The Gift of an Ordinary Day

When I recently wrote about "Mitten Strings for God" by Katrina Kenison, I found out she has a new book called, "The Gift of an Ordinary Day". Her first book was about learning to slow down and simplify life with small children. Now she has two teenage boys who are preparing to leave home and she talks about learning to let go and to appreciate all those "lasts" and the longing mothers feel for that old busy life when your children needed you so much.
I couldn't put it down and it made me both grateful that I still have a few years left and sad for what's to come. Kenison talks about sitting down across the table from her teenage son and realizing that she has absolutely no idea what he is thinking, when she used to be able to read him like a book.
Welcome to my world. Maddie turns 13 tomorrow and is in the full throes of hormonal mood swings, but she also makes us proud with her steadiness and good choices. Bea is coming up on 3 and is constantly testing her independence and our patience. But she also has such a sweet funny little voice and engaging personality that it's impossible to stay mad for long.
Today was just a busy, regular day--helping at the school, a dr. appointment, putting laundry away--but Bea wasn't feeling well and I got in some good snuggles with her and we played Polly Pockets for a while. With 4 daughters, I've played a lot of Pollys and Barbies in my life. I hate it, really. But today I tried to remember that one day I will long for a sunny hour playing with my 2 year old, while she laughs and chatters to me.
Straddling this age gap with our kids (from teenager to toddler) is taking unexpected amounts of energy, ingenuity, and prayer.

The Groove is in the Heart

A friend put an 80's dance mix on my ipod and it makes me nostalgic every time I listen to it. Today as I ran my way through OingoBoingo, Erasure, The Pet Shop Boys, Def Leppard, and Dexys Midnight Runners, so many memories came flooding back.

I almost laughed right out loud when Pour Some Sugar on Me came on and I was transported to the summer of 1988, between 8th and 9th grade. I have a really strong memory of going to Lagoon many times that summer (Did I have a season pass? How did I get there? Did my parents really let me go to Lagoon unsupervised? I have no memory of these things) with my friends and this song seemed to always be playing. We loved it and would dance around and sing it at the top of our lungs. It was so loud and wild compared to the usual synth pop we listened to....so Def Leppard was my rebellious music phase (and only this song). Other sharp memories from that time of life include Slurpees at 7-11, chocolate cake donuts from Wally's Donut Shop, riding the city bus to my best friend's house, and some pretty sweet white ankle boots with fringe on the side. (My best friend, Alica, and I bought matching boots at Payless with our babysitting money. Yes!)
Through it all, I had some of the best friends ever, Alica, Kim, and Megan. We did a lot together in those years and they were such fun girls, and NICE girls too. As my own daughters begin to navigate the tricky world of girl friendships, I'm especially aware of and grateful for the good friends I had.
We are starting to see the first tiny signs of Maddie's interest in boys, and I can't help but think of all the boys who passed in and out of our lives in those years. The boys in my ward and neighborhood, who were always around, for better (and for worse, usually). All the crushes, phone calls, drive-bys, conversation dissections and school dances. If Maddie is even half as boy-crazy as I was, we are in some serious trouble, with a capital T!

All these thoughts as I ran and wondered how I became who I am now from the girl who danced in the sun at Lagoon 22 years ago.

The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

He's a favorite nap-time story friend....the fat little squirrel who hides nuts in a hollow tree. (I personally favor his naught friend, Chippy Hackee, the striped chipmunk, but that is entirely besides the point of this tale.) Chippy Hackee is the best name ever.

Now, however, fat squirrels are no longer my friend; now that there is one trapped in our chimney and I can hear him scrabbling, climbing, and falling down over and over again. It's agonizing...and disturbing...and creepy...and loud.

A mystery animal died in our chimney a couple of summers ago and it was very bad and stinky for a long time, because we couldn't get it out. We had our chimney opening wrapped in wire as they do here, but apparently, we have a really cozy chimney that attracts critters.

I spent a long time on the phone today with various chimney sweeps and animal control people. One woman insisted I tell her specifically what kind of animal it was, even though I repeatedly told her I couldn't SEE it, only hear it. Another man tried to reassure me that it was a squirrel, saying "cuz if it was a 'coon, you'd hear all sorts of screamin' and cryin' goin' on." Yikes. I guess I'm thankful we can only hear it scratching and not screaming--I don't think we could handle that. We're already pretty freaked out by the scary noises coming from the fireplace.

It's just much nicer to think of squirrels wearing aprons and little red vests and talking amongst themselves about where to bury the nuts. And then Beatrix Potter's little birds can sing, "Who's-been-digging-up-my-nuts?" and "little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese!"

We've got someone coming in the morning with a tall ladder, a rope (so the squirrel can hopefully climb back out), and a new chimney cap. So long Timmy Tiptoes.

Something Fun(gus) for Lunch

Oh, mushrooms, how I do love thee. And now I hardly ever see you anymore since my husband hates you. Luckily he's not a picky eater and will eat anything except you, but I really wish he could appreciate your good qualities....

Once a year, I make myself a pot of Hungarian Mushroom Soup--a recipe I got from a friend a few years ago. It is so delicious and I savor it all week long, since no one else in my house wants to eat it. As the craving has been building, I've been telling my running partner about it and she wanted to try it too, so yesterday we had a little tasting party. I invited a few friends over for lunch and asked them to each bring something they love to eat, but that isn't appreciated by the rest of their family. We ended up with mushroom soup, homemade pretzels, awesome salad with pecans, cranberries, and goat cheese, and oatmeal raisin cookies. (Weirdo husbands--who doesn't like goat cheese or raisins, I ask you?!)

After being cooped up in the house for several snowy days, this was a really fun break and a delicious way to spend a couple of hours. Best of all, there was exactly one bowl of soup left, so I get to enjoy it once more. If you like mushrooms AT ALL, try this soup and you won't be sorry. The only thing I do different from the recipe is use fat free half & half instead of milk, and I omit the salt since there is plenty in the chicken broth.

What do you like to make that nobody else in your house wants to eat? Can you come over for lunch and bring some? I will make stuffed mushrooms next time...

**mushroom photo from aaaaahhhhshark.wordpress.com