The Franklin Institute

We went out to Philly yesterday and took the kids to the Franklin Institute. It was a great time although a little overwhelming. Ron was excited as he relayed memories from his childhood and ran right to the big heart that you can walk through. I am quite sure the kids learned nothing as they were so excited to just try everything that they didn't stop to read directions or to see what they were looking for. Turns out for an extra $27 we could get a year membership. So we did figuring that we would like to go back again. Next time we will have some questions for the kids to answer so it's more productive. We sure had a fun day though and everyone did really well while we were there. We enjoyed and under the sea movie at the Imax which totally freaked Ryan out at first, but he got used to it. Of course there were strange sea creatures mating, although discretely it was enough to start, "what are they doing?" questions. Then there were preying/eating scenes those are always a crowd pleaser for my animal lovers! Lastly I thought Ron was going to fog up the giant screen with his sighs as they preached about global warming and how we are destroying everything. I had to play devils advocate and ask if he's ever been deep sea diving and if not then how does he know it's not true. That sigh did fog up my glasses! LOL Anyway I used this opportunity to complete a photography assignment and I am in the "my photos are worse before they are better" place. Here are the few that turned out. I won't tell you whats wrong with them so you can just enjoy!!

Ron and Ryan building moon cars.

Rebecca building a moon car

Ben Franklin

Reagan watching an open heart surgery

Is it needed?

Rebecca is in a place of quoting movies. The only problem is she integrates them right into her sentences so you think she is mouthing off. For an example, the other day the girls had done the dishes and a few hours later there were more to pick up. So I call Rebecca into the room and ask her to clear the table and she says, " I just cleaned up this mess, can't we keep it that way for more than ten minutes?" Shocked and somewhat irritated I ask her to please repeat what she just said. Sensing that she just entered a dangerous area she says, "you know Mom, like Mr. Incredible says, I just cleaned up this mess...I thought it would be funny." Oh well, yeah it's kind of funny when one is informed that movies are being quoted. So this morning, I have no idea what she did but Ron asks Rebecca..."Is there a brain in your head?" and without missing a beat she comes back with a Monsters vs Aliens quote and says, "Turns out you don't really need one!" LOL I waited and then there is was, the pause and then the "What?!" from Ron. This gave us all a pretty good laugh. I've said it before and I will say it again, "she's lucky she's cute!!"

The Ultimatium

All of my children and the neighbor boy have set up a little village in our basement and name it Roxaboxen after a story they read in school. They have used bins and boxes to create a little town. It seems as of late the village has some unrest as I was presented with this letter by Rebecca:

Dear Becca,

If you don't stop destroying Roxaboxen and the idea, we will shut down your business and remove it off the map!

Sincerely,

Matt and Reagan

P.S We will give you 2 gifts if you stop
PSS We will tell mom a good reason why we should shut the Puppy Place down!

Kids never disappoint when it comes to dealing with their own problems and giving me a laugh. Reagan thought she was going to be in trouble, but realized it was fine when Ron and I just laughed at this letter. I am sure to pay the piper for posting this as I was informed that it's not funny but serious business!! LOL I love kids.

Forget The Candles

The last few times I have been at work I have gotten to stock the aisle with all of the room fresheners. I love this aisle because it smells so darn good. While I am in there I always think that I should come back later and get this or that for the house. Well as you can imagine I always forget. So today I decided that I was going to try something and it really worked well. I got a small pot and filled it half way with water. I added 3 Cinnamon sticks and a long squirt of vanilla extract. I got it to boil and then placed it on simmer. OH MY WORD, it smells so good!! Reagan came up and asked what I was baking, Rebecca wanted to know what was for dessert. I turned it off a while ago and the house still smells so nice. I may just forget about buying the smelling candles for now and stick with this!!

Good For You

Ryan woke up in a mood this morning. As I was sweeping the floor he comes down stairs with his list of demands. "I want to pick something!!" translated it means I would love it if my dear Mother would allow me to indulge in a sweet confection. My response, "No candy, Ryan we need to have breakfast." He insists, I say no way. Then he comes up with his favorite saying..." I PROMISE!!" Now that phrase is never in the right context and so we have zero idea what the heck he is talking about. Finally after the 5Th time (I can't believe I let this go on so long) he says, "I WANT CANDY!" and I say, very adult like, "Good for you." He looks to one side and then the other and comes up with a brilliant plan in his three year old mind..."OK, I want good for you!" I tried to explain that "good for you" wasn't something to eat but simply sarcasm clearly lost on this child. One minute later he was standing in the corner trying to get happy.

I have to thank my Father in Law for reminding me of the greatness of the corner. Up until 2 weeks ago we were, "GO sit on the chair" people. Then one day my FIL asked me if I ever put them in the corner with the only thing to look at is the wall. Brilliant. Nope. I had forgotten about the corner. Guess what? It is like a miracle. Takes Ryan about 2 minutes to realize this is not great and he comes away with a brand new attitude. I can get him to eat his dinner, gain pleasant perspective, and be kind to his sisters all by having a few minutes in the corner. Pop-Pop has given advantage to our side and I am thankful. I don't dare tell Ryan it was his Pop-Pops idea because Ryan thinks my FIL is the coolest!! So thanks to the generation before me that imparts such awesome wisdom!!

Yum, Pie

Remember those blueberries??? Well I made pie. I can't wait to taste it. It's so beautiful on the outside, I just hope the inside doesn't disappoint!

I realized something about myself today. I am quite sure this won't be news to any of you, but it has taken me this long to pin point the actual root of this particular flaw. I am vain. Ron said something today that at first I thought was ignorant and untrue, but it's just marinading in my head and darn it...he's right. I was complaining about the thing I ALWAYS complain about...my weight. I swear he is a saint because he has been listening to this since Reagan was born. I won't lie it has been a struggle for me and just so frustrating that I can't seem to get it under control. Anyway what he said was, " It's a shame that you are going to waste the prime of your life being consumed with this issue." Wow. OK. So as I have been thinking about that statement all day...actually weighing it to see if there is truth in it... and i came up with Vanity. For some reason I seem to think other people care what I look like! Ha. Like I have always told my daughter, "have confidence everyone else is so busy thinking about themselves they aren't noticing what you are insecure about!" Well duh, nice that I have taken my own advice. If I am trying to be healthy and slim for me and because it makes me feel good, then GREAT, but if I am doing it for the praise and attention of those around me then YIKES! Not great. I don't know how this will all play out, but I have a feeling that once I deal with this issue of vanity and might as well call out pride too, then I think I will finally have success. While I figure out how God wants to deal with this, I will continue to work on the outside, doing what I know to do, but I will be changing my focus to my inside. The last thing I want to be is a stereo-typical cheerleader...beautiful on the outside, empty and ugly on the inside. Please don't send me hate mail, I know that is NOT what all cheerleaders are like, I am just going for the imagery here. We've all seen beautiful women of zero substance or heaven forbid just down right mean. Anyway I can't wait to see what happens when I get out of my own way.

BTW. I took a break and tasted the pie...Delish!!! Maybe there is hope for me too!! LOL

Point of View

I am taking a photography class. I must admit I am already behind, but am hoping to learn a lot as I catch up. What I am concentrating on in these pictures is view point or perspective. Perspective can change your subject from being a portrait to telling a story or the other way around. Last night before bed I took these pictures just to see if what I am learning is true. You'll have to forgive the quality of some of the pictures because I am still learning to manually focus my pictures, but I think you'll see what I am talking about.






As I was looking at these photos and how the look of the same exact moment changes with perspective, I of course got to thinking. I was thinking how important the people around us and, more importantly, God is in our lives. Each day we walk through life and if we only ever see our circumstances through our view point, we seriously lack information. However, when we can talk with those around us and pray to the God who sees and knows all...how very different and well rounded our view becomes. Just like in these pictures, each angle tells a different story. If I hadn't laid on the floor, I wouldn't have gotten to see what this shot looks like with me below Reagan. It's my favorite shot. Well except for the terrible reflection in the glass of the fire place. We all need people to be a witness to our lives. People who will stop and say, "wait a minute let's look at this, or think about it that way." Everyone has a different perspective on so many different issues of life. I think we lose out if we don't seek them out on occasion. For a particularly fun perspective ask a child. They really see life in an unique and fun way!!

Blueberries

Rebecca has not eaten a blueberry since the day she fell out the window four years ago. Today we went blueberry picking which I have not done since she fell out the window four years ago! We had tons of fun today searching for the best and biggest berries. Ryan did well but mostly walked around and stole my berries so he could show everyone how many he had. When we got home I washed them up. Some for the freezer, some for a pie and a bunch just to eat. When Bec came into the kitchen I asked her to do a very big girl thing and she did it. I asked her to put aside the story of how she doesn't like blueberries and pick a nice big blueberry and eat it. I asked her to think only about how it tastes and to see if she does in fact maybe like them as she used to love them. As she put it in her mouth and took a bite, her eyes lit up!! " I really like these" she squealed and then asked for a small bowl of blueberries so she could go show Ron and Reagan how much she now enjoyed them.

What I learned from her today, is that sometimes we have to revisit things or experiences that we think we don't like, just in case we are missing out on something great because of a predetermined mindset. I wonder how much of life's experiences we let pass us by because we don't have the courage to try it and see if we like it. I am proud of my blueberry eating girl and I laughed when she told me she was going to limit how many she ate because she didn't want to throw them up. I guess the details are still a bit blurry for her. I hope to make her some blueberry pancakes so she can enjoy that delicious breakfast for the first time. Today I am so glad that we could make a new memory with blueberries. Such a small little fruit, such a big day.