late night plays

you surprised me, again

The past couple of months have been surprising. And who doesn't love a surprise?

I am still in the "blush" and "rush" phase of blogging. To see one of my posts appear on someone else's page is enough to make me want to stand up and click my heels together. Sometimes I actually do.

And other times, I'm just misty-eyed and humbled. Each time it happens my heart is squeezed in the best of ways.

Thank you.

 

 

family day is for feasting

Remember the Sundays of before? 

No work, no school, no errands to run.

Slippers all day, play dates and play mates, forts in the living room.

Learning to drive in the parking lot of an empty mall. 

And always the cooking and prepping for Sunday night dinner.

Today we declared Family Day our old-fashioned Sunday.

Early morning (Apple-Oatmeal-Cinnamon Muffins):

Mid-day (Lentil-Tomato Soup):

Family dinner (Clove & Garlic-infused Ribs and Maple Beans):

Today it was good to be home.

 

 

 

in a land far, far away

Okay, it wasn't actually that far away. But we did stay in a hotel for Family Day weekend. For two nights. With four kids.

These are the things that happen when you stay in a hotel with four young kids:

• you feel grateful for your detached house and sorry for the people in the rooms on either side of yours

• you happily watch a really bad movie with your spouse because: a) you can't leave the room; b) there's a TV at the end of the bed and it's a novelty

• you stay up late enough to watch Saturday Night Live because there's a TV at the end of your bed

• you drink a LOT of coffee because you watch a lot of late night TV

• you get nostalgic about giving birth every time you fill the ice bucket with ice chips (and that's a lot of nostalgia when you have an enthralled toddler rooming with you)

• you appreciate having more than one bathroom at home

• you get to eavesdrop on the kids' in-the-dark-before-they-go-to-sleep conversations

You also talk, bicker, ride elevators, try on shower caps and laugh.

Best part? No tip required.