Fascinated with Parenthetical Remarks

Well, it was a productive if exhausting and somewhat frustrating day. Got up at 7 to see Gabe off, and had just sat down to coffee and computer when a little voice called clearly: "Mommy! Up!" Jez has learned a ton of new words in the last week or so, "Mommy" among them. (I prefer "Mama," but she's headstrong.)

[Brief interruption in typing for first ice-cube-clinking moment of the evening. Deep breath.]

Still, this morning I managed to get off a blog post for The Swinery--as of yesterday I am its new business manager (!!!)--and publish the third issue of Eat Your Words, which I think is pretty good. And fold two loads of laundry--oh shit the red sheets are still on the line--strain and freeze the 3 quarts of chicken stock I made yesterday, and probably some other crap I can't remember.

Frustrated by kids all morning but, uniquely, this time mostly by Noelani. She seems to want to be dragged to chores by the hair, kicking and screaming. I am fed up to here with telling her to do them. Her computer cord broke, or I'd take that privilege away. I hate to take away books. Finally I made it clear she would not be going to Wild Waves with my sister on Monday if I had to tell her again to either do the chores or improve the attitude. Things changed miraculously after that. Too bad we can't afford to dangle Wild Waves in front of her every week.

Productive afternoon, too. During Jez's nap even I got an attitude shift. Put Rhone in his favorite spot--the couch in front of Curious George videos from the library--and went out to the garden. After a week of picking blackberries on the sides of roads, fighting nettles and thorns, I found they are dangling like grapes over the fence into the garden. Picked over a gallon, plus a few blueberries. Then Rhone came out to the garden and helped me stake up three tomato plants which were lying in the dirt.

(Rhone's newest word is "fascinated," but he uses it backward. "Those little chicks are fascinated at me," he said today. "And soon they're going to hatch," he added, at which I laughed because he's talking about the rockery plant called hen-and-little-chicks. Did you know the word fascinate has its root in magic? From the Latin fascinare, to bewitch, to cast a spell on.)

This evening I made cream of celery soup for dinner, because I accidentally bought too much celery. It was remarkably tasty, and I froze 5 cups for future use after we ate it for dinner. Washed and froze the blackberries I'd picked, talked to my mother-in-law on the phone, bathed the kids, and got them in bed. Ahhh.

[On cue. Brief interruption to soothe Jez and check on Rhone, whom I found half-under his bed trying to get hold of a kitten. Fresh cup of water. Goodnight, again. It has now been over 40 minutes since I put them into bed.]

I've been on quite a utilization kick this month. Comes from being too broke to frequent the grocery store much. Normally if I found that I'd accidentally bought two whole--heads?--of celery, which is far more than anyone needs for bloody marys and potato salad combined, I'd shrug and say "huh" and shove the second one in the back of the fridge. I'd find it a month later and discard it. Now my first thought is, "how can I use that?"

Goddamn dog is barking his bleeding head off again. When I started this blog I really wanted a dog. I should have looked into breeds' barking habits. I found him barking at an airplane the other day. No wonder.

It's going well, though. Overall, that is.

Oh, there's Jezebel again. "Mommy" is off the clock, kiddo. Yeah, right. :)