Reading, Writing and Recess

Today...

the sun shines bright and hot.
there are two boys playing with the hose, laughing and screaming.
there are windows so clean it looks as though they aren't there.
the bleeding heart blooms so beautifully.
I can see the bottom of the laundry cabinet.
I ready for Jazz Fest.
is good.

Yesterday's Haikus

Is there such a thing as "speed haiku?"  I think that's what you would call what we did yesterday...

"What Am I?"

White, cold and puffy
Gentle, frozen, hard fun that's
Falling from the sky.

(snow)

I hunt in the dark
I slither through the soft sand
I eat rodents.  Yum.

(snake, more specifically, a desert snake)

Hopping and chirping
In ponds and boots, up in trees
Tadpole transformers.

(frog)

Easy fun poems
We may write some more today.
Observing nature.

Morning Duty With Dogs

My old overcoat hangs heavy on my shoulders
and low on my shins.
My ears, feet are warm,
wrapped in shearling
(authentic and not-so-much).
Quietly mumbled praises break the silence
that the moon imparts
while transforming the frozen grass into a field of diamonds.
Our path leads us in a circle
around our yard, our home,
back to our open door.
And back to our bed,
to wait until the sun is ready.

How the weather affects us...

Today is our second day back to school, work, etc.  I am trying to keep a schedule and plan meals and exercise and all that.  With a smile and patience.

Today is also cold and rainy.  It did not stop us one bit.  After taking the Sambino to school (his first day, taken a bit with reservations but came home smiling), C-dub and I took the dogs on a nice walk.  After some hot soup, we were able to sit and focus on some school work with a sleeping pup (yeah!) at our feet.  Things were going wonderfully...

Then the pup woke up.

Then they (the pup and his mentor) went outside.

Unsupervised.

For fifteen minutes.

That's when this happened:

You know he's a white dog?
The other is black and didn't get nearly as dirty.  (Yeah, right.)
Can bathing two dogs multiple times count as science?  Or does is fall under home economics?

Dedicated to Auntie: Greenie's Trip to the Big Apple

The five of us escorted beloved Greenie on its first trip to New York City.  It handled the whole big-city thing very well and, despite a couple of almost-fatal leave-behinds, it came home "in tact."  We had a wonderful trip.

Here it is helping us navigate the subway...

 In Rockefeller Center...

In awe of the Holiday displays...

Wandering around at the Metropolitan Museum of Art...

Little country Greenie walking in the Big City...

Picking out matching green licorice in the coolest candy store ever...

Heading back to our wonderful temporary home for a rest...

It has been way too long since we were in the big city and this trip was far too short. 
We'll be back.  Soon, very soon.

Resolutions

I rarely make New Year's resolutions.  I've just never thought of January 1st as the time or day to start something new.  Labor Day always felt right to me...the kids went off to school, the lazy days of summer were over and it was time to get down to business.  The days just naturally shifted to a different, more organized rhythm, so it made sense that September was the time to make promises to myself.
This year feels different.  We had a very light school term from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the whole family has been home for the holiday break and I am ready to get down to business again.  So, a quick list:

Uno:  well, you are looking at number 1...try to start this bad boy back up
two:  spend a bit of time every day bettering my mind, body and/or soul
3:  I have GOT to do something about my family's eating habits...not just the what they eat but the where and when part, too
four: the puppy-pee-machine WILL complete housetraining 
5:  pictures, pictures, pictures

Ideally, these promises are things to work into my day, to make routine so that they don't have to be addressed again.  I'm sure I'll fall off the wagon from time to time.  That's okay, I'll forgive myself. 

Happy New Year to all. 

Keeping my ears open...

I can't wait until you leave.  --(Loving daughter getting excited about jaunt to N.O. Jazz Fest for me.)

T-shirts are cool.  --(Moi, after seeing the umpteenth million cool-saying t-shirt.)

Seems like everywhere I go, the more I see the less I know...  --(Michael Franti, "Say Hey, I Love You."  He is incredible.  I wanted to thank him for his concert, his caring, his energy.)

You DON'T want to go there.  --(Taxi driver's response when asked for directions to the 9th Ward at 10:30pm.)

Thank you.  --(One volunteer at the awareness concert held in the 9th Ward.)

This is my first night.  --(Waitress at restaurant.  Of all the people to say this to, we are not them.  BIG mistake!  Actually, we are pretty tame...in a loud, fun, obnoxious, happy sort of way...)

I could hear you from the bathroom.  --(Darling Husband that same restaurant/night.)

This is your 5am wake up call!  --(We got maybe a total of 14 hours of sleep over three nights.  But what fun, what fun!)

Quote of the Week

"Mama!  Mama!!  MAMA!!!  Look at my hand!  Where is GREENIE!?!" (dedicated to Auntie)
He obviously was missing one of his appendages.

Another week has flown by and what a spectacular week is was.  Spring is here!
Highlights included:
Grilling every night for dinner.
Friday night happy hour outside.
Dinner Thursday outside.
A european-style picnic lunch at a nearby tulip garden.
Visiting grandparents.
Good doctor reports.
Biography reports completed and presented.
Blooming trees.
Croquet for PE.
Pushing over dead trees in the woods.

Ahhhh.....

Sambino -- The Littlest Soldier

He is always up for a challenge, whether it be physical, mental or ultimate control of his universe.  He makes me melt with every "mama" he whispers.  He refuses to believe or be constrained by the fact he is two.  He sees himself as an equal to his 10 yo brother and his friends.  He art mimics Jackson Pollack...on our walls, our floors, our sofa.  He is the only one of three to try and flush a non-flushable object.  His very favorite thing that he cannot live without is his blanket, "Greenie,"  that dear Auntie knit for him.  He is SammaJamma, Samuel, Sambino or Sam...but not Sammy.  He loves music and sings the theme from Star Wars frequently.  (He also enjoys  "Hey There Delilah,"  "Ruca," and "Brick House," among other great songs.) He can name almost every construction-type vehicle there is.  He is a tough and tender little monster that came out on the losing end of a battle with our cat.  He is undaunted. 
His mama, on the other hand, wants to seal him in a bubble until he is 25. 

Hello!

I'm here!  I haven't, contrary to rumors, fallen off the face of the earth!  I'd like to say that I gave up posting for Lent but I can't.  Somewhere, somehow, I lost my rhythm.  It just kind of ran away and hid.  Sometimes it feels just exhausting to even think about finding it.  It must be in an incredible hiding place, all comfy and tucked up in a corner, snug as a bug in a rug.  Or maybe its giving another beat a chance to work its magic.  Wish I new what beat that was so I could sing along...
Oh well, it won't be long.  We will find each other like friends who run into each other in a setting that doesn't fit with either of us.  We will revel in the familiarity of each other, reminisce about our past fun and promise not to let that much time slip by.  We will have coffee (or wine) dates again, regularly.  We will share moments of our lives.  We will create a new cadence, a new flow.   
I think I see it now, peeking out from behind Mount Laundry!