birthday

Today was my mother's 65 birthday, and 11 of us have gathered in one place to celebrate it. It is extraordinary that we are all here, and even more so that none of us have stomped out yet. Do we all love each other? Yes. Do we want what is best for each other. Mostly. Do we all see the world through very different eyes? Absolutely. Is it an incredible amount of work to feed 11 people around one table twice a day. Holy cow, you bethca, and that's not even taking into consideration the no dairy, no wheat factors.

But, we are muddling through. And in the middle of it all, Thea is exploding.

Two days ago, she didn't crawl and now she happily motors all over the place. And today, she took it a step further, literally. She found an overturned laundry basket, hoisted herself up onto it and started pushing it around the room like a walker. She traveled from the kitchen to the living room and back before she got hung up on a rug. The end, my friends, is near. She was so delighted with herself, but by the end of the day, that was already old hat. You could tell she was hungry for mobility, and she wasn't stopping until she got all she could get.

Having a fully mobile child is such a lot more work - my goodness. Especially since Liam is having trouble adjusting to it, as I predicted. "Mom, she's getting into the books again." "Found a magazine. Ripped it. The end."

On the other hand, he is so insanely happy to have his cousins in close range that he almost doesn't notice, so that is a saving grace.

On my end, I got the keys to the upstairs apartment last night and am now in simplistic, clean heaven. The woman who lives here has a design aesthetic that absolutely makes me sing. So simple, clean, uncluttered - it is literally like a spa. It is inspiring. I'm taking pictures and bringing them home with me. Very cool. And I got six hours uninterrupted sleep last night. Joy, joy.

As my present to Suzy, I got some baskets and organizers and made her painting materials, which are in the middle of the living room, look pleasant. I think it actually went over well. It sure made my day doing it. Not to mention that I got to go to Pier One.