Funny story about my last 7 Days photo. Since we strung the line up on the deck yesterday, it’s been filled with watercolor paintings Annalie and I have done. I had the idea to stick my head into an opening between two of the paintings. I stacked a bunch of DVD cases, two CD boxes on end, and Annalie’s little green footstool on top of a wooden chair because I’m too lazy to find our tripod. I took about a dozen photos but none of them really seemed to work. Then I had the bright idea to paint my face. I don’t know if it was just that it made me laugh or what, but I really liked all the photos I took with the paint on my face.

Today, in case you couldn’t tell, was a much better day than yesterday. Thank you so much for all your kind words and virtual hugs, they help more than you know. I don’t know why I was so moody but I’m glad it’s over. And now Troy is back home!

Photo by Annalie, age 4

We’re all very happy about that. What about you? I hope you’re happy. What’s putting a smile on your face and a bounce in your step right now?

Today I was an impatient, easily-angered mess. I’m going to blame a combination of hormones, too little sleep, reading and thinking about this post of Loralee’s, and Troy being gone. Not to mention that Annalie was being rather challenging today, growling at me or calling me stupid when she didn’t like what I said. Clearly I don’t want her to think it’s okay to talk to anyone like that, so we had several stern conversations and I ended up losing my temper during one of those chats.

I apologized to Annalie for speaking sharply to her and explained that I was having a sad, bad day. She kindly patted my arm and said, “It’s okay Mama, when I don’t feel good I have bad days too.” At least we weren’t both having a bad day.

Then bedtime came and I let Annalie stay up longer than I should have. By the time I laid down with her for prayers she was overtired and giddy, bouncing off the walls and having trouble settling down. Normally I stay in the bedroom singing lullabies or hymns till she’s asleep but tonight that clearly was keeping her awake and her antics were annoying me, so I decided to give myself a five-minute time-out in the other room. I kissed her good night and told her I’d be back to check on her soon. She wasn’t happy about that and I could hear her crying for a couple of minutes—that’s when I took the above photo, thinking a photo that showed my annoyance and frustration would be an accurate representation of my day.

But then I went into the bedroom to check on her and she was snuggled up with Brownie Bear, almost asleep. I quietly sang one more song, kissed her and told her I loved her, and was rewarded with a drowsy, “I love you too, Mama,” before she zonked completely out. I decided that that was the moment I wanted to document.

And really, despite my moodiness today wasn’t a bad day at all. We’ve developed a tradition of having a breakfast of doughnuts and lattes on Snail Mountain with Brenda and Bug while they’re here visiting, and last night after they’d gone home Annalie realized we’d missed out on doing that this time. I suggested we could do that today, just me and her. She really liked that idea.

Photo by Annalie, age 4

We had fun climbing around on some rocks we don’t normally climb on, and saw a bunch of swallowtail butterflies swooping about in addition to enjoying the scenery and our delicious doughnuts. And later this afternoon we did some alfresco painting with watercolors on the deck while the cats watched. We even strung up some twine on the deck so we could hang watercolor paintings up to dry, and watched a praying mantis who sat on the ceiling of the deck all afternoon.

It wasn’t a bad day at all when I look back on it. But I still am very happy that Troy will be home tomorrow. That alone will make it a much better day than today!

Today’s 7 Days theme is PUBLIC/PRIVATE. Because our front yard is completely fenced in, it feels very private. It’s a total illusion; the fence isn’t very tall and passers-by can look down on our yard, but it’s not like we’re out there sunbathing nekkid. But it is nice to have a yard that feels so private in the middle of a city neighborhood.

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When I painted the fall-colored dotty plate for The Over-Thinker, she asked if Annalie might be willing to paint a small plate in matching colors. I thought I might be able to bribe convince Annalie to do that, so today we hit Paint & Fire. While Annalie worked on her plate, Brenda & Bug collaborated on some gifts for family members.

Annalie and Bug entertained themselves by hiding under a tall table while Brenda put the finishing touches on her pieces. I’m a bit sad that I didn’t get a photo of Bug climbing on the metal frame, exclaiming, “I’m a spider! This is my web!”

Photo by Annalie, age 4

Here is Annalie’s plate, which she photographed for her self-portrait today, with a cameo appearance by me (I didn’t know I was in the picture). I can’t wait to see how it turns out! And Annalie can’t wait to go back and paint a horse or unicorn, which is what I promised in return for her cooperation in painting the plate.