Happenings of the week

Hello friends!

Here's your Lear Road Trip/Family Wedding update.

The project for the gift has been completed, and is ready to go. The random stomach virus portion of the week has also been completed. The outfits are organized and pressed. The van has been cleaned. Cole's birthday gifts are wrapped and ready for Sunday. The flower girl flip-flops have been bedazzled and be-ribboned. Nails polished for two little girls and one big girl, check. Five baseball games for Cole in one week, check. (Yes, five. Five! five. f-i-v-e.)

Can I stop now? :)

You know that To-Do list never ends.

How about some quotes from Jadyn, in her Countdown To Wedding Day excitement. And, oh, how excited she is. She has given up her obstinate clothing issues, and has chosen to wear new school clothes EVERY day this past week. Wot?! Yes! Every day. (And if you're wondering where the "new" school clothes came from, they are from the fall, and were still hanging *with tags* in the closet.) She is over the moon with excitement over the flower girl dress, and after trying it on, has wanted to wear it every day. And has been promised she can wear it whenever she pleases *after* the wedding...

"Mom, can we go in your room and talk about the wedding?"

"Mom, I'm going to go potty before the wedding if I need to. So don't worry about that."

"Let's chew gum before the wedding, so we'll have fresh breath."

"Tell me again who will be there, so I can be ready."

"Tell me again what else will be happening."

"Mom, come to your room so we can talk about the wedding."

Ad infinitum.

And really? I am excited too! In the past few years, we haven't gotten home to NC much at all. I'm ready to have fun with friends and family! You will have to wait for the debut of Girls in Flower Girl Gowns (though you can see a partial peek in this shot), but the shot of Bemused Boy goes down as the cutest shot ever. Here is Phoenix's expression, upon seeing the tie attached to his shirt: "What's dis thing, Mom? What's dis thing for?"

Phoenix was very into the trying-on-wedding-finery day, and when he first saw the girls' matching gowns, he was outraged: "Where's mine?!?" And so Jadyn let him try on her gown. And we all hooted and rolled as he hooted and yelled "Watch me twirl!" And then soon enough he was ready for his own shirt, and a glimpse of the strange thing called a tie.

That, my friends, is how the week has gone.

We're off to visit a grandmother, marry off a brother, and celebrate!

MOTY

There are some days when you just have to accept the title of Mother of the Year.

This is one of those days. And of course it is a Monday! Universe, that is just mean.

6:30am - Isabella droops down the stairs with a pitiful look.

"Mommy, the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night! There was no money under my pillow, just my tooth."

Cue my half-asleep, shocked (oh, crap) look.

"Oh, my! (Quick! distract and divert! deflect!) Well, did you have just the tooth under there, or was it in the little pillow?"

Isabella, questioningly: "It was just the tooth."

Me: "That must be it then! Let's put it in the pillow." (And make several mental notes to Not Forget, Tooth Fairy.)

8:30am - Here comes the sinking feeling, right in the pit of my stomach. Don't tell me you don't know this feeling. This week is Jadyn's turn to be Star Student in kindergarten. Need I say more?

Did we make her poster this weekend? Did she have anything to take in?

I am going to pay big-time for this. I have already gotten out my Fancy Scrapbooking Stickers in Hot Pink, and my Good Embellishments, Pink Butterflies if-you-please, to beg forgiveness. No magic markers or cheap stickers for Jadyn this time. This will be a custom poster. I may even have to let her decorate it At My Desk.

It's the least I can do, as Mother of the Year.

The Sunday Creative - fresh

To see the gift

with eyes anew

And begin with an open heart

Look on this time

these little beings

with fresh grace and renewed

spirit

To hold the moment

and look it in the face

with a pounding heart

I see you, and isn't this so much fun

To be here in this instant

This tenderness, it bursts out of my skin.

BL

4/17/11

Need another fresh look? The Sunday Creative is all about the fresh today...

What's New

Allow me to cleanse your palate from that last post, and switch from pottying toddlers to what's new outside! I am a container gardener, hi. My comfort zone is containers, though I am trying to branch out. (Front bed, you are my nemesis!) Still, each season my favorite things are the fresh pots lining the front walkway. Realistically, I can control what goes in them, what I put there stays there, and nobody messes with them. Friends, these flower pots may be the ONLY things that applies to around here! :) So, yes, cherished they are...

This year I'm trying something new. Meet my little Alberta spruce:

I have looked at the ones trimmed as topiaries for years, but they are too pricey. This year I thought I would try to trim one myself, after this little cutie grows a bit. This could be great... or... well... I will be hopeful.


This is the showstopper clematis. The vine that I can ignore all year long, and it never holds it against me. I almost feel bad taking compliments about it from the neighbors, as though it is listening and rolling it's eyes. She doesn't even water me, and barely refreshes the pine straw around me! Forget about any weeding...

And now we are heading out to browse the booths at a local art festival. How that will shake out is anyone's guess. Though I am hopeful about this as well. :) But with a brood tagging along, well, it's anyone's game.

Have a sunny weekend...

A Potty Tale

Making good on promise number one - here is your potty tale.

It was a sunny day in Georgia...

:)

Actually, it was. Which was why we were out front gardening and playing. Ah, what a nice day.

Pity we had to step inside from planting flowers, only to come upon... dun-dun-DUN - unexpected pooh!

But come upon it we did, with a smiling Phoenix pointing the way.

With the other kids giggling, and Rick and I wide-eyed and all heeby-jeebied, we dealt with The Situation. Counted ourselves somewhat lucky and went back out front to enjoy the day.

Only, the potty tale was not over.

Little did we know...

more... DUN-dun-dun - Unexpected Pooh! awaited us on the stairway.

Once again our little Lewis & Clark led the expedition and proudly pointed out his New World discovery. (Is it considered a discovery when one is responsible for the planting of said discovery?) There it was, around the curve of the staircase, like a rotten egg. Jadyn ran up giggling hilariously: "It's like an Easter find hunt!!" (Of course she did. Need I remind you, her own potty tale is legendary.)

And the culprit, oh the culprit. You might hope to find an ounce of remorse or I don't know, a tad of shame? But no. Mr. Matter of Fact looked us right in the face, shrugged and said

"It just fell out, Mom. It just rolled out."

And that's your potty tale.

Monday, oh Happy Day

I'm still standing, friends!

It was a long week. And now we are back to our routine, of which I am learning I am very fond. Just me and the Phoeny-Phoen, doing chores, going to the gym, and potty-training. If you've been around here for long, you will know that potty training is never without trials in general. And for some reason, with my kids, trials in particular. I have a story, indeed! Oh do I. Because spring break needed an extra {potty} element. Story to come in near future.

But first I am still trying to find my pictures! Rick treated me to a real treat indeed for my birthday, and this handy dandy mac is really exciting. But... I really need a For Dummies book. Didn't we figure out I could tinker around and get things done with computing machinery? Well. This animal is fun but challenging. And to challenge me, it has hidden my photos from me. But I have been surfing for answers, and I think I found the backdoor into the folder.

Ha! The folder was there, right in front of me. Maybe it was spring break brain, blocking mah eyes. Look at my industrious attempt at spring break salvage, all ye friends. The little stinkers had so much fun, and were so wide-eyed That Mommy! Is! Letting! Us! PAINT! Results to come in future. (That's two future promises, help me keep count.)

And now, for this week I am working on a little sumpin' sumpin.

My wittle baby brudder is getting married in three weeks, and I am working on a writing project for the happy couple. This announcement will not spoil the surprise, because I am fairly certain that approximately 0% of my family members are reading here. (If you are reading, then, surprise! And hey - give me a shout out, lurker.) Unless you count my (deceased) Dad and grandmother, who may or may not have found an ethereal way to stay in touch, and if so, would definitely still be reading. Maybe getting online is really easy when you are a spirit? I can only imagine that Gig is chomping at the bit to respond to this challenge, since she replied by email to every post I wrote. Don't laugh, but I really did believe my Dad would find some way to communicate in cyber-space. I don't know how exactly, but I was ready for a good number of years to hear from him online. Maybe I was imagining a Stephen Hawking-like voice, emanating from my pc? Now that I think of it, that would have been really spooky. Dad, don't even think of doing that. I might have heart failure.

Whew, step away from the rabbit trail, B.

So back to the project, which I will hope to share later. I am trying to strike just the right note and it is tricky. Seems like when it counts, the creative juices dry up. This nuptial deal will mean an April trip to NC for me and all of mine, since the kids seem to have all been given a part in the wedding. The next few weeks will be full of exciting preparation, and no small amount of bribery, given that Mom and my soon-to-be-sister Susan have chosen long white gowns for my girlies to wear. May the gods of spring weddings be with us! For the final promise of the day - stay tuned for Phoenix in a tie. Heh. Heh-heh.

Oh, happy Monday!

The Sunday Creative - Fly

For the artisan, the creative,

It is the moment a concept takes shape

When shady vision clears,

and the image coalesces.

The instant when a vague notion

becomes a concrete plan

and pieces of color and pattern transcend

individuality.

It is the flash from maybe

to the birth of oh yeah

Oh that second!

That is the one we live for

The one we leap toward

And the one that keeps us on the hook

The twinkling when we know who we are

what we are creating and how we are meant to -

This is the moment, instant, flash and second...

when we

fly.

Want to see how the other Sunday Creatives fly? Clickety here. And thanks for checking in...

Salvaged!

The week has been salvaged! I dusted off my joie de vivre and pulled together a craft for the kids to enjoy. Thank you for tolerating my Seussical post from Monday - luckily (for you) the dear Dr. made no more appearances. It was better to keep quiet this week. Really. I am only a mortal. Only subject to whatever a mere mortal mom can take. And spring break spent at home always brings me to my knees.

But now, oh now it's Friday! And there is always hope on Friday! So we began Friday with a little birdhouse painting to welcome spring. I know what you're thinking, so I'll get right to it. Phoenix only painted on his own birdhouse, and he did not paint on anything else in our house. Wot?! I know. The grace of spring break magic, I guess. I'm not questioning it.

I would dearly love to post a photograph or three, but, alas, I have not learned the ins and outs of this here computer. Is that nice, that juxtaposition of ye olde english, and country talk? I hope I don't really sound like that. but it would explain a lot. A lot.

Let me go now, and enjoy a glass of ye olde Friday beverage, and I'll get back to to you with the proof that I have indeed salvaged the week for my dear offspring.

The End.

An invisible Cat in the Hat lives here

"Your mother will not mind at all if you do..."

This is their anthem. They live by it well. It's as though the Cat in the Hat's voice rings in their ears every moment of the day, reassuring and luring them to ever greater messes.

And I am always click-clacking up the walk, just about to round the corner.

Only, there is never a last minute dash to clean up the mess strewn from here to there.

Never a clever cat, only Things One, Two, Three and Four flying kites and juggling dishes and making precarious towers of toys. Pouring bowls of water and balancing them on wheeled implements. Tossing clothes around the room as though they were spring decor.

And there I am. Rounding the corner again.

Your mother will not mind at all if you do.

Nick, Sally, let me tell you.

She will mind.

She will definitely mind.

It's day one of spring break.

By Day Three we will either be eating green eggs and ham, hopping on pop or carrying wockets in our pocket.

I really can't say.

I can't say at all what will happen that day.

My kids will be here, we will all be at home.

And I will be wanting, oh wanting to roam.

And they will chattering, asking and needing

And I will be scrubbing, sweeping and cleaning

Crumb after crumb and cup after cup

Spring break, you bear, you never let up.

Cheers to ya!