Hi,
Still here,
Busier than a one-armed paper hanger.
Too busy to think of a better cliche.
How are you?

The first was an actual earthquake here in Suburban Sheol. I was at the church and heard this big rumble, as if a construction crane had dropped a bunch of really heavy stuff.
Turns out it was an earthquake, about a 1.5 on the Richter scale.
—-
The other day I was driving home from church with both […]

That’s what this is.
I have had a cold the last couple of days. I seem to be past the worst of it. But I was beat.
SBJ was also sleeping poorly… Again? Still? But last night we pulled out all the stops. Gave him a bath, put a little hydrocortisone on his itchy patches, gave him […]

Almost time for bed (actually… look in the rear-view mirror, RM) but here are some highlights of the day:
This evening the girls were having crazy fun, sliding down the carpeted stairs on their butts. C was wearing these slick bloomers and tights and made it down all the stairs in about 1.5 seconds. It was […]

With each successive kid, some new aspect of the morning routine has gone out the window. With C, it was making the bed. (Come to think of it, I was never very regular with that Sisyphean task.)
With M, it was wearing contact lenses.
With J, it has been messing with my hair. I pretty […]

This is my first full day home solo with all three kids—R is at work and L is closed. Wish me luck! I’m ready! I’m pumped!
R has been enjoying the piano. He got out some of the old books of sheet music and was playing some rudimentary stuff. He likened it to the scene in […]

It was a weird and wonderful day yesterday. We happened to get an appointment for C’s five-year checkup on her actual birthday. She got an extra sticker there, but also got three needle sticks and a blood draw. And a pee-in-the-cup, but that wasn’t nearly as unwelcome a development. She’s about 46 pounds and 44 […]

First, a shout out to the YDS chicks…
hey!
Keep doing what you’re doing. Get yourselves graduated; we need you out in the church!
And give S a hug for me.
——————
Announcement: I appreciate anyone’s interest in my child’s safety. But in response to the notice over the PA system to strap children into shopping carts because doing […]

SBJ has eczema all over his face. Just like his namesake, who suffered from it off and on his whole life.
I think it itches him because he rubs his face into our shoulder. It’s only on his face. We are drenching him in Eucerin but it doesn’t seem to do much.
Big
——————–
I […]

Remember when I used to write about stuff other than my children?
Yeah. That was awesome.
So I have five weeks of maternity leave left. The girls are still at ’school’ full-time these days, since I am still at a full-time salary level at the church, and it’s a blessing to have some time just with The […]

Just got back from a few days away with some church friends (young adult group). We sat and watched the snow fall, played with the kids, went snow-tubing, and ate. C loved the tubing and I was so proud of her. She is rather cautious by nature and every time was at the top of […]

Wow, it’s been a LONG time since I posted anything here. I’m still alive, just busy. With M sick this week, we’ve had to batten down the hatches. Not much free time each day.
She’s feeling better and we all seem to have escaped getting sick. It was the strangest thing—nothing but a fever.
SBJ is […]

So SBJ settles for a nap in his papasan around noon and I decide to get dinner in the crockpot before our 1:15 ped appointment.
Five minutes later, the day-care provider calls. The divine miss m has a fever. And I have ground meat browning on the stove.
So I turn off the heat, put J in […]

I am at my favorite hangout, enjoying R’s birthday gift to me—three uninterrupted hours, a late lunch, and some solitude. Though I just ran into Modern Mystic, my friend and fellow Writing Rev. It’s fun to have lived somewhere long enough to run into people while out and about.
I’ll be pulling out the book and/or […]

God have mercy on me; my husband indoctrinated me into the cult. All I did was open one silly little innocently-wrapped present!
It’s going to be hard to preach and teach on simplicity and downshifting one’s life now that I am in possession of an iPhone. Don’t I now represent the uber-plugged-in postmodern person?
I must […]

Haven’t posted much, but we’re fine here. Had a great Christmas with ten people around the table yesterday. Very quiet today (which is saying something with three kids).
J is fussy right now and is walking the house with R, but he has generally turned a corner. We’re enjoying it while it lasts.
Tomorrow is M’s […]

1. Choose the scenario which caused me to injure our minivan today:
a) I ran over our garbage can while backing out of our driveway
b) I scraped against a concrete post at the gas station
c) I backed into a parked car at Target
2. Which song from the Clear Channel Christmas repertoire gave me a lump in […]

It was a truly lazy day. I got a flu shot yesterday, which always makes me feel crummy. It’s such a gamble every year. If I don’t get the shot, I may avoid the flu altogether. Whereas if I get the shot, I’m guaranteed a micro-flu. Bleh. Aside from a quick trip to Trader Joes, […]

All is well. Not much exciting here.
—————
Sweet baby J is a pretty laid-back dude. He is, amazingly, still in his same regular routine. He wakes up at 3:30 or so, regardless of what time we put him down—10 p.m. or midnight. So 10 p.m. is the goal, obviously. But the guy poops with every diaper […]

It’s snowing!
Sweet baby J is (dare I say this out loud) developing a routine. Wakes up to nurse between 6:30 and 7 a.m., then dozes in our bed, then another snack and a morning nap, awake around 11:00 for quite a while, a couple of feedings close together, then a long afternoon nap, awake during […]