Happy Birthday, Rubester!

Ruby, watching Two Fat Ladies with Dadam: Why are they cooking a delightful dinner?

"As You Know Chocolate."

Cecilia is such a good kid. She's responsible, she cares about people and is interested in things, and she has a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to life that's astonishing to me at times. She just doesn't have time for a lot of the usual obnoxious crap that most parents of kids her age have to put up with on a daily basis.

And when she sits down to write and draw things by herself, this is the kind of thing she comes up with. I hope she stays like this her whole life. And the best thing about this, of course, is "as you know chocolate." Ha!

[Sorry the picture is sideways, maybe Momlissa can fix it.]

A Probably Inappropriate Conversation.

[Dadam and the girls are looking through National Geographic magazine, and they come upon a photo of a starving Ethiopian baby.]

Dadam: Oh, that's sad.

Cici: What?

Dadam: That baby is starving; he's probably going to die. That's why we're lucky to live in the United States.

Cici: Yeah, because we don't have to worry about getting food.

Ruby: Why's that baby going to die?

Dadam: Because he can't get any food. It says his mother doesn't get enough nutrition to feed him.

Cici: Why doesn't she just give him her food?

Dadam: Because he's not old enough. He still needs milk.

Ruby: Oh yeah, from the NIPPLES! The mommy feeds the baby from her NIPPLES!

Dadam: Yes, Ruby.

Ruby: And when I have a baby I'm going to feed him from my NIPPLES too!

Dadam: Okay, Rubes.

Mother's Day (observed)

Adam and the girls wanted to take me hiking as part of my Mother's Day gift, but on the actual day we were busy celebrating with my own mom and grandma. So we waited until this past weekend before heading out to Taylor's Falls for a gorgeous day of hiking.

We weren't sure how well they'd do, particularly Ruby who often likes to be carried on long walks, but they were both champions. We hiked three different trails for a total of about 2.5 miles, which is pretty darn good considering much of it is climbing up the bluffs and then back down. Cecilia, in true form, kept some paper and a pencil handy so she could record all our findings/sightings in detail to report back to her class at school.

The weather could not have been more perfect and the girls could not have been any sweeter. A fantastic Mother's Day gift to be sure.

Pray for us.

Many of you know that I'm about to leave my job so that I can go back to school for my Master's degree. This also means that the girls will be leaving their current daycare arrangement, something that's truly heartbreaking for us because it's just that wonderful. This summer I'll be home with the girls full-time, and in the fall Cecilia will go back to school and Ruby will start a half-day preschool in the neighborhood.

So, what's with the title of this post?

I really believe that parents have to make a choice that works best for them and their families when it comes to staying home versus going back to work. For me it has always been a relatively easy choice, not because I'm so committed to my work (though I am), but because I have absolutely NO. PATIENCE. It doesn't fill my heart with joy to wipe up spills all day, or argue over whether or not it's too cold for Ruby to wear shorts, or to make crafts out of Popsicle sticks, cotton balls, and glitter. It's just not my thing. I'm madly in love with my children -- I really really am -- I'm just not sure I want to spend every waking moment with them. And so I worry about how cranky I'll be, or how they'll like me less if I'm around so damn much, or if they'll eventually plot to murder me in my sleep.

So wish us luck, send us your positive energy, and if you see that it's me calling your cell phone please pick up and talk me off the ledge. My last day at work is June 5th.

I'm Just Glad She Wasn't Talking About Me

Tonight as we were coming out of Target we were walking behind two women who were taking their time getting out the door. And then this came out of Ruby's mouth:

"Mom, why do those girls have such big butts?"

And -- while it might have been true -- she still shouldn't have said it.

Ruby RULES.

Ruby's Summer 'Do

It was just too crazy, and the thought of combing through that mane all summer long was just too much. So, so CUTE!