red--the car. John took the red car to a conference in Canada this week-end. Even though Rose was out of my care for seven hours Saturday and my brother-in-law played legos with David so I could get an hour of dance class, and we set David up with the t.v., so I could a half hour nap at my sister's house, I was completely and totally blitzed Saturday. I really really should not have tried to cram a shopping trip in with both kids at 3:45 when I had to have Rose back and ready for a birthday party by 5:15. When John called, David and I were telling him about our day. It went and then David had a melt down and then Rose had a melt down, so it was quality over quanity for the blitz factor.

pink--the Jewish head gear. It's been so long since I've been to Tot Shabbat, the once a month service for the under five set, that I figured I wouldn't know anyone. It's true I didn't know the man with the bright pink yamika, but, in fact, half the folks were from the Jewish hiking club. Rose asked me tonight, Why haven't we been going to Tot Shabbat? I reminded her how she had decided she was too old, and David refused to participate and made me read him stories in the atrium. One thing I love about kids is how things change. David refused to stand for the big prayers, but he stayed for the whole thing and seemed to have a reasonably good time. Rose dug being one of the big kids.

blue--the sponge. I told David if he wasn't going to go to the zoo with Mommom, we weren't playing at home. We were cleaning the bathroom. He chose scrubbing. Cleaning the bathroom with him does not make my job any easier – David only three squirts and then I have to wipe. I said stop! Why is there water here? – I'm in constant management mode even as I try to do my parts, but he did scrub the upstairs toilet all by himself. That warranted two high fives.

orange--the shovel. No one actually wanted the orange shovel, everyone wanted the blue shovel, but the seven kids all eventually bagged the shovels anyway and started pulling up grass by hand.

The house across the street and one over looks seriously abandoned. It has five broken down cars parked permanently in the driveway, the hot tub was not drained or boarded up, and if you peer through the windows, you see lots of stuff, and no one lives there. The short version, as I learned today, is the owners have moved, are planning to tear the house down and build a monstrosity, but the money faltered. In the meantime, my next door neighbor, got permission to start a community garden there. So, today, Melissa was like the Pied Piper. She didn't send out an evite, she just started gardening and four families showed up to join in. I spent a lot of time going back to the house for gardening gloves, shovels, water, snack, etc. But I also spent a lot of time sitting in the sun talking to my neighbors and bouncing baby Ayella.

gold--Murphy's oil soap smells so good. We've been attempting to "mop the house from tip to top" to quote Roly Poly Olie. I spent an hour Saturday night tidying the downstairs in preparation for the Big Clean. By 10:00 Sunday morning toys were strewn everywhere. John and I made a big post dinner push. It used to be Rose eagerly cleaned anything I let her. Now, it's dragging her feet, and do I have to's. But she did do a fine job mopping the living room.