Falling Apart

1- Borrowing vacuums every week or so because mine is not working? I can handle that for a little longer if necessary though I miss taking liberty to de-crumb my house twice a week or more...and certainly when graham-crackers spill in the living room I wish for the convenience of repairing the mess immediately, not a day later when mom stops by!

2- No computer for a couple weeks? It's certainly not pleasant, especially when an organized person like me relies heavily on a daily routine of lists and calendars. However, I must admit that I've had much more time to read!

3- Over the last few years I have adjusted to a dryer that requires 3-5 cycles to dry one load of laundry (and yes I do remove the lint often!). Certainly it's not the ideal situation for a family of six and no one wants to stay up half the night just to have dry cloths before morning, but somehow I have made it work!

4- 5- & 6- Our dishwasher and refrigerator are having a few problems too and we noticed that our living room ceiling has some water damage. No worries...right? Maybe not all at once, but don't all homes eventually need repairing?

7- On Sunday night our wash machine stopped agitating. Too bad it happened the day Emily caught a horrible stomach bug and leaked the contents of a very messy diaper in her car-seat and in her stroller, and over the next few days soiled several outfits, pajamas, and every baby blanket and sheet we own. Please don't tell Carly that the baby will be sleeping with her purple blanket tonight! (For the record we safe-guarded our little angle in Huggies diapers with plastic undies over the top...and she still leaked...that's how bad it was!) Wow...something here is really starting to stink...if only our washer was working the hallway laundry baskets would smell much better right now...good thing I have candles to burn...I always like to look on the bright side!

8- In March I hurt my back while teaching dance. For the most part I've been able to function normally, just with a much stiffer spine and occasional pains that shoot down my lower back and into my thighs, taking my breathe away for a second or two. I guess I'm not 16 anymore...ouch...I'm double that!

9- A few nights ago, for the third time in three years, someone tried to break into our home. The first instance was an attempt to empty our garage the summer we moved in, the next occurred last year the day after bringing Emily home from the hospital, and the most recent occurrence was 4:30 Saturday morning. Hopefully it won't happen again, my sore back can't handle chasing down a burglar. Nevertheless, he can have any of my appliances, except for the oven, and he can help himself to both televisions...oohh...did I forget to mention that our T.V.'s are nearly out? And maybe while I'm thinking of it I'll just quickly add that our microwave, after bursting into flames a year ago, is finally on its last leg.

I guess unfortunate things really do come in 3's. At least for me lately- 3x3! I am trying to stay positive though...can you tell?

Repairing the Damage

My sweet and thoughtful Carly was unloading the dishwasher to surprise me and accidently broke a mug. Feeling terrible she taped it back together and offered me an eraser from her collection to make up for the damage. Immediately I gave her a big hug and smile, beaming inside at the cuteness of it all!

Celebrating My Mothers

This Mother’s Day I celebrate two very incredible women in my life. I have a wonderful mother who is both my greatest example and my best friend. She taught me while growing up that choosing a husband was the most important decision I could ever make and I was cautioned as well that I would marry his family. Fortunately with marriage I gained a wonderful second family and another amazing mother in my life. Together these two women have taught me so much through their remarkable examples and have been critical in shaping me as a person and as a mother. I continually strive to integrate their greatest qualities as my own.

It is remarkable how individual personality is both innate and learned. For example, while sleeping, I often fling my elbow high above my head gouging Eric in the eye, a quality I inherited from mom. Conversely I habitually cut all my dryer sheets in half, a trait I picked up from my mother-in-law. Nonetheless I will take the ordinary traits with the extraordinary ones just so I can say that I even somewhat resemble these two outstanding mothers…

The quality I most admire about my mom is her ability to see past individual flaws and accept everyone no matter the circumstances. She always recognizes only the best in others and is continually looking on the positive side of life.

My mother-in-law’s most admired quality is her great generosity, always so happy and willing to give of herself. Many times she has readily sacrificed time, energy, and resources for the sake of her children’s progression.

So… to the mothers in my life- I love you!

Random Memories of Mom

“Departed Cars” joke…Ha! Ha!

Late night/early morning talks

The greatest Christmas cover-up ever: ‘Blankets for the poor’

Treats & notes under my pillow

Hosting slumber parties

Dancing on the ceiling” (in the car)

All the times we laughed together uncontrollably… remember Disneyland at 2am

Wise words: “The more you stir it the more it stinks”

American Idol

Never missing a recital or performance

Junior Trivia in the car… and the infamous question, “What’s the biggest bone in the human body?”

A hamburger patty, mashed potatoes, & green beans because I didn’t like the hospital food

“James and the Giant Peach”

Creative Christmas: the wrapped refrigerator box, giant homemade dollhouses, numbered presents, secret Santa’s, breakfast on holiday china, enormous stockings, & game playing

Girl’s night out, our book club, Mormon Muffins, & “Charley”

20-hour cooking project

Sick day pampering: beta movies, chicken soup, 7up, & a bed on the couch…Eric's not the nurse you were!

The Bon Marche vest & pant outfit (you know the one!)

Girl’s Camp with the ‘Outhouse Mailbox’

Warm blankets in the hospital

Campfire stories

Encouraging school-shopping-fashion-shows staring three dancers & one air-guitar soloist

Making everything green on my birthday: punch, shamrock cookies, balloons, & finger foods

“Buddy Days” with the grandkids & “Yah Mo Be There”

Standing in line all day for a ‘Cabbage Patch Doll’

Watching scary movies together

T.V. trays for “Little House on the Prairie”

Room mothering

Teaching me by example to look on the positive side of life & to always seek out the good in others

Mother's Day Rock

Eager to give me something special for Mother’s Day Travis used a permanent marker to draw a happy face on a rock he found outside. He called it a “thankful-to-be-a-mother-rock”. It must have really worked because at that moment I did feel extraordinarily thankful to be a mother!

Kindergarten Program

The kindergarten’s ABC theme encompassed corresponding music for every letter in the alphabet. Travis and I practiced all week singing his favorite song: “This is Halloween” which fell under the letter O (“O is for our favorite Halloween song”). Thankfully it only lasted an hour because my cheek muscles could not have handled more smiling! The program concluded with a new ending to the alphabet song, “Now I know my ABC’s won’t you give a hug to me?” Instantly Travis bolted off the bleachers to give me a big squeeze- what a rewarding afternoon for a mother!

Daddy Bag

New character of the month, Master Kenobi (aka Travis), is very rarely seen without his lightsaber. However, a few days ago it found its way into the “daddy bag”, a big black garbage sack at the top of our closet filled with abandoned toys collected by daddy. After regaining his lightsaber our Jedi Master has kept his prized possession under very close guard.

Travis has become quite bossy, though it has not seemed to affect his tremendous popularity. He and his friends play Star Wars in the backyard every day after school and Travis determines which character will be played by whom. More and more he reminds me of myself when I was young.