Noah earned another award last week (they have a skill each week and the teacher awards a student who displays it) for Cooperation. He had a field trip to a play...If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. One of my friends was chaperoning the field trip (glutton for punishment, I say!) and sent me a text mid-morning that Noah was said to have a perfect stage voice. Apparently the woman in charge of keeping the kids occupied before the show started told them about the importance of speaking slowly, clearly, and loudly when answering questions. My kid, in the way back of an auditorium with hundreds of kids, stood up and did all of that. Another friend said she knew it was him before she could even see who it was.

And the papers. Oh, the papers. School papers. Art projects. Newsletters. Mail. Magazines. Junk mail that my husband insists on reading. I recently got 2 binders with those plastic sleeves to keep the important papers (report cards and awards) for each kid. I have one of those under-the-bed boxes for their art work, but I really need to go through it again since it's almost full and they're 5 and 7! I have a few art projects I'd love to frame, but that takes time and money.

Anyway, our Thirty-One giveaway winner was chosen at random by Noah (he chose a number, then we counted down the list of entries). I know, so scientific!

Drumroll pleeeeeeeeeeease....................

Julie! I had never visited Julie's blog before, and after a mere 5 minutes there, I felt like we have so much in common. She's got a typical boy and a girl with a very rare medical issue. She's a teacher (I think), and a busy mom. And just as we've chosen Normal, Julie's family has chosen Joy. You have to go check out her story!!!

So thanks to everyone for entering. Stay tuned tomorrow for a product review (and later in the week for a kiddie update!).

**Apparently I closed the giveaway early. Sorry if you didn't get in in time. Let's blame my cold medication, shall we? I promise to adhere to all guidelines in future giveaways. heh

I told you a few months ago that I started selling Thirty-One Gifts, a direct-sales company for bags, totes, purses, thermals, etc. I signed up mostly for the discount (I am a bag addict!), but this little hobby has been so much fun. Turns out, it's even more fun gathering with large groups of women and helping them pick their perfect bag. Sorting the orders is also always fun, especially when you have a little help!

We just released the Spring Catalog and it is FULL of cute prints. Butterflies. Cupcakes. Polka Dots. Flowers. We have some new products, too.

Giveaway open to US residents only. No purchase necessary. Will close at midnight on Sunday, 2/19/12. Winner will be announced by Wednesday, 2/22.

A few things have stirred the appreciation today. This past week, a woman in my neighborhood passed away after battling cancer twice. A 45 year old woman, with a 12 year old daughter. And while I'd only met her once, a good friend is her neighbor and another good friend was very very good friends with her. So I'm watching my friends mourn, and thinking (and crying at the thought) of leaving my children so young.

And we started some after-school childcare today. I was nervous all afternoon, wondering if Addison was crying. We're having both kids go to a neighbor's house a few streets away, a woman I've only talked with a few times. But she's a mom, and a friend of a friend, and Normal on all accounts. haha Despite a transportation mix-up, Addison went to her willingly, and was all smiles and giggles when I got there after school. Yay! I hope this will prove to be a good solution for us, and allow both Shawn and me to work into the afternoon, worry-free.

And when I picked up the kids, the new sitter told me about another mom she'd met at our neighborhood playgroup just this morning. A mom new to the 'hood, with an 11 month old with special needs. And she gave me her number. I felt a little awkward, for about 3.7 seconds. And then I dialed and had a conversation for an hour. You know how it is, when you first meet someone in this Accidental Club You Never Would Have Asked To Join. The standard getting-to-know-you questions go straight out the window and you talk doctors and meds and delays and forecasts and diagnoses. The understanding is already there. We are kindred spirits, Warrior Mamas, from the first word. And I hope she left our conversation able to exhale a tiny bit for today. It's odd to think I'm in a spot of knowledge and calm, when for so very long I wasn't. For so very long, I relished those hourlong PT sessions, where the PT would allow me to vent and cry and share, being a Warrior Mama herself. My own therapy sessions.

So today? Today I feel good. I think we're right where we need to be at this moment in time. It has not always been Normal for us, or easy. But these days are very very Normal, and I appreciate the Normalcy. And the calm. And the strength that I'm able to hopefully share.

I had a version of this dip at a New Year's Eve party earlier this month. And I have been craving it ever since. I found a recipe on Pinterest, and combined the two versions. I couldn't find the sushi rice seasoning, so went with black sesame seeds.

Here's your cast of characters: