There's been much going on in my world. For you, too, yes? I hope it is all good.

Work for me and John has been chock full of deadlines, meetings and other assorted craziness. As for the family life...it feels like we spend so little time with the kids lately. Although they seem fine, I thought (hoped) that perhaps they hadn't noticed it as much as we have that we are getting home later in the evenings.

But they have noticed. It isn't manifesting itself negatively or anything like that but I realized on Wednesday, when it was 92 (!) degrees outside and we arrived home early, grilled up some chicken and ate it outside, together, as a family, that the kids were thrilled to have us there. A midweek family dinner is the exception these day, rather than the rule.

The harmony we shared was was short lived, though. Harry, who'd skipped the funeral we had for Sophie's pet hamster last weekend, asked if we could show him the place where we'd buried Pumpkin so he could dig the box up and say his goodbyes, which infuriated Sophie to bits and hey! Wait a minute...maybe that is the negative manifestation I thought wasn't happening!?