The Workshop

So my first workshop was a bit of a disappointment depending on how you look at it. Only one person could come and you could look at that as a disappointing turn out, but she brought her kiddos and our kids had a blast while we worked away on our cards! It was really a great time and so even though I didn't get to share this style of cards with everyone, we sure had fun playing!! The ocean color and watermelon cards were the style I was planning on, the black (it looks gray in the photo) was just me trying something out. I used the June Stamp of the month and stamped it in black on Whoops A Daisy paper...cool huh? I saw someone do this with a hippo stamp and it was so neat I had to try it. Anyway, to those of you who couldn't come, I missed ya, for you who did come...I had a BLAST. We'll have to do that again soon!!

The Dream

I had a dream early this morning. It was so real that I woke up because I was crying in real life. I dreamed that Ron was going to die, and then in the dream he did for a moment and then came back to me. Needless to say when you wake up like that, I was a little emotional! Ron was out of town, so he called me a few minutes later and asked me how I slept. Well after I said fine, I started crying all over again. It's weird how something as simple as a dream can remind you how precious someone is to you. I found myself thinking differently of my husband, my children, my friends and my extended family. I sometimes forget how precious life is and that it's not a sure bet. My dream helped me realize how important it is to let the little stuff go and make sure that my days and activities count. I was thinking of all of the things that get me in a crazy state of mind...3 red lights in a row, being a couple of minutes late for something, the person in front of me driving the speed limit or heaven forbid UNDER??!! Funny these are all driving things...maybe I have road rage...LOL..thanks Seattle!! I was fine before I lived there. Anyway, the list goes on...missing the bus, looking for lost items that should have been put away, cleaning under my kitchen table every day after every meal. When I really think about the big picture, I think I will be embarrassed when God asks me, "why did you yell about this or that?" "why did that make you so angry...the light is like a minute long?" See, when you look at it that way all the things in life that make us act like crazy people are just silly. I sit here today telling myself I will NOT get upset about little things, but I know come tomorrow morning when the clock seems to tick louder and louder and the time comes for us to leave...I will start to feel the stress. I guess my job tomorrow is to choose to handle it in a way that makes me proud of myself at the end of the day...just in case it's the last one I get! How's that for a profound yet morbid way to end this post? I promise something funny will happen around here soon...I can feel it... I WILL make you all laugh again...promise!

The Cake

I have decided to add another thing to my life resume and that is cake decorating! My friend and I are just finishing up our level one classes. Unfortunately Ron has to be out of town tonight and I cannot get a babysitter, so I had to do mine at home and just take it in to show it. I am super happy with how it turned out and I hope they offer the next set of classes soon! I did learn on my roses that sometimes shortcuts aren't always best. The teacher told us we didn't need to bother using a second tip for the base of the rose so I followed her advise. I was getting really frustrated though because my flowers kept tipping over while I was assembling them. I tried doing what the book said...the long way...and that's just what I needed to get it right...or at least close to right. I am actually finding the roses easier than this twist flower thing...I didn't take a picture of that because they just look like blobs. Anyway, here is a picture of my final project!

The Lie

It's no secret to my family and friends that I hate raw onions. I literally have a gag reflex that goes nuts when I eat them or eat something that has touched them. Well tonight Ron went to my favorite place for a burger...Five Guys...YUM! Last time they accidentally put one tiny onion on my burger and I threw up. Clearly I did not enjoy that and more so was disappointed that my dinner was ruined. So today I ask my husband if he could please tell them I am allergic to onions so they'd be super careful not to get any on my burger. Telling me he couldn't lie, I reminded him that I did in fact have a very adverse reaction to onions much like a allergy. Well my explanation must have worked because he told them I was allergic. Little did he know that they would all change their gloves, use new utensils separate my food from the rest. LOL well, now THAT's customer service!! I really didn't mean to cause so much trouble and Ron was sure the girl behind the counter didn't believe him. However, it was so great to enjoy my burger worry free! So thanks Five Guys...You make the best burgers!!!

The Graduate

Rebecca graduated from Preschool on Thursday. She is on to Kindergarten in the fall which will be yet another opportunity for me to hold in my tears until I get to the parking lot! It's amazing how one ceremony can change your perspective. Going into the week she was my little four year old preschooler and a piece of paper and a hug later I'm looking at my future kindergartner! What made this day even more special was that we got to share it with Nana and Pop Pop who drove 2 1/2 hours to see the five minute ceremony. How great are they?? It sure meant a lot to Rebecca and me for that matter! Rebecca learned today that goodbyes are bitter sweet. She was so sad to say goodbye to her teachers, but the promise of something new was exciting to her as well. I can't get over how fast they grow and how quickly she will be grown and gone. OY, I can't even think about that as I am on the verge of tears again. I just have to end by saying I am so blessed to have all of my children, but since this is about Rebecca, I am blessed to have her! She brings so much laughter and joy to my life. I love how her big blue eyes get even bigger when she tries to explain something to me. I even love how passionate she is about everything that she does. It's these few moments with her each day that I treasure. I couldn't thank God enough for picking out Rebecca for our family, or thank Ron enough that his hard work enables me to stay home and be apart of every aspect of our children's lives. It really goes by in a blink but I am so grateful that I get to take so much of it in! Getting to be "just mom" is the most fantastic thing I could ever do with my life. Thank you, Rebecca for being the most spectacular preschool graduate a mom could ask for...I love You!

The Vacuum

How long should it take to vacuum stairs? A few minutes perhaps? Not at my house, it's a good 10 minute job. Not because they are particularly dirty, but because my sweet son LOVES it when I suck up his hair!! This is what I love about children, they can take a crappy job and turn it into grins and giggles!! I must say the laughter made lugging my heavy vacuum up the stairs much more enjoyable. Even better is the fact that it gave me a reason to stop cleaning so I could write about it. I'll have to see if he can work his magic with the dishes!

The Routine

Every school day morning we have a routine. When this routine if followed we have a nice morning filled with pleasant people. When we deviate from the routine chaos is what's for breakfast. So we are well past 100 days of school, I know this because that is cause for celebration these days. And yet every morning my two dear, intelligent daughters come to me...always in the shower...and ask..."May we play the computer?" and every day for at least 100 days I say..."Are you ready for school?" and every day for at least 100 days the reply is, "No." Their grades and their teachers assure me they are not in fact retarded, so why this part of the daily routine. Many of you are probably asking why they get to play computer at all before school and I am sure this question comes from those of you whose children sleep past dawn. After they are ready for school, I allow them to play because they get ready so much faster!! Here is another curious thing...why leave out one item of the routine just to see if I'll mind. Today it was teeth brushing, you see i have to go through the list of things we do EVERYDAY so they can't come back with...Oh I didn't know I needed to brush my hair...or When did we start wearing pants to school??? Now we have a timer so i know it takes exactly 2 minutes to brush ones teeth. They could be done by the time they try to convince me that they will do right after they are done with the computer and tell me that this is the day they will remember, unlike all of the others. I guess I will just have to realize that from this day until they have their own children (I don't think it kicks in before that) I will just have to be the one that has the daily ticker of the everyday routine!

The Movie

Yesterday I watched the movie, "Gone Baby Gone." It's about a little girl that ends up missing, through twists and turns they eventually believe the little girl to be dead. I know, super uplifting movie so far. The mom of the little girl is a piece of work, drinking, drugs and leaves this 4 year old alone assuming others in her apartment building will look after her. Well toward the end of the movie this private investigator ends up putting several pieces together and finds the girl, alive and happy. The people that took her had planned it all along and viewed it as right for the sake of the child. The moral dilemma at the end was should this P.I. leave the girl and pretend he never found her or lose several things that important to him personally and turn in the couple to return the girl back to her Mother and back to a life where she doesn't really have a chance? Well I won't ruin the movie for you in case you want to see it. It did, however, get me thinking about my own life and my own precious children. I thought about how different choices lead us in a completely different direction or put us in situations that can be good or bad. What I mostly realize is although that movie disturbed me deep in my heart because I know there are thousands, probably millions of children in that same boat, I cannot change the world. When I thought about how small I am, and how big the mess is in our Country alone...I feel helpless. And yet I take hope in the fact that what I can do is raise the next generation to be different. Most days I feel like we are swimming upstream against the current of over scheduling, selfishness and greed, to raise kids who respect and honor us, are giving and kind. I realize that without an amazing amount of prayer and guidance, this next generation doesn't stand a chance. I am so thankful that my hope is not in my ability or in the world, but my hope lies in Jesus who makes all things good. He has blessed me with three amazing children with gifts and talents that blow me away. I am blessed with children who challenge me to be a better person so they can be better people. Easy days or hard, being a mom and a full time one at that has enhanced my life in ways I never thought possible. So here is a thank you to each of my children for giving me the best job on the planet. Oh and the card that says...You Rock...I'll cherish forever!!

The Fit

Apparently I am going to start all of my posts with "the." Maybe that will be my "May" thing. I don't know. What I do know is that Rebecca lost her mind tonight. I am not even sure what happened but she started crying and then determined that she would, "cry forever." At first I thought this wasn't possible, but after a good 15 minutes she was still going. It was starting to feel like forever! So I went in her room and gave her an offer. She could, A. Stop crying and have Reagan come back into the room and go to sleep or B. I could send Reagan somewhere else and I would close the door and let her scream. Can you believe she chose option B? I was just looking at her like, oh...well...um...ok, that offer is off the table. I didn't want her to sit up in her room and scream. So I laid down with her and we talked about a few things and decided that she could in fact stop crying tonight, but start up first thing in the morning. She seemed to think that was an acceptable solution but was worried she would have no tears in the morning. We decided that she would just be done if she couldn't get herself to cry. Then I told her that if she wanted she could roll over and scream into her pillow. I did give her the knowledge that it would, in fact, hurt her throat, but she could do it. To this suggestion she replies...I have lost all of my power to do that! I wish I still had the power, but it is gone and now I am sleepy. Well OK then my little super hero, apparently her Kryptonite is kindness and the ability to let loose. Hopefully I'll remember that next time. For tonight, at least, I have a new tool in my belt to help raise my children. However, I do realize that it will be like putting a square block in a round hole the next time someone throws a fit...it never works twice.

The Haircut

Ryan was starting to look like a crazy man. In an effort to put on some front of having it together, I decide to give him a haircut. I have taken on this task because the thought of the screaming and carrying on that would happen in public just wasn't enticing enough for me. My plan was to mimic the kiddie hair cut places, so I put him in front of a mirror, gave him a balloon (which only got in the way) and set him up with some toys. Perfect. Let's begin. Thankfully baby hair is very forgiving because upon my first cut I started to get nervous. Now mind you, he's not just sitting there. He's putting his hands in his hair yelling, "NO MOMMY, NO!" Well, finally he started to relax. A few lessons were, don't actually touch him with the scissors and go really fast and hope it doesn't look like he did it himself. It was going quite well and then it happened...No, I didn't cut him, but thanks for the vote of confidence...Hair landed on his arm. The shrieks of terror that came from him caused me to double check and make sure my scissors weren't dripping acid. No...just hair. So I brushed it off and he calmed down. I always imagined my son would be way more rational than my two daughters, but that thought quickly faded as some hair dropped on his pant leg and he went off the deep end again. My 4 year old yells from her room, "Mommy, what are you doing to Ryan?" "Just cutting his hair, honey, go back to sleep!" Just cutting his hair...yeah...next time I think I need to use clippers...oh...and a cape!

The Binky

It's my own fault, really, this dependency my son has on his Binky. As an infant in an effort to keep him quiet and help him fall asleep, I taught him how to use it. Now as a two year old, he only gets it at night and nap time, but where do they go? I buy pack after pack of Bink's and yet when bed time rolls around...no Binky in sight. I have more luck finding a pair of matching socks than I do a Binky. So I search the house top to bottom hoping and praying I can find the cure to nighttime woes. After a good 20 minutes when I am just about desperate, I find it! Was it in the toy box, on the counter or in Ryan's room...NOPE! Behind a chair that is against the wall in a room he really is never in. Now I must ask myself...how on earth did it get here? I think the mystery lies in my somewhat mischievous 4 year old, Rebecca. Bink's...I Love them and yet I HATE them. Who knew!!