three pairs of shorts and shirts; one dress
three pairs of socks, underwear: two princesses and an elmo
elly doll and one of her two nuggies
visor made from craft foam with her name on it
the santa brush (stocking stuffer from last christmas)
toothbrush with the suction cup on the bottom
winnie the pooh toothpaste
purple bathing suit with flowers
swim “googles”
two […]

We had a very nice birthday celebration. M and I made a donut run early this morning, and we had a junk food breakfast with mimosas. Heh. I had gotten the day off from work, so I found myself at the grocery store at 11:30 a.m. and the place was hopping. Who knew?R spent the […]

for r on his birthday
our daughter studies scars—
reads them like leaves,
permanent markers that write their own stories
of mishap, clumsiness, on our skin.
she traces the bridge of my nose,
its crease the only evidence of frayed laces,
of brick stairs long since demolished;
the comma on my thigh endures
long after the pyrex was shattered
and its jewel shards swept into […]

1. What is your earliest memory of school?
Kindergarten. Mrs. O was VERY mean and had no business teaching children. She called me by a shortened version of my name (which NOBODY else used) for most of the year. I was a reserved child around adults and it took me until the spring to get up […]

I’m going to write a 10-minute update… here goes…

End of An Era: I shipped ChaplainMom’s maternity clothes back to her the other day, along with all of mine–I couldn’t remember whose was whose so I sent the whole mess to her. Not that CM is in that place yet, but I am pretty sure I’m […]

on the far side of the lake
a carousel churns its white horses,
a train cuts a red gash in the field,
a rainbow tube slide spits out toddlers;
but on the banks she chose,
brown, green scrapes the sky,
white shoes wallow in the muck,
and the hem of an orange sherbet dress
melts into the water.

Peeking in again…
Update: I finished the article and eagerly await the 80 smackers coming to me.
Now I am working on my sermon. In the text God says to Solomon, “Ask for what I should give you.”
Solmon asks for “an understanding mind.” My question for all of you out on the internets, whether you believe in […]

Well as you can see if you go to my home page, I’ve been jotting down little stuff all week, but keeping the entries private. That’s sorta like the nicotine patch for blogging, I guess. Anyway, they’re public now.
As for the list of things to do:

Finding a child-care person for the divine miss m We […]

Some months back I posted about a workshop I attended on congregational transformation.
We were talking today in the Writing Revs about people who resist change in the church, to the point that they threaten to leave the church, and/or they predict a mass exodus from the church, if XYZ takes place.
Setting aside the point that […]

“Everything I ever let go of has claw marks on it.” -Annie Lamott
Nevertheless, here is my list of stuff I couldn’t care less about at the moment.

making the bed… aside from hastily pulling up the covers so that kitty paws sandy with cat litter won’t mess it up
weeding the front yard, or really, any yardwork […]

The divine miss m, at the ripe young age of 7 1/2 months, can walk while pushing a chair along in front of her. I am nonplussed. I am aghast.
A reminder to parents of babies new to solids: green peas are a legume… a painful gas-producing legume.
Little she-who-is seems to be working out fears. She’s […]

I’m taking about a week-long break from this blog and other blog-related activities, including reading others. I do love all of you, my bevy of visitors and friends. And I will miss reading about your adventures, both here in comments and on your own pages. But I am fixating on this space a little too […]

Little she-who-is turns 3 1/2 today. She wanted cake.
Last night I surprised R by planning our first overnight trip away from the kids since M was born. MaDear and G-mommy tag-teamed the girls while he and I went to Swanky Downtown Hotel courtesy of an excellent Hotwire deal. We ate sushi last night and walked […]

This is one of mine… as Songbird wings her way to the UK, sans carry-on luggage.
——
Well, those of us in the United States are on high alert for air travel. Thank heaven, it appears that a huge disaster has been averted. Meanwhile, dreadful conflicts continue in the Middle East and around the world. We here […]

You have no idea how skeevy it feels to have a statement like “I’m writing a book” just hanging out there in the blogosphere. But, I’m going to just let it hang, and live with the discomfort, and even compound it by sharing what the book is about, to the extent that I know what […]

G-mommy is here to watch the girls this week while C’s day-care person is on vacation. R and I are working in the basement. I still haven’t decided what to do about next week, when L will still be away—I might take a couple of days off, and there are several members of the church […]

Forgive me for not linking. Google is your friend.
1. One Book That Changed Your Life —
The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor. It was like, “Whoa, I can do this even though I don’t have it all figured out?”
2. One Book That You’ve Read More Than Once —
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine […]

Courtesy of NotShyChiRev…
1. Describe the last play or musical you saw. (At least provide the what, when, where, and why). What was your opinion of it?
That would be Spamalot at the National Theater a month or so ago. Mamala bought us really good tickets because, well, we needed it! I LOVED it. Funny and irreverent. […]

i’m
so
sorry this
three line e-mail
took thirty minutes to write.
just when i think i have it done
i have to jump up and pull a baby, kicking, off the fireplace
or kiss her tears away after her tumble or suggest a
new toy or wrest the phone cord from her grip
or turn the TV on because the older one must […]

I was just looking online to see whether David Wilcox tickets were still available at Historic Music Venue in town and saw this announcement on HMV’s calendar of events:
The Slackers Tour
This show has been CANCELLED.
However, there are still plenty of seats available at the
Protestant Work Ethic Jamboree the following night.