SMACK...

It seems that no matter how much you prepare yourself and no matter how rational you consider yourself, there comes a time when the fact that your children are growing up still sneaks up and smacks you along side the head. Now, this happens more than once in a lifetime...I can assure you of that fact. Yet, you never really get used to it or find yourself ready for the sting. It's funny that it doesn't even take much to trigger the smack. There is no need for a monumental life event, although those always tend to leave a little impression for you to rub later as you pout and accept the fact that yes, indeed they are growing up. You do not have to give permission or even accept the fact, but time marches on and you are powerless.

Fortunately, I tend to have what I consider a fairly healthy outlook on both life and my children growing up. I gave birth to them and invested time, love, direction and energy...lots and lots of energy....with one thing in mind, to raise them up to be adults. That was and is a large part of my purpose in their lives. We try to provide all the essentials and a firm foundation for them to build their lives on and we proudly step back as they flap their little wings and attempt to fly on their own.

Anyone with children knows that they flap those bitty little wings a lot and sometimes with such abandon that it's hard not to giggle. Along the way, they reach milestones and they show independence in ways that just take us by surprise. We look at them and wonder just how in the world they got to this point without us really noticing that it was coming. However, we embrace the fact that they are taking steps to adulthood, even if some of those steps may drive us insane. Laughter, tears and hair pulling (your own hair, not theirs!) are all considered normal on this journey.

Those little smacks upside the head could be triggered when your little one first sleeps through the night or when they head into a classroom without tears or perhaps when they make their own lunch. Even their growth can trigger one...like when you realize your little boy is now taller than you, or you are looking your daughter straight in her eyes without having to look down and she hasn't hit 11, yet. (yes, I speak from experience there!) Still, I find even the little innocent triggers still leave that temporary sting and shock, until you remember that it is OK and that life is marching on as it should.

So, what triggered my smack upside the head today? Oh, really it was nothing big. K came up to me with some wonderful smelling bath salts that she had just put together herself. I didn't even know she had pulled her spa kit out or was even thinking of making anything. However, she did it on her own and decided, of course, that a nice hot bath was in order. Then she told me that she thought candlelight would add some peacefulness and relaxation to her bath time.

SMACK

When did she grow up?

Fortunately for me, today the sting was lessened when she brought me the candle and the match. Apparently, I am still needed for some things and I am good with that.

Ok, just maybe.....

I've always loved this time of the year. Finally, after months of blustery, cold, short days we get breezy, warm, longer days. What's not to like? It makes me so happy that I wind up getting this weird decluttering urge. It's time to throw open the windows, clear the cobwebs and make some space in your house!! I generally don't hold onto too many things and my mantra is "You can't organize CHAOS." I'll admit that wasn't always in my vocabulary, but years ago I discovered Flylady and she changed my way of thinking. It's incredibly freeing once you get her easy baby steps down pat.

Somehow, while it took me years to discover and embrace Flylady's concepts, I gave birth to a baby "Flygirl". Before she even knew how to read, she would grab something, hold it up to my face and say, "Do you NEED this, USE this, REALLY LOVE this?" If the answer was no, then the next action was simple....toss it or donate it. My little girl is tough.

K started getting on my case a few months ago about something she considers a

"problem" of mine.

I mean REALLY? A ten year old is going to uncover and counsel me through a

"PROBLEM" area?

Just who does she think she is?

Geesh...

I just have a little lotion for dry patches.

Everyone has a bottle....

...or two.

Hmm, well maybe I have a few more...

I know most of you have at least this amount. There is a need for different types of lotion ....right?

So, then you all understand that......

....this is NOT a problem. We have stuff for faces, body and even our feet.
All is well, right? There is no need for K to shake her head anymore. You all agree with me.
I can feel it.

Oh...you think that perhaps I'm holding out a little on you.

Would I do that?


Sigh....

Ok, just maybe I have a little bitty problem in this area.
(this doesn't count the purse size bottles I just remembered...)

You would think my skin would be SOFTER than a baby's bottom by now, but that would mean actually following through and USING the lotion. I never, ever finish a bottle!! (except for my Mary Kay stuff...I love my Mary Kay stuff!)

So, this does go against my mantra and the sweet K is right. I need to get a grip and use it or lose it. My plan is to start using it up and actually empty a bottle or two or six. No new bottles, not even the good smelling stuff, until I discard a few of these. I think two for one is a good goal. If I get a new one, two have to go. Since I'm also a frugal nut, that means I have to actually USE the stuff up first!! During this process if I uncover a miracle lotion, I'll report back. Promise!

I know that not everyone is blessed with their very own "flygirl", but take this week to really look around and see if you might have an area or two that needs to get under control. It's the perfect time of the year to take charge!!

If you do, don't forget to share your story. I'd love to hear about it.
(makes me feel better....)

Well, Hello Spring!

Yippee!!

Yes, it's that time of the year. I just love spring and for once our weather is cooperating. This weekend is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. Which is perfect for a weekend of spring cleaning and free Rita's Italian Ice!! While I do feel bad for some that I hear are expecting....snow...tomorrow, I'll be doing a happy dance in the morning as we throw open the windows and shake out the cobwebs. (Don't hate me!!) Just look at my daffodils and repeat after me,

"Spring HAS sprung!!"

because she cares....

I'm so fortunate to have a crafty daughter that loves me.

She surprised me the other day with a handmade coaster for my nightstand.

Here it is personalized just for me.


It so happens the colors are based on the decor in my bedroom.

Yes, I do have an orange bedroom!

The felt has been added to help absorb the condensation from my cup of ice

water that I bring to bed every night.

Like I said....she loves me!!

brrr....

When it looks like this outside....

I like to stay inside with this....

and stare at these.

Warm summer days can't get here soon enough!!

Dodger Dreams

A little less then a week ago, our aging buddy here had surgery. I'm happy to report he's doing well and resting comfortably. He's probably having some mighty sweet dreams while he convalesces. After all, I think we did spoil him a little bit before and after surgery. Just a wee little bit. What? Doesn't everyone cook up some chicken for their pooches and set up extra fluffy warm quilts for them to rest on and shower them with all sorts of junky human treats?

Anyway...I'm betting that his dreams are probably along these lines.....

(cue Born Free music track now)


Don't you see the PURE BLISS on this pooch's face as he enjoys a beautiful spring day?

In fact...my dreams are also along those lines...BUT I'll spare you the pictures!!

the many faces....

Last week my nephew was spending a day with us while his mom worked. K was trying to get some school done, yet still help keep A entertained. He's all of 4 years old now. What's funny is that he has an incredible imagination. Sure, K has quite an imagination and you've all seen some of that here on this blog. However, A likes to pretend that he is someone or something else. While he is at it, he goes ahead and assigns a character to you and anyone else in the house. Since he was at my house, he didn't have his box of dress-ups or props to swap on and off to at least give you a clue as to just WHO he was. This made it slightly confusing as it was a multi-character day for this young man. So, after lunch while he was just chilling on the bar stool I got a sudden flash of pure genius. (yeah, I get those once in a while!) I kept calling out the cast of characters he had been and he would strike a pose for me. Now I can just refer to this handy dandy list to help keep track, cuz it really irritates him when I call him the wrong thing!! Hehe...and we all know that I would never do that on purpose! (wink, wink)

So, here are the many faces of A.

See if you can spot the differences.

He's a King.

He's a Spy.




He's a Werewolf.




He's Spiderman.

He does take his characters quite seriously and perhaps you can see why it got confusing!

However, he did keep himself occupied and that was a good thing.

A magical place....

Far, far away in a distant land tucked deep in a little girl's mind there is a happy place. A place where little animals gather to play. There are no worries about winding up as someone's dinner that night. There are no competitions about who is bigger, stronger or more fierce. All that matters is the fun time spent together enjoying each other's company.

This magical land is full of surprises and has everything a little animal would possibly need to make a grand day.

There are safe play areas with swings, bridges and slides.

AND...

...there is a special homemade fort which was carefully crafted with love.

This is where dogs and cats love to spend time looking over the vast land. They wouldn't dream of fighting or teasing, instead they bring their flashlights and tropical drinks served in coconut shells just in case they decide to stay a while.

On the other side of this magical land there is a pretty pink and purple puppy palace. (how's that for alliteration?) Here the puppies are treated as if they are royalty and in this land perhaps they are indeed royalty. They have plenty of food, fun and cozy quarters. Now sometimes, they like to go visit the play area to see the other critters. Unfortunately, this is a quite a distance for such a little puppy and if they traveled it on foot they would be quite worn out by the time they arrived. That would mean having to take a nap as soon as they made it to the playground and that just won't do!!

So, they beckon the Royal Elephants to carry them across the great land.

Wait a minute!!! Royal HAIRY Elephants???

Hmmm, looks like Jimmy has gotten roped into yet another magical fantasy game.

He's such a good sport.....

...and doesn't he have just the cutest little lips!?

a curious little find...

The other day, Halloween as a matter of fact, K walked out the back door. I'm not sure what she was doing, but I do know she discovered a very interesting specimen. She quickly ran inside to tell everyone that they just had to come see this spider with an orange pumpkin on it's back. I told her it was a spider in his costume for the night. Yea, she believed that one.....not! So, we all had to go outside and look. It really was quite a sight....a little squirm inducing for a few minutes, but my curiosity won over. I stayed outside and took pictures, while K and her brother looked it up online. We now know quite a bit about our little friend. She is allowed to stay, as long as she obeys the boundaries. Her place is outside....thankyouverymuch!

Can you imagine finding this in your bedroom one night???

Meet our friend, Araneus marmoreus AKA Marbled Orbweaver.

(again...the term friend hinges on her obedience to stay in her space and avoid my space....guess, that doesn't make me much of a friend, huh??)

A happy coincidence...

Today I was reading Lynn's blog over at Midday Escapades. On Wednesday the 14th she posted about journaling. (go ahead, check it out) At the end of her post she asked readers which journal she should pick. I was feeling a little journal envy and kind of wishing I had a new one to write in. Don't you just love fresh pages in a journal or notebook???

So, wouldn't you know less than an hour later our mail came and there was a bunch of junk mail AND a large padded envelope for ME! A little bit ago I entered a blog contest over at

Forever Daisies
and Kim AKA: Crazy Daisy let me know that I had won one of the prizes. It had slipped my mind....but I was so excited when I saw the envelope.

What did I win???

A brand new journal. What a happy coincidence!!

Now...what to write??

Lion Piggie....

Some days...ok, everyday...it's a treat to have a child that is creative, imaginative and resourceful. You wake up in the morning and you just don't know what she's going to do to make you laugh. However, you can rest assured it will be something.

The other day, K walked in the room carrying Jimmy. I had no clue as to what she had been up to...yeah, yeah bad mommy, but she's 10 and generally a well behaved child. So this took me by surprise and made me giggle.

Meet Jimmy....

Doesn't he look scary? That is his lion's mane...in case you were wondering. K disappeared for a while.


When she made an appearance she was sporting her own mane. Umm, honey....you guys don't really look all that ferocious.

There....that's a little better. K has her mean face on and Jimmy...well, he's just being Jimmy. I don't think he has a tough bone in his little body.

Let's go closer for a better look....

If you squint and tilt your head to the left....um...nope, still looks like a sweetie pie.

What's that you say, Jimmy??

"I am lion piggie, hear me ROAR!!"

I stand corrected.

Rainy Day List...

After a busy week, I was so glad that Saturday was finally here. Best part was I had absolutely no preconceived idea at all of how this day would play out. It has been one of those wonderful "get little things accomplished and feel oh so productive" kind of days. It's cool outside and all the windows are open airing the house out. The afternoon even turned cloudy and rainy, but for some reason that didn't hamper my progress. If anything it fueled the relaxed, lazy kind of attitude that is needed for accomplishing teeny, tiny projects. You know the attitude required so you don't feel like you SHOULD be doing something else....BIGGER.

I started my day by getting up before Mike and K. Still unsure of the direction of the day, I plopped on the couch and watched something off the DVR list. Of course, when I was finished watching (and yes, I did zip through commercials) I deleted the program. Geesh, no one is going to call me unproductive today!!

Soon enough, everyone was up and we ran out...ok, drove (don't want you all to think I was THAT productive) to the nearest Starbucks. Then, they wanted a pastry....and not any of the kinds offered at the coffee shop. So, we ran (there I go with that word again...just assume anything to do with running does not involve me huffing and puffing or breaking a sweat) into our local grocery store. Since we were there...I filled up the cart with things that were on my list back home. There we go....being productive.

So, seeing it was going to be a productive day of sorts I decided that I can go with that. At this point it would just be easier to list some of the day's activities....

Spent some time in this room....

and proved that these can actually be emptied. Who knew?!?

Made a most delicious smoothie thanks in part to the above mentioned grocery store pitstop.
Ingredients included an apple, black seedless grapes, blueberries, strawberries, baby carrots, lemon juice, 2 handfuls of baby spinach, ice and a small scoop of protein powder. May not sound all that wonderful....but it was VERY good. I will repeat....probably tomorrow for lunch.

Organized my favorites on my computer. Stop laughing...that is a very productive thing to do. I had tons and what a pain it was to scroll through them all while I was looking for my hummus recipe bookmark! So, I got all of those put into nifty folders.

This led me to my next task. I decided to go through the Blog Folder and sort through them. I had tons in there and really no time to read all of them. So, I spent some time clicking through them and browsing. Some made the cut and some didn't. Some took my mind in different directions and I had to fight to stick with the plan.

Well, maybe I did get a little sidetracked. I found that one of my favorite things is happening again. Callapidder's Fall Into Reading Challenge is going on. Woohoo!! Check it out. So, you know what I spent some time doing....yep, checking out people's reading lists, starting my own and checking the library website to put some books on hold. I'll have my list up later this week. It's being tweaked.

And while I was organizing I found the recipe that started me in that direction for the afternoon.

No bonafide lazy productive day would be complete without some time being spent on taking pictures for your blog. So, I did spend some time snapping away....even got a picture of the lovely day outside to share on here.

A gray rainy day in my neck of the woods...

People started rumbling about dinner, so I went out and started cleaning this room....

just so I could mess it all up again. Something is VERY wrong with that, people!!

Found this potato recipe online...I'll let you know. Smells good!!!

If you've ever gone to a Pampered Chef party and wondered if you should shell out the bucks to get this piece.....DO IT!! My chicken will be ready in 30 minutes and will be cooked in the microwave! Yes, it won't have crispy brown skin....but it will be tender and juicy...and FAST! It's great for a "I spent too long on the computer" dinner.

Up next....We'll watch a netflix movie that needs to get out of here and then update my queue. Oh boy, the productivity meter in this house has shot through the roof.

Overall, a "very laid back, yet get some things done" kind of Saturday. I almost hope it rains next weekend.....

ALMOST!!

close call...

There is one thing that mystifies me....ok, there are many things, but today I am focusing on just ONE. Out of all the things that we give our kids, what makes the lovey...well, THE LOVEY? Why does a child latch themselves onto a small piece of fabric and their whole well-being hinges on being able to touch that piece of fabric? In this specific case...let's discuss a piece of fabric with stuffing inside and two eyes.

Meet Brownie...

Brownie has seen better days, but considering the fact that he has been loved for over 6 years I think he is holding up pretty well. He still has his eyes and his nose is the original. Sure...his fur isn't quite the same as it once was. However, it's still holding the fluffing inside and that's all we ask.

Who knew that when Mike surprised K with this stuffed animal that this would become "IT". The must have at every bedtime no matter where in the world you are "IT". K had not had a lovey in her first 4 years of life. I guess nothing struck her fancy up to that point. Well, that sure changed when Brownie entered the home. He's gone to Disney twice, the beach several times, and various other road trips over the years. Of course...that can be somewhat risky. If your child has a "must have this piece of fabric " you've had that cold sweat inducing thought before....

"What if we.....LOSE it!??"

Do you get a sense of where this post is going?

Well, a few weeks ago we were in Delaware at son #3's wedding. We stayed in a nice hotel for 2 nights. Sunday rolled around and we packed up and loaded the car, double checking every nook and cranny and then we sat back in the room and watched some Mythbusters. You see, we had some time to kill because we were heading out to a family barbecue before heading back home. So...we were in the room after the car was all packed and ready to go. We even did a triple once over and I discovered that Mike left the hair clippers behind. Whew...close call!

So...we went on with our day and all was well.....at least until bedtime back home.

Oh yea, we did!!!

We somehow left Brownie back at the hotel!! Even though she is 10 years old and just inches from passing me in height....she was distraught. Her "IT" was not in the house. Somehow the world was not the same and we had to call the hotel that night. They told us to call back in the morning. That was rough....but she finally went to bed and woke up extra early to get Mike to make another call. After a few calls back and forth it was confirmed that they had Brownie in their possession. While this offered some relief it wasn't quite the same as having him in hand. Of course...they said to call back the next day to arrange shipping. So, another LONG 24 hours passed. When we called to get everything squared away we discovered that they also had found son #3's wallet....(which was not left behind in our room)...and this was a blessing indeed!!

Son #3 made a trip back to Delaware to retrieve his wallet and more importantly to retrieve Brownie. Brownie would not have to go through the postal system...which actually kind of scared ME! Anyway, before the day was over, Brownie was back where he belonged.....in a very relieved 10 year old's arms.

They both slept well....

We just got back from a mini-vacation. We went to an island where life slows down and ducks rule.

People don't blink an eye when the light turns green and no one moves. They just figure that up ahead some ducks must be crossing the road.

(Which was a far cry from our trip to the beach earlier this month when traffic got blocked for a few minutes because people were transferring a disabled person into a van and all sorts of cars behind started honking like crazy!)

Yes, we visited an island where the people don't mind ducks camping out in their yards. They even put out buckets of food for them....


and baby pools full of water.

It was a nice island.

More pictures tomorrow!
(betcha can't wait!!)

Recipe for a sweet bath....

The other day, K pulled out her spa science kit and decided to put together a little something special for her bath.

She gathered the necessary ingredients. It was a rather simple recipe.
One cup of oatmeal and one half cup rose petals.

Dump the oatmeal and then....

....dump the rose petals.

Mix it up and put some in the little muslin bag. The rest goes in a ziploc bag for future baths.

Now, take the muslin bag and put it in your tub filled with hot water....

or balance the bag on your nose.

Your choice!