Counting Lightning to Thunder

Yesterday we had a big Spring storm. We had a little girl over and when she heard the lightning she got scared. I brought her and Ellis into the kitchen and asked them if they wanted to see something really cool. I sat them on the kitchen counter with their feet in the sink so that they could see out the window. I said, "This is how nature works. The earth needs water and this is how it gets it." The sat there for about 45 mins eating M&M's and watching the rain and hail. I had them count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder so they could tell how far away the storm was. They had so much fun that they forgot to be scared! The storm came closer and closer and then finally further and further away. After the storm was over they talked about how fun it was to watch it all from the window. They are so sweet. I hope I always remember the picture I have in my head of those little ones watching out the window.

Oh Christmas Tree

Every year I think that our tree turns out so pretty! This year I thought I would take a few pictures of our favourite ornaments. I still haven't figured out why blogspot turns pictures taken with a Cannon camera, so bear with the horizontal photos. :)

 This year we got a Scotch Pine. The branches are bare except for the ends, so you hang most of the ornaments in the tree.

 Glass ornaments are our favourites! This snowman seems so jolly and I love seeing him each year!

 Last year our tree fell over and we broke about half of our ornaments. This Santa is a new addition this year.

 I picked up this cute trolley car in San Francisco in Bloomingdale's on Black Friday a few years ago.

 I love this little reindeer. The snow in the bottom of the ornament moves around.

 Most of our ornaments seem to be Santas. Perhaps it's the red and white we like. There are so many depictions!

 I love the feathers on the mittens.

 This ornament used to hang on my Grandma Burdette's tree. Before LED lights you would put one of the tree lights under the ornament and the heat would make the fan turn. This is a very special ornament.

 Chandler made this in kindergarten. I love seeing him so tiny!

This year my sisters and I started a new tradition of sending each other ornaments to hang on our tree that remind us of each other. This is what I got this year for us. However, I forgot to send it on time! So dear sisters, this is what you will be getting in the mail in the next few weeks!

Merry Christmas!

Stuffing vs. Dressing

Today I was sitting at my mom's table shredding ten loaves of bread to prepare, what I like to call stuffing, for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I was led to remember all the times I had seen my mother and my grandmother sitting in the same kitchen doing the same thing. I'm not sure where my grandma got her recipe from, but it's amazing. It will always be my favourite recipe for this particular dish. She never wrote the recipe down. My mother learned it from watching her and I learned it from watching my mother. I remember the first year that my grandma died and my mother and I frantically tried to remember how exactly to make what my grandmother called "dressing". I'm sure over the years my mom and I have developed our recipe, but every time I make it I will always think of my dear grandma and how much I love her and everything she passed down to us.

The Smuggies

Today I took my children to a music lesson. We sang and hit sticks together and had a merry old time. One mother was breast feeding while we sang. "That's right!" I thought. "I can roll with the new wave hippie moms." I stay at home with my kids, we sing, we breastfeed in broad day light and we have a good time doing it! After the class Teacher Beth, who sported a yellow kerchief in her hair; a sure sign of the modern hippie mom, overheard me telling Ellis that we needed to get home so I could start sewing. She asked what I was sewing and I excitedly told her that I was sewing my daughter's Halloween costume. Ellis looked at her and said, "I'm going to be Princess Peach!" That's when I saw it. The smile and nod... "How nice." I couldn't help but to laugh. I could tell right there that she didn't approve. Rowan chimed in that he was going to be Luigi. I could feel her trying not to judge me, but she couldn't help it. After all, I'm breaking a cardinal rule of the new wave hippie mom. I let my kids watch T.V. and play video games! (gasp!)

Teacher Beth then explained how her daughter is going to be a Native American for Halloween. She's going to have braids and a head band and feathers coming out of her hair from their chickens! She sewed her costume last year too, she had been Laura Ingalls! Thank goodness I knew who that was. I would have loved to have told her that my children were also literary characters two years ago too. Ellis was Alice and Rowan was the Jabberwocky, but I could see "the smuggies" behind her eyes and I didn't want to spoil it for her. She really is a sweet lady and was very kind to us, but it made her feel good that she wasn't subjecting her children to the horrible things that I do. I could have really made her day and let her know that for snack today we were going to have fruit roll ups, they have high fructose corn syrup.

I try to be a good mom. We stay away from sugar for weeks at a time before we lapse back into lazy snacks. I  am my kids' preschool teacher and take them on plenty of outings. I take my kids to church every Sunday and try to teach them to be good people. We raise chickens and eat their eggs. We try to plant a garden every summer. I can fruit and make pies and make dinners from scratch. I'm well on the road to the new wave hippie mom that I would love to be. But, there are some things that I'm just not willing to give up and so I'll never be fully initiated into the club. And I'm okay with that. I have my own kind of joy that I get from watching other people delight in how much better they are than me!

7 Year Itch?

    As of September 11th, Bobby and I have been married for 7 years. It feels like much longer, maybe because we dated for 3 years before we got married. It's been a wonderful 7 years and we were able to go away together this weekend and reflect on them together. Typically, the saying goes that every 7 years you yearn for some change in your life, but as we looked back we've had nothing but change! We decided that at this point now, we couldn't be happier! I feel like we have changed a lot in the last decade, and for the better. How nice that we could grow together as a couple and as a family. After this weekend, it was very clear to me how lucky I am and how much each of us have grown. Let me tell you a little about it.
    Saturday, the 10th was very busy. We had soccer in the first part of the day, and then I helped at a wedding in the late afternoon and evening. By the time I got home later that night, my hips were VERY sore. But I didn't want to complain to Bobby about it. We got up early on Sunday and I was already feeling emotional. I usually try to glaze over September 11th, try to focus on my anniversary, but this day was hard. I kept welling with tears. Chandler and I were both to speak in church and although I was excited, I was a little nervous too. Chandler spoke first and he was so amazing. I really cannot think of a prouder "mommy moment"! He wrote his own talk, and then spoke slowly and clearly. I ended up being very pleased with how I did with my talk, I was glad that I had practiced so much before hand, and I didn't even cry. Then Bobby and I ran home and packed bags for the children and for ourselves. I was feeling pretty emotional because I must have been more worried about the job on Saturday night and the talk Sunday morning more than I had thought. Now that those things were over I was ready for an emotional release, but instead I needed to focus on packing (fast) and sending the kids off for the next 3 days without tears. So I needed to hold it all in.
    We were finally on the road and I was worried about getting there on time because we had massages scheduled at 4. We would probably arrive around 3:30, I didn't want to be late. About an hour into our drive we got a phone call for our wonderful friend who was watching our children, she told us that we had not put the children's luggage in her car! I couldn't believe it! We had been so hurried and so worried about the kids being comfortable, that we completely forgot to move the bag! I felt my mood begin to take a rapid downward turn, but told myself that being upset about it wouldn't solve anything. I was determined to be in a good mood and not let "the natural man" take a hold of me!
    As we entered into the Sonora area my earlobes began to get a funny itching sensation, as we moved further towards Twain Heart and further up in elevation I began to feel the sensation moving to my cheeks as well. We arrived at our bed and breakfast just at 3:30, our room wasn't ready and we would have to wait. Although I was feeling uncomfortable and just wanted to relax, I assured them that we were fine sitting in the front room to read until it was ready. By the time we got to our room about 15 minutes later, my palms were itching and my whole face and neck were totally red. It was 4 o'clock and the massage therapists were not there. Our appointment must have been sent for 4:30 we thought. Our hostess provided me with an allergy pill and I knocked out on the bed. Waking up 45 minutes later extremely groggy, I realized that it was 5:15 and there was still no sign of the therapists. We called up front to find out that there had been some sort of mix up and the hostess was frantically on the phone trying to find people that would come in on short notice. Again, not her fault, no reason to be upset, right? At 6 o'clock we were fortunate enough to have 2 massage therapists arrive, or so we thought....
    Now maybe it's that Bobby and I are ruined. A few years back we had the most amazing massages EVER! So now, of course, everyone else is compared to these others. But in this case, I really think it just wasn't that great. For starters, whenever I have ever had a massage there is usually gentle, relaxing music playing. These two must have had a very different idea of what type of music should be played. I was laying down on my stomach with my face in that circle thing with my eyes wide open, thinking, "What the heck????" First it was like these romantic love songs, which I'm sorry, are just creepy when some stranger has their hands on you. It then moved to this like... new age world music? Imagine energetic, almost techno music with a man yodeling/singing over the top of it. It reminded me of some sort of thing I would hear in a  yurt full of hippies trying to find their inner energy or something. It was totally ridiculous for a massage and totally weird. Not to mention that I think I was being massaged by Darth Vader. This guy was breathing so hard through his nose, at first I thought he was wearing a mask or something because it was so loud! The massage was terrible and I really just couldn't wait to get off the table. By 8 o'clock I was starving and we left for dinner.
    It really took all my mental muscles to stave off the crankies by this point. We ate at an Italian restaurant with fantastic service, great atmosphere and horrible food. Thank goodness that Bobby had me laughing so hard at the table over our terrible massages that it didn't bother me too much. Unfortunately, it bothered my stomach and I felt sick the rest of the night.
    The next morning, Bobby and I left for Yosemite. My hips were still very sore and my lower back was stiff after the terrible massage the day before. I didn't want to complain to Bobby. I knew that he wanted to take a little day hike and I wanted to be accommodating. It was a beautiful day and Yosemite was PACKED! There were a million people there. I hadn't been able to find my shoes before we had left in such a rush and had only packed my Converse. I like them for when I need to wear them for short periods of time, but not for when we need to do a lot of walking. It was nearly lunch time and we didn't have any food with us, but I assured Bobby that I could do a quick 3 mile hike with him and then we could go to lunch. When we got near to where we were hiking we saw that the road was closed and that we needed to hike an extra .6 miles. No problem, just smile. We began our walk. I was fine when it was flat, but then we began our incline. My hips began to hurt immediately. Bobby started talking about how excited he was to do the John Muir Trail in two years and I snapped! I want to take that hike with him so badly and it was apparent that I was probably not going to be able to even finish this little one. My hips were screaming and my pride was hurt. I have an injury that most likely will never get all the way better. I took all the frustrations and emotions from the past 2 days and pushed them all into this. Then I let loose on my poor confused husband. When he tried to talk to me I told him that we weren't having a conversation in front of the bajillion people around us. Instead of getting angry, he asked me what I wanted to do. When I couldn't give him an answer he told me that he didn't feel like walking after all and led me back to the car. When we got to the car I finally explained how badly my body was hurting and how hard it was for me to admit that I couldn't do the things I used to do. He let me cry it all out. I told him how sorry I was that I had ruined our day. He said that I hadn't ruined the day at all and that we could still enjoy the park in so many ways. What should we do first?
    I sat there in that car and thought about a few things. 1. How selfish I was being. 2. How wonderful my husband is. 3. How this conversation might have gone 5 years ago. Let me tell you something I've learned about marriage. You make your own happiness. Even though the day before had been crazy, I still had a great time just being with Bobby, because I had decided to. Had I been totally honest with Bobby on that morning I wouldn't have put myself in a situation where it was harder for me to keep my control. I saw what I had done wrong, admitted it and asked for forgiveness, and then MOVED ON! We had a wonderful rest of the day. We enjoyed each other's company and had a great dinner. Bobby was so understanding and just so happy the whole weekend. He went through a lot of the same things I did and didn't get upset. I didn't need to either. We decide to be cranky, or we decide to be happy. We are at a point in our marriage that we decide to be happy together no matter what we come up against, even if it's each other! I'm so thankful that we have learned these lessons together and I look forward to another year of happiness.

Chandler and Ice Cream

Last night Chandler had his first school dance. I know, he's only 12, but he's in Leadership at school and they plan all the dances. I think it's nice for him to be able to go to the things he works so hard on, besides that, it's not like he's going to go anywhere near a girl!

Anyway... I was surprised last night when I asked him which of his friends were going and he said none. I said, "Oh really? Who are you going to hang out with?" He said he didn't know but that he was sure someone would be there. I thought that it was so cool that he wasn't going to give up having a good time just because his friends weren't going! I always worry about him "following the pack", but clearly he does what he wants to do. (Let's hope he continues to want to do good things!)

I dropped him off at the school at 6, but instead of driving back at 8:30 I decided to walk down to the school to get him. I met him out front and we went to Foster's Freeze. We sat outside, ate ice cream and talked for an hour! It was so wonderful! He told me all about the dance and how much fun he had. He said that he was actually kind of glad that none of his friends were there because it gave him the opportunity to get to know some other people a little better. He loves his friends, it was just fun to hang out with other people sometimes.

I had asked him before the school year started if he would make a promise to talk to me. If he would talk, I would listen. It was so great last night to see that actually happening. We walked home and I thought about how easy it would have been for me to have just taken the car to pick him up. The trip would have lasted 2 minutes and we probably would have only chatted for a second. But because I took the time, not only did I get some good exercise, but some real quality time with my son. I am always so worried about him becoming a teenager and being impossible to talk to, but I'm hoping that if I continue to keep the lines of communication open and I keep taking the time to allow him to talk that we may survive those years after all. I know it will be difficult, but last night gave me a big glimmer of hope. :)

Summer Time

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's because we've been busy squeezing out every last drop of summer. :) 

Summer is a time for our family to be busy with simple pleasures. Sitting on a warm sidewalk at night trying to find Scorpio and his heart, Antares; eating home made ice cream with black berries, baking pies and making jam, canning peaches and green beans, finding yet another recipe for eggplant and zucchini, camping and boating, roasting marshmallows, riding on the knee board, swimming in the lake, going to the State Fair, and lazing around the house.

I've been heard to say things like, "People are coming over, put clothes on!" or "We aren't having ice cream for breakfast again!" Things are relaxed, easy going, and peaceful. It all goes by too quickly. However, by the time August rolls around we are ready to be back to a routine. We miss the easy going time of summer but feel well rested and ready for the school year.

This year Chandler is in 7th grade! I can't believe how the time has flown. Rowan and Ellis will be in "Mommy School". I've been busy this week cleaning out the playroom and getting it set up for school. I am optimistic that we will have a good time doing preschool at home. After all, it's my last year home all day with my little ones.

Soccer has also started and Chandler is playing really well. He seems to be on a good team and has a lot of friends he knows this year. Rowan also started soccer and loves the running. Ellis is very upset that she doesn't get to play, but luckily for her, Rowan's coach lets her practice with the team. It's been a great summer!