Happy Thought for Today

Check it out!

2011-12-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine just started working as an At Home America homestyle specialist. Check out her site for beautiful country decorating and homewares. You can get direct shipping or become a hostess and earn free homewares! (This is one of the coupon gals from a couple of posts ago!)

My parents...

2011-11-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

I grew up with people everywhere. Friends, neighbors, family. Especially at holiday times. The holiday rule was always to invite anyone! Well... this year we might have pushed the envelope a bit for any regular household. We called my parents at 9:00 the night before Thanksgiving to let them know we asked a couple more people to dinner. Did I mention that I grew up somewhere between the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie? Dad's response was, "hey! So did we!"

I'm thankful for this crazy crew that shares my life! Thanks Mom and Dad for always filling the house with warmth and joy! (Mom is at one end of the table and Dad at the other!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gearing up for the holiday season!

2011-11-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

Holiday card printed... check! Address labels printed... check! Christmas letter written... sigh. Not yet. No check... (But don'tcha love the photo???)

Favorite elf dressed for character day at school! Note that Santa (above photo) might wind up sitting in the elf's lap this year...

Part of our coupon crew! We clip, gab, and drink too much coffee a couple times a month. Love it!

Little Man helps clip coupons. His favorite find, so far, is the very entertaining bag of stuffing mix on his tray!

Sooooo... how is the coupon clipping going? We have successfully cut our grocery bill by more than half! I spend less than $100 a week on groceries for a family of seven! This includes all the soap, shampoo, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. And a fringe benefit is that meal planning has gotten much, much easier! This week, ham steaks were on sale, buy one, get one free. One went into a mac & cheese this week. Five are set aside for the coming months. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were a fantastic price. One package made two meals this week, three packages are in the freezer. A turkey went directly to the freezer. A small package of burger (half off a couple weeks ago) came out of the freezer. So did a marinated pork loin (buy one, get one free a few weeks ago). And we don't always eat meat.... We had vegetarian stew (plenty of good deals on beans, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, and even spices lately) and ever-popular Honey Muffins (baking supplies are on great sales this month) for dinners, as well. With so much in the freezer (meats, soups, vegetables) and pantry (couscous, pasta, beans, vegetables, cereals), most of next week's meal planning is taken care of. I'll just need a few basics and use the grocery budget on the best buys for future meals. Staying home with Little Man is actually paying for itself! I'm thrilled :o)

Just a quick photo... this is what 75 cents worth of groceries looks like!

Have a happy day!

Like mother, like daughter!

2011-11-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Second daughter has started a blog! Check it out! The Ramblings of a Teenaged Skeptic I'm looking forward to seeing what this funky, goofy, sassy teen has to say about her world :o)

Whooops! It's been a while....

2011-10-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Little Man has been keeping us busy. What a joy he is, though! I love being home with the little guy. My days start out with giggles and playtime, then some cuddling. He shrieks and laughs, pulls toys (and pets and anything else he can reach) to his mouth, and gives his G'amma kisses. Ok... maybe he's just seeing if I'm edible, but I'll call it kisses. His joy is contagious! What a blessing to share this year with Little Man.

By the way, check out Little Man's wrinkles! I think he decided the baby growth charts were a challenge. In which case, he was aiming for the 90th+ percentile and getting straight A's... His thighs have wrinkles, his calves have wrinkles. Even his forearms have wrinkles!

And as youngest child has pointed out, he has NO NECK! Just a lot of chins. (His grins have wrinkles, too!)

Sooooo... what else is going on here? Fearless Leader and I went to a NASCAR race last month. (I know... it's been a while since I posted...) We had a great day watching cars zoom around a track. I had a hard time figuring out which car was in the lead. They were all going so fast. But it was fun to be together. Actually, the second "race" was even more fun! We sat on our tailgate for over an hour watching cars, trucks, RVs and motorcycles inch along on their way out of the stadium. We had a chance to chat with each other and with other racegoers who were not in a hurry to leave. (While watching those who were in a hurry progress at about 4 inches a minute.)

G'ampa is pretty smitten with Little Man, too!

Other news here.... Oldest kiddo is almost finished with college applications! She is hoping to go to a small state college about an hour and a half from home. Close enough to come home weekends, far enough away to begin the journey to independence. This college also offers alternative student housing and child care for Little Man. Sounds like a great fit!

Second kiddo is a hoot! She has a funky, confident style and stays BUSY, BUSY, BUSY with her social life. I practically need to schedule time with her. (Or ground her so I can have a few minutes...) But she is lively and conscientious. She stands up for justice and the rights of all. She was even commended by her principal and vice principal recently for showing impressive leadership. (VERY proud mamma here!)

Miss Sassy (third daughter) is busy riding horses! Every morning, she asks hopefully if it is "horse" today. Sorry kiddo... we can only afford one lesson a week! Miss Sassy just finished testing for a new communication device. She got very excited being able to communicate so many thoughts. We look forward to hearing lots from her soon!

And youngest kiddo! Another very social kiddo. She is fitting in beautifully this year and enjoys many buddies. Her goal this year is to make the honor roll and hopefully even the high honor roll. She is working diligently at it and her progress report was all A's and high B's except for a C in art (with the notation that she had missed the most recent class during which an assignment was turned in so the grade was not an accurate reflection of her work.) Boy, did I get to hear NEVER, NEVER, NEVER schedule a dentist appointment for art day...

Fearless Leader has been working on house projects, car projects, and yard projects. And I have been spending my days with Little Man. I've also started clipping coupons with friends. I know, I know... I have just marched right in to middle aged dorkiness. But we're having fun! And saving a bunch on the grocery bill!

Actually, it's making a big dent in the financial gap of not having a part-time second income this year. The kids actually enjoy helping (and saving), too. AND one of the most popular teachers at school heard our kids comparing deals the mamas had found and enthused about how saving money was actually earning money. Made the kids smile! (By the way... I'm not EXTREME, just saving.)

Little Man enjoyed his first horse-drawn wagon ride!

So did Miss Sassy, second kiddo and Boppa!

Just a couple quick photos to finish with! Oldest kiddo on perhaps an off day?

And the rest of the kiddos with Little Man practicing for the family holiday photo shoot coming up soon!

Well... Little Man is awake! Gotta run! Have a happy day!

Milestones

2011-08-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

Miss Sassy had a therapudic horse riding lesson today. Her younger sister was watching the lesson. Sassy groomed the horse, rode around obstacles, clapped, waved, lifted her hands in the air, rode backwards, passed toys back and forth with her side-walkers and trotted. When we were leaving, Sassy's little sister said, "Mom, when she trotted, I smiled. I don't usually smile when my sisters do things. But she trotted on the horse. I couldn't do that, Mom. And she could! She did all those things on a horse, Mom. She's really learned a lot!"

That really made me pause. Our youngest started passing Miss Sassy's milestones before she was a year old. Now Miss Sassy has achieved a milestone ahead of her sister. I'm bursting-my-buttons proud! I'm in awe of Sassy's achievements. And I'm touched that youngest kiddo has the insight to notice and celebrate her sister's new skills.

(Miss Sassy is sitting in the hay loft with her instructor in the photo above.)

Have a happy day!

A couple of quick photos...

2011-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Oldest kiddo with her son!

Youngest kiddo with her nephew!

Stubborn?

2011-08-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Little Man is a month and a half old now. He's started smiling and cooing. Oh... and he is showing a predilection for stubbornness. Which could not possibly originate on our side of the family. Absolutely no stubbornness here. Nuh uh. Nadda.

Oddball is working on weening the daytime feeding. Little Man wants nothing to do with that darned bottle. His preferred method is to wait it out. He scrunches up his face, closes his eyes tightly, spits the rubber nipple out and feigns sleep. Repeat scenario every 20 minutes.

Oddball is equally determined to wait Little Man out. Note the use of the word, "determined." Stubborn did not originate on our side of the family. Just the same, if I had to place a bet, I'd put my money on Oddball. She's such a determined kiddo, it could almost be taken as stubbornness...

We were trying to catch Little Man's smiles on camera the other day. Little Man smiled whenever the camera was not waving around in his face. Did I mention that the little guy is stubborn? But I did catch this photo of three of the girls with him. Gadget, Oddball and Imp smiled for the box waving around in their faces!

"Look, Ma! No hands!"

And Gadget Girl... this kid is a character! Most of her wardrobe is average teen stuff, maybe a little on the quirky side. Y'know... all the stuff parents and grandparents purchase. But when Gadget buys or makes a piece of clothing, it screams originality. Purchases this year have included 6" high boots full of buckles and chains, a straw hat, and a funky dress. She also made a cloak and is working on a corset and a Renaissance-style dress. All of which she will wear together for daily wear... along with her mohawk (which she plans to dye purple and spike for school) and eyebrow ring. Yup. She's an original!

Of course, all this originality comes with a mighty large amount of ~~stubbornness~~ determined character. I recently lost all hope of ever attaining, "Cool Mom," status by uttering the word, "no," twice in a row. Twice in about 15 minutes, to be precise. I think I dropped below, "Geek Mom," status....

Oh well! Just call me Geekma!

Miss Sassy has enjoyed swimming, barbeques, visits with Nana and Boppa, horse lessons and summer school. Now she is ready to ditch this place whenever possible. She takes her big Barney toy and heads for the car every chance she gets. The other day, she fell asleep in the car waiting for someone to take her somewhere. ~~Stubborn~~ Determined child!

Imp just celebrated her birthday. The actual day was over a month ago, but since her big day was the same day that her new nephew came home from the hospital, she agreed to wait until July for her slumber party. Why are large gatherings of pre-teen girls dubbed, "slumber parties," anyhow? I think slumbering is the only thing this gang of buddies failed to accomplish during 24 hours of mayhem.... I hardly recognized this kiddo for the day. Our normally fairly quiet and reasonably polite child transformed into a sassy, giggly, ~~stubborn~~ determined, slightly obnoxious chatterbox. So did all the other girls. Five girls could have passed for 45 children.

I think summer vacations were carefully designed to prepare parents to cheerfully wave goodbye to the school bus on the first day of school. Only 17 days to go....

Have a happy day!

summer fun

2011-07-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sassy girl had a ball game the other day. Our local minor league team mascot visited this special group of kiddos for a photo session. Miss Sassy LOVES Ribby! She got a little distracted by her favorite giant bat and failed to play any baseball at all, instead choosing to follow Ribby around squealing excitedly. But for the photo shoot... this was a close as she would get to her great, furry hero.

Oldest kiddo went out to apply for a job yesterday. I am so proud of her! She's got a lot on her plate right now with Little Man here, but she is determined to take on as much responsibility as possible. Senior year, college applications, an incredible GPA to maintain, a sweet, sweet baby she's doing a marvelous job nurturing... and now a part-time job again, as well. (She worked part-time through much of the pregnancy.) Did I mention I'm one PROUD mamma?

Meanwhile... gadget girl tried her hand at babysitting!

Notice the ears... Gadget girl was given a much-appreciated gift at one of the baby showers!

Here is youngest kiddo modeling the latest in hot summer fashion. Mmmmhmmm... an apron and a bikini. Guess she won't be getting any spaghettii sauce on her belly...

Youngest kiddo is growing up on us. Apparently, she has had a crush on a boy for about six months now. And forgot to mention that to us. (Sheeesh!) She's been hanging out at the town pool a lot this summer. It didn't take too long for big sisters to figure out her infatuation. Especially since the boy likes her, too! Big sisters have been alternating light-hearted teasing with earnest comraderie and an endless string of advice. What fun to suddenly have a giggly bunch of teens running around the house figuring out what youngest should wear to the pool or some other trivial detail! It is bittersweet to have her growing up, but the comraderie and excitement is contagious. Sigh! My baby has a boyfriend.

And some Little Man photos! Youngest kiddo snatches him up every chance she gets. Ummmm... so does G'amma....

Have a happy day!

Oooops!

2011-07-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people mention that they read the blog and look forward to new postings. Perhaps pointedly mention that they look forward to new postings... Yup. I'm behind again...

Our summer is busy as always. The girls are working, swimming, hanging out with friends. I seem to be continually waiting for Miss Sassy's summer school bus or picking up Gadget Girl from her job. And feeding and cleaning up after a houseful of kids.

I don't have much writing time. But I suspect a few followers are currently "reading" the blog for more photos of the little star of the family. The little man is beautiful and growing fast. He started his life journey at 7 lb. 9 oz. and at three weeks old, he is 9 lb. His main hobbies are eating, sleeping, and filling his diaper. Once in a while he takes a break from that busy schedule to open his eyes and observe the world around him. Including his hands. Sometimes he manages to pull his hair, bat at a toy, or pop them into his mouth. He does get mad at that baby who pulls his hair, though...

Little Man sometimes lacks attention around here.

There may have been a few minutes last week that noone was holding, cuddling or talking to him.

Other news... hubby and I spent the day in Maine a couple of weeks ago to celebrate his birthday. We had a wonderful time walking the beaches, eating out, driving around and talking. The quiet was a bit of a shock, though. We're not used to it...

Gadget girl has a new haircut. She wanted me to cut it for her. I originally refused (due to complications associated with 20th anniversary dinners, etc.), but she promised not to cry. Ta da! I can cut a mohawk! And she loves it! What a free-spirited kid! I really admire her spunk. Or, perhaps more accurately, her punk.

Gadget Girl has joined one of the goofy town bands with me! Mostly because she likes to drive us to practices & might as well bring the trombone and play. But she has found herself enjoying the band in spite of herself. There are a bunch of goofy and interesting teens in the band, a fantastic & very friendly conductor, and a fun trombone section. (Ok... when is a trombone section ever NOT fun?)

Speaking of fun trombone sections... Trombone nights are a blast! Sometimes we even play the instruments for a while.

Sometimes playing doesn't involve instruments. Gadget Girl was shot in the glasses with a nerf dart.

The perp wasn't even contrite. Maybe because we were celebrating his birthday.

Little guy played with the trombones again. He stuck to tooting the back end this time (repeatedly) and let Gadget Girl try the little trombone. We also discovered that Gadget Girl is a phenomenal euphonium player! Her first time playing the instrument, she kept up beautifully with the bunch of us! (Not that we are difficult to keep up with; mostly lots of giggling and banter between players.) Might have to keep our eyes open for a euphonium now. Gadget Girl loved it. Oiy!

Original Oddball almost got a chance to play, but Little Man woke up and had other ideas. Like tooting repeatedly....

Miss Sassy loves the new little guy! She kisses him and holds him every chance she gets! If he cries, she goes running to him. Youngest kiddo loves him, too. She can be found rocking him and cuddling him several times a day.

Well... that's it for now! A few happy thoughts for today! Have a wonderful day!

Musically Gifted...

2011-06-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

A week ago, oldest kiddo & I were getting ready to go toot our horns with friends at our Monday night jam session. I guess Little Guy got excited about so many trombone players gathering in one place. Labor started fast and furious about half an hour before we would have been leaving and the little guy was born three hours later. No worries, though... he made it to the next session and celebrated his one-week birthday surrounded by trombonists!

While still at the hospital, one of the nurses commented to oldest kiddo that the baby had her lips. YES!!! I *knew* he was going to be a trombonist! We tried him out on a little trombone last night. He looked pretty cool, even if all his tooting came out the back end.

All through the pregnancy, Little Guy enjoyed jazz band; boogeying and summer-saulting through oldest kiddo's rehearsals. We were curious how he would react to a bit of live music.

Oldest kiddo sat with him about four feet from the bells of the goofy group.

He was very impressed. Guess he'd rather be playing!

it's a boy!

2011-06-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Guess who's 15 1/2?

2011-06-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Second child is very glad that oldest kiddo hasn't given birth to grandbump yet. This kiddo has been waiting about 13 1/2 years for the chance to drive!

Meanwhile... grandbump is misbehavin' already! Oldest kiddo had contractions 5 minutes apart for 30 hours earlier this week (yes, that is THIRTY hours). We finally got her checked into the hospital and called in the waiting-room-cheering-squad. Our two large families took over the waiting room, hall way and we were eyeing the elevators. Kiddo was making great progress! And then... nothing. Nadda. All done. Bump decided to stay put for a few more days.

One of my friends commented, "stubborn baby, must be a boy." Ummm...hmmm... Must be. 'Cause NONE of the girls in this family are stubborn.... (Fearless Leader is not in agreement over that bit of information.)

Oldest kiddo is back home and getting rested up for the second half of labor. Whenever Bump decides to make his or her entrance into the world...

Have a happy day!

Concert!

2011-06-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Miss Sassy and youngest kiddo had a concert tonight.

Sassy Girl started playing the drum-pad this year. As of concert time, she has advanced to first-chair-desk-drummer!

Ok... techno-nerd at the keyboard. I couldn't figure out how to turn the video, so she's drumming sideways. But I cried happy tears right-side-up! I'm so proud of her! When she was tiny, we didn't know if she would learn to walk. Now she's keeping up a steady rythm with her band. And lighting up the place with that 1000 kilowatt smile! (Youngest kiddo plays the flute and both kiddos sang with the chorus, as well!)

Oldest kiddo is faring well with the pregnancy. Grandbaby-bump is due two weeks from today. Gulp! I'm hoping grand-bump stays put a few days past the scheduled arrival time since my school year goes a bit past the 21st...

My crazy family had a shower for oldest kiddo last weekend. I use the word "crazy" in the nicest way possible. Over 60 people gathered to wish the kiddos and wee one well. Three days of camping, bonfires, swimming, wagon rides, and general chaos ensued! It was wonderful.

Here's a little taste of the goofiness. Gadget girl greeted guests with, "ballet parking." That's hospitality, our big, goofy family-style!
And the cake! Our skinny little neighbor bakes like she should be twice my size! White cake with raspberry filling and lemon frosting. I shouldn't even try to describe the cake. The description falls far short of the taste!

Well... other news... it's hot, we have just over two weeks left to school, the little guys in our class have had a guest teacher and guest aide in their class for the last three months of school. Oh yeah! We are feeling the end of the year wiggles! Today's little escapade was a humdinger.... Rest time involves little nap-mats and quiet activities with the lights low and music playing. It would be very relaxing if it didn't involve 12 squirmy kidlets. We've offered to switch places with the kids. Someday they can tuck us in, rub our backs and make sure we don't chat with each other for a half an hour or so....

But I digress... One wee one had rubber stamps and was working industriously on a picture. But apparently the stamp pads were not quite wet enough. So while I was passing out snack, she went over to the sink and wet the stamp pads. Did I say wet? I meant saturated.... Small child then walked across the room with her ink pads, dripping across the floor, a book, a snack, and one of her classmates. And since four pads were a little too much for her hands, she just tucked one against her tummy. When the trail of purple dots was discovered and traced to the blotch on the belly, we also discovered that the ink pads are permanent dye ink. Diluted with water, but, nevertheless, permanent. Oiy! My apologies for sending home stained children tonight...

Well... I hope something in this post has brought a smile to your day! Have a happy day!

20 years...

2011-05-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I have been married 20 years now. Friends of mine sent their condolences to hubby... but added that he certainly can't complain about the years being dull!

Sooooo... how do you celebrate 20 years with a houseful of teens? We solved that dilema. Gadget Girl cut her hair. REALLY cut her hair... Ten minutes before hubby arrived home to head out for dinner, I had a hysterical, crying child with a funny looking head of hair. What to do? Walk out on the crying child or postpone 20th anniversary dinner? Ok... I'm a sucker for tears. And hubby didn't cry when I told him we'd be leaving a little late. He did stomp around a bit and mutter my name in vain under his breath, but no tears. I can handle stomping. A couple hours later, the hair was reasonably mended, the kids were fed and we finally got to leave.... Hmmmm... yeah.... Never a dull moment around our house!

A few days later, the long anticipated prom arrived. Oldest child looked beautiful! In all her preadolescent dreams, she never anticipated going to her junior (or senior) prom 8 months pregnant. Boy... I sure didn't either! But she had a wonderful time. Her feet got tired from all the dancing!

Gadget Girl helped out with the horse-drawn carriage rides as a groom. She's on the far right with the new hair do...

As we were snapping photos at the prom, hubby and I did a quick kid count. Youngest was sleeping over at a friends house, Sassy Girl was spending the night with Nana and Boppa and oldest two were busy with prom. We had a second chance at going out for our anniversary! The second celebration was relaxed and unhurried. I guess 20 years comes with plenty of time for second chances. Or, perhaps, without second chances, we never could have made it 20 years...

A few more quick things that have made me smile in the past weeks...

One day, the teacher I am working with left early for a class. A few minutes after she left, a child came back from the restroom with an answer for me. (An answer? I didn't remember asking any questions....) But she had a very serious message to relay. Miss G. was still in the office and she wanted this kiddo to tell me that I was "mag...ni...fi...cent!" Love it! What fun to see the utter seriousness of a child trying to pronounce such a long and wonderful word :o)

Our family almost always eats dinner together. Sometimes it is rushed and busy with people heading off in different directions. But last week, we had an evening with all 4 girls sitting around the table for half an hour after everyone finished. Laughing, talking, sharing. Sassy girl was giggling & giggling at her sisters and adding her cheery, "bo! bo! bo!" to the chatter. It was wonderful!

And oldest child sorted all eight loads of clean laundry one day. Without being asked! She just wanted to give me a hand!

And, band. On Tuesday, our conductor stopped mid-song to laugh at the trombone section. (I know we're goofy, but most of our joking around is between songs.) This song was a doozy. I guess our looks of extreme focus and utter determination to hit the right notes was pretty commical.... Gotta love a band that can laugh together!

Well... I have to run! Have a good day! Enjoy laughs about little things!

A very content Mother's Day weekend!

2011-05-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

My brain is fuzzy and content... not up to the task of writing a mini essay about happy thoughts. So, today is just a happy thoughts outline!

Family... I love family. My parents stopped in unannounced at about 6:30 Friday night. Dinner was almost ready. It was hot and tasty. There was plenty. Whew! A little pat on the back here. It looked like I was organized and on the ball. They could just have easily caught us pouring cereal into bowls...

Oh... and my parents absconded with our youngest two children since they were there and the kiddos were clamouring to visit! Which just happened to leave me free to sneak out for breakfast Saturday morning with a buddy. Actually, since we already had breakfast plans, it left Saturday morning free for second kiddo to sleep until 11:00. Hmmm... I tried calling a couple of times to ask her to shut off the coffee pot. I guess 9:00 is a little early for 15-year-olds... (Oldest kid was taking SATs.)

Saturday night we collected the kids from my parents and celebrated Mother's Day/Dad's Birthday. Mostly we goofed around, ate too much, played some vicious games of cards and talked half the night. And second kiddo got to drive the tractor for the wagon ride!

We drove to youngest kiddo's favorite place, the pond. This kid could spend HOURS catching salamanders and polliwogs. She was popular with the boys in 3rd and 4th grade. When I got to school to pick her up at the end of the day, I only had to look in the center of a knot of boys to find her. She was the kid in the middle holding the amphibians.

Today was beautiful! Sunny and bright! A great day to strip all the sheets, blankets, comforters and bed spreads off all the beds. Right before heading to church. What was I thinking??? Eight loads later, I am still working on that little project. Which puts me behind on the REST of the laundry before the work week even begins... But the sheets smell wonderful after hanging outside to dry. I love the first hung-outside load of the year! Who am I kidding? I love any hung-outside load of laundry!

Somehow, I got roped into Acolyte training on Mother's Day. Probably because the guy I work with is.... ummmm... a GUY. But it really was a wonderful morning. I visited with the moms and ran little-kid-intervention. ("Hey, Little Buddy! Let's move out of the aisle before we trip a newbie acolyte and someone gets impaled by a cross...")

The afternoon was relaxed and wonderful. I'm a little hokey, but I love the peaceful monotony of hanging laundry. And all four kiddos wanted to spend some time hanging out with me. Maybe they were humoring me for Mother's Day. But each of them wound up just hanging around chatting with me at some point.

And hubby cooked. That needs no further details. He could feed me hot dogs and beans (ick!) and I would be thrilled not to have to cook them. 'Course, I wouldn't actually EAT them either... But I would be thrilled to have dinner on the table without banging the pans around myself. And he actually pulled off spaghettii. Impressive! The kids even managed to convince him that Mother's Day would be a great time to go to the Real Twist. (Funny logic since I am not a big fan of icecream :o)

Well... I hope all my mother-friends had a wonderful day today! I am still loving kindergarten. My days are full of kids in my lap and hands to hold. Love it! Love it! Love it!

Have a happy day!

Foolin' around

2011-04-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

I spent April Fool's Day with my sister. Did I mention that we fell off the same branch of the family tree? (Our family tree is full of funky branches...)

On the first day of my visit to California, I sat innocently reading a book when my sister pulled out costumes and asked if I was going to be a fairy or a pirate for the day. Apparently, she thinks that I have no inhibitions about making a fool of myself. And the giant bunny costume I sported a couple of years ago did nothing to dispel the myth. So she thought I would enjoy a jaunt around San Francisco in a tutu, wings and a crown. Or maybe she was just getting back at me for previous pranks. Gaurgh! (At least MY kitchen isn't infested with gummy worms...)

We had a blast! We climbed Telegraph Hill and toured Coit Tower. Then we sought out fellow fools at a St. Stupid's Day parade through San Francisco's business district. Parade "Moronitors" kept the unruly crowd of 300 or so headed in sort of the same direction. I even got trombone lessons from Superman. And more lessons from someone playing half a trombone. Now I can impress my NH buddies with big city trombone methods!

Day #2 was quieter. Just a little 8-mile hike to Alamere Falls in Port Reyes... Oh! And a cliff-drive back. It was gorgeous and I would show you photos if I had sucked up my fear of heights, unclenched my fingers, unsquinched my eyes and stopped screaming.... My sister has aclimated to California driving and considers 60 mph a reasonable speed for cliff-hugging roads. I am still from New England. Cliffs???

Since I lived through days #1 & 2, dying neither of embarassment nor cliff diving, my younger sister slowed down a little. We went for a lovely 3 mile walk through the Marin Headlands, visited the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park and ate Thai food. It was a fantastic visit!

Well... other news! I finally caught up with my coffee buddy and snagged a photo! She claims I stalked her, hunted her down and gave her no choice...

Miss Sassy found the goofy trombone hands and LOVED them! She giggled and giggled while she posed for a photo with Gadget Girl.

Hubby had a playdate with our neighbor. These two like to blow things up on playdates. Last time they knocked down a shed (I believe they called it remodeling). This time they splintered wood. I think I will keep my car away from them....

And grandbaby bump continues to GROW! Original Oddball is healthy and happy even if a bit apprehensive about the coming summer.

Sooooo... those are the happy thoughts for today!

I'll be spending the rest of my spring playing in kindergarten (long-term sub position), but I'll keep updating!

Have a happy day!

A little bit of ordinary...

2011-03-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Miss Sassy loves her Nana! This is one of those ordinary moments that I seldom catch on film; the everyday cuddles of our third child and her grandmother...

Here is Miss Sassy playing the drum pad in the school band! For a couple of years, we asked to have Miss Sassy join the band. Finally, last year, we didn't ask. We simply said we were signing her up! Her smile says it all!

And Miss Sassy's riding lessons! I love the ramp and raised platforms that allow her to get into the saddle so that she can ride again!

Original Oddball (left) and Aunt Gadget Girl (right) were comparing bellies yesterday. I'm thinking Oddball won the bump contest...

And the goofball section. Yes, this is "ordinary" for us. Actually, I was really tired last night and mentioned to oldest kiddo when we left that I hoped I didn't seem too wierd. She said, "ummm... Mom, wierd IS normal for you. If anything you were a little quieter than usual." Hmmmm....

Have a happy day! Celebrate the ordinary today!

When pigs fly...

2011-03-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'll be taking on a long-term subbing position for the remainder of the school year. With only a couple of weeks between the last job and the coming job, I've had a long list of things to do. Well... correction... mostly a list of friends that I want a chance to visit with! With some housework thrown in for good measure....

This week, I managed to snag my dad for a day of driving all over the bumpiest little back roads we could find. I've spent time with my kids and my parents. I walked with my neighbor and went out for breakfast with one of my buddies. And, as always, goofed around with a bunch of trombonists. But I forgot to dig out my camera.

It seems to be the people I most love and most often see that I forget to photograph. A few years ago, we lost an older neighbor whom we loved and chatted often with. The girls looked forward to the crazy Halloween costumes and haunted house that he put on every year. We often visited when he was out in his front yard. But when he passed away, I realized that we didn't have a single picture of him. Never thought to photograph the ordinary...

Some day, I resolve to capture more of those ordinary days in photos. In the meantime, this little antenae topper is headed to a buddy to remind her that I am going to get her photo (and have more coffee) "when pigs fly!" Sounds like a good excuse to get together again!

Photo Album...

2011-03-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

Miss Sassy had a riding lesson last weekend. She loves horses and used to ride when she was younger. Eventually it became too difficult to get her up onto the horses. We are thrilled to find therapeudic riding just a few minutes away! Complete with ramped platforms allowing riders to get *down* onto a horse which is much easier for her to achieve!

It wasn't long before Miss Sassy felt comfortable back in the saddle!

Gadget Girl is excited, too. The stable is taking on new volunteers to help with the spring riding season! She's already helped lead and side-walk with several lessons and is scheduled for many more. When I arrived to pick her up the other day, I found her "schooling" a horse. Hmmmm... looked a lot like riding to me! I think the instructors have figured out a sure-fire way to keep their volunteers excited.

Academic fair was this week. This is an hour-long event scheduled so that parents can walk around and ~~visit with other parents~~ ask intelligent questions about 300 or so topics presented by the kiddos. Like Demeter and Greek farming. Just ask youngest kiddo about those and she'll launch into a five minute explanation. The next kiddo will tell you about Athena or food or... I'm still trying to figure out how to see 300 booths in an hour....

Here is Miss Sassy with her booth!

And the latest trombone rehearsal. Hmmmm... lots of grinning, plenty of food, but no trombones anywhere in the photo... We really DO play for a while first. Honest!

Prettier with power...

2011-03-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

We are living in a fairy-scape of ice! The sunlight shimmers in the branches, reflecting zillions of tiny points of light. The breeze makes a faint tinkling sound like hundreds of tiny wind chimes. It's gorgeous.

Unless you have no shower, no coffee, a dozen loads of wash waiting, a puddle on the floor from a mini fridge icebox defrosting, it feels like an eighteen wheeler hit you the night before (whatever stomach-yuck most recently ventured home from the schools), you're in the middle of the upheaval of swapping rooms around (Fearless Leader and my laundry is somewhere under a pile of toys) and there are four kiddos home from school making more mess. Ummm hmmmm.... I had a moment of serious contemplation. Perhaps the best course of action would be to leave the puppy licking up the defrost puddle while I ran screaming from the house and slid my way towards the nearest gas station with a bucket of caffinated sludge simmering on a back burner? Maybe a gas station in Hawaii?

The phone rang during that moment of hysteria. It was my dad calling to see how everything was going and checking to see whether the kids had school. He must have heard the flight plans taking shape in my caffine-deprived brain, 'cause my parents showed up half an hour later with a very large cup of coffee, doughnuts and big buckets of water so that we could at least flush the toilets.

My heroes!

As the caffine seeped into the frantic little places in my brain, the world started looking right again. (Everything looks a little brighter if you can flush toilets.) We laughed, we shared a meal, we ~~toured the town~~ picked up parts for the next house project and we even snuck in a game of cards. And the power turned back on by late afternoon.

Now, a few days away from the stomach bug, with a cup of coffee in front of me and the laudry caught back up again, isn't our ice pretty?

random stuff

2011-03-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

Miss Sassy has discovered her girly-girl side. She loves sparkly necklaces and asks to wear one each morning. She even holds still for a pretty barrette. And this kiddo has NEVER before held still for anything hair-related...

Oldest kiddo has popped... I guess a week of vacation, extra rest and good food will do that :o) I'd better be careful. I had a week of vacation, too....

And the goofball section of a local band. (A.K.A. the trombone section.) I'm in the front. Ummm... the short one in the front. (Just in case you were wondering.) I love these guys! We laugh and joke all through band practice. And hang around gabbing after practice until our conductor starts audibly jangling his keys. Sometimes we keep talking in the parking lot. Recently we started getting together to play outside of band. Which quickly turned into dinner and playing. Then theming the dinners. Dinner, talking and laughter are starting to obliterate the playing time. Um hmmm... typical trombone section. I love it!

Oh! And I LOVED Karen M's response to our collection of trombones in Vacation Shenanigans She said to, "tell the husband to just be glad you aren't tuba players!" Yeah... they run a little more expensive! I can only imagine trying to get three tubas (and the respective players) into the car for a gig. And if we had a bunch of tubas in the house, we might need to convert a few cases into tables or chairs or something... For more band stories (and gardening and art and bunnies), check out rabbits eat quilts :o)

Well... that's the happy thoughts for today! Have an awesome day!

Streph vs. Browns Playoffs, round 2

2011-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

We are headed for some serious overtime. We thought we were ready for this playoff. The team was healthy, strong. Maybe a little smug for having gone all winter undefeated. Not even a sniffle.

Until the streph faceoff...

The first player down was Miss Sassy. She fought hard but was finally benched with a 101.4 fever, ear infection and streph.

Next down were team mates Mom (yup, me) and Nana. Possibly due to all the consoling and chicken soup making for Miss Sassy while she was benched. Team captain, Fearless Hubby, and our starting line-up, oldest two kiddos, rapidly followed suit.

Youngest kiddo was left holding the family game. Until Monday.

Streph 7 vs. Browns 0

And team captain and oldest kiddo recently issued reports of returning scratchy throats...

Best Shake Ever!

2011-02-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

Gotta love a green smoothie smile! Miss Sassy still thinks smoothies are about the best treat around!

Actually, we've started feeding these smoothies to visiting kiddos. Ummmm... without disclosing the secret ingredients. Y'know... all the green stuff. I felt a twinge of guilt the other day. Until an extra kiddo declared her smoothie the, "Best Shake Ever!"

Guess the spinach didn't hurt her...

Here's the current favorite...

Two frozen bananas

An orange

About 1" chunk of ginger, peeled and sliced

Big, big handful of spinach

A cup or so of water

Have a great day!

Vacation Shenanigans!

2011-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

New Englanders are perhaps a bit more prone to cabin fever than their southern counterparts.... So our family has a tradition to combat that dull and lifeless time of year. All day sledding parties! We go from 10-10 and invite everyone we can think of! Crazy gatherings with herds of kids, goofy games, and some kind of entertainment. Like duck tape.

Soooooo... what do a bunch of crazy teens do with several roles of duck tape? And why do we call these parties SLEDDING parties? The kids go sledding for a few minutes, then spend the rest of the day snacking, throwing marshmellows, playing games, whipping a ping-pong ball back & forth, and gabbing! Oh... and decorating cars with duck tape. Or taping each other into chairs. Or to each other. Or to walls....

I would sooooo love to share pictures, but I don't like to post other people's kids here unless I know its ok. We did count, though... 23 kids in one photo! Plus a few brave adults. And the kids kept showing up throughout the day... I just forgot to dig the camera out again. Too busy trying to keep snacks on the table, I guess!

The day really was a wonderful start to vacation week! Miss Sassy spent the day at Camp Nana & Boppa. She even had her little friend, Bus Buddy, visit with her! The other girls each had a herd of friends over. The herds tended to hang out together and stampeded the kitchen only when foraging for food. Or when their clothes were wet from sledding. Or someone had a boo boo. Or they needed more duck tape.... Oh, yeah! I stayed busy.... lining up the crock pots, cutting fruits and veggies, getting out more games, scraping marshmellows off the floor, throwing more clothes through the wash. And I wouldn't change a minute of the day! (Especially since after the last remnants of food were served, I got to escape to the loft and join the ping-pong play offs!)

Another photo of what's been keeping me busy during vacation! The girls brought their trombones home, so we have five (yes FIVE) trombones to use as doorstops.... My husband doesn't quite understand why we need so many trombones. Oldest two kiddos play, so that accounts for two. I play, so make that three accounted for. Oh... except that I LOVE to play! And recently invested in a second trombone. Really a sensible investment for a trombone player. Really... one large bore, one small bore. Completely different sounds. Ok... he's still not getting it and thinks I have become a very expensive wife.... Oh! And the 5th trombone is the "fleet spare" for when we are all playing together and the kids forget to bring theirs home from school. Sensible. REALLY.

Oh! A couple buddies and I just started a weekly trombone jam session. Just in case two bands, a quartet, and playing in church didn't allow enough play time! These guys are THE BEST! We played, talked, and laughed half the night. Sometimes we laughed at the playing... sight reading does produce some interesting chords! Especially when we don't look at the lables on the music and start out with the most difficult piece...

And Miss Sassy! Miss Sassy has trouble walking in all this white stuff. So my friend, Awesome Neighbor, and I took her downtown for a walk on plowed sidewalks. Miss Sassy goes for walks around town with her special class at school, so she is familiar with many of the businesses. She lights up when she enters some buildings. Like Murrays. Hmmmm... I think she has been sneaking out for lunches! She seems to know the menu. She pointed to sweet potato fries when asked what she wanted to eat. I thought I would get to share the fries, but no such luck. I scored ONE fry.... She cleaned up the fries, ate her half of the burger and most of our salad! Next time, I'm ordering my OWN fries!

And a bit of sewing! Any guesses? Yup... a baby quilt! Oldest kiddo helped choose the pattern and fabrics. She loves bright colors and chose a multi-sized star pattern... white for the stars and mostly bright yellows, greens & oranges for the background. Honestly, I wasn't sold on the colors... but as the first blocks took shape, I LOVE IT!!!! This promises to be a fun quilt!

Well... there's still a bit of vacation left! And we have new white stuff still falling! Time to go play in it! Have a happy day!

Baby Bump Update

2011-02-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

Grandbaby bump is about 21 weeks along now. Miss Sassy is still keeping tabs on niece/nephew's progress. Only caveat is trying to explain to Miss Sassy that she can not pull up all shirts to admire her friends' tummies....

Oldest kiddo is feeling mostly well except for frequent tired spells. She has an active kiddo in there. Lots of sommersaulting and carousing. I'm guessing tired will be a frequent companion after "Hi Baby" is born, as well.... Otherwise, her spirits are good. She has a little more space with her new room. Her senior year, she'll be easing up on her previously hectic and difficult schedule. No first block classes and the chance to study some optional courses that interest her instead of AP, really tough stuff. She's a little overwhelmed planning for the future. I think that is often true for later highschool kiddos, but exceptionally so for this sweet, gentle girl who will have a baby in tow as she figures out the rest of her life.

And me? I seem to alternate between worrying like crazy about her (their) future and looking forward to meeting my Super G'andkid...

Clean?

2011-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

We were totally snowed in today... close to two feet of the white stuff! The morning was relaxed. Very relaxed! My dad called at 8:30 and woke us ALL up. Even Miss Sassy, the very early riser. Even youngest-always-ready-to-go-child. Even me! On a weekend with no kids at home, I generally can't manage to squeeze my eyes shut past 7:00.

Then, after sleeping half the day away, the girls and I managed to accomplish nothing noteworthy all morning. It was lovely. But by noon I was tired of all that relaxing. Blah! Time to do something.

Hubby has been working on oldest kiddo's new room. Oldest and youngest have been sharing a room. Maybe I should add that they comfortably shared a room with no screaching, hair pulling or any of that rotten sibling stuff. Really! They are well-matched. But... incoming! One baby. That could tip the scale....

Anyhow, other than piles of tools, sawdust, and pieces of linoleum, the room looked pretty finished to me. By the way, I have no idea how to spell linoleum.  I hope it is spelled correctly.  Or that you do not know how to spell it either. I digress... I don't know how to spell digress either. We decided to move oldest kiddo into the new room!

A couple of hours later, all the tools and sawdust were banished and kiddo's furniture was moved into the room. There was the trail of mess that accompanies any big move.  Miss Silly had spent the two hours alternating between giggling at us and scattering all of her toys. And... ummmm... housecleaning is not my favorite chore any day of the week, so I often clean tomorrow. I was several tomorrows behind.

Soooooo... I had the brilliant and impulsive idea to invite my parents over for supper. In two hours. With the house a mess and dinner not even begun. Sigh. Since there was NO chance of cleaning up the living room and all the various messes on my to-do list, I focused on making the meal that I had promised.

My parents arrived with dinner close to ready. They admired oldest kiddo's new room. We hugged. We talked. And my mom said, "oh! Your house is so cozy and clean.   It's all picked up. Your counters are all cleared off. The dishes are done."

Huh???

My mom actually LIKES to clean. She shines the bottoms of her pots and pans. She washes windows twice a year even if they don't have any spots on them. She vaccuums ummm... more often than I do. Beds are washed every seven days without fail. She dusts before fingers can leave trails. She thinks my house is CLEAN???

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. When I looked around again, I saw kids playing, rocking chairs and quilts, a braided rug, a mostly-cleared-off table, a couple of projects mid-progress by the sewing machine. The rug was recently vaccuumed. The few things on the table were oldest child's cross stitch, youngest child's homework and a book. Not immaculate. But tidy.  And very cozy.

Perspective. Our house is cozy.  Maybe I'll clean tomorrow.

Green Smoothies!

2011-01-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine told me about green smoothies. I had seen recipes before combining spinach and other such yucky green stuff with fruits in smoothies and reacted the way any sane person would... EEEEUUUUUWWWWW! Why would anyone contaminate a fruit smoothie with green stuff???

She promised me that I wouldn't taste the veggies. She promised me that I could actually drink the stuff. And she was right! Huh! Who woulda thought that you could hide spinach, carrots, bok choy, even celery under a couple pieces of fruit? But, even better (or more unbelievable), who woulda thought you could get KIDS to drink their veggies??? After playing around with some fruit/veggie combinations, I added a big handful of spinach and a couple of blueberries to the kids favorite shake. When they asked about the funky color, I blamed it on the blueberries. Well... the gullible kids loved their banana, BLUEBERRY, yogurt shakes! Honestly! Even after I admitted that the blueberries alone did not provide the exotic color....

Now my teens request green shakes. They are mindful of getting the proper amount of fruits and veggies into their daily diets and are thrilled to be able to sneak a few extras in painlessly. Best of all, though, is watching Miss Sweetie Special Silly-Pants come running when the blender starts making a racket. She is notoriously difficult to get veggies into. Now she giggles when I tell her to drink her spinach!

Our favorite, so far...

one or two bananas
an orange
BIG, BIG handful of baby spinach
a single-serve yogurt (any flavor, but vanilla is best!)
@half a cup of milk
3 ice cubes

Just throw it in the blender and give it a whirl! Then get creative & see how many veggies you can hide in your shakes :o)

Have a happy day!

skiing and birthdays and snowdays... oh my!

2011-01-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

Little Miss third child had a birthday. Number 13. Sweetie kiddo figured out all on her own that bucket loads of sass are what the teenage years are all about. While getting her dressed in the morning, she swings her legs away from me so that I can't catch her feet to put socks on. And she giggles. Then she picks up her pants, throws them behind her and giggles. When I plop her shirt over her head, she pushes it back off. And giggles. She won't cooperate to get dressed until I laugh at all of her shenanigans.

This morning, the pranks continued all through breakfast. Make a shake with mom. Giggle. Drink the shake so fast that there is shake-moustache all the way up to her eyebrows. Giggle. Squirm away from the washcloth. Giggle. Hide Mommy's shake. Giggle. Refuse to take her medicine. Giggle. Finally take the medicine. Giggle. Paint the dogs with mom's oatmeal when mom leaves the room for a moment. Giggle. Oiy! Looks like we'll need to start our days in the wee hours to accomodate Little Miss Silly-Pants' pranks before the school bus arrives!

Little Miss Silly's birthday party was last weekend. What a wonderful day! Oldest kiddo took Miss Silly and her younger sister for a drive while I finished getting ready for the party. She loves to go for a ride... and this was the first parent-less ride with newly-licensed big sister. This kiddo was certain that she was getting away with something extra special! They even went through a drive-though and got frosties. (Yup... another name for a shake. Miss Silly loves her shakes!)

When the daring trio returned home, there were balloons, party favors and presents on the tables and friends were arriving. Miss Silly was way beyond excited to see so many people she loves! She squealed and laughed and tried to introduce eveyone to each other.

Miss Silly's interests are very different from most 13-year-old girls. No rock star posters, glittery nail polish or hours of giggling with friends over the latest hunky crush. This kiddo prefers coloring books, memory cards and Barney videos. We invited the kids from her special class at school and a kindergartener that she adores. I hoped we could keep such a diverse crowd of ages and abilities happy for a few hours. When I worried about the diversity of the group, though, I forgot about the common connection. These kiddos all love Miss Silly just the way she is! And she loves them! Our gang of kids happily made balloon animals, played hide & seek and created some crazy flashlight game. They ate too much cake and icecream and goofed around like any bunch of buddies.

It was chaotic. It was wonderful.

Once again, Miss Silly is faster than the photographer! She snitched a cupcake (far left) before I managed to take the picture!

Youngest kiddo went to her second cross-country ski race this weekend. The first race was a bear of a race. A short, icy, two-lap course which produced four skiers carried out on stretchers and two taken away by ambulance. Youngest kiddo was knocked flat by a herd of high school B team boys, broke her glasses, and had to be helped off the course by onlookers.

After such a scary introduction to racing, the second race was a joy! This course was gentle and powdery. The jr. high and high school races were kept separate. The hills were rolling little bumps with no sharp curves. Kiddo had a wonderful time racing. It was fun to hear the team chatting happily after the race comparing their races; which hills were fastest, where they double-poled, any tumbles they took, and whether they had any energy left at the last big uphill. It was a wonderful day full of team camraderie and the excitement of hanging out with 700+ skiers and all the assorted parents and coaches. Oh... and lots of driving! Almost three hours each direction. But the driving time is enjoyable, too. I love listening to the happy chatter. First of anticipation. Later, the joy of having raced hard and the happiness of accomplishment. I'm so proud of this kiddo for skiing!

Well... I have about a zillion more happy thoughts for today, but they'll have to wait. I'm running behind again.... Have a happy day!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

A few happy shots from the holiday break! I love these goofy flowers! Oldest two kiddos ganged up on me for Christmas and made this bouquet. They know that I love anything loud, bright and colorful. Ok... so they might have used the word "obnoxious", but I know they *meant* colorful! I also have a very poor record for keeping plants alive. The little green thing next to the colorful posies seems to have made an exception to my care. Probably because it hardly ever needs water... A colorful bouquet that doesn't need water, what could be better? The BEST part... these posies are duck-taped to pens! 'Cause I manage to lose mine all the time! Loud, colorful, easy-to-care-for AND useful... love it!

Oh! Sassy second kiddo saved the very best POLKA DOTTED flower for an antenna topper! No photo yet 'cause this is a quick-'cause-I-gotta-write-out-bills post. But lets just say, even *I* can find my car now! (Just one more thing I frequently lose...)

And, speaking of sassy second kiddo... she and I have both been dreaming of making capes! Big, long, sassy capes! Kiddo chose black velvet for the outside and red stretchy velvet for the inside. Have you ever tried SEWING yards and yards of velvet together??? It slithers all over the place! The two-hour pattern turned into a monster project. We were up until 12:30 finishing the bugger so that she could wear it to school today! And we cheated A LOT on the bottom... we just COULD NOT get the layers to play nicely with each other. But it is gorgeous! She wanted a cape big enough to wrap her friends into. It fit the two of us together nicely with room for more (had there had been anyone else awake past midnight). Hmmm... needless to say, plans for my cape do NOT include yards of velvet. And it will be a tad more ~~obnoxious~~ colorful.

And one more happy thought from vacation! Skiing! We got about 18" of beautiful white stuff the day after Christmas. I love this line-up of fun gear! We spent several days out trecking around in the woods.

My sister visited from California. She gets excited about anything active and has been known to ski with large backpacks full of camping gear. Can we just say that she is in *slightly* better shape than me? I kept up bravely for the first couple of days, but by day three, I was wimpering and begging for a slower pace. Yup, I slowed her down on that last ski. Besides, I was a little worried about breaking my neck on some of those hills. Guess I should have been worried about standing still on flat spaces though... I only fell three times. Once for a hidden stump on one of those hills. The other two times, I was standing still and got too excited talking with my hands. Go figure...

But we got some surprise extra time with little sis! Chicago airport shut down just in time to cancel her flight back and she was stranded on the east coast for four more days. Aw shucks.... (insert happy dance here!) Thank goodness I had recovered from the first round of ~~abuse~~ exercise and was ready for more! We got one more day of crazy sister time!

And my ski team kids! Love the sister grins! And sweetie special third kiddo exploring the track behind my skiers!

Youngest kiddo is my nervous-Nellie. She needs to be eased into new activites and is very scared of learning new things in front of people. She's been skiing for a couple of years now, so I didn't stop to think that *skate skiing* is new for her. (Skate skiing is a very fast, graceful form of skiing used by competitive skiers for racing.) And we missed the first couple of ski practices after Christmas because we were playing with my sister. Those were the first team practices on SNOW. Before the holidays, practices were all spent running. Yup... tears. She was sure that everyone else would be skiing gracefully past her while she fell.

So we got to practice an hour early and sassy second kiddo gave youngest kiddo a lesson. By the time the rest of the team arrived, my nervous-Nellie was managing a pretty fair skate-ski. AND... three other jr. high kiddos were brand new to skis. Yes... brand new to SKIS. None of them had two years of experience balancing on long, skinny, slippery things. There was the cutest line of new skiers following the coach around the track that day. Like little ducks in a row! Sooooo... that smile stayed on youngest kiddo's face all afternoon!

Ok... that's the happy thoughts for today! Have a happy day!

Still not organized...

2010-12-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

Ok... I seem to have a theme going on here... I'm in a couple of town bands playing this goofy instrument. What I lack in talent, I seem to make up for in clumsiness. And disorganization. I have an exceptionally long and unwieldly trombone stand, a complex music stand that I have yet to master putting together, and music in no particular order falling out of my folder. I'm also not known for moving slowly nor for paying attention to what I'm doing. Yeah... a goofball.

Soooo... this seems to be the week for fixing me. Well, sorta. I had to miss a concert last week and one of the goofy guys above (we'll call him MOE) borrowed my music and played my part. I'm always peeking at Moe's music, trying to figure out what piece we're playing next. (Sheeesh! Organization...) So, when he gave me back my folder, there was a surprise for me! The music was all in concert order! And an even better surprise... trombone jokes and pictures punctuated the empty spaces between pieces! But, as always, the loose pages that don't fit into the page protectors wound up falling to the floor at some point during the concert. Oh... and I kept laughing at inappropriate times during the concert as I discovered the new jokes. Soooo.... almost organized.

And fast forward to a concert Satruday with the other band! Not knowing if I would make the concert, I had given my music to one of the guys for safe-keeping. (Always safer not in my hands...) When I got my folder back, it was all in concert order! (Definitely not the way I had left it, just in case you were wondering.) My friend, guy-in-the-outragous-green-sparkly-I'm-so-jealous-that-he-found-that-great-hat, took pity on my lamentable systematization. Ok... total lack of it. I happily set up for the concert... and forgot to bring in my stand. Until it was too late to go get it. Guy in the great hat shared his music stand. I haven't been in this band for very long. I guess he didn't know my history with music stands. (The flute players in the other band might consider helmets concert attire.) For the first song up, Trombones on the Rooftop, our conductor wanted the trombones to stand. Trying to be helpful, I leaned forward to adjust the music stand higher. And promptly pulled the top of the stand right off the bottom, sending BOTH folders of music to the floor... Mmmmmhmmmm... the concert was delayed a few minutes while we scavenged our music off the floor and great-hat-guy and I frantically searched for music from a communal pile between songs. But, look! The photo was taken after the concert! He's still speaking to me! And the music is safely in his hands again. And I *promise* I'll remember my music stand next time. Or at least try to remember my music stand...

One more quick happy thought! This beautiful ornament arrived in the mail last week! It's from Attilla the Mom! You *know* I've got to love a moniker like that! Her screen name is just the beginning of the snark you'll find on her blog! Check out Cheaper than Therapy for fun reading!

Ok... that's all for now! Back to the Christmas countdown! Have a happy day!

Holidays are here!

2010-12-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

It's happened again. A couple of weeks ago, I was WAAAAAY ahead of this Christmas season. I had my list figured out. Decorations were up. The outline of the Christmas letter was forming in my brain. Almost all of our shopping was done. Crafty things were almost finished. Then we flipped the calendar and the kids got all excited and started counting days. And time sped up. Youngest kiddo was jumping up and down this morning reminding me that it is only ten days until Christmas. TEN DAYS?????

Suddenly having the Christmas letter ALMOST done and the shopping ALMOST done and the crafting ALMOST done is not quite cutting it.... TEN DAYS????

Oh to be a kid again! The exciting anticipation of Christmas! The warmth, the extra time with family and friends, the traditions, the mystery. I think sometimes we grown-ups (I grudgingly concede to being almost grown-up) forget the wonder of the season. Shop, wrap, finish, cross off the list. But Christmas is joy, love, wonder, surprise. Unfathonable goodwill. A gift given which didn't follow protocol, yet was so much more. So I am suspending my obnoxious pace and am determined to enjoy the season even if I don't get everything done. I'm hugging my kids, getting most of the letters out, sitting down for dinner with my family, forgetting about that last shopping, cuddling with my husband and writing notes instead of joining the parade of mugs, ornaments, and light-up ties. Ah... to be a kid again! I think I'm almost there....

And for friends and family... a "Hi, Baby!" update! Even sweet, smiley, special kiddo joins us in greeting the wee one!

Oldest kiddo is 13 weeks along now. Her days are a roller coaster of emotions. It's not easy to be pregnant at 16. One foot in the teenage, high school world. And one foot in the expectant mom, grown-up world. She has cried more in the last week than in the past ten years as her two worlds sometimes collide. And all I can do is hold her and let her know that everything will be ok. And it will. It's just hard to see the future while standing in the present.

Oldest kiddo and teenage father-to-be had their first prenatal class on Monday. Finally a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy week! Rather than an oddity, they were just another expectant couple. Younger, yes, but sharing stories of morning sickness and mood swings along with everyone else. And they heard their baby's heartbeat! Both kiddos came out of class with smiles on their faces that reached right into their souls. They are connecting with a new group of peers that can share and relate to this new life path which they are traveling.

And... sassy second child had a birthday! What a spirit this kiddo is! She had a bunch of giggly friends over for a party this weekend. Totally girlie-girl time. Yet this kiddo is really more about muck boots and shoveling poo. She and most-recent-guy-friend broke up on Sunday. Amicably. And a new guy-friend asked her out. I'm so darned proud of this kiddo! She said, "not yet"! Not yes, not no. But not YET. What a great answer!

Whooops... enough happy thoughts for today! I just got called to sub!

Have a happy day! Relax and enjoy the season!

comedy of cats and dogs

2010-12-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of new post ideas circulating, but haven't got time to write them this morning! So here's an "oldie but goodie", originally published on my now-defunct Kwilting with Katie blog midwinter last year. Enjoy!

It's been a wild weekend.... Just to set the stage leading up to Sunday night, our eighth-grader brought home her health class assignment, an electronic baby, on Friday. Friday night, the electronic baby was up every hour and a half. I was up every hour and a half with *my* baby who was panicking, afraid she was going to fail health class. Saturday morning, Addie, a very cute but exciteable dog that we are pet-sitting arrived. The afternoon was spent bowling with the acolytes then attempting to watch a concert that our oldest daughter was in. The electronic baby had other ideas.... Sunday, we rushed off late to church. Have I mentioned the electronic baby schedule? After church, Claire (the 8th-grader) had a friend over. Add one *more* electronic baby. Shannon (our youngest) lost a loose tooth Sunday afternoon; always a traumatic ordeal for her as she cries because the tooth is dangling by a thread but she doesn't want anyones fingers in her mouth. Our dog-on-loan spent the afternoon Sunday wedging herself between my knees and barking at every noise. Unless there was a glimpse of a cat. Then there would be a romping chase complete with barking, hissing, and spitting.

Sunday night arrives. The cats take shelter in the girls bedrooms far under the beds. The friend and extra baby go home. Claire's baby goes into a quiet schedule for a while. Addie and our dog sack out watching football with Don. And ice starts falling from the sky. Ahhhh! The perfect excuse to curl up with the girls and watch a movie we've been trying to find time to see.

All goes deceptively well until the girls go upstairs for bed. "Mom! One of the cats peed on my bed!" Right through two quilts. So... eleven-o-clock finds quilts churning in the washer and Don and I taking turns babysitting two cats and a dog in the bathroom enforcing a "get-used-to-each-other" approach. On one of my trips out of the bathroom, I discover that the tooth is *not* under the pillow. I also realize that with about a week's worth of work to go on the book proposal and a cat ignoring litterbox ettiquette, I need to remove all the quilts for the book from the house. When the enforced "time-in" for the animals ends, a big, hairy tooth fairy with a five-o-clock-shadow and a flashlight heads into the 10-year-old's room to look for a tooth while I start skating repeatedly across the driveway carrying armloads of quilts.

Just another quiet night at the Brown house....

"Hi, Baby!"

2010-11-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

So, yeah, life is returning to normal around here. Or semi normal. Oldest kiddo got a kick out of my greeting when she walked into the house the other night.... "Oooooooh! Look what I'm working on! How was your day? Hi, baby!" (The last bit was addressed to the belly bump.) Yup, talking to the bump is just part of our day now.

Actually, the kids and I joke that oldest kiddo must be pregnant with, "hi, baby!" since that is the way we all address oldest kid's tummy. Youngest kiddo was sypathetic to the constant tummy-talking. Just in case older sister ever found talking to the bump one sided, youngest kiddo suggested that it was ok to address *her* belly and say hello to dinner!

Oh! I also have a new name! No grandma names seemed to fit me. Sorry... but they all seemed a bit OLD. And I refuse to utter that nasty, bad word. Ever. Eeeeeuw.... shivering! The closest I could get to naming myself without gagging was G'amma. Like taking the "r" out takes away the bad-word connotation.... But even that seemed a bit fuddy-duddy. Until I burst out with a new idea while sitting at the table with my kidlets the other day! I'm not just G'amma, I'm SUPER G'AMMA!!!!! Yes, that would be "super" with a cape and mask and everything! Ok, maybe skip the mask, it might scare the wee one. But definitely a cape! Like all the superheros! Sooooo... now that I am a superhero, I can say my new name without gagging!

Super-G'amma!!!!!!

Well... that's the happy thought for today! Or happy thoughts.... Never can seem to stick to just one!

Have a happy day!

Thanksgiving Day!

2010-11-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

We opted for a quiet day at home this year! After all the turmoil and confusion of the past couple of weeks, it was absolutely beautiful to enjoy a day at home with our family and just a couple of extra friends! This is really just a "photo album" post. More stories and humor next time!

Smiley kiddo is still enjoying her Halloween costume! I've always had to struggle to get her into a hat and keep it on her head long enough for her to forget that it is there. But Smiley actually *pointed* to her zebra headgear this morning! Here she is, ready to go pick up Grammie before our Thanksgiving feast!

Our kiddos stayed in their jammies most of the day. And played with beads. Even the teens....

So glad they're all grown up....

Our kid crew went for a short walk between dinner and dessert. Not nearly a long enough walk to burn through the food consumed during the day, but, heck! They managed to make serious inroads on dessert just the same! (Note... smiley in the zebra hat is honing in on sassy second child's boyfriend again!)

The teen crew managed to figure out my tripod and camera timer for me! So we actually have a photo of everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Brown Family Crew! Hope you had a wonderful day!

New Normal

2010-11-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am emerging from a fog. With sincere apologies for the lack of posting in the past couple of weeks. Ummmm... several weeks. Our family learned some BIG NEWS. Yes, ALL CAPS BIG NEWS. And I just wasn't ready to share. Sooooo... now that the news is out and the fog is lifting, I'm ready to write again. And dust and vaccuum and clean closets and rearrange furniture and shake out rugs and wash beds... Oooops. I diverge. You're waiting for the news, not the to-do-list...

I'm going to be a grandma!

Ummmm... a few years earlier than any of us anticipated. Quite a few years earlier. Hence the fog. It has been a topsy turvy couple of weeks, with our world turned upside down and shaken vigorously. We have two teen parents-to-be in shock and trying to figure out what paths their lives are going to follow now. And a bunch of siblings with varying reactions. And two sets of grandparents-to-be busy working out details for education (the teens), child care (the baby), living arrangements and how to support the teens and sibs. Add to that all the people with staunch opinions about what we should do. Or what the new parents-to-be should or shouldn't do. I have been tempted to just go into lock-down mode. Just shut our doors and hold our family close.

And then there are the glimpses of normal. The friends who are able to just listen. JUST... not the "just" like "a little thing" but like the "only" thing. Friends who listen. Who are able to be there.  Who say, "I'm here if you ever need to talk." Who go for long walks or offer a cup of tea and an ear. The friends that call or message just to say they love us. I thank God for the people who can just be with us as we figure out our new normal.

Ah! New normal... I first heard that phrase from a friend who was battling cancer. How the happy, typical days sandwiched, meshed, sometimes collided with chemofunk days. (For beautiful reading, check out green bananas cancer blog ) Now it seems to fit our lives. As we emerge from two weeks of wandering around without noticing much of the world around us, we have little bits of normal peeking back into our lives. Like sitting down to a wonderful dinner with our whole family and a couple of extra teenage friends.  Or hanging all the "winter" wall quilts, dusting, and cleaning up a stack of accumulated magazines. And bits of New Normal... like chatting with my kiddo about changing the TV room into a bedroom for her and the little one.  Suddenly it is wonderful to plan a new room... bed, rocking chair, crib, changing table.  Or the little bursts of excitement as I look forward to meeting my grandchild! There is the New Normal of anticipating college as a day student.  My kiddo wanted to attend college within two hours of home before this new path, so looking at colleges within an hour of home is not a disappointment to her. And, of course, the New Normal of a very different junior and senior year of highschool than anticipated. But different doesn't have to be worse. Just different.

And there is the constant. Love. Our family. The friends who love and support us. The wonderful kids... the ones who live here, the ones who visit here. This baby will be a blessing. This baby will be loved.

Soooo... I'm leaving you with one more glimpse of normal. We were given a couple of huge pumpkins right after halloween.  They sat on our porch as we wandered around in a fog. Uncarved. Unfinished. This morning, walking back up from getting the littler kiddos on the bus, this sight caught my eye.  Hubby took a few minutes last night to carve us some goofy smiles!

Have a happy day!

still sewing...

2010-10-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Ok... as much fun as I have writing silly tales about our family, I know a few of you are scratching your heads thinking, "where are the QUILTS???"

Ooooops... not a quilt... But I *have* been sewing. Really. A little. A very little... my other job is ~~playing~~ working as a substitute teacher. Who would have guessed that I would be in demand during the month of October? Or that after a couple weeks of subbing nearly every day I would spend a couple of bleary days sneezing and dripping and snuffling my way around the house? Occupational health hazard, I guess.

But, look! After a couple of (healthy) days off, we have a cute little zebra running around our house! Ok... so I cheated a little. A discount store near us had these great stripey pajamas on sale for almost nothing. Seriously... who wouldn't want to snuggle up to their honey at night looking like a honkin' snortin' zebra? Well, I guess I wouldn't have lined up waiting for those jammies to hit the shelves.... But a cool thing about this store is all the mis-matched sets! Apparently a few honeys didn't mind the stripey pants. There were extra tops on sale for just a couple dollars. And an extra top was all I needed to make a hat and tail to complete the ensemble! I even have a sleeve left. Anyone out there need a tail to add to those stripey pants???

And, yes... I'll leave you with a bit of quilting. I have some great, bright dots and a few fun Kaffe Fassette's prints that I've been reluctant to cut into. Something about wanting to find the perfect pattern for them. Like perfect has any chance of happening with me at the rotary cutter! I finally dragged the buggers out and started slicing away. Just a simple Jacob's Ladder block, but I love the way the black stands out and the star points kind of flicker around. First part of one star, then part of another. Only one dilema. I just pulled these things out and started piecing. No idea what for. Maybe a baby quilt (several friends having babies right now)? Or a Project Linus quilt? Scratch all that... two kiddos walked through and fell in love with these bright blocks. My quilting just got doubled....

Have a happy day!

Hubby's solution...

2010-10-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that my husband and I are the parents of teenagers? Two teenagers, to be precise. With two more rapidly approaching teen-hood. Add in the boys that are now quasi-members of our teen zoo and all the buddies that ~~drop in for food~~ hang out here, and there is a distinct lack of brain cells circulating in this house. Parenting teens is a great exercise in multiplying fractions. One teen, one brain. Two teens, half a brain. Three teens, a quarter of a brain. The herd of teens running around our house? Oiy!

For the uninitiated to this teen phenomenon, it goes something like this. Teen brain wakes up and realizes it has a sister. Down to half power. Somehow, the brain still manages to get ready for school. Then the teen body carting this brain around steps onto the school bus where most of the remaining brain cells get sucked into a vortex of co-mingling teen brain. One of my kids says she sleeps on the way to school. I think she is actually experiencing a state of shock while her brain tries to adjust to the current loss of function. Or perhaps she is getting ready to bail out any remanining cells upon entrance to the great brick building called high school. It really is an amazing phenonenon to behold. High school functions in some special kind of time warp. Distinctly separate from the reality most adults inhabit. The teen brain just doesn't stand a chance. The vortex of brain cells is too strong. Soooooo... when the teen steps back off the bus in the afternoon, still reeling from the onslaught of "teen-brain-itis" and with teen friends in tow, we are dealing with something like a genetically altered version of the kid that slept at our house the night before.

The sharing of brain cells has resulted in, well... teenagers. With all the prerequisite loss of logic. And a hefty dose of sass. With some pouting thrown in for good measure. My husband has always relegated dealing with teenagers to me. Something about having all girls and possesing the respective anatomy. Like estrogen is some mystical element vital to accessing a teen girl's brain. He fails to understand that there is very little brain left to work with and I am actually an adult and therefore, by nature, thrown out of the teen-brain loop. But I've gotten used to dealing with teen-brain. Perhaps a better description is that I'm a bit numb to it. I've developed a strong resistance to getting sucked into teen reasoning or reacting to erratic behaviour.

I should know better than to leave poor hubby unattended during an outbreak of teen-brain-itis. Really. He is inaduquately prepared. And missing estrogen. But I left the house briefly last night with one of our teens to return a boy to his actual place of residence. When I returned, hubby described the horrific aftermath of my less-than-60-minute desertion. The remaining teen ran into computer problems trying to print out a report. Functioning on end-of-the-day brain power, this was a serious issue and quickly escalated to falling apart. Enter unprepared dad. Sensing rapid loss of control of said situation, he reacted the best he could. He gave our 16-year-old a TIME OUT. Pointing to a chair and everything. Needless to say, this did not go over well with said teen. By the time I arrived home to plug the printer in, dad and teen were nearing some cosmic eruption of epic proportions. Yes... I just said, PLUG THE PRINTER IN.

Have I mentioned the vortex that seems to have engulfed our home? And that it feeds off of teen brains? And that we will have a third teen in January and a fourth teen in a year and a half? Multiply by all the additional kids hanging out here and it sure makes for interesting life at the little brown house on the hill....

Sooooo... since I can't seem to catch a picture of a teen detatched from other teens, I'll leave you with a photo of hubby and me. This was taken a couple of days before the printer issues, so there may be a bit more gray in hubby's hair now....

Clunk-o-War...

2010-10-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Oldest kid is 16 now. Oh boy....

Seems like just last week, the BIG QUESTION of the day was what color cup the Victor of the cup-o-war got to use for dinner. Yup. Cup wars were big around here. Whining, shouting, tears, hair-pulling. Whatever it took to win the covetted cup. And woe to mom if the pink cup was not washed in time for the meal. Not that it deterred the battle. The troops would just duke it out over the second-favorite color...

But now, the BIG question is about car keys.... I hopped into the driver's seat last week 'cause we were running late to church. From the excessive amount of pouting that ensued, you would think that I had committed a far greater sin than gyping the kid of 20 minutes of driving time. Like maybe something along the lines of withholding chocolate. Or telling the diaper story.

Soooo... for the past few months, Hubby and my dad have been busy checking out Clunkers-by-the-side-of-the-road. Both guys have been regularly reporting on trucks and cars parked in the weeds. Oh boy! A grown-up-male (oxymoron?) version of the cup war. At least the guys don't have enough hair to resort to hair-pulling.... Really, I didn't take the competition too seriously. I figured the challenge was just barely heating up. No time-outs had been issued or even threatened. I was sure we had months of car one-upmanships to endure before a winner was declared. Until dad called up mighty proud of himself. Guess what he found? Um hmmmm... Dad is Victor of the clunk-o-war.

Actually, I'm not even sure it qualifies as a clunker. Hubby has had every tire and tube and gasket and what-all-else torn off the little white car in his quest to inspect the winning clunk. And hubby would show no mercy if he felt the clunk was not properly qualified for ferrying his daughter back and forth. But all he could find was a gasket that needed replacing. Huh. Go figure. A clean win. With no messy battles or fist-fulls of hair. Victory by sneak-attack before battle was even fully declared. Score one for dad!

I'd celebrate dad's win, but I'm guessing both contestants are out scouring the roadsides for clunk #2. Second kiddo starts driving on a permit in June...

And oldest kiddo? She figures she made out pretty well in the clunk war. Until it's time to pay for gas. Maybe then she'll let me drive to church....

Safe church...

2010-09-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... a bunch of us went for "safe church" training this weekend. We learned all about protecting the parishioners; especially children, youth and the elderly, from all kinds of nasty abuse. Yuck.

Then, on Sunday, our youth group met with our new rector. And promptly knocked him flat playing a game. Hmmmm... apparently safe church training forgot to cover protecting the rector from the youth!

Camp!

2010-09-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

My little girl went to camp!

I know, I know... pretty typical. Lots of kids go to camp. But for our third kiddo, camp is a REALLY BIG deal.... This extra-special young person has extensive disabilities. Lots of typical stuff is difficult for her. Keeping up with her classmates... well, that is a dream for us. But kiddo's 7th grade class was spending a week at Camp. We sure didn't want Smiley to miss out on the experience!

The theme for the week was, "stretching your rubber band." I do love that image. Everyones' rubber band is different. For some, going on the zip-line or swinging on the giant swing was stretching the rubber band. For our kiddo, walking through the woods over rocks and roots was stretching. So was staying overnight for two nights with her classmates (and mom).

Keeping up to her small group for an hour-long game walking all over the campus with frequent bursts of running was a challenge. Climbing 1/4 mile of a mountain... yup, that stretched the rubber band.

And climbing part way up a ladder... BIG STRETCH!

I am sooooooo very proud of this kid!

See that smile? We saw an awful lot of it last week!

And this smile? Easy-peasy... we got all the *boys* to stand behind the photographer....

Yup, pretty typical girl, she is!

Have a happy day!

totally random...

2010-09-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

My kids never cease to amaze me! This is 11-year-old's self portrait. WOW!!! She's always drawing and just pops out sketches like this!

She drew this looking in the mirror, but I took a picture of the kiddo to show you the amazing accuracy! Ok... I know I'm biased, but I think she's a pretty phenomenal artist!

And kiddo #3 loves looking at photos, but will seldom cooporate to take a picture. I actually managed to catch her attention the other day and snapped several cute photos of her. I love this one of the two of us!

And one more quick, happy thought! We had our first youth group meeting this weekend! I love this crew! Ok... the crew is considerably better-looking than this quick characterization, but I don't post photos of the group. So I'm just leaving you with a sketch of the smiles that accompanied a whole lot of laughter! And, yes, we have two thumbs up in the actual photo!

I'll be off camping most of the week with kiddo #3! Think of us when you are snug and warm and it's 40 degrees and raining out there....

Have a great week!

Crazy 'bones!

2010-09-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Got trombones?

There must be some mutant, renegade gene that determines trombone aptitude. So far as I can see, playing a trombone goes way beyond a certain musical style. There seems to be a "fun" gene involved in the makeup of a trombonist. Could you really choose to play an instument with that great slide if you had no intention of poking people with it? And can you picture any goofier instrument? Trombonists can take a note, dump it off its line, drop it several spaces, then swoop it back up to where it started again. Without taking a breath. Sometimes intentionally. Sometimes while trying to remember in what position the note is really supposed to be played.... For a trombonist, there is a delightful inconsistancy to notes. We can play any note a little sharp or flat. Or a lot sharp or flat. So much that it sounds like a whole different note, even.... We don't tend to take ourselves (or anyone else) too seriously. Is it any wonder that there is generally plenty of laughter coming from the trombone section in a band?

I'm glad to say that I have plenty of trombones (and trombonists!) in my life! "Thing 1" (one of the guys from a goofy town band I play in) invited the rest of the trombone section over to his house this week. Where there is laughter, there is warmth. Yup... lots of warmth in this section!

I really don't have enough words to describe the evening. We laughed, we talked, we joked, sorted blueberries, made pie, played music. But it was the little things that made the evening special. Like the birthday hat on the mailbox marking the driveway. Or the two blueberry pies due to an animated discussion about the merits of grahm cracker crusts verses traditional crust. (Not to mention crumb topping or crust top and the question of how much sugar is neccessary for a blueberry pie...) It was the music we played. 'Bone-caroling. Christmas music in August. It was the comfort of sitting with friends, chatting and sorting blueberries. Or swapping trombone mischief stories. The peacefulness of standing on the deck looking over trees and a treehouse. Or trying the myriad of very strange and wonderful instruments that "Thing 1" and "Moe" had with them. Joking about breaking kids. Or very big shoes. Or "Curly" going back for her third and fourth pieces of pie. The random jokes that make us all grin.

Another piece of the evening... friendship. Shared experiences. This was Lucie's trombone section. She would have loved the evening. It was bittersweet to gather without her. Yet she, of all people, would have been quick to proclaim, "sweet!" And it was.

2010-09-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

My funny bone is temporarily not ticklish. The last week has been full of ups and downs. Good times and hard times. Laughter and tears. Leaving me in an unusual, contemplative mood. And I don't feel like sharing. Hmmmm... and yet, I blog. So, today's post sounds a lot like the trumpets at our last concert.....................................................................................................................................
Sorry for the silence.....

Trumpets? Trumpets?

2010-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever experienced a band concert with no trumpets? We had four measures in the middle of one piece that sounded kind of like............................................................................. Ummmm... yup. That's what it sounded like! Then the trombones came back in with the counter-melody. But what I want to know is, why did the audience clap for the invisible trumpets and stop clapping for the trombones??? I mean, c'mon! Always clap for the trombones! We're sensitive. (Did you fall for that one?)

Hmmmm... band director #2 announced that I have enough sass to make up for our missing trombonist... During the concert even. Sass is good, right??? Must be 'cause trombones are full of it! And when we have our full section back, we'll really whup those trumpets! (Whup would be the musical term for "play a lot louder". Trombones are also well know for whupping at "pp" signs...)

By the way, I love concerts!

I get to pretend to be a grown up!

Right down to my toes!

Well... almost!

And one more quick kidbit...

Apparently, the wait for pie was a *little* too long for kiddo #3...

Have a fun day!

Kid-bits!

2010-08-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

I love it when the kiddos blurt out a bit of "mom-trivia" that makes me grin!  A few days ago, I was brushing my hair when kiddo #4 materialized behind me... "mom, you're beautiful."  I chuckled and said, "no, not really, but thanks!" The youthful little eyes behind me got all big and wide. The eleven-year-old-unbelievably-horrified look. "No, Mommy! You really ARE beautiful!" Gotta love the world according to youngest kiddo's rose-colored glasses! And, hey! I am beautiful to my kiddo!  I'm happy :o)

And last night, oldest kiddo and I went for a late-evening drive. With the sole purpose of Mickey-ing a buddie's car. Oh, such a stealthy mission! We parked a little past his house, were careful not to slam the car door, and worked under the cover of darkness. As she hopped back in our car and we made our get-away, my kiddo laughed and blurted out, "I'm so glad you're my mom!  Not many parents would think it's ok to go out at night for something so fun!" (Just for the record, Mickey is a bright pink antenae-topper.  Not the more sinister, Webster's definition of Mickey-ing something!)

Then there is kiddo #2, who is playing around with a new look. Lots of black, funky sneakers, colorful hair, wild prints, homemade chain neclaces, bracelets, anklets. Really a pretty cool look! But it is tweaking a friend of hers who is horrified by all the black.  Kiddo 2 has been wishing for black lip stick. She knows it will get tweaked buddy going! And she thinks it is "cool." (Or whatever today's word for cool is...) So, while at the big-W-store, I picked up the darkest lipstick I could find for her. Not quite black (might have to wait for Halloween), but dark enough to become mom-of-the-moment!

I'll enjoy being popular while I can! Soon enough I'll be pestering them to do their homework. Then my popularity might decline significantly...

Well... enough silly for today! With the kiddos all off to school, it is time to get back on the work-wagon!

Have a happy day!

Freshman orientation...

2010-08-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yup... sassy kid is ready for freshie day!

She had a blast! Today all the kiddos are gone. The house is sooooo quiet!

Have a happy day!

40 continued...

2010-08-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

I had a beautiful, sunny day for turning 40! As evidenced by all the squinty-eyed photos... Soooo... how does a sassy, goofy, dorky 40-year-old celebrate? Ummm... about the same as any typical sunny, summer day! Blueberry picking! Oh! My 15-year-old offered to chaperone me for my birthday. She *swears* she meant chauffeur, but, hey! Another year older, I'm sure I can get into a bit more trouble, too! Actually... we got half-way to our intended picking spot & had to return for my purse. Then, after all my triple-checking to make sure all the girls used the bathroom before we left, guess who had to pee in the woods? Yup... maybe I need a chaperone more than a chauffeur...

Sooooo... when we finally got to the top of the mountain for a 2:00 picnic (ooops!), we discovered that the wild berries are gone. Well... they're still hanging on the bushes. But they have become "leather berries". Or perhaps "blaisins". Our dry summer seems to have hurried them through their life cycle. Thank goodness for a beautiful view, nutty kids and a whole lot of laughter! And a chaperone who liked the idea of another hour of driving curvy back roads. (Hmmm... is there such a phenomenon as a 15-year-old kid who *doesn't* like the idea of extra driving time?) Although, I wonder if she was having a little too much fun on some of those curves? Maybe I should worry a little when we are headed down a steep, twisty hill and I hear "whoooooo! Mom, this is like a roller coaster!"

By the time we arrived at blueberry fields #2, we had about 20 minutes of picking time. And the kids wanted enough berries for pies. Thank goodness they are old enough to actually *help* with the picking now. We managed 5 lbs. of berries in that tiny window of time!

Then it was off to my parents' house for dinner with the family! An evening full of laughter! My favorite way to celebrate! Oh! Poor hubby kept trying to figure out what to do for my birthday. He tried sending me to a quilt show. Or to a fair. Poor guy... foiled again! I refused to go anywhere big and splashy. I just wanted a sunny day filled with family and friends. (Perhaps he put in the order for that gorgeous sunshine? It was much appreciated!)

While we were playing a goofy card game (in which my brother-in-law and I completely whipped the competition), kiddo #3 decided that she was staying overnight and headed up the stairs for bed. I love that the routines at Nana and Boppa's house are just as familiar as home! My dad brushed her teeth, played the "over-jammie, peek-a-boo game", kissed Barney (the favorite toy) and the kiddo goodnight, and she settled right down for an impromptu overnight. Which gave the rest of us a bit longer to visit.

And when we got home, this bright, happy sunflower was waiting on our porch! I had no idea who it was from, until we found this little signature...

Yup... I've been Mickey-ed! My buddy and I have a long history of swapping car decorations back and forth! It's always such a silly surprise to find a new bit of humor on the side (or antenae) of the car! This is the first time a plant has arrived wearing car decorations, though! Oh, I laughed and laughed!

And to finish up a wonderful day, a teenaged buddy stopped in at 10:30 to say happy birthday. (And to make sure his mom's Mickey arrived safely!) The oldest two kiddos, teenage buddy and I sat around laughing and joking for nearly an hour! And you know it is a good buddy when oldest kiddo comes downstairs in striped pajamas to visit!

Oh! It was a wonderful day!

Have a happy day!

40 feels pretty darned good!

2010-08-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Really, I'm just an eight-year-old, five times over!

Lucie...

2010-08-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends passed away last night. She was my buddy and comrade in second trombone mischief. I miss her...

A bit of randomness...

2010-08-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Youngest kiddo was thrilled to get home from Nana and Boppa's house and see her new backpack waiting for her!

My parents take the girls back-to-school shopping each year. This is our families' pay-it-forward tradition. When my sisters and I were small, my Nana took us back-to-school shopping. Now my parents take our children. Someday, I'll get to take grandchildren back-to-school shopping! (Not anytime soon, by the way!) I caught this photo of my dad walking with daughter #3 from JC Penneys to Fashion Bug. You can't see it in the photo, but they were holding hands. Big, tough, logger-guy out with his granddaughter headed into a totally girlie store... gotta love it!

The oldest two kiddos modeling matching outfits they found on our expedition!

This was a big year for Kiddo #3 (on the left). She actually tried on clothes and had fun showing Nana and Boppa her "pretties". She even joined in the imprompto runway show when we got home by modeling her new duds!

And I have been *promising* to post a photo of our cute little house! This is the view of our very favorite room... the front porch :o)

And, finally, oldest kiddo's favorite new shirt. Hmmmm... what could she possible mean by that, I wonder???

Music, Random Mickeying, and Colorful Backpacks!

2010-08-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

A two-concert weekend... gotta love it! Saturday's concert was short and sweet. Maybe because we went so fast? A few of those pieces went maybe twice as fast as I could play them. One of my comrades suggested that perhaps the writer of "Amparito Roca" thought that trombones were related to piccolos? Let's just say "vivace" on that one means "don't take a breath, you'll miss 8 measures..." But, hey! Any concert followed by chicken barbeque on a beautiful day sounds like fun to me! (Even if I am about half way through Amparito when the rest of the band finishes...)

Today's concert was an hour and a half of pure hilarity! Our goofy crew went with "Thing 1," "Thing 2," and "Thing 3," for our WAY special shirts for this concert. Our director referred to his baton as his "remote control" at the beginning of the concert. Near the end of the concert, his remote control lost control and wound up nearly in the trombone section. Did he slip? Certainly he wouldn't intentionally throw things at the trombones, right? Right???? Or maybe it was just our turn with the remote! Darn it! When I tried to snag the remote, the baritones gave it back to our conductor. Foiled again! (I do not have good luck wresting the remote away from anybody around here, either!)

Oh! And oldest kiddo and I spent much of the afternoon on random acts of Mickeying!

If you see any victims driving around, just smile!

And then... home to finish a couple more backpacks! Here is kiddo 1 holding her backpack and kiddo 4's backpack!

Have an awesome, very happy day!

Tigers and cheetahs and chains, oh my!

2010-08-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Kiddo #2 finished her backpack!!! She's a wild one, alright!

K2 added lots of hardware to her creation... chains, charms, rings...

Oh, what a fun & sassy kid!

kick-butt-awesome-backpacks

2010-08-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

My kiddos have been after me all summer... they need backpacks for school. Now, we're not talking about normal kids needing normal backpacks... I have sassy kids who prefer QUOTE... kick-butt-awesome-backpacks... END QUOTE. Soooo... we can't just go BUY kick-butt backpacks. (Can't you just picture me walking in and asking for a couple of those?)

When oldest kiddo started highschool, I offered to make her a bag. She chose LOUD fabrics and quickly became known as the kid with the really cool bag. Two years later, she was *still* getting comments on that backpack. But, alas, two years worth of heavy text books were taking a toll on the pack. And... kiddos # 2 and #4 are both entering new schools this year. Time for backpacks....

ANY GUESSES HOW LONG IT TAKES TO MAKE ONE OF THESE BUGGERS??? These aren't the little mini-packs like I carry. These are the beasts of backpacks. And we're making HOW MANY??? My feet were dragging a bit. Enter helpful kids... "Can WE make them?" Yup... gotta recognize when it is time to surrender.

Have I mentioned before that I have very patient parents? (Good thing since they had to put up with me...) Nana and Boppa offered to take the littler two kiddos for a couple of days so that the older girls and I could start working on those backpacks.

We are having a blast!!! We started out with a trip to the awesome LOUD FABRIC store. Then turned our livingroom into a whirlwind of cutting, ironing, sewing and LAUGHING!!! Oh! The stories these kids tell while working! Poor hubby got home to a fabric-fiasco reaching from kitchen table to sewing machine... and kiddos that immediately said, "Mom! Kick him out! We're TALKING!" (Apparently Dad is not privy to the latest girl-gossip...)

Oh! If you read the "random dozen" post, I have to update the last time I laughed so hard I cried. And I wasn't even tired and loopy yet! We had a late dinner on the porch. And the kids *did* allow Dad to join us for supper. Dinner with two teens took on a whole new level of goofiness. Wise cracks and highschool humor. Rampant sarcasm and a comedy of innuendo. Poor hubby finally had to give up on trying to control the ruckus and just laugh along with us!

Sooooo... today the sewing marathon continues. Each of the kiddos formulated a plethora of ideas for decorating the packs as they worked last night. So we'll be getting some colorful ribbons and chains today. I can't wait to see these things! Both kiddos' unique personalities sparkle through the choices they are making for their bags! And we are working together on backpacks for the littler kiddos! Soooo... I will not have to sit at the sewing machine for two solid weeks working on these kick-butt-awesome-backpacks! Oh! Life is good!

Have a wonderful day!

More trombone sass...

2010-08-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Oldest kiddo and I had a concert tonight, so, of course, we were on our best behavior. C'mon! Did you really fall for that one??? We have these great red shirts that we wear for the summer season with a charming logo and the name of our band. But our conductor gets a *special* shirt identifying him as the DIRECTOR. Now wait a second! Everybody knows the trombones are WAY special! I mean, we can sorta read music and everything! Pretty good at tipping over music stands, bonking people with our slides and generally annoying anyone in close proximity to us. So... we decided we needed special shirts, too.

At our last concert, we were...

Tonight's concert got maybe a little closer to accurate...

We have two concerts left. Any good ideas?

And, Lucie... WE MISS YOU!!!! Hope you have some especially snarky (your word!) suggestions for naming this goofy crew for upcoming concerts :o) Love ya!!!

Have a happy day!

Random Dozen...

2010-08-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Alright... I'm giving this a try. Linda of http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/ posted a random dozen questions to blog about. Dontcha just love that blog title???  I love starting my day with a cup of coffee, but the only time I indulge in a second cup is when I'm sharing one with a friend! Soooo... I am finking out and not being very original today, but grab cup of joe and hang with me for a little bit!

1. When was the last time you laughed until you cried?

Oh my gosh! My funny bone is a tad ticklish! Don't get me started... Any time I'm tired I get a little loopy. And loopy comes with that little bubble of laughter that fizzes right up from the belly and erupts into a peal of giggles that I can't stuff back into a polite grin.  I'm almost always loopy after 10 at night. Sometimes after 8...  Ummm... it is not a good idea to serve as an Eucharistic Minister following an extended stretch of not sleeping well... We are not really expected to giggle over the bread and wine. Or laugh through the hymns...

2. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?

I would add it to the "summer incidentals fund"... a.k.a. my backpack. The kids seem to think this is a magic bag. "Mom! We're near the icecream store! You have your backpack with you!"  "Mom, can we get a movie? You have your backpack with you!"   Today, I need to remember to take that backpack with me so that I can get some of that magic gas that keeps the kid-carrier running the roads of this little town... So, I need to find three $10s....

3. Do you volunteer anywhere?

Nope. Oh! Wait! I'm a youth group leader! I hang out with a bunch of great teens, eat pizza, play games, chat for hours, laugh, work with a phenomenal group of pseudo-grown-ups (yeah... we have a chuckle every time the "grown ups" meet!), lead prayers, do a little planning, play more games, make cookies... and someone, somewhere decided to call me a volunteer! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???? These kids keep me young and laughing!

4. What is your favorite summertime veggie or fruit, and how do you eat it?

Blueberries. Oh! Or maybe... blueberries. Yup. Definitely blueberries. Right off the bush on a sunny day with all my kiddos with me is the best way to eat them!

5. Is your social sphere (circle of friends) small, medium or large?

Oh! I am so lucky! Gotta say large on this one! I am blessed by friends I can talk with about anything, goofy friends, friends that walk with me, lots of friends who make me laugh, chat-over-a-cup-of-coffee friends, kid friends, grown-up friends, fun-to-run-into-them-once-a-year friends, Facebook friends, friends that play in band, friends from church, family friends.... Yup. Very blessed by friends!

6. When was the last time you attended a family or school reunion? How did that go?

Our family reunions are always a blast! We get 20-30 of us together several times a year. Most recently in Maine where we had a murder mystery for 15! (among other fun stuff!) The last really big family reunion, ya know... breaking 300 or so, was a couple years ago. We're all related to my grammie, so... yeah! We had a blast!

7. When you're feeling blue, what is the best way someone can cheer you up?

If you can make me laugh, you have my heart for life! Gee... and it is so exceedingly *not* difficult to make me laugh...

8. Have you taken a vacation this summer?

Yup. But I prefer home.

9. What is the most unnecessary item you carry with you all the time?

I'm sure that backpack has something unneccessary in it. But about the time I decide something is not neccessary and take it out, gall-darned if I don't need it the next day!

10. What is the best summer flick you have seen so far?

I don't very often sit still long enough to watch a whole movie. But a total surprise to me was Tooth Fairy! It was hilarious all the way through!

11. Describe a perfect summer day.

Oooooh! The kids would sleep late! Like at least 7:00. Breakfast, coffee and blogging for a solid hour, uninterupted :o) Then head out with hiking shoes and a picnic to pick blueberries with the kiddos. Stop at the pool on the way home.  My husband would cook. And since this is a fanatasy day, he would actually cook fish... Throw in band practice and it sounds like a pretty amazing day!

12. Please a share a favorite photo from the summer so far!

Oh, this is soooooo cheating! This one's already been up on the blog...

Well... pretty random. But, heck! So is life! Have a happy day!

Just a guess...

2010-08-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that the trombone players are the goofballs of every band. The conductor of band #2 asked last night, "does anyone have any questions? Trombones, do you have any questions?" Incredulous looks all around our row. TROMBONES??? ASK QUESTIONS???

One of the guys piped up, "we are issuing no statements at this time." Oh, yeah! Trombone sass! (Being very new to this band, I am practicing good behavior for a little while. Probably a very little while...)

Yup... so glad to be a goofball :o)

Have a happy day!

Check this out!

2010-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine just started blogging! Check out Lori's blog at http://itsthelittlethings-lori.blogspot.com/ :o) Isn't her blog name great??? I know I'm looking forward to reading more of her work!

Have a happy day!

A random collection of little happy things....

2010-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm.... A mouthpiece and the phone? (I guess, technically, you could call them both mouthpieces...) I spent much of yesterday morning on the phone. I caught up with a good friend whom I haven't seen for a while. It was such a joy to hear her voice! She is going through a lot right now, though. When the call ended, that familiar crushing feeling of wishing I could wave my arms, call in a miracle, and go to band practice with her crashed into me. Bittersweet. But wonderful to hear her voice. (You can read some of Lucie's writing at http://greenbananascancerblog.blogspot.com/ Her work is beautiful.)

When I hung up the phone, we had a message. FROM MY BEST COLLEGE BUDDY!!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! We hear from each other a few times a year. Well, I hear from her. Ummmm... can we say I write her a whole lot of letters? But somehow they manage to be mostly in my head? And when I actually do put pen to paper, I usually manage to write a long chatty letter, gather a bunch of photos, and.... ummmm.... neglect to actually *mail* the darned thing. Naughty, naughty me.... Oh! And I lost her e-mail address a couple of years ago when we had no internet. So she couldn't even follow our family on Facebook or by this blog. Ooooops.

We talked for a couple of hours. Just as easily as if we were back in college. What a blessing to have a friendship that just picks right back up where we left off a couple of years ago! (Ooooops... haven't seen her in... ummmmm... seven years....) It was also funny to realize that there are still so many parallels in our lives! In a nutshell, our kiddos are all in school now (one of hers is in college!) and we are at "career crossroads." Our lives are wonderful. Everything for which we've always hoped. And we are wondering, what's next??? With the brunt of kid-raising done, we both have a little time and a lot of creativity. In a funny twist, we both decided to start writing! (Well... not that she would believe that I am in the habit of writing....)

Hmmm... did I mention that we still have a lot in common? And that we made a date to get together again? Yup. Hopefully October! And... ummm... I will mail those darned letters and the five-and-a-half-pound stack of pictures.... Tomorrow. Or sometime.... Or maybe today....

Soooo... the other mouthpiece! I have a humongous trombone. Oh! It is a beauty!

But it is maybe closer in size to a tuba. With a slide. The mouthpiece is gigantic. I can play a few songs in the upper register, then my lips resort to quivering like jello for the rest of the night. Not usually a problem. I happily play second part which means most of my music is comfortably in the middle range. But I've joined a second band. And wound up with several first parts. Oh dang! What was the conductor thinking??? I brought my saggy-lip dilema to a friend of mine who actually knows something about trombones. (I just happily and rather naively enjoy playing the thing.) He loaned me a mouthpiece to try. A smaller-sized mouthpiece with a built-up shank (the part that plugs into the rest of the trombone). Did I mention that this trombone is enormous??? It could eat a regular mouthpiece for breakfast. And suck my lips in for snack right afterwards. I didn't have high hopes for that upper register. No pun intended. Well... maybe a little bit...

Yesterday afternoon, I popped the new mouthpiece in and ran through Band #2's music. An hour later, I realized that my lips were still going strong. Unbelievable! Yup. I'll be investing in a new mouthpiece. And an interesting bit of trivia... I looked down the throats of the two mouthpieces (mine and the loaner). The loaner is *much* smaller. I guess I don't have such a big mouth after all :o)

(If you know me, you might be chuckling at *that* conclusion...)

A couple more happy bits. Our garden produced the first peppers and tomatoes of the season! Sorry... the big, plump pepper and cheery red tomatoes were very pretty. But we ate them. Without taking photos first. I am a *very bad* gardener. I throw some seeds or plants into the ground, then mostly ignore them. So I am disproportionately happy when they actually grow and produce something wonderful!

And, speaking of old friends that go back 20+ (cough! cough!) years, my husband's best friend from highschool visited with his family a couple of days ago. As always, we had a wonderful time! And we must have been infants in highschool since we could not possibly be a day over 20 yet! Certainly not pushing 40. Ouch!

And Dave's wife, Lori, will be getting her blog address to me soon so that I can link to *her* writing! (Lori....Hint! Hint! Dust off that blog and start writing! I'm looking forward to following!)

Ah! A good couple of days!

Have a happy day!

Disney? Or a day of blueberry picking?

2010-08-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

My husband and I took youngest kiddo to Disney last week. Isn't Disney every kid's dream? Not around our house. I am soooooo glad to say that my sassy, independant kiddos have little desire to be sucked into one of America's biggest conglomerate businesses :o) We visited for an afternoon. That was plenty for all three of us! I don't need chirpy music, constant parades and vacuous, cheery smiles to remind me that I'm happy. Heck! I only need to get up in the morning to have fun! (Although a cup of coffee helps!)

Oh... not that Disney is all-bad. We had a wonderful dinner with a friendly waiter and chef. The chef came right out to talk with us about Shannon's allergies. He made sure that the pasta was safe for her to eat. What a treat! This kiddo *almost never* gets to eat pasta in restaurants. And there must be something to be said for all the wide smiles and piped in music. Even in hour-and-a-half-long lines, the crowds waited patiently. People smiled at each other. And chatted.

But, really, Disney is not my thing. It's just so... fake. I'll take good ole' New England any day. We have blueberries. And maple trees. And cows. And *home* :o)

Yup. I'll take home. No piped in music required for a good time. We got back to a sunny, breezy, beautiful New England summer. I did the responsible thing... and skipped unpacking and laundry to head out to the blueberry fields with the kids! It was a day filled with laughter and very real smiles! We picked 12.5 pounds of berries. Well... we finished with that many. Our blueberry bandit (daughter #3) filched berries from our buckets all afternoon!

Have a happy day!

2010-07-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, we take a Polaris conference soooooo seriously! NOT! As usual, we are all about anything goofy!

Is this a preview of what is to come in just four short years? Oiy! I may have a few more gray hairs by then....

Have a happy day!

the sunshine state!

2010-07-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hubby, kiddo #4 and I are spending a few days in Florida. Hello, Sunshine State! Shannon had the option of a "kids night out" or a Polaris meeting last night. She (and daddy....) were unsure about that kids night. Was she really old enough to be away from us for so long? I finally got the nervous-Nellies over to register. Hmmm... face painting, Wi, air-hockey, a wildlife show, lots of kids, basketball.... Or a four-hour dinner and new product unveiling??? Ummm... guys... this sounds like a no-brainer!!! I wonder if they let 39-year-olds sign up for kids night?

Dang... ages 4-12!

Do I need to say that Shannon had a blast? Oh! And when I picked her up, I snuck in and beat her 2 out of 3 games of air hockey! I don't think they'll charge Polaris for the half hour I spent at kid's night. After all, I'm just a parent checking on my kiddo :o) And I did refraim from having my face painted....

A mix of news...

2010-07-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ok... I'm 'fessing up. I've been neglecting this little blog. Too much fun in the sun. We recently got back from Maine where, among other fun times, we had a hilarious murder mystery for 15 (the previous two posts will take you to my other blog for the whole story). The girls are home for the summer and we are enjoying a mix of lazy days, industrious days, and a constant parade of friends visiting. Maggie and I are in the middle of summer concert season and have enjoyed lots of goofing around and music with the band.

And, in the midst of all that fun, there is also heartache. I have three friends battling cancer right now. All at varying stages. But it all hurts. It seems that the pendulum swings very high and very low this summer. On the one hand, we are enjoying a peaceful, relaxed, goofy summer with family and friends. And, hand in hand, are my constant thoughts and prayers for these three friends.

Soooo... how to write a post that swings so? I guess, like life, I will mix it up and let it swing...

Speaking of swinging... I love this band! And to my left is Lucie. I showed up unannounced in October for my first practice. I was scared. Talking a mile a minute and cracking jokes (also how I act when I'm comfortable and happy, so it can be difficult to tell the difference). But I was jumping-out-of-my-skin nervous. It had been 15 years since I had played the trombone. I was hoping I could still remember a Bflat scale... Lucie welcomed me with an easy smile, shared her music, joked about accidentals... and when I got completely lost in the middle of a song, put down my trombone and started laughing, she reassured me that she still had a hard time getting through that piece. Lucie really made the difference between falling in love with the band and running for door, never to return again....

Lucie is also one of my friends fighting cancer. She has a beautiful blog where she shares her journey. http://greenbananascancerblog.blogspot.com/ This summer has brought new symptoms for her. Including vomitting. Which, unfortunately, playing the trombone worsened. God, I hate cancer!

So our latest gatherings and goofiness have been missing Lucie. Our section just isn't the same without her there. Oh gosh! Don't get me wrong! We still have a great time.... Wacky, goofy fun, plenty of conversation, and honest caring for each other are still hallmarks of the the trombone section. We can make a joke out of anything. Like flute players who sit dangerously close to our slide ends. Or our conductor who has a difficult time cuing us with a straight face at a concert when we are all wearing party hats and stickers identifying us as "tbone" players. And we joke about ourselves. Constantly. Whenever our director's hands are down. And sometimes while they are still up....

Did I mention we eat cake?

And caring. The guys are a bit... ummm... protective. They work very hard to make sure Maggie and I aren't left alone for a concert. Each of the guys are planning to make a concert in August that is a stretch for them. Trying to protect us from playing alone, I guess. Or maybe protecting us from retaliation from the flute players? Or maybe they are protecting the band from us musically? You never know when that Bflat scale might be played. I might panic and head for that door...

One of my major roles this summer is that of chauffeur. The oldest two kiddos have been working; Maggie at a vineyard and Claire on a horse farm. I'm driving. A lot. (Unless Maggie gets ahold of those car keys first!) But around the trips to drop off and fetch kiddos, our days are relaxed. Lunches on the porch. Board games. Long walks. The pool.

Unless I get a project in mind and decide to haul furniture all day. Claire (the kiddo on the horse) and I cleaned out our loft area above the garage. That loft has been many things over the past few years. From office to bedroom to party space. But most recently, ping pong and storage area. I love the ping pong! But the furniture storage was driving me nuts. So Claire gave me a hand and we took chairs and desks and beds and bureaus (mostly old yardsale finds) to donate. We laughed and talked and sweated and drove around all day. Gosh! I love summers with my kids!

Kids... their godmother is another of my friends fighting cancer. Again. This is the third and possibly fourth time the ugly beast has invaded her life. The first two times were 30+ and 20+ years ago. And again, it has been caught early. Her prognosis is good. The next couple of months are shaping up full of uncertainty, discomfort and fear for her, though. God, I hate cancer!

My third friend battling cancer, I saw at the post office the other day. We talked for nearly an hour. She has to stay close to home due to fatigue. And she is looking at another proceedure that will restrict her even further. I don't remember all the technical terms, but she can't even have visitors for an extended amount of time. The risk of infection is too high while her body fights to rebuild strength. God, I hate cancer!

Well... this post has been punctuated in typical summer-style by a trip to pick up a kiddo, hanging loads of laundry, washing dishes, playing a board game, and taking a long walk with my neighbor. What hasn't been punctuating my summer lately? This neglected sewing machine. It's about time to get back to working on writing, sewing and creating. At least until the next kiddo needs a ride....

Have a happy day!

Vacation in Maine!

2010-07-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that my family is rather... goofy? My oldest daughter (top row, third from left) planned a murder mystery dinner for 15. Yup... FIFTEEN! Our night of hilarity is a favorite for the neighborhood! Our upstairs neighbors came out and snapped pictures. For us... and plenty of their own! We slowed the traffic down for a few minutes... My dad (the vivacious redhead in the front row) stole the show as he flaunted his new wardrobe!

Yup... that's my dad!

Oldest kiddo really outdid herself. The cast list includes "Ima Heckler," "Ron Dewing," "Lottie Cash," "Flo O. Cash," "Lawrence Suit," "Pat Prime" (NOT "Past Prime"... no matter how many times my husband said it!), "Ann O. Ying," "Char Broil".... and one of my favorites...

"Cici the monkey!" Yup... my little one with extensive special needs had her own part! "Cici" loved dressing up and sitting with all the goofy people for the mystery! And when she wandered away from the table (not until nearly the third act!), she spent several minutes squealing happily at her reflection in the hall mirror!

Oh! Here are lovely twin sisters to the deceased! Before they found out that one of them was plotting to "kill" the other over the inheritance. Well... what was left of the inheritance after my dear husband, the financial advisor from Vegas, got his hands on it....

Oh... and the wasted fortune wasn't left to the twins after all... It was left to "Kay Nein" of a yappy dog rescue society. Too bad Kay didn't really love dogs...

We also had in attendance a competitor with a nasty temper, "Ann O. Ying", and her model "DD" (my dad), and her (his?) sticky-fingered hair and makeup artist, "Belle Chesnought", a tough and boozed up security guard, a disgruntled (and black-mailed) chef, a bitter photographer, an overworked assistant, and a traveling gypsy who had overstayed her welcome.

Oh... and the deceased's aging top model who was in danger of being fired... (yup, that would be me!)

We sure are having fun!
Have a great week!

Little sprout...

2010-07-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

You're kidding, right?

Seriously... this isn't happening, right?

My *baby* is NOT four inches taller than me, right?

Uh oh!

This really *is* happening...

Where did time go?

2010-07-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

We are having a wonderful vacation in Maine! Check out my other blog http://kwiltingwithkatie.blogspot.com/ for a post about the murder mystery hilarity we enjoyed last night!

Have a happy day!

Ready to go!

2010-06-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, the hilarity of getting ready for vacation in our household! Kiddo 3 and P-Wiggles (the puppy) tag-team to create a little rucus.... K3 likes to find fun things for Wiggles to eat. Like laundry. I came in from getting the car ready to find a trail of clothes from the kitchen to the livingroom. Yup. She unloaded one of the suitcases and tried to feed it to Wiggles. Good thing our puppy was not interested in teething on socks and underwear this morning! Whew! Wiggles usually makes great use of any opportunity to eat something unintended for her :o)

Well... we are off! I'll bring the computer. But I doubt I'll use it :o) If you don't hear from me.... Have a happy week!

Bits of summer fun!

2010-06-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Ok... summer is here. I need to remember to keep a book in the car :o) I arrived the to pick up kiddo 2 from her summer job at a local horse farm on Tuesday. And found her far out in the fields exercising one of the horses. This kiddo will shovel a lot of poo for a chance to ride! (And she has been shoveling a lot of poo!)

And here is kiddo 3! I turned around the other day to find her building block towers on the rocking chair arm. So beautiful! Even when her towers kept falling over when she rocked.

And kiddo 4 just had a birthday. My *baby* is ELEVEN now. She thought that would be a great excuse to grow another inch or so. Funny (tall) kid! Soooooo... how did kiddo 4 choose to spend her birthday? At the mall. Ugh. She's wanted to visit the mall for about six months now. Have I mentioned that I am a *tad* resistant to anything involving large shopping centers??? When I was a kid, my mom decreed that every other year was a birthday party year and the off years were one-friend-for-an-overnight years. I'm sure this helped her stay sane with two kiddos with near-Christmas birthdays. (Yes, I tried many times to convince her that August was a slow enough month to have a party every year. No... it didn't work...)

Whooops... I veered off-topic. (Nothing new to anyone who knows me...) Now, with two of my own kiddos with near-Christmas birthdays, the every-other-year-party has been reinstated. Even for the June kiddo. Soooooo.... how *did* kiddo 4 convince me to set foot in a...gulp!... mall??? This was a one-friend year. And she wanted to go to Build-a-Bear. Yup, I'm a sucker for birthday wishes. And it actually was a wonderful day! The girls giggled happily in the back seat while the "air conditioning" (open windows) whistled through the car. They had a ball choosing the perfect outfits for their critters. We rode escalators. And ate icecream. We had dinner at Applebees where K4 was thrilled to have a special birthday song presented along with a dessert that she was too full to eat. And when we returned her friend home, the grown-ups (yes, I qualify) sat and visited while the kids played for a couple more hours. It was a beautiful day. Even if it included time at a mall. (And daddy enjoyed the very chocolaty cake and melted icecream when we arrive home!)

And, look! Our puppy personalized my hat for me!

Sooooo.... what about kiddo 1? What has she been up to? Well... we are headed to Maine on Saturday for the annual Tucker family beach week! My parents, sisters, their families, and some extras gather for a week of fun. For the past two years, a murder mystery evening has been part of the entertainment. Led by my fun-loving eldest daughter and me. Goofy costumes, lively role-playing. A night of sheer hilarity! With one little downfall... we've always used the boxed parties which are written for 6-8 people. And the kids have been a bit bummed. They want to play! So, this year, we are creating our own mystery. For 14. It is a bit of an undertaking.... K1 and I have been working most nights for several hours together. But I am a little short on daytime hours that I can pour into the project. So K1 has absconded with the computer to her room most afternoons. What a kiddo! And what hilarity is bound to ensue!

Well... time to start the day! Have a happy one!

Summer cold, family and a ball game...

2010-06-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... a lovely summer cold. Second kiddo had a bugger of a cold the week before 8th grade graduation. Guess who got whalloped by it right after graduation? Yup. Parts of me that I didn't even know I had hurt. The *insides* of my toes hurt. Air hurt. If I took a breath, I coughed. And coughed and coughed. I seriously considered taking a break on the whole breathing thing. Blick. It was a rough couple of days.

I finally feel like I'm on the uphill swing again today. Not much energy still, but at least I don't hurt anymore. When I talk, I sound like Darth Vadar (not being a Star Wars fan, I probably spelled that wrong), but I'm not coughing. And I have finally ventured past the confines of the house. My cousin is visiting from Seattle. We saw her and the extended family last night. A collection of aunts, uncles, cousins, kids and friends. A camp fire, stilts, baseball game, swings, a circle of people visiting. What a lovely evening!

And tonight we went to a Swamp Bats game. I love ball games! The crowds, the goofy acts between innings, the music, the batmobile, the french fries. Yup. I love the french fries. Somehow, they're just better at a ball game. Oh! And Ribby! Our third daughter just *loves* the mascot :o) She gets all excited and wants ME to shake hands with him. She is suddenly too shy.... Ball games; a riot of color, character, noise and fun!

Have a happy day!

2010-06-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Whew! The end of the school year brings a flurry of activity! But with kiddos to help, we are ready! Bring on summer!!!! We vaccuumed, scrubbed, organized, and cleaned the car! (Oldest kiddo vaccuuming, youngest cleaning the car.) And second-kiddo in her 8th grade graduation dress! Yup... that's what's happening tonight!

Well... I've got to run and pick up kiddo 2 and take her to lunch! Have a happy day :o)

Driving Miss Silly Sassy Girl!

2010-06-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

My friend, Terry, visited this weekend! Whooohooo!!! What fun to enjoy a... well... not very quiet cup of coffee together :o) The girls wandered in and out of the kitchen (mostly in) supplying a steady stream of extraneous comments to our conversation. Don ate lunch adding his tidbits of advice and insight. But it was a lovely time.

When Terry went to leave, Miss Silly Girl got all excited! She loves to go for rides... and she was ready to ditch this joint! So Aunt Terry (really, she is Godmother Terry, but it doesn't quite have the same ring...) bundled Miss Silly into the car and took her for a 20 minute jaunt around the neighborhood. Miss Silly was quite tickled with herself for suggesting such a marvelous adventure. She strutted around the yard with a sassy grin when the daring duo returned home.

Well... we got rained back inside. But when the rain stopped, Miss Silly asked for a repeat performance. She ran over to our car shouting "DOE! DOE! DOE!" (translated "GO!..."). Enter a new phase in the Brown household.... I called oldest kiddo and asked if SHE could take us for a ride! Kind of "double duty"... we got some more driving time in for our 15-year-old while driving Miss Silly Girl!

Have a happy day!

Smiles from Shannon!

2010-06-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Our 10-year-old is a budding photographer! She runs around the house and the yard snapping photos of numberous objects. Her favorite subject is... you guessed it! OUR PUPPY!

I wish I had more time to write about all the happy stuff going on right now! Our 14-year-old had a successful shop for an 8th grade graduation dress. Our 10-year-old has new glasses which she loves. They are CUTE! But... I spent so long blogging on Kwilting with Katie that I really need to end computer time now.... If you are looking for a fun read, check out "from this to this" on my other blog :o) http://kwiltingwithkatie.blogspot.com/

Have a happy day!

On yogurt and haircuts...

2010-05-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that yogurt might not have been the best choice for bribery while giving our 12-year-old-extra-special-girl a haircut. A wiggly child, a pile of hair and ickity, stickity dairy goo... Always a challenge to cut this little goober's locks! But, look! We're still friends :o)

Ummm... yes, she is much taller than me...

Have a happy day!

Naughty puppy...

2010-05-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wiggles is not a fan of substitute teaching. Each day, I shudder walking through the door. How much furniture has she devoured in seven hours? This was day #3 of mom abandoning the woebegone puppy to go off galavanting with a bunch of seven-year-olds. Wiggles is a bit perturbed with me. She would gladly spend the day chasing after a bunch of wee ones! And me? I'm trying to figure out who wins the commotion award... one puppy or 16 kids! Just in case I have any doubts as to the leader of daily ruckus, Wiggles ate most of Tuesday's work on the book proposal...

2010-05-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Band was cancelled tonight. Drat. Poor, neglected trombone. I haven't even practiced this week. Ah! But with band cancelled, I actually went grocery shopping at a reasonable time of night! And got to take one of the kiddos with me! Silver lining, yada yada. Still would rather be at band than the grocery store :o)

Ok... I admit, it was nice to eat with Don and the girls without leaping up halfway through the meal to toss my plate in the sink, blow kisses and leave :o) And the teen who accompanied me to the grocery store is a hoot! I *almost* didn't quite-all-the-way dread grocery shopping. Almost. And we took the long way home so that I could hear about... what else??? Boys :o) Then, with groceries safely stashed in the 'frige by 9:30, I went for a ride with our other teen. Night driving. Oh boy! But I love the time together. And we have our funny rituals like trying to go *exactly* 30 mph past the blinking speed sign. She laughs as I stick my head out the window and shout her speed... "29, 29, 29, 28, 29... just a little faster... 30... whoooohooooo!!!... hold it steady... 30, 30, 29... no! no! no!...29, 28, 29, 29, 29,30! YEAH!!!" I'm sure the people living in the house nestled behind the speed sign are eager for the sign to find a new home...

Ah! All things considered, today has been relaxing and productive. I actually carved out a day for mostly-uninterupted sewing. Sewing that is even related to the book proposal I'm writing. Or should I say re-writing? It felt good to take a few of my scribbles and work them into a fabric "rough draft".

Lets hope all that relaxation lasts through three days of substitute teaching wee ones at nearly the end of the school year :o)

Have a happy day!

Gotta love spring paperwork!

2010-05-24T06:48:00.001-07:00

Ugh! The end of the school year is SO BUSY!!!! I sat down and wrote out bills the other day. Today is the-rest-of-the-paperwork day. Surveys, rebates, renewing stuff, planning, summer school & work forms. Yuck. Blicky. Ugh. But the happy thought! (You knew it was coming!) This stack of paperwork means that SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!

Have a happy day!

life with five women...

2010-05-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sooooo... here he is! The guy who lives with all the women at the Brown house! Can you guess how much chatting he does during a typical Brown-family dinner? I managed to sneak the camera under the table the other night and catch this moment... four kiddos talking at once. And the look that lets me know that there is no question in his mind about the source of that chatty gene!

Have a happy day!

Just happy :o)

2010-05-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

I finally slept last night! For eight consecutive hours. Ahhhhh! After a week-and-a-half of barely sleeping, feeling tired was a luxury! Just to lie still for so many hours felt wonderful. Refreshing to my body, yes. But calming to my mind. THAT is the beauty of a full night's sleep. I can sit still again. Focus on the world around me. I'm no longer a bundle of aimless energy.

Ahhhh! I can reflect on joy again! It really has been a mostly wonderful week in spite of my crazy whirl of boundless and unfocused enthusiasm. I generally have plenty of energy, so the excess liveliness was perhaps not terribly startling to the people in my life. Like the awesome kids in our youth group. I'm still just the slightly-nutty-leader-type-person. With pink hair. Maybe green next week. Chatting with a bunch of teens, I was just me. With more energy than usual. But, hey! Energy fits right in with that crowd :o)

And music. Three of our kiddos were in a concert Tuesday night. It was beautiful! A little bragging.... One daughter sang a solo/duet with a friend. She has a terrific voice and the nerve to stand up in front of a hundred or so people to share it! Another daughter "sang" with her one-on-one aide with the junior high chorus. She loves the music and rocked back and forth happily with her peers. And our youngest is a very serious budding flute player. She's been playing less than a year, yet I am amazed when I listen to her practicing. She is very good. And very dedicated. Ahhhh! Music brings so much joy to our lives! (Did I mention that the concert was short enough that I managed to sit mostly still?)

Another musical joy is the goofy crew that I play trombone with on most Tuesday nights! As much as I love the music, the between-pieces chatting is really my favorite part of band rehearsals :o) Well... I missed our first spring-season concert on Tuesday night. Darn. I don't like it when commitments overlap. But, joy! I spent Wednesday morning chatting over a cup of chai with my comrade in 2nd trombone mischief! Ninety minutes of visiting uninterupted by our conductor raising his hands to shut us up again :o) It felt like five minutes. What a wonderful morning!

And, one more bit of joy. Large appliances. Last week, our refrigerator died. This week, our washing machine joined the frige in appliance nirvana. How can replacing two large appliances in one week bring any joy? Easy! 1.) Our very sweet neighbors. They cleared off two shelves of their refrigerator for us so that we wouldn't lose a frige full of food in addition to the refrigerator. Then, a week later, we were invited to run as many loads of wash as we needed to while waiting for the new washer. With four kiddos and several days to wait, those loads were much appreciated! It is such a blessing to have neighbors who are also some of our best friends! 2.) The serenading duo that delivered our new machines. Yes, really. I was serenaded by an exceedingly awful rendition of something far off Broadway. They sang, they joked, they laughed. A couple of guys who were easy and comfortable with each other. Who could finish each other's sentences. Who work together every day and still like each other. Oh! They were fun! 3.) Hey! We've had to replace appliances before when we *didn't* have money in the bank! Sure, it's a blow. But at least the machines are paid for :o) Sooooo... added to the list of joys, I'm thanking God for new appliances. (But, really, we DON'T need any more large appliance blessings right now....)

And today. Not only can I keep my bottom in the chair without wiggling, but I actually feel like writing again. One of my kiddos is home with a still-runny nose. But she is happy! And it is a gloomy, wet day outside. What a perfect day to be inside with a happy kiddo, a pot of yummy soup and a book to write!

Have a happy day!

Success!

2010-05-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I had an amazing "hearty kale soup" while vacationing in Cape Cod. I promised myself that I would google kale soups when we got home. And I did. But there was nothing even remotely similar. Dang! I have not an ounce of culinary creativity in me, but this was really wonderful soup. So I rolled up my sleeves and tried throwing similar ingredients into a pot. It actually worked! First try, even!

Actually managing to replicate the soup was fairly astounding to me. But the truly amazing bit of this experiment was that I remembered to *write down* the ingredients :o) Fifteen years ago, I threw together a bunch of stuff and made a batch of beans that my husband *still* raves about. Something involving molasses and red kidney beans. And a bunch of OTHER ingredients. Yup. Forgot to write it down. Poor guy. He's still waiting for me to get that recipe right again. Same thing for ginger scones. The girls and I love ginger scones. We made batch after batch until we were finally happy with the way they turned out. We had a perfect batch of scones. Once.

Well... I will happily be eating kale soup this week! Too bad my husband thinks that kale is a very poor substitute for baked kidney beans....

Have a happy day!

2010-05-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

We love this puppy! One of my kiddos came home from school with a drippy, sneezy, grumpy head cold today. This particular kiddo is mostly non-verbal, so I spent lunch time mopping up the nose and trying to comfort her as she fussed. To no avail. She just didn't feel good. So, up the stairs for a nap we went! Snuggled her into her blankets, hugged her, smooched her, cuddled her favorite toy into her arms... and still she sobbed. Until P-Wiggles hopped into bed and plopped her head across my little one's feet. Then the sobbing became a soft hiccup and she drifted to sleep.

Hmmmm... perhaps this makes up for the half-a-meatloaf our puppy filched off the counter last night?

Have a happy day!

Ahhhhh... sleep! That's what I've been missing!

2010-05-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have been afflicted with an excess of energy lately. I know, I know... how can I complain about extra energy? Actually, it's not the energy I mind. It is the restlessness. I can't sit still. Can't focus. I'm not hungry. Or tired at bedtime (or three hours after bedtime!) My mind and emotions are restless. I'm walking six or seven miles a day. And if I had more time for walking, I would be going much further. I have to choke down food when my stomach starts to complain bitterly. But only a few bites before I just can't pay attention to the darned food anymore.

The up side? My *body* feels great! But, really! C'mon now! My brain is ready for a rest. I hiked four or five miles with one of my best friends today. Three dogs, through the woods, a beautiful waterfall, lots of major hills. The dogs are worn out. Even the puppy! Here she is, napping again. It seems like I should feel like that. Happily exhausted. But, nope. I've been pacing. Squirming in my seat. Seeing how long I can stay put before bolting back out of the house for another walk. Maybe this will be the walk that finally tires me out?

Have a happy day!

2010-05-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

I love these little flowers! Bright, cheery... and so easy to grow! These quirky plants are like a sprinkle of smiles across our lawn. I truly believe that God is good. And that He has a sense of humour. Have you ever picked a dandilion and set it in a vase? Ok... Ok... I guess most people don't pick dandilions. Most people try to obliterate them. But, guess what? If you pluck one of these sunny little flowers and try to capture its beauty, it droops and fades quickly into a sad remnant of what it was outdoors. Here is this beautiful gift which God leaves in abundance on my doorstep to be enjoyed where it is, as it is. Much like life.

And God's sense of humour... So often I think I've figured out my path in life. What a smartypants I think I am! I forget to talk to God. Then, wham! Like a big, gooey spitball straight to the side of the head. Three or four at a time. "Whada ya think of THAT? Bet I'll be hearing from you soon!" Yup. That's where I've been lately. Wearin' out my knees. Figuratively speaking since I do so darned much praying in the car and the oncoming traffic would not appreciate me praying on my knees.... It is a strange mix of confusion and comfort. But God leaves my favorite flower waiting for me. Sunshine spilling across the lawn of my life.

Have a happy day!

Litterbug...

2010-05-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Or should I say "litterpup"? Our puppy has been busy this morning. She carefully carried her puppy toys out to her play yard, then focused her attention on contraband household items. A pencil, a polly pocket doll, two American Girl doll shoes (not a pair), a tub toy, a pen and a beach ball.... Hmmmm... perhaps a shovel is in order before the vaccuum?

Have a happy day!

Cozy

2010-04-28T06:29:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-04-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-04-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

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!