Today

I commented to Darren the other day that this is the best summer of my life, probably an exaggeration but I am enjoying the kids so much. And I wonder if it will be my best watching them because they love and smooch each other so much. Jesse has recently gotten into saying "Oooohhh" when Luci cries and bringing her a parade of toys. Luci likes to make Jesse her baby, covering him with a blanket and patting his head--Jesse loves being mothered.

I was laughing to myself today, when at 1:15 today Luci, Jesse, Peanut, and I took a walk around the block. Jesse brought the dirty broom from the front steps, sweeping the bits of trash he found into the street and Luci carried her pink piece of chalk so we could draw spontaneous hearts and circles. We were one part city clean-up crew and one part graffitti artists.

A double pleasure occured today when we were enroute to gelato with our friend Fish and we bumped into our recently old neighbors Brent and his mom Ephralynn. I did not know where they had moved to nearby and was able to find out. (I knew it was somewhere around the corner but walking around recently with Jesse and calling "Brent" had not worked.) It was a joy to have our gelato time followed by a visit to Brent's new house where the boys rough housed on Brent's top bunk. Watching Jesse play with boys is one of my greatest joys because it is so rare, outside of school.

Had dinner at Naan 'n' Curry, ran over Bernal with Pea, and read a couple chapters of Anne Lamott's new "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith" and am finding it so great to hear someone speak so truthfully and insightfully. I especially enjoy the stories about her dog and the trials of parenting. Her perspective is validating and encouraging. And now I'm off to take a hugely anticipated shower with hopes that I will not hear the Luci who apparently should not take any more naps starting tomorrow.

From the Mouths of Babes?

Two days ago when Jesse, Luci, and I were eating Darren's leftover gumbo, which is delicious and we all love, Jesse and I had this conversation:

Jesse: "So the hunters hunt this chicken?"

me: "Well, yes" (I wanted to keep this conversation short because I fear details of the reality of meat will either lead to severe jesse sorrow or nasty details of chicken factories that I would like to only relay in bits and pieces over time.)

Jesse: "Well, I don't like that the chicken had to die for me to eat this chicken because I like chickens."

me: "Well, honey, that's why I like to eat meals without meat most of the time, like beans and other things."

Jesse (after another yummy bite): "Well I'm gonna ask God to kill the hunters because I don't like them hunting the chickens."

Jesse

A quote from Friday upon returning home from school, said witih complete seriousness:

"We should really have junk, because I ate really well today and I really love junk, so we should eat some junk."

After I pray that Jesse "have wonderful dreams that feed his soul", Jesse says, "What are wonderful dreams? Are they when you eat something really yummy?"

Whew!

So much to say and it feels like I've missed many anopportunity to blog about exciting details of our life...But then again I've been busy just living it and I'm glad about that.

I'll just do a few words to recap our life these day, kinda like the "popcorn" prayers we used to do at church. Sorry to those who don't know what I'm talking about.

Jesse's summer school started this week which included a train ride to and from and exciting park in Burlingame

We've now enjoyed a month of friendship with Jesse and Luci's new friends Pretty (almost 4) and Strong Claire(almost 2) and her mom Lisa. We met at and hang together at Wednesday night dinner and church on Sunday. Shared ice cream at Dolores Park today!

Boxes are being packed and given away or stored iin prep for our move.

Jesse wants to move to London in "like 2 days" so Christmas and his birthday can come quickly.

I am doing the preschool search as much as I can from here, and it's a tad difficult but hurray for state-funded preschool!

Darren and sidekicks have finished a several day long training for InnerChange's summer exchange interns. I'm excited that 3 are going to my beloved Starlight in Boston.

Luci's not so great at using the toilet. Don't think I'll be proclaiming "Potty-trained" for a while.

John and Deanna Hayes, who have gone ahead of us to London, have settled into an apartment in Tower Hamlets and I finally feel that the move is upon us. It's exciting to have a neighborhood pinned down and I am already researching it from afar, throught the internet or chatting with the Hayes.

School's Out

Jesse's school year officially came to an end on Friday and while I was looking to spend some more time with this week, before his summer school starts, I was wondering how the kids would be occupied. Would the kids mostly get along blissfully? Would I be extra tired at the end of the week. Well, so far so well.

Yesterday, as I was planning an excursion, it was clear that Jesse was not interested in going anywhere or doing much. He was content to read book while sucking his fingers, or play imagination games from the couch while sucking his fingers, or cover him up on the couch so he could sleep like a baby. He did all this in a good mood and it ended up being a great morning with the kids as they played together and we did basic things. We went grocery shopping and that pretty much made it a morning.

Then in the afternoon, Jesse's friend Judah came over with her mom and little brother and we all hung out while the kids played in their kitty cage, which is the pack-n-play with a sheet over it. Good times.

This week consists of a bunch of playdates which I am looking forward to, I really enjoy Jesse's little friends (they become Luci's too) and their moms--the change of pace is refreshing.

Peanut did get neglected yesterday though. She was home with us but she wasn't out running around until I went to Mariah's surprise 25th birthday party, stayed for a bit with me as we played BINGO, and ran home with her. Would have loved to run longer but I was ready for bed and didn't feel like running around my neighborhood too late. I mean Peanut is my protector dog, of course, but she would lag behind with her ears back when we stumbled upon shady characters, until she could figure out a way to dart around them. I know she'd take a chunk out of someone if they laid a hand on me, but I'd like her to look and act just slightly more intimidating.

Today holds a playdate with Jesse's beloved Uma at a nearby park. Tommorrow is his regular time with his other girlfriend Bree. Then, hurray for a BOY named Cooper on Thursday. If only there were more boys.......

Monday Lunch

I don't know if the point is that I'm weird or my kids are agreeable, but I just made them cherry arugula sandwiches with parmesan-romano cheese and they made a good stab at eating them with no complaints, just yelling for the grapefruit they wanted for dessert.

We did eat a TLC oatmeat/dark chocolate chunk cookie in the car on the way home from Costco. Now that's more like it!

It's Finally Happened

Well folks, the kids are finally, officially, for the long term, sharing a room.

As our full May approached, Darren and I looked forward to our guests but dreaded the inevitable loss of sleep that always resulted when Loud Luci moved out of her room and into Jesse's. At bedtime, she would do every song and dance to ward off sleep and to have us waiting on her and losing our tempers. This behavior also annoyed Jesse who just wanted to drift off into dreamland as he sucked his fingers. And just as we thought we'd left the misery of the night behind, Luci would do her typical LOUD morning wake-up call around 6, once again annoying everyone else. Give us a few nights of this and Darren and I are very tired and annoyed with our high maintenance daughter.

But truly after some great company (both sets of Grandparents and Rex and Connie Kennemer), lots of practice, and a bit of maturing, Luci is proud to be sleeping like a big girl with Jesse and can be coaxed (a.k.a. threatened) into behaving tolerably. It was cute to see how excited she was to return to bed every night in Jesse's room. And now, though the system is not without a few little kinks, I am happy to report that the kids are sharing a room quite well.

Perhaps Jesse should be given some credit. One morning (at 6:45) when Luci was repeatedly yelling my name and Jesse's, Jesse yelled back at her, "Luci! Do you want to grow? Do you want to grow? Then you have to sleep or you won't grow!" This went on for 5 minutes until Luci sheepishly said yes.

A Sweet Mostly Palatable Friday

Friday.

My parents were here (they left this morning) so they watched Luci with Darren while I was able to have an adventure with a friend. My friend Virginia, who is a foodie, led me on a tour through Chinatown as we both set out to find really yummy chinese food. Ginny had it all planned out so it was a pleasure for me to just relax, have some good conversation, and enjoy the secrets of Chinatown. We ate a little bit here and there but the highlights were a chocolate covered something we shared from a bakery , and the shrimp and leek dumplings we ate as we shared dim sum at the Great Eastern Restaurant, I think. (I will be sure to make a clear identifications so I can obtain these foods in the future.) Wow--only a few months to enjoy what I've been missing all these years. The antithesis to this enjoyment was walking into some meat/poultry shops and seeing the rotund frogs sitting in a bucket and the game birds crammed so there is no room to move in their cages, this to precede the hacking off of their heads for the viewers and purchasers. This might be bad to see but not so bad for the animals who would endure brief pain after days of terrible containment. I don't think it takes an animal lover such as myself to feel compassion. And as we walked out I said to Ginny, "I'm sure glad God is a God of justice because it is apparent that ALL of creation is suffering." She said,"It's true, we're all suffering and then we make each other suffer." We proceeded to the best fish store ever that I am definitely taking my kids back to and we awed at most of God's creation reserving "That's gross!" for the slithery eels. This was a journey to be replayed, and perhaps edited, next time around. Thanks Gin and my parents and husband for giving me this opportunity!

I disembarked from my journey at the 24th Street BART station and jumped into a van with my family (this includes Grandma, Grandpa, and Peanut) to head up to our farm for strawberry picking. It was a long journey which we will never do again to the best strawberries I have ever tasted. I really never knew they could taste so good. Eating each one warm from the sun was like eating strawberry pie. I ate more strawberries than I ever had and wish I had eaten more because it did not make me sick. The kids showed surprising restraint as they bent down underneath their sunhats and accumulated berries in their baskets. After about a half hour they sat under the tent at the picnic tables and partook. It was nice because nobody else was picking at that time. So it was a peaceful family and nature time. Also a great opportunity to show my parents the Eatwell Farm that we always talk proudly about. We even saw the hens that lay our eggs and Jesse screamed "Cock-a-doodle--doo!" into the roosters' faces.

Fullness-a week in Review

So much has flown by and for the most part I've enjoyed it. Here's a recap of our days.

Jesse, Luci,and I took our friend Shirley home from Wednesday night dinner. It was an eventful journey as my kids were ready for bed and only elevated their voices to speak. I was so annoyed with them and welcomed Shirley barking at them. First she said "I'm so glad I don't have kids", as she clenched her head in her hands. Then she said "Stop kicking the seat" and when Luci asked for music she said "She can't do that right now, your mother's first priority is to drive." Inside I felt like I didn't want my kids' feelings to be hurt but mostly, since they weren't listening to me and their voices were killing my head, I was thinking "Yes, Shirley, way to put them or scare them into line." Though I have to admit that she made only a small impact. It was a hilarious ride.

Thursday was a change of plans. I made my chicken casserole for Fish as he was coming over to dinner. And made a chocolate pot de creme for dessert. He got mixed up and didn't make it but we had my friend Andrea and her daugher Bree (Jesse's most long-term friend) over for dinner and the night. Luci and Jesse shared a room again (an opportunity always afforded to us by having guests) and it was proven once again that they don't share a room too well, thought admittedly Bree was the early riser who had a domino effect.

Darren took Jesse to his first Giants game on Saturday. We all headed to Dolores Park from which the two of them took off on the train. Jesse was so excited he wanted to skip playing on the playground and head straight to the game even though it was early. Apparently, at the game, Jesse tried flagging down everybody who came by selling food. I asked him how the game was later and the first thing he said was, "I was hungry a lot." Luci and I stayed at Dolores and took part in the Cinqo de Mayo festivities--primarily the food, which consisted of tamales, pupusas, dulce de leche coffe samples from Starbucks, and gelato, and Peanut frolicked in the grass. What a beautiful day!

Sunday was worship and relaxation but also church busyness, as church was preceded by a deacons meeting and concluded with a deacons lunch. That evening was a respite from the moods and busyness that accumulates--we got to go see David Wilcox with our friends Rick, Cathy, and Scott. Dave Wilcox is an enjoyable storyteller.

Monday was the fulfillment of a dream! Or shall I say 2? We had a playdate with Uma and her mom at Precita Park. It was a scorcher of a day so much so that Jesse was officially introduced to the man with the ice cream cart, a much feared introduction as I know this knowledge could have infinite repercussions. On the way to the park I found a old push lawnmower, something I had been looking for on Craig's List! We'll see if it works......

Tuesday--a perfect finale to all this writing. After a week of back-up in the bathtub the plumber paid us a welcome visit,something Jesse was sorry to have missed. As we climbed our stairs freshly home from school, he said "But can't the plumber come even when something's not broke? Like he could just come over to babysit! Earlier Tuesday, Luci swallowed a penny at the fruit stand. And when I questioned her of the deed, she yelled "Sorry, Mommy!" before I could finish my words. The guilt seemed evident to me but it was nothing like the proof of a shiny penny I found in her diaper today.

Looking forward to Jesse's birthday festivities. I can't believe he's turning 4!

The Things Lu-lu is doing these days

About Luci...

She loves her tweety bird pj's and in the morning during her diaper change, she says, "Please, can I wear my tweety bird a little bit?" I think she thinks it's a costume.

She can actually keep a hairstyle for longer than 5 seconds. We've had 2 days of almost all-day pigtails. Cute!

She still loves her green and white gingham butterfly dress. Soon the buttons will not be able to close. But it is a constant request nevertheless.

Still collecting, in descending order of importance--flowers, sparklies (this includes glitter, sequins she rips of my clothes while I'm wearing them, shards of glass most of which are worn down by being trodden upon in the Mission but it makes me MAD, and anything with a hint of light in them), leaves, rocks, marbles and beads from the sidewalk.

She's enjoying the movie Annie and singing Tomorrow as well as a song from the Wiggles that includes "Shh, shh, shh."

She talks about friends now, wanting to see them, and her class at church. She pretty much stopped crying when I leave her in her class about 4 or 5 months ago.

She adores running to the front door when Daddy comes home and demands to be tickled. Jesse and Peanut make the same demands.

Starting to be a little better at night. She's been corrected by her dad's stern command of "No more crying". Seems it was just what she needed to correct a really bad habit of crying when waking at night.

She is a kitty 25% of the time. When she knows she needs to eat more at the table, she meows and this allows her to eat the spoonful in front of her. Sometimes her wake-up call in the morning is a "Meow". It is very high pitche and squeaky.

A deep voice of a lion is used to roar when she's chasing her brother.

She says daddy broke her light every night at bedtime, ever since the bulb burned out of her night-light 2 months ago.

She's started using the toilet here and there and went pee-pee for the first time there last week.

She's a handful, that's for sure. Some things haven't changed. But I think I glimpse a bit of politeness developing!

God Provides "Peter and the Wolf"

By now many of you know about "Peter and the Wolf", the musical compostion and enclosed story. Jesse has loved it ever since its inception into our lives. Don't even know where it came from, second-hand at Chloe's perhaps. I believe we've had to retire it twice in Jesse's short life-span because it gives him serious nightmares. And this is hard scientific fact. There were moments when I thought "Nah, it couldn't be that" but put it to the test and you will get Jesse moaning and crying all night long. But he loves it. And it is stored away, always approached with trepidation by both parent and child. Jesse says, "I don't think I should listen to that--it will give me really bad nightmares. Nevertheless, he can quote it jollily and ask me to tell him the story on the way to school. Fear not, merely talking of it has no correlation to nightmares.

I remember fondly a recent visit (about 2 months ago) to Naan 'n' Curry that intertwined with the topic of Peter and the Wolf. We had wrapped up our dinner there and Darren was at the register paying, when Jesse started chatting it up with some refined looking 60ish women. I don't know all the words of the exchange, but it started with Jesse inquiring "Do you know Peter and the Wolf?" The women said something like "My yes." And then Jesse quizzed them on what instruments played what characters. I could see these women were in a bit of disbelief that they couldn't answer to a 3 year-old. ( I am not saying that J can actually answer his own questions but this was the impression he was making.) They looked at me astounded and said "Isn't that quite advanced for a 3 year-old?" In a flash, I thought I could say, "Well, he's almost 4 actually" or tell them that we're not a family of classical music scholars, we just take what comes our way. But I thought, no let them dote--it's fun to watch these ladies who are enamored with our family. We wound up the conversation, headed towards the exit, Luci reached for a straw and accidentally sent a glass smashing to the floor. So much for the impression of refinement! I thought it was pretty hilarious.

The other day when Darren took Jesse to a playgroung, they just happened upon a pile of books that contained "Peter and the Wolf". What luck! It feels like the fulfillment of 2 years of meditating on Peter and the Wolf. Not that we had ever even hoped for a book! It seems the words mimic the recording exactly. Jesse's favorite page is the one with the fox greedlily looking at the duck. When I read the word "wall" as "wall", Jesse pointed out that on the cd they say "wool"--his rendition of wall said with a British accent. That's when I explained that that was British English, the English that they speak in London where we are moving to. He now requests that we read the book with British accents. Jesse has said that he might get nightmares from reading the book, but so far, read in moderation, he is nightmare-free.

Jesse showed the book to his teacher Monica at school. In fact he waved it to her from across the room and said "Look!" She said, " I bet I know what that is."

Jesse's Prayer at Bedtime

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me the bestest mommy, made of Pam, that I ever had. And thank you for giving me Luci, the bestest sister I ever had. And thank you for Darren, the best, best, bestest daddy I ever had!

In Jesus' name, Amen!

Amazing Cultures!

I should be blogging about my fabulous time having Jennifer here (which just so happens to coincide with Darren being away in London) but my excitement about these cultures overwhelms me right now, not that bacteria is more exciting than Jennifer. I'll have to reflect on my week with Jennifer manana.

I entered the magical world of probiotic making today. In laymen's terms that would be how to make such things as kefir, yogurt, piima, quark, cream cheese and creme fraiche. These things have active enzymes that really aid in digestive health.

Didn't know that this class (given by Jesse's teacher Carrie) I signed up for at j's school auction would be so enlightening. What a treat (and deal) for $30 bucks!

Would love to relay all that I learned but I'm to tired for that so here's a small summary.

Let me start by saying these things have interesting tastes that wouldn't at first inclination appeal to all, but wow, Carrie had some fabulous things to eat that were made out of her colonies--cheescake (the BEST I've ever had), dips, butter, the creamies, sweetest plain yogurt ever, yum!

Everything she made (cultured) was SO easy, only the yogurt required stovetop time. Basically, put a little bit of this culture into this much milk, set aside and get your result in a day or two.

Kefir grains are these little cauliflower like things (very cool-looking) and if you put some with milk and set aside you get kefir (maybe you've seen it in health-food stores or health magazines), a tangy drink that I definitely could dig on a regular basis, especially with a dallop of jam mixed in.

For the first time I tasted whey, the extremely nutritious liquid you can strain off yogurt or piima. Interesting fermenedt taste! Carrie says she craves it to quench her thirst and I can believe it. It is tart yet satiating.

One thing I suspected, and Carrie confirmed, was that the occurence of creamy, thickened milk only sometimes in Luci's sippy cup after residing for a night in her crib is in fact yogurt. For months I'd been suspecting that Lulu had been making yogurt with her body heat during the night. Turns out it's true. I'm so thrifty maybe I should eat it for breakfast?

Another interesting tip was to ferment nuts (starting with raw is best) by soaking in water with sea salt overnight, and then drying slowly in a low temp oven. The resulting taste is delicious (I'm oblivious to any fermented taste, it just tastes like the regular nut only better) and these nuts are sometimes digestable by people who have nut allergies because the offending enzymes are removed. WHY I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!

I'm so grateful I had my class today--another way of looking at God's marvelous world.

Uma

Jesse LOVES his preschool friend Uma. I ask him whose birthday party he want's to go to--Francisco or Imagen. He says Uma's. I ask him who he plays with the most. Uma. He tells me about jokes they have together.

But this says it all, this conversation we had when I had tucked him in bed.

Jesse: Mommy, why did you marry Daddy?

Me: Because I loved him and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

Jesse: Will I get married someday?

Me: Yeah, if you want to.

Jesse: I want to marry Uma. Someday, my mommy can give a ring to me. And her mommy can give Uma a ring. And we can walk together through the forest and I can give her the ring that my mommy gave me and she can give me the ring her mommy gave her.

Yikes! I am not looking forward to taking Jesse to London, far, far away from Uma.....It has been plaguing me for months and this love has not let up.

New things and experiences

What an interesting week..

Jesse was off from preschool as it is school vacation week. I guess it was a perfect time for him to be progressing through a bad cold. We all are excited to see him off to school tomorrow. Looking forward to catching my breath and recuperating a little bit.

We had a cool Easter week-end. Went to a family-oriented Good Friday service at our church on Friday, where the death of Jesus was really driven home to Jesse. He saw some pretty harsh video clips (it wasn't known to us prior) of Jesus being nailed to the cross and he was very sad to see Jesus crying out in pain. It occupied his mind all evening, and beyond but praise God it has brought good conversation and no nightmares. We like the truth of the gospel message but we also like to sleep.

J and Luci had fun at the following pot-luck in the basement of our church where Jesse hung with his friends at the children's corner and made a cross out of popsicle sticks and Luci sang here trademark Twinkle, twinkle little star so loudly, everyone turned to watch her and then clapped. I'm sure this will deter further behavior of that sort.

I came down with my cold on Saturday but we managed to pass the time pleasantly with the kids as the boys went off to get the car washed and took a bus ride and the ladies lingered at home (this does include Peanut of course), then meandered their way slowly to Phil's coffee where they met the boys. Then off to Precita Park, to naps, to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant--we're not challenged by the use of chopsticks just the misuse, as our children drop them on the floor and treat them like drumsticks, and the lazy susan with all the sauces.......they're not baby bottles Luci!

Unfortunately we had to miss church on Sunday to fulfill our other plans which was to spend Easter with our friends from church, the Osgoods. They have a great vacation home in Napa, on a golf course (don't care for golf, just sprawling greeness) and 3 great more mature kids, Joseph 9, Charlotte 11, and Madeline 12. We ate mostly casual meals with them and our kids ran around so free--down the street to use the neighbors wagon, J to the pond with Charlotte to open sprinkler boxes and collect frogs, Peanut running off and keeping her eyes on all parties--the children away from the house and the parents close by. There was a brief Easter egg hunt for our kids. I'm not sure who's the smartest, Jesse who wanted to collect as many as he could, or luci who was intent on eating as she went along. Peanut couldn't resist jumping into the pond as the kids climbed trees. We took a drive to Osgood's friend home and vineyard and let their dogs out to romp--Luci hung on the massive labs as much as she could and declared that Peanut, who was with us, was her dog.

It was quite a blissful excursion for us but we were ready to go today as the night was eventful--a word that never is a compliment to the night. Jesse slept with the other kids (a first for him that he was excited about) but woke up lost and screaming at the top of his lungs in the living room at 1 am. So we were all together in our room at one point not sleeping very well.

I am beat but wanted to make sure that I had recorded some of our excitement around here. It was great to admire God's creation and to play outside on this Ressurection week-end.

Have I mentioned these beans before?

This will be to the point and of minimal words.

Make these beans.

1) Soak 3 cups uncooked black beans overnite in 2 quarts of water.

2) Then...drop one head of garlic into the pot, 1 tsp. salt, 1Tbsp. olive oil, and, if you want, 2 bouillon cubes of any kind. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for an hour.

3) Enjoy at a 0% failure rate (except for gas, though I am not a sufferer) with tortillas, brown rice, avocado, cheese, tomatoes, cilatro. Maybe get crazy, like Darren, and do platanos. Way to feed a crowd and please 'em!

Been good, but glad it's almost over

Darren's been away for the past few days running the apprentice mid-year retreat and I've felt overly surrounded by motherhood. You know I don't like some things too much--dealing with sick children in the middle of the night (however endearing they may be), doling out food so much I've lost my appetite and simultaneously can't be satisfied. (There are some things that are downright humorous--like the dream that Luci constantly, at breakfast, says she had . "I had bad dream. Peter Pan took me and I was flying." I also enjoyed telling Jesse that little boys are made of puppy dog tails all afternoon, and finally having him ask, "Mommy, you're just joking, right?"

Tonight Darren and I had to go to Jesse's school auction right after D got back into town. It was to be a fun event yet something we had to do some work for. For weeks, we have collected donations to be sold at the auction, I baked a pie for the event, and we had some jobs assigned to us at the auction. It's now almost over (Darren's still closing out) and was a decent time, and we're happy to contribute to Jesse's wonderful school.

Tomorrow, the deacons from church are coming over for lunch. We'll treat them to a vegetarian feast of black beans, platanos, and tortillas.

But I'm ready for a little break from the kids and their sickness, happy that my stress over the auction can dissipate, and thinking it's gonna be a good time kickin' back with the deacons. I mean, how complicated our beans? And luckily, the house is in decent shape.

So happy to say good-bye to today, if the kids and car alarms can keep quiet tonight, and even happier to see tomorrow evening coming.

Mr. Troy

Mr. Troy is the elderly man that sits in his motorized wheelchair at the corner of 21st and Capp St. He lives in the senior home on the corner. He is the lollipop man.

Sometimes when he sees the kids coming he'll holler at them, but now the kids pretty much beat him to it. I remember when Jesse was so young, I could actually take the lollipop from him because he didn't get what it was. Then I remember when the kids vaguely got what Mr. Troy was about, and so I'd try to avoid him (without him knowing of course) but man, he'd zip right up to me and corner me with that wheelchair. ( I was just trying to be a good mom and prevent some sugar in my kids lives! ) Then there was the stage when my kids optimistically thought that every black man in a wheelchair was Mr. Troy and referred to them as such. That sure created a lot of false hope.

Now they really know Mr. Troy and they have come to rely on him, so much so that he can not only thrill them but let them down. One time it seemed that Mr. Troy (because his supply was running low) was actually trying to get away from us, but of course with my kids screaming at him, he couldn't fake his lack of hearing for long. He turned around, gave a warm smile, and my kids mentioned lollipops. Mr. Troy handed one to Luci, while saying "Here" and said to Jesse "Well, you're a big boy now" and handed Jesse an orange, after which Jesse's face became immediately downcast.

Mr. Troy has served as a good neighbor and also as an object lesson in gratitude, politeness, etc. I've had to coach Jesse on how to be thankful even when disappointed--even though a let down has only happened once, we rehearse how to be kind if it doesn't go our way. I find myself saying "He not just a lollipop man, he's a person." Nevertheless, we adore Mr. Troy and it seems the relationship is mutually fulfilling. Just today, Luci plopped Black baby into his lap, and Jesse punched buttons on Troy's wheelchair, an action which propelled Mr. Troy to put on his safety lock.

I love running!

Missed my Wednesday morning run that I usually take before hanging with my friends at the cafe because I took Alice Rouse (head of RYSE at my beloved Starlight in Boston) to the airport. But Pea and I were able to squeeze it in before the kids went to bed, as Darren was enjoying his time with the kids before heading off on his 2-day retreat. And thanks to Alice, I now know how to save my knees when running downhill--tilt your body downward!

We zipped up 20th to Dolores Park, which is wonderful at 6:45 pm in this weather. Peanut rolled and rolled and would catch up with me as I ran the perimeter. Then we stopped to throw the ball (a coveted activity since P has been out of balls for days) before resuming our run. Peanut could barely muster up enough energy to keep up on our run home. I had to run zig-zags or run back to her just to keep running. On the way home we bumped into Lisa Scandrette and Nancy Gnass, 2 of my favorite neighbors and friends. What a beautiful run! I only wish it was longer, but then it would be without Peanut.

"We had a busy day"

This is a favorit saying of the Prince children. They like to say it as we HAVE a busy day, and after.

Today was a day where we really needed food. The cheese was all gone--therefore we could rule out eating pizza, quesadillas, cheese and crackers, and many other things that are happily enhanced by the sprinkling of cheese. The cocoa powder was gone--what would I do without my chocolate milk concoction? And we needed tofu, as well as black beans and millet. So off to the stores we went. First was Safeway and I HATE big grocery stores. (I have to ask people to find things for me multiple times.) Apparently Jesse does too as he did his classic shivering in the cheese aisle. Then we hit Rainbow, in my opinion the creme de la creme of grocery stores. For being so good at the store (Jesse put DOWN the organic chocolate candy basketballs) the kids shared a bag of veggie booty on ride home.

Then we scarfed down some leftover chicken casserole and went out for a walk because Pea needed her walk and we needed some sunshine. We stopped at Garfield Square Park where Luci enjoyed putting her baby on the merry-go-round and Jesse dangled from the monkey bars, a monumental thing for him lately, as those have always been big kid things.

At 1 p.m.,we reentered the house, changed Luci's sand-filled diaper (no problem to her), and began naptime/quiet time.

Jesse sat engaged peacefully on the couch in his room listening to Peter and the Wolf 3 times, noting that the flute was the bird and learning to recognize the clarinet as the cat. Man he loved it!

I was in the kitchen throwing together some vegetarian chili for dinner.

We then had to wake Lu up from her nap so that we could make it to J's schoolmate Ian's house for a playdate. J loved the garbage truck and Luci chased the cats around while Ian's mom and I exchanged small bits of info about our lives.

Then it was home to a quick dinner, wrestling, Mommy reading Green Eggs and Ham to Lu, and Daddy reading Green Plagues and Lamb? (What is the name of that book Papa Dan?)

The kids are in bed peacefully and I'm off with D to a local spot with some folks in town for InnerChange's summer xchange planning meetings....Peanut's coming too, yippee!