i highly recommend dating your spouse.

for many people, when you have kids the most pressing role you play is "mama" and "papa." there is a tendency to forget that once-upon-a-time you might have been "girlfriend" or "boyfriend," then "newlywed" or what-have-you. sometimes you forget what its like to be a couple, as opposed to a couple of parents. for a sustainable marriage, this spells disaster.

at one point early this year, blake and i hit the hard realization that we don't really know how to just be "the two of us." we used to date? really?? that was soooooo long ago. its not like we NEVER go on dates, its just that it is so infrequently that every time we are out it feels....weird. so we made a pact to get to know each other all over again, outside of the role of mom/dad. and let me tell you, it is NICE. more than nice, it's downright HOT.

i highly recommend dating your spouse. we realized that we DO have things in common, which was a surprise because parenting can be so difficult at times that all you see is where you disagree. this can lead to "we are SO different...." which can lead to "who the crap is this person??" and that is, as i said, disaster.

sure, we ARE very different people, with very different personalities. but when we come together over something casually-mutual like good food, or a favorite band we can see how we actually compliment each other--in a more relaxed way, outside of our normal home environment. at a restaurant, we choose different plates and sample each others food, and talk about what we like and don't like. at a concert, i like to dance and drink while we watch a band, Blake likes to hold my coat, and keep me safe from drunk dudes, and drive me home while we talk over the play list on the drive. we laugh together and come up with little "had to be there" inside jokes to share later....we make memories. when we are on our date we are "blake and leah", or "that cute couple" who might be newlyweds or together for a decade, or who may or may not have three flooping children at home.

this weekend was the ultimate date: overnight in Seattle to see the man that binds us, Mr. Nick Cave. our first time away overnight since having George. i was worried i'd put too much expectation into this adventure, that because i wanted it to be so relaxing and so magical and so fun that i'd jinx it and we'd fight or i'd somehow be disappointed. apparently though, in my 20's, what was once my ability to "jinx" things, has now become an ability to manifest...hooray for my 30's!

relaxing, magical, and fun: it was all of those things. our hotel was classy and quiet with a vintage feel (for cheap), we were 4 blocks from a fantastic restaurant that we got into on a Saturday with no reservation or wait, sat at the counter and watched the chefs work their craft, and opened our eyes together to the glory of the charcuterie plate; plus our show was only 2 blocks away and the band, Grinderman, KILLED--we had so much fun there and then stayed up late in our hotel room talking about it....among other things....:) in the morning we walked toward Pike Place Market (only 6 blocks) and found a great, quiet breakfast place serving fresh crab and avocado eggs benedict while we read the newspaper. after we checked out, we explored the (free!) Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront and finally, when we felt satisfied in our exploration of the city, we headed home, with hot coffee and happy souls.

i am already looking forward to our next date.....

ready for our big night out...look how excited we are!

i had to be tourist on the way to our dinner...it's my honey and the space needle!

post-dinner and ready to rock!

here be the said "rockin'"

we both agreed it was the best we've seen Nick...having this new, straight-up rock-and-roll project has given him new life...and the venue (King Cat) was small so we really got to enjoy the band up close

okay, i'll be honest i only vaguely remember this photo being taken....

the morning after: enjoying a stroll in downtown before the crowds

we still thought of our precious kiddos now and again...

our crab-and-avocado eggs benedict totally hit the spot!

our hotel was called the Warwick and we had a Juliet balcony

you may not see it, but i see the look of a relaxed and happy husband!

@Seattle Art Museum's sculpture park

here i am glaring at blake because he just belched loudly while taking my picture...just because we are on a date doesn't mean he doesn't get "the look"!

hey LOOK, it's that cute couple, Blake and Leah!

how weaning happens

...or at least how it happens with us. even more specifically, with george and me.

i cried last night. a good, hard, had-to-take-off-my-glasses cry. without complete intention, i have just weaned my last baby from the breast. (and i am 99% sure i am done having babies.) only another nursing mother can fully understand what it feels like to nurse your baby for the last time. plus, in this case i didn't know the last time was "the last time." so, now i have this little grief dancing inside my heart, that i know will settle but hurts all the same. i thought this post might help.

i did the math: i have been suckling babies for 6 of the past 8 years, with one period of rest in between. it will feel weird to not have that connection. i've said it a hundred times: nursing, if anything, is a relationship, not just a food source.

mayan nursed like a champ from the minutes she was born, and nursing her into toddlerhood not only seemed like the way SHE was going to have it, but it was important to me, as well, since she had so many food allergies and it took her a while to establish a food-diet that could nourish her. with her, nursing was a valuable tool. to calm her down when she was freaking out, and also to shush her when i needed to talk on the phone. :)

i decided not to cut this relationship short when i became pregnant with isadore. while the milk supply dwindled, she was not deterred. life was going to change dramatically for her when her new sibling arrived, and i didn't need to give her another reason to resent the new baby, by taking away her precious "boobah."

this turned out to be a good decision, when at 35 weeks isadore was induced early. while she was in the NICU and not able to nurse at the breast for her first 10 days, mayan became my "portable breast pump." i'd saved up more milk than isadore would ever be able to drink, but to keep up supply i was instructed to pump every three hours ("just like if you had a nursing newborn..." they said.) mayan went from being able to have a casual conversation with me at the breast to watering eyes and choking trying to keep up with the new flow.

once isadore was able to nurse she latched on like a pro as well, and was so efficient at getting milk from me even as a tiny 4 1/2 pound baby, that she would suck a few times, establish the flow and then lay back a let it ease down her throat with little to no effort. this completely unvalidated the formula the nurses had laid out for me: "about one cc per one minute of sucking." we had to weigh her to verify that in fact, just 10 minutes of weak, sleepy sucking she ingested 45 cc's of milk--a full feeding. we were released for home the next day.

after a few months, just as i had hoped, mayan got the picture that nursing was for "little babies", and gracefully bowed out, at age 2 1/2.

isadore was a mellow child, and a great sleeper so the nursing relationship was not as intense as it was for me and mayan. she had already lost interest at 2 years--slowly tapering off from day feeding so that the go-to-sleep sessions were the last to go--so that's when i had my first break. it was a bitter sweet transition, but deep inside i knew i'd get to have that experience one more time.

enter george-ephraim, 2 years later. his birth was everything i'd dreamed, and was healing and empowering in so many ways. i was a nursing professional now and it took no effort to establish that bond. eat, burp, sleep, eat burp, sleep...constant cycle that i practically did with one hand while i took care of everyone else with the other.

gives a whole new meaning to the word 'buffet'!

on vacation in seattle 2008

previous blog readers and other nursing mothers may know, this is called "NAKing"--nursing at keyboard

george "gettin' some" in the backseat of the car--milk that is

the difference with george, is that i didn't want to use nursing as a calming or quieting tool, but instead just for eating and just for sleeping. so once he grew into a walking, pointing, babbling, food-snacking toddler, i just never sent the message that it was something we did while we were out and about. this made the sleeping feedings oh-so-special. more than special....absolutely divine. we have a white chair in our bedroom that for the last year is where i sat nearly everyday, once in the afternoon and once at night, for george to have his "me-me." this is the word he made up at a few months old, to describe more than just the nursing but the act of me swaddling him in a specific blanket (the "me-me blanket"), binding it with a scarf and then latching on to the breast. (he eventually at age TWO was okay with not being "bound"--the boy LIKES to be restrained! don't get me started thinking about how this will play out as an adult......)

swaddled in the white chair, with his kitty halo, for our daily nap ritual. the image i will carry sweetly within my mind's eye until the day i die.

this routine, like with my other children, became so ingrained that sleeping any other way (besides in the car) became a non-choice. i have always trusted the process and knew from experience that my child would not be a nursing grad-student as many have joked, but that nursing would taper off in the time that was right for our family, around 2 1/2 years.

well, here we are.

i am preparing for a trip to L.A. in november for my 30th birthday, and am leaving the family behind. i know it would be best to have an established bedtime routine for george that doesn't require my breasts, so blake can have an easy time with having all three kids. george already has a bed in his own room so the biggest trick was getting him out of the "white chair" for that moment he drifts off. a few weeks ago, i started to nurse him until he was almost asleep and then i'd pass him to blake, who would carry him to bed with his own whispered papa-words and beardy kisses. this met with little to no resistance. then i began to skip all naps so that when bed time came, george would be very, very sleepy. a few nights ago, on a whim, i told him he could touch and kiss the "me-me" but not nurse it. this met with medium resistance. i let him nurse for 10 seconds then asked for it back, and he obliged, with a look that showed me he thought he'd just gotten away with something delightfully forbidden. then i passed him to dad in his favorite blanket, who had a sippy-cup of warm milk. blake tucked him in, and george got up and wandered in to our room a few times. we alternated tuck-ins until one stuck. i discovered if i stay, and pet his forehead like i did when he was a baby, and sing him a lullaby while his eyes get heavy, he won't get out of bed at all.

today, he seemed like he needed a nap, and i was SO temped after my tearful realization last night to just nurse him one last time. but i knew that we'd already crossed the line into successful weaning, it would only complicate matters to backtrack, so i took him upstairs with some milk and we lay in his bed together. i was doubtful it would work in broad daylight.

george (eyes twinkling with the remembrance of the new routine): "mama, touch me-me?"
me: "sure, you can touch the me-me."
i reached to pull my dress down just a bit for access.
george (every word sounding like a question): "mama? take? bra? off?"
me: "no, buddy, i am not going to take my bra off."


his hand settled into a spot, halfway down into my bra. i hand him his cup of milk. i lay my head down on his pillow and close my eyes, to send the we-are-napping message. the all-symphony station played in the background. he set his cup aside and stared off at the ceiling. i peeked periodically to see the status his eyelids. it took about 4 minutes. i slipped his hand out of my bra, ever so slowly and crept away. then i came down here to write this.

it really is over. on to the next phase.

a peek into summer 2010

as far as i see it, even though summer really just got started, its already halfway over. here, family and friends, is what we've been doing with our time.

bikes (or scooters) on the street-- a daily affair

issy made him a bed in the hall, and he really used it!

my garden. really only going at 50% capacity this year. better than nothing, right?

our first time riding bikes with the public! sunday parkways is awesome!! google it if you don't know about this pdx event...

a visit from auntie naomi and uncle noah. short but sweet!! this is us at the farmer's market at OHSU

when you buy a bunch of live shrimp to cook on the bbq, the least you can do is save one and dress it up in a paper towel and electrical tape tuxedo, right??

the birthday girl requested swimming for her day so that is what she got.

making the world's best gluten-free, corn-free chocolate cake for sister EVAH!!!

karaoke at voicebox lounge was awesome!!!

could be singing george michael...or lady gaga...or no doubt...or the beatles...

we love auntie na-na!!

never under estimate an afternoon chillin' in the backyard.

a sigg bottle to reflect all personalties:

downtown adventure: waiting for the street car

downtown adventure: on the streetcar after a trip to finnegan's. these kids know the importance of staying hydrated on a 90 degree day!

downtown adventure: jamison fountains....ah, smell the chemically-treated water in the air!

what could August bring?? i'll try my best to blog it for you:)

a craft to do TODAY!

mayan likes to go thrift shopping with her grandma, and the other day she came home with a cute book on easy recipes and crafts for kids. this one in particular was SO easy and cute (and useful...i only like useful crafts) i had to share:

take a pair of old jeans (stained and worn our knees is great!) either the size your child wears or a little bigger, then simply cut across so you remove the legs and crotch, about three inches below the back pocket. then cut up the sides to the waistband and remove the front parts of the jeans including the zipper, making sure the waistband and button stays intact. what you are left with is a craft apron or tool belt....looks like this:



its FREE, it takes two minutes, and your kids can decorate them to their hearts content....

still (kind-of) feeling the clean...

the spring cleaning "party" is meant to be done over two weeks, monday through friday each week, so you have the weekend off to do what you normally do. i am busy fridays but not saturdays, so i decluttered the first four days (mon-thurs), took friday off, did the second part of the kitchen on saturday (with my moms help), and took sunday off. monday, i happened to be out-of-town, which was "bathroom day" anyway, and had i already decluttered them: the downstairs was recently cleaned because we got a new shelving unit, the children's bathroom (barely used, they like ours of course!) was swept through the first day of decluttering, and our master bathroom a week ago, because george is now agile enough to open doors and get up on the tub and riffle through all of our stuff, including a box of hair dye. my first time calling poison control! he had been upstairs in the early evening and i had called him down at dinner, so three hours after he'd been up there i discovered a bottle of color developer half gone. did he drink it?? there seemed to be a cloudy substance in the toilet so i figured he squeezed it in there...but i called to be safe. the nice lady at 1-800-222-1222 said he would have gotten sick already...i sighed relief and promptly threw out tons of old bathroom crap and blake rehung the cabinet higher.

after that on-and-off schedule, tuesday i had to get back into it. i decided to move up the master bedroom in line and leave the kids' room for later. i'd cleaned a house that morning and was tired--i like to keep my bedroom tidy so i knew it would not be a difficult task. i love our bedroom, we spent a lot of time making it to our liking during my pregnancy with George, and it is decidedly a "grown-up" space, sexy and modern. i sorted through my clothes which was kind of depressing, as apparently i wear too much black, and anything that i have that doesn't fit and at one time cost a lot of money, is so worn-out its barely worth donating. my wardrobe is lacking desperately but even if i had the money to buy new stuff, i would hate to buy it at this size since i would like NOT to be this size anymore (that's another post!)

today, brought the first wave of the kids' rooms and it was highly successful, even though, to be honest, i am petering out. either i lost my momentum during the choppy weekend or it just gets hard after the first week to stay motivated. but there was a lot to trash and that always feels good. ended up with two bags of trash, one bag of recycling, and two boxes for donation. there are even some empty toy bins now!! i was hoping to transfer all of the kids' dress-up clothes to bigger more accommodating tubs, so took a break to go to target where i'd bought them before, but they are not in season yet. while i didn't think to take before picture i do have a nice shot of the finished toy shelves and the pile that came from it:


george's birthday is next week, and i am excited about making his room more for a little boy--we are going to change his big mattress to a toddler bed, i took some toy storage boxes from the girls rooms and put them in his, and decluttered his closet. a friend gave me a wooden castle this week and i would like to find a train table for him to set it up on.

tomorrow is day two of the kids rooms but really i just need to sweep and mop and wipe down the shelves, which is good considering i work in the morning as well. one thing i never did get too, if i can fit it in, is the drawers and spice cabinet in the kitchen. i think saturday will be my day to wrap up any loose ends--the schedule says the last day is for the entry and hallway but i did those already last week. if i can get blake to hang our new curtains on sunday, our house will look like a million bucks!

sure, its a lot of work, but i can see how having less and being more organized is helping me save time in my life and keeps me feeling more "on-top" of things, which for me equals more peace. i keep reminding myself that next year won't be so hard......

feel the clean

the past six months, i've been on a steady incline to.....something. its hard to put into words, but its a combination of personal revelation, a feeling of balance, a clarification of purpose, and a real increase in the feeling of peace and an invitation to more joy in my life. lots of things have led me here: my part-time work, my women's workshop, establishing a yoga practice again, and the exciting realization that I will be 30 this year which makes me feel ripe for change. i think i've made a real effort to make room for growth as well.

so in the spirit of this, i decided to jump on the spring cleaning party bandwagon, led by the simple mom blog. i'd heard about it last year, but didn't feel like i could pull it off, and secretly promised myself that i would do it next year. next year is here...and it seems like the perfect time to take on this project which involves decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your ENTIRE HOME. no wonder its freaked me out so much last year, right? i've had time to warm up to the idea this time around, and as i waded in realized that having less STUFF, means more time to spent doing other things like playing with my kids. i realized that i spend way more time keeping our large home tidy than i'd like. its constant work that is usually undone as soon as it is finished, even with the whole family doing their part--time spent keeping all those piles of stuff in their tidy little piles, and then digging through those piles to find what you need and re-tidying again.....ridiculous! not to mention our home is very large (over 3000 sqft), with three full bathrooms and ...gulp....6 bedrooms. let me be the first to say that bigger is not always better! when i'd declutter in the past, really all i was doing was taking the clutter from one area and hiding it somewhere else (like my sewing room--eek!!) so taking the time to just tackle each room one-by-one using the declutter, cleaning, and organize process once a year in one concentrated blow makes so much sense!

here's the plan of action:

The Plan

• Day 1: A Clean Sweep
• Day 2: The Living Room, part 1
• Day 3: The Living Room, part 2
• Day 4: The Kitchen, part 1
• Day 5: The Kitchen, part 2
• Day 6: The Bathrooms
• Day 7: The Kids’ Rooms, part 1
• Day 8: The Kids’ Rooms, part 2
• Day 9: The Master Bedroom
• Day 10: The Front Entry & Hallway

...and here is the mantra:
“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”


On day one, I went through our house and looked at all the surfaces like our bookshelf, dresser, sideboard, desk, and countertops with a garbage bag and empty box in hand. they both filled up fast...and some items I immediately returned to a better place...like lots of photos and books that were floating around for some reason or another--and later i went through the box and quickly decided what was donation and what needed to find a proper place in our home. it happened to be housecleaning day anyway, so after i was done the house already looked incredible! and the best part is that it has STAYED that way, because there is less to pick up. and the whole family seems to be in awe of the state of things so THEY are being more careful too. i have heard blake say more than once to the kids,"let's clean up so we don't ruin all of Mama's hard work..."

Day two was living room: part one, and this was easy because we don't spend a ton of time in that room like most families do. since a-frames have slanted walls, you can't fill it with traditional furniture, only low pieces, and since we have a toddler who gets into stuff if its low, the room is not a clutter-magnet. but we do have one very special two-sided art deco book shelf which houses books, puzzles, cd's, the phone on one side, and mayan's special "fort" on the other (mayan's middle name is "clutter-bug" ;)..plus some plants on top. i spent a good hour getting rid of trashed or no longer needed books, same with the cd's (who really needs those anymore anyways??) and made the top look beautiful instead of a convenient place to set your useless odds and ends. i also sorted through the two coat-and-bag bins we keep by the front door.

since i had spare time, i also, without even planning to, found myself in the art closet which was TRASHED!!! every scrap of paper and kid drawing, paper towel tubes, broken crayons, gift wrapping supplies, and yarns bits were all jumbled together in complete disarray...i ended up with four huge containers of recyclable material, and two trashbags of garbage. and if that wasn't enough, next thing i knew i was up in the hallway sorting through the hall closet and putting the old hats and gloves i'd taken fromt he bins downstairs and finding a place for them until they are needed again next winter. there were already three bags of clothing i'd managed to purge from my closet a years ago, thinking that somehow i could make some money selling them (though buffalo exchange ended up rejecting them, i stubbornly kept them there.) i had such momentum built up at this point that i didn't even care--out, out, out! along with a giant box of unneccessary cables and nails mixed up with precious old letters and photos, every item there had to pass a test: garbage, donate, or keep. by the end of day two i was getting to be addicted to this process.

Day three is supposed to be living room: part two, but i didn't need to spend more time there sorting. instead i cleaned the areas now exposed and the areas that are hard to reach. i got out my 20-foot-pole duster for the beams (for those that don't know we have a glass roof with exposed beams) to terminate all the spider-webs, old and new. then i vacuumed under the couch and bookshelf...then i had the rest of the day off.

today i am very excited to do the one room that i never really thing of as needed to be decluttered: the kitchen. when i think clutter i think paper and toys and clothes. but food and kitchen utensils pile up, too, so first i am going to hit the pantry and see how far i get. i also would like to get rid of all of my mismatched dishes and buy some new fiesta ware to round out our collection--they seem to hold up much better to family-life than ikea pieces (bug surprise!)

wish me luck! i want to keep up the momentum, and not fizzle out. i know the end result will be SO worth it..and i'm almost halfway there. during the course of my "living on purpose" group, i have more clarity on why i need my surrounding to be beautiful, and accepting how important it is to my well-being that my home feel clean and looks aethetically pleasing. turns out that it may not neccessarily be that a clean, organized home equals a happier mama, but instead a happier mama equals a more clean, organized home--a place to be joyful!

welcome back, nomad 2

we've been making do with one car for a few months now--and while doable, its annoying. come on, now: three kids, a business that is open 6 days a week, and no easily accessible public transportation near our home. not to mention our one car (the beloved suburban) is a giant white beast and diesel hog (although not as bad as you think) that is not fun to park downtown. its really best suited for towing boats, road trips, home depot outings, or adventures with all five of us on board. we missed our sturdy, diesel, daily driver to cover all those other times. blake had purchased this cutie off of craigslist in june and we got two months out of it before the tranny went kaput. thanks to the fine folks at MBI motors inc, our little beauty is back in action as of today!

welcome back, Noamd 2!

when they are old and i'm older

i was trying to capture a baby-eats-lime moment, and ended up with a classic slice of life. we don't film our children very often ever since our video camera died years ago, and this made me remember how precious that footage can be. and while its not the most exciting footage ever, something like this will bring endless smiles and tears years down the road, when i can't believe that my babies were ever babies.

my fridays

day so long, computer so slow.

this will be my first (of many i'm sure) day of half-assed blogging. i want to get into pajamas and put the kids to bed and eat ice cream while watching an alfred hitchcock movie.

friday is the busiest day of the week. i try to cram all errands into this day so that i can stay home, and save gas and money monday through thursday. here was today's day, start to finish. maybe next time i'll take pictures....like a day in the life, part two: out-and-about!


6:30 george wakes up and i put him in his room with a snack and sippy cup. he plays and i go back to bed. this is what happens every morning. he's the best baby ever. blake comes and gets him when he's woken up but Geo usually plays happily for 1 to 2 hours without a peep. i know, best baby ever.
8:30 i hear blake getting george and looking for wipes. i tell him where they are. then ask for 30 more minutes.
9:30 i wake up for reals this time. put on my sheepskin house boots and make the bed. i like to start the day with a made bed.
9:40 finish the dishes in the sink, make breakfast (ham, freshly-layed egg, cheese on a sprouted bagel--a common morning-starter), and start a cup o' irish breakfast. mayan unloads the dish washer.
10:00 alternate between eating breakfast/drinking tea, feeding george some egg, and checking email and facebook, and solidifying grocery list.
10:20 sit in living room and finish cold bagel and cold tea while listening to the practice piano.
10:30 blake gives the "lets be gone in 30 minutes"announcement, so i head upstairs to get dressed while barking orders: gather piano books! gather library books! put ice packs in the cooler! shoes, shoes, shoes!! NO, not those ones! where are your sneakers?
10:55 dressed and loading car. run back in to grab iPod.
11:20 roll up to fred meyer for "red drink" (tropical recharge) and other fred meyer grocery items. (it is one of three or four grocery stores i shop at every friday) put perishable groceries in cooler in the back of car.
11:55 deliver blake to nomad just in time. he peirces a nose right away and use the phone to call danielle (see what she'd like for dinner) and then my friend halle (to make sure she's bought the tickets to the fashion show we are attending next week end.)
12:20 pop in a new audiobook for the kids and i--"the gooney bird books" by lois lowry. head to new seasons.
12:30 mayan wants to stay in the car to keep listening to the story so i take the baby into new seasons for groceries: part two. its the only place that has the bagels i can eat. also the 'enjoy life' chocolate chips for the kids. spendy items but essentials. also i like the ground pork. feed george rice puffs while we shop to keep him occupied.
1:00 return to car, get the what-did-i-miss-in-the-story update while unloading cart, give the kids some free samples i scored inside. count my cash, and return the cart, stopping to give the epileptic homeless woman on the corner two dollars. i don't do this very often, i'm always back and forth about whether its really helpful at all. but today, i can spare two bucks, so whatever.
1:17 next stop trader joe's. we all get out. get TP and essential gluten-free things unavailable at any other stores. find "appleface" the stuffed cat they hid in a different place everytime (kids get a treat if they find him.)
1:45 get back to car, rearrange back of suburban, feed everyone turkey sandwiches.
2:00 stop at woodstock library to return books and get a new pile. this week lots of easy read books for isadore, magic tree house books for mayan, an alfred hitchcock dvd and two randomly picked mucis cds for me and b, and our first edith nesbit book for all.
2:40 ha, the choice to hit the woodstock library was a stategic move on my part--the only taco cart in town that is soy-free is in the parking lot next door. i order two tacos and let the kids look through our new books in the car while i wait. clean out my purse. the fresh tortillas are to die for--so soft and fluffy!
3:00 arrive early to the girls' piano lessons. george has fallen alseep! perfect timing. eat my tacos. listen to the skippyjon jones cd that came with the library book.
3:15 escort issy to her lesson. come back to car and read mayan some nancy drew (the bungalow mystery)
3:45 isadore comes out and mayan goes in. read to issy. try the two new cds i got from the library--they both suck really bad. then listen to iPod--regina spektor, soviet kitsch.
4:20 mayan is back from her lesson and we head straight home.
4:35 girls and i unload groceries and put them away while i start to make burritos. george is up and grupmy--keep him out of trouble while the girls ride their bikes before it gets too dark.
5:30 finalize and assemble burritos and put half in the oven to warm. whip up a small batch of guacamole.
5:55 pack up four toastly burritos and guac to deliver to danielle. load up kids in car and make sure i turn off all the lights in the house before we go.
6:15 get to D's, leave kids in car whle i run her dinner to her and then stand in her doorway chatting for 10 minutes. have her call blake and tell him i'm on my way (and running late)
6:45 arrive at nomad. pick up b.
6:55 stop at freddies again b/c i forgot to buy beer.
7:15 get home and heat up burritos. have girls clear their library pile off the counter and then set the table. crack a negra modelo to go with my food.
7:35 finish dinner, have kids help clean up. opne a second beer, go to computer and discuss/mull over VW TDI wagons. then i start this blog post.
8:30 realize the kids are getting rowdy and blake is in shower. walk ways from the computer and start getitng them ready. they brush teeth. i wrap up geo and nurse him down in no time. lay him in his crib. head to the girls' room, go up in mayans bunk and read half of "the deliverers of their country" by edith nesbit. give lots of kisses and sweet dream wishes.
9:30 head back downstairs. start blogging again. get the how-long-will-you-be-clicking-look from blake. assure him i'm wrapping things up.
10:03 really wrap it up. try to remember where i left that beer.


all in all, this one wasn't so half-assed. what did you do today?