MommyCoddle

thoughts on things

hello! apparently, i disappeared for quite awhile. and just so you know we're still here, still good, a few catch-up thoughts on things that have been happening the past few weeks....

* we had the first--of what i imagine to be many, many more--recitals. mary's teacher introduced her as "mary. she's six. she's only been taking lessons for a few weeks. and, isn't she so tiny??" mary was brave, confident. and unmistakably flawless in her rendition of "sea whale". 

* egg production has dropped off with the darker days. we have no electric at the coop, so we don't simulate longer days for the girls with lights. it makes each little egg a gift.

* i don't think i've seen the inside of birdy's mouth in three weeks. her lips are in a constant, sucking-pursed-state, as we wait, and wait and wait for these painful teeth number three and four to emerge. poor babe.

* soccer season ended with many, many tears when the girls lost their final game in the tournament. lots of tears, except for emma. who packed up her gear and walked off the field. i was okay with that. 

*birdy is army-crawling all over the house. gone are the days of peaceful baby playing on the quilt. this morning, she discovered the little pile of ash in front of the woodstove (the stove was not going) and covered herself in grey dust.

*my mother-in-law came to visit last week. and while she was here, she cleaned my living room and kitchen. not "tidied" but cleaned. i'm not sure if i should accept this as a wonderful gift, or as a sign that my house is a dirty mess. 

*there is a ten-gallon fish tank on the floor of my living room full of pine needles, leaf litter, grasses, dandelion fronds and ONE wooly bear. 

* i am taking a 6 week class at a local gym called, "body conversion". sounds scary, doesn't it? but, each night that i go, i am reminded that there is a big difference between what you think you cannot do, and what you can push yourself to do. those voices in our heads sure like to tell us otherwise. i am loving it.

So, hi! hello! i've missed this place. i make no promises, but i hope to be back here a little more regularly. (famous last words)

 

 

pause

I took this picture out the car window sunday night, as we were pulling out of the driveway to head to dinner at my grandparents' farm. I was trying to adjust the manual settings on my camera just a bit, remembering that my last photographs had been indoors and that any pictures I took on this evening would be outside.

It turned out that I had a baby on hip most of the time, except for the chance I got to eat hands-free thanks to some helpful family members passing Birdy around among them. And no pictures were taken, but one. On the way out the door to come home. 

But the next morning when I paused to look at this "nothing-special" photograph, I realized how much our place is beginning to look like fall. The warming of the evening light. The garden, bare except for my flowers that hang on until that very first frost and the sweet potato vines tangled at my flower's feet. Clothes on the line again--I confess it was just too hot and humid many days this summer to even think about clothes out on the line. The hostas getting a bit droopy, sad, and pocked with holes. The ground under the rope swing bare to the dirt. A few leaves yellowing and dropping.

I love the changing of seasons. I feel like I come back to life in the fall. Summer often does me in and sucks all the life and creativity and umph out of me. I'm excited to get back in the kitchen. Back outside. I begin to tackle major cleaning projects (ceiling fans, anyone? tub tile? mudroom windows?). 

I hope the changing of seasons is treating you well. I'd love to hear what fall brings to your life. 

i am home.

hello.

I think it is time to return to this space. I had a really, really good break. It was a good thing. And it's good to remember what you love about something you've been doing for (exactly) five years. 

I don't think I'll spend a lot time with what we did. I'll just jump back in with what we're doing. 

While I was away from here, I kept a private space online, all my own. No one knew about it. I shared it with no one. But it was an experiment. I wanted to know what it would be like if I had a space for only me. 

And I learned that I like marking time. I like writing things down. Remembering. I like to-do lists, and favorite quotes, remembering how I canned the tomatoes, and how much drama went in to losing that big front tooth. Sometimes, I like to post without pictures. Sometimes I like just a few words. 

It was refreshing. And I hope to bring a lot of that back here.

So hi! Hello! This is me waving over the fence. Letting you know I'm back from vacation. And I'm feeling good.

many hands

Ever since I began to crack the whip a few weeks before Birdy was born, I've become a huge believer in the power of a chore chart. I can't be stopped. 

The "morning chore chart" has expanded a bit, I've added the obvious set the dinner table and feed the dogs--two evening chores that were requiring nagging. Now? Seamless. (on most days) 

And I've taken my name out of the mix of morning chores. I've got enough on my plate in the mornings and the girls have been fine handling things outside on their own. (Though I have been known to sneak outside during the quiet moments of the morning before anyone is awake to do the chores myself. There's something relaxing and peaceful about those moments that I really enjoy.)

But my newest chart is created with a nod to my own mother. The Dinner Job List. When we were little, my mother had a typed-up list of jobs on the kitchen refrigerator. Each week, each child was assigned one of the four jobs. And each job consisted of a short list of tasks to get the dinner dishes done. 

By the time everyone finished their job, the kitchen was clean. Everyone knew exactly what they had to do before they could be excused. And as long as you did a good job, you could get it done as fast as possible. 

The daunting task of cleaning up the messy kitchen seemed so much more do-able when you only faced a short list of four or five tasks.

Now that Mary and Emma have begun having a major role in dinner dishes, I decided it was time to implement the dinner dishes jobs. 

I'm a big fan and so are they. Emma tells me it's so much easier when you know exactly what you need to do. It seems to keep them focused because they're so anxious to move through their list and "be excused". 

And I love it too, because the nagging quotient is gone and when all the jobs are shared, I can even slip in a few "extras". The floor gets swept every night. The breakfast table is set and the dish drainer emptied every night. Those things may be standard in your house, but not here--with Dan getting home late from work and bedtimes breathing down our necks.

Yes, these things get me giddy. 

I tried to organize their jobs by zones and flow. I didn't want one person waiting on another person, in order to move through their list. For example, I didn't want the "wipe off the kitchen table" person waiting on the "clear the kitchen table" person. So I tried to put both of those jobs on the same list. And each week they switch jobs. Yes, just as they're getting comfortable, I switch things up and make them learn something new. (This was Emma's only complaint to me.)

Now, I'm making a list of all the lists that I need to make. Next up, a bedroom chore chart, I believe....my poor children. 

normal is good

I read this quote last week on Ali's blog and it has left a serious impression on me. I don't know what it is about these words, but they really were the thing that I needed to hear.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

I think that sometimes, I get too thrown off by a slight bump in the road, an unexpected mess, a bit of disobedience, a forgotten errand or ingredient, an argument between little girls. I forget that these things are just part of life. These things are part of a normal day.

And while I strongly believe that each day holds bits that are glorious, and sweet, and tender and darn near perfect--a normal day, I'm reminded--is an excellent thing. It is something to be celebrated, and recognized for what it is.

Maybe I shouldn't open this can of worms, but I think the search for "some rare and perfect tomorrow" can be one of the downsides of blogging and blog reading. Because it is true, we pick and choose what we share, what we photograph, the stories we tell. We often capture moments that look like bliss. We zoom in on the children playing happily and don't zoom out on the piles of laundry on the sofa and the ping-pong-sized dust balls scampering around under the furniture.

And that's okay. If blogging were only about those piles of laundry and dust bunnies, it would lose a lot of its inspiration. And the celebration of those blissful days and moments and creativity is important.

But if we think that everyone is having a "rare and perfect tomorrow" but us, then we are beginning to lose perspective. If we think our day was less than wonderful just because it was "normal," than we need to step back and take a look at what is good and healthy and what is part of our every day lives.

And though I've somehow managed to change my pronouns from "I" to "we", I'm still mostly talking to myself. 

And on some days, when we may be lamenting "normal", there is someone else, somewhere, who is longing for just a little taste of normal once again.

So I hope you know, that this post is written for me. And that when I sat down to write this post, my intention was to only share the quote. I guess I had more to say. And I don't mean this to be a trashing of blogging because those thoughts showed up as I was writing. But lately, I've found myself really trying to keep my blogging habits in perspective.

Mostly I want this post and this quote to be an encouragement. Because while it left me thinking, it really encouraged me as well.

And this last week, I've really been enjoying my normal. Both the wonderful little nearly-perfect moments, the chaotic moments, and the mundane ones, too. Because they all make up my normal.

And normal is good.

broken

I was trying to figure out what it's called when you emerge from a blog break. Have you "breaked"? Are you "broken"? Either way, hello! I'm back. Sorry for the unannounced disappearance. I had been pondering a little blog break at the end of this summer and planned to make it more of a formal, announced kind of thing, but I suddenly found myself needing it sooner than later. And then of course the internet outages and storm-induced power outages made it all seem a little bit easier to slip away. So, I believe that I am back. Although you may find me a little quieter until we get back into the routines of Fall again.

I think it is good to take a break every now and then. To reevaluate why it is you blog, what exactly you want to blog about and to remember who it is you are blogging for. Next month will mark my fourth year of blogging, I still can't believe where it started and where I am now.

But while I was "breaking".....

**we ate the first watermelon and corn from our garden.

**I celebrated my 33rd birthday and felt overwhelmed by the love and attention. I received gifts in all forms--hugs and kisses and handwritten notes left on my bed, sentimental things I'll cherish, and things I never would have gotten for myself--(like time in a recording studio, to put together a CD.)

**I revisited an eastern shore auction with my mom and came home with a truckload of treasures and lots of funny stories.

**I started picking flowers from MY row in the garden.

**I discovered the *joys* of having house guests during a power outage.

**I took a daytrip to the beach and watched how each of my children experienced it differently--Emma: spent all her time mastering the waves. Mary: was done with sand and salt and ready to go home after 20 minutes. Elizabeth: didn't want to keep her bathing suit on and needed to go the bathroom every 10 minutes.

And today, I'm up to my ears in to-do lists. Why does one day without power feel like coming home after a week's vacation? And Emma and I are scrambling to get her fair entries ready for judging later this afternoon. There are photographs to print, cakes to bake and paintings to finish.

And while we spend the week doing all kinds of fair-type things, I'll be handing over the blogging reins to my cousin Katie Pertiet. She'll be doing a series the rest of this week on digital scrapbooking and basic photo editing. I even suspect she'll have some giveaways, too! I may be biased because she's my cousin, but Katie is one sweet, talented lady and she has so many wonderful ideas to share. I know you'll enjoy hearing what she has to share!

random bits

** Thank you for all your food suggestions. It is amazing to see how many of you have had children who struggle similarly when they are hungry. And remember that (*cough* crazy) idea I had about combining your ideas all in one place? Not gonna happen. It would take me weeks, and that would be if I ignored every other responsibility I have in life. But read the comments because there are some fabulous suggestions, recipes, cookbooks, links, etc.

**You probably noticed that since the new year I have a few sponsor ads appearing on my sidebar. I don't want to get into the whole "having ads on blogs" discussion, but I want to let you all know that I am slowly moving towards having sponsors that are etsy sellers, small businesses, handmade goods, websites, etc. It is important to me, to share sites and shops with you, that I enjoy or that inspire me. I have a few new sponsors already lined up, but if you have any interest in having a sponsor spot, please send me an email, and I'll offer you the details. To get the ball rolling, I'm offering the spots for half off during the month of March.

**Mary has gone on a pants strike. Dresses. All day. All the time. I did manage to get her in pants today because all her dresses were dirty. I told her if she didn't put on pants, she couldn't have lunch with her Pa. It worked like a charm. But, as if I weren't having enough problems finding appropriate clothes from my children already, she's now narrowed my shopping options to dresses-only. Hanna Andersson is having a dress sale right now. Kyrie sent me a link to this site, Basic Brilliance to me which looks great, too. So, I'm back on the hunt for clothes once again.

**As of 3:30 this afternoon, our hens have given us 79 eggs. Wow.

**I forgot to share the great gifts that Erin and Jennifer gave me during our bloggy weekend. Erin gave the girls these zip pouches with colored pencils (and chubby crayons for Elizabeth) and moleskine journals. I'm seriously jealous. And she gave me one of her fabric camera straps. (Am I lucky or what?) and stitched up a set of these napkins. I think they are pretty much perfect for our chicken-loving family. Thank you, Erin. And Jennifer gave me this "crazy" :) quilted pillow--just like the ones I have admired on her blog for quite awhile. It is the perfect squishyness for bedtime reading. Thank you, Jennifer. I love it. And yes, it is still in my room. It hasn't been stolen, yet.....

(photos by Emma' 4-H leader)

**Over the weekend, Emma's 4-H "Meal Appeal" group gave their demonstration in front of the judges at 4-H Week at the local Mall. The group of 4-Hers presented a themed recipe and each shared something about the ingredients they were adding. They had a "ski lodge" theme, and made chili. Emma was salt and pepper and she shared some facts about the spices. She also served the judges the chili at the end of the recipe. And guess what? She came home with Grand Champion!  She was pretty pleased with herself, to say the least. And proud of that purple rosette. I was pretty proud, too.

Just an Innocent Walk in the Snow

So I thought it would be a good idea to go outside first thing this morning. Get the girls some fresh air. Spend a little time exploring in the lightly falling snow.

Look for tracks.

Look at the snow hanging delicately on the pine branches.

Feed the chickens.

Take a few pictures.

By the time we made it out to the back field, around to the chicken coop and back to the front walk again..............

Mary and Emma had gotten in an argument because Mary wouldn't walk down to the stream with Emma. And Emma pushed Mary, sending her tumbling into the snow. Which left Mary crying over freezing cold hands and wet knees. (Mary can't handle any extreme temperatures--hot or cold.)

Emma then continued to give me a little attitude and was sent into the house and her attendance at tonight's 4-H meeting is in jeopardy.

Elizabeth tripped over her own feet and had an up-close encounter with the sidewalk.

By the time I got to the front door, I had three crying girls in the middle of meltdowns while I tried to remove coats, and hats and boots, attend to freezing cold hands, deal with attitudes and check for bloody chins.

Sometimes, in these moments, I have to admit, that I lose my cool. But sometimes the absolute craziness of it becomes suddenly humorous to me, and I'm able to handle it with a cool attitude and a calm demeanor.

Thankfully, that's what happened this morning. And I still managed to snap off a few pictures of the pretty snow.

I love it when things don't go exactly as planned.

Happy Tuesday.

Three Things and the Winner, finally

One.

It is amazing how many curious, disapproving looks you get when you're out in public with a child who is sporting a shiner. Mary's black eye gets more colorful every day and the looks and questions keep coming. Of course when someone asks her what happened to her eye, she gets all shy, cringing from the extra attention. And answers sheepishly: "I fell."

She doesn't give them any details. Like the fact that the she and her sisters have been hanging out in the upstairs bathroom, because when the door is closed it gets really warm in there. And they've been bringing all their papers and books and crayons and toys into the bathroom. And she tripped on something and slammed that cute little cheek bone into the toilet. You know, little details like that.

Oh well. I have to admit it's kind of cute. And I've enjoyed photographing its colorful progression ever day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two.

I've been getting some emails lately about people wondering if I'll be having a mini-swap #4. It has been on my mind and I'd love to know if there's still interest out there. I'd be happy to host again, though I think I'll make it a little smaller and easier to manage, if there's enough interest to do it again. Would you leave a comment or drop me an email if you're interested?

If you're new to the mini swap idea, you can read about it here. This isn't a sign-up or anything. Just seeing if there is enough interest.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Three.

My computer crashed right in the middle of the Little Bird giveaway. I really apologize for not announcing a winner. And for some reason the post went up twice on my blog. So I combined all the comments and randomly chose a winner from everyone.

And the winner of the Little Bird tee collection is Christy who said:

I adore Miss Yum Yum and the mermaid designs. I really need to order some of these for my girls. My oldest has extremely sensitive skin and many tshirts/dyes irritate her skin. These sound perfect and soft!

Posted by: Christy | January 21, 2009 at 11:35 AM

Christy, please send me an email with your contact information so I can pass it on to JoAnna!

Congratulations!

a few notes

While I was away, I kept a few notes of the things I had been doing, tucked in my back pocket. I....

...cleaned the house. And watched it get dirty again.
...filled the bird feeders. Twice.
...thought about sewing. But didn't.
...watched Emma on ice skates on my grandparents' pond.
...had habit withdrawal.
...played a game of memory.
...cooked in my dutch oven. Three times.
...nursed a black eye.
...made soup.
...bought new books. And fell in love with homeschooling again.
...got a better internet connection.
...thanked my husband for a freshly painted pantry.
...administered Tylenol.

...mourned the end of a favorite magazine.
...fussed with my camera settings.
...thought about writing that children's book.
...told my girls the story.
...took a nap. Or two. Or three.
...made spring rolls.
...confiscated angry notes to little sisters.

...gave everyone in the family a haircut.
...started a new book .
...finished a project.

...knit.
...paid bills.
...bought a wing in the library in library fines.

...removed peanuts from nostrils.
...created and shipped out ten valentine crafts for babycenter.
...baked granola.

...made ambitious garden plans. Extremely ambitious.
...turned a fridge door into a dry erase board.
...got overwhelmed by messes. And then recovered.

...fixed a woodstove door that fell off in my hands. Again.
...watched a heron fly low across the yard.
...nursed a rooster with a sore toe.

...ignored the laundry and watched a movie with the girls.
...enjoyed empty moments in my day.
...missed all of YOU!

Hi! I'm back. Yay.

A Forced Vacation

Maybe God was trying to tell me something, but last Friday, as I was checking emails, my computer went 'pop' and then went black. Perhaps I should have been listening to the voices in my head, that for the last week or so, have been telling me that it's really time I did another backup of my hard drive.

The computer has been off to the doctor and the report is not good today. A busted hard drive, and a sadly overworked system. So now, I'm left to crunch numbers and decide whether to fix what was or replace the whole thing.

I'm trying desperately to not think about the things that are lost. Fortunately, I have been diligently uploading most of my most-loved photos to flickr and I somewhat recently dumped most of my photos onto an external hard drive. So, for now, the thing that worries me most is the oodles of lost emails and contacts.

Date recovery isn't cheap, let me tell you. So I'll probably muddle my way through rebuilding my contact list. So if you've emailed me and haven't heard anything in reply, that's probably the reason.

Meanwhile, if you really want to know, the forced break is kind of nice. I'm baking way too many things, giving my kids way too much school work and making way too much progress on my Fall (as in projects I wanted to finish in fall '08) knitting projects.

But I know I'll be ready to come back. Soon. Refreshed. Recharged. And backed up.

Glimpses of Reality, Followed by Inspiration

I believe a few glimpses of reality are nice every once in awhile. Healthy, even. Here are a few glimpses of reality from my day:

I am making grilled cheese sandwiches while I write this post. My laptop is sitting on the counter beside the stove.

My girls are watching a movie about penguins. And I'm okay with that. Because our morning was full or play and creativity.

I'm listening to Diana Krall on the radio show Art of The Song which reminds me of a boyfriend in college. Which I didn't think of until just this instant. (this is a new-found favorite on the radio and gets my inner singer, songwriter stirred up.)

This is where the girls spent most of the morning. A secret club meets under there. In order to get in, you must be wearing a tee shirt with the name of your favorite sport on it. Mary's says horseback riding. Emma's says soccer. And you must bring a sketch book. If I could fit, I'd be in that club, too.

Later, the girls commandeered the bathroom. Which, when the door is shut, is the warmest spot in the house--when the furnace is working, of course. Which isn't something you can count on.

That's Elizabeth, trying to get into the club. Yes, she's wearing underwear, over her clothes, which is another post to come. Yes, you'd break an ankle trying to get into that room. You should try to navigate it in the middle of the night. Yes, their beds are unmade. Morning "chores" were postponed this morning.

That's my kitchen table yesterday, about thirty minutes after I should have been elbow-deep in dinner prep. Instead I'm up to my elbows in red and pink and hearts and cupids and fancy paper and pipe cleaners. I'm working on some crafts for a new section on babycenter's website. They need 10 crafts, designed, instructions written out, and shipped to be professionally photographed in 7 days. Am I crazy? My deadline is tomorrow.

And now some inspiration to balance out my reality:

**Molly's photography in this post about her new restaurant, Delancy.
**Ali Edward's office tour. I'm getting Dan to build me some of those wooden bins on the wall, asap!
**Kristin's handmade doll clothes, which I think would be great to make for the girls' new dolls. I've already reserved the book from the library.
**This peek at Heather's new work. Stunning.
**Cassi's button clips.
**This post over at Ordinary Courage. It's actually her take on Oprah's latest magazine cover, but her thoughts on addiction, body image are really eye-opening. I'm not sure anyone could read the post without taking something positive away from it.

And back to reality......I burned the second side of the grilled cheese. Bummer.

good morning

This morning at the breakfast table, Mary asked me, "Mom who do you want to rule? Obama, Jesus, or Dr. Silverman (my OBGYN)?" After we solved that problem, she asked me, "Mom when I grow up will I be a mom, just like you?" Yup, Mary. (no caffeine yet, my answers are bare bones.) "So does that mean you'll die, because there'll be two of us?"

Oh, that girl.

So, good morning. There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin. Your emails this past week have provided more comfort and encouragement than you know. I was overwhelmed by your response. It just reinforced my decision to share all of that with you. Thank you..which doesn't seem like enough, but thank you.

I'm feeling much better today. The past few days I had to take a pill which...ahem, contracts things, if you know what I mean. I was really, really dreading it, and it was stressing me out. And it turned out to be nothing at all---just made me feel a little loopy.

This morning was the first morning that I woke up and really felt completely like myself again. It is a good feeling. I have lots of thing on my to-do list today, but still have the lessons of being still in the back of my mind. I have lots of comforting things planned for our week, some bread baking, some felting, some carving of pumpkins and roasting of seeds.

A few quick, good things before I go--since I'm currently being attacked by a  toddler who wants my lap...

If you hurry, I'm giving away a starter kit of gdiapers over at babycenter. These are the hybrid diaper--an easy middle of the road diaper for those who want to make the switch from disposables to cloth diapers or something greener. I was sent a starter kit to try, and I am since hooked. A total convert. (And those little g pants that go over the liners? Way too cute.) You can read more about my review of them in the post.

These beautiful felted stones are from Lisa of Lilfish studios. I absolutely love them, so does some child in my house who lined them up like this on top of the bookshelf. These stones are responsible for my need to felt something this week. We'll see what we come up with.

Alright...my time is over. Everyone is dressed and booted up, ready to go check on our chickens. We moved them into their real chicken house/coop last night for the first time. We're anxious to see how the ladies liked it.

A new post over at babycenter here--love it if you'd stop by...
More soon, friends.

snapshots

This is Tiger. Dan calls him"Soup", I guess in keeping with the food names we have for the other cats, "Orange Juice", "Blueberry"....He showed up on our farm right after we moved in, sneaking in meals with our other kittens. No one has made contact with yet, except for Emma. But he's getting braver and braver, now even coming up to the porch to sleep on the cushions. Lately, he's been sitting outside the kitchen window on a bench. It's right outside where I sit at the kitchen table, writing, cooking. Yesterday, after much contemplation, Tiger and I made contact. A little crab dip on my finger didn't hurt things either.

What we do with the leftover cardboard. I can't tell you how much entertainment this provided. Simple joys.

Trying to do something with the abundance of unknown pears growing in the orchard in the back corner or our farm. They are tough-skinned and hard as rocks. I cored and peeled them, then stewed them in a simple sugar syrup, thanks to some help from The Joy of Cooking. Much better now.

Moments before Emma's pony decided to throw his head forward, again, sending Emma flipping over his head and flopping on to the ground. My friend, Sarah, whose daughter rides in the same lesson, said it was good I didn't see it. Emma tried hard not to cry, but by the time she got back on, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Of course I wanted to jump in there and check on her and rescue her, but I didn't. She went on the trail ride, came back on a different pony, but came back happy. She's a tough little girl.

The swing. The big swing.

Happy Weekend, friends.

a worthwhile detour

Who knew an impromptu trip to the pet store could work out so well for me?

This morning the girls and I were headed to the library so I could deal with some issues--my last large bag of library books, which I returned last week never showed up as "checked in" on my account. Thankfully, I know which librarian it was--the grumpy one with really strong perfume, I wrote a check to pay my fines, (Yes, I write checks sometimes to pay for our library fines. Just doing what I can to support the local library.) and I knew exactly which books I had returned.

But at some point along the drive, Emma asked if we could please go to the pet store. I get this request several times a week, and I always turn it down. But you know how sometimes, you say no so many times in a row, for no particular reason, that finally, you just have to say yes.

So I did my library business at the drive-in window and we detoured to the much longed-for pet store.

We wandered the aisles. I let the girls stand, faces plastered against all the cages and tanks. I answered questions, I said no to every request for dog treats and cat toys--I left my wallet in the car. And then finally, we left...three red-faced, weeping girls dragging along with me out to the parking lot.

You might be wondering how this could have possibly turned out well for me, but just wait. It gets better.

Elizabeth was crying because I had to peel her pudgy fingers off the cage bars of the gerbils. Emma was crying because she had already named, and grown emotionally invested with one honey-colored hamster, and dear Mary was crying because she just wanted another plecostomus.

At first, I began my mother diatribe about how "I was going to remember this next time they asked to visit the pet store." And, "you have four kittens, six chicks and five guineas to love and take care of at home.", etc. etc. None of it was doing any good. None of it was doing anything to stop the wailing in the back of the car.

But then my wheels started turning. I remembered that I was in the process of establishing a chore system with the girls and thinking about letting them begin to earn an allowance. So we spent the rest of the trip home discussing these new ideas.

I still don't have all the kinks worked out in my system yet, but all the girls heard was DO CHORES + EARN MONEY = BUY THE HAMSTER/PLECOSTOMUS MYSELF!!

The conversation in the car immediately took a turn. From Mary, "Mom I promise I will never make you angry again. Mom. I promise I will always clean up after myself, even when I don't really want to. Mom. What chores do you want me to finish when I get home? Mom. I promise you are the best mom I've ever heard of."

From Emma: "Mom, I'm going to make my bed, clean the whole downstairs, mop the kitchen floor, and clean Elizabeth's room when we get home. How much money do I need to get a hamster? I already have about sixty dollars, I think. (she has maybe, three.) I'm guessing by like next week, no the end of this week, I'll be going back to get my hamster."

We got home and they barreled out of the car. By the time Elizabeth and I got inside, they were tying aprons on each other, talking like Laura and Mary Ingalls, and heading upstairs to make their beds. I just stood back and let the magic happen. They made their beds, picked up laundry and brought it to the washing machine, picked up the bathroom floor, washed the windows in their room. Emma cleaned Elizabeth's room and laid out a diaper and PJs for naps. Mary picked up her toys in the hallway, and even carried things back downstairs to their proper place. (that never happens!)

It was like having a team of merry maids arrive in my home. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing. Brings a tear to my eye. Finally, when they began plans to clean out a closet I pulled back on the reins and brought them back into their room for a talk.

I told them how happy I was, and told them I would work on a system so that we could keep this kind of thing up, and yes, they'd be able to earn a little money in order to save up for their pets. I gave them each fifty cents for their enthusiasm and we called it a day.

I'll let you know when I figure out my system. But for now, I'm still enjoying the post-pet store high. We might just have to go back tomorrow.