A sad goodbye?

Not really. I may be closing down this blog to start a new one and see if I can get it to work right. It's just no fun without the comments, pointless almost. :) (or maybe this is just too important right now). So, I'll probably take a break from blogging for a while until I figure it out and start a new page. Summer is buzzing with busyness already and I should probably spend less time fretting about my blog settings!! HOWEVER - I know I'll have tons of fun pictures to post and some great kid quotes. Ohhh! Wait. Before I go - - I have one from yesterday. Well, to start, the other day we went to the Pet Store. As one of the other mom's enjoying the pet store said, "It's like the zoo only way easier!". :) True. And, you can get an errand done while there. Anyway, we got to see the lady cleaning the hamster cages and she was showing the girls lots of things. But, we saw these black crabs (there were lots of them in the cage). Mara thought they looked like big spiders and she was shaking with the "willies". Grossed out! So, last night we go out to eat. David took Adde to the bathroom and quickly came back, saying she wouldn't go in there. She doesn't like the boy's bathroom anymore, "It's Gross!" David had this look of "ha, ha. Now you have full-time bathroom duty". Bummer. So I took both Mara & Adde into the women's restroom and Mara was just too curious about why Adde didn't want to go with daddy. She kept asking to go see it (like a horror movie!). I said, no, of course. So coming out of the bathroom and, now into the restaurant....Mara says to Adde, "Adde, why didn't you want to go to the boy's one with Daddy? Are there CRABS in there?"!!! *sigh* What do people think I'm teaching my kids, or worse yet...well, never mind. I won't speculate what other people are thinking about us and our crabs. Signing off for now. I'll keep you informed when I start a new page.

Comments? Comments anyone?

Seriously...I've been spending WAY too much time on this. I'm trying to enable the comment feature so that I can know who in the world is reading this blog and what in the world you think about it. This is a test. This is only a test.

Trying something else...

Can you hear me now?

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Have I mentioned that I love how EASY our two families make getting together? I love it that when there is an occasion to celebrate that we can all do it together and actually ENJOY it. I don't think this is a luxury other families have, either due to location or conflict. This year Erin hosted Mother's Day at her home along with her in-laws as well. We had a beautiful day and a beautiful yard to do it in (petting zoo included, thanks to Jeff). Wish I had pics of Jeff's amazingly aesthetic chicken coop that not only provides the Moore's with their own organic eggs, but adds a pleasing element to their yard as well! There were even pretty black and white chickens (sorry, Jeff, I don't know what kind they are) roaming the yard while we hung out, dusting themselves in the mulch. It was only slightly funny when I kept warning the girls to not chase the chickens, that they were scaring them and soon one "flapped" Mara. She was so offended. No pics of that, but I don't think she'll forget. She still is so sad that one of Uncle Jeff's chickens "flapped" her and not Adde. (If you haven't noticed, I'm done doing the whole incognito thing about the kid's names....too much work.) As a mom, I can say that it was a wonderfully productive and relaxing weekend. I only asked for David to take a day off from working on the basement so that we could have time together as a family and get some things done in the yard. BOY DID WE! That felt so good. I'll have to post pics of that soon. Sunday, we went to church and had leftover pizza for lunch. :) David rested and the girls and I potted some flowers for the back porch. I loved my Mother's Day. I'd much rather have simple than fancy. My neighbor (who has no children) asked why we weren't out doing brunch. While I'm sure there are some YUMMY places to get brunch on Mother's Day....WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to take three kids (one of them needing a nap) to an insanely crowded restaurant to wait for possibly an hour or more when we could come home, have leftovers and RELAX?!?!? :)

Around 3:30, we picked up sandwiches at a local deli and headed to Erin's. Erin had some yummy root beer floats, and we ate outside. I loved the simplicity of it all.

I know that some people hold the belief that many American holidays were created by Hallmark for marketing and sales! I'm not saying they don't make some serious jack on these days, but I appreciate the built-in day off in the calendar. It just doesn't happen often enough that I sit and look at my mom, my mother-in-law and my sisters and recognize the investment and sacrifice given every day; to reflect upon the legacy given to my girls because these wonderful women are in our lives. For me to spend the afternoon planting with my children is very specifically an "ode to my mom" who shared with me the love of gardening and beautifying the world around me. To practice patience with my SPIRITED little one, a nod to my infinitely patient and gracious mother-in-law. To be blessed by the simple hospitality of my sister, who TOO was to be taking the day off was a gift to be recognized. To listen to and learn from my older sister, who is much further down the path of motherhood than I, full of valuable lessons in mothering.

With Grammy & Papa Morrow

With Grammy & Papa Tudor

Thanks, Erin for hosting such a day!!

Tagged....

I've been "tagged" by Erin Bloom for this little blog game, so here goes. I have to think of 7 random facts about myself. You can bail out now, if you're not interested. :) Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog! Oh man...I don't know if I know 7 people with a blog, (see I'm a serial blog-stalker) I'll try. Okay, you lost your chance. Here goes: 1) I'm a serial blog-stalker (reading people's blogs I don't know, not in a sick way, in a genuinely interested in their lifestyle way, in hopes of learning something...mostly from MDC). 2) I like to journal (they're hidden, don't go looking for them). It's something I started doing when I first fell in love with Christ and was learning so much and couldn't contain it. It's something I've gotten away from since kids, but have picked it back up. I didn't realize how much I've missed it. 3) I have the ability to remember most people's/business phone numbers if I've dialed them once. However, I have been known to attach the wrong name to the wrong phone number on occasion, so if I've called you and don't have much to say, I'm playing off that I actually called the wrong person. :) 4) I LOVE, love, love the smell of: paper, books, pencils and ink. I got in trouble in first grade for licking books!!!! :) LOL! 5) I don't like being touched "half-way"...a phrase David helped me articulate, because before I would just freak out for no apparent reason. So, think about it..."half-way", light touches on your skin, someone sitting too close, but far enough away to barely be touching you....ICK!!! Makes sense, right? 6) I like to read cookbooks, but lately rarely ever make anything out of them. 7) I'm an NPR listening, Charlie Rose, Globetrekker and Antique Roadshow, Conan, Letterman addict/listener/watcher and anything else political, what other people call "boring", or goof-ball, late-night hilarity. I guess I'm getting old...lately I can't kick the Charlie Rose thing to switch to Conan. Oh yeah, and I'm a NIGHT-OWL to boot, which is sometimes not good for my morning parenting or coffee habit. So...7 people to tag - I'll tag people that don't have a blog, too. You can put it in an email. Susan Medina Barb Bryson Tanya Reader Sarah Kier Sylwinn Tudor Jeanne Tudor Dawn Morrow

Old School Sesame Street

Don't ya' miss it sometimes? Not usually, actually, but last night Mara was up from 2 AM to 5 AM with a tummy ache, Rose was up at 6, so by 7 AM I was ready for a nap. Sesame Street was pretty handy this morning, but instead of my nap I was watching, hoping to see some "comfort TV"...you know, like comfort food. :) Here are a couple vintage clips for your soul, if you should so need them today. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG-0_p_yefg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr8vUTm64h0

Things I Remember.....

I admittedly stole this idea from another blogger, and I know Erin can put me to SHAME with this, but here goes my attempt at recovering some early memories: - Squeeling down the hill in Plattsmouth on my BigWheel, of course! (Red, blue and yellow BigWheel). What a sweet ride! - Dad putting in a brick patio in Plattsmouth. - Shawna teaching me to ride that aqua blue bike, down same said hill as above. Somehow I let her convince me that since I couldn't reach the pedals, it was a good idea to sit on the back fender. She'd give me a little push down the hill and everything would be okay. Hello, telephone pole! - Our cat Sunshine and our dog Benji (hit by a truck, morbid I know). - Sitting in the papasan chair, watching my parents watch Hee-Haw. - Trying to sneak out of my bed at night to go over to Shawna's bed for a chat and hearing, "Heather Dawn! Get back in bed!" from downstairs. (She was always asleep anyway, Mom) - Dad's old truck and "the Opal" (a car). - Sneaking a peek at my surprise birthday cake COOKIE MONSTER! (I think for my 5th birthday, and then crying that I'd ruined my surprise). - Speaking of sneaking peaks, I SAW YOU, Aunt Kim and Uncle Randy kissing when you were babysitting us!!! - Grandpa Morrow coming to town and walking us up to get a frozen chocolate banana. - I remember Erin's first summer. Sitting on the porch with her before she could walk, laying underneath the swing in the backyard and making her laugh. - That HUGE old red car we had...WHAT was THAT?!?!? :) - Shucking corn and snapping beans. - Metal roller skates and the nice, smooth driveway of the crabby old lady next to us being the perfect roller-skating surface! - Learning to read. - Blue flipflops with the toes painted on them in nice, primary colors. - Desperately wanting a Stretch Armstrong or Incredible Hulk for Christmas and never getting it! ;) Your turn! Go ahead, send me your lists...I know you've already made one in your head. BTW - I have checked and rechecked my settings and according to that, you should be able to publish comments, but you can't for some unknown reason. If you have any hints...help me out....otherwise, I'll just keep assuming no one is reading this and keep blogging boring random thoughts from my childhood.