With only a few days until the Presidential Election I couldn't be more excited! Not so much because there is a particular candidate that I'm on fire for, but just to see that it's over, will be such a relief. Even though there's no way I'd vote for McCain and Palin,  just as the election between Kerry and Bush, I'm not that excited about Obama. Oh, he says a lot of wonderful things. I'm just such a cynic. In such a backwards society where pasteurized cow's milk is held in higher esteem than a mother's breast milk, the belief that food is better the way nature made it is a crunchy "new-age" idea, where ideals and intolerance are put before love as priority, that babies being electively cut from their mother's womb is the way to go, I have a hard time believing that the change I want to see in the world will be brought about through any political machine or legislation. More difficult for me is the belief that in a society so backwards, we would choose a candidate that a majority of people seem to like, and he would be one to turn this nation in the proper direction.

Thank you, dear stranger, in the maroon Nissan...

Today, as I crept my large pale blue Hyundai Entourage out into the intersection of route 9 from a private side road,  you nonchalantly continued to drive. You even pretended to glance at something, perhaps a falling leaf, on the other side of the road, while all the while my van's nose jutted obtrusively out into your lane. Instead of giving me the hairy eyeball or clenching your jaw and giving me the bird, you cooly and calmly let your life continue without giving any attention to the terrible automotive faux pas I committed. You have proven to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is, indeed one human being left who does not have a terrible case of road rage. In fact, I didn't even see you mutter a profanity. Perhaps you hissed or sighed a bit when your heart skipped a beat at the sight of my creeping blue tank nosing it's way into your lane so I could see who was coming. There you were, 10 feet from my bumper, I saw you! Just in time. And you, kind sir, gave me no notice. You allowed me to feel that people can almost make a mistake, but then realize it and be cut a break.

Today Nova turned 8. We had the grandparents, one uncle, and a friend (of Nova's choice, of course, I enjoyed them too) with their parents come over to spend our day with us. It was a nice and sunny day outside and Nova woke up with a burst of excited energy. He is so convinced that each year he will have grown a foot taller and he most impresses himself with the thought of soon being taller than his grandma Pam, who is a bit over 5 feet. Eight years ago today my life changed in the most monumental sense. I knew, as I sat up through the night alone in a rocking chair and crying in the room I had made for him while having contractions, that my life would never be the same. I just didn't understand the complexity, the intensity, or the difficulty of the transition. He was, and still is, a bubbly, creative, and intense little boy. He believes in magic. He believes in compassion. He believes in forgiveness. But most of all he believes in me. Happy birthday to my boy who has grown, not only in size, but in spirit and heart!

I've been home a little over three weeks. I immediately fell right back into my old, comfortable routine of hiding out at my house and doing little out in the great wide world. I've ventured out to see a few friends, but have made it a point to enjoy these last schedule free, careless days of summer. When this summer began I had images of myself being so frazzled and angry that I would ruin my relationship with those I care about the most, my husband and children. The exact opposite has occured. I'm not sure how I managed to make it through the entire summer with little to no help, no camps, and no real playdates whatsoever. I will say that the time spent in the South was liberating and peaceful. Life there is so different from here in the North. Parenting isn't really a verb they use. Parents are just people who stumbled into the job of raising kids by passion or marriage. They still maintain some sense of their own identity. Every decision they make isn't the crucial and monumental end or beginning of a new direction for their children. There's a great deal of thought put into being a parent here in the North. We sometimes over educate, over stimulate, over perpetuate our own world views, so much so that at 8 years old we have mini politicians, philosophers, and psychologists. I'm guilty of this myself. I have talked and intellectualized with my child so much that sometimes I see him as a peer. BIG MISTAKE, I know. But, to my credit, I have lived a very home based existence with my children, not over scheduling them with extracurricular activities to lessen the burden upon myself. So, yes, they retain a lot of their child like qualities too, more so than most kids I meet anyway. And, Honestly...I'm in no rush to watch them grow up. The South somehow enabled me to relax and yet to become more confident in what it is that I'm doing as a parent here.

I'm all for technology. I suppose that most people are as long as it stays within each individual's moral and ethical realm of acceptance. I love having any type of information easily accesible with only a few finger strokes. I love being able to shop, communicate, learn, and exchange information quickly and easily. For example, today I went to my local farm to pick up part of my share of fresh veggies. I haven't often prepared swiss chard. When I have, it was simply by sauteing it with butter, salt and pepper. Today I was in the mood to spice things up. So, I jumped right online and within minutes found a recipe for Chard pancakes that sounded not only edible, but delicious enough that my kids might eat it! After all, what kid doesn't like anything with PANCAKE in the title?

I've been neglecting the two people that read my blog. I'm sorry. Having three children is not as easy as I thought it would be. *insert humungous eye roll here* It's always more work than I remember, but with each child, seems a little less stressful. My youngest is an angelic little pixie barely able to raise my dander even when she's at her absolute naughtiest! Here...Look...

Who could possibly get upset with her?! I don't mean to toot my own horn, but she is adorable!!! Since I last posted I've attended a graduation, spent time with old friends, done a bit of needle felting, celebrated Memorial day with family, and FINALLY...after MUCH TOO LONG, spent a whole weekend with my husband! We only had the baby to care for and since her vocabulary is minimal and her few words come out dripping with sugary sweetness, we enjoyed our time together immensely. Looking at her, we both were able to appreciate the life we've created together. Life is exactly what keeps us from appreciating what we've accomplished on most days. There is no room to breathe. No room to converse. No time to just hug and inhale one another deeply and quietly. But this weekend we did. For me, it was exactly what I needed. GramPam ran off with our little munchkins and didn't return them until late Sunday afternoon. Here is an example of what I'm sure their weekend looked like.

This woman will go to any extreme to engage my children in creative and active play! She listens to my children's wildest dreams and then, helps them to bring those dreams into reality. 

  A good game of tag is always fun. In the spirit of fun, I'll participate! Chicken Betty decided that I'm someone she'd care to know more about. So, here it goes....

 1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
Following the remaining members of the Grateful Dead on Further tour, camping, hiking, and reading   LOTs of books. Plus things I can't mention in my blog because there could still be outstanding warrants. Thank God those days are gone...

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Pack for our mini vacation to BIL's graduation, tidy the house, have my car serviced, 

pick Number one son up from school, and *SHHHH* I'm gonna color my hair!

3) Snacks I enjoy:           

raw milk cheddar cheese with a tasty herb flavored cracker

spinach and cheese jamaican patties from a local coffee shack

spinach salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, and dried cranberries                                                                                                      

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Nova hears with his heart. He speaks my unspoken thoughts, he reads my face like a book, he understands complex problems and always has the simplest compassionate solutions. He is a thinker and a dreamer. Of all three of my children, he has seen me at my worst. He has basically witnessed me growing up. Throughout the years I have become more calm and rational, but on occasion, still tend to lose it. He comforts me and offers me love when I feel at my most unloveable. When I feel everyone else has deserted me, he holds me and tells me things will be alright. He has the spirit and glow of an angel. I have never known one little soul to hold so much love and understanding. The place where these traits hinder him is in the older brother/sibling relationship. He adores his sisters, but strongly wishes that I could be exclusively with him. He enjoys our deep conversations, rocking in the rocking chair, drawing, and making up stories, dancing in my arms, or learning about new things together. His sisters are a blockade. They require a great deal of my attention.

Ayda, my third child, is an easy laid back child. She's rarely bothered. She has this sing songy nature about her. She always hums and babbles. She's the most pleasant baby I've ever had the pleasure to love. As I type this she is sitting in the floor rolling a ball back and forth and clicking her tongue. God knew that third child had to be like this or I would have left long ago.

This is the only thing I have to show for a weekend that swept by way too quickly. Yesterday I felted while my husband took the kids and visited his parents. Today I stayed with the kids and my husband worked. Will there ever be a time when marrying the person you love actually results in spending time with that person?

I've taken two photos of the felting I did. This should help illustrate my point about the work not photographing well. The color is never right. The picture I did is actually a nice combination of the two you will see. Here's one with the flash:

Here's one without the flash: