godspeed

No matter how many times I see it, it always humbles and amazes me.

separated at birth

toothless wonder

The days go by quickly. Our babies grow so fast, meeting their thresholds one right after the other, whether we're ready for it or not. This simple quiet joy, as cushy as a favorite throw..is my greatest treasure on this Mother's Day and always. From picnics in the park, lazy days spent reading by a sunny window or writing letters to the Tooth Fairy..it is within these tiny moments my heart is at its fullest. Thank you for the hand painted box you made me, girls, but most of all, thank you for waking up the part of me that is my best part.

in the heazy

Oh, that Rahm, "...always has a hard time on Mother's Day. He's just not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother'".

Kudos, Mr. Prez. It looks like your delivery & timing is right on key like everything else about ya. I had a welcome chuckle or two channel surfing onto the correspondents din-din last night, and I bet that 200 dollar petit filet never tasted better. From Bluetooths for the Pope to the right for Mrs. Obama to "bare arms"...it felt good not to think about the housing market for 21 minutes. And Wanda , you killed girl...I don't care what they say. If the heat's to hot in the kitchen, Mr. Limbaugh, then you know what to do.

the variables

I've studied relativistic physics my entire life. One thing emerged over and over- can't change the past. Can't do it. Whatever happened, happened..right? But then I finally realized... I had been spending so much time focused on the constants, I forgot about the variables. Do you know what the variables in these equations are, Jack? Us. We're the variables. People. We think. We reason. We make choices. We have free will. We can change our destiny.

tally-ho

Oh, man. This is harsh. A Brit got Mama's dream job. He gets to sit on his ass in a cool pad overlooking the Great Barrier Reef and blog about it all day. I guess it would have helped had I remembered to enter the darn thing. And apparently...had ridden an ostrich at some point.

true green

It's pretty easy to meet people. Far more difficult to find a lifelong friend. There are times when the stars align just right and when it comes to good pals, this gal really got lucky. I attended a 50th birthday blow-out for my bud, Tim, this past weekend. Anyone who is anyone attended the St. Louian gala. Lights twinkled in the trees, glasses clinked, laughs were had in abundance and the local transplant list for livers in need probably lengthened by about 50.

It really moved me to see the outpouring of love that filled the rooms of Tim's rowhouse on Saturday. It made me proud to know him. I heard a lot of funny stories of days gone by, met many o' cousin (boy, those Catholics sure can breed) and the smile on his face was just about the nicest thing going. It is always amazing to see the difference that one little person can make in the lives of others, how fortunate we are to find these kind of peeps when we do and what a profoundly empty place there is in a heart that doesn't have them. We've had a grand 21 years together, he and I. And I'm grateful for every one of 'em. Rain or shine. In good times or bad. Always...always..being able to find something to laugh about.

This one's for you, Timmy. Scary hairdos and all. My apologies, as it does not come with a cork.

Relax. I did not drink while I was pregnant. We took that shot to freak my mom out.

home

dim the lights

Rest in peace, Ms. Arthur. Thank you for being one of my heroes and inspiring me with your talent and chutzpah...especially for popping all those bubbles at a time when it was really somethin'.

the mighty pen

All children are my heroes. Each with their own clear voice and particular brand of magic. Whether it's the white palace or a trip to the moon, the dreams of our young ones are precious gold and I hope that we will do everything we can to enable this planet to nourish them. My prayer of prayers is that my babies will shine like this little girl and follow their path with the same courage and self- determination.
Right on, Tuba....

i want my money!

Don't let this happen to you...



Oh, and Ms. Helmsley? Don't worry. We little people will take care of it.

a cosmic wave

Well, boys and girls..the brand new, hot off the press photo gem below is what NASA calls a fantabulous x-ray nebula. Well, not so much the fantabulous part..that’s Mama’s descriptor. It’s official name is B1509. Uh, hello. What the Aeronautics & Space Admin. may lack in creative monikers, they make up for in a lot of PhD’s and really cool pics, I guess.

The center of this baby pulsar is a star, only twelve measly miles in diameter. It used to be a big bad sista back in the day but ended up running out of gas, so to speak, and collapsed in on itself. Kind of what happened to me after my 40th. It's new compact bod just happens to be spinning at seven times a second, thereby spewing some serious energy and blowing a mondo bunch of electrons and ions outward and away. Its surface magnetic field is 15 trillion times greater than ours. As this junk blows through this super charged mind-blower and bumps into a gas cloud or two, it radiates and creates some cool eye-candy for us humanoids.

Did I mention she’s a young 1700 years old, a mere 150 light years across and is shacking up about 17,000 light years from the good ole U.S. of A.? Those brainiacs at Chandra Observatory are peeing their pants about now. And me? I’m thinking the lousy lukewarm Starbucks latte I got this morning may not have really been that big of a deal afterall.

Really gotta hand it to ya, NASA...great shot. Ba dum dum.

lapin agile

Easter has arrived
Bunny’s whiskers twitch
He’s sniffing eggs from here and there
To find out which one’s which

Some are sweet
And some have color
Some twinkle like stars
None are like the other

There are six be told
That linger here
Emerald as the gemstone
They do appear

If you look with four eyes
And use two minds
Each girl will have three eggs
In their baskets to find

Two live in the room
That Dances with the Stars
And If you look quite carefully
More treats could be yours

Two more eggs abide in a place
Where Noggins collide
The last couple linger
Where sweet dreams abide

The Bunny is smart
He is old and he’s wise
Can you find his stash?
If you think you can...then you must try!

Mr. Rabbit had some damp fur for sure in his neighborhood travels this sweet rainy morning. Chocolate ears were nibbled and nails were painted while Mama slurped her java. I hope that you, too, find some magic this holiday weekend with those you love. All I can hope for is that we make it through the day without hanging ourselves from the bunk beds on our brand new Sister necklaces.

That's it. I'm trading in my Honda.

spring fever

Well, I made it out alive, folks. Just barely. Spring has sprung and my nine day tap-dancing-fire-eating-two-shows-nightly-and-don't-forget-to-tip-your-server extravaganza is over. Our long week involved a three hour hike over crevasse, waterfall & sandstone and an overnight visit to ole Kansas City for what could have been a little heavier on the blues and BBQ for this lady but ended up more Crown Center kiddo-pool oriented. Then with a couple of ear-splitting play dates thrown on top of that...things blossomed into a regular ole Spring Breakdown. Or a future 28 day dry-out at Hazelden....however ya want to look at it.

I had to crack up at the munchkins with their hiking sticks. They walked like little Trojans over those endless slippery Ozark rocks(as I twirl said mustache)...but slept like tiny blond angels that night. Just the way me likey. My thighs were quivering jello the next morning, when I finally made it to the kitchen, but it was fun and gave us an opportunity to venture out and see the area since most of the time I am trying to hide from it. Thank you, urticaria. There was a cave the locals call the Devil's Icebox...black as pitch and three stories deep but Mama picked up the pace and avoided this claustophobe's worst nightmare. W. begged me to let her see "the center of the earth", but I said nope and promised them a Barbie flashlight and a couple of Wal-Mart parkas for next time. Yeah, right.




It wasn't an over water bungalow in Bora Bora, but it was better than nothin'. We actually had an up on high, fab view of the purdy city lights from our K.C. hotel room that got Big Daddy and I all verklempt & nostalgic for our past life. But it was nothing that a box of Corbett Canyon couldn't cure. The kids experienced an art making frenzy called Kaleidoscope at Hallmark Headquarters and a tres cute Wizard of Oz collection while we were there. Well, let's just say it was charming the first time we toured, but after my rotater cuffs were yanked down the yellow brick road and my back was balled up on the miniature Dorothy Ruby Red Slipper slide for a gazillion times...I felt like the Flying Monkies had beat the stuffing out of me.

And don't even get me going on the not one, but three birthday celebrations we had for my youngest over the course of the last two weeks. We did a kid thing for her, of course, then had to coordinate the extended fam's schedule for yet another made with love, scary as hell to look at homemade cake sugar overload. Between that and our traditional birthday Taco Night with the Mags and T. puking tomatillo on me afterwards, I think I have just about been there and done this one, folks. Yep, little Curly-Top, when she wasn't blowing chunks, was celebrating like Oprah and her big 50, for God's sakes. Awash in all things pink and princess. Just the way she likey.




The flu struck W. immediately after the school bell rang recess, so she snotted up a storm most of the time. Thank the universe for Tylenol though. That stuff's like crack for kids. One snort full and they're good to go for anything! It sure helps us old baton-twirling gals out. Of course, being the organized super-mom I am, I forgot my digital camera and ended up shooting most of the trip on my Razer. Now if I can come up with the 50 bucks it will cost me to email it to myself, I just might have some nice memories to blubber over when I'm old and gray. Oh, wait a minute..that's right. I'm already there.

hallelujah

..couldn't have said it better myself. And that's why I'm just now taking my orangs out to eat, Mr. Caff. ;-)

have car, will travel

Help. One worn out, husband-less, over 40 mother is facing NINE full days of Spring Break hell with two blonde-tufted squealer monkeys under the age of five and no money to go anywhere or do anything. All friends who are geographically desirable please respond immediately to this desperate plea and invite said family to visit. Sleep over. Chat. Swim. Drink. Yacht. Something. Anything. 216 hours, people. 12,960 minutes of "What are we gonna do today, Mom? Where are we gonna go? Huh? Huh? Huh?" For those of my buds overseas...you might wanna send a paddle.


And Oprah, if you're reading this? I prefer to fly Air Tahiti. Non-stop.