Mitchell does a fantastic rendition), Gillian commented, "I've been singing this all week in my head!"

My goodness, that's nice to hear! Me too!

So, we both sang along. Me choking down tears (it's the lyrics, man! They just GET me!) and her singing to the fairies that we passed on the road.

If you've got an interest in folk that's a little bit salty, pick up this album. Your kids will thank you for it. So will I.

We don't live there anymore

We spent this past weekend in Madison, WI visiting my family. I love that town. It has a strange way of making me feel beserk and at home all at the same time. Go figure. I suppose I'll add that to my list of bizarro life situations.

So, I thought I'd share some goofy pictures of the girls...Fran, these are from the last time you visited us. Take note. Gillian had no front teeth. She does now. I think it's time to come back up here. Heehee.

Yikes! Sorry about that...

Ummm...I suppose this is what happens when you take your girls to Libby Lu. Good gracious...what were we thinking?

Anyhoo...we miss you guys. It's time for a visit.

Strike a pose. Duh-duhduh.

Feeling a bit 'blah' today

So, I've moved into the gray zone. So there.

But, don't worry. This is what I came home for.

I mean...uh...this is what I came home for.


Soon, I 'll feel more like this.



P.S.
Joy, this one

is for you. Stay tuned for more...

Pumpkin Patch!

Last weekend, we thought it would be fun to take the girls to the pumpkin patch.

I found what I thought would be a fantastic location: pony rides, apples, pumpkins, petting zoo, hay ride...and FREE!

We loaded up five girls (one of whom was feeling mighty crabby) and three adults (one of whom was feeling rather sniffly) and proceeded...to get lost.

Great.

My directions neglected to inform me that there were two highways numbered 51. Old highway 51 and new highway 51. I love Mapquest. Thanks.

Luckily, we happened upon a sweet truck driver who pointed us in the right direction.

We were on our way...after a mighty long and confusing hour in the car.

We arrived at an over-peopled, over-priced, apple and pumpkin plucked disappointment.

Oh well.

The girls had fun and I got some pretty cute pictures!












There's always next year...

Ten weird things...

My friend JJM tagged me by email the other day.

THE GAME:
"Here's how you play, once you've been tagged. You have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts or habits about yourself. At the end you choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment "You're It!" and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you."

This should be easy as I am a confirmed, complete and utter, nuttball. Ask anyone...

1. I love my Birkies. A lot. Really, I'll show you.



That's seven years of love, baby!

These puppies have trekked through a month of mud and slime in the Amazon, filthy cobblestones in Quito, crystal clear water in the BWCA, cloud forest in the mountains of Ecaudor, and the cigarette lined streets of Paris. And survived.

They've walked in the footsteps of Diane de Poitiers at Château de Chenonceau past Leonardo Da Vinci at Château de Chambord. And they marveled at it all.

They've been to Cape Breton Island where they saw a moose. A BIG moose. And they didn't run away.

They brought home a wrinkled, new baby. And helped carry her around for years.

They've been all over the world with me. And I refuse to give them up. So, maybe they're a little smelly. Okay, very smelly, but they're my buddies. I love my buddies. All of them, whether or not they stink. So there.

2. I'm a curious beast. Don't be mad if I keep asking you questions. About everything. Yes, everything. Please, don't hold back. I'm totally fascinated by all of you!!

3. We didn't own a television for a few years. One of Nathan's friends from work heard about it and took pity on him. He was sent home with a TV, much to my chagrin. Luckily, it had no antenna, so, we didn't get any reception for television braodcasts. Phew! It's creeping up on five years now, sans the TV shows. Life is good. (Don't get us wrong...We LOVEloveLOVE movies and watch planty of them!!)

4. I have got one hell of a deep bellybutton. Not kidding. It's like Lake Superior in there!

5. Yes, my hair is that curly. Yes, it grows that way. No, it's not that hard to take care of. No, you cannot do the boingy thing with my curls. Now go away.

6. I have two feet...of different sizes. And, I passed it on to Gilly. Poor girl.

7. The doctor who deliverd Gillian was named Dr. Faust. Not kidding. That should have sparked some concerns.

8. You only think I've got fashion sense. What I've really got is a uniform with mighty good accessories. That's right. Summer = T-shirts and khakis of varying colors. Fall, Spring, Winter = Sweaters and khakis of varying colors. Sprinkle in some jeans. Add wool socks, or take them off. Done.

9. I love non-fiction best.

10. It takes me HOURS to fall asleep. I mean it. HOURS! My brain cannot shut up. I think I might do something about it one day. Suggestions? (No guns, please)

Now, I'm passing the tag on my favorite, lovely, blogging ladies:

Ahna
Johanna
Kalurah
Galadriel
Heather
Shandy
Kelly
sew succulent

Can't wait to hear about all your weirdness!

YIKES!

Look what I found when I opened my Apple Photobooth today!!

WHO IS THAT??!!

...and what has she done with my baby?!

That looks like a slightly-know-it-all-ish-in-your-face-rocker-chick
-jamming-with-the-hip-fashion-girl.

How did she get in here? I thought I sprinkled the magic-pre-teenager-attitude-repellent all over the doorknobs! Crap!

Guess who got into my shoes.

She's such a creative little bug, though, isn't she? I believe that's a chocolate chip cookie in her hand. It helps to eat cookies when making art. Had I gone to art school, I'm sure that would have come up in Drawing I or something. Maybe this growing up thing won't be too bad.

I'm sure I'm kidding myself.

This is me...

Here's a postcard my sweet and thoughtful older sister sent me years and years ago.

Anybody else wish they were writing clever things while sipping fancy coffee in a fashionable Paris bistro circa 1959?

I'm going to take a nap now and dream about it.

Wake me up when...wait.

Don't wake me up!

639 more minutes until my alarm goes off..

Today I read an article that made me think. (Yes, I do that sometimes.)

It was written by a man who, on his relentless quest for efficiency and mastery of time, almost missed a beautiful snippet of life.

That is, the sweetness. The little things. The tiny love notes your children leave for you all over the house. The smiles from strangers. The time when someone backed off and let you merge onto the highway. And you waved to say 'thanks.'

And how fleeting it all is. But how precious.

And, yes, we're all in a hurry. We're all just trying to get it done so we can move on. Get home. Hurry up and get supper on. And brush the kids teeth. And get to bed.

And yet, we have to remember the little things. We have to remember to be here. In the moment. Right now.

I promise to do it if you do.

So, dear readers, tell me about how you take it all in.

How do you cherish all those minutes in the day?

Now, go remind someone else of it...and, maybe, we'll become masters of our time as well.

We can always use a lift, so how about this one...

The Orange

Wendy Cope

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange-
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave-
They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange, it made me so happy.
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. a walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It's new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And I enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I'm glad I exist.

lovelovelove

I know I just did this...but it's Nathan's birthday and I love him tons...so, he deserves a tribute!

So, here are a few of the reasons for which I love this man:

He gave Gilly all those adorable baby genes...



How could I not with a face like this?



He still hasn't figured out where the potty is...



He's got such a fabulous amount of facial hair...maybe because he started shaving so early.



He rocks!



He's got the same ridiculous sense of humor as I do!



He manages to get in the craziest predicaments!







Yes, that's him stuck in a hole. And he and his brother in the fireplace!

He's such a strong, handsome, daddyman!



He's a wrestler...and that's SO hot!









He knew VW's were cool way before the rest of us!



He's such a smarty pants. He was elected to write his high school graduation speech and, due to his notorious procrastination skills, he somehow managed to write it two hours before commencement. Jeez!





He's so cute!



He fathered this beautiful girl...



And without him, we would not be such a fabulous unit!



We lovelovelove you! Hurry up and finish law school so we'll see you more often!