Friday, October 3, 2008

In A Funk







Sometimes I get into such a funk, I really just don't want to be around me. But... Since I haven't figured out just how to do that, I stick around. Today seems to have started out as one of those days. Blah. Yuck. And I had to be around people. woo-hoo. I'm such a joy, let me tell you! Typically, I like to think that I am. But today was a different story.
I am in a group called MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers). http://www.mops.org/ Since my youngest is 5 and in kindergarten this year, I am on the "cusp" of graduating out. I *almost* didn't rejoin this year, just to try to acclimate myself to my future of NOT being in such groups. But, at the last minute, I couldn't resist! I ♥love♥ being around these women! For the past couple of years, I had been on the Steering Committee ~ the first year I was in charge of Moppets: our counter-group for the children of the Mommy's. My job was to secure teachers &/or caregivers for each of our classrooms and the nursery, make sure the lesson plans were prepared & all supplies needed were provided, and snacks for the children were in constant supply. This was an eye-opener for me (as it is every time I get involved "behind the scenes"!) You know, I get so caught up in my own little drama of a life that I forget to think about just HOW MUCH effort goes into each meeting (and not just MOPS, but Bible Study, PTO/PTA, etc...) Last year, I switched positions on the committee, and was the Craft/Creative Activities
?director?.... Anyway, I got to come up with crafts that (sometimes) coincided with the topic of each meeting, or at least the holiday/season. The draw-back? Each craft could only cost around $2 per mother. Our budget was limited. However, I tend to craft like that in my own home, so it was right up my ally. One of my personal favorites was a wooden pumpkin decoration we made. I bought a landscape timber, cut it into blocks (I think I needed around 20) and drilled a hole into the top of each block. The hole was to accomodate the screw that was on the ends of each of the knobs I found that resembled a curly stem. You know how Lowe's always has some paint that has been rejected? I found some that was the perfect color of orange, and then sponge painted over that with some gold and bronze paints from Hobby Lobby, and voila! At less than $2 each, I thought they were pretty cute!
OK, so I digress. I tend to do that.
Today was MOPS. I'm not on the steering committee this year. So, I didn't feel too bad when I knew I was going to arrive late... Except that that's a bad habit from my youth that I have tried *HARD* to overcome, so even though I somewhat intentionally did it.... And even though others came after me.... I felt bad. Sometimes I can give myself the worst guilt trips! My mood was not "up" and I think maybe I should have just stayed home. But I suppose after I replay what our special speaker talked about, I'll probably be glad I dragged myself there. And besides, one of the ladies made an AWESOME dip that I never would have been able to try had I not gone!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

THANK YOU!

OK, so I'm really not all that computer-saavy. Really. But I'm willing to learn! And guess what? I found someone who was able to teach me something I just couldn't figure out on my own.
http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/gifs.php
The Cutest Blog on the Block. They're GREAT! I would put a "button" for them over to the side, but none of them would upload. So, I'm plugging them here! I wanted to have a really cute layout ~ one that wasn't offered by Blogger. I had found several that I ♥loved♥, but just couldn't figure out how to get them. grrr. . . I gave up for a couple of days, but then I forged ahead. I just didn't want to stick with the simple background that I had! Lo and behold, I stumbled across their site http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/gifs.php and found that they offer free layouts, too! WOOHOO! But the *best* part was that they walk you through, step-by-step, just how to add all the cute stuff! Thank you, Cutest Blog on the Block! Now MINE is cute, too!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

My Pre-teen LOVES me!

Even though she's in that phase (that I hope she quickly outgrows...) where everything her father and I say or do is embarrassing or dumb... She told me she love me when I dropped them off at school this morning! OK, so I had to prompt her. And she barely said it above a whisper. And she looked around before and after mouthing it ~ to make sure nobody saw. But I saw ~ and heard ~ and that's all that matters. She's the type of child who wants my undivided attention, and gets rather annoyed at her 2 siblings when that can't seem to happen. She has discovered that the only time she *might* have me all to herself is at bedtime. Unfortunately, I can't give her the entire hour (or even half hour) that she thinks she needs. OK, sometimes I do. I can't help it! I don't know how much longer she'll want to talk to me like that. Hopefully forever.

Monday, September 29, 2008

My Magical Kingdom


I live in a magical kingdom, filled with a King, a Prince, and 2 Princesses! Sometimes I feel like a Queen, but more often I allow myself to think I'm Cinderella...
A couple of years ago, when our youngest was around 3, I was talking to our plumber on the front porch while she played. It had rained most of the night and morning, and the gutter was filled with rainwater. After a trip inside, she came back out decked out in a pair of yellow rain boots, a skirt, and an umbrella. Pretty soon the plumber started laughing outright, and I turned to look.... at my precious girl standing in the gutter, with water almost to her knees, bent over to look into the water. She had her skirt flipped up to her waist, showing everything!!! "Mom! LOOK! It's a WUUHM!"That would be worm. From then on out, she has earned from me the nickname Princess Puddlejumps. Because I then needed to name my other two children, I went to brainstorming. Hmmmmm.... Our oldest was easy: Princess Primps-a-lot. But our son? It couldn't be girly, but cute & accurate. I got it! Prince Frog Finder he is. But do you know what I *just* realized while typing this? The King has never been assigned a name. So, now I have to once again do some brainstorming...
And now I must go be Queen for a Day and check out what the youngest princess made in the backyard....

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

MAYBE THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRST...

Well, I'm so new to the blogging world, I have no idea *what* I'm doing! The main reason I decided to set up my blog is to try to somewhat "journal" my thoughts and ideas, if for noone else but myself. Call me the world's worst mother when it comes to this, but I am NOT disciplined in the area of writing down things my kids do, say, or anything. You could never ask me how tall they were at a certain age, or how much they weighed. I don't have a date for when any of them lost their first tooth. Part of me consols myself with the fact that ~ in the "old days" ~ mothers never used to keep track of those things. The other part of me is screaming "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING????"
So, in an effort to do a better job, I'm going to keep those mundane & not so mundane things logged here.... And maybe, someday, as they get old enough to maybe care..... maybe they'll enjoy looking back and seeing what I typed. Or not. That's a lot of maybe's. But I'll enjoy it!
Now, if I could just figure out the little workings of this thing...
How do I add "buttons", or links to other sites I like?
How do I use a layout NOT offered by Blogger?
Is there any way to choose fonts NOT offered here? (I *do* like more choices...)
So many questions! I'm sure *someday* I'll have some of them figured out. maybe.

WHO DO YOU *REALLY* WANT TO VOTE FOR???

I would never presume to shove my political thoughts down anyone's throat, but this test was interesting.....
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/MatchoMatic/fullpage?id=5542139

I LOVE FALL!




Fall is in the air, and I'm so excited! How soon is too soon to put out Halloween decorations? I have NO idea.... But if I guage my decision by what the stores do, I'm way behind schedule...

There are so many beautiful things to see this time of year, and here are a few I saw this morning (please excuse the photo quality...)

Nature of a parent...

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.

-- William D. Tammeus