Super Rachel Zana's Spot

I have been looking out my kitchen window at my neighbor's amazing maple tree in it's full, brilliant glory all week, lamenting the fact that I probably wouldn't make it up the north shore to bask in the inland maple forests.  We are having a late fall this year, and the previous…

She had done something she wasn't supposed to do.  I resorted to my overly calm, dreadfully serious, deep Mama voice, "Tell me the truth, Hannah." "No."   In an even deeper voice with a stern face, I said, "Tell me the truth right now, or there will be a BIG…

   In the middle of August while we were at the cabin, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law Dot, and I were browsing through some shops on a rainy morning.  I happened to pass by these three boxes  of storytelling cards, and I knew immediately that I HAD to have them.  My…

She was so excited to create a masterpiece on the sidewalk for the mail lady to enjoy when she delivered the mail Monday morning.  There was a lot of PINK involved.  Of course.  

Even when your big sister makes you three paper purses of your own, its so hard not to go upstairs and snatch one of her paper purses so you can be just like your Ya Ya.  The store bought paper purses have just a bit more luster, a bit more…

1.  Tis fall!  It's the season of slave labor!  There are lots of rotting crab apples to be picked up off the ground (Dr. Peds has a very weak stomach when it comes to decomposing fruit squishing in between his toes when he walks in the backyard) and soon there…

It has been a busy week here this week.  It was the first full week of school for Ya Ya, the first week of preschool for Mr. Sneaky Pants, The Banana's birthday, lots of fall piano students were back for the first time since last spring, it was the start…

This week, during the last two soccer games, there was running. There was kicking. There was a bit of ballet. There was some sitting down on the job in the fourth quarter. And there was some celebrating.

As if celebrating real birthdays and half birthdays weren't enough to keep this Mama busy, at lunch today Mr. Sneaky Pants looked over at me and said, "Mama, why don't we just have two-day birthdays around here?"

You only turn three once, of course, and The Banana has been waiting and waiting for her birthday for months.  We did our best to make it a very special day.  Things started off, of course, with breakfast in the bathtub.  The Banana had requested pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for…