My punks

 First born says to Young one..."J____, don't smile."

 "Dooooooonnnnnn'tttt Smmmmiiiiiiiiile"

 "Doooooon't dooooooo iiiiiiitttttt"

 And they both got a great kick out of it.

No, we all three got a great kick out of it.

love those punks. 

Late October Love

 My parents were visiting last week. 

It was so nice to have them around.

My mom did laundry for me all week,

as well as dishes and other stuff around the house.

My dad kept an eye on our new pup (whose name is officially Izze)

and played with the boys.

I wish they lived closer.

While they were here, we also

went to the apple orchard

and came home to make applesauce.

This week we will carve pumpkins,

and get the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes.

Pics to come on those.

The weather is turning into that dreary

just-before-winter weather. 

Halloween seems to be the intro to winter around here.

Winter is long, however,

I will focus on the now, 

where the pumpkins glow, 

the leaves crunch beneath our feet,

the fire is cozy and warm,

and the house smells of warm apples.

Happy Fall!

Enough!

Dear Politicians, enough mud slinging already.

Tell us what you'll do right,

Rather than what they do wrong.

We want a government with integrity.

Dear Monsanto, enough altering our food.

The earth provides all we need,

Our tomatoes and fish are fine

The way that God created them.

Dear large, greedy, corporate food companies,

Food should not come from labs,

With ingredients whose names are unpronounceable,

And wasteful packaging that's totally unnecessary,

Enough lying to us about convenience,

Convenience isn't worth the ultimate price

Of disease and pollution and poverty.

Dear Marketers, please stop targeting children.

We are trying to teach them

That consumerism will not provide happiness,

And you are not helping much

With your pushing the opposite message.

Dear Religion, enough spreading the fear,

Open your doors and hearts lovingly,

God's love lies within us all.

Dear America, richest country in world,

Enough ranking #37 in health care,

Ranking #18 of #36 in Education.

Young one, enough high pitched whining.

First born, enough inducing said whining.

Dear Me, enough letting this stuff

Get me all agitated at 9am!

Check our more enough!'s at Melissa's blog.

Enough complaining, enjoy the coming weekend!

A few of my favorite things

A Minnesota lake, in mid summer,

The change of the fall leaves,

The winter smell of wood burning,

The first signs of flowers opening,
A wee one snuggling in close,
The pitter-patter of toddler feet,
A night out with the ladies,
Long road trips with my famo,
My dearest friends speaking comforting words,
A newborn, so fresh and innocent,
A day in the kitchen, cooking,
A really good professor, expanding thoughts,
A great photo shot, perfect lighting,
The sound of my boys harmonious,
Moments when I don't feel alone,
When I know we're all connected,
People using their wealth and skills
To help those in much need,
Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa,
Not really "things," but still fave's,
Weddings, parties, gatherings, celebrations, so joyous,
Food from the garden, so fresh,
Love and acceptance from loved ones,
The way young one repeats himself,
When we part ways each time,
Repeating, "love you mom!" and also,
"See you tonight!" "See you later!"
The way first born still runs
And hugs me when he sees
Me show up at his school, unannounced,
No care of being 10, sigh,
I know that will change, but,
Now I welcome and cherish it.
I love opportunity that shows up,
Without my even searching for it,
When my decisions seem validated by
All things effortlessly lining up right.
Bike riding, hot springs, beautiful mountains,
Oh, I could go on forever!

For more six word Friday posts on Favorite Things,
check out Melissa's blog.

Happy Friday!

Young One

Oh

How

I Love

This boy.

A boy and his dog

A boy.

A dog.

A boy and his dog.

It's a beautiful thing.

Six word Friday: Fantasy

Fantasy: an easy realm for me.

I can dream the day away.

I dream of far away travel,

Mostly about countries on African soil.

Good deeds with hands and words.

Bringing home a child or two,

To complete our sweet little family.

I dream of studying peace work,

To share with the greater world.

To teach the children, teenagers, adults,

About compassion, love, empathy, and peace,

Instead of blame, insecurity, fear, hatred.

I dream of a world where enough

Is enough for everyone to thrive.

I dream of clean water, air,

clean soil and safe, healthy food.

I dream that we all find

Success in how we grow closer

To each other and to Spirit.

Not in how much we have,

But in how much we give.

I dream of my children finding

Their true purpose in this life

And walking that path without fear

Or at least overcoming that fear

To come out the other side

Stronger, more compassionate, loving, and trusting.

I dream of trusing the process

And not getting hung up on

How things will work out fine,

Because really, they almost always do.

For more six word Friday posts, check out Melissa's blog.

j'adore

J'adore....french for "I adore you"

Adore, I do.

This little king of mine,

with his fiery personality,

his big, big imagination,

his fascination with kings and knights and swords and sounds

and karate, 

He's so soft and sensitive,

and loving,

in need of reassurance from all of us.

When insecure, he will be glued to mama,

or papa, or brother.

When he's secure and comfortable,

he turns into a wild man,

witty and funny and fearless.

He is also a super duper good helper.

We were making plum jam.

And now he will eat the jam

simply because he is so proud to have been

a part of the making of it.

Spiced plum jam is a bit like my sweet and spicy

almost 5 year old. 

I put in the work

and love the process

and reap the benefits

of something delicious. 

Base

My boys like to wrestle, play fight, and play tag. They do this in the living room, in the yard, at the pool. Lately J has taken to making me "base." I'm sure most of you know the base rules from tag, but basically base means that when you are touching it, you are safe from the game for a while, until you are ready to get off base and jump back in.

Sometimes being base for their games irks me. I'm not a fan of 2 boys wrestling on top of me, because even though the young one (who is the one who takes to using me as base) is "safe," first born doesn't take it  seriously and keeps right on tackling, wrestling, tickling, etc. That usually ends in mama making a rule that she is no longer base.

Metaphorically speaking, however, I am base. I am the safety zone where my boys can rest, unravel, feel as if nothing can hurt them for the time being. In my lap, they can cry and tell me about why school sucked that day. They can snuggle and feel love from the person who loves them most. They can get their back rubbed or their tinctures administered when they are sick. They come to get their hair brushed and their boo boo's kissed. First born comes to get validation. Young one comes often, for the security of mama.

The world is still out there when they decide to jump back in, but in mama's arms there is security and safety, love and warmth. I'm sure there will be a time when friends or wives become base for my sweet boys, but I hope they always find a safe place with me. I hope they always find warmth and acceptance in my eyes and arms, understanding and compassion in my heart and words.

I will always be here as base when they need me.

For the record....

For the record, I'm a procrastinator.

Six word Fridays, linking up late.