Good evening ~ it's about 8:30 p.m. now as I reflect back on the day, and I've just helped Adam and Norah settle down to bed. Here's how the day went....

6:45 a.m. wake-up call with Norah - unfortunately, too late to go for my Wednesday morning run, but I was grateful for a bit of extra rest since she woke me up a couple of times during the night.

Adam woke up a bit after Norah, and the three of us settled in on the couch in the living room to read "Curious George Rides a Bike" and snuggle before breakfast.

8:00 a.m. Off to work for me! I caught up a bit with a couple of co-workers before jumping into the event planning that I am working on. They were interested in hearing whether my husband liked our date night surprise that I'd planned last night - a free dance lesson at the Arthur Murray studio. I was happy to report that we'd had a wonderful time learning the basic step and turn for the waltz, foxtrot, and rhumba. My date night theme was "Freebie Night" - a free appetizer, free dance lesson, and free dessert, all thanks to a bit of internet research! Sorry, I digress...back to today, now, Carole!

After working on some event planning and administrative tasks, our assistant university librarians took all the administrative staff out to lunch at the nearby alumni center restaurant. A lovely setting - classy without being too formal, looking out on a grassy arroyo and a row of white roses. The food took awhile to be served, but it was nice to have time to chat about things like cookbooks, movies, weddings, and so forth. A cookbook we discussed that interested me was "The Settlement House" cookbook; according to a Jewish co-worker of mine, it is like the "Joy of Cooking" for many Jewish families (apparently was written by a Jewish German woman in an effort to help immigrants "blend in" with American culture) but is challenging because of the short descriptions and lack of explanation of terms or even notation of cooking temperatures. For someone like me who still lacks experience in the kitchen, that is a daunting idea!

I returned home to find Norah napping and Adam watching a bit of TV while Dave headed out the door to an appointment as soon as I walked in (the lunch ran a bit late due to the slow service). I sat and watched with Adam, dozed off a bit, and once Norah woke up, we headed out the door to the grocery store. I didn't realize that the kids were tired because Dave had taken them to the park that morning (Dave and I didn't have our usual chance to update before he left), so I didn't understand why Adam was resistant to leaving the house, especially since Norah really wanted to go out.

Adam at the park ~

Adam stuck his tongue out at 3 separate people at the store. I was horrified - to me it is such a rude, bratty sort of thing to do, and Adam is usually so naturally friendly with people in general that I was really taken aback; he also wasn't correcting his behavior even though I had him apologize to each person and had a talk with him about how people feel when he sticks out his tongue like that. Disciplining children is so often a blend between wanting to correct poor behavior and wanting to love them, to help them in their character growth and maturity; but sometimes, especially when I'm tired, it's easy to just be focused on wanting to change behavior. I had to take a few minutes to calm down so I wouldn't just be reactive. I was such a goody-two shoes as a kid, so I know that there is a difference between acting correctly and having a heart of love for people, and the heart of love for others is really what I want to model and guide our kids in. (sigh) Quite a challenge!

Well, we made it back in time to play a bit before Dave came home for dinner. Much of our day also involves frequent visits to the bathroom with one or both of the kids as Norah is now being potty-trained (and doing very well, I should add!). I made pesto for dinner - fortunately a favorite of both Adam and Norah - plus a spinach salad for Dave and me as well as some mango and blackberries for the kids. I had found a great price on a large container of blackberries at the store this afternoon, and tonight as I put the kids in bed I made some blackberry freezer jam - a new recipe for me. I thought it would be fun to serve the kids some blackberry jam and read "If You Give A Moose a Muffin," but it will be another day before the jam is ready. If it's any good, I'll post the recipe.

Norah likes to lick the spatula! Hmm...maybe that's where Adam got the idea to stick out his tongue!!!

Bathtime and then time for bed. 'Night, all! :)