Children (this passage makes me weep - in the good way!

From The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Birthday-palooza 2008

It's 36 hours until we host our third annual Picnic in The Park (or my living room....or picnic at Dada's work, depending on the weather). I have indoor games (just in case) and outdoor games and cakes. I have ordered pizza and ice creams. I have lists and schedules and spreadsheets. I am ready to celebrate your births in the biggest way I can. We are expecting more than 60 people, 30 of which are under-aged. It's gonna be big and bold and memorable.

I love you both to bits. Happy birthday my sweet things.

Hamburger anyone?

"It doesn't matter whether you want a hamburger for dinner tomorrow night. All that matters is the people who are gone and the people who are still here." a quote from Hannah, age 6.

"Nana died. Poor Nana." a quote from Sadie, age 2.5

Thank you both for continuing to remind me of what matters.

Missed one already

I missed posting yesterday. That's just the way it goes around here.

I have been plotting out this coming week with careful thought. I have a thousand interesting things to do but they have all collided in one busy week. The fun starts tonight when I go into work for 6:30pm at the theatre for a rental show coming in.

Monday: substitute teaching at Sadie's school
Tuesday: Dave's birthday! The girls are excited
*Wednesday: "Tech Week Widows" dinner with 5 kids and three Mom's - fun!!!
Thursday: Girls night at our house with two out of town friends and one cute baby (I hope Cam comes)!!
Friday: day of prep for catering gig - birthday party for 30 people
Saturday: Birthday both girls are invited to that I am catering in the morning. Birthday party for Hannah to attend in the afternoon.

I will have 3 extra people for the catered lunches I make each day which brings me up to 8 full lunches and two small salads each day. And of course 5 yummy lunches for Hannah and 3 yummy snacks for Sadie. It's a full week alright but I have it all charted and I can manage.


*My friend Laura and I get together when her husband Mitch and Dave have to work long hours at the theatre for a couple of weeks leading up to the Opening of the show they are working on (aka Tech Week). She brings her two girls over after school and we feed them dinner, let them play, pop them into pj's and she takes hers home to bed at the end of a fun night. It's a really good way to get through what is otherwise a very long and lonely stretch of time. Dave typically leaves the house in the morning and isn't home before we are all asleep. The girls find it hard and ask for him a lot but distractions help so much. I am hoping the busy week will make it fly by for them

movie night

Hannah, you are snoring on the futon mattress on the floor in the living room. Your friend just left after a very successful "pretend sleepover". She's a little young to actually sleep here but she lives close enough to be picked up just before bed.

We started the evening off with soup and grilled cheese and veggies, then moved on to chocolate chip squares and ice cream. After a lot of giggling in the bathroom, pajamas were donned and we hit the living room for a movie and popcorn. And chocolate.......And pretzels.............and a bit more popcorn.

After your friend left, you flopped on the mattress and said "I can't sleep!" Needless to say, you were asleep in less than two minutes. Sweet dreams my beauty. (How could they be anything BUT sweet after all those treats!)

Snow and Lentils

I have joined a bloggers group to post something every day in the month of November. I have already missed 8 days, but here goes....

There are flakes falling here again today. Yesterday was the first sign of them. You know when the snow is sparse and hard to see.... I'm not sure if it's the disbelief that it's back after months of absence or the fact that the snow is so tiny and spread out that makes it so hard to see. I always have to blink a few times to know if I am seeing right.

I made a pot of lentil soup yesterday, which I haven't done in months. (instinct at the first sign of snow!) In fact, I bet there was still snow in the ground when I made it the last time. It is a recipe that lives only in my head, one that my Dad made countless times when I lived at home. I now make it through the winter months as a really good comfort food. We always have a little white vinegar on the table to splash in your bowl - a nice little brightness in the warm dark soup. I also always make croutons out of whatever bread is sitting around, just like my Dad did (really salty and crunchy). The only part I leave out is the smoked sausage (Dave doesn't know what he is missing out on because I never serve it with meat).

Thanks for the recipe Dad. It's kind of like you are still feeding me after all these years. I will be sure to pass the recipe on the Hannah and Sadie.

Croup

Sadie - you've got croup and this is the 4th night we've spent glued to each other (just like the picture). You are on the mend now but it's been long for you. I know because you totally lost it at dinner today. You were so determined to be the crankiest. You were drinking from your milk cup when you looked over and noticed that Hannah was drinking from hers too.
"No I'M drinking milk!"

(Hannah and I are guilty here of laughing a little)
"It's NOT funny"
Don't worry Sadie - Hannah and I managed to get you to find the humor in it!


Here you are eating a Clementine at 1:00am - our first box of the season!