The Power of Positive Thinking

A while back at a used book sale I picked up a copy of Normal Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking. I think I got it for fifty cents? Anyway...a couple of weeks ago I finally started to read it and so many of the concepts in it are the same as those in The Secret DVD. While Peale’s book is very Christian in its terminology, and The Secret is not, the interconnecting key points are amazing.


Visualize.


Think about what you do want!


You create your own reality.


Be grateful.


I think this book came out in the 50's. I just love how everything is interconnected.

Anyway....I'm out of town right now and I'm visualizing snuggling up with Hot Toddy on the king size. It's what I do want. I'm "grateful" he's taking such good care of my babies.

I'm digging this reality I've created.


Will write more soon and can't wait to catch up with all my bloggy friends.


P.S. Watch for the sexy bedroom post coming up soon.

This Is Why We Got Cats

Seth and Sammy, resting.

Seth had an exhausting day. First, he went to preschool in the morning. Then, we went to CVS. Then, there was the thirty minute fit he threw because he didn't get a toy when we went to CVS.

It ain't easy being him. Glad he has a buddy to chill with.

Sam has tripled in size since we got him. He's pure muscle, a silvery grey panthery type of thing. He's got a great personality. All boy.

The calico...the girl. She's still tiny. A bit too vocal at times, but she's turned out to be very sweet.

Ahhh...kids & pets.

A Sirius Mistake

So...I have a birthday coming up, and what I wanted this year was a satellite radio to accompany me during all my new found hours in the kitchen. The main reason I wanted it, was to listen to Oprah and Friends which debuted yesterday. I love all of Oprah's friends, but Marianne Williamson is the big draw for me. My b-day isn't til the first week in October, but Todd, ever so thoughtful...went out, bought the radio, unsealed painted shut windows on our old house, and climbed on rooftops, to place the antennae in time for opening day.

We've had our new radio for a few days and it's great. I've enjoyed NPR in the kitchen during the countdown to the O love fest. Yesterday...was the big day. Turn it on, baby! Turn it on!

Well.

Oprah and her friends aren't on Sirius (the type of satellite radio Todd bought). They're on XM! We thought a satellite radio was a satellite radio? We didn't know you had to get a specific kind of satellite radio? Sniff....sniff.....we didn't know.

So...there's still NPR, and all Todd's football games come in on on this one.

Hey.....wait a second.

ACIM Lesson 267

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

Commertionals and Stuffed Up Animals

Somehow both of my kids came out talking with perfect diction. Riley could talk in full sentences at 14 months. She'd be on my hip in the grocery store and someone behind us would sneeze and in her teeny tiny baby voice she'd say...."Bless you."

The sneezer would do a double take and then the inevitable...."Did that baby just say that?" would follow.

Seth was an early talker too, though not quite as impossibly clear or as early as his sister. When he was three he had trouble with his L's for a little while but Riley worked with him (I kid you not) and he was over it in a week.

Although we don't take credit for the talking, we've never done the baby talk thing and maybe that has helped? Anyway....

I can't seem to allow myself to correct them on certian words and phrases that I find funny and/or endearing.

Riley started it and Seth followed but stuffed animals in our house are stuffed-up animals(yes the poor dears all have colds). Anything not stuffed up is hard.

Riley: "I'm looking for Dorothy the Dinosaur."
Seth: "Stuffed-up or hard?"

TV commercials are commertionals.

"Dora will be on right after the commertional."

Seth sometimes gets a little confused.

"Seth are you (don't even dare think it woman) tired?"

He'll stomp his foot and say, "I amn't." instead of "I'm not."

I know I should be correcting this stuff.

I'm gonna.

Soon.

Have You Ever?

Today each of my kids did something I bet you’ve never done? Seth and I visited a nature center and he was kissed by an opossum. A tame little guy that runs around inside like a pet cat. Cuter than you would expect. I guess they don’t really photograph well, but in person....so sweet! Seth also fed him some raisons.

And Riley? Well, Riley threw a book at an unresponsive librarian. (C’mon. Who hasn’t wanted to do that)?

Tonight I’ll be writing a social story, about what to do to get someone’s attention if the teacher sends you to their room to drop something off and they are ignoring you or otherwise engaged.

I think I’ll suggest the ole’, "ahem" cough. This is just another one of those things you have to spell out for kids on the autistic spectrum. It doesn’t seep into their brains naturally and you don’t think of the situation til’ it comes up.

This is why I don’t have time to sell all that fundraising crap for school. I’m busy getting 13 different nutritional supplements into her each day...and writing social stories.

Carter

Thank you to everyone who held Carter in thought and prayer yesterday. His surgery went well. He will be heavily sedated for a few days and he's on a ventilator. It will be some time before they know if the surgery is a success.

Picture with us, a healthy strong boy, running around, keeping up with his big brother!

Go, Go, Go, Carter!

Everybody loves you!

Friday Again?

It's Friday again? I can't believe it.

I write this in gratitude to all of you who have taken minutes out of your full and busy lives to read my words on this blog. It has been so fun getting to know so many of you through comments & through your own blogs. I try not to look at my map too often (that will make me crazy) but when I do I am humbled. Y'all are so nice! Thanks for reading me.

No, I'm not going anywhere. Can't a girl just have a "moment" and show some appreciation?

Love to you. Yep, you.

Each and every one of you.

Prayer Request

Remember little Carter? He was born in May and weighed in at less than two pounds? He's now one of the biggest guys in the neonatal ICU tipping the scales at over five pounds.

Carter will have surgery on his bowels Thursday at 10:00AM. Please join us in visualizing Carter in perfect health.

Sending out prayers and lots of love to Michelle, Cris and big brother Justin.

Wrapping Paper & Chocolates?

Okay all you seasoned moms out there...I need your help and advice. Does Riley really need to sell chocolates and wrapping paper? Do I really need to force all the people we know to run a little coupon through every time they get groceries to help raise money for school? What is up with this?

She's six. The whole thing is rubbing me the wrong way. We pay taxes and we really have enough to do already.

What the....?

Happy Birthday Kelli

Five years ago this month, my sister and I stood awkwardly in the back room of a church, the day of our mother’s wedding. Enough time had passed and the pain had begun to disperse but still, we were tender. We’d hurt each other. We hadn’t really spoken in years. She hadn’t wanted to get into the fire. I needed the fire and dove in with a vengence.

I did her daughter’s hair, the beautiful flower girl. She gushed over my child, crawling on the floor. The healing power of children.

At the reception, she confided….a lump in her breast. Her doctor said not to worry. No family history. Just 36 years old.

“Find another doctor.” I said.

“I’ve already made the appointment.”

We stood watching our mother, watching our children. 9/11 just ten days prior.

A glacier melting.

--

“It’s cancer.” she said.

“I’m here for you.” I said.

--

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, back then.” She says now.

“I’m sorry I tried to force you to be in a place that you weren’t.” I tell her.

“I love you.”

“I love you too Kelli.”


Happy Birthday, my beautiful sister.

Follow Her Bliss

If you get a chance, check out the blog of this cool chick. She's a firefighter in Southern B.C., Canada. Looking at her blog makes me want to go on a big camping adventure. Now!

http://jen-follows-her-bliss.blogspot.com/

All of the pictures are breathtaking but one in particular got to me. It's about halfway down the page(below the horses) and it's a lake with mountains in the back and a perfect reflection of them on the water. This photo called me to stop scrolling and just stare for a good long time.

As above, so below.

Perception is a mirror.


I love, love, love it when people follow their bliss!


Thanks Jen!

Quotes from The Secret

“What you think and what you feel are always in alignment, no exceptions.”
-Esther Hicks

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968

“All that we are is the result of all that we have thought.”
- The Buddha

“What the power is I cannot say. All I know is that it exists.”
-Alexander Graham Bell 1847-1922

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
-Albert Einstein 1879-1955

“Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.”
- W. Clement Stone 1902-2002

“All power is from within and is therefore under our control.”
-Robert Collier 1855-1950

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way you are right.”
-Henry Ford 1863-1947

“Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before.”
-Joseph Campbell


These are some of the quotes interspersed throughout the new film titled The Secret. As a member of the Unity Church, and a student of A Course In Miracles the concepts in The Secret are not new to me, but I have never before seen them put into such a powerful, succinct and inspiring package. Very simply...whether we know it or not, we are creating our own realities as we go, all the time. The Secret explains how you can consciously create the reality you want.

This film is amazing. If you haven't yet, I hope you find time to see it.

Look Ma, No Fangs! and a meme!

And now back by popular demand...... the old blog photo.

It took my technical guy all morning to get it back.

"Still"....I say, "I never even liked that one."

He throws up his arms.

"Just shoot me." he says.

Stay with me folks, we're going on a little ride....

These pictures were taken back in March in my writing room. I thought it appropriate because I'm a writer. Hear that y'all? A writer. But I'm not really telling you that, I'm reminding myself.

I got a meme the other day from Sandra. I don't really know what "meme" means, but I get the gist. A bunch of questions you're supposed to answer to reveal some of yourself others may not know. See...I'm quick? I usually delete them, but this one is about books. My weakness.

Well I tucked this away to work on later and what a blessing it was to me yesterday. I've been hitting the memoir hard and I was so depressed. I was asking myself....why do this? Why go through it all again in the form of writing? How can it possibly help me to take yet another run through the muck? How can it help anyone?

As a procrastination tactic I looked over the meme and thought about the first question.


A book that changed my life: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston.

Written in 1937, my young mind couldn’t believe how a southern black woman, dead before I was born, could tell my story. I read this in my early 20s when I took an African American History class at a local community college in the DC area. I’ve read it over and over and have given it as a gift many times. The language is so real. The truths so universal. The humor so pee your pants. It is my favorite book of all time.


Blackbird, Jennifer Lauck.

This book moved me to my core. Since reading it a year and a half ago, I have traveled across the country twice for writing workshops with the author. I have begun a serious writing practice, and I'm half-way through the second draft of my memoir. Jennifer is an amazingly open, loving yet firm teacher and I am humbled and honored to have access to a talent as vast as she and to call her friend.

A book that made me laugh:
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris

A book that made me cry:
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White - This book was the first “big kid” book I ever read and I wept at the end. I do believe it instilled in me a lifelong love of reading.

A book that I wish had been written:
A gender neutral version of A Course in Miracles.

A book that I wish had never been written:
How about those nasty Flowers in the Attic books? I read all of them as a teen and don’t think it really served me.

A book I’ve been meaning to read:
Money, A Memoir (recommended by Blair Tyler Peters).

I’m currently reading
The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
Sensational Kids, Lucy Jane Miller
The Power of Positive Thinking, Normal Vincent Peale
It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend, Richard Lavoie

Blogs I’m tagging: Jenny, Xanthe, Carrie, Kari


So, after doing this exercise, and thinking about the power of books, the answers to my questions became more clear. My book? My story? What's the point? Who am I to write a book?

I'm a writer. Who am I not to?

Beautiful Dancer

Riley has what they call gravitational insecurities. She is very off-balance. The playground is stressful for her because she’s always afraid another kid will knock into her, making her fall off the equipment. Her gait is a little awkward. She has a tic in her arms that flairs up most when she is excited. At this point in her life, none of this matters to her one bit. She is sure of her beauty and beautiful she is…..

“Mommy do you want to see my graceful moves?”

She takes off across the hardwood floors, leaping and twirling to the classical music coming from the little boom box on the shelf. Raising her hands, joining them over her head, she twirls and twirls, eyes closed. She bends and poses, then off again, leaping through the air, her long brown hair twirling around her, and falling again as she changes directions. Every so often she checks to see if I’m looking and smiles at the fact that I still am.

Seth says, “ Riley…you’re stomping, and stomping isn’t graceful.”

Not offended one bit, she ignores him, but does lighten her step a tad. She takes her time finishing up her dance and when she does she spins over to me, landing in my lap on the chair.

Big brown eyes look up at me and she says, “Mommy, will you dream about my dancing tonight?”

I’ll dream about it forever, Riley. I’ve never received a more beautiful gift.

Zora Neale Hurston, on writing

"...the force from somewhere in Space which commands you to write in the first place, gives you no choice. You take up the pen when you are told, and write what is commanded. There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you."


- Zora Neale Hurston

I'll Try Not To Take It Personally

In the car after school....

Seth: Winston had a hard time at school this morning. He was crying.

Riley: Why was he crying?

Seth: He always cries because he misses his mommy.

Riley: Oh.


....a long reflective pause.


Seth: I don't miss my mommy.

Riley: Me neither.

FANG, here

It’s been brought to my attention by an old friend (yeah, he's getting up there)that the new picture on my blog is a bit scary. Okay…a lot scary.

It looks okay on my profile page, but leaving a comment it looks like I grew a set of fangs. In fact, as long as that pic is up, why don’t I just start signing my comments FANG?

I don’t even have abnormally large incisors. I swear I don’t. I’d admit it if I did.

Bear with me while I try to get Todd to take another picture, but that won’t be easy. He tires of it because I end up hating every shot. After all…he’s not a magician.

Oh and ….thanks a lot Rob. Whatever would I do without you?

* I was going to add a picture of some fangs to illustrate my point, but instead, just click on my comments. You'll see.

In Remembrance

"What may seem like separation is really only evidence of a joyous reunion close at hand."
-Today's Daily Word, Unity



"Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still."
- ACIM Lesson 221


Love.

Boo!

It's that time of year again. The season where we can't bring the girl into stores due to all the Halloween decorations that are just too terrifying for her.

Just bring her in, force her to get over it, you say?

You try shopping with a screaming six year old. You try focusing on a grocery list, with the wailing child and also dealing with people's "tsk,tsk...if she were my kid looks.

Really...why do we have to have a grim reaper skeleton with blood red eyes standing in the entrance of every store? Why do half of these skeletons need a sensor, allowing them to let out spooky laughs as we walk by? Why the ghoul-ish guy with the axe in his head?

I swear these kids are just pointing out how screwed up we are as a society. Horror and violence as entertainment.

The rest of us are just too asleep to notice.

We Were Set Up

So after our horrendous afternoon yesterday, on the way to pick up the girl at school,Seth says,"Mommy. I had a cookie today at preschool."

"Really Seth...you did?"

Interesting. I thought I'd made it clear that Seth wasn't to have any food that wasn't provided by me? I wrote it on his forms, and talked to his teacher about it personally. I provide our own juice for him and he brings his own snack every day.

"What kind of cookie buddy? What did it look like?"

"It was big and it had red whipped cream and mine had an S on it for Seth."

-Red food dye.

-Sugar.

-Refined flour.

-Probably milk.

-Probably preservatives.

He hasn't had any of these since April, when the whole family changed our eating lifestyle for Riley. Seth probably wouldn't settle down yesterday because he couldn't.

I am sure this was an unintentional oversight, but I am so tired of not being taken seriously about the issue of nutrition. I know, I know. Six years ago I would have thought our current diet was a bit much, but that was before I knew about autistic spectrum disorders and the associated digestive and emotional issues involved with food dyes, chemicals, preservatives, etc.

But Seth isn't autistic? Why should he "suffer" with this restrictive diet?

Because chemicals, food dyes and preservatives aren't good for any body. He has a sister on the autistic spectrum. He's got a genetic susceptablity to autoimmune disorders. He has cancer and heart disease and hypertension in his family. He obviously has food sensitivities himself.

I make a point to never tell anyone else how to eat. I don't expect people to change anything for us. I bring our own food everywhere. I just wish people in our lives would respect our choices.

So to those who feel we are ridiculous because our kids don't eat McDonald's, potato chips, and a bunch of other junk, I say please understand we have done our homework and we are trying our hardest to do what we feel is best for our children.

Oh, and another thing....if depriving our kids of junk food is the worst thing we are doing, if that's all you've got on us, I'll take that as a compliment.

Thanks.

He's Gonna Get It

This is not a cute little I love my kids my life is so great kind of post. Seth is at the stage where he still needs a nap but resists taking one. Evenings with him are completely miserable and I am so sick of dealing with his crap from 4-8 every night. Pure hell. Today I insisted he take a nap because it’s Friday and he and Riley get to stay up late. He wouldn’t stay in his bed, so I laid down with him and had to actually restrain him as he cried “I’m not tired!” though his yawns gave him away.

After a while my frustration levels were through the roof and he showed no signs of settling down.

I tried to visualize him later this evening, after his nap, feeling refreshed, being his sweet little self. With every thump of his leg, with every flip of his body, my visualizations were tossed and rage bubbled just beneath my surface.

45 minutes later, I lost it. I screamed at him. I threw him roughly onto the bed. I threatened him and I screamed some more.

1 hour 45 minutes total and he’s still not asleep.

“I’m hungry!” he’s crying from his room.

“Too bad.” I yell back. “If you had taken a nap you could be up having a snack by now. You are not getting up until you actually sleep! And you are taking a nap EVERY SINGLE DAY from now on! And if you get up I will spank you!” (It's just a threat, but how's that for the lady that was teaching him non-violence yesterday)?

Todd works 9-9 Sat & Sun. It’s going to be a long stinkin’ weekend.

He Got It!

“Mommy, I want to go in the Dr. Seuss room.” Seth whispers, pointing toward the grown-up section of the library.

He’s referring to the small sanctuary the library has dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

One time last year we happened to be on that end of the building and he asked about the room so I took him in. No talking is allowed in there. The room has glass walls, and lots of photos taken during the civil rights movement. A bust of King rests on a podium.

We were the only ones in the room and Seth sat quietly while we whispered about Dr. King. What do you tell a three year old? I did my best.

Seth picked up a flyer and took it with him, carrying it around for a few days before eventually losing it. He was so proud of that yellow flyer.

Today I correct him, “Dr. King, baby…not Dr. Seuss.”

We walk into the room and Seth sits quietly on a chair for a couple of minutes. Once again, we’re the only people in there.

“Mommy, why do they have a statue of Dr. King?” he asks in his quietest whisper.

“Because he was a very good man, and we want to remember all he taught us.” I whisper back.

Wondering what Seth remembers from our talk last year, I ask,

“Seth.....what did Dr. King teach?”

He thinks for a second. Cocks his head sideways and puts his hand to his chin. He looks up at me with a solemn expression on his face and says,

“Don’t hit.”

I Remember You

He had today off and rather than write this morning, I make him an offer. Guarantee me time to write this afternoon and we will spend the whole morning together, just the two of us for the first time in six years.

I have a deal and I get misty watching him get misty as he watches the girl get on the bus. He’s had to work and it’s the first he’s seen this amazing feat.

We drop the boy off at preschool together and go for a short hike at a nearby park. We come home and eat eggs, throwing in crumbled up leftover turkey burgers and extra spices.

We still have lots of time so we go to bed (no, not for sex, we’ve already done that once this month and have to pace ourselves, people). 10:30 in the morning and we’re cozied up on the king size, snuggling like we did before kids when we worked evening shift and the mornings were ours.

It’s the same bed. We feel the same with my back to him and his warm body pressed tightly to mine. I almost don’t dare open my eyes for fear we’ll be back in upstate NY not yet having delivered our first born, not having these children, not having learned all these hard lessons along the way. Six moves later, I don’t want to go through it again. It can’t be a dream.

Opening my eyes it’s now, not then. I turn to look at him and his eyes are closed so I study his face. This person who has been nothing but kind all eleven years that I’ve known him. This man who has brought me through the last six exhausting years of labor. We both went into that delivery room and it seems only now we are coming out. Catching our breath.

The alarm is set so I back up to him again and we fall asleep and I stir at the sound of a toy car, activated by the cats in the hallway. He wraps his arms around me more tightly...and we rest.

Mother of the Year

So, we're waiting for the bus and Seth manages to hop in a pile of mud, getting his sneakers covered just before preschool. Then he finds a stick and starts digging in the mud, and then he takes said stick and begins swinging it around, almost clocks his sister and I've had enough.

"Give me the stick!" I say, yanking it out of his hand.

I'm ticked off about his shoes, so with gusto I draw the stick back hard, ready to whip it across the yard. Yes, I draw it back hard, straight into Riley's head. I didn't know she had moved and was standing behind me! She's shrieking, crying. I get her calmed down, and then run in for two seconds to get Seth different shoes and the bus comes, causing her to freak out again. Wailing, she's pounding on the glass door! "Mommy! The bus! The bus!" I come flying out of the house to walk her down the driveway. Poor thing. Two panic attacks in less than five minutes and off you go princess.

I pray she has a good day?



* Riley had a great day at school. Perhaps a good whack on the head with a stick should become part of the daily morning routine?

Married Life

Todd comes into the bathroom, “Do you even know where we keep the soap? I mean....have you ever even opened a bar?”

Hmm.....let me think.

Yeesssss. The soap is under the sink in the bathroom (though I wouldn't bet my life on it).

Have I ever opened a bar?

No. I guess not?

You see....I could get by on a sliver for a week or more. Seems Todd has to have a big manly chunk in his hand. Therefore, he’s always opening a new bar, before I ever feel the need to.

I never even noticed?

You mean the soap fairy doesn’t just swoosh into the shower and take care of those kinds of things?

Eight years in December, people.... and there’s still so much to learn.


* Tonight Todd informs me....We'll be married 9 years, not eight. Well pardon me.
(He's really got to stop reading the blog).

Profound Questions

So I told the kids about Steve Irwin today before school because I didn't want them hearing about it from anyone else. They had lots of questions about stingrays and Seth said, "Terri and Bindi are going to have to teach people about animals now."

Very profound I thought for four years and a day.

Yes, buddy, they will.

Everything seemed okay, but then he came home from preschool and all afternoon he was worried about stingrays.

"Mommy, I don't want a stingray to get me."

"It will never happen Seth. They live at the bottom of the ocean."

"But what if we go to the ocean? I don't want to swim in the ocean because I don't want a stingray to get me."

I rattle off what I've learned in the last 24 hours from internet news stories:

"Seth, stingrays hardly ever bother anybody. Steve Irwin got too close and the sting ray got scared.That's why he shot his barb.They won't do that if you leave them alone, and they're not likely to come into the water you'll be swimming in anyway."

(Did I mention Seth can't even swim yet so his worries are a bit premature)?

"Oh." He looked at me skeptically.

Later at dinner, Seth holds up his butter knife and asks, "Does this look like a barb?"

"I don't know exactly what a barb looks like Seth, but most of the time if a stingray shoots a barb, it just gives you a boo-boo. It hardly ever kills anyone. It just happened to get Steve Irwin in the wrong place. It was an accident."

Riley added, "So...Bindi isn't going to have a Daddy anymore? Ever again?"

"No sweetie."

Silence at the table, then Riley folds her hands over her chest and closes her eyes....."But he'll always be in her heart?"

"Yes love."

I think we're done, but wait...there's more. One last question from the girl.

"Was he wearing a bathing suit?"

Goodbye Steve Irwin

When Steve Irwin first hit the scene, my immediate reaction was “What an idiot? Why would someone get off on wrestling alligators and putting themselves in harm’s way like that? He must have something wrong with him?”

This is just one of the millions of times a knee jerk reaction of mine has turned out to be completely off base.

After he did a Wiggles video for children(Wiggly Safari), I became intrigued. He was so sincere in his efforts to teach children about wildlife and conservation. He wasn’t just messing with crocodiles to get on TV. His genuine love and respect for animals was evident in every scene. I started to like him.

It was his Oprah appearance that floored me. Turns out, he was quite the romantic...madly in love with his wife. He described the birth of their daughter with genuine awe. He was truly a proud papa and I was starting to “like him, like him.”

Last year I took out a documentary about him from the library and like turned to love. Yes, I’ll admit it. I loved the crocodile hunter. He was an amazing man. He lived his passion and that, to me, is the very definition of a hero. He leaves behind beautiful children and an amazing wife who I'm sure will keep his legacy alive. My heart goes out to them.

Me? I’ll be okay, but I’m really going to miss those little khaki shorts.

Happy Birthday to Seth!

Henry and Wags arrived on time. The party was yesterday. Today he plays with all his new toys. For lunch he had his favorite... shrimp sauteed in garlic and ginger(I know...don't get me started). We're going to see Cars this afternoon.

It's good to be four.

It's good to be Seth.

We we are so blessed to have him.

Tired of the Treadmill?

Check out the video on Shari MacDonald Strong's blog for inspiration. Shari is columnist and editor extrodinare for Literary Mama. She also writes a column for Literary Mama on spirituality and motherhood. (I'll never never look at our treadmill the same)!

http://sharimacdonaldstrong.blogspot.com/

Baghdad Girl

I started reading this 14 year old Iraqi girl's blog over the summer. Her writing and pictures stopped abruptly when she had to quickly leave her country.

Her innocence juxtaposed against the background of war is extremely moving to me.

Checking in today I see she has continued to write. God bless her and every other child affected by war, directly and indirectly. Wait...isn't that all of us?


http://baghdadgirl.blogspot.com/

That's My Girl!

Half an hour ago I put my little girl on the school bus for the first time. I thought I'd be driving her the whole first year(buses are loud, too much stim), but in a new display of independence, Riley informed me yesterday that she wanted to ride the bus. In fact, she was really put out that I couldn't just make it happen before school. 24 hours later and here she is.

This little girl, who could not walk until she was 18 months old. Could not hold her spoon until well into her third year. Was not potty trained until five. Could not write until six months ago. She is getting on the bus (the gross motor required)! She is coming home with stories, illustrated and neatly written in full sentences by her.

Her teacher told me that by yesterday, (day four) the other kids in her K-1 class were looking to her for answers because they see she is so smart.

The bus she is getting on is a little one. It picks up only the six kids in Riley's class. It is perfect.

She is perfect.

Excuse me, I'm gonna go cry now.