It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
I wonder if Charles Dickens had any idea these words would be considered an excellent synopsis for describing the condition, “motherhood”. Literally - I have experienced The. Best. Times. I have experienced The. Worst. Times… Light and Dark… Hope and despair.
Mercy… holding my newborn babies for the first time - kissing their pink lips and counting all ten toes… That was when Heaven was at the edge of my lips… it was at the tips of my fingers. And within mere days I would “go direct the other way” as sleep deprivation took over. Nothing prepares one for this. Nothing. It is rite of passage… a very dark passage.
Continue reading ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’
I let Olivia run wild with my camera on her last day of kindergarten - way back in June. It is very educational to see images of life through her eyes… After looking through her collection of photographs, I learned something about people her size… Eye level for our precious kindergarteners is approximately at adult butt level… Thus, a very flattering picture of *ahem* Olivia’s mother’s butt.
Does my daughter’s eye level make my butt look big??? Continue reading ‘The last day of kindergarten…’
Me: *Scurry, scurry, scurry… Clean, clean, clean…*
Me: *Madly cleaning… scurry, scurry…*
Me, inside voice: “By 11 I want the kitchen “mostly” cleaned, a shower, dry my hair and get 10-20 more minutes of pantry organization done…”
Note: I started organizing my pantry 3 days ago. 3 full days ago.
Lucy (my 3 year old): “Oh! No!”
Continue reading ‘An example of why I (mothers) can never really get stuff done.’
Our family went to a concert at the local waterfront last night.
Living in a small town, the chances are good you will see someone you know - or many someones at the waterfront concerts. Last night we saw many someones. It was fun hopping from friend to friend… catching up, giggling, etc, etc, etc…
A friend’s husband pointed out the fact that at one point I’d be hanging out “here”, and then “there”, and then I’d be somewhere else. I did notice I was spending more time moving about than sitting on the lawn chair - I didn’t mind… but I kind of wished everyone was sitting together so I could be in one place and hang out with everyone…
Not a minute later, my 6 year old came up to me and asked, “Mom? How can you be in 3 places at once?” I thought she was setting me up for a joke, and I said, “I don’t know? How can you be 3 places at once?”
She tipped her head back and breathed a lightly-frustrated “Aaah!” and said, “I don’t KNOW! I just have Ella over here, and Hannah over there and Molly over there. It’s so hard to be with them all!”
Sister, I know. I know…
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Hi all! Happy Fourth of July! Be safe. Be sane. Be real. Yo.
The weather looks good here today. Much better than yesterday. In fact, the clouds were so dark, and the rain so strangely heavy, it drove my 6 year-old daughter to inquire, “Mom. Was yesterday the last day of summer?” It’s nice that it appears Summer came back to us… granted, much cooler than other places, but for me - 70 degrees is perfect… perfect.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Oh my gosh, friends! I totally forgot to tell you what happened yesterday. I was at the gym, pumpin’ iron-n-such. I had a brief conversation with a gal who is clearly cooler and more important than me.
Continue reading ‘Happy 4th!’
Today was The Last Day of School and it makes me feel old… aged… older… aging…. sad.
When my life evolved to the point where it made sense to have a baby, I pictured myself the mommy of a soft baby, with buttercream for skin. Forever. My daydreams never veered. The whole world was pastel and cooed… Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star was the theme song that played softly in my dreamy, baby mamma heart.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that lasted, like, a month.
Continue reading ‘Remember the Sunsets: The Last Day of School’
The Tooth Fairy finally came last night. She He left Olivia 3 crisp ones. After 3 no-shows, he/she needed to play make-up.
After the first time the TF didn’t show, I told Olivia it was probably a busy night for the TF… sometimes lots of children lose their teeth on the same day and there is only so much the TF can do. The next day, I gave her one of the possible reasons Blozulfog left in my comments on my original post,
…a whole kindergarten class in West Virginia lost all their teeth in one day eating popcorn balls so the tooth fairy was a bit overwhelmed…
Daddy told her the TF was nervous to come too close until Olivia got her cast on - she (TF) didn’t want to accidentally bump it. That’s a good one Daddy.
So. Olivia finally got her cast yesterday (ooh - purple!), and the TF finally came. But… BUT… she left the tooth on Mommy’s bathroom counter. I guess she didn’t need that tooth to help build “her mythical and ever expanding all-white tooth castle in the sky”. Olivia said, “Hey Mom! Why did the Tooth Fairy leave my tooth here?”
“Because she’s an idiot … I don’t know. She probably just set it down and forgot to pick it back up. I’m sure she’ll come back for it.” Oh the lies!!!!! Surely my heart is turning pitch black for what I am doing to my children. Black, I tell you, black - the color of evil!
Jen at Daily Mish Mash did some research on the matter of this winged creature that is prone to forgetfulness… She not only found the charming piece of information about “the all-white tooth castle”, but so much more… My favorite point she made is #6, and #5 made me throw-up in my mouth a little. What I appreciate the most about Jen’s post is - I am not alone. Misery loves company. If I have to feel guilty, I prefer to be burning my tongue on a hot cup-o-guilt with a friend.
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Olivia cried early this morning, “The Tooth Fairy didn’t come!!!”
That darned tooth had been hanging for weeks. The Tooth Fairy SHOULD NOT have missed her delivery. Plus, Olivia just broke her wrist - the Tooth Fairy should never miss visiting the 6-year-old-girl with lopsided ponytails and a broken wrist.
Joel added from across the hall, “Yeah! Hey MOM! Remember the time the Tooth Fairy forgot to come for FOUR NIGHTS?!!!”
Yeah. She remembers. Maybe the Tooth Fairy should start depositing the cash straight into the kids’ therapy fund.
It has been a full weekend for this family of 5. An all family birthday party with The Blozulfogs, a kid’s road race (a 50 yard dash), a carnival complete with a ferris wheel and carousel ride and small stuffed teddy bears, a parade, the hottest day of 2008 (to date), a few hours kickin’ it slip-side on the local dock eatin’ elephant ears, funnel cake and cotton candy with family, Sunday school teachin’, yet another birthday party (a “a disco sparkle” party no less)… all topped off with *drum roll*… A fractured wrist!
All of our commitments and plans for our weekend of fun and more fun had come to an end. The afternoon was coming to an end. I had begun to think about what we would eat for dinner… Joel came into the house and said Olivia had fallen off the monkey bars and was crying. Dadddy went to check things out.
A half hour of crying later, we decided to seek professional help. By 5 we walked into the emergency room. By 5:30 Olivia had a bed in the hall. By 6 the x-ray tech had Olivia saying “cheese” for the picture :) By 6:59 the doctor gave us the news - a fracture of the wrist. By 7:3something-or-other Olivia and I were headed to Dairy Queen for dinner and ice cream… complete with wrapped arm and sling.
The girl did great. But she was a sight to behold sitting in that DQ. Not only was she eating a hot dog with one hand, she was eating it with one hand and one front tooth miserably loose. She was still dressed in her sparkly dress and shoes from the party earlier - and some sparkles still glistened in her hair… that loose tooth just flipped about as she negotiated the hot dog one-handedly.
When I tucked Joel into bed tonight - I found him crying. He was so sad and angry that his sister got hurt. He actually ripped his bedspread a little. Poor guy… precious guy. He may torment her regularly, but nothing/no one else better mess with her!
Tomorrow, I call the doctor. She gets to wear a cast for - oh - 2 months… ya know… now that it’s almost summer and all. Oh, and the cheer class that starts tomorrow… I’ll be asking for our money back.
Oh people. People! Why was my mother’s day happy? Well… for starters - if you have been here before you can see the BEAUTIMOUS changes on this here site. My very talented, creatively inspired, staying-up late to tweak and perfect, loving, adoring and cutie-pie husband… redesigned my site!
When I saw it - I tenderly touched my laptop screen, and squeak-whispered, “I luh her…”
Continue reading ‘Happy Mother’s Day To ME!!!’
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