Rain, Hope

The rain came this weekend. Mother nature didn't hold back this time- she let the city shower for a solid three days. We spent a lot of time inside.
Those apples I mentioned? I used two recipes and bastardized them both beyond recognition to make a sweet, cinnamon-y baked apple treat that Ada flatly refused. Half of it is gone now and the other half needs to be thrown out so that I don't single-handedly eat all of it (a stick of butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar....you get the idea).

The David Bowie T-shirt once again proudly served the family. I broke out the unopened paints from Christmas and watched as she went to town painting the paper, the floor, the easel, herself, and of course sticking a paint-loaded brush squarely in her mouth. Check out those greenish-black lips! Perhaps there are some goth leanings here? Her mother still wear almost only black. Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, and Bauhaus are still staples in our house so it's hard to imagine how she might escape it.





A little closely supervised tomfoolery with Tim's lanyard.





We even killed time playing with hair accessories.






The postal guy came, bringing with him a present for Judy (squee!!) and a little present for me too. My mantra for the year. I hear the crystal tink against the silver several times an hour and I love the reminder it chimes to me:





A lovely end to the findings of the morning in the dollar aisle at Target. I know it's all made in China and I don't want to support it but - shoot, I mean look at all this crap for $10!! The best find was the sleeves that contained five little cups of Play-Doh.

Back in December Judy brought a bunch of tools to use with dough like this so we gathered everything up and had a ball. In fact it was so much fun that the next morning we went back to Target to get more Play-Doh for Ada's friend Sophia. We also got her footed fleece jammies from Carters on clearance for $3.17. When I brought a little bag of dollar aisle goodies over on Sunday I couldn't help myself but tell them all about the damn fine deals I had found!! I know this isn't the way a gift-giver should behave but I couldn't help myself.

Besides, I know the Lucas's appreciate stuff like this and that's only one of the reasons why I like them so much.  I grew up in a very informal environment so while appreciate finery I am much happier when friends serve me on the every day dishes with paper napkins and mismatched silverware. It tells me they trust me enough to let me take part in a more intimate, imperfect part of their lives.






Ada found a bucket full of stickers.



Ada and Sophia share an unwavering love for Elmo.

Stickers. Notice the one on her butt too?

These two little girls ran 30 laps chasing each other, squealing, and giggling. By the time we headed home they were both tired. After 3 days of rain and being inside this was exactly the plan: tired babies, happy parents.

Now my work week is well underway. While I am obsessively checking my email for word about the opportunity I mentioned earlier I am also very consciously trying to not get too dreamy about it. Living with one hand constantly on the door handle is a rough existence. Still, I recognize the excitement within myself as a glimmer of hope.

Hope is an amazing thing. It takes remarkably little to shake it, dampen it or make us question it but it take a lot to extinguish it entirely. I learned this from all the wonderful ladies I have met through struggling to get pregnant. Each month I am reminded of this with that temerature drop: disappointed, even tearful, but still so full of hope. 

Will opportunities pan out?

Will more babies grace our lives?

Here's to hoping!