Cloud Shapes

In the car on the way home from school today the mini said "Look Mommy!" and pointed out the window. I turned my head and she said, "There's a rhino!" A few seconds later she saw an elephant, then something else that I can't remember. What followed was a conversation about the different animals she saw, what they were thinking and doing and how cool they were. It was a wonderful 15 minutes. I didn't even know that she paid attention to the clouds in the sky! I think we've only looked at the clouds with her once before. I just assumed (yes, I know what that makes me) that she wasn't old enough to make those kinds of abstract connections. Now we have a new game for when the weather gets warmer and we can lay on our backs out in the yard. She just get more fun every day!

Playdate Fun

Silly mommy! I only took a couple of pictures of the mini's recent playdate with her friend from gymnastics class. Maybe because this was the only moment that I could get anything resembling a non-fuzzy shot? Anyway, both girls seemed to have a lot of fun pretending to be princesses and then playing with play-doh. Notice that her friend seems happy to have her picture taken. The mini, on the other hand, was too engrossed in "Super Why" and popcorn to be bothered with smiling. I hope she understands why her scrapbook doesn't look perfect when she's older! In any case, we hope her friend comes over again soon!

Hitchcockian Moments

These pictures don't really do justice to the overload of feathered invaders, but they were the best I could do.

I don't know what's up with the birds around here recently, but I have new respect for that town in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." It seems like thousands of birds have been showing up and littering the ground with their blackness. The sound is nothing short of earsplitting, and kinds of freaks me out a bit. I'm guessing that since the weather has been unusually warm recently, maybe a lot of bugs or worms are coming out of the ground, which means smorgasborg for the birdies. I hope they move on soon. I've never been a big fan of horror stories and I certainly don't want to live in one!

Irish Blessings

I've been told all my life that many of my ancestors hail from Ireland, somewhere around County Monoghan in the north. Although I have never been an overt celebrator of all things Irish, I have been know to swell with pride on occasion when discovering something fabulous about that land or the people in it. So in honor of that heritage and just because for some reason I'm feeling a bit sentimental about the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd go ahead and throw in my two cents. Or at least I'd copy and paste somebody else's two cents and then claim it as my own! To that end, and even though it isn't quite March yet, I thought I'd go ahead and post a couple of Irish blessings that I got from my Circle group at church. I hope you all have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Old Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!


From St. Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

Food Fight

The mini and I are in the midst of a battle of wills regarding what she eats. She wants to snack all day long. I, on the other hand, want her to sit down and eat meals with us at regular mealtimes. Tonight, for instance, she kept playing with her food. She took approximately three bites before trying to declare that she was done. This is her normal pattern - she asks me for food, I feed her supper, she eats less than a quarter of what I've given her, she'll say she's done. 30 minutes later will come asking me for a snack. I'm really getting tired of it. Tonight she's in time out until she decides to finish the food I give her. No more snacks. I wonder how much longer this conflict will take?

Busy Day = Tired Girl

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. Sunny and warm with just a bit more than a light breeze. The mini and I took advantage by spending a great deal of time outside. We had lunch on the deck followed by playing in the yard and a walk through the neighborhood. When we came back in, she tackled two puzzles that she received for Christmas and her birthday. She can put them together totally on her own now - she suddenly seemed to want to work them and asked for my help last week, so I explained them to her, how to match up straight edges and look for parts of the picture that go together. She's putting them together like a pro now. I can't wait until she's old enough that we can do puzzles together!





Almost as a side note, we also went to Barnes & Noble so I could buy a book and she could play with the train table in the children's section - she loves those trains! Later in the afternoon we went to Target so I could pick up pictures and cereal. An odd combination, I admit, but we needed the cereal and I've been putting off my scrapbooking long enough - I got prints of all the pictures from 2007 (yes, the entire year) so that I can catch the mini's book up. I realized recently that although I've been snapping photos right along, I stopped her book at Christmas last year, so now the pressure's on to finish it before 2008 disappears!

Probably the best part of the day, though, happened at dinnertime. DH came home and the mini was totally excited to see her Daddy. You'd think he'd been gone for days rather than just a few hours, but hey, it's never bad to know that your kid loves her Dad, huh? Anyway, after our energetic sunshiny day, she was apparently too exhausted, both mentally and physically to handle the excitement of seeing Daddy and having a steak dinner. She totally conked out in his arms right at the table. She didn't even finish her dinner! It was too cute and I couldn't resist the photo op.

Death Throes of a Dryer

My drier died. Twice. Actually, the first time it was only in its pre-death spiral, with the funny noises and the smell of burnt lint. But like any good home warranty owner, I called the nice repairman and he came out to fix it. Yay! I got one more load of laundry done before it decided that enough was enough, already, and this time it really kicked the bucket. The repairman came out again and decided that a new motor was just what we needed. Of course, they don't simply keep new dryer motors lying around in their trucks, so they have to go get mine. And of course, my dryer is older than most highschool juniors, so they have to order it. Which means I am without a dryer at least until early next week. Which of course means that I'm going to be schlepping my laundry to the laundromat and trying to take care of it there while keeping track of a curiosity-and-hunger-driven three-year-old. I think that's the most intimidating part of the whole scenario, trying to keep the mini from rolling all over the sure-to-be-less-than-sparkling floor (at least I know what dirt is on my own floor!) or running outside to play hide-and-seek with unaware drivers or splashing and jumping in a puddle of who-knows-what that hasn't yet been cleaned up or maybe trying to eat that year-old cheet-oh that she found when she was trying to see what was under all those washing machines. Playdate anyone?

34% Barney 66% Aunt Bea

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Jesus Loves Me

As we were rushing through the morning routine yesterday in order to make it to church on time, the mini and I had the following conversation:

"Are we going to church, Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetie."
"Yay! We go to church! Jesus Loves Me!"

This was followed by a bone-crushing hug and the mini's signature happy stomp/dance. I can't even begin to tell you how big my smile was!

Bigger or Better?

As some of you know, DH and I are considering moving - not to a different city or anything, just to a different house. In fact, we are considering a couple of different options, namely, either selling what we have for a bigger home or putting an addition on the back of our current home. The market being what it is currently, now would be a great time to buy. Then again, we'd also have to sell what we have and it's definitely not a great time to sell. Wish us luck - it'll take at least a couple of months to make a decision (if we ever actually get around to deciding).

Tornadoes

A part of our country is bleeding today. The still pictures and video footage of the victims of the recent tornadoes that wreaked havoc and mayhem in the southeast are so far beyond my experience that I can't comprehend their immense loss. To face such utter devastation is a task that I'm not sure I could undertake. There is an old saying that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I'm not sure I agree with that. I can't help but believe that people whose loved ones were lost are not stronger, merely surviving. Many are no doubt weeping for their loss while others are probably shaking their fists at the sky and screaming their pain to the heavens. A selfish part of me is glad that I do not have to face the horrible reality of the people whose lives were torn apart, and their families splintered due to a phenomenon out of their control. Another part of me wants to scoff at all of the trite platitudes that fill my head in response. The rest of me wants to be there to hold them in my arms and tell them that I'm here and I want to give them whatever comfort they will accept. My heart goes out to them and my prayers are for them. My hope is that somehow, someday, they will be able to pick up the pieces and continue their march through life, not whole, as they will never be completely whole or innocent again, but stronger and with the knowledge that someday, they will be able to smile through their tears.

A Cut Above...

The mini's hair is a very fine texture, and so stick-straight, that I have trouble doing anything with it. I've been trying to be patient and let it grow, but it stays in her eyes since she won't let me keep barrettes or elastics in it on a regular basis. Even when I do get something in there, I'm lucky if she leaves it alone for 30 minutes. So I broke down on Saturday and cut her hair. Myself. On the kitchen island... I'm definitely not what anyone could call a hair stylist, but I just can't stomach the thought of paying someone else $30 to cut her hair. Heck, I can barely stand the thought of paying someone else $30 (or more) to cut MY hair! Anyhow, I think it looks okay, a little uneven, but not too bad. It's also a little shorter than I was hoping for, but it's hair, so it'll grow. And school pictures were last week, so I don't have to worry about it looking bad for that. Speaking of school, maybe I should go back to school for a cosmetician license so I can do a better job next time...

PJ's and Popcorn Day

So it was raining all day a couple of days ago and the mini and I decided that with such weather on the outside, the forecast inside called for pj's and popcorn. So we never actually dressed for the day. What the heck, right? Every once in a while a girl and her mom are entitled to a lazy day....

Rainy Day Musings

I have been having the urge lately to write something. I used to write quite a bit when I was younger, but I suppose life got in the way and I put down my pen. However, waking up this morning to a rain-soaked world, I was inspired and sat down to put my thoughts on paper. The following is what came out of that recent and well-remembered desire.

I wake in the stillness to a soft patter on the window as
Misty light steals quietly into the room and
The sound of his breath, soughing peacefully, slips over me
With the first blush of wakefulness slowly spinning into the quiet.

As I lay there breathing, just breathing
The rain comes down harder, the growing whisper a chill
Heralding the gray heart of this dawn
And a hint of the coming hours, the shadows of life yet to be.

The last kiss of silence is fading; the light grows stronger
And the heartbeat of time enters into my conciousness as
With a smile of wistful regret I open my eyes to
Push back the warm blanket of sleep and greet the day.

Though the rain veils the dappled promise of weak sunlight
Hidden now behind the gauzy mantle of winter's embrace
I look into the next moments with a soft smile
Knowing heat and light will come again
Richer, brighter, stronger
More welcome for this small moment of frosted time.