Ten on Tuesday: Still Here Edition

1. We're still here. There are just some seasons of life that preclude much blogging, and this has been one of them. I'm absolutely gobsmacked that we're nearing the end of February.

2. I'm experimenting with red lipstick. I know that there are many more important things going on in the world right now, but there it is: red lipstick.

3. Juliette has been to a number of great playdates lately. It is so fun to be in a community where somebody always seems to have an extra sandwich/carseat/spot in their playroom for your kid.

4. Speaking of our kid: she received a great evaluation from her church preschool teachers today. They think she's smart, funny, has a great laugh, and plays equally well with girls and boys. They also explained that the reason she never brings home much artwork is because the project table is optional, and she isn't into it. She's been coloring more lately, but much prefers books and games.

5. She is also into - very, very into - connect-the-dots writing. In addition to practicing her name, "Mama," and "Daddy," she recently requested me to dot "Dear Daddy, I love you!" for her to fill in. This was a project they did at her other school, and she's hooked.
6. I preached on Sunday for the first time in a long time - since the beginning of January. It was so good to have a break while I was finishing up (and recovering from) the book, but it was also good to be back. I realized that this associate ministry gig is a great one for me because I love preaching... and I love not preaching. Can't lose.

7. One of the women in my fabulous writing group was recently quoted in Politics Daily, along with The Young Clergy Women Project. I felt like a stage mother.

8. I'm beginning to look pretty darn pregnant. Originally we were going to find out the gender tomorrow, but it turns out that our insurance doesn't cover the "level two low risk" ultrasound. I rescheduled to have one in the office (which I'd considered doing in the first place), but they can't fit me in for a couple more weeks.

9. Boy or girl? We're pretty sure we have names for both.

10. We took a wonderful winter hike in the local Forest Preserve on Saturday morning. It was crisp and muddy and a whole lot of fun. Juliette saw this trunk and exclaimed "that looks like a fox!"Sure enough, it does. She's a clever one, our girl.

Snow Day

They really weren't kidding this time; the snowfall measurement topped out at 20.2 inches, third only to the major blizzards of '67 and '99. It was eerily quiet this morning. Normally, since we live on a busy street, we're awakened by the rush hour traffic. This morning there wasn't a peep. In addition to the heavy snowfall, there was also a lot of wind, and therefore huge snowdrifts.
There's an entire kid-sized picnic table under there somewhere.

Ben helped shovel our next door neighbors' drive first - they have a snowblower, but it didn't really work very well in the driveway entrance. They had to get their driveway cleared as she's a doctor on call.

After a break, we all bundled up to go outside. The sun came out, and it was just lovely. Ben had his work cut out for him:What you can't see in this picture is the other neighbor behind me, who came over with his mega blower to help dig out our driveway entrance.

Juliette and I had a blast. Ben wouldn't let me shovel much (that one-two punch of baby + bad back really gets me out of certain activities), but I helped Juliette make snow angels and swing. I had to raise the swing about a foot to make it high enough. I made as many snow angels as Juliette, only I don't have a fancy snowsuit, so I ended up with a lot of snow up my back.

Here's Juliette standing on the buried chair:
Ben had just gone in to take another break when two more neighbors drove up with shovels in the trunk - my Senior Pastor and another church member, making the Good Neighbor rounds. They knocked out the rest of the driveway in less than a half an hour:I think the biggest and best memory of this day will always be what wonderful neighbors we have.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I submitted my manuscript to Chalice Press on January 30th... two whole days before deadline. I'm still a little dazed, not entirely believing that this stage of the process is done.

2. I cannot overstate how very grateful I am that my Mama came to the rescue last week. Juliette probably had one of the best weeks of her life, playing endless rounds of Hungry Hungry Hippo and Animal Bingo with her Grandma.
3. Juliette barely watched any television all week, a much needed weaning from the tube after the week before. Between the flu and the impending deadline, she probably watched even more television than in the days she was recovering from her ear tubes surgery. I'm glad to be back to the "less is more" philosophy with the TV.

4. Though if we really get twenty inches of snow and are stuck in the house for a long time, I wonder how long it will take for us to revert back to the "more, more, more" philosophy?

5. Juliette received some marvelous birthday gifts this year, including a handmade doll named Sally, crafted by the same pair that made her heirloom Nikki McClure quilt. Love.
6. I though that whole Tiger Mother kerfluffle was pretty fascinating, and really appreciated this article by my long-time internet friend, Bethany Keely-Jonker: Why Christians Shouldn't Play the Tiger Mother Game. (I "met" Bethany on the Over the Rhine listserv twelve years ago. In internet years, that's an entire century.)

7. We'd planned an uber-simple birthday party for Juliette this year: a tea party with two girls from her preschool class. Good thing it was so simple, because it made it a lot easier to postpone and reschedule when the influenza hit. After a mad dash to make the house presentable after several weeks of book neglect, we hosted a very successful shindig on Saturday afternoon. Just imagine this photo accompanied by extensive giggling:

The biggest hit of the party, other than the pink dress up clothes and the new Dora doll and the cupcakes and the tangerines and the banana bread and the real tea sets, was the Michael Franti Dance Party Segment. We've become some serious Michael Franti fans in these parts.

8. My book got its first favorable review. It made me so weepy I can only imagine what the bad reviews will do to me... though at least by that point, my synapses won't be flooded with pregnancy hormones.

9. Seventeen weeks, baby. :)

10. I like this picture, although Juliette and I come across as a little bit grabby. One of these days we'll manage to take a family photo that doesn't make me chuckle for all the wrong reasons...



Happy Tuesday!