Linkety Dinkety Doo: Holiday hors d'oeuvres

I am sequestering myself today with CDs playing the old-fashioned way (in the laptop) to help myself ease into some last-minute deadlines (and what deadlines aren't?) so I can travel guilt-free tomorrow to Indiana for the holiday. We will be crammed into the car (again) with my parents, my grandmother and a giant bag of snacks and sippy cups and lots more methamphetimines Dramamine and extra large Dunkin' Donuts coffee for the road, but dammit, I will be done with this deadline.

While mama's working, just turn on an hour or four of SuperWhy, dig into a bag of Doritos laced with high fructose corn syrup and orange fucking powder that will never ever come out of that thirty dollar toddler onesie and hush  take a peek at a little of the buzz we at Strollerderby have planted in the blogo this week. And yes, this totally counts as a NaBloPoMo post, albeit lazy. And by lazy I mean, centering on my priorities and whip-crackin' productive, people.

For all you suckahfools flying today.

For all you who courageously hold on to the notion that there are innovations in potty training.

For those of you who take the whole crunchy granola thing just a tad too far.

Click to read more ...

Project: Life Change. Yep, it's still on, mamas.

The beauty of this Project: Life Change challenge is that it immediately had a momentum of its own. Stefania and I just put it out there and so many of you took it,  held it, threw it back out into the surf, ran on with your own small and significant ideas about how to feel better inside your own life.

Every so often, I will read someone's Project: Life Change post and I am taken aback by the questions that are asked and ideas that are seeded and affirmations that are made by women who are blogging who happened to read about how Stefania and I had to say stopppppppp to schedules and madness and mania in our own lives.

It doesn't mean that everything is tidy and happy and whole.

Click to read more ...

Coming to Jesus, preschooler style

Lil E prays like Stevie Wonder. If Stevie Wonder was a wee white boy, that is.

When he chooses to say grace before dinner, he raises his eyebrows slowly, squeezes his eyes shut and sends his prayer up while his head weaves back and forth in concentration and commune with Jesus (who he will come to know even better with Jello and mini-cupcakes during His birthday celebration at co-op next month). 

Sitting at dinner with my parents, we three adults can't help but peek out from behind our slightly-closed eyes and stifle giggles, watching the boy say a blessing before dinner.

Over roast and potatoes and spiritual unification this week, Lil E's prayer unfolded like this:

Dear God,
Bless alllllll the people in da world.
And bless all the toys and trucks...and trains.
Sanks for all da food.
A-men.

And then he looked up, eyes even wider and said in explanation, "I love praying! But I also love playing too!" 

What I love is that the kid is not only clear and concise, he is very sure about his priorities, about the pieces of his life that really matter. And if that's not prayerful, I'm not sure what is.

Now, how to meet in the spiritual center with camera in hand?

Click to read more ...