Living a charmed life

I don't know how I got so lucky. I have two gorgeous children, the nicest, most hilarious husband in the world, a beautiful house (that could stand to be cleaner), healthy animals, a greenhouse full of greens. And now a book deal. Something many, many excellent writers face years of rejection to accomplish. What did I do to deserve all of this? With so many people in the world struggling, it makes me a little squirmy to have so much good fortune, and some part of me wonders when the other shoe will drop.

So I try to justify it: I've worked hard on my book for many years. I go out of my way to be generous and kind to people--even those I've never met. I try not to take the things I have for granted, though I sometimes don't appreciate my life as much as I should. But no matter how I justify my good luck, I feel like I'm just asking to be walloped by the Universe one of these days.

So I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, and keep trying to do my part to make everyone else's life as charmed as mine.

Now, some recent funnies. :D

Funny words:

Fintan: Macnin (napkin)

Coen: Apkin (napkin)

Fintan: Venomen (venom)

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Coen: (says this a lot at 5 a.m.) "Downsteers? No get back in bed! Downsteers? No rocking! Downsteers? No bites! (pacifiers) Downsteers? Yay! (He claps and smiles and gives a big hug to whomever he's suckered). Eat cupcakes?"

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Fintan (yelling from the bathroom): "Mommy, are you still in there?"

Me: "Nope, I escaped!"

Fintan: "Well, after you wipe my bottom I'm getting my rope and taking you right back to jail."

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Pat (to Fintan last night at bedtime): "Tomorrow afternoon you get to go with me to see where I work and then we'll meet Papa and Nini and go to a basketball game! And we're going to eat dinner at Steak n' Shake. Do you know what they have there? Teeny tiny french fries!

Fintan: "and shrimp?!"

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Pat: "There's something sticky on the floor over here."

Me: "I have no idea what it could be."

Pat: "I'm guessing candied drool."

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I love my boys. :)

Yoo hoo--it's Memorial Day

I've been a busy little garden bee lately. I'm dividing, planting, watering, sowing seeds, weeding, creating paths and so on and so forth. I went to a plant swap a couple of weeks ago where I learned about a new Yahoo group that facilitates year round plant-swapping in central Indiana. Of course, I joined. And I needed to divide some irises and ferns so I offered the extras up to the group. Today four people came to pick up plants.

Being Memorial Day, I was already thinking of my mom more than usual. Her name was Carol. She passed away in 2003. The first woman who came to pick up plants today was also named Carol. I thought that was a crazy coincidence seeing as how I can't even remember the last time I met someone named Carol. Then two other nice ladies came by for plants. And then the fourth showed up and it turned out that her name was Carol as well. So 50% of the people who came to my house today were named Carol. I think it was my mom's way of reminding me to remember her today.

Then, after all the swapping was over, I emailed the first Carol to thank her for the plants she'd given me, and for some toys she'd added to the mix, and mentioned the crazy coincidence of the names. She emailed back to say that the coincidence went even further. She and her mom shared a favorite flower: the iris, specifically a type they grew when she was a young girl. She also lost her mom in 2003 and always wanted to go back to the house where she grew up to ask for some of the irises there to remember her by, but she never got up the nerve to do so. Since they're an old-fashioned iris variety they aren't available in garden centers anymore. But it turns out that the type I gave her today was identical to the irises in her childhood garden. So when she looks at them she'll be reminded of her mom.

So both of us got to be reminded of our moms in such appropriate ways. It's JUST like my mom to wave her ethereal fingers and say "Yoo hoo! Remember me? Carol? Your loving mother? *tap tap* Is this thing on?"

I remember you, Mom. I think about you often. I'm going to be sure to pass on your pearls of wisdom to my boys, too. Things like: "Don't eat with your fingers--eat with your thumbs." and "If life were fair we'd all have our turn in Ethiopia." I miss you. I love you. So, so much.

Christmas 2008

These pictures tell the story well enough so I won't clutter this post up with a lot of words.

We had a wonderful Christmas.

Slides and a snowman

This was a week of slides. New slides. BIG slides. Starting with the slide at the indoor playground in a nearby church and continuing on to the Children's Museum where Fintan and I conquered every slide in the place. Often, on the biggest slides, Fintan made terrified whimpering sounds the whole way down. Then the first word out of his mouth at the bottom was always: "Again"! We couldn't stop laughing.

At the children's museum, we caught one of the sliding experiences on tape. Here I avoid taking out one toddler only to take out my own:

And today was another day of fun. We woke up to the first snowfall of the year and while Coen took a little nap, the rest of us built a snowman with sticky, perfect snowman snow:

Then, this afternoon Pat took Fintan to see "Bolt", the first movie he's been to since he was a tiny baby. Here he was back then, seeing "Flicka" right before Halloween 2006:

I wish Pat had taken the camera today. Fintan sat in his own seat (part of the time) and held his own popcorn container between his legs. Pat said his hand could hardly make the journey from the container to his mouth he was so enthralled by the big screen. And the first word out of his mouth when the credits rolled?

You guessed it:

"Again!"

Hopefully we will have another week like this "Again!" soon.

(Poor little Coen wasn't feeling his best this week due to a persistent cough and very little sleep, so we will feature him in his own special blog post soon, when he's *hopefully* feeling all better. Here's what he has to say about that:)

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me give thanks for my family, my friends and my life as a whole. I'm a lucky gal.

Things to remember....things I will miss.

Playing "spot the Coen" with Fintan when I carry him down the stairs in the morning or after naptime.

Holding Coen's warm, squishy body close and breathing him in (after which he might lean over and begin sucking noisily on my cheek).

Bossy Coen. Not sad Coen, I hate it when he's really sad, but bossy Coen cracks me up. I love when he fake coughs to get his point across and when he bellows. Oh! I could bottle his bellows.

Two little fuzzy, round boy heads side by side, snuggled close when Fintan loves on his brother. Neither of my boys have a full head of hair yet and it just makes me choke up to think it won't always be so.

Coen's gummy smile. I miss Fintan's already.

Fintan singing. Any song. I wish he would do it for the camera. I will miss that little voice so much. I believe there will be pining in the future for just one song in his toddler voice.

Both boys' sturdy little bodies. Round and firm in Fintan's case, rolly and squishy in Coen's, but strong and proud in both.

How I will miss these teeny tiny men when they grow up.