Kat, that kind of cleaning kind of creeps up on you - when you decide to move stuff the dust and hair can be a real surprise. I have some under-bed zipper bags that I need to fill with wool throws I had around the house during the cold months. I'll clean under the bed, then move the bed, then rearrange the furniture, then put the under-bed bags back.

Today I swept leaves and built up debris, and I know I am destroying a great habitat for a lot of beneficial critters. But when I finish leaves can build up again.

Dinner is over, the kitchen is clean. My ex brought some videos on his mp3 player and with a special cable he was able to connect to the little LCD TV on the kitchen wall. They stood around it laughing at downloaded bits he brought along. I usually have a movie running early in our get-togethers (no one tends to watch, but it is a great conversation starter). This time the movie/s were imported.

Tomorrow will be a great day to finish work in the yard. I'll also list that tiller - I decided to wait until people could have access to banks if they decide impulsively they want to buy this. It's a great old machine and I'm probably underpricing it, but I can use the space and the cash. :)

Michelle, I saw your photos from the picnic. Jeremiah clearly LOVES the swing! I remember spending long hours in the park with my kids when they were tiny, trying the various rides.

My favorite kid/park episode was when my son turned six. We invited a handful of his friends from Montessori and a few of the kids from the neighborhood to a party in the local park that is set up for handicapped use. I was so proud of it, it was developed during my term on the park board--handicapped parents or children could move through the ramps and passages and no longer did parents sit in wheelchairs and watch from afar. And children in wheelchairs joined the able-bodied kids in the play structure.

It was an interesting dynamic; as parents we knew the value of free time for the kids to play, but also wanted to keep an eye out. I realized that we had naturally spaced ourselves out, standing in clumps of two or three, ringing the structure; visiting yet keeping an eye on the play and also able to see other clusters of parents on either side of us. Kids would appear and disappear, and gales of laughter were a great sign of the party's success. I was poor, so our meal was simple: I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on homemade bread, cut each sandwich in 1/4 and wrapped them all with cellophane. We had fruit cups or cut up fruit, and individually wrapped Hostess cupcakes. The kids would kind of swarm out of the structure to eat then head back. Happened a couple of times, then we were finished.

In this modern day and age you can let kids have the space to play and explore, and I'm sure Jeremiah will have some kinds of parties like that that he will remember for the fun and the play, and that you'll remember because your plans worked out exactly as laid out.

I started a blog entry, but I think I'll save it and finish tomorrow. I've made enough notes so I'll remember what inspired me to start it.

SRS