My kiddos are all asleep. In their own rooms. On time. Without complaining.
Better news. . .the two young girls I wrote about the other day who were in the accident? They are home too. They are sore and have some healing. But they are sleeping in their own beds again.
Good stuff.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Baby Mine
One of my babes cannot sleep tonight. I've been in her room for about 90 minutes, sitting on the floor grading tests while she tries to settle for the night. Probably end up telling her to scootch over so I can just sleep in her room too. After all, sleep is the most important part of the day, right?
Playing her some Alison Krauss right now. Love love her "Baby Mine"
And yes, I pretend to dislike putting kids to bed every night. Not fair it should fall on me every night right? Why should I have to be the one to watch the clock and make sure they get to bed on time? Besides that, putting kids to bed and staying with them until they are settled means I don't get to watch what I want on TV (OK, there's not much to watch there anyway).
But one day they won't need me for bedtime anymore. This is our time. And they are so precious when they are sleeping. So for now I'm going to embrace the snuggles and sleepy yawns along with the little voices that say "but I want you to stay here Mommy."
Playing her some Alison Krauss right now. Love love her "Baby Mine"
And yes, I pretend to dislike putting kids to bed every night. Not fair it should fall on me every night right? Why should I have to be the one to watch the clock and make sure they get to bed on time? Besides that, putting kids to bed and staying with them until they are settled means I don't get to watch what I want on TV (OK, there's not much to watch there anyway).
But one day they won't need me for bedtime anymore. This is our time. And they are so precious when they are sleeping. So for now I'm going to embrace the snuggles and sleepy yawns along with the little voices that say "but I want you to stay here Mommy."
Sunday, September 11, 2011
You're Gonna Miss This. . .
Or so they say.
Tonight my children are going to sleep in their own beds. Not without some fight because what kind of kids would I have if they just went to bed without question or delay? (Sick kids--that's what kind of kids they would have to be!)
But tonight I celebrate the endless questions and raised voices and fight over unimportant stuff. I'll even (almost) celebrate the artistic mess left on the dining room table, despite repeated polite requests to pick up the artsy stuff.
Because tonight I know of another mother who doesn't have the luxury of such petty worries. Tonight this mother and father are sitting in the hospital with two of their children. Such a beautiful family, a family in so much pain right now.
Just yesterday we were all at the soccer field. Their youngest daughter and my oldest had a game. All the parents and siblings were there. . .my younger girls, their older girls, their youngest child (the lone boy in the crowd). Looking back I realize how rare it is that all eleven of us make it to a game at the same time; usually somebody is missing, playing chauffeur no doubt for another one of the kids. But for that idyllic moment we were two families basking in the early afternoon sunlight.
But sometime after that something went terribly wrong. Two of their babies landed in the hospital, one with serious injuries.
My heart aches for them.
Keeping them in my prayers that they will all get back to sleeping under one roof again soon and back to the moments of thinking "I'm going to miss this?"
Postscript/Update--one of the girls is home from the hospital; apparently the other one is not as bad off as was reported yesterday.
Tonight my children are going to sleep in their own beds. Not without some fight because what kind of kids would I have if they just went to bed without question or delay? (Sick kids--that's what kind of kids they would have to be!)
But tonight I celebrate the endless questions and raised voices and fight over unimportant stuff. I'll even (almost) celebrate the artistic mess left on the dining room table, despite repeated polite requests to pick up the artsy stuff.
Because tonight I know of another mother who doesn't have the luxury of such petty worries. Tonight this mother and father are sitting in the hospital with two of their children. Such a beautiful family, a family in so much pain right now.
Just yesterday we were all at the soccer field. Their youngest daughter and my oldest had a game. All the parents and siblings were there. . .my younger girls, their older girls, their youngest child (the lone boy in the crowd). Looking back I realize how rare it is that all eleven of us make it to a game at the same time; usually somebody is missing, playing chauffeur no doubt for another one of the kids. But for that idyllic moment we were two families basking in the early afternoon sunlight.
But sometime after that something went terribly wrong. Two of their babies landed in the hospital, one with serious injuries.
My heart aches for them.
Keeping them in my prayers that they will all get back to sleeping under one roof again soon and back to the moments of thinking "I'm going to miss this?"
Postscript/Update--one of the girls is home from the hospital; apparently the other one is not as bad off as was reported yesterday.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Classic TV
I started writing this thinking that I didn't used to watch that much TV but now I'm thinking that my parents allowed more TV than I realized.
Sunday nights--The Wonderful World of Walt Disney
Monday--Little House on the Prairie
Tuesday??
Wednesday--Emergency! And for a while it was the night for Little House (I had something on Wednesday nights for a while and kept missing my show but my sister got to watch it. I remember being really happy with it moved to Mondays because we had CCD on Mondays and my sister couldn't watch it that night either)
Thursday nights were something else. When I was really little we watched The Waltons. And then when I was in high school we had the Cosby Show.
Surely there was a Friday show but I don't remember one.
Saturday nights were all about Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and then The Carol Burnett Show. Goooood stuff.
Fortunately the kids have reruns to watch! One of mine calls The Cosby Show "that funny man's show." She thoroughly enjoyed the episode "First Day of School." That's the one where Cliff gets the job of waking the kids up for the first day of school. . .a task that is considerably more difficult than calling them for the last day of school!
As I write this they are giggling through "Calling Dr. Huxtable," the one where Cliff gets called to deliver a baby but gets to take care of 3 mamas in labor. And in the meantime Vanessa's friend lights up and smokes in her bedroom. . .then Theo busts her for it.
Somehow TV today comes no where close to what we had when we were kids.
I wish they could watch The Carol Burnett Show. They would love it too!
Sunday nights--The Wonderful World of Walt Disney
Monday--Little House on the Prairie
Tuesday??
Wednesday--Emergency! And for a while it was the night for Little House (I had something on Wednesday nights for a while and kept missing my show but my sister got to watch it. I remember being really happy with it moved to Mondays because we had CCD on Mondays and my sister couldn't watch it that night either)
Thursday nights were something else. When I was really little we watched The Waltons. And then when I was in high school we had the Cosby Show.
Surely there was a Friday show but I don't remember one.
Saturday nights were all about Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and then The Carol Burnett Show. Goooood stuff.
Fortunately the kids have reruns to watch! One of mine calls The Cosby Show "that funny man's show." She thoroughly enjoyed the episode "First Day of School." That's the one where Cliff gets the job of waking the kids up for the first day of school. . .a task that is considerably more difficult than calling them for the last day of school!
As I write this they are giggling through "Calling Dr. Huxtable," the one where Cliff gets called to deliver a baby but gets to take care of 3 mamas in labor. And in the meantime Vanessa's friend lights up and smokes in her bedroom. . .then Theo busts her for it.
Somehow TV today comes no where close to what we had when we were kids.
I wish they could watch The Carol Burnett Show. They would love it too!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Karma got me. . .
It was a rough few days. Karma definitely got me back for my (very wrong!) pleasure in another's misery. At first it seemed I would escape any harm. Things were falling in place.
And then it all unraveled in a most demoralizing, crushing, non-stop train wreck.
I thought that surely I would sleep and it would improve the next day.
Nope.
But after work yesterday I stopped in at the library to pick up my Jack Reacher book (excellent series by the way--can be read out of order but OCD demands I read it in order). And I got a surprise at the checkout desk. Mat Kearney's newest CD came in for me. I can't remember how I found his music but I am a fan. And his latest CD has the incredibly catchy "Hey Mama" as the first release. Love!
I am pretty sure that Karma has taken a turn for the better.
And then it all unraveled in a most demoralizing, crushing, non-stop train wreck.
I thought that surely I would sleep and it would improve the next day.
Nope.
But after work yesterday I stopped in at the library to pick up my Jack Reacher book (excellent series by the way--can be read out of order but OCD demands I read it in order). And I got a surprise at the checkout desk. Mat Kearney's newest CD came in for me. I can't remember how I found his music but I am a fan. And his latest CD has the incredibly catchy "Hey Mama" as the first release. Love!
I am pretty sure that Karma has taken a turn for the better.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Greek Cigars
Even the name is intriguing. I came across this recipe one day when searching for recipes with ingredients we liked but mixed up. Only 4 out of 5 in the household like these so they don't make it into the meal rotation all too frequently. But they are labor intensive so I wouldn't want them all the time anyway.
The folks over at Woman's Day provide the recipe and even a visual how-to :-) Enjoy!
Greek Cigars Recipe
How to Make Greek Cigars
The folks over at Woman's Day provide the recipe and even a visual how-to :-) Enjoy!
Greek Cigars Recipe
How to Make Greek Cigars
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Karma
My mom hates when I call out "karma" when the kids get what they have coming to them. She's probably right on it too. After all, she's been right about an awful lot of things over the years.
But I firmly believe that what goes around comes around. You treat others with kindness, you get kindness in return. You treat others poorly, that's what comes back on you.
Sometimes karma is just downright hilarious though. Of course I realize that just by saying it out loud I am setting myself up for some snap of karma. But when you see someone who believes she is superior intellect and better at pretty much everything and she lords it over others and she gets called out on it. . .well. . .it's just really tough to not sit back and smile over it.
Petty? Yes, I'm sure it is. Say something is lacking in my character? Yes, I'm sure it does.
But I cannot help it. Right now I am just feeling like someone else finally got what was coming to her for years of being "better than" the rest of us. Sadly I know it won't have any lasting effect in how she behaves. But for a moment, she had to feel the way the rest of us often do at her hand.
But I firmly believe that what goes around comes around. You treat others with kindness, you get kindness in return. You treat others poorly, that's what comes back on you.
Sometimes karma is just downright hilarious though. Of course I realize that just by saying it out loud I am setting myself up for some snap of karma. But when you see someone who believes she is superior intellect and better at pretty much everything and she lords it over others and she gets called out on it. . .well. . .it's just really tough to not sit back and smile over it.
Petty? Yes, I'm sure it is. Say something is lacking in my character? Yes, I'm sure it does.
But I cannot help it. Right now I am just feeling like someone else finally got what was coming to her for years of being "better than" the rest of us. Sadly I know it won't have any lasting effect in how she behaves. But for a moment, she had to feel the way the rest of us often do at her hand.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Some of my Favorite Things
3 day weekends
A good cup of hot chai latte
Open windows on a cool fall day (or a just starting to warm up spring day)
The sounds of Saturday mornings from when I was a kid—chainsaws across the neighborhood (looking back, I have to wonder who it was that always had to cut up trees on Saturday morning!), the record player in the living room stacked with the “Sounds of the 60s,” some E Power Biggs and Marvin Hamlisch playing “The Sting”
Snow days. I don’t care that they have to be made up eventually. There’s just something magical about snowdays with hot chocolate, a big pot of soup and a good book.
Florida. I love a good beach vacation.
Michigan blue skies
Fudge.
A well-timed phone call
Friday nights at home. I remember when I thought that was the worst way to spend a Friday night; now I love my nights at home.
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall
Friday after school we had errands to run after school. One of them left us just a few blocks away from the Wall. I told the girls that we had to stop at the Wall first. . .the other things could wait. We called for a family meet at the Wall; their daddy was on his way home from work and was just a few blocks away from us when we called. Perfect.
The older girls walked with their dad. Our youngest stayed with me. She's seven. She had a lot of questions and quickly picked up on the hushed voices and slow pace of the walk along the wall. She asked why were all the names on there. When I told her about the war and about the soldiers' experience she got very quiet. I thought she was going to cry. I was already choking back tears.
My husband and the other girls were already through the walk . . .I wondered why they went so fast. They soon came back with a printout. My husband's uncle was killed in Vietnam, just about a month before he was born. So they had gone to get the location of Richard's name.
We walked past tributes. . .pictures, cards, drumsticks, and beer. Two Vets were sitting on the grass reminiscing.
It made for a sober start for the start of the weekend. But I think it made an impact on the girls. Hopefully we get them to DC in the next couple of years to see the Wall. They should do the etching for themselves of their great-uncle's name.
The older girls walked with their dad. Our youngest stayed with me. She's seven. She had a lot of questions and quickly picked up on the hushed voices and slow pace of the walk along the wall. She asked why were all the names on there. When I told her about the war and about the soldiers' experience she got very quiet. I thought she was going to cry. I was already choking back tears.
My husband and the other girls were already through the walk . . .I wondered why they went so fast. They soon came back with a printout. My husband's uncle was killed in Vietnam, just about a month before he was born. So they had gone to get the location of Richard's name.
We walked past tributes. . .pictures, cards, drumsticks, and beer. Two Vets were sitting on the grass reminiscing.
It made for a sober start for the start of the weekend. But I think it made an impact on the girls. Hopefully we get them to DC in the next couple of years to see the Wall. They should do the etching for themselves of their great-uncle's name.
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