You make me feel...

Tonight before bed:

Me:  "Julian, I have to tell you a secret."

Julian:  "What, mommy?"

Me:  "You make me so happy!"

Julian:  "Mommy, I have to tell you a secret."

Me:  "What, Julian?"

Julian:  "You make me so grumpy."

then he saw the look on my face

Julian:  "I love you mommy."

jbxo

Photo:  Self-portrait, courtesy of Julian

Bless you.

Today I came home tired and hungry... very hungry.  I was pleased to find that Andrew had dinner prepared, and was getting Julian and Nora situated at the dining room table.  He asked me to put together a salad... it was a yummy one.  Baby spinach, beans, chickpeas, eggs... mmmmmm.  We sat down for a lovely family meal.  Music playing softly in the background.  All was well.  For about 30 seconds.  Nora started crying, which quickly turned into screaming.  She didn't want to eat.  Well, she didn't want to eat from her chair, she wanted to sit on mommy's lap (who could blame her?).  Honestly, I would have let her sit on top of my head if I could just keep eating (so very hungry).  So, Nora on my lap, pleased as punch... me munching away, trying to avoid getting pieces of egg in her hair, when it happened.  Nora sneezed.  A big, wet sneeze.  Right over my plate.  The room was silent.  Andrew looked up from his plate, but I could tell he did not want our eyes to meet.  He didn't want to be aware of what he knew would happen next.

Yes, I....

just

kept

eating.

jbxo

A glimpse of beauty...

This takes my breath away.

Last fall mom was here for a weekend visit, and we took Julian and Nora to a local festival.  We found these two girls (ladies, really) doing a chalk drawing in the middle of the festivities.  They call themselves:  "chalk chicks".  I literally stood there, amazed, mouth agape, for about 5 minutes (or long enough for mom to come back to find me, and ask if I planned to join her for the rest of the day).  

What I loved the most about this, wasn't how stunning the piece itself actually was, but the fact that something so beautiful was also so temporary as it would be washed away with the first rainfall.  It made me feel special just for having seen it.

jbxo

Noo-Noo 2.

Today is Nora's second birthday.  I was in the shower this morning when she popped into the bathroom for a visit:

Me:  "Happy Birthday Nora!"

Nora:  "Santa come?"

Poor girl, her birthday will forever be shadowed by all of the glory that is Christmas.

Here she is in her new birthday toque... a must-have for winter birthdays in Canada.

Happy birthday, my little one.

jbxo