Way-Back When-esday: oh baby!

This would have been 1994!

I love how G is gazing up at me.

And when I look at me holding him here it reminds

me of how un-certain I was

about EVERYTHING about

being a Mother.

He is now this BIG kid! ...17.5 ♥

And below is one from 2001, my second baby girl

holding our last baby J!

oh baby...

that was then....

this is NoW!

wordless wednesday

gratituesday*

i am so thankful to live in an age where

we can so easily record memories.

on days,

like today,

when i need a boost of spirits

it is amazing how one picture,

one memory,

can bring such happiness.

happiness preserved,

to be used often,

not just in case of emergency.

*GratiTuesday is a trademark

of Richard Paul Evans as seen on Facebook

!

What are you Grateful for this Tuesday?

Chief Informaion Officer

I needed this reminder today. haha...previously posted 5/13/07

So, I was signing up for something and since I really haven't decided what my career path will be I always like to look at the options. There are so many. From CEO, to VP Sales, to Marketing Director and Human Resources Manager. I found one I like for today. Chief Information Officer.

I gave myself a promotion. I am now the Chief Information Officer in our home. I don't know that my duties will change at all, I already give information about missing socks, where is my coat, can't find my keys, do we have any milk?....

Seems that even when it is right in front of them they feel better when they come to me for directions. I wonder....will they keep coming? I suppose the day will come when they will no longer need me to help them find their way from the front room to the kitchen, so I must, I must, I must enjoy this moment. Too bad the promotion didn't come with a raise, or did it. I seem to smile a little more inside now just thinking that I have a title.

MUMMMMMEEEEE....i can't find my....

sorry, got to go, duty calls!

this too shall pass--repost: one from WAAAAYYYYY back

haha...going through old posts and found this...posted once in a hardcopy family newsletter, typed version!!! then posted in 2006ish...reposted 10/2008 ...and today. Because I need to remember this TOO will pass :)


i will have to dig up the pictures!

hardcopy in my head...oh how I remember like it was yesterday!!!

REPOST:
I can’t help myself. Memories are so fun sometimes.
I am reprinting this from a very long time ago.

This is one of the articles from August 1997:
G would have been 3.

QUOTE:
A Day In The Life Of A Toddler
5:30 G woke up from his nap, a peaceful 2 hours for mom.

533 Mom starts to make dinner

535 G vacuums with the popper on the hardwood floor.

550 Used a chair to climb on the table

551-552 Time out

553 Stood on the chair and give me “THE LOOK”

554 Mom reads a story to G, burns the hamburger

559 Stood on the chair AGAIN

600 Mom tries to distract G with some toys
605 G gets under the kitchen sink, sprays WINDEX all over the newly mopped kitchen floor.

610 Dad calls to say he is on the way home, G back under the sink

611 Mom tries to distract G and talk to dad

612 G unplugs the phone system

615 Back under the kitchen sink, dumps comet all over
616-617 TIME OUT
620 Asks for a drink of Juice
622 Spills drink of juice, floor needs to be mopped again
625 plays and BREAKS angel candles
626 Mom cleans up broken candles
628 G coloring hall carpeting with deodorant
630 While scrubbing carpets, G is finding all sorts of fun chemicals under kitchen sink, AGAIN

I am going to interject here because I know that most of you are wondering why I did not have safety locks on my sinks….we did…read on.

Back to the article:

cont. (with this child, safety locks are only a pain for adults, if you want it open, ask G.)

Sprays Windex again, boy does the floor shine. “hey, can you spay over here where the comet was?”

631 FIVE MINUTE TIME OUT….for mommy
632 Mom ties the cabinet door closed.

636 Out of time out, wants a graham cracker.
639 Ground graham cracker into Oriental rug
640 Mom vacuuming graham crackers. G crushes the rest of the cracker on the kitchen floor, licks it up…at least the floor is clean.
642 Vacuuming interrupted by crash in the kitchen. Drain full of dishes has found a new home on the kitchen floor (with the graham cracker mess.)
645 Dad calls again, not home (obviously), should be home in 17 minutes.
650More graham cracker mess, (where is he finding these, I only gave him one.) What happened to dinner? Sweep up crackers, wipe floor.
653 Mom starts to make spaghetti. G is throwing Tupperware into the laundry room to the dog, thank goodness, at least he is distracted.
655 G is hungry, wants a milk bottle.
659 G sprays milk all over the kitchen floor, imagine that.

700 Mopping up kitchen floor, G sprays milk on the dining room floor.

705 Floors are clean. G is jumping on cereal boxes, one is open, crushed cereal everywhere.
706 Time out. Mommy cleans up floor, again. WHAT”S BURNING???

707 Throw out Spaghetti.

708 Read to G.
712 Visiting Teacher calls. Cleaning burnt dishes and finish making a pie crust.
716 G unplugs phone system again.
717 Karen, visiting teacher, calls back.
720 G unplugs the phone again. WHERE IS DADDY@!@!
723 Karen calls to say goodbye.

725 G moves a chair to the kitchen where stereo and plants are. Pulls Mommy's records (YES RECORDS) down, knocks over plant and full potpourri pot, stereo hanging by a chord. G smiles.

728 PIE CRUST BURNT

730 Mommy cleaning up the plant dirt, broken record and potpourri mess. Daddy is in BIG trouble (this is all his fault, right!??!)

731 While mommy is still cleaning, G opens the safety gate (did I say open the safety gate???) and spills the dog water and food down the back stairs.
732 Dog cleans up some of the mess, the rest is left for daddy
733 WHERE IS G-3?
734 G just finished pulling the all the books off the shelf and removing the wrappers.
735 Mommy starts crying and stacking books (2 years later and the covers still have not been put back on.)
736 G is being so quiet!!! He has pulled all the Kleenex out of the box. "Mommee, you are crying, you need a tissue."

737 What time did Dad call? Mom is folding Kleenex and putting it back in the box (saving .79 cents). G has found his fire engine and is screaming fire engine noises in the dining room on the hardwood floor.
738 Call for Pizza. What happened to the fire engine noises? G is in the bathroom pulling toilet paper off the roll!

739 G is strapped to high chair. Mom finished folding Kleenex (I never knew there were so many Kleenex in one box!)

800 DAD”S HOME. Pizza is delivered, “How was your day dear?”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CLOSE QUOTE


I think this whole thing happened because I mopped the floor while he was napping. I should have been reading, writing, relaxing…..that is my learned lesson, my roots are deeper and I can laugh and smile. This too will pass.


---mommee
Do it nice, or do it twice!

tough it out

well, thats not working well.

i have been trying to
tough some things out
for far too long
now.

you ask:
how are you?

i reply:
i'm fine, i'm great,

all is well, swell, perfect,

sometimes just okay.

and truth, i am fine, i am great, all is well,
or pretty well, sometimes swell,
not quite perfect, close to it in many aspects,
and
generally i am okay.

i mean, i have an abundance
of gratitude,
and my attitude reflects gratitude

[for the most part :?]

and happiness,
and even
laced with some cheerfulness.

plus i am good at smiling
and pasting on a happy
face.

i save my complaints and my whining for my kids and mr. B.

really.
poor
people who have to hear
all to many times
that i don't feel good,
i am stressed,
i have too much NOT done and i am freaking out.

yep, that sounds about
right!

this diatribe
is not meant to make
anyone feel they have to
swoop in fix anything.

we don't really have anything that needs fixing.

we don't need dinners, maids,
therapists....haha...now I sound
a little
pathetic.

like: relationship issues, i am fine,
i don't need anything,
etc...
when i am really dying inside
for you to read my mind
and there are a
billion things
you could be doing differently.
haha. really, that is NOT what i
am intending here.

i just need to write.
writing heals
me.
i have about 100 journals
to prove that my writing process
is
cathartic,
and i have years of
personal social improvement
to show that i do
overcome.

i just need to say it out loud.
we have been toughing it
out,
and where it all looks fine
it really is harder than i am showing
it.

so, when i broke down a couple weeks ago
and started talking about
how we are really doing....first in prayer,
then to random people who asked
"how
are
you?"
....help arrived.
in the form of peace,
and interesting phone
conversations,
and direction to some helps that can
really help us.

and then prayer again,
thanking Him
for more blessings in
abundance.

we really are going to be okay.
we are pretty tough actually,
and all will be well.
thanks for asking!

i can't shave my legs

Forget bothersome chin hairs for now. Ok? Done.

I can't shave my legs. It has a little to do with the fear of cutting myself trying to bend over the balloon that is currently my stomach.

J asked me if he was getting a baby sister for Christmas. Alas no! It is simply swelling due to recent surgery for another tumor, me: aka tumor farmer.

I am not really worried so much for Mr. B... His hands are pretty calloused so my lack of shaving should bring no harm to him, it's just that for nearly 30 years now I have shaved DAILY! I can't stand leg hair ...that much!!!

Any who, I have had amazing offers to bring in dinner, pick up kids, grocery shop, etc! And truth!, I am doing great. I am in less pain recovering than I was from the growth....I just can't shave my legs....safely. And I am a little shy to ask for help. ...the part of fear of being cut. I cut myself plenty on my own....I think I would be way to anxious to trust someone else with a razor and my legs.

So....I am christening the next two weeks...don't shave December. Want to join me?


Not shaving for two weeks isn't the worst part. I can't do other much more fun and important things. Google told me ;)

The doctor on the other hand, bless his 90 years of practice, said I would be back to work the next day. Good thing, being a mother I work at home. However I would have no problem telling him to his face that he's a LIAR. Can't blame him....being a MAN...and having no ovary tumor surgery of his own experience.

I am not generally mean, but seriously. What a mothers does in a days work doesn't WORK when recovering from surgery.

I am giving myself a few days....sort of.

Well, off to pick up S and C. J is a stage hand for his school play these days, so that's another trip out later, and G-did I say 17....well, he drives all on his own now. Yippee!!!?

At the very least with my snuggly soft socks on I can't tell...really...that I haven't shaved my legs. It could be worse...it could be summer!