BOO!!!

Yikes! Is it the fact that there is a spider on N's lap or something S sees outside, like ...
the guys building the wall in our backyard ARE STILL HERE!?!?!?!?!

I'm thinking the last one. Sheesh! How long is it supposed to take? They originally said three days. It's DAY TEN and it still isn't finished. It's not the Great Wall of China, for crying out loud!

Okay, enough complaining. Life really is spectacular right now. Boy is enjoying soccer and he's doing so great! He runs like the wind and kick the ball HARD when he gets it. I'm such a proud Mama.

I have great news! I'm re-entering the working world! I will be working part-time for my friend D who is also a fabulous Trust and Estates Attorney. She needs the help in her office, I have huge interest in legal matters and it will give me something "adult" to do. It ought to be interesting. If my very good friend J was here, we'd be working together. She is off on her own having a whirlwind adventure on the Emerald Isle and I can't wait to see her. Daddy and I are going to take the kids to Ireland next year! I'm so excited!

***NOTE: When reading the following paragraphs, you may learn something new and possibly surprising. Though I (Mama) do not purposely hide this part of myself, some may be a bit startled at my revelations here. As you read, please keep in mind what you know of me personally. ***

Happy Hallows! Otherwise known as Hallowe'en, Hallows Eve, or sometimes Samhain (pronounced SOW-en). This is my personal New Year's Day. After Trick-or-Treating and the whirlwind of parties this evening, I will build an altar in the West, (the direction of Autumn, the Ocean and Her creatures, tears and emotion), reflecting on the past year and let go of what is no longer needed. Also in the West, I will honor my ancestors, especially those who have died this year and sit quietly for a time or meditate or using a candle flame or bowl of water (called "scrying") to reconnect with those who have passed to the Summerland. In the East, (the direction of Spring, new beginnings and flying creatures) I will build another altar welcoming in the babies who have been born this year the new ideas and projects that may come and plan my own personal new year resolutions. I will cast a magic circle and call upon those spiritual entities I have come to know, my personal gods and goddesses. I will ask them to guide me in my growth.

In the time between Hallows and Winter Solstice, I will journal, dream and plan out that I wish to accomplish in the coming year. Like January first to most of the rest of the world, I make those resolutions to work toward better physical fitness, healthier eating, reading more books, laugh more, be grumpy less, be a better parent, wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, etc.

So, are y'all freaked out now? ....

~Mama

Sunshine....what is that?

This photo was supposed to be in anticipation for a cute family holiday photo. "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" (or Igg and Ook as they are sometimes known--Hudson Hawk anyone?) were less than cooperative. But, I look good!!!! And that's all that counts, right?

My friend and "sister", J. has been in Ireland for a few weeks. She'll be there until....whenever. All this past week and weekend, it's been overcast and cloudy, even a bit rainy during the night hours. She doesn't know what she's missing....wait a second...it's similar weather over there! Maybe the sun moved, too? You can read her blog by clicking the link over there on the right ------>. It's the one that says something about Ireland.

We finally contacted a lawyer to get our Estate Plan worked out and starting Trusts for the kids. Guardianship is an agonizing thing to think about. But, with two kids and family across the country, we have been worrying about it for awhile. What really set things into motion was the case of Terri Schiavo case and the fight between her parents and her husband. Heart-wrenching and awful to watch or think about, Terri's case had wide-reaching impact. Making those types of plans seems so strange to someone in their 30's. But, with little kids, it is so very necessary. Choosing Guardians has been the most difficult thing to do. But, we finally figured it out (right after we met with the attorney). I feel so much better like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Funny, that meeting also brought an offer from the firm to work part-time, possibly as a paralegal. The idea does appeal to me very much. Hubby seems to be in agreement and willing to give it a try-out. It would give me large blocks of time out the world of adults, using my brain for more than Dr. Seuss or potty training. Not that those things are not important. But, two-on-one is draining much of the time. Bouncing back and forth like a ping-pong ball between them and then suddenly remembering at 4:00pm that I never ate breakfast (or anything else all day) is the ultimate Yo-Yo Diet!

I think fondly of the tribal times when the whole village would take the responsibility of raising each child, so no one person had to bear the full burden all or most of the time. Elders with their wisdom and knowing were strong in their convictions and body. No such thing as a nursing home back then. The children of the village kept them young in spirit. Can you tell I've been reading historical fiction?????

What else....the Steelers had a particularly impressive game yesterday against the Cinncinati Bengals. Did I get to see it? No. But we saw the highlights. It would have been a game to see. Darn the black out rules!!!!

One of my oldest friends, Ann, finally told off her buttinsky mother-in-law, Trish, who basically treats her like something icky and squishy on the bottom of her shoe. Ann, and her husband, Donald, have been together since we were all in high school (20 years ago. Ewww.....) Anyway, from day one, Trish has disliked Ann and made no secret of saying as much to anyone within hearing range (including Ann the day before she got married). Tacky Trish had the audacity to tell Donald (right in front of Ann!) that she thought that Yours Truly was such a nice girl and he should have married me instead. Well, not only was that an awful thing to say in Ann's presence, but it made me want to punch Trish's lights out. Now, I'm not sure where I was at the time. I was around somewhere for the wedding, but I didn't hear about that until after the fact. Oh, I remember, I think I was chasing around after the best man! :) I've wanted to punch Trish's lights out (okay, figuratively) just about every time I've seen her in the 15 years or so since Ann and Donald's wedding. It's always torqued me that I seem to be nowhere nearby when something like this has been said. I miss the perfect opportunities for weenie roasting! Anyway, I was so proud of Ann. She told me the story and I was laughing so hard from trying to picture the two of them shouting at each other in the restroom of a public restaurant. It's like something out of a movie, and a long time coming. I giggled for about another hour after I went to bed. I so wish I had been a fly on the wall. I hope Trish remembers that Ann is strong in her own right and she'd best take heed or risk seeing her only grandchild. It sucks that Ann has to play it that way, but she is undermining the relationship of the child and it's parents. THAT is just not acceptable.

Hallows is next week and it's a new moon. The perfect time to celebrate my personal New Year's Day. I'm really looking forward to it. In the meantime, there are parties, parties and more parties. Sweet! It's SO good to be popular.

Catch y'all later. Until then, tell me what's happening in your world? Leave some comments so I'll know you have been here.

~~Mama

Read In Rain Bows

Finally! We get some rain. This is the extent of the flooding here.

I know I am getting absolutely no sympathy from everyone on the East Coast. I have heard from JiJi and Babci and Papa and all say that areas that were peaceful, meandering creeks have turned into raging waters. Thank the gods, everyone is doing okay.

Today, though, I just want to curl up and finish reading my book. I'm so tempted to leave the TV on all day for the kids. It's one of the rainy, cool, fall days, cloudy, damp and chilly. If I knew anything about my fireplace (it IS or WAS gas) I would have a fire going. I really, really miss New England in Autumn.

Last night, as I was contemplating the Full Hunter's Moon during Her fleeting glimpses, I got to thinking about how different our society was less than 250 years ago. Back then, there was much more of a tribal feel to families and villages even though there was so much wilderness in between settled areas. Today, in 2005, there are more people crowded into smaller and smaller areas, so much on top of each other so that it is impossible to ignore one another. Yet, we manage to close ourselves into little boxes that all have cell phones and other wireless gadgets. In our effort to globally connect, we are missing the immediate connection we can have with the person at the next table, if all we did was smile and say "Hello".

I used to read romance novels all the time. Not those goofy Harlequin Romances that always seem the same, just change the time period and the names of the main characters. I would read Danielle Steel who I found much more interesting in the strengths of her characters and stories. There was a time when I didn't read much of anything. However, for the past 15 years, I have been reading thriller/mystery, science fiction/fantasy, Tolkien and now the classics, Louis L'Amour, Jane Austen, Steinbeck.... anything homeschooling related and lots of non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics. Daddy and I love to read.

So, recently, a friend slobbered all over herself telling me of young James Fraser and his wife, Claire, a triage nurse who served in WWII (thats right, the math doesn't add up) in a book she lent me, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It is the first in a series (of six) that follows the meeting and life paths of the two main characters. It weaves time-travel, Scottish and English History, The Stuart Uprising, piracy and the years in the American colonies just before the Revolution into a book that was impossible for me to put down. Since time travel has always been something I have been interested in, I quickly finished that one and moved on to the others (in order), Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, The Drums of Autumn and The Firey Cross. When I traveled back East a few weeks ago, I brought The Firey Cross which is 1,443 pages in paperback. I was traveling alone and had 12 hours of uninterrupted time total plane flights. I finished it as my plane touched back down in Los Angeles. A few days later the latest book was published, A Breath of Snow and Ashes. I made myself wait a few days before I bought it in hardback. Not a small thing at 979 pages. I'm about 1/2 way through so far. The story is fiction, but the history is rich and wonderful. I warn you, if you are ANY kind of romantic, this story which spans 30 years or so, could be one of the best you may have ever read. If you are looking for a story to get lost in, this is a good one.

As I'm writing this I received an email with a phone number from my friend Jenni who moved to Ireland earlier this month. I'm going to go figure out how to call her.

~~Mama

The Wind Doth Blow....

If it isn't fire...it's wind. The mighty Santa Ana winds that have fueled the brush fires around these parts for the past few weeks did more damage to the compartmentalization of Southern California. Portions of the fences on both sides of the yard came tumbling down.... No one was hurt, but Boy decided he wanted to be in the picture. There are three young girls that live next door and the kids all play together on the weekends. They found great delight in this new (and simpler) way to access both yards. Alas, it's only temporary, but luckily we all like each other so there is no rush to fix anything.

The neighbors on the other side have an "Aspen" (a mutt) and he likes to saunter over. I woke up in the middle of the night recently to scratching on the sliding glass door in our bedroom. I didn't have my glasses on and just saw this canine shape. I am told that coyotes jump the fences to get the good morsels in the yards (quail, roadrunner, rabbits....).

It took a few moments to realize it was Aspen and I was relieved, but it took me a while to get back to sleep. About an hour later, I awoke again to Aspen barking. This time at a pack of coyotes who were yipping and howling in celebration of the capture of some sort of prey.

I just learned that one of the neighborhood cats is missing.......Sheesh.....

~~Mama

It's Quiet Today

This is a picture that Boy did online at the NASA website last year. It's he, the Astronaut, on Mars. :)

Most of the fires that are anywhere near us are finally out. The sky is much clearer today than yesterday. Of coure, the Santa Ana's are blowing up again today, so that is one reason things are so clear. They may also touch off some more fires. 'Tis the season!

It's "quiet time" in the house right now. Baby Girl went right down for a nap after screaming her head off that she wasn't tired. Yeah....

Mr. Man is playing with legos and listening to a book on CD. I am trying to figure out what to do with MY quiet time! Oh! The luxury of it.....

Things have been totally nutty for two weeks. My friend, J, moved out of her house and is leaving for Ireland next week. She's in NoCal until then and I miss her a lot. I just read her blog update and I'm all emotional about it. I have thought about how hard it is for those of us staying behind to have said goodbye. It seems much more difficult to be the one leaving. (B-Family, We love you!)

~~Mama