hello

Hello! Long time, no write. Where have I been? I've been here.

Well, actually, I haven't been here all week. My husband and I took the kids late last week to visit the school that we are looking at for our oldest son (more on that later.) We got back around midnight on Monday night. So I've been here all week, just being quiet.

The way I see it, if I had posted about our snowstorm this week, me shoveling (husband was traveling), my son not sleeping and therefore me not sleeping, or just my general boo-hoo feelings (I have diagnosed myself as a sufferer of this) you may have been hard pressed to check back in with me.

But, hubby returned last night and, as always, the world has righted itself again. I've heard many people describe their special person this way, and it's true for me, too: he's my rock. My knight in shining armor. I just can't function right when he's not around. If he had a job where he traveled all the time, I don't know what I would do. We have so much going on here with our son, and I need him every day to help me make sense of it all. He makes me laugh, he keeps me sane, he keeps me going. Also, he is so kind, so sweet, so sensitive. Oh, I could talk your ear off about how good he is to me. I'll wrap it up for now, but just know that I'm happy he's back.

So, on a lighter note, here are some pictures that describe what's been going on in the Little Cottage this week. First of all, Mary stopped by. Mary, Mary! It's a great day when Mary is here. She came by to pick up this piece:
...which actually belongs to my mom. After seeing and hearing so much about Mary's work, my mom has become interested in joining the Mary fan club and having a piece painted by Mary for her very own. Let this serve as the official "before" photo, because you know I'll be back in a few weeks with some great after shots.

Of course I couldn't let Mary walk out the door without giving her something of my own as well. This mirror has been hanging above our mantel, and its time has come. So Mary will be working her magic on it, too.

Another highlight of the week: baking with Big Pink. We love her! The boys have even started to call her by name. Last night while they were eating I started mixing up cookie batter and they became so interested that they came into the kitchen and helped me finish the job. I didn't take a photo, but I had them sitting in their barstools over by the counter so they could peer into the bowl and see how things were mixing. They were thrilled to see the transformation. Little guys! I need to foster this interest in the kitchen so that maybe one day they'll take an interest in making dinner. You never know.

Today I have lunch plans with a neighbor who has become a very good friend, but unfortunately one who I don't see as often as I would like. We are treating ourselves to some time alone and I can't wait.

I hope you have a very nice weekend, and I promise to be back soon. Ta ta!