hello! apparently, i disappeared for quite awhile. and just so you know we're still here, still good, a few catch-up thoughts on things that have been happening the past few weeks....

* we had the first--of what i imagine to be many, many more--recitals. mary's teacher introduced her as "mary. she's six. she's only been taking lessons for a few weeks. and, isn't she so tiny??" mary was brave, confident. and unmistakably flawless in her rendition of "sea whale".

* egg production has dropped off with the darker days. we have no electric at the coop, so we don't simulate longer days for the girls with lights. it makes each little egg a gift.

* i don't think i've seen the inside of birdy's mouth in three weeks. her lips are in a constant, sucking-pursed-state, as we wait, and wait and wait for these painful teeth number three and four to emerge. poor babe.

* soccer season ended with many, many tears when the girls lost their final game in the tournament. lots of tears, except for emma. who packed up her gear and walked off the field. i was okay with that.

*birdy is army-crawling all over the house. gone are the days of peaceful baby playing on the quilt. this morning, she discovered the little pile of ash in front of the woodstove (the stove was not going) and covered herself in grey dust.

*my mother-in-law came to visit last week. and while she was here, she cleaned my living room and kitchen. not "tidied" but cleaned. i'm not sure if i should accept this as a wonderful gift, or as a sign that my house is a dirty mess.

*there is a ten-gallon fish tank on the floor of my living room full of pine needles, leaf litter, grasses, dandelion fronds and ONE wooly bear.

* i am taking a 6 week class at a local gym called, "body conversion". sounds scary, doesn't it? but, each night that i go, i am reminded that there is a big difference between what you think you cannot do, and what you can push yourself to do. those voices in our heads sure like to tell us otherwise. i am loving it.

So, hi! hello! i've missed this place. i make no promises, but i hope to be back here a little more regularly. (famous last words)