Catching up

Well, leaving behind the drama of the birth photographs and heading back to the hum-drum craziness of regular life with four kids . . .

I’m fighting a battle with the slugs–they are trying to mow down my newly growing bulbs.  I sprayed some kind of poison on them, but have had to resort to daily sprinklings of salt.  While I do appreciate all God’s creatures, I draw the line at letting them munch on my flowers.  When the choice is tulips or slugs, the tulips win.

I took one of my teenagers to the eye doctor on Monday.  The whole appointment took 102 minutes–I was counting.  That was long enough for me to read a whole “People” magazine (about Jessica Simpson’s unfortunate choice of jeans and her *gasp* weight gain), read two chapters of Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth’s new novel (which, by the way, I ended up hating),  download two songs onto my iPhone, and fiddle with said iPhone.  Still.  It was a long appointment-at one point the waiting room was so full that I prodded my teenager to give up his chair for an elderly person.  I hope that’s a lesson that sticks.

Oh!  I am reminded that my daughter is expecting the Tooth Fairy tonight!  Don’t let me forget!  She keeps her little tooth in a white plastic tooth-shaped container that she calls a “Tooth Cabinet.”  She was snooping in my top dresser drawer and found the “tooth cabinet” and so I gave it back to her to use with her newest lost tooth.  I think she still believes in the Tooth Fairy, though she might be just humoring me.  She’s at that age where she wants to believe but is catching on, I’m afraid.

Um, what else?  Oh, my husband gave away our extra van today.  He’s nice like that.  The man he gave it to definitely needs it more than we do.  I have always admired my husband’s generosity and figured it boded well when I married him.  He’s always giving stuff away while I am always trying to hold on to stuff.  I need to let more stuff go and, in fact, do get a thrill when I shove things into black trash bags to donate to charity.  It’s so freeing.  We’ve lived here so long–over 11 years–the longest I have ever lived anywhere–that I need to be more deliberate about ridding myself of the flotsam, jetsam and detritus of life.

Okay, well, that’s all for now.  If I hurry I can slip some money under her pillow and rest my head on my own pillow before 1 a.m.!   I always feel so alert at night and so regretful in the morning.

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I intend to respond to those of you who left comments on my previous post.  Most of you left such wise, insightful comments!  You are the best part of this blog and I am so grateful for you all.  Be patient–this week is super, ridiculously busy, but I will respond to you all eventually.