Shifting Rhythms

 ::Wildflowers from a friend's garden.

 ::Dirty dinner dishes waiting to be cleaned up.

::A gifted book that I just finished.  Am I the only one who gets in trouble for leaving books like this?

::A rainy day plus three mounds of playdough equals at least an hour of uninterrupted play.

Things have been sort of quiet and sort of busy, with our family settling into a new rhythm as my own internal rhythm shifts to something a little more calm during this pregnancy.  You know how summer is: wild expenditures of energy, and then quiet time to refocus.  Today it is raining, and I think we're all a little relieved to have an excuse to linger inside.

Ben has been helping in the kitchen a good bit more than usual.  Those early weeks of pregnancy I felt so sick I often couldn't pull together a reasonable meal.  These days, I usually get something started for dinner and Ben finishes it up while I get a little exercise in the afternoon (mild, mild exercise that has been approved by the midwife).  It's actually sort of fun to see how our collaborative efforts turn out, and it's always a little bit of a surprise to sit down at the table and see what the evening holds.  Last night was some homemade pesto (our basil is growing like crazy!) with penne, grilled chicken with indian spices (Ben's favorite) and sauteed brussel sprouts.  And the kids and I took some cookies in to Ben's work, so dessert was a cookie per child and a spoonfull of cookie dough for the adults.

At the moment, the kids are all playing some imaginative game together.  Hugo is obligingly playing the sick baby while the big girls mother him: typical.  When they tire of it, we might head to the thrift store.  A rainy day is best for that sort of thing.