Oh, so this is what it feels like

when you begin to realize you're growing up.

1. When your mom goes on a trip to Puerto Rico, and starts talking about what shoes to wear for her zip-line adventure in the rain forest canopy you get unreasonable about her having to buy a new pair of Keens because her tennis shoes aren't going to give her "protection."
2. When your husband goes anywhere (road ride, plane trip, climbing, soccer, work) you say "be safe" and you mean it in the most desperate and true way, because if he's not... then what?
3. When your nineteen month old child balances himself on the edge of the couch by touching the wall under the huge framed picture (that has a sheet of glass covering it), you worry that he may tip over backwards and hurt himself by falling between the couch and the wooden table there. Then he jumps forward, hopefully not onto his brother's head.
4. When same nineteen month old desperately wants to leap between the table and the couch (but can't pick up both feet at the same time yet) his brother bear hugs him and tips them both across the space between said couch and table. You just feel hopeless about this couch, since you've tried EVERY SINGLE possible way to stop them from using it as a jungle gym.
5.When your dad won't stay and eat dinner, you worry if he is going to eat at all, since he's home by himself and has a "lot to do".
6. When you look in the mirror, you're surprised about your face. It doesn't look quite like it used to, the last time you noticed. And you actually can hear the words to that Bonnie Raitt song.
7. Every book, newspaper article, story that mentions someone hurt or dying reminds you of the pain of that person's mother.
8. You see a fender bender, and there is a young girl crying into her cell phone but everyone looks okay. And you remember when that was you just a few years ago, but there weren't really cell phones around yet so you cried all the way home before you made the call.
9. Your dog keeps getting older and is really good company to have near your feet.

Friends

Both Rowan and Milo have had their friends over recently for entertaining. Milo and Maisie are enjoying a little reading together, and Rowan and Zion took the 60 degree Feb day in picnic style.:)

[Yes, that is a clementine from Spain you see above on the picnic table. They are my weakness!]

The new things that have happened in the past few weeks around here:

Rowan learned how to open the car door from the outside, so now i don't have to open it for him OR clip him in!
Milo can climb up onto his bed without the stool!
I made my first batch of vegetable stock. Do NOT ask me why it took me so long to do this very simple thing.
We got the box of legos that Rachael and I had as girls out of storage and now my boys are playing with them obsesively.
I got a class where I "have" to read fiction for homework!! (40 YA books)
We've done two small trips in the car without diapers for Milo!
We finally visited our friends who moved from NY to CSprings, it was long overdue.
Rowan and Milo both got sick, and wiped out a week of plans.
I got to go to the Brown Palace for high tea with the Radicals. That was lovely, thanks girls!!
I walked the exhibition floor of the MidWinter ALA conference, surrounded by publishers and librarians!! That was pretty fun, and I got a bunch of advanced readers copies of YA fiction.

My reading list from the last few weeks

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian S. Alexie (highly recommended)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants A. Brashares
The Outsiders S.E. Hinton
American Born Chinese
Speak
The Giver L.Lowry
The Shadow of the Wind C.R. Zafon(highly recommended)
Zen and the art of Faking it
The Golden Compass
The New York Times!!! What a great return to the news.
(half of) The Grapes of Wrath (mandatory for all!)

I'm sure I've left a few out.