• Well, now that the rain has finally excused itself, I am like a kid at Christmas looking forward to the pool and sun, sun, sun.  No sun = depressed spirits around here, so I’m definitely not the only one.
 

  • We are going to Chicago at the end of the week, and everyone is so excited about it.  Long weekend away, a new city … what’s not to love?  Please let me know if you’re a Chicago expert, and tell us what we MUST see while we are there.
 

  • I’ve got another recession challenge coming your way.  Matt and I had a night out at Dee Felice’s Café the other night, and since I was getting dressed up I was sure to put together another $20 outfit.  Otherwise, who knows when I would get around to it.
 

  • Julia made a delicious Coconut cake this weekend, complete with a complicated icing.  It involved cream of tartar and egg whites … need I say more?  It actually didn’t turn out so well at first, so Matt jumped in and helped her make her mistake into a totally different kind of frosting.  The results were wonderful, and she is quite proud of herself. (And so was Matt, who is quite the cook when he does it.)  Ahhh … I love having older kids in the house!
 

  • Last night was THE fireworks party of our subdivision.  Apparently this happens annually.  Lots of money, lots of grown up little boys getting their kicks (including my hubby), and lots of new faces.  We met a few nice people who are our neighbors, some who were not (relatives of the party-throwers), and everyone dutifully gave their unoriginal but still amusing reaction to the fact that we have SEVEN KIDS!!!!  (Raise your eyebrows, drop your jaw, and step back … there, now you’ve got it down.)
 

  • My new bookshelves are still not up.  I may tackle them today, and then I’ll put up some photos.  Organized office = peace of mind.
 

  • Catch ya’ later!

 

Cabin fever is at an all-time high around here.  Maybe we have no excuse, since we just went on vacation, but it takes more than one week in SC to make you not notice that the windchill is -1 outside.  It doesn't help that I was sick for a day and a half -- and I do mean sick.  In bed.  Kids running the house.

Mom being sick around here is harder on them than it is on me.  (Well, maybe.)  People get crabby, people fight, people get depressed, husbands start to wonder if he's going to lose you ... (36 hours!!!)  It's a good exercise, I guess.  Lying in bed motionless, aching in every cell makes you appreciate you ability to do housework (which is always a mood-lifter for me, strangely).  It makes your kids appreciate your presence -- even if you're crabby, it's better than "not there."  And your husband tells you over and over again how great it is to have you back, and not just for the work aspect.  He's very sad without me ... is it wrong that I think that's just great? :-)


Today I am back to my old self, except now there's a serious cramp in my neck from lying abed for too long.  I know you don't care about that, but it's keeping me from thinking of anything else to write!  My neck hurts, my neck hurts, my neck hurts ... isn't that what you're supposed to do when you have writer's block?  OK, ok ... I'll end your misery.  I have stuff to do anyway.  Just wanted to stop in so you don't stop stopping in.

 

Oh, and in case you're wondering ... yes, the end of Julia's poem was about death but she wasn't in a suicidal mood.  :-)  She handed it to me quite cheerfully and proud.  It's just that she's really got a poet's soul.  She was lying in bed with her face buried in a pillow, and noticed that her breath got very hot ... which led to the cool breaths, which led to a diversion into the different roles of breath, including the breaths of a dying person.  She's deep, but she's not macabre.   Thanks for the compliments.

 

Cool, crisp, life sustaining,

Frigid, sharp, oxygen containing,

Hot, stifling, strained,

Burning, smothering, pained,

Slowing, thinning, almost done,

Inhale, exhale ... none.

 

by  (wait for it ...)

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

Julia Ziebro (age 12)
My child is amazing.



 

I wanted to post this picture because I was so impressed with Julia's color choices.  I bough her this clay colored dress/shirt that she was wearing over jeans, and she paired it with her Panama-inspired necklace, which she picked herself.  I don't know if the photo gives it justice, but the colors, shades, tints all worked great together ... and she is only 11.  Almost twelve.  Can't forget that part.

Plus, isn't she getting beautiful?