thursday things.

-teen decomposes plastic bag in 3 months.
-cantaloupe salsa - must try!!
-fun little book recommendation site.
-gives me hope!
-rain days with lovey are the aces. and we get another one today!! this one is preschooler free, and we're cleaning and doing laundry.
-alice in wonderland trailer - so stoked!!

novel.

(click on austin to read the best novel ever!)

-brady's post about 'fork you bobby frost'.

my husband wrote a book...my husband wrote a book, a novel, a work of fiction. a book. have you written a book? i haven't written a book. i know very few people who have started, and finished, writing a book.

in november 2007, he decided to participate in nanowrimo. he wrote, he drank energy drinks, he worked all day and came home and wrote. he wrote, he ate candy bars, and he wrote. he wrote, he laughed and cried and wondered where the heck are these crazy characters taking us? and he wrote. and i read the pages one by one as they came off the typewriter, falling in love with this book, these characters, and brady all over again. on the sunday after thanksgiving, he finished. and it was celebratory and fabulous. (and we realized just how much work it was going to be to enter an entire novel onto the computer. it wasn't what one would call a fun task, but i'd do it again!)

after almost 2 years, i think that perhaps 3 or 4 people have read this novel. it has been listed on lulu, he has sent it to a few places, no one seems all that interested. and i realize that i'm biased, and i realize brady might not be the perfect marriage of rilke and bukowski, but he's darn close. and everyone, every single person, needs to read this book. not because brady penned it, not because i want everyone to recognize what a fabulous writer he is, but because we all need to stop and listen to the point of this book. it's about being kind, it's about loving each other. it's not just a riot and a hoot, it's important. and if you can't get over all the F-bombs and all the exclamation points, then perhaps you need to read it more than anyone else.

yesterday.

a very lovely day, yesterday:

rainy day, daddy's home! john denver, tidy up, waffles for breakfast, work on puzzle, finish editing/post novel, visit from mammy, lots of nursing, dancing & spinning in rain, sweet naps, melty crayons, rice & beans, bath & bedtime for babies, discussions, more puzzle, documentary about corn, wind some yarn, bedtime.

thursday things.

-hilarious news story.
-awesome photo story of solar eclipse
-tasty kitchen! go check out vanessa's FEATURED cupcakes :)
-this guy has no use for money. go him!
-tasty new recipe

sunflower spinach pie
(adapted from mom's guide to meal makeovers)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups spinach
1 tsp dried italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
5 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
2/3 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup parmesan, divided
1/4 cup roasted, shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 9 inch pie shell

preheat oven to 375
stir together everything but 1/3 cup of parmesan, pour into pie shell.
top with remaining parmesan and cook 30-35 minutes.

-still a favorite

flashbacks.

while perusing my old notes on facebook, i found this little gem. only from february, it feels like it's been so much longer.

today is a beautiful day.
i woke up nestled between two beautiful ladies, who seem to migrate to my bed at some point in the middle of the nite. (violette has been waking up between 2 or 3 saying "oh, i'm really really really hungry" and then crawling up the stairs to our bed, where she crashes immediately.) my kitty was cuddled up at the foot of our bed, watching over us all, and my husband was playing footsie games with me under all the covers, pausing only to reach over to hit snooze on the alarm.

emma woke up, and we laid there talking about what we were going to do today, while brady started his day by turning on his "woody guthrie playlist" and telling his mom happy birthday on facebook. emma and i moseyed down the stairs in our jammies and fixed bowls of cereal and giggled at things like squirrels in the backyard and zeke barking at birds.

we watched an episode of "olivia" on nickjr.com, and i helped brady make his lunch and got him out the door, only after a rousing rendition of "the eagle and the hawk" by john denver, brady rushed out the door and emma and i were left talking at the breakfast table. she felt inspired to make a painting this morning, so i lugged out our suitcase of paints and brushes and all the goodies, (all the while, em is saying things like "mama, are you sure you're strong enough to carry that?") and got her set up. she was very excited that i had a leftover canvas and she got to use that instead of paper. after many mixed paints and good messes, we got all cleaned up and were a bit bummed out violette was still sleeping. she is so fun!

so we got dressed, mommy in a pair of brown maternity cargo pants from old navy and a harry potter t-shirt from the thrift store with black and white stripey socks and my worn, torn simple shoes, and emma in her "kitty" tshirt and "christmas pants" and absolutely never ever anything on her feet, we are now cuddling and counting coins from her coin purse while i type this.

and just now, she said "mama, i just love you".

my life is juicy, and sweet and tender. and i don't want to forget a single minute of it.

lack of sleep and the weekend.

in the spirit of still adjusting to a new person in our home, we're trying to figure out a workable bedtime routine. last nite was a total flop, and i ended up having my "alone mama time" with a curious, chattering 4 year old. i was working on my puzzle, and after about an hour of her incessant talking, i said "emma, i'm trying to relax." and she replied with "are you trying to relax from your angryness?" then we all burst out laughing and great fun was had.

saturday nite i was asking her why she hated going to bed so much and she said "because i have no sleep enjoyness!". there's that. (and i thorougly enjoy her take on the english language.)

who ever would have thought the 4 year old would be keeping me up, and the 7 week old would sleep through the nite? what the hecksie doodles.

we had a fun weekend, sunday we went on an "adventure". we went to the park, to play with mammy's dogs, and to the pizza parlor! (yes, my kids call mazzio's the pizza parlor.)

while we were at mom's, i picked up the puzzle i'm working on. my sister had told me awhile back that this particular puzzle was missing a piece, but for some reason that didn't bother me. however, brady was pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing. which got me thinking about process vs. product and whether i've actually crossed the threshold into process > product? because i've been aiming for that a long time. to enjoy the journey instead of worrying about the outcome.

here we are :)

last nite.

“When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you're not here, I can't go to sleep.
Praise God for those two insomnias!
And the difference between them.”
-rumi

(i love my lovey and the fun we have together.)