Summer

A no-picture day. I meant to take one of the green beans I snapped with Nana, but promptly forgot. 

I took the car to the mechanic today for an oil change. I set in the mechanic's office from 9-10, writing--well, editing, which is, of course, writing. I forgot my ear plugs and heard too much about right front control arms. 

Soon after I got home, my brother's family asked me for some basically immediate babysitting for three boys due to a doctor's appointment overlapping with a work call. Since this meets my goals of focusing on being an aunt and learning to be flexible and trying to help others once in a while (and since Nana and Francisco took the reigns at home), I headed up. A little playing (or just trying to be a positive figure in the midst of the chaos--there was play-doh everywhere), a little supervising naptime, and a little catching up with my brother while the children did their best to divert our attention. The oldest (4 years old) helped me put the third (1 year old) down for a nap, bringing me a book and instructing me to read it to him; I did, and miraculously, the fussing child laid down and took a nap. The second child did finagle his way out of his appointed naptime room by hiding in his parents' bed with a blanket and daring me to move him; in so doing, he averted a nap altogether (I found the first and second under the bed instead of on it). So I am only a mediocre babysitter. 

During naptime, I managed to edit some of my proposal. 

I returned home a mere shadow of my former self. 

Nana made a wonderful dinner, as usual. It is summer, so there were three vegetables (plus two pastas and a meat). As we ate on the veranda, it rained--just lovely. (I learned today from Nana that the porch turns into a veranda when it rains.)

Then, despite not having finished The Two Towers (we're only 75% of the way through), we started the second film, because Papa loves them, and the chance to watch it with Papa is just too great to be missed. Nana popped a truly awesome amount of popcorn, and we ate it all. 

I wanted to write a bit more tonight, but I'm so drowsy that writing this post is beyond my capability.