attic finds

several years ago my father in law brought over several boxes for the grand-daughters---meaning me and grace as we are the only girls on todd's side of the family now. todd's grandmother's dishes were hidden inside and i decided to put them away for safe keeping. i remembered them being pale blue and soft white---the colors that i see the kitchen in. today i pulled out the boxes from the deep corner of one of our attics and pulled out these precious pieces. they were all wrapped in old napkins and old clothing. without noticing, i had left this blue and white skirt out when i was cleaning up...figured i would put in on to humor myself...not bad as a modern day skirt or pulled up as a beach cover up...todd may think otherwise...maybe feeling that his hip wife in this grandma's old skirt that was used to protects dishes should remain in the box...we will see. i absolutely LOVE the blue flower petal small bowls and the different shapes in the main set. the soup bowls have wonderful little handles small enough for tiny hands to carry their cereal to the sink easily. i found myself saying out loud "i am so excited!" grace and owen from the other room came in saying "why?"

i think i am most surprised that with 3 children, todd's grandmother was able to keep the entire set in place and unbroken...all plates, bowls, everything, none missing. i hope we can keep it all intact, but if not, at least it will be used with love and not packed away in the attic.

trevan

happy 3rd birthday cutie!

happy birthday mom!

A Sonnet for My Incomparable Mother

I often contemplate my childhood, Mom.
I am a mother now, and so I know
Hard work is mixed together with the fun;
You learned that when you raised me long ago.
I think of all the things you gave to me:
Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,
Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul--
All these you spent on me throughout the years.
You loved me with a never-failing love
You gave me strength and sweet security,
And then you did the hardest thing of all:
You let me separate and set me free.
Every day, I try my best to be
A mother like the mom you were to me.
By Joanna Fuchs

trip book

i remember years ago when i used to watch oprah, nicholas and micah were on after writing this book. it is the true story memoir of their 3 week journey together. i was excited to find it on the bookshelf and cannot wait to open it on our n.c. trip next week!

for the fishermen in my life

with fishing being a large part of life for my father, brother-in-law, and many friends, i thought that this would be good idea to look into. with biodegradable and lead-free products, they offer safer alternatives for the avid fishing enthusiasts.

night time talks

last night at 4am i felt grace gently tap me on my back. then she says "mommy?" and i say "yes, grace," and she asks "what are you doin?"

love our late night talks!

game of the day

our game closet has been displaced by the kitchen remodel, so it has been awhile since a game has been played in our house. yesterday wyatt and i headed out to the carriage house to hunt for some good games. bingo was a hit and we played over and over for about an hour. then we moved onto the amazing labyrinth. if you have boys in particular, you have to get this game...it is awesome and strategic...team 1: me and owen, team 2: wyatt, chiming in from the computer: grace!

rosebuds

of course whenever i see the word "rosebud" i am instantly drawn to something, however this precious flower girl dress from j. crew is amazing. aly and michael asked the kids, heather, and me to be in their upcoming wedding so i am thrilled of course. grace and maggie would look so sweet dropping rosebuds in this dress....why does it have to be so much :)

sweet pops

all my kids have a sweet tooth---even though i tried not to make sweets and desserts a big "thing", the draw of the sugar eventually won out. they are not big fans of candy, though they so love cake and cookies. however, i am wondering if i could subside the urge with something like this. lollipops fall under wyatt self-imposed "sticky rule" (the one he made that involves not eating anything sticky as it just ends up driving him crazy; the one that now owen and grace too have chosen to abide by), however thought someone else may be interested. may be good for the cold season too and they are pretty reasonably priced. continuing on with the hunt...

re-do

lately i just feel like i need a re-do...a re-do of just so much. i feel like just grabbing my kids, my hubby, my pets, and stepping back. i feel like the simple decisions i have made on a daily basis have accumulated into a life that is not representative of the life i would think i would have. i look around my house and see things in spots that i truly do not even know why they are there. i look at my clothes...are those really the image i see myself in. that is the point, i do not feel like i am being representative of ME. the way i see myself and my thoughts are truly not what i think i live. let me try to dissect it. if i could do it once, had one day, here is what i see:



wake up early before the sun rises so i can go outside and still feel a bit of the night's breeze before the morning sun brings the heat that consumes the day. sit outside reading a newspaper to know the happenings of the world...know the problems to be able to help find solutions. peacefully, drink a cup of green tea for protection and serenity. get dressed without a shower and take mabel for a walk...learn to enjoy silence. come home and prepare my family a healthy breakfast that also wakes them from the smell of yumminess! juice fresh oranges and cut fresh bread. they all run down and we eat as a family, brainstorming for wonderful ideas of what we could do with all the time we are given for the day. make a plan! we do dishes and get ready...i would like to say skip a shower, but i cannot give up that. i bathe in beautiful smells and healthy soaps. after i dry, i choose from simple handmade dresses and grab a pair of flip flops. i have to go on the computer only for a short minute to order a birthday present for a friend. i have been looking for awhile to find the perfect present and i have made up my mind...a great handmade find! it can ship wrapped, but no hurry the party is not for weeks. we spend our day together, playing, exploring the world, learning and creating. my kids walk instead of running through life. we leave to go to the outdoor market for fresh produce and the only time i have to even give my kids "the look" for the entire day is when one of them sneaks eating a strawberry in the car before we have had a chance to wash them. as the afternoon sun sets, we walk a few blocks to the dock fishing rods in tow. mabel can run free with us . owen catches the biggest fish and wyatt is thrilled. grace does a little dance and gives him a hug. we head home to make dinner---fish and fresh veggies! todd has had a busy day of painting the inside walls of our house. the colors are warm, yet clean. we can hang so many pictures of our travels---our many journeys across the country we have taken together learning about life in a way that a textbook could not teach. after dinner, we opt to fore go the baths and instead head outside for a sprinkler race...all of us. after we all splash and laugh, time to dry off, the skies are dark now. we run upstairs and happily jump in cozy beds. our decorating is simple and purposeful. everything has a place and a meaning. cleaning up is a snap. we spend an hour reading and then share with each other the magical places our stories took us. todd and i head downstairs for homemade dessert and hours of talking. no phones ring and all is quiet. we hear our children yell to us "good night" (the only yells these walls have heard today) and we run back up for one final kiss goodnight. it was a perfect day...unlike no other!



here is how it really goes:

i wake to marlo batting at the cord on the window blinds that let the morning sun in. it is already after 7am and i sneak downstairs while everyone is sleeping to try to get 5 minutes to open up the house before the troops awake. i open the refrigerator (which is in my dining room at the moment) and grab the first of too many diet cokes. i need caffeine as i tossed and turned through the night so i need to WAKE UP! i lure mabel outside and head back in to the computer to check emails. several minutes later the kids walk by...we say our good mornings and they are off to search for a computer available so they can play the video game of the week. after about an hour they switch to nintendo ds games, and i try to now lure them in to eat something for breakfast. they are not hungry, but i still make them a bagel with jelly...one is bound to not like it. not sure which one of the three, i give them all the same and then quickly remember as owen says" i don't like these remember." i think that i replace it with something else, but by lunch time he informs me that he has yet to eat. i hurry todd down out of bed as someone knocks at the door to help work in the kitchen. hurriedly, he dresses and scoots out to begin his long hours of work. i declare a day of no technology and grudgingly 3 kids begin to build legos and i am off to the shower. my cat kindly slinks past my leg to say hello. wyatt has done his job of feeding her so she is happy. i will have to make sure mabel has food...oh mabel...she is still out. i open the door and she comes in and throws me a look like "you forgot to let me in!" i feed her and then jump in the shower. this grocery store shampoo is junk, but my upside-down container of target brand shower gel smells good. i have been trying to salvage any remnants left that can possibly drip down over the past few weeks as i know it will be the last thing on my mind in one of my quick trips in to target (typically to buy a last minute birthday present---some overpriced commercialized item). i quickly dry off and tell grace she can play on the computer for 5 minutes...she has been asking my entire shower so i give in for now. i head upstairs walking past walls that need new paint and new life to them. they were painted so long ago by someone else...someone else's color choice, someone else's idea of what this house should be. i jump into my daily uniform...old jeans and a t-shirt. i hope to dry my hair, but instead throw it up in a pony tail...yes it can go up now...i had vowed to keep short hair that always falls on my neck, but it has just been too long since my last hair appt. i fold some clothes and grab something for each of the kids for the day before putting them in drawers. it is summer so playclothes are fine. we head out to find something to do. we will have fun at a beach visit or bookstore. we may pick up lunch on the way home and owen will eat in the car since he is SO hungry from no breakfast. todd is happy i brought home lunch. while the kids are at the table, we will get some of our summer homework done. they don't mind..they like it. but, one gets upset that the others have more crackers on their plate...got to get up to even it out. we spend the afternoon cleaning, playing, and organizing. we laugh. we head up for baths, reading, and bed. it was a good day, much like any other.


i have a very nice life. i am very lucky. i just feel as though everything is so standard. making a difference should not just be using re-usable bags for grocery shopping and buying organic milk. there has to be more and better. i have happy kids. they are so compassionate, yet i feel we lack passion of life. we need to find something that drives us. maybe we just need a vacation from the daily grind...7 more days and then nc here we come!

happy daddy's day!

...from all your little ones!

new shoes?

grace's feet have FINALLY grown. she is a whopping size 9 (a size i think the boys hit at about 18 months). here are the two front runners right now. grace LOVES shoes and accessories so i have to make good decision. what do you think?

ice cream with dads

happy birthday paty!!!!

thought these kittens would make you smile! have a wonderful day!

color

boom boom pow

i'm hooked

not that i am anywhere near ready to think about filling our kitchen, but thought this would be a cute addition down the road to hang by the door (of course not with dangerous blade pointing down to a disaster, but possibly a nice set of safe keys).

the hangover

in times of a great need for laughter, "the hangover" definitely comes through. it may not top "knocked up" for my funniest movie ever award, but it is definitely a close runner up. however, i kept finding myself so used to dvr, i wanted to rewind certain parts. too funny. cannot wait to see it again on video!

to learn

yesterday was magical. let me back up. when the new sallie house foster home was built 6 months ago, the bedrooms were wonderful, kitchen state of the art, and televisions lined every wall. the children were safe and on their way to becoming healthy. however, there was one piece i saw missing...learning. and these are the children that need positive learning experiences more than any other. there was a need for a center of learning. a place where these kids could be exposed to similar experiences that my children had on a daily basis. we needed it and i knew how to get it. our school decided a few years ago, that the annual walk-a-thon would be designated as a charitable event to instill in our children the importance of giving and teach them something that no textbook could begin to cover. when i presented it, everyone was on board. the event was held in april (child abuse awareness month) and we raised over $5,000. with the help of a lead teacher and several parents, we made a plan. lakeshore learning company generously donated $700 worth of shipping costs to us, allowing us to purchase all we needed to make the learning center complete. last week, a huge shipment arrived and the children have been left to wonder what was held inside. yesterday, they found out.

we arrived separately, but came together as one. 3 students from local highschools came as the "muscle", but soon could be seen setting small cars on a track. people from different generations, different walks of life, coming together as a community to make a difference. few words were spoken, we all just knew what we had to do. within hours, nothing (i mean nothing---just an empty room) turned into something, and "something" does not even cut it. for some of these children, it is "everything!" little children came in and picked up books. words on a page were read in a place that had never heard pages turn. a 13 year old girl played tic tac toe in a world where she was never able to be a child. another girl that uses music as an outlet could spend the evening dancing and singing. it was a good day!

lost shows

what is it lately with these new dramas on T.V.? i start getting into them then them and as soon as they started they are off the air. "swingtown" is my most missed, but also on the list: "dirty, sexy money", "jericho", "october road", "dirt", "moonlight" and "the black donelly's." there was also a good one about two college friends that were framed for a new york city bombing...never got to see the end of that one either. i am going to need to start trying out new shows i guess.

worrying

lately i have been worrying about our future health as a society. the changes we see in our generation from the one before and why are of great concern to me. why do so many women in their 30s and 40s have breast cancer now? i worry that grace's generation may see these problems in their 20s. what can we do now? how do we fix this issue?


"from Physicians for Social Responsibility:



Pollutants Can Mimic or Block Hormones
Environmental exposure to compounds that can mimic or block the activities of hormones (endocrine disruptors) is of growing concern. Several known compounds have activity similar to the body's own estrogen. Two common EDC's studied specifically in our lab are PCB's and BPA. Polychlorinated hydroxybiphenyls, or PCBs, are a class of compounds some of which affect estrogen signaling pathways. Until the halt of their U.S. manufacture in 1977, PCB's were commonly used as lubricants and coolants in a wide variety of electrical equipment including common household items. Due to a very long half-life PCBs were found to build up in the environment, specifically in soil, sediment, and water, where they still exist today. Another prevalent environmental estrogen, bis-phenol A or BPA, is a building block of polycarbonate plastics and polystyrene resins. The common plastics made from BPA are found in the lining of metal food cans, in plastic milk, juice and water cartons, in baby bottles, in microwave oven ware, and in other widely used plastic and polystyrene food packages. PCB's and BPA enter the body through exposure to contaminated material, most commonly through ingestion of contaminated foods and water. Once in the body, these compounds and others like them can be circulated, metabolized, and/or stored by the body tissues where their effects can continue for long periods of time."

bleeding love ---for tracey---my favorite SYTYCD dance

make the dark cloud go away

okay okay i know that this is so disgusting to post, but i had to document my poor hubby's injury. here is the short version: i had just left my house to head to my dad's to celebrate his birthday when eric calls and says "hi jenny, everything is okay." well of course at that point i know it is not and he goes on "todd fell through the floor and cut his leg open on an electrical box so he is off to the emergency room." to boot, eric is such a good friend that not only did he stay at our house to finish working, but he called in friends, and most importantly, he pulled off the skin and such that was left on the electrical box...nasty!!!! so i got to the ER as quickly as i could and my sweetie was white as a ghost. the doctor made me leave the room after seeing the severity of the injury. todd was a trooper. and of course, right when we got home he started working again. all i know is that i must be a big baby because i would have needed to be in bed after all that! my poor baby! hoping we left our dark cloud in the ER. we are in need of no more drama!

elements of a monday morning

air

land

water

i wuv my puppy!

nicknames: big black, mabelly wabelly, mae mae, mabel put your paws off the table mabel, maedally, mae, cutie, grace's pony, watch out!, off the bed mabel, give me a hug mabel, wuvy.

birthday bob!

in honor of my dad's birthday today, i have my a top 11 list in his honor! so here it is for the #1 dad, 10 totally awesome things i love about you! (bob the builder balloon care of grace)

#1. i love that my dad has kept his beard since my mom was pregnant with me!

#2. i love that my dad always took us on family vacations and was 100% there with us...no work only play!

#3. i love that my dad is so used to having daughters that when my sister and i have been pregnant he has not shyed away from asking us detailed questions, like "how far dilated are you?" and the such! i am sure those are not questions dads typically love to ask!

#4. i love that my dad planned a date night for me and todd--concert tickets, dinner reservations, and even gave us money to cover the meal!

#5. i love that my dad was sad when i started bringing boys around in highschool that were bigger than him. he was depressed on the couch for a whole weekend. soon after, you would see him cleaning his gun collection conveniently when my friends stopped by.

#6. i love that my dad hired a clown to come to the house to cheer me up when i was little and had been sick!

#7. i love that all my friends always wished they had a dad as wonderful as mine!

#8. i love that my dad always will help us when we are in need without question.

#9. i love that my dad is a prankster!

#10. i love when we watched 90210 as a family all through highschool!

#11. i love that my dad always listens when i talk truly caring about each word and thought i have. he has always made me feel that he was on my side and that he would always be there for me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DAD IN THE UNIVERSE!

a pout in a suit

gommy got grace a new bathing suit...and it is SO adorable! but, when i asked her to pose for a "new suit" shot, she said she wanted me to take a picture of her pouting. so here it is: a pout in a new suit!

80's night!

after a great day at busch gardens, my sister and i braved a late night bunco girls night...80's style! my lucky star....winning most losses!

lucky star...more later!

candy bouquet

laura sent me a picture of her adorable teacher gifts so i just had to post them. too adorable!

a lot to "say"

though he is often quiet, owen is a very prolific writer. he loves to write and will just keep on writing. his words will fill every corner of a page.

parsing

as a 4th grader, wyatt will no longer be taught in a montessori curriculum. one of favorite pieces of work was parsing, which is labeling all parts of speech in a written piece. i love the representation of nouns being black triangles representing an object (such as Egyptian pyramids) and verbs being red circles showing action such as a ball would. A green crescent acts as a prepositional bridge connecting parts. it just all makes sense. 2- and 3-year olds are given lessons with actual objects(a red ball, etc.) and then the older students transfer their knowledge to abstract lessons. just one of the MANY things i love about montessori teachings!

gracias

i am sure i will be needing to do MANY of these posts in the near future. but this week, here are my big GRACIAS shout outs for the people surrounding us that are helping us through our "troubled times!"

1. of course to my sister for listening to my long stories of kitchen turmoil, but also for homemade dinners last week and last night---taco tuesday! ole!

2. chris-for helping todd late nights moving and never complaining--always ready to lend a hand or a truck!

3. eric--for all your guidance, man hours, and the many nails we will owe you

4. kim for giving up eric to us

5. and a thousand thank you's to my parents for all the support...searching online for good deals, making phone calls, lending hands, trucks, and shoulders to cry on, and for everything else in between!

6. to debbie, michael, musarrat, and laura for offering anything we need! friends and family are the best!

7. to todd for doing all the hard work! xoxo

luau

wyatt's 3rd grade moving up party was packed full of dancing, limbo, and of course some swimming. no bathing suits, no problem. the boys were swimming fully dressed!