Happiness Is...

happiness is coming home & finding Jason vacuuming the dining room (every room looks better vacuumed, in my opinion)

Cuteness

Jason told me about a conversation he had with Rosie, when he was pretending to nibble on her.

Rosie (emphatically): I'm not for eating!

Jason: What are you for?

Rosie (placidly): For loving.

Happiness is...

happiness is...a friend who steals your kids for a sleepover (especially when daylight savings goes off & you can actually enjoy that extra hour)

Happiness Is...

happiness is...being excited when Jason throws open the dining room curtains to reveal an English sunrise

Happiness Is...

I was thinking about these little cartoons that my grandmother had plastered all over her fridge. They featured a little naked girl & boy & I thought each one began with the tag "happiness is...." An internet search corrected me. They were "love is..." cartoons.

Despite my faulty memory, I've decided to (try) to post one thing that makes me happy every day. Today's simple pleasure:

happiness is...watching the kids play together outside on a crisp & sunny autumn day

Just a Walk

Two Saturdays ago, I went for a walk at dawn in the fields behind our house. I live in a movie set.

Dining Room and The View

Gracie crying in the dining room.

What I see from the kitchen sink.

Cami's bedroom view.


The garden shot from my room.

Big Kids' Rooms

Graham's room. (The hidey-hole/bottom bunk space is his "cave.")


Cami in her room, ordering Rosie to get out.

The New Place -- for Lesley

So, we moved on October 1st. It's wonderful. It isn't fancy, but it's homey. Even though we haven't gotten a sofa yet (one is coming next month) and Jason and I are waiting for our new bed to be delivered, it's bliss. The kids have been off school for half-term (think spring break only it happens every six weeks) & because they all have their own rooms things are happy.

My wonderful friend Lesley has been hinting strongly that photos are due, so here we go. I could have pretended to live in some photo-shopped, magazine-worthy spread, but who am I kidding? If you are reading this blog, you already know that I don't live in a magazine -- I have four kids and am too lazy to run around all day cleaning up after them.

So, here's the photos of the interior. And you see, it's just a house. But wait until you see outside....
Rosie (and Graham) like her room.

The family room, which is waiting for the sofa to be delivered. Toys everywhere -- no surprises.



The opposite corner from the computer. This is my spot. (And more toys/games/puzzles.)

Appropriately Enough...

Less than a month ago, Cami started Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. At this moment, she's lying in bed reading the last five pages of Deathly Hallows. She's definitely our kid.