Happy Friday the 13th!

I need a do over for this week! The littlest one was sick and the week was a wash. I feel so torn when one of my kids is sick. I have deadlines and meetings at work that need my attention, making it hard to drop everything immediately. But I also feel quilty if one of them is sick and I'm not right there to take care of them. I spent a day and a half at home and was lucky Ryan's dad and my mom could cover another two days for me. But even with loving grandparents to help, there is that mother's guilt lurking around - unwelcome and uninvited. Because everyone knows that what a sick baby or child needs and wants is for mom to be there, to hold them - all day if necessary. Izzy wasn't even that sick this week but I still feel bad if I'm not right there. I try to be the one to care for them when they're sick. Some days it works, some days it doesn't.

Just like these photos...sometimes they come out, sometimes they don't.

So I'm glad this week is over and I'm looking forward to the weekend. We're going to the med school prom this weekend, it's ok to be jealous. I like the other faculty members that will be at our table, so it could be fun. Regardless, it will be over early and we can go out for a drink in our finery, celebrate our mementous week of putting our first home up for sale. We then get to come home to a quiet house and sleep in late as the kids will be staying over night at their grandparents. Now that's worth getting excited about. I just hope Ryan remembers to get me a corsage for the prom.

We were supposed to run a half-marathon tomorrow - best laid plans. With all the work for the house, we just didn't get the miles in and trying to train became a chore. Maybe now we'll have some more time and can think about another race soon. I will be glad that we won't be getting up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning, but when I see runners going by, practically down our street, I will wish I was out there with them.

As were were staging our house for photos and showings, I dug out many decorative items from boxes in the basement. Little items that small hands love to pick up, bang around and drop to the floor. Its nice to see some of my favorite pieces out and about as most of them have a story and were picked up on a trip somewhere. Maybe I will take some pictures and share them here. I realized we don't have very many coffee table books and could use a few more. I saw this cookbook the other day and it is now on my wish list. It probably has some decent recipes but would mostly be fun just to look at.

Between the prom and a few more things to do in the yard before our first open house, the weekend will be busy. But I feel like the biggest pressure is off - the house is listed and the process has begun. I don't know where we will end up - but wherever it is, as long as we are all there together, it will be our home. And that's good enough for now.

And finally, here is a short article to follow up on the French parenting post I wrote the other day. The author's views about how French children eat echo my thoughts after reading Bringing up Bebe. Perhaps I should have written the post for Motherlode. There is the slight issue that the author of this latest article did write an entire book on the subject, but that seems like a minor detail.

I would like to write a book on something, someday...

Have a great weekend!