on a cold and foggy morning...

Someone came and frosted the spiderwebs.

Or should I say they dewed the spiderwebs.

Except it doesn't sound as good.

Now these someones, the ones who go around frosting or dewing the spiderwebs, whichever you want to call it, depending on whether you're in a literary or literal type of mood...

Are they the same someones who put flyers on my car windshield in the middle of the night?

I don't think so. Two separate job descriptions, those.

On another note, today would have been my Popa Al's 102nd birthday.

In honor of my Popa, who was always kind, I suggest doing something kind today.

Plus, it's the holidays, and people seem to be getting just a tad bit frazzled out there.

Kindness is in order.

I suppose it always is.

Back to the spiderwebs, and the maple tree, their webby home.

When we lived in Berkeley years ago, in life B.C. (Before Children), I would walk the idyllic streets of our neighborhood and think If I ever buy a house in Berkeley, I would want it to have a Japanese maple tree.

Amazingly, when we found our little condo, it came with the most beautiful 40-year-old Japanese maple tree in the patio. We have a tiny bit of outdoor space, and this tree dominates it, which is just fine with me. It is visible from every room of the house except one, and that's just great with me. I love it at every time of year, but right now, the tree is in its full glory.

The leaves at the top, where it gets more sun, are so red it hurts my eyes.

Lower down, the leaves are yellow, and at the back, against our neighbor's house, still green. I don't have a picture to show what I mean, but I love the variation in it. The red of the tree contrasts beautifully with the green-yellow of the bamboo and dark glossy green of the camellia.

I could look at this tree all day, and in fact, I do. I catch flashes of it in the bathroom mirror as I wash my face, from my closet as I put away laundry, from the kitchen as I steam the windows up cooking pasta, from the living room as I play tickle monster with the kids on the floor.

And so this morning, when I saw the decorated spiderwebs, I grabbed my camera, stepped away from the hustle-bustle of getting ready for preschool, walked onto the wet deck in my slippers, breathed in the fog-muffled quiet. I got lost in the branches and those red, red leaves. For a few minutes, the kids did whatever they were doing without me.

We were late for preschool.

It was worth it.

preschooler poetry

Before we moved here, I always thought that if I ever bought a house in Berkeley, I'd want a Japanese maple. And then we found our little place. This tree is around forty years old, and nearly every window in our house looks out at it. I love how this tree visually marks the seasons for us even from inside our home. I adore it year-round, though fall is its most spectacular show.

In the car, Elan and I were talking about the autumn color show that's taken over Berkeley. I said, "now that the leaves are turning colors, they'll start falling."

He thought about it for a moment, then pronounced: "The wind is their haircut."

Nicely put, my dear.

Moments, Lake Tahoe

Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you.

-Annie Dillard

Lake Tahoe, 23 weeks

We spent a few days at Lake Tahoe with my parents, aka Nana & Babu, my sister Laura, brother-in-law Jason and their 9-month-old son Judah.

Laura, Jason & Judah

Judah and Elan are a study in contrasts. Judah is a great sleeper and loves to eat. Need I say more?

"Dude, can I have some of those?"

Judah covets Elan's crackers.

The boys are wearing my favorite kiddo hooded towels. They're super-soft, warm enough to take away a post-swim chill, breathable enough to play in, UPF 50, and if you want one in pink, they're on sale right now.

Elan slept across the hall from Judah. Guess who got up 6 times per night?

Drink of choice: Judah, baby sleeper extraordinaire, chugs his bottle while Nana sips her wine

Elan went bodysurfing in the lake. Which was not warm. His lips turned quite a lovely shade of purple. The water might have looked tropical, but it felt like snowmelt run-off. What is it that makes kids immune to cold when they're having fun?

Babu as lifeguard

Hope your weekend is filled with memorable moments.

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Moments is a weekly challenge I'm setting for myself, an opportunity to reflect on and capture all those little moments that make up life. If you'd like to join me in this blog challenge by starting your own Moments series, please do! It's not just for parents. If you do take this blog challenge, please link back here.

Moments, Beginning of Summer

Elan playing with his set of rescue vehicles: "This is a police car. It goes to the... it goes to the... camping. When we go camping, we need the police car. And this one is the ambiance."

A bird is building a nest in the Japanese maple tree in our little yard. It's nice to see someone acting on my nesting impulses.

Elan's first nursery school show. He was so serious and attentive, trying to get all the hand motions right, with a llama finger puppet stuck precariously on his chubby little finger. And then he partied hard. And then he fell asleep during quiet time (a first!).

Napping on Mama's belly, several weeks ago

When I woke him from a nap this week, he looked right at me and said: "Hot sausage and pickles. Vitamin chip sauce!" My child, the picky eater, dreaming about strange food concoctions.

I was feeling the baby bounce around, so I asked Elan if he wanted to feel the baby move. To my surprise, he said yes, ran over and put his little hand gently on my belly. The baby cooperated and gave his hand two swift kicks. Elan's eyes went big with astonishment. He pulled his hand away and giggled. I know, little bubs, pretty crazy that there's a tiny human in there, isn't it?

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Moments is a weekly challenge I'm setting for myself, an opportunity for reflection and to capture all those little moments that make up life. If you'd like to join me in this blog challenge by starting your own Moments series, please do! It's not just for parents. If you do take this blog challenge, please link back here.

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Posting will be light next week while I'm spending time with my extended family. May your weekend be filled with memorable moments.

Moments, Week 1

A life is lived moment by moment.

This week I'm introducing a new weekly series called Moments. It's a place for me to capture all the little moments that make up a week - quirky, joyful, heart-rending, funny, enlightening, frustrating, touching... You have a lot of those when you're raising children, and but they don't necessarily make their way into a blog post. Welcome to my first Moments post, an opportunity for weekly reflection when life spins fast.

Elan fell down the stairs and sported a Harry-Pottery-style mark on his forehead for a few days.

In the car: "Next year I'm going to be four. And I'm going to turn into a girl. Next year, I won't be a boy." (We are guessing this is because most of the four-year-olds at his nursery school happen to be girls.)

We got him to try corn, which probably wouldn't feel like a victory in the vegetable department to some parents, but did for us.

On finding his wallet, a coin purse: "Okay, we've got money. That means we can borrow something from a store."

Have you ever tried to sing a bedtime song over a different song playing on the CD player? I did, and the comment I got, with an affectionate hand in my hair was: "Mama, you're funny."

An afternoon that felt like summer: I took Elan to Lake Anza, up in the hills outside Berkeley, where we met up with friends. My friend and I sat with the sun on our backs and our pregnant bellies (we are due the same week, as is another good friend!), while Elan and his buddy played for two hours in the shallow sloping water. They were ecstatic. We got soft-serve ice cream cones and the boys would take a few licks, then run back into the water, then run out again for another few licks... Elan slept well that night.

My husband bought me flowers to mark the one-year anniversary of my miscarriage.

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If you'd like to join me in this blog challenge by starting your own weekly Moments series, please do! It's not just for parents. (If you do take this blog challenge, please link back here.) Thanks for reading & may your weekend be filled with memorable moments.