Imagine it's summer

You're lying in the warm sun, squinting in the brightness.  You splash in the water to cool off . . .

Aaaahhhh!  I can't wait

Another winter weekend

This is a hard time of year.  It seems like the hours spent at work are so long, and the time at home is so short.  At least I realize now that it's not a sign that I need to make a major change in my life -- I just have to make it a few more weeks until Spring.  

We're passing the time by planning our vegetable garden.  We're going to put in a second bed and plant tomatoes, lettuce, peas, beans, zucchini, and we're going to try garlic and watermelon, too.

Today, I took both the boys to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner tonight and tomorrow.  (Marcy is coming to visit tomorrow afternoon, and we're going to have the Clapps over.  I decided to make chicken schnitzel.)  I cleaned out their closet a little, made lunch, and then we all had a rest together.  Teddy and I made "healthy" cookies (Oatmeal, nut, dried cranberries, and reduced sugar; which apparently I am going to eat by myself).  

Before dinner, I took Pippa for a walk at Patton Park.  It was just before 5:30, and the sun was setting on a clear, cold day, outlining the trees against the glowing sky.  

I figured out the trick to get Teddy to do ANYTHING: ask Troy to ask him to do it.  Right now they are both upstairs putting on their PJs by themselves.  You don't know how many nights we have battled him to put his PJs on (and to put his clothes on in the morning)!

All is peaceful here.  Good night :)

Educational Programming is Ruining My Kids

This evening as we were cleaning up after dinner, Teddy ran to the bathroom and tried to open the door.  He can't quite get the hang of pushing the handle down and pushing the door in at the same time.  "Slow down, Teddy, and you'll have more success," said Christian.  Yes, we are those people. The ones who talk to their kids like we're perpetually trying to impress a college professor or potential employer (I said perpetually).  We do it for the same reason we restrict their television viewing to the educational shows on public television, like "Sid, The Science Kid," about a boy who likes to learn about science, and "Martha Speaks," about a dog who can talk and who learns vocabulary words -- because we want to increase their exposure to knowledge and decrease their exposure to vulgarity (although apparently we don't want it enough to do without TV altogether).

Teddy opened the door, went into the bathroom, and stuck his head back out.  "But Daddy! Success means making a lot of money!"

Christian's jaw dropped and my head spun around so fast, I nearly pulled a muscle.  I recovered quickly enough to try to explain that for some people, success means being happy, or doing something to help others.  But Teddy insisted that "the man on 'Martha Speaks' said that success means making money!"  

That's it! No more PBS for you, young man.  From now it's Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel, 24/7!

Look out, Tech Show, here comes anti-matter girl!

I'm afraid to touch anything. I've been experiencing a string of technology failures, and my sphere of destruction seems to be growing.

First, it was the horn in the car. I tried to be cute this weekend and honk as we passed our friends in the street, but ended up looking like a doofus when no sound come out.

Luckily, no one was watching my next technology failure, as I tried over and over to push the toast into the toaster, with no success, going from one outlet to another. Later, when Christian drove the car, the horn (and the speaker -- that had nothing to do with me) suddenly started working again. Ditto with the toaster.

On Monday morning I arrived to find our server had crashed. It broke repeatedly and was finally taken out on a stretcher today. When I tried to scan something, the scanner didn't work, and now one of the printers doesn't seem to be working. I think I better go. I'm going to walk really carefully, and try not to touch the train.

They're going to love me at the Tech Show tomorrow . . .

Teaching, Tweets, and Turkey Turnovers

I had a busy few weeks there, which I definitely like better than when work is slow. I am proud to say that I did a big mediation by myself (with the client there) and it went really well. It didn't settle, but that was not unexpected. I also gave a speech to a group of lawyers about social networking and blogging (as it relates to legal marketing). That was fun and gave me an excuse to learn all about Twitter and the related applications. Now I'm hooked, and spending all my extra time hanging out with my "Tweople" instead of "you people" (Sean, are you reading this?)

The thing I like about both the mediation and the panel talk was the teaching aspect of it. I still get super nervous before-hand, but I still love it. I think it's like sky-diving is for other people -- that's how I get my thrills. I know; that's weird.

In between I took the boys and went to Heidi's for the weekend for a "leave daddy home alone" weekend (remember, there used to be Girls' Weekend?) It was quick but fun. Always so relaxing to be there. I made dinner for them: Turkey Turnovers. Ask me for the recipe. It's soooo good.

Love always,