Summer seems to be the one in our family who is always saying things that crack the rest of us up. There's one in every bunch.
Here's a recent conversation that took place in the car on our way across town:
Summer: "Mommy! Look at that bird in the road!!"
- I see it as it flies up onto a telephone wire above us-
Me: "Ooh! Summer, that's a dove. Isn't it pretty?"
Megan: "I thought Dove's were white."
Me: "Not all the time. I had a dove when I was a kid."
At this announcement, all the kids say in varying ways with equal amazement (As if I've just told them that I previously owned a water buffalo), "YOU DID?!"
Me: "Yeah. And mine was grey with a pretty brown band on its neck. But I hated it."
kids: "Why?!"
Me: " Because it cooed ALL the time! Constantly! It never stopped!! It was horrible!!" I start imitating the cooing noises of the bird in question with exaggerated enthusiasm. I hated that bird. Thinking about it still irks me...but anyway...so, I say "It was like a cooing alarm clock going off day and night! It was terrible!"
And Summer says...
" Well, maybe he wanted you to take the band off!"
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Making Cupcakes and Singing Opera
Making Cupcakes and Singing Opera
When I look back over my marriage it seems impossible that nine years have passed. Just crazy. And to have been able to stay home rather than working, care for my kids, homeschool them when necessary, have coffee dates with friends or just read a book when I felt like being quiet- has always felt like somehow I was cheating the system. I won't lie to you- there have been moments of guilt.
Now, one could argue that raising children is work and I agree. But in my case, I actually like my children quite a lot and would rather hang out with them than just about anyone. They're funny, respectful, sweet tempered little people and I can honestly say that I enjoy my role in their lives. It is one of very little difficulty, to be honest.
So when Ryan called the other day at two in the afternoon and asked what I was up to, it seemed totally natural to respond, "I'm making cupcakes and singing opera." But you know- it got me thinking. Aside from the literal work it takes to hit those high notes in Pie Jesu, I live a pretty charmed life. I garden. I read. I go to the river and sit in the sand whenever the mood strikes me. I bake cupcakes and sing opera and have coffee with girlfriends and play the piano. I go to the zoo and the movies and...and...and...
Now, thrown in there are several thousand loads of laundry, household organization, cooking (which doesn't count because I'd rather be cooking than just about anything- so that has to go in the 'playtime' column), PTA meetings, Book Club meetings (Megan's, not mine), menu plans, grocery shopping on an increasingly tight budget, sick kids occasionally, more laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing toilets and coping with children whose natural tendencies are to be little teeny sinners. But still, even with the majority of my day taken up with those mundane tasks, I can't help but think I'm wonderfully blessed not to have a nine to five to worry about.
I won't say that I wake up every day thinking that I'm the luckiest person on the face of the earth, because typically I hit the alarm and am running the moment my feet hit the floor, making sandwiches, packing lunches, brushing hair, inspecting clothes and teeth and attitude before shoving the kid's in the car and hustling them off to school. But there are moments, like tonight as I fussed with plants in the garden or this afternoon when I sat reading in the sun or Wednesday when I baked cupcakes and sang Pie Jesu in my kitchen, that I think of the marvelous ways that The Lord has blessed my life and taken me from the literal homelessness/familylessness of my past and given me the world on a postage stamp lot in a tiny orchard town. These things bear consideration and contemplation and it would be wise, but probably unlikely, to remember these rich and colorful blessings as the years go on. So, this post is meant to honor those blessings, to show my thanks to a God who has an eye for detail and never fails to bring things full circle, and to let everyone in on what we've been up to lately...just as an added bonus;)
Our school's spring performance
One of our pretty girls
Summer's 7th Birthday
coupla cute chicks, if I do say so myself...
aria-inspired creations
sharing a dance
-Frederick Beuchner
So when Ryan called the other day at two in the afternoon and asked what I was up to, it seemed totally natural to respond, "I'm making cupcakes and singing opera." But you know- it got me thinking. Aside from the literal work it takes to hit those high notes in Pie Jesu, I live a pretty charmed life. I garden. I read. I go to the river and sit in the sand whenever the mood strikes me. I bake cupcakes and sing opera and have coffee with girlfriends and play the piano. I go to the zoo and the movies and...and...and...
Now, thrown in there are several thousand loads of laundry, household organization, cooking (which doesn't count because I'd rather be cooking than just about anything- so that has to go in the 'playtime' column), PTA meetings, Book Club meetings (Megan's, not mine), menu plans, grocery shopping on an increasingly tight budget, sick kids occasionally, more laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing toilets and coping with children whose natural tendencies are to be little teeny sinners. But still, even with the majority of my day taken up with those mundane tasks, I can't help but think I'm wonderfully blessed not to have a nine to five to worry about.
I won't say that I wake up every day thinking that I'm the luckiest person on the face of the earth, because typically I hit the alarm and am running the moment my feet hit the floor, making sandwiches, packing lunches, brushing hair, inspecting clothes and teeth and attitude before shoving the kid's in the car and hustling them off to school. But there are moments, like tonight as I fussed with plants in the garden or this afternoon when I sat reading in the sun or Wednesday when I baked cupcakes and sang Pie Jesu in my kitchen, that I think of the marvelous ways that The Lord has blessed my life and taken me from the literal homelessness/familylessness of my past and given me the world on a postage stamp lot in a tiny orchard town. These things bear consideration and contemplation and it would be wise, but probably unlikely, to remember these rich and colorful blessings as the years go on. So, this post is meant to honor those blessings, to show my thanks to a God who has an eye for detail and never fails to bring things full circle, and to let everyone in on what we've been up to lately...just as an added bonus;)
Our school's spring performance
One of our pretty girls
Summer's 7th Birthday
coupla cute chicks, if I do say so myself...
aria-inspired creations
sharing a dance
a picture from last summer just to mix things up
It's my ever increasing prayer that God will teach me to "Number my days correctly, that I might gain a heart of wisdom", to see them for the fleeting breezes that they are and fill them with all the things that are most important.
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”.It's my ever increasing prayer that God will teach me to "Number my days correctly, that I might gain a heart of wisdom", to see them for the fleeting breezes that they are and fill them with all the things that are most important.
-Frederick Beuchner
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Batter Up!!!
I'm still catching up to the fact that my baby's five year's old...and now suddenly I find myself in the role of a t-ball mom; helping with concessions, calling teeny tiny kids(whose helmets seem too big for their small heads) up to bat, cheering wildly for a game that isn't scored. I am repeatedly shocked by how quickly time has flown by and occasionally I long for the days of bottles and pacifiers and blankets. And then I come to my senses and hear myself yelling, "RUN, NOAH!! TAG THAT KID OUUUTTT!!!"It's exciting, I tell ya. Just thrilling. I'm a pretty competitive person by nature and I really have to watch myself at his games so that I don't get TOO obnoxious while still being loud and supportive, which he is still young enough to think is wonderful. In the process, I am learning about baseball, something I had ZERO interest in previously.
*team pictures*
*Coach Josh and Noah having a 'man to man' moment*Ryan's an assistant coach whenever he's able to get off of work in time for games and practices and is really enjoying the involvement and Noah's having a blast and really likes his coach. It's a great family activity and so fun to get out in the community and see folks we know!
I never thought I'd say this, but there's NOTHING like a warm evening, the smell of hot dogs from the concession stands and a ball game going on...seriously, NOTHING like it....
I never thought I'd say this, but there's NOTHING like a warm evening, the smell of hot dogs from the concession stands and a ball game going on...seriously, NOTHING like it....
Friday, April 10, 2009
Megan's 8th birthday
Megan turned 8 a few weeks ago and it's taken me this long to post the pictures from the famed event. She'd been planning her birthday party since September (not kidding) and had invited every girl in her class.
They had so much fun and were actually quite manageable. Her friend A. was having a party later that afternoon celebrating Spring Break, so after the birthday party wound down, the girls packed up and headed over to A.'s for facials, mani's and pedi's...Megan then got to come home for her 'evening party' as she called it, which is when grandma and grandpa come over and bring more presents and we all eat cake AGAIN. So we partied, partied, partied and then I took her BACK to A.'s for the slumber part of her party during which the girls made their own Sundae's and watched High School Musical 3. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Three party's in one day may have been too much. She came home and slept almost all afternoon the next day. I wanted to join her. ;)
This is just preliminary partying as she's looking forward to a Paris trip for her 10th. I can't imagine how tiring THAT'S going to be! Good grief!
Home Improvement
The Kitchen.
I have a problem. Ok, I have many problems. But the one that applies to this post is my problem with GOING OVERBOARD on anything I'm involved in. I am a woman of extremes apparently. I had the idea one sunny Saturday afternoon to paint my kitchen. For those of you who know me, you know that the kitchen is my 'center', as in, the place that I relax, create, plan, entertain, etc. I spend 95% of my time in my kitchen and after looking at this one for 2 years, it was time to spruce it up a bit...so, off to Home Depot we went... several hours and many, many dollars later- our 'I-look-like-I'm-owned-by-a-70-year-old' kitchen began it's transformation. (see below)... ignore the mess...
Has anyone ever heard of Venetian plaster??? I'd seen something in a magazine once and decided to try it for myself....thus the saga began. The stuff is applied with a trowel in random patterns...then you wait several hours for the 1st coat to dry, sand it smooth and then applying the second coat. The process is repeated 4 times and then the burnishing begins. So, to burnish you take the trowel and press it flat against the wall surface and rub REALLY hard. I hadn't gotten very far (relatively speaking) when I stood back, looked at the wall, looked at the paint sample I gave to the paint guy, and went, "this is NOT the right color." I'd put so much work into it at that point that I actually considered just living with the weird terra cotta color- but eventually I decided that if I was putting this much effort into something, I should get what I wanted out of it....so back to Home Depot I went.
Back again a few hours later, I started the process all over again. About 3 days had passed since that sunny Saturday. This picture was taken near the end of the process actually...so it's out of sequence, but this way you can see what venetian plaster looks like BEFORE it's done.
scary huh? It's part of the process. Just wait.
So, I couldn't just paint the stupid kitchen. Of course not. No, I had to go 'fancy'. And after days and days of plastering, sanding, burnishing and repeating and then falling into bed, I said to myself, "Why, that backsplash looks horrendous. It's gotta go." And proceeded to rip it off. I forgot to mention that 'painting the kitchen' also involved Ryan and his buddy Andrew tearing out a weird interior window and the weird look-through into my dining room and arching both of those to match the rest of the doorways in the house. Thus construction began. Just look at what a GREAT job those guys did though.
Has anyone ever heard of Venetian plaster??? I'd seen something in a magazine once and decided to try it for myself....thus the saga began. The stuff is applied with a trowel in random patterns...then you wait several hours for the 1st coat to dry, sand it smooth and then applying the second coat. The process is repeated 4 times and then the burnishing begins. So, to burnish you take the trowel and press it flat against the wall surface and rub REALLY hard. I hadn't gotten very far (relatively speaking) when I stood back, looked at the wall, looked at the paint sample I gave to the paint guy, and went, "this is NOT the right color." I'd put so much work into it at that point that I actually considered just living with the weird terra cotta color- but eventually I decided that if I was putting this much effort into something, I should get what I wanted out of it....so back to Home Depot I went.
Back again a few hours later, I started the process all over again. About 3 days had passed since that sunny Saturday. This picture was taken near the end of the process actually...so it's out of sequence, but this way you can see what venetian plaster looks like BEFORE it's done.
scary huh? It's part of the process. Just wait.
So, I couldn't just paint the stupid kitchen. Of course not. No, I had to go 'fancy'. And after days and days of plastering, sanding, burnishing and repeating and then falling into bed, I said to myself, "Why, that backsplash looks horrendous. It's gotta go." And proceeded to rip it off. I forgot to mention that 'painting the kitchen' also involved Ryan and his buddy Andrew tearing out a weird interior window and the weird look-through into my dining room and arching both of those to match the rest of the doorways in the house. Thus construction began. Just look at what a GREAT job those guys did though.
No more weird interior window.
SO- we got the walls done, stood back and went..."eww." The walls were great. Really amazing. Never seen walls like that anywhere, honestly. But now the cabinets looked horrible. They looked horrible before we started any of this, admittedly, but now, against the backdrop of beautiful walls, those thing looked even worse, if that's possible. So, back to Home Depot for oil based paint in the color of my favorite coffee mug, which is off-white. Home again, paint a few cabinets and I go..."No, no, nope...still not right..." Back to Home Depot for bead board and moulding. For those of you who are feeling compassionate for my husband right now- I won't tell you not to feel that way, because hey, he's a great guy- but I will tell you that it was me alone who plastered, sanded and burnished until I literally had a breakdown at our small group one night and burst into tears while discussing the project. So you can feel sorry for him if you want- but I don't.
He did joyfully accept my request for new cabinets and built them himself. They're still in progress in this photo.
So, while the guys were busy drinking beer and tearing things out of my house, Andrew and I came up with the idea of a breakfast bar in the dining room...heh heh heh...
So they built one... :)
I am proud to say that we are no longer the owner of a geriatric kitchen- but are currently enjoying a very 'old-world', tuscan look.
So, do I have an after photo for you to enjoy? Of course not. Because once I looked at the beautiful cabinets, walls and breakfast bar I said, "That faucet has gotta go!" and promptly got on the internet and ordered a new one. It's due to arrive this afternoon ;) And when it gets here and my perfect husband installs it, I will take a stunning 'after' pic for all of you. I'm also waiting on the barstools I ordered...that could take awhile- but I'll try to post some very glossy, magazine like pictures very very soon. Perhaps once the new lighting is in...and the area rug purchased....
You discover a great deal about yourself when you remodel a house...I am a woman of extremes as I have said. We also discovered that Ryan is a man of great talant when it comes to cabinetry, construction, tile work and, well, all sorts of things.
Did I mention that while we were working on all of this, we discovered that our stair case was suffering from dry rot and had to rip that whole thing out too? Ryan and Andrew rebuilt it one afternoon while I went to IKEA. Then they put in a new slate landing, sheet rock and redid the structural support for the north side of our house...
I am making a list of things for my very talanted man to do over the summer >:)
SO- we got the walls done, stood back and went..."eww." The walls were great. Really amazing. Never seen walls like that anywhere, honestly. But now the cabinets looked horrible. They looked horrible before we started any of this, admittedly, but now, against the backdrop of beautiful walls, those thing looked even worse, if that's possible. So, back to Home Depot for oil based paint in the color of my favorite coffee mug, which is off-white. Home again, paint a few cabinets and I go..."No, no, nope...still not right..." Back to Home Depot for bead board and moulding. For those of you who are feeling compassionate for my husband right now- I won't tell you not to feel that way, because hey, he's a great guy- but I will tell you that it was me alone who plastered, sanded and burnished until I literally had a breakdown at our small group one night and burst into tears while discussing the project. So you can feel sorry for him if you want- but I don't.
He did joyfully accept my request for new cabinets and built them himself. They're still in progress in this photo.
Here's a pic of the GORGEOUS reflective shine of the plaster once it's burnished.
So, while the guys were busy drinking beer and tearing things out of my house, Andrew and I came up with the idea of a breakfast bar in the dining room...heh heh heh...
So they built one... :)
I am proud to say that we are no longer the owner of a geriatric kitchen- but are currently enjoying a very 'old-world', tuscan look.
So, do I have an after photo for you to enjoy? Of course not. Because once I looked at the beautiful cabinets, walls and breakfast bar I said, "That faucet has gotta go!" and promptly got on the internet and ordered a new one. It's due to arrive this afternoon ;) And when it gets here and my perfect husband installs it, I will take a stunning 'after' pic for all of you. I'm also waiting on the barstools I ordered...that could take awhile- but I'll try to post some very glossy, magazine like pictures very very soon. Perhaps once the new lighting is in...and the area rug purchased....You discover a great deal about yourself when you remodel a house...I am a woman of extremes as I have said. We also discovered that Ryan is a man of great talant when it comes to cabinetry, construction, tile work and, well, all sorts of things.
Did I mention that while we were working on all of this, we discovered that our stair case was suffering from dry rot and had to rip that whole thing out too? Ryan and Andrew rebuilt it one afternoon while I went to IKEA. Then they put in a new slate landing, sheet rock and redid the structural support for the north side of our house...
I am making a list of things for my very talanted man to do over the summer >:)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Kendall excursion 2009
Well, I'm totally stoked to say that I have officially booked the '09 trip. This years destination, after much debate and lively discussion, will be taking us to the Riviera Maya on the eastern coast of Mexico on the Caribbean Sea. The trip began as a way to celebrate the 20th wedding anniversary of some friends, then morphed when the guys dropped out and has turned into a GIRLS TRIP. So, my friends Holly, Jennifer, Leigha and myself will be hopping a plane south of the border for a week in August! There's nothing like some time away with other girls!
This ought to be good blog material too since Mexico is the #1 place NOT to go right now due to fighting war lords or something. Ah well, how amazing would that blog entry be? That's what I would like to know.
"Dear Diary, kidnapped by gun toting pirates while snorkeling this afternoon. Have made friends with one who calls himself 'Taco de la luna' and am attempting to negotiate a trade for Greg Oden. I am also offering to pay them 50,000 pesos to balance the loss in the trade deal. Here's a few pics of Taco and me on the jetski. More tomorrow."
Oh, sheesh, this is going to be so fun ;p
This ought to be good blog material too since Mexico is the #1 place NOT to go right now due to fighting war lords or something. Ah well, how amazing would that blog entry be? That's what I would like to know.
"Dear Diary, kidnapped by gun toting pirates while snorkeling this afternoon. Have made friends with one who calls himself 'Taco de la luna' and am attempting to negotiate a trade for Greg Oden. I am also offering to pay them 50,000 pesos to balance the loss in the trade deal. Here's a few pics of Taco and me on the jetski. More tomorrow."
Oh, sheesh, this is going to be so fun ;p
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Great Destination Debate
Our adventures in the Yucatan ended peacably, thank goodness, with no troubles on the return trip. We were exhausted and hungry, but had such a great time- and were relatively true to our promise not to go over budget.
But I have to say, I am an adventure traveler. Everyone knows by now that I can't just lay around by the pool. I want to see things and experience the local culture and treasures of the places I visit. So next time, I'd really like to be a bit more off the beaten path. Did you know that there's a route to Machu Picchu which takes four days on foot and for which you have to hire a porter to pack your belongings over the steep mountain paths?? You also get to spend the night at the last inhabited Incan village on the trail...you're camping, but still, that's cool. Machu Picchu is in the top 5 of things to do before I die...so when some friends announced a trip to Peru to work in a small Medical clinic in Lima, I thought, sweet! I can hop a flight over to Cusco, take the train to Agua Calientes and grab the tour up the hill to the ruins. Can't do a long hike by myself in Peru- I'm just too safety minded for that. But I could do the regular, run of the mill tour, absolutely! But it's not going to happen. I couldn't convince anyone else to go with me and Ryan couldn't go at that time of year...so, I'm being safe. And I HATE losing out because I'm safe, but that's the way it is this time...
but you know what? It gave me the bug. The travel bug. Here's what happened:
We looked at our calendar this year. And we looked at our bathroom which needs an update, and our basement which needs to be finished and my kitchen which needs new countertops and would look great with a breakfast bar. And we thought, We should really stay home this year. No trips for us in '09. This will be the year of finishing the house...or at least starting on the house.
However... after the Peru sadness and a trip to Venice with a buddy didn't pan out because said buddy got pregnant!! and decided not to go galavanting off in Italy with a big belly...I thought- that's it! I've got the bug. I've gotta go somewhere.
In travel discussions with friends we discovered that our good friends Steve and Holly were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this summer. And of course, we said, "Reeeaaally???" and thus conversations about destinations ensued. Cancun was discussed, Jamaica was discussed, Cabo was discussed... AND THEN....Steve decides his motorcycle bug was bigger than his travel bug and Ryan decides his home improvement is more important than a trip and Holly and I are left going WHAT?!
Heh, heh...so we're going without them. And the destinations are pretty open at this point, which is where you come in...if, in fact, anyone reads this...and if you're just passing through and don't actually know me...go ahead and comment anyway- I like to hear peoples opinions.
So the question is: What are the places you want to see/experience before you die? Whats on your list?
Here's another one of mine:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/skellig-michael.htm
It's a monastic outpost off the southern coast of Ireland. You can read all about it if you click the link. The pictures are incredible and it's just about as 'off the beaten path' as you can get. This also holds a draw for me as I just found out this year that I'm Irish. I had no idea. Apparently my great grandparents were imigrants during the potato famine. You learn something new every day, I guess, and frankly that explains a lot.
ok, so let me know what you think..
But I have to say, I am an adventure traveler. Everyone knows by now that I can't just lay around by the pool. I want to see things and experience the local culture and treasures of the places I visit. So next time, I'd really like to be a bit more off the beaten path. Did you know that there's a route to Machu Picchu which takes four days on foot and for which you have to hire a porter to pack your belongings over the steep mountain paths?? You also get to spend the night at the last inhabited Incan village on the trail...you're camping, but still, that's cool. Machu Picchu is in the top 5 of things to do before I die...so when some friends announced a trip to Peru to work in a small Medical clinic in Lima, I thought, sweet! I can hop a flight over to Cusco, take the train to Agua Calientes and grab the tour up the hill to the ruins. Can't do a long hike by myself in Peru- I'm just too safety minded for that. But I could do the regular, run of the mill tour, absolutely! But it's not going to happen. I couldn't convince anyone else to go with me and Ryan couldn't go at that time of year...so, I'm being safe. And I HATE losing out because I'm safe, but that's the way it is this time...
but you know what? It gave me the bug. The travel bug. Here's what happened:
We looked at our calendar this year. And we looked at our bathroom which needs an update, and our basement which needs to be finished and my kitchen which needs new countertops and would look great with a breakfast bar. And we thought, We should really stay home this year. No trips for us in '09. This will be the year of finishing the house...or at least starting on the house.
However... after the Peru sadness and a trip to Venice with a buddy didn't pan out because said buddy got pregnant!! and decided not to go galavanting off in Italy with a big belly...I thought- that's it! I've got the bug. I've gotta go somewhere.
In travel discussions with friends we discovered that our good friends Steve and Holly were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this summer. And of course, we said, "Reeeaaally???" and thus conversations about destinations ensued. Cancun was discussed, Jamaica was discussed, Cabo was discussed... AND THEN....Steve decides his motorcycle bug was bigger than his travel bug and Ryan decides his home improvement is more important than a trip and Holly and I are left going WHAT?!
Heh, heh...so we're going without them. And the destinations are pretty open at this point, which is where you come in...if, in fact, anyone reads this...and if you're just passing through and don't actually know me...go ahead and comment anyway- I like to hear peoples opinions.
So the question is: What are the places you want to see/experience before you die? Whats on your list?
Here's another one of mine:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/skellig-michael.htm
It's a monastic outpost off the southern coast of Ireland. You can read all about it if you click the link. The pictures are incredible and it's just about as 'off the beaten path' as you can get. This also holds a draw for me as I just found out this year that I'm Irish. I had no idea. Apparently my great grandparents were imigrants during the potato famine. You learn something new every day, I guess, and frankly that explains a lot.
ok, so let me know what you think..
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