All sorts of sweetness was churned in the kitchen last night as the kids and I made vanilla ice cream for dessert.

"You are the nicest mommy ever!"
"You're the best!"
"I love your ice cream."
"You make the best ice cream ever!"

But Avery's sentiment was perhaps the sweetest, and truest, of them all. After accusing her brother of double dipping when checking to see if the ice cream was ready, to which he replied, "It's OK, we are family, not friends", she stated simply, "We're framily."



Yes, we are framily.

A Warning To Parents of Computer Literate Children

If your child knows how to turn on your laptop, get to craigslist, click on pets, and find a listing for a white bunny that needs a new home, all before you have had your first cup of coffee, you might find yourself in my current situation.

Last night, around 8 o'clock, at the end of a long country road, we welcomed a new member into our family. Meet Honey Bunny.



Our first family pet. George and I had the family pet discussion back when Avery was still in diapers, when we had to drag ourselves away from the litter of puppies up for adoption in front of the grocery store. Yes, they were incredibly adorable, but we decided that we would wait to adopt a family pet until our children were old enough to ask for a pet. Then we would be the coolest parents ever when we said yes.



But even better than being cool parents is seeing our children take care of their new pet. Avery has read three bunny books, cover to cover, and is now an expert on what a bunny eats and what it can't eat, how to hold and pet and groom a bunny. Aidan told me it was like he was the bunny's dad and Avery was the mom. They check on the bunny every few minutes, pick lettuce from the garden to feed the bunny, let the bunny eat raisins out of their hands, draw pictures of and for the bunny, and even fight over who will clean up the shavings she kicks out of her cage. As George said, let's hope this lasts. And more importantly, let's hope Honey Bunny grows to love our family.

If you don't want this to happen to you, I suggest you put a parental block on craigslist.

I Miss Daddy

Our foothill home will be shy three companions for the next few days. While daddy holds down the fort, mommy and the wee ones will be camping out.

Daddy: we already miss you. See you in three days. We promise to bring back stories and lots of hugs.

Let's Call It A Day

Each day has the potential to be good, bad, or just plain ugly, and you certainly can't pick or predict which it will be. Today started off OK. I woke up before anyone else, quietly sneaked out the back door and went to the Friends of the Library Book sale.



I came home with a huge bag full of books and a vintage Yahtzee game (all for the price of the book I almost took the bus down to Border's for today), and found the kids snuggled on the couch, polishing off a box of cookies from Trader Joe's and watching a DVD. Cute yes, but I had a strong feeling that by sneaking out I had relinquished control of the day. No healthy breakfast, no steering the kids away from the screen and towards a project. A few hours later when Aidan was actually standing in the salad spinner in the sink, I threw in the dish towel and put on my helmet.



We took a family bike ride, climbed the gold miner, played with some friends from the hood, watched another movie (as much as I dislike the phrase "screen time", I really did appreciate this article), and made real pizza for dinner. Not too bad, too good or too ugly for a day out of control. A day like any other, yet a day like never before.



Do You Worry
if you're doing right?
So much advice,
so many books -
I grow so fast!
Are you sometimes scared?
Things balance out...
Too much of this, too little of that.
You try too hard, don't try enough.
Too far this way, too far the other.
Of course you'll make mistakes...
but love is a great eraser!
And things will always balance out
because
you
care.

an excerpt from Listening to the Littlest by Ruth Reardon (which I picked up for a quarter this morning)