Cozy

Cozy... I love that word! I love the way it looks, the way it sounds, and all of the images it brings to mind. (And it is a great way to use the "z"s in bananagrams!) Today is a cozy day. There is *snow* falling outside. In April. Yuck. But inside, the pellet stove is humming, the puppy is sneaking into my ten-year-old's room again (great source of contraband stuffed toys!), and my coffee cup is sitting by my elbow. Ahhhhhh! Contentment. Cozy. I'm almost caught up on the housework after a week of vacation. Not quite. I could vaccuum, mop, clean the bathrooms and attack a closet today. But it is just too cozy! The kind of day that feels like curling up with a good book. Well... I'll work on writing one, not reading one. And "good" is still in question. But this is definitely a cozy, writing day. Ahhhhh.... COZY!

Have a happy day!

What's waiting for us at home!

I can barely wait to get back home! We have my husband, a very special little girl and a puppy waiting for us! As much fun as vacation is, I think the best part is getting back home :o)

Have a happy day!

great lunch!

My oldest daughter and I went out for lunch yesterday. We had no idea where to go. Frankly, the thought of *fried anything* turns my stomach right now! After nearly a week of vacation, I am ready for a week or so of mostly veggies....

Driving down a side road, Maggie spotted "The Daily Paper" and pointed out that the sign said serving breakfast and lunch daily. But MORE importantly... the parking lot was full of Massachusettes license plates!!!! GREAT CALL, KIDDO!!!!!!

My kid, who can't stand tomatoes, wanted to share a tomato mozzarella sandwich! I'm still in shock! Maggie's dislike of tomatoes is legendary in our household! She gags at the thought of tomatoes. I made her show me her tomatoes as I recorded this record-breaking lunch :o) Yes, she actually ate this sandwich!

The sandwich was good, but the soup was AMAZING!!! Hearty kale soup. Loaded with kale, tomatoes, kidney beans, carrots and rich spices. Oh boy! I'll be googling kale soup recipes when we get back home :o) Maggie claims that the clam chowder was very good, as well. But I couldn't bring myself to eat a bite of seafood. I think I am done in for the week on rich foods....

Enjoy some veggies today! Have a happy day!

The older I get, the younger I act!

Oh, I love being a big kid in a grown-up's body! Whenever I ask the resident grown-up permission to do goofy things, the answer is, "yes!" Nearly 40 is a blast! I can only imagine how much fun I'll be having by the time I am 90 :o)

We've been waiting for this!

Ok... a kiddo reading. Just an average photo. But this represents so much more to me! Shannon was just a little slower than other kids her age learning to read. One of her early teachers scolded, pressured and assigned a 2" thick stack of extra summer homework for her. (That stack of papers went straight to recycling and I just kept reading to her every night!) We then enrolled Shannon in a local charter school where the focus was more on the *enjoyment* of learning than on the *speed* of learning. Shannon learned all the mechanics of reading and was able to read what was required. But she didn't read for fun. She did, however, continue to love being read to at bedtime. And she started helping to choose interesting chapter books. A few months ago, she even began asking me to leave her light on so that she could read another chapter or two.

Shannon forgot to bring a book with her on vacation. The first night, we borrowed a book from the club room where we are staying. I read a couple of chapters. She finished the book the next morning. Time for a visit to the bookstore! (Gee... twist my arm a little! So exceedingly difficult to spend a couple hours surrounded by shelves full of amazing reading material!) Shannon browsed around the childrens section but couldn't find anything *hard enough*! She didn't want to finish her book in a day :o) I showed her the young adult section and we spent a happy hour reading backs of books. We found a book that she immediately decided was THE ONE.

Soooo... what makes reading this book so amazing? Not only did Shannon choose the book for its more difficult reading level, but she is 1/3 of the way through it already. I have only read two chapters. AND... I missed reading the first few chapters! Yup... she chose and *began reading* this book on her own :o)

Have a happy day!

naming our puppy

This post originally appeared on my other blog, but it is fun and happy... really belongs over here! Have a happy day!

Soooo... on April Fool's Day, we *really did* get a puppy :o) Since I was substitute teaching on April first, my dad picked her up for us. I talked with the man we were getting her from and worked out all the details. But I forgot to ask what her name was. All day long I wondered.... I hoped it would be something fun or quirky. But a good, basic name would be ok, too. The only kind of name that would really bother me would be the really-Disney-pink-froo-froo type of name like Princess or Fifi.

Hmmmmm... I should have known better! I pulled in the driveway and Dad introduced me to "PRECIOUS"! That's kind of *beyond* Disney-pink. That's like Disney-fuscia!!!! Uh oh... dilema! We spent a week gagging every time we said her name.

Luckily, she didn't seem to realize that she had this ultra-feminine-prissy-froo-froo name. She is a lab... all tongue and wiggle with not a bit of brain. Her back end overtakes her front end sometimes, sending her into a sideways wiggling scramble as her front end tries to catch up. When she moves quickly, her skin arrives abruptly a second or two behind her frame. She usually moves quickly, so her skin seems in a constant flux, wondering just where it should hang. And that tongue! 5:30 in the morning is such a happy time for our puppy! She takes a flying leap onto the bed, lands on me and starts licking any body part sticking out of the blankets. (The fact that I like 6:30 better dampens her enthusiasm *NOT ONE BIT!*)

But back to the name dilema.... After a week, we realized that our puppy came as readily to, "Goofy Dog," or, "Puppy," or, "Hey You," as she did to, "Precious". Maybe it was all that gagging? So we started trying on different names. The only trouble was that we were starting to get used to Precious. The gagging was just a little choke, not a full-out retching noise now. But, really, she is a LAB! No lab should be stuck with a Disney-esque name. And to watch her practically turning upside down wriggling with joy, front end and back end competing for the lead, she has not a stitch of ladylike refinement and dignity! Soooo... we compromised. She gets to keep, "Precious," but it is like that obnoxiously long, we-have-16-generations-of-Mathildas-first-name that gets shortened to an initial. "Precious," is now, "Precious Wiggles!" Or, "P-Wiggles," for short. (Very appropriate first initial when counting the number of new spots on the carpet...)

But all jesting aside, P-Wiggles is a joy! She rides with me each morning to bring the girls to school. And every morning, she is amazed and overjoyed to discover that we found our way home again! She spends the next 5 minutes wriggling and licking and running around the house and bouncing. Like I just pulled off some amazing magic trick! If I'm home, she follows me around, trying to lie on my feet. While I was cooking my oatmeal a couple of days ago, she moved and lay down in a new space three times in just a couple of minutes. "Sink or stove, Mom??? Make up your mind so I can get some rest!" And if I am gone for a couple of hours, she somehow goes into overdrive and stores up a week's worth of greeting. Ahhhhh! Puppy love :o)

Now if we could just teach her to tell time....

thimbles full of coffee

I do love my morning cup of coffee! After getting all the girls off to school, I curl up with my oatmeal, fruit and a mug of my favorite vice. I spend about a half an hour checking in with my friends on Facebook or catching up on my blogs. It sounds silly, but that little bit of relaxation gets my day off to a good start. Working from home, I enjoy that bit of connection before beginning my day.

Sooooo... this week, we're on vacation! My morning cup of coffee has been interupted. I almost brought my favorite mug, but opted not to because it is breakable. This week I am drinking out of pink thimbles, instead! Sunday morning, my husband and I laughed as we tripped over each other making multiple runs to the coffee pot for another 1/4 cup of coffee.

This morning, I opted for a different solution. I enjoy an uninterupted breakfast. So I grabbed two thimbles and filled them up! My ten-year-old caught me taking a picture of the little mugs and asked why I was doing something so silly. My 15-year-old laughed and assured her, "because she's mom. It's what she does!"

Ah! Coffee and kids who understand my zaniness! Gotta love a vacation morning!

Have a happy day!

Happy thoughts sure come easily on vacation! My husband and I have four girls. Uh oh! You just counted kids in the picture, didn't you? Yes... one is missing. We have a beautiful daughter who has extensive special needs. Once a year, Acadia spends a week at "Camp Nana and Boppa" while the other girls and I take a "girl-cation"... lots of pool time, fun little shops, walks on the beach, long hours at a bookstore, board games. Uh oh! There is a guy in the picture. How can I call this our "girl-cation"? Ok, ok... we let my husband join us for the first weekend. But *really,* he left this afternoon and it is officially "girl-cation" time!

Today was lovely! Don took the girls to the pool this morning while I enjoyed a rare commodity... fast internet service! We have dial-up at home. WiFi is such a treat! I visited half a dozen or more blogs in the time it would usually take to pull up one photo. Whooooohoooo!

Then the five of us spent the day in Chatham. Oh, it was beautiful! The beach was almost empty, the day overcast and breezy with little breaks of sun. We walked on the beach for over an hour. We watched a pair of dogs ahead of us run into the ocean, then come out and roll in the sand... over and over again! I could feel their joy! (And was very glad that I don't need to clean the car they left in!) My husband and I held hands. The girls felt that was decidedly "euwwwwy!"

We were so hungry after walking, I think we would have enjoyed slop on a bun! But we were lucky and found a restaurant with pleasant service and yummy food. Then we wandered through town. More euwwwwy hand-holding. Geez!

Now... some quiet time. Or can I call it quiet time? I'm watching kiddos frolic in the pool. I guess quiet is relative....

Have a happy day!

Coming soon!

My favorite writings are about random, happy joys of life! This blog is designed to be a cup-of-tea-long-laugh-with-a-good-friend moment in your day. Enjoy!