It's my birthday and I'm feeling reflective

I had a very light hearted post planned. And then I got this e-mail from Iraq and it changed my mood and outlook for the day. I don't think Memi will mind if I share the first paragraph of what she wrote.

"Memorial Day passed with a silent whisper. We watched on CNN as President Bush laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We saw crosses on a beach in California dubbed Arlington West. We thought long and hard about what it means to be here, what it means to be there, what it means to sacrifice and what it means to have lost. But we didn’t slow down. Not externally. We couldn’t. Here, the things others memorialize are still happening. Here we have a responsibility to the present in honor of the past. And the present moves quickly.

So I'm going to hold off on the lighthearted for a little bit. Maybe I'll be back later.

What day is it?

I've been totally confused since this morning. Yesterday, Justin took pity on my confused state and went and picked up a table and chairs to sit on the patio he is constructing. He took most of the afternoon off to put it together and once I got home from work, we were all in the yard together for hours playing catch, playing with the hose, reading, etc. We only came in when it was time for the kids to go to bed.

Now this is so completely unlike our normal Tuesday routine that I woke this morning feeling as though yesterday was Sunday. Which meant today is Monday. Every once in a while I realize what day it actually is and it's like a little treat to discover the real weekend is only 2 more days away.

I complained a while ago about Pittsburgh weather and how the nice days when you can stand to be outside are few and far between. This spring has been a uncharacteristic delight. But today is a classic Pittsburgh summer day; scorching hot and the humidity rising by the minute. I tried valiantly to play outside with Grace and do some gardening but I had to admit defeat by 1:00. The new table and the Goblet of Fire sit outside the window calling to me but the central air is winning.

Well, errr... not exactly

Yep, it happened again. I got to the first store and felt confident. I picked some stuff out. We went to the next store and my brain started to freeze. Too many choices. Don't know what I want. We hit another store and another and at that point, I was a blubbering mess of possibilities. Do I want a nice little patio set? Gazebo with overstuffed furniture and a fire ring? A rustic craftsman style thing to sit on a deck? Aack!!!!!

Came home with nothing except 4 (yes 4!) different books that will hopefully give me some direction. I spent the afternoon sitting in a sad little lawnchair, wearing a floppy hat, re-reading The Prizoner of Azkaban and humming along to the soundtrack from Pirates 3. As I told Justin, I am about to be 34 years old and I no longer have to pretend that I have been or ever will be cool at any point in my life. It is time to embrace my geekiness.

My confession

I am decoration challenged. Just as I am embellishment challenged, I have absolutely no skills when it comes to envisioning interior spaces (or exterior spaces for that matter.) As a result, our house is strangely barren. Virtually no pictures on the walls, one "trial" valance on one window, no cute Pottery barn style coordinating furniture. I am reluctant to make choices for fear that I will make a mistake so I have just done nothing. We've been in this house for 5 years.

So, we've decided we're going to tackle it piece by piece. We are in the midst of planning a massive renovation and I'm going to make some effort to learn about this stuff so I can make some decisions. I may end up just copying stuff verbatim from a magazine but that is much better than the alternative.

And today we are tackling some exterior stuff. I am going to pick a patio set. Maybe a canopy. Maybe a hammock. Maybe none of it when I look at all the choices and find myself freezing up with indecision. Definitely a hammock though. Gotta get one of those.

Almost breakfast in bed

Charlie showed up in our bed yesterday morning for a few minutes and then disappeared. We heard some clanking around the kitchen so Justin went to investigate and discovered he was making us breakfast in bed. He got a little help from his dad but the inspiration was all his. I couldn't hang in bed for the whole time it took him to make it but he didn't seem to mind as long as he still got to serve me.

And then I woke to more clanking at 6:30 this morning and came out to discover he was doing it all again. On a smaller scale today, this time he made the jelly sandwiches and washed the apples all by himself.

I spent the thunder stormy afternoon sorting through old scrapbook stuff and pricing it all up for a garage sale. I've got about $175 of stuff and I don't even want to think about the retail cost of all of that. Justin asked if I was keeping anything because of how much there is - this is all stuff that has been sitting in boxes untouched on my sunporch for at least a year. I think it's time to let it go. Next I will tackle the tubs of kids clothes in the basement.

I am not going to spoil Pirates 3 but I will say I loved it. Even more after I tracked down the writers' explanation of what got edited out for time. I've always been equally in the Captain Jack/Will Turner camps but Orlando all pirated up with his bandana and curls moved me over to his side. Yum.

And today I'm off to crop with Brandy and some other girls from Two Peas. Justin's mom is taking the kids to the movies and he is going to go play soccer. All of which is to say I woke with my stomach in knots because I don't really like the days when we're all going in different directions. I think I need to go find some chocolate.

Poetic justice

So I thought he was faking yesterday and I sent him back to school today. And the school called me at 11:30 to come pick him up and I still thought he was faking. Until this afternoon when my head and stomach started to hurt. I am a mean mommy. He is playing on the Slip n Slide though.

Very interesting stuff with the Monica Goodling testimony. It's like a little drip drip drip that's getting faster and faster. I am very curious about what criminal prosecutions will ultimately result from this whole US Attorney scandal that we were told was much ado about nothing. Seems like it's turning about to be much ado about a whole bunch of somethings.

T minus 4.25 hours and counting

to Pirates.

Some things I played around with this week. I'm obviously still in search of a style.

Charlie convinced me he was sick this morning but I discovered around lunchtime that it was simply a nefarious plot to stay home and play on the Slip n Slide. That hasn't worked out too well for him.

I think we might be at the start of one of those trying transition periods for him. I always forget because he's usually such an easy kid - but always at those transition times... starting school, ending school, he seems to struggle. He becomes defiant, he's mouthy and moody, not a heck of a lot of fun to be around. And then after a few weeks, he is back to his normal cheery self.

So... I think I'll put them down for a nap and try to read a few more chapters of the Chamber of Secrets. I don't want them wigging out on the babysitter tonight.