I didn't bring the camera to our Thanksgiving, but we had a great celebration with friends and lots of delicious food.  So, forgive me, but this is the only photo I have right now, crooked glasses and all. 

I'm grateful for so much- friends and family always. Good communities that are there in good times and hard ones, with conversation and food and company. I'm thankful for living in a city with great theater and music and restaurants and of course, the coffee. I'm thankful that Chris and I are both excited about our jobs right now. I'm grateful that we have found such great educational communities for our kids, even when they're not perfect. I'm thankful that no one in our family has any broken bones right now.  I'm thankful for growth and changes, and taking a minute to reflect. I'm so grateful that I found my way to the Religious Society of Friends, and that even when they drive me crazy, Quakers are there inspiring me to be a better person. I'm thankful for the books and the yarn that are my constant companions, and for the ways that technology can help us all stay connected. 

Happy Thanksgiving Friends. 

The weekend and beyond

So, that loose tooth finally came out. She's been wiggling it for weeks now, and asking people to pull it out and then finally on Friday out it came. Very exciting.

She had her final gymnastics meet of the season this weekend and then her team had a slumber party in the gym. When I came to pick her up the next morning, her coach told me that she had been up until 1:30am. This is the girl who needs 10-12 hours of sleep to function. Then her coach gave her a chocolate muffin and a juice box and sent her home with me. Sigh. So that was a long day.

I was able to to sneak out that night though for a mom's night out, which was so great and much needed. Nothing a little chocolate, wine and good company can't solve.

All in a day

Snap circuits!

                                               
                                                She's reading to him and he's, um, actively listening.


Right now we are:
                           - thinking about what to make for Thanksgiving. Maybe this recipe that was chosen                                 to represent WA state?

                           -trying to get the last round of compost into the garden before the real winter                                         weather comes.

                           - Reading about the Tutors, rocks and minerals, classic Sci-Fi and Tamora Pierce. I'll
                              let you sort out who's reading what.

                            - Getting ready to see Ruth Ozeki tomorrow.

weekend

It's been cold and clear and sunny here- bright sharp days that remind me of winter in the mid-west. 

We had a family date on Friday, using one of our Chinook book coupons to go to a lovely Thai restaurant. We managed to get through the meal with only one child having to take a walk outside while waiting for food and only one child having to be reminded that we don't sleep with our heads on the table in restaurants, no matter how full we may be. 

So, pretty successful in other words.

Unity had a gymnastics meet on Saturday. Her team did well enough to advance to the championships next weekend so she is excited about that. I wasn't sure how she would do in this "pre-competitive" track but it's been good so far. 

We have a new houseplant to add to the botanical collection. This one is a sundew, and while it is fun and interesting, we are also hoping it will be a fruit fly predator as well. 

Also this weekend, Brixton and I made cookies while Unity had a friend over and Unity read all of Houseboat Girl by Lois Lenski. I adored this author as a kid, and read through a whole shelf of her books at my local library. Seeing Unity enjoy the books I loved as a kid has been something that I've been looking forward to since the day I found out I was pregnant. 

I've been a little nonplussed with some of the books she's brought home from her school library. There's a whole fairy series that is stretched a bit thin. Titles include Caylee the carnival fairy and Georgia the guinea pig fairy. She also brought home a book that was all about the beauty shop and boys. I'm  not going to tell her what she can and can't read. I certainly know that can backfire. There's a famous story in my family about how I was told not to read my grandmother's romance novel and promptly stayed up all night to read it after everyone else was asleep. 

But, I am glad to steer her towards books that I find enriching and I love when she loves them too. Bonding over books is one of my favorite ways to connect. 

Zoo Day

                             The budding photographers are trying to get a smile out of the brothers.

What to do on a cold but clear day with no school? We went to the zoo of course. With several thousand of our friends who had the same idea. Yeah, it was a wee bit crowded. 

But- where else can you go to be outside and walk and see interesting creatures that also has lots of benches for snack breaks and a gift shop in which to blow your allowance money? Yeah, nothing else like it. 

Views

This week holds a lot of things for people I love. Surgeries. Job changes. Stuff that's big and hard and equivocal. 

There are some ways that are easy for me to be supportive and then there are times when I don't know what to do. I believe that hard things can make us stronger and that sometimes we have to do the work to really appreciate something. And there are times when it doesn't make sense and it won't and it's just difficult. 

But I believe in walking next to people. I believe in bringing Mac and Cheese. I believe in care packages and escapist reading. I believe in looking for the bright scraps of beauty, even with our worn out shoes and too long jeans. 

One small day

We recently changed Brixton's schedule so he's now at preschool four days a week. This came on the heels of our parent-teacher conference, when the teacher gently suggested this would help his social life. ( Both of my kids form deep, intense bonds with just one special friend, a practice that has its advantages and its challenges.)

So, we made the change. I realized that even though I love having him home with me, right now he needs the peer group and the interactions from school. And next year he'll be in Kindergarten five days a week, so I guess this is good practice. (Hold me. No, I have no idea what I'm going to do.)

Now that we are down to just one weekday together, it feels that much more precious. I don't want to drag him along on errands. I just want to do fun things together.

Like go to the coffee shop and play with trains. Or build giant Lego structures and listen to all his inventive stories. Or play long meditative games of Monopoly while winding a ball of yarn.

Towards the end of the day, he put on his Halloween costume and we snuggled in bed together. He told me he was going to be my dinosaur and protect me.

I am holding on and savoring these small days.

Signs of the times

A few snatches of our day, set to the tune of Brahms's lullaby. The decorations of jack o'lanterns and evolution timelines. Playing school which is also playing ophthalmologist. Little bits and pieces. 

First back patch

Brixton received a belated birthday present this weekend. He had asked Chris if he could have a back patch on a hoodie, just like Chris has. They picked on our together, after much discussion and debate (and a few vetoes from me. Not all metal band patches are suitable for preschool.) When it arrived they sewed it on together. 

Brixton is super pleased and loves telling people about it. Ironically, Chris tried to play the band's record for Brixton. When he asked if Brixton wanted to hear the other side, Brixton said "maybe later Dad."