Still Cleaning Up From Mother's Day...

Mother's Day at my house is an interesting thing. This year my husband claimed that I wasn't "his" mother, so he was not going to participate in the hoopla, it was up to the children.

OK, so I have pretty cool kids. Especially Birk, she brought me the beautiful breakfast in bed pictured above. If you remember another breakfast in bed (think Candy Corn Nachos), you will know that things are improving around here drastically.

Though, I am cleaning my kitchen counter with a dust buster today, that should tell you something, too.

May Madness

Here we find ourselves thick into May. I don't how I can be so busy, and yet have so little to say. My words of wisdom are non existent, if they are ever wise in any light or situation at all.

We are on our way to to the end of school. It is always pretty intense as everything winds down. I'm checking the to do list and have many items left to check. The kids are becoming excited and the weather is doing that annoying thing by making it seem like summer outside.

Roxy has blended into the family scene better than I could have ever expected. Kiki, Patch and Sara are putting up with her. Ruth is very responsible and takes the lion's share care of her dog.

High school testing for Ruth is on Saturday. She has chosen to attend a different high school than her older brother. Oh, brother! Her new school is amazing, and I know it is going to be a wonderful experience for her. Three schools for me is going to be an organizational test, but I'm sure we can do it if we all work at it together!

I cannot believe that John is going to be a Junior in high school next year. I cannot believe that this means Birk is in middle school. Middle school!

Old time keeps flying by. Just trying to resist the urge to give in to the sunny, summer day outside. That's all for now. I'll keep you posted!

London!

Here we are in London. For a weather forecast full of rain, every day has been clear and perfect for strolling.

We've seen two plays: Love Love Love and Noises Off. Both were very entertaining, but we apologize to the casts about our sleepy, jet-lagged attention spans.

We had a romantic Italian dinner at Aurora. It's just a tiny, cozy place, but the food is delicious.

The husband has been working as usual, but we've squeezed in lots of walks and cappuccinos at outdoor garden cafes.

We had an interesting wine tasting at Fortnum and Masons--I never realized there was a wine cellar in there! We had flights of wine and yummy cheeses for a couple of hours. Nice to get off our feet and hang out.

Mostly, I'm taking it easy and enjoying an open schedule. I'm not in full tourist mode, which is kind of luxurious all on its own.

We have one more day planned--and it ends with a dinner at Tamarind. It wouldn't be a trip to London without our traditional dinner at Tamarind.

Before I know it, we will be back on the plane and home again!

A Little R&R: Vacay Pics

After losing a bunch of treasured pics when my iPhone crashed twice, I'm going to start posting pics to the blog. Yes, I backed up to the "cloud" and did all that the geniuses tried to chastise me for not doing. It just was a sunny day for one week worth of data--no cloud in site (pun intended).

Calendar crashed and photos crashed and I'm now even more lost than before. Every once in a while an appointment crops up and surprises me. Every once in a while I realize a picture is gone.

Onward!

Below you will find little girls enjoying a convertible road trip, breakfast in bed, opening weekend with the D-backs versus the Giants, swimming, and enjoying the sights.

Skating on the Edge: Reaching Out Toward 50 & Beyond?

Recently, I went roller skating with friends at Chrissy Field in San Francisco to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. Four wild and crazy gals donned pink and white roller skates, zany purple paint splashed spandex tights and pink baseball shirts to do some victory laps with our birthday pal.

We looked as if we stepped out of a bad 80's movie. It was fun to surprise our up for anything friend. She had a great time careening around the water front proving that you never have to act your age, ever.

It made us all appreciate the happy go lucky, privileged lives that we all lead. There is stress, distress, problems, set backs, disappointments and strange surprises everywhere. Sometimes it is easy to let a cloud linger just over your head and feel isolated and alone. Sometimes it is hard to see the blessing when it is fogged in by regret or should have dones.

Now that 50 is clearly, un mistakenly and undeniably ahead, I hope we put on our pink skates and blast straight ahead. Always.

Cozy Puppy

Well, we are just over a couple of weeks of life with our puppy, Roxy. She's pure puppy--jumping, chewing, peeing and pooing.

Kilwin, our 13 year old collie lab cross, still wakes up every morning and looks as if to say, "She's still here??? When is she going home?"

Well, she has quite made herself at home already. There's nothing like the attention you get when the head of the cleaning department of the household is watching you like a hawk to see when or where you're going to pee next.

Smart Puppy!