Bry-D says he looks like me, but

I just don't see it. 

 Yeah, sure if you squint and his dad's not around, he does kind of look maybe like me...

 But in most ways, this little guy is his father made over. 

Bry-D is very quick to point out that Lex and I both have pointy elf-ish ears, but a single common trait does not a likeness make!  I will admit that Lex resembles me more than Eliz ever has; complete strangers have seen Eliz and I together and exclaimed "Wow, she must look alot like her father!"  I'm okay with all this, btw, I see it as a reason to have more children-keep trying until we get one that looks just like me!

Little boys covered in chocolate

look very simliar to little boys covered in mud.

His sister, by contrast, kept herself very neat and clean.  He also protested getting wiped off-I guess he was saving all that for later?

Mud, glorious MUD!

His sister wasn't interested in the mud.

 This did not stop him from enjoying himself solo

 What I found most entertaining was how he kept saying "Yuck, wet, ucky!"  Then playing some more.

 She did eventually venture over

 They decided that mud is just more fun with two than one

 This cold squishy experience must be shared in order to appreciate it fully.

 Yeah, I'm at a loss for why children think this is so great.

 I certainly could have done without this mess.

Man vs Nature

It's a typical Indiana April-lots of rain, which means very tall grass.  I kind of like it, personally.  It's not that high, in my opinion.

 Ok, after a little perspective-the toddler can barely walk through some parts pf the yard, I guess it does need a bit of a trim.

 Work it, Baby!  That mower is 6-7 years old, and it's not self propelled.  Which is why I never, NEVER offer to mow for him.  The grass was wet from the rain today, so it was iffy how this was going to turn out.

 Man won, however.  I predict the grass rallying and growing several inches in the next few days.

 His son takes a more one with nature, or mud, approach, as we already know.

If you look behind the little guy, you'll see my vegetable garden, which Bry-D seems to think I want to grow grass in, not vegetables.  Hrumph.

What was today like all those years ago?

The tomb is sealed.  Just as it was so long ago.  I have to wonder, what was it like for Jesus' followers?  Where they numb with shock, just going through the motions?  Were they racked with grief almost unable to move?  Were they angry and bitter, wondering what had been the point?  When I let the dogs out this morning it seemed a perfect spring morning, dewy grass, birds singing, beautiful fresh air-was it like that for them, and did it seem somehow wrong?  Did they wonder at the fact that the world still turned-even though someone like Him had died? Oh, what a horrible death it was.  Long, drawn out and painful, more than any man should have to go through. 
  We put a clay caterpillar wrapped in white linen into the tomb last night before bed.  Eliz placed the stone over the entrance, and I made sure it was on there tight.  What will it be like, come Sunday morn? 
  We also had our first Passover meal, a Seder, last night.  We were going to have it on Thursday, but because of Bry-D's work we had it last night.  I didn't take pictures, though I kept thinking I should, so we could see the pictures and remember.  It was nothing like a Seder probably.  Bry-D hates change, and a Passover meal is definitely change.  It's also traditional, and full of ritual, which we usually avoid like the Plague.  But, as I sought God for something to make Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday more important than Christmas, a tradition that would teach my children that these days are so much more than bunnies, candy, and eggs, He lead me to Passover.  The more I researched, the more excited I got.  Bry-D, however, was less than thrilled.   He was willing, just not enthusiastic.  Which is his normal reaction to, well, just about everything.  If you'd like a visual, imagine Tigger & Eeyore.  The more I bounce the more sedate he gets.  So we did the very minimum.  Some would perhaps say it wasn't a Seder meal, but it was as much as much as I thought I could get Bry-D to do.  We had a Seder plate, Eliz asked the four questions, and we read of the Exodus from the Bible.  It would have been fun to get a picture of the different reactions to the Maror(bitter herbs); Eliz-disgust, Lex-elation. We used horseradish mustard, b/c Bry-D wanted something he could use on a sandwich later.  He ruined my delicious chicken with it during the meal part.  Well, that's my opinion(I guess you know what my reaction to the Maror was!)  And the Charoset(mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon & sugar) Eliz & I loved it, Bry-D & Lex nearly spat it out.   We used pita bread because I wasn't sure how the Matzoh would turn out, and Eliz and I throughly enjoyed spreading the Charoset on the pita. 
  It was interesting how naturally Eliz asked the 4 Questions-I hadn't told her about them, but she automatically asked all but one.  It was a good meal, and against his best efforts, I think Bry-D enjoyed it, and once it was done understood the "Why" of it. 
 And so, today, I sit and contemplate.  There's some sewing to do, some cooking, Bry-D's working(of course) but I keep coming back to what was it like on the Sabbath all those years ago?  Did they yet understand?  Did the men grind their teeth and clench their fists in frustration and anger?  Did some hide in shadows, full of shame?  Did the women weep and lay face down, begging God that they would wake up in the morning and find that it had all been a dream, not knowing the dream they were about to experience.   It would seem like cruelty that the day after His death was ordained a day of rest, to be spent being idle, leaving hands and minds with nothing to distract them from what had occurred the day before.  Leaving plenty of opportunity to relive and remember, not just the day before , but the years spent in His presence.  Had they been wrong?  He had done such amazing things, so why was it like this?  How had it ended like this?  I'm sure many saw it as over.  Done, finished, complete.  Jesus was in the grave, what else could happen?  He had raised people from the dead while He was alive, but now that He was dead, what miracle could occur?   Yes, let's remember to ask that when everything seems over-"What miracle could happen?"  And perhaps, we'll see God work the way He did thousands of years ago.

Rambling

I was doing so well and here it is, it's been 8 days since I posted anything  And my back hurts and I'm upset by it more b/c it means I'm not pregnant and I want to be  But the pain hurts and I want it to stop It's starting to feel more like sciatica than monthly The dog won't share the bed Alexander is sick with something possibly an ear infection he's gotten up a couple of times and said his ear hurts He never does that We don't have any garlic for him Easter's a week away and the dresses aren't done I don't think I'm going to fit into my dress that's a bit to revealing but Bryan likes it That should be a sign not to wear it in public Going to plant an EasterGarden with the kids tomorrow Don't want it to rain But I need it to rain so the Bearded Iris survives being divided and replanted Bryan's coming to bed but I'm not sleepy yet The weather's been nice enough to line dry the laundry Reminds me of Granny Mullen When I was 18 Grandma Apon left my unmentionables on the line for Bubba the neighbor to see while 4 wheeling  He would run into the pond and you would hear the engine gurgling and him cursing while I hosed off in my bikini  Grandma and I would laugh in the heat  When I came back to Indy it was 95° and I had to wear a sweater I was so cold  My Mother in law is coming for a visit Spring is coming Going to have two gardens to tend this year Need to get our seeds started And I'm still not tired but he looks so comforting and inviting I'm going to snuggle up and dream about sunshine and flowers and tomatoes hot from the sun & straight off the vine

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it

Really, I shouldn't be surprised, last year gave me a hint of what was to come.

 My new mantra:  God made dirt, so dirt don't hurt. 

I don't think I like this one as much

"Rub some dirt on it"

Spidergirl

One of her first favorite things was Spiderman.  Her first prayer was, "Thank you God for food, Spiderman, and books"  The first costume she requested for Halloween?  Spiderman.  It's only been in the last year or two that she's gone a little more girly in her preferences.  Her pretend play, however, is still very adventurous.

 I didn't ask why she was climbing along the fence.

 It's possible there was lava.  Or she was climbing a mountain.

 Or maybe she just didn't want to get her new Chucks dirty yet.

 My sister once told me a story about watching her oldest son (now 20) climb across the TOP of that very same swingset.  So far she's never tried that.

She caught me taking her picture and posed.  I wasn't able to get am 'action' shot of her climbing from one swing to the next.  Can't wait for her to teach her brother.  (That's sarcasm just so you know)

A cute girl in a cute hat & a boy with his Monkey

We did it again. Library, Lunch with Daddy, and the Children's Museum.  I think next time we'll hit the Zoo, Indiana weather permitting.  See the pink beanie?  She actually let me pick her outfit, which hasn't happened since she started dressing in private.

 His sister likes to sit at the computers, so he likes to push the buttons.  It doesn't last long, he's up and running really fast.

 See the Monkey?  All pictures from here on out will be blurry, sorry.  This is in the Dora the Explorer Exhibit. 

 Her favorite area in the Exhibit is where you can pretend to be a veterinarian.  She posed for her picture.

 Again with the not staying still thing!

 HA!  Caught them standing still!

The stillness ended pretty quickly, however.

 I'll get pictures of lunch next time.  We did meet a very nice older man that gave each of the kids a silver dollar while in line at Taco Bell.  I saw him later doing the same thing with some other kids.  I wonder if that's how he spends his lunch hour every now and then?  That's a very good man.

Freeze Mob!

A reason to love Facebook-a friend from highschool heard from another friend from highschool about a group from IUPUI called The Dead Unicorn Society that was going to do a Freeze Mob at the Indianapolis International Airport.  We don't have any batteries, so I had to use my phone for pictures. 

Here's the Story Morning Glory.

Adrian, aka A, a travelling buddy and partner in crime from the good ol' days, posted the link.  I told her I'd be there!  Bry-D had to work forced overtime(yuck).  But I got a babysitter anyway, and all was ready.  I tried calling Misti, another part of the travelling group(Mandy, the 4th member of the travelling group, lives out of state)however, Misti chose to be a responsible grown up, and not go.  I've decided to hold a grudge against her for that.  Anyways.  Bry-D told me on Friday morning that the front end of the car was in too bad condition for me to drive myself.  After I tried to drive it, I had to agree, it just wasn't trustworthy for more than a few miles, if that.  I tried to get a hold of Adrian, and ended up leaving her a Facebook message then chewing my nails.  She called Saturday morning and picked me up.  We met a group of people at a Kmart near the airport, as well as Lisa the friend that had told A about the event.   We had room for one more, and were joined by a man named Aaron.  He's a fan of Firefly, which immediately makes him cool.  We followed the group tot he airport, gave our parking tickets to a girl who then got them paid for-the reason why we met so early.  Then we waited for the rest of the people to arrive.

Everyone was to meet in the baggage claim area, see the clever sign?  Sorry about the blurry picture!  Probably camera error, not user error.

Once we had our instructions and had synced our cell phones, we went to the food court and began our plans.  I knew I wanted to be kneeling, and I had decided I would drop my purse and be in the process of picking everything up.  As it neared 12, we moved to a more concpicous area, and as my phone vibrated 12, I tossed my purse.  Not sure how I got it on the ground, how I got on the ground, but I froze a little eaarlier than I planned.  My hair was over my eyes, which drives me batty, and I think I my have blinked and moved my face without realising it.  I'm pretty sure I was mostly frozen, though, I honestly couldn't tell you.  I heard people walking by talking about the frozen people.  They were saying things like,

"What happened?"

"Why did everyone stop moving?"

One woman must have walked by everyone pushing a stroller and using her phone to film it, b/c I saw her from the corner of my eye at least twice, and several of my fellow mobsters were talking about her.  I heard another woman walk by and ask her companion,

"Are they supposed to be human statues?" 

I had mild panic attack when I realised my phone screen had gone blank which meant my super effective task killer had turned off my 5 minute timer, and therefore I wouldn't know when to unfreeze, since I couldn't see anything.  I tried to look to the side, but knew my head was going to move, so stopped.  I could see a group in front of me and it looked like some of the people were frozen and some people were hopping like rabbits around them.  I also noticed that things had actually spilled out of my purse, which made me really happy.  I was holding my phone in my hand, sort of out and away from my body; to my it looked as though it was jumping around in my hand, though most likely, I was the only one that could tell it was even moving.  Then my phone made me jump, b/c the alarm started going off, luckily at 12:05, so I just had to recover and get the blasted thing turned off ASAP!  Everything was on vibrate, so I don't know why the sound was on for it.  I got my things back into my purse and walked away from the food court, wandering a bit, since I was trying to figure ou why the alarm had sound when it shouldn't have.  I met up with Lisa, A, and Aaron, and as we left we found the DUS people looking at large sketch pads they had been using to sketch the frozen people.  That's what I had taken for rabbit hopping.  We all discussed the even on the way back to Kmart, A and I continually thinking of how Misti and Mandy would have behaved had they been there.  A drove me back, and we parted.  Then there was the letdown after you get yourself all hyped up.   I wanted to know had been still?  Or had been sort of half frozen?  Then it occured to me that I was wearing lowrise pants.  Had I been flashing people?   Some of that nervousness comes from Bry-D's love of dropping cold things down the back of my pants.  Once the video was released, that fear was aleviated, only to be replaced by the worry of how frozen was I?  Dspite my concerns, it looked like everyone did a great job, even the little kids. 

I really look forward to doing more things with DUS.  Need to keep doing this kind of stuff so my kids never look at me and say, "You were never that cool!"

Monday Nights...

We have some friends that sometimes come over on Monday nights.  This works well, b/c then all the kids have someone to play with.  Eliz's loft bed is the place to hang out.  All the kids that come over gravitate to it.  This is Determined D.  Those that know her, understand the nickname. 

 Bry-D & Little Mr. D play video games.  Errr, well, Bry-D plays and Mr. D watches.  On occasion, Bry-D has shared with him.

 There's also Mini Fireman, which for some reason there aren't any pictures of.  He and Lex argue over trains, cars, or whatever toy one of them is holding at that time.

What do I do while everyone else is having a playdate?  Dishes.  Laundry.  Facebook. All the fun stuff I can't do during the day b/c I get interrupted to much.