warning: I feel rambly today

I hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as we did here at the Stevens home! Our weather was positively delightful. Seriously, it's a tad unsettling just how lovely and springlike (or downright summerlike!) it's been here lately. Yesterday's egg hunt was conducted in shorts and t-shirts...usually they require winter coats and the kids are pulling eggs out of the piles of snow that have yet to melt.

Yep, I'm afraid that's best I could do. This rascal wasn't about to slow down for a second to let me get a decent picture.

For some reason these two slowed down for a second to compare loot, but still I didn't manage to get a very good shot. Suffice it to say, though, that they had a wonderful morning. :D








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Okay, somewhere in the midst of cajoling munchkins to rise-n-shine and making breakfast and packing lunches and starting laundry and...I seem to have lost my urge to ramble. (Go ahead and cheer if you must.)

Anyway, a few things I'm looking forward to this week:

*Miss Annie turning thirteen! And she's chosen to celebrate with a big thrift shop outing. :)

*Finishing up this quarter of school. (Please, please, please let this actually happen!)

*Finally doing the taxes. (Okay, I'm not looking forward to doing them, I'm just looking forward to having them done!)

*Making a post about a couple of reading challenges I'm joining, and passing out blame for this teetering stack of books sitting beside me.

*Maybe actually finishing a book. Hey, anything's possible, right?

So, what are you looking forward to this week? (Yep, I'm still nosy.)

bits...

My baby girl is growing up. *sigh*

Actually, I'm not sighing all that much...because in reality, as much as I miss the itty bitty newborn, the precocious little toddler, the adorable little grade schooler...I totally love the on-the-brink-of-teenhood young lady that she is now.

(Though it does boggle my mind that in less than a week I will be the mother of a teenager!)

Anyway, Miss Annie is leaving the nest. The blogging nest, that is. She's made her own blogging account, and can now be found at Canvas of a Billion Suns.

Love you, Annie! Have fun in your new digs.

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I've no earthly idea what we've done to deserve the unbelievably gorgeous weather we've been enjoying the past few days! Seriously, we don't usually see weather like we've had the past couple days until mid-June! The daffodils even started blooming yesterday. :) I know it won't last, but I'm so incredibly grateful to have it now.

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Oh my...poor Baker.

He's been wearing this pouty face ever since the kids found their Easter baskets. Yes, because he didn't get one. Every year we try explaining to him that beagles haven't traditionally been terribly kind to the rabbits of the world. But he just doesn't seem to grasp the connection between his behavior (i.e., barking like a madman chasing the bunnies out of our yard) and the Easter bunny's behavior (i.e., not hiding a basket full of goodies for him).

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I really need to do a blame post one of these days. My "latest acquisitions" pile is getting a tad unwieldy here, and I really need to put them away. But I can't do it now...I'm off to hide Easter eggs! Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday, whether you celebrate Easter or not!!!

a day of good stuff, alphabetically...

The first day of April 2010:

*April (it's a new month...I just love new beginnings)

*art, in all its myriad forms

(untitled
artist: Gray Stevens
medium: mud on siding)

*e-mails with cottages and crafting and lots of love

*freshly brushed teeth

*giggling (both in the doing, and in the witnessing)

*gin and tonic, ice cold

*hanging clothes *in the sunshine* (yes, the *in the sunshine* is key here--I gave up using our dryer altogether several months ago, so I hang clothes nearly every day, but this is the first day of 2010 when I've had the pleasure of hanging them outside in the beautiful spring air as opposed to hanging them in basement)

*listening to the Gray hum away as he sits drawing (do all kids hum? 'cause goodness knows all three of these guys do--though it's something they really only do when they're absorbed in some other activity off by themselves)

*Seth Aaron didn't get sent home on Project Runway

without even trying, they make me laugh...

Rich: Gray, could you please come back here and finish your milk?

Debi: Gray, could you please put your folder in your backpack so you don't forget it?

Rich: Gray, could you please clean up your markers?

Gray (with both sarcasm and a hint of a smile): Gray, could you please save the rainforests? Gray, could you please solve the problem of global warming?

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A couple nights ago, Rich and I headed out to buy goodies for the Easter baskets. Hmmm...somehow we ended up at the bookstore, with a pile of books to look at as we sat in the cafe having coffee. While sitting there, Rich's cell phone rang. We knew it had to be Annie, who was home babysitting the boys, because no one else ever calls Rich on his cell phone. But it actually turned out to be Gray. Gray, who despises the phone. Gray who, on the rare occasion that he will even attempt to talk on the phone, speaks in a tiny little whisper. And you know how when you're talking to someone who talks really softly on the phone, you sometimes repeat back everything they're saying, making sure you heard them right? Well, that's what Rich was doing. So this is what I, and undoubtedly all the people at the tables surrounding us, heard Rich say:

"Gray?...What?...He did what?...He's trying to make babies with your blanket?...He put his private parts way down deep in it?"

Okay, I know how tacky this sounds, but I have to tell you, I was laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Somehow, I'm guessing we weren't missed when we left the cafe. ;)

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After swimming lessons last night, the kiddos wanted popsicles. As we were sitting there at the table, I noticed Gray's tongue had been dyed the color of his shirt. Turned to Annie, and so had hers. Max--ditto.

Of course, along with making me laugh, it also reminded me just how much I need to get back to making our own, healthier versions of popsicles. ;)

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Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to my dear friend, Carl. I'm not sure if he had any idea how much I needed his recent post...but I surely did. I have to admit that for the last month I've been going through a period of severe "feel-sorry-for-myself." Spending waaaay too much time and energy on school in a desperate attempt to get caught up (which is only my self-imposed version anyway) before the quarter ends in two weeks, watching the house fall further into disarray as I do, wondering when on earth I'm ever going to get around to doing our taxes, dealing with lots of Gray's unique needs these days, Easter and Annie's birthday both on the verge of arriving, too much stress and drama in my social world...all of that has added up to the ridiculous state I've let myself wallow in lately. :(

I NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT!!!! I seem to have forgotten what a gift it is to be alive every day. And I've let what had become a habit--noticing all the good stuff, all the beauty and wonder and silliness that makes life so precious--slip away. Well, I'm reclaiming that habit, and the joy that comes with it.

I still might not be around much for the next couple weeks--just busy, busy, busy--but I hope when I am around it will be with a smile on my face. :D

Have a beautiful, glorious April everyone!!!

I smiled when...

...Rich called me with the news that he got his promotion to Associate Professor. What this means in practical terms? Well, besides a really good excuse to go out to dinner Saturday night, not a whole heck of a lot. Nonetheless, I am very happy for him!

...my dear friend Chris sent me an e-mail that offered great hope and reassurance about matters that have been troubling our family. Thank you. Yet again.

...this week's New Yorker arrived and I saw its beautiful cover. (I so wish I could have found a bigger picture to link to, or been able to get a decent photo of the magazine.) But can't you just tell how gorgeous it is? It's titled "Homage" and is by the unbelievably talented artist, Ana Juan.

...my mom could not hide the excitement in her voice about their upcoming trip. My parents leave Friday morning for a month-long road trip "out West" (in their truck camper). Hitting the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon, etc., etc., etc. I would have smiled even more broadly had they invited me along. ;)

...Ana posted this Ada Lovelace Day post. Okay, I more than smiled--I got downright giddy about all that lovely women-in-science bookishness. In fact, before I even commented and thanked my dear friend Ana, I went and ordered one of those books. :P

...my daughter uttered these words totally out of nowhere on the way home from the dentist: "I love you, Mom. I think I forgot to tell you that yesterday."

Ada Lovelace Day

A few weeks ago, my dear friends Jason and Ana were talking about Ada Lovelace Day, and trying to convince me to join in, too. Well, without question, I loved the idea of Ada Lovelace Day...but as you all know, I just can't write an eloquent post to save my life (and I felt this occasion definitely deserved a well-written post). Dilemma--do I skip participating altogether or do I write a post that surely won't do an amazing woman justice?

Well, I found a compromise.

I want to introduce you to an incredible woman of science. Audrey Stevens Niyogi. A biochemist. A member of the National Academy of Sciences (which, as the following article states, is "an honor some consider second only to the Nobel Prize"). A woman I was blessed to know personally, because she was Rich's aunt.

Audrey died just a few short weeks ago, on February 28th. And because it tells the story of Audrey and her career better than I ever could, I'm just going to link you to it here.

The picture of her...so very much like I remember her. With her arms crossed that way. I just wish you could get a better look at her beautiful smile, a smile she wore so often.

recapturing that old blogging joy

I admit it--I'm a liar. I keep telling myself that if I just keep trying harder, keep trying harder, keep trying harder, I will eventually "catch up" and all these extra issues we've been dealing with as a family lately will clear up and life will find an even keel again. Ain't working.

I'm exhausted, I'm lacking joy, and it's time to shake things up.

And what a better way to liven things up than with my favorite challenge of them all, Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge. I miss Carl. I miss so many of my blogging friends. I miss the pure fun of reading challenges. I miss putting together big old lists of books that I've got no hope of actually reading. :P

Carl is one of the dearest friends I've made through blogging...and really most of my other closest friends were made because of Carl. Because of Once Upon a Time. Yes, this is the perfect time to reconnect with that old blogging joy.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm going to crank out tons of fun fantasy reading, but I'm going to do my best to make sure that a little piece each day is spent enjoying this challenge. Even if it's just the five minutes I manage to stay awake reading when I head to bed at night, or a few minutes here and there scattered throughout the day checking out all the wonderful reviews.

Aside from all the usual happys...connecting with friends, reading incredible books and stories, growing my wish list by leaps and bounds...this time I'm excited because the whole Stevens gang is going to participate. (This will be the first time for both Gray and Max.) And I'm excited because Rich is going to read Lord of the Rings for the first time. And I'm excited because I'm excited. :P

I'm going to shoot for Quest the First. Reading any combination of five books in the fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, mythology realms. And I really hope to participate in some short story weekends as well.

And now, let me head to my shelves and start pulling. :D

Actually my first two possibles (which are more like definites--though calling anything definite these days makes me leery) aren't on my shelves:

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. This is on my nightstand because I've already started it. I'm less than a hundred pages in, but I am in love with this book so far.







Kesterwood by DesLily. And this is actually on my computer. And I absolutely positively cannot wait to get back to this book. I actually read about a quarter of it previously...but then life got in the way and I was never able to finish it. Being on my computer, it wasn't like I could grab those couple minutes here and there waiting in line at the post office, etc. Even though I remember the story, I'm going to start over. It's just so enchanting that I want to relive it. :D

Honestly, if I manage to finish just these two books, I'll be a very happy camper. (Of course, I do hope to finish at least the five for my chosen quest.) But what the rest might be...who knows. Possibly...

The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Actually, this is another I will likely get to...because thanks to the suggestion of my dear friend Chris, I believe we're going to read this as a selection for school. Rich, Annie, and I have read a Shakespeare play aloud together each of the past three years...so this would be our fourth. And this is one I've never read before...I know, shame on me!

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin. Another one I will likely get to. Thanks to my dear friend Ana, I learned that this is another wonderful choice for school. (It's actually going to be Annie's next read after we finish our current.) I'm so very excited about this one. It is another "shame on me" instance--it will be my very first Le Guin book ever.

The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. And this one I'm going to buddy read with my sweet friend Kelly, if she hasn't totally given up on me yet. Which, btw, I wouldn't blame her for doing! ;)

The Night of Wishes by Michael Ende. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Really hoping to read both of these aloud to the boys.





And a "few" others that caught my eye:

*Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce
*The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess
*The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli
*Gossamer by Lois Lowry
*Lux the Poet by Martin Millar
*The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
*The Elf Realm: The Low Road by Daniel Kirk
*The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
*Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
*Water Tales by Alice Hoffman
*Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
*The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
*The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley
*Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
*The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
*Ananzi Boys by Neil Gaiman

And some short story sources:
*The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye: Five Fairy Stories by A.S. Byatt
*M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
*The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury
*Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
*Fearless Girls, Wise Women, & Beloved Sisters by Kathleen Ragan

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And for no other reason than he's just so stinkin' cute, a Saw-Whet Owl. We went on a hike Friday, and I was so excited to see this little guy...I'd never seen one before. And well, owls are sort of fantastical, aren't they? :)