it’s oh so quiet.

but not so stale.  just quiet.  the very tired and sick kiddles are still asleep (go ahead other mommies, hate me.)  and i had a good night sleep (thank you, tylenol cold nighttime, for letting me know what it is to sleep soundly).  not the most interesting news to report, but, sometimes, the best kind.

anyhoo, i really just have a question o’ the day, today:

What is best thing someone has ever made for you?  (and you can’t say grandchildren.  mom.  isabelle.)  It has to be something crafted, and non-living…..

School of Rock.

Well, family togetherness is a kind of church, isn’t it? And, well, gathering around a television to play video games–there’s got to be some spiritual dimension, right? (how’s that for blasphemy, mark? )

Seriously though, this post is a shout out to our friends, the Rigolos, who in a fit of characteristic generosity, loaned us their Wii for a few days. That we all have to be home sick today is just a pleasant coincidence, n’est-ce pas? So, without further adieu, as agatha would say, “Check us OUT!!!!”

Agatha prepares to rock out for the first time on Guitar Hero III.

Behold, she cometh on a beam of light to…ROCK!!!!

Daddy and Edmund are mesmerized by her newfound skills.

“Really, Dad, I’m fine. Just let go, and let me jam. seriously, dude, i get it.”

Born to rock, apparently.

So, thank you, Rigolos!!!! I don’t think you’ll ever know how much we needed a little fun right now….

And for the rest of you, your Question o’ the day: What video game do you love, and why?

Posting blues.

hi everyone,

in a fit of insecurity, i deleted yesterday’s post. i thought, perhaps, that i was getting ahead of myself, and did the usual, “Maybe-my-ideas-aren’t-so-great-after-all” thing. how lame. anyhoo, i have been faithfully taking photos this week, and, since my brain is fuzzed by a cloud of near-illness, i’ll just put them up, and skip the philosophical commentary.

zipper quilt (soon to be the face of a pillow)

the dress i designed and made for agatha

the scarf i can’t seem to finish

what i thought was a cool shot of edmund, in the beautiful hat that Carolyn made for him.
well, that’s all for now, folks. Except for a random Question o’ the day: What song always makes you want to get up and dance?

Monday is…Enlightenment Day.

Or, Sunshine Leads to Peaceful Thoughts Day. I think the first is more catchy.

Anyhoo, I was out walking avec mes enfants, and I had a sudden bolt of wisdom from above. Like last week’s “No More Judgment” epiphany, this one was a more-than-obvious, any-dolt-could-figure-it-out kind of experience. But, since I am apparently a person who likes overcomplicate things, it was a necessary jolt. “It is good,” I found a voice inside my head saying, “for other people to be better at things than me.” Before you go castigating me for my extreme arrogance, know that this particular revelation had to do with a specific issue that i wrestle with daily–the all too familiar, “Am I a good enough mom???” My reflections were likewise precipitated by the news that another (!) neighbour is having a fourth child. This always causes me some angst, as I work through, for the zillionth time, how many kids we should have. (sidenote: i am aware of what a luxury it is contemplate having a child, let alone several).

So, that is all to say that I found myself in familiar troubling paths of thought, when I realized, for perhaps the first time, that i don’t have to try to be perfect or the best at mothering. it had never occurred to me, really, that I should celebrate other women for being better at this mom thing than me. Don’t get me wrong; i’ve admired other moms’ skills and abilities. But it’s never sat easily with me the joy with which some mothers get into the flow of a houseful of kids. I see their success and equate it with failure on my part, when that’s not really the equation, is it? I should appreciate what I’m good at, try harder where I fail, and accept myself as the mom i am, rather than the mom i think i should be. (oh, how cheesy and narcissistic that sounds. sound of jennifer’s eye’s rolling.)

And, when I thought that, when i thought about the space that gave me, for being me, for loving and affirming others, well, i felt (and here’s some more cheese) i felt just like the sunshine.

question o’ the day: what has been your happiest thought today?

Meet my nemesis.

no, not that one.  this one:

I spent two effing hours trying to figure out how to sew around this zipper with my supposedly handy zipper foot.  eerrrrggghhhh.  in the end, i figured out how, just as the kids were waking from their nap.  glory be.

Question o’ the day:  what is your nemesis?  what chore/task/undertaking threatens to defeat you?

Happy happy Wub Wub Day??!!

Gweetings fwends,

I had an elaborate plan, yesterday, to put the kiddles in matchy sweaters and take great valentine’s photos. alas…

the paper hearts were too tasty, and…

too fun to wear as glasses.

I myself was a little too

to get into the semi-hysterical merrymaking.

But, after a little painting time,

and a nap (for the kids), we managed to

and

.

Much love to all of you today, whether the day finds you full of ‘wub’. or not.

Question o’ the day: What is your favourite Valentine’s treat (keep it clean, people!)???

For Agatha.

I know you’ve all seen it, but we still love it.

Question o’ the day:  What do you still love to watch, even though you’ve seen it a zillion times?

For Meghann.

moar humorous pics

For Miranda.

i couldn’t resist, after all.

Jennifer is…under construction.

(i do know that facebook doesn’t provide the “So-and-so-is….” formula anymore; but i still find it suits my purposes, okay???

About the title–I’m not going to undergo any plastic surgery, attempt to lose ten pounds, or run a marathon (though i would like to do a full tri in the next few yrs. okay, next 10 yrs.) Anyhoo, it’s just that it’s been brought to my attention, rather glaringly over the last few weeks, that i’ve been storing up a lot of petty resentments and judgments, which are now rather troublingly making themselves manifest in a few unhappy and unkind outbursts. yeck. so often i am able to hide the nastiness inside.

but, all the angst has been productive of some reflection and pondering. i have been reminded anew of where all the love comes from (God) and encouraged to ask for some more of it, for myself and others.

So…where does that leave me? Well, i think the whole love thing is rather insidious, really. I woke up this morning, and found myself…not angry. Not angry about the small things left undone last night. not angry about jaegen’s lunch dishes left in the hallway. not so angry at myself. Really, and i don’t know if this comes through in writing, a profound miracle of grace. Which of course makes me seem as though i am normally an evil troll, stomping through the house in a barely suppressed rage. Sometimes I am. Mostly, the maelstrom of seething resentment stays hidden. But, i say, “No More!” I don’t want to live a life diminished by frustration, envy, fear. I want, I need to have enough love to keep this whole life thing afloat. Down with petty resentment! Up with….people???!!???

Wow. Perhaps the next post should be titled, “Wherein Jennifer’s Blog takes a Surprising (and Emotionally Uncomfortable?) Turn Towards the Personal”. Ah, screw it. I just gotta be me.
Fortunately, most of you know me, and are amazingly gracious with all my various foibles.

much love to all.

and a picture of cool fabric, to help it all go down more smoothly: