To market, to market to buy a whole lot of stuff.

happy, excited toddler and preschooler? check.

one easy, mellow infant? check.

one filthy, cozy-coupe grocery cart? check.

disinfectant spray? check.

disinfectant wipes? check.

one big, empty-ish grocery store? check.

lots of lovely fresh produce for once! sing praises? check.

quickly get all items on list and a couple I forgot to write down? check.

one purple balloon? check.

one blue balloon? check.

infant fast asleep? check.

drive home safely? check.

infant saves massive poop until AFTER being removed from carseat? check.

happy mama? mm-hmm.

Busy Lately…

National Day of Prayer

Today was the National Day of Prayer, May 6th. And I can’t help redirecting you to a very endearing pastor’s blog post about it.  I believe I’ve linked to almost everything he’s ever posted. At any rate, you will be encouraged to press on and bend the knee in prayer.

I love the LORD, because He hears
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

(Psalm 116)

“Two eggs, fold in gently.”

“Two eggs, fold in gently.”

I’m having so much fun making Daisy’s birthday cake.

Knock-Off Thomas Table

I took Andy to Toys R Us today for a “Thomas & Friends Play-Date.” That was a mistake. It was just a bunch of kids hovering over the Thomas Table and fighting over the coolest engines. I could have gone yesterday and let Andy play with the train set all by himself. Oh dear…he was an angel, though. I wanted to buy him absolutely everything! (Look at all these great engines.) I couldn’t believe that James, the only red engine on the island of Sodor was 25 dollars! I ended up buying him a Thomas book, which we’ve already read 20 times since lunch today.

I discovered this plan for how to build my own Train Table for Andy on a blog called Knock off Wood. The Thomas and Friends Wooden Train Table is normally 200 dollars. [Yikes] I think this construction might be something I can manage. I wonder if someone at Home Depot would be willing to cut the pieces for me? I caused a lot of problems in my sculpture class in undergrad…couldn’t use the saw unsupervised. ):

Vapour and Proof

Dear God, be with young mothers and children in Haiti.

Here is a link to a thoughtful post written several weeks before the earthquake by a brilliant former pastor. He tells about “the vapour of this little time,” our lives. He also tells about proof of God’s love.

“It is a fellowship with God, a stewardship from God which no one wants, this business of losing sons.”

Potty 101

We did not begin to have potty success until we offered Andy some light reading.

Hello Handmade

My friend Betsy should be famous. And her striking calligraphy deserves a big award. She has an Etsy shop, Hello Handmade, where she and another artist collaborate and sell their artful goods. From this year’s collection, my favorite is the Tannenbaum Specimen Chart. They’ve also put together a stunning “Laureled Tea Towel” for the new year of 2010.

Betsy has also been featured on Martha Stewart wedding blog recently. Sweet!

Daisy Crawls

I’m not sure of the exact date when she crawled on hands and knees, but in the last week of October she was scooting herself all over the place. At first she would bear up on her hands and knees and leap (far) forward, falling in sort of a belly-flop style on her face. Andy would look over and say, “No Daisy, no,” as if he was trying to tell her she had it all wrong. This method never seemed to bother her. She has a stout heart.

All Aboard!

On Friday, Andy, Daisy and I get on a plane to  see my parents in Denver. I am so excited about putting on a sweater! We will likely spend every waking moment OUTSIDE since our hometown villain, heat-exhaustion, will be miles away. I can’t wait to go to BSF with my mom. Dad and I will probably take the kids on many strolls around the neighborhood. The little prairie bunnies will probably make Andy very happy, as well as the harvest corn maze the neighborhood puts up every fall. This is by far my favorite season…in just about every other state in the nation.

Unfortunately, the getting in and out of the airport thing, the flying by myself with two kids in diapers thing, and missing Seth so much that I feel sick, will have to be endured. Here’s hoping for a kind and sensible seat-mate!

Brian Regan on flying.