Recovering Noah

We are tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired! Or as Nandi likes to say, "Ti-rud!" We had our little Royal Wedding Tea Party with the kids last night. Nandi decorated our hats all by herself. We were pretty impressed. What do you think? Eli didn't want to be left out, so he strapped a pink flamingo to an old baseball hat. heehee And Sim managed to find an old cowboy hat. Noah's not much of a hat wearer... but he did promptly eat "Princess Catherine's sapphire engagement ring"... aka a ring pop which left his lips a ghoulish dark blue. We served cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, scones with currants, strawberries and cream, fish and chips, and a nice pot of tea. We tried three different dresses on our William and Kate paper dolls. Eli colored a pictures of the "official engagement portrait". Sim unwrapped the various pieces of china he brought over from England.... And we woke up just in time to watch Kate step out of the car in her gawgeous! wedding gown. Sh...

It's no secret that I'm a self-confessed Anglophile. I have an English degree that I got in England where I met the love of my life (who is now my husband). I love British history, Jane Austen, and Colin Firth. And not necessarily in that order. I love PG Tips tea, clotted cream, and nothing tastes better on French Fries than a bit of salt and vinegar. I also adore British rock bands, Mr. Bean, and Colin Firth. Oh, did I already mention that? And my kids know, without a doubt, that I must be left alone if Masterpiece Theater is airing on our local PBS station on a Sunday night. But, having said that, I'm really not big on the Royal Family. I mean, sure, I'm fascinated with the Kings and Queens of yore. But the modern Royal Family just doesn't interest me as much. Maybe, because with the invention of the internet, everything is already out there. Or maybe it's because I'm older and they're younger. I'm not really sure. But I do know that I incurre...

Eli is one of those kids who, no matter what movie he's watching, always has to reenact scenes once the movie is over. Always. For days on end until he watches something else. He's been like that since he was a toddler. Which means we've had to endure countless reenactments on everything from Barney's Beach Party to Finding Nemo to the Lion King and Shrek and Tarzan to most recently How to Train Your Dragon (oh have mercy, they're coming out with a sequel) and Kung Fu Panda (which, much to my dismay, is also getting a sequel) and a hilarious play-by-play of Mary Poppins, which we recently rented. What this means, though, is that it is practically impossible to get rid of any of our toys because, heaven forbid, Eli decides to reenact a scene from a movie and I "accidentally" sucked the toy up with the vacuum or Sim made a " This is it! I've had enough of this junk !" trip to the Goodwill. It also means I am so incredibly glad that I didn...

This song makes me cry every time. I cannot imagine watching your baby boy give his life on the cross so that others may live. In honor of Good Friday, Mary, and wonderful Jesus who died so that I may live... I hope you enjoy this song. And in honor of Earth Day today... may we all be a bit more mindful of our beautiful earth and the resources we have. And may we remember to use what we have instead of rushing out and buying new things to replace those that are easily fixed. May you all have a creative husband like Simeon and a daughter like Nandi who was willing to give up part of her precious tea set to help find a solution to end pollution. (i.e. our mailbox that could've easily ended up in a landfill). If it's broke... just find a way to fix it! Happy Good Friday and Earth Day everyone!

Back in January, an old friend that I haven't seen since High School announced that she wanted all her friends to do something called The Warrior Dash in honor of her upcoming 40th birthday. Now, I'm not the least bit athletic. Oh, I like to think I am. I put on my tennis shoes, and my workout gear, and my Bob Harper DVD's, and then I do about 5 minutes of cardio and collapse on the couch and spend another 40 minutes watching Bob look at me through the television screen and yelling at me to get off my butt. I have a totally inappropriate crush on Bob Harper. But, anyway. Seeing that I'd spent the months from Halloween to Christmas in a total food coma, and the fact that I seem to be perpetually having some sort of mid-life crisis, I thought, " Why not ?" Why not do the Warrior Dash. I'm a warrior, right? I mean, I deal with all sorts of crap on a daily basis. Surely, I can do a 5K-obstacle-course-thingamajig where you have to go through swamps and climb...

Make sure all the juice stains were mopped off the floor and bookshelves dusted..... There's only one reason we'd actually sweep under the rug and the couch and put away all the countless children's DVD's that collect on the coffee table.... and the floor... and around the TV... and under the couch... There's only one reason, I'd break out the Easter crafts and make it look like we're regular contributors to Family Fun magazine..... There's only one reason (and only very few times) that you'd actually be able to see what our countertops look like and eat off the floor (although I wouldn't recommend it)... There's only one reason all the scribbled bits of paper would be pulled off the wall and I'd spend 2 agonizing hours trying to tie flimsy butterflies to fishing line - which, did you know, is invisible?? - and hang them from the ceiling to make a little girl's room a bit more cozy.... (Sorry for the fuzzy shot. Photography... not my...