I have no idea where this came from. Other than the fact that my girls get the hiccups a lot.

There was a little princess; Little-She was her name,
She had a sister M, who was a princess just the same.
They’d play and giggle all day long, and splish-splash in the tub,
Until the fun was interrupted with […]

The scene: Spaghetti night. M refuses to wear a bib. It’s warm today.
And… action!
RM: C, this is kinda silly, but would you be willing to take off your shirt to eat? M gets her food everywhere and she’s wearing a shirt that will stain badly. If she sees you doing it, she’ll want to do […]

For the poetry workshop we received a freewriting prompt, to write a poem incorporating the words yes, once, circle and voice. Here is my (unedited) piece about going to see fireworks last night near the airport.
in the park at the airport’s edge
the plane bears down on us,
but for a few moments more,
i hear your voice […]

There’s a rumor that persists in sermons and churchy articles that Nelson Mandela said the following in his inaugural address as president of South Africa: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”
It’s actually a nice enough sentiment, but friends, he did NOT […]

At dinner:
C: Are all the stores closed?
RM: Most are, but some are open 24 hours—all day and all night. Like some grocery stores and drugstores.
C: Those store helpers must be tired!
RM: Well some work during the day and some work at night. In fact, you know Uncle K?
C: Yeah.
RM: He’s a police officer who works […]

The experiment (read about it here):
It’s been two weeks since I cooked this thing up. This week has been a challenge. C came to work with me yesterday morning (daycare provider had a doctor’s appointment) and she’s pretty self-entertaining for a four year old, but it’s impossible to do head-down concentration work with her around, […]

(First, why do they call it that?)
In the car today:
RM: C, we found out today… we’re pretty sure you’re going to have a little brother.
C: Woo-hoo! I knew it! I’m so excited!
Later: I had to press on the brakes a little forcefully.
C: Mommy, you stopped so fast that the seatbelt crushed all my eggs.
[discussion about […]

Last night after dinner, R went upstairs to get the window fans going because “It’s wicked hot in here.”
C: Mommy, what does ‘wicked hot’ mean?
RM: It’s just an expression.
C: That must be what witches’ brew is—wicked hot.
RM: C, that’s pretty good! Did you make that up?
C: No, Jesus told it to me. He’s so COOL […]

clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
point
Bee-ah dah! clomp clomp clomp clomp
stop
Bah! Bah! Hi!
clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
clomp clomp stop crouch
clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
Uh-dah? Dah? Bah! Hi!
wave
clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp
.
..
…
clompclompclompclompclompclompclompclomp
i was […]

We had a big meeting at church on Saturday so C&M spent the night at MaDear’s. It didn’t go quite as smoothly as last time. M was up throughout the night for some reason. Could’ve been teeth or the teething fever she had; she might have gotten overtired from only having two 30-minute naps the […]

So I read last night about the importance of titles in poems. Which is bad news because I rather suck at titles. A title is good for conveying information quickly rather than letting the poem get bogged down. Or, it might provide the “final thought” or response to the poem. I tried my hand at […]

the divine miss m…

…turned 15 months yesterday. 15 months plus 9 months is 24 months. Two years that this little critter has been in our lives.
…has a new tooth. It’s one of the canines, and the gums are actually triangular in that spot, with a little grain of white poking up. OUUUUUUUCH.
…had been invited to […]

Staring quietly out the sliding glass door
RM: What are you doing?
C: Watching spring come.
——-
C: Those cut-up onions feel like smoke in my eyes.
——-
C: I don’t want us to have a baby anymore.
——-
There was a fourth one—and it was the best one—but I can’t remember it now. Durn mommy brain.

Act I: In Which Our Heroine is an Idiot.
At the breakfast table. RM eats the red Flintstones vitamins because little she-who-is doesn’t like them.
RM: The thing is, these red ones really do taste awful.
R: Yeah. You know, you could just swallow them.
Act II: Sometimes Rosey Grier Can’t Make It All Better.
RM (reading the daily report […]

the elder girl shifts in the chair,
makes room for the scrabbling toddler
desperate to climb up, keep up.
they’re too consumed by giggling into each other’s faces
(when not jostling for cushion)
to notice the shower of white outside,
each flake unique,
the stuff of legend, grade-school science, cliché:
had i taken the trip that one month,
had he gotten stuck in traffic […]

Wow. Preach three services, teach Sunday School, then host seven girls in your home. That’s the very definition of a full weekend.
So I’m leaving tomorrow for Woo-woo Guru Deep Breathing Angels on Pinheads Retreat. I need it so badly. Don’t we all? Aren’t we all overworked and overstimulated?
It has been a real push to get […]