SAGE JOINS SAFFRON

Martin Gore's new instrumental piece 'Europa Hymn' played in the car as I made the foggy drive downtown this morning. It is a beautiful combination of sounds from a master musician and perfect for the mood of the day. Fog covered all of Austin and Cedar Park for the greater part of the day. It was magical.

My meeting lasted but ten minutes after which I drove straight home. I had four hours left until the bus arrived. Sage joined Saffron today at my place. After my simple lunch of bread with peanut butter and honey, an orange, and pistachios, I set out to make brownies for the children. A few of them I took to the hairdresser later in the afternoon for Sage's haircut.

The brownies turned out fine. It was a recipe I revised two years ago but was not sure if I had ever baked the second version. There were no notes written in blue ink as seen on most recipes throughout my recipe journal. I am sure there will be another revision as I am always finding ways to improve my baking.

Next was lentil soup - or 'pea soup' as Sage knows it. I used the autumn blend lentils this time and fresh sprigs of thyme and oregano. It cooked for one hour before I had to leave to pick up the two children. The soup would continue cooking for another hour after our trip to the hairdresser's.

'How do you want your hair cut?' I asked Sage as we drove to the hair salon. 'I wannit how [his] is' he replied, stating he wanted his hair as short as my boyfriend's. 'Are you sure?' I asked him repeatedly, knowing he would not have much hair left. 'Yes' replied Sage firmly. I showed Lauren a photograph of my boyfriend. 'Are you sure?' she asked me. I told her it's what my boy wants, so 'yes'.

My children are of the age when they have their own opinions. As parents, we often thwart our children's plans and desires only to replace them with our own. We want them to think for themselves, yet fail to listen when they tell us what it is they want. Within reason, of course, as we cannot simply give them everything they want. A growing sense of independence is important at such a young age.

We returned home and had brownies for a snack before we started on homework. After Sage's reading homework, he asked for his 'surprise' which I promised him - the Lego set and two mini construction vehicles. Saffron practiced her vocabulary and did some reading. The day was coming to an end so we did not have hours to work on homework.

Sage came to believe the soup we had for dinner was pea soup. It was lentil soup but I learned from last time if I call it 'lentil soup', he will not be as willing to eat it. Saffron looked at me knowing this was not the case. She wanted to tell Sage the truth. I wanted Sage to eat a healthy meal. I later told him lentil and pea soup were similar. To him they were as he likes them both.

He wanted to show off his new haircut when I got on Skype tonight to chat with my boyfriend. Saffron also came into my room and both she and her brother joined in the conversation. They asked if he would be here by Christmas. 'By summer...hopefully' he replied.