Mom Sense...Again

I started these "Mom Sense" posts a few weeks ago with this post. And, periodically, I'll revisit the topic, as I did below.

As a kind of "disclaimer" to everything I post, I don't think my opinion is anything but that: an opinion. It's certainly not the last word on any given topic. I love to debate, as long as it's healthy and respectful...and I hope my "attempts" at humor will help you realize that in no way do I mean to be disrespectful and/or offensive to anyone.

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"My mother saw your mother hanging out clothes......my mother punched your mother right in the nose...."

It's a very strange childhood song to a jump-roping or hand-slapping game...one I never really liked to sing. But, sadly, it's a realistic picture of the sometimes-silent/sometimes-loud competition between moms (and sometimes dads) that happens in today's world.

When did this start happening?

I don't remember my mom talking about such stuff when we were young...even though I'm sure it was there a bit.

I find it hard enough to teach my kids the importance of being themselves and not worrying about the peer pressure around them to "be the same"...when I'm fighting the same battle myself. Is it just a sign of jealousy and/or low self-confidence in the mom world?

Sadly, we feel it ALL the time.

And, for us, it started when I first got pregnant... Ugh. We decided on a homebirth. A homebirth?!?!?! Are you kidding?

Then it progressed all the way through the years. We bottle-fed. We homeschooled. We choose less activities for the kids (ie. one each).

In the beginning, I got "admiration" and told that I was SO brave for birthing at home. As I kindly pointed out to my "admirers," giving birth ANYWHERE is brave. Giving birth at home is just a different venue.  And until about 80 or so years ago, it was the norm.  My grandmother and her brother, who were from a well-to-do family in Philadelphia, were both born at home.

Then after I didn't breastfeed, I got scoffs and even some people telling me off, saying I wasn't doing what was best for my daughter and how she wouldn't be as smart or healthy because of it. I bit my tongue and watched (rather smugly, I'll admit) as the women who breastfed had to deal with ear infections and tummy upsets, sometimes more than I did. I didn't doubt what they said about breastfeeding at all. It is definitely the best option for babies -- and it's free!  But it wasn't in the picture for me -- even after I tried very hard to do it.

See that's what's called a "back story." The reason behind why somebody does or doesn't do something. But it's personal, private, and totally none of the business of casual bystanders or acquaintances.

Why should I -- or anyone, for that matter -- have to defend my decisions?

Take a look at the overall picture.  Are my kids healthy and well-fed?  Are they well-adjusted and intelligent?  Are they respectful and kind and obedient (most of the time)?

Then SHUT-UP! (Ooops...was that my out-loud voice?) Ahem, random stranger whom we've never met, er, um, please refrain from telling us your opinion of what we do in our lives.


Better? Sigh.

If our job as parents is to raise happy, healthy, good citizens to replace us and that's seeming to happen, why challenge it with griping about or criticizing our different methods of doing that?

I mean, seriously. To the person standing behind us at Starbucks, staring daggers at us before asking the "Question of the Day:"  Why do we homeschool our kids, even though we live in a perfectly good school district? Why not? (And why do you care? Ooops...out-loud voice again, huh?)

Wouldn't our job be a little easier with a few more pats on the back or encouraging words or hugs or, even, cheers?

Well, maybe. That and a few dozen cookies and cups of "milk" (or whatever you're drinking). *wink-grin*

I love opinions. I really do. And I love to share our "back story" with those who are truly interested...especially in the name of getting to know us better. I love hearing the same from those people for the same reason.

It's what makes a friendship stronger.

I wish that parents could walk beside each other, sharing ideas and methods and funny stories, without feeling like it's all a big competition.

It kind of takes the focus off of our kids, which is why we're called "parents" in the first place.

And it just makes sense.

Wordless (Mostly) Wednesday

Okey-dokey!

Head Banger

What do you get if you combine three kids and their mom with allergies and a springtime cold...with honors projects and the end of school...with a summer Shakespeare play...with an active preschooler...with 24 "mini" newspaper articles...with a hubby going out of town every other week?

It's probably more about what you won't get (or have left) when you reach the light at the end of the tunnel....hair!

I think I'll be using the poster below -- MANY times -- in the near future....

Memorial Day

We remember...and we are thankful!

Sweet Sunday

In honor of Memorial Day tomorrow...a video of remembrance for those who have died to protect our freedom.

Friday Funnies...on Saturday Sweethearts

Since yesterday was a special day -- ie. our anniversary -- and I didn't want to miss out on sharing my weekly Friday Funnies...I decided to do a "crossover post" with my usual Saturday Sweethearts.

Yeah. Yeah. Confusing, I know.  But stick with me.

We made this video for my mother-in-law for her birthday. I think it turned out well, all things considered, though nothing like the "Hallmark-quality" video I had pictured in my head.

The idea was to play the sweet "happy birthday" song in the background, while the kids each held a card bearing one letter in the phrase: "Happy Birthday, Granny! XOX"

What the video doesn't show, however, was just how many times we had to redo it before we got something semi-usable. The cards would get out of order. One kid would forget to smile. Another would have a tantrum. The cards would get dropped. The song would stop too soon.

Still in all, it turned out to be a fun memory that (hopefully) brought a smile and chuckle and feeling of love to the recipient.

After all, that was the goal.

16 Lessons Learned in Marriage

Today, my honey and I celebrate 16 years of wedded bliss.

16.

Sixteen.

We've known each other for 24 years this year -- dating for roughly 23 of those. (The first year we just giggled at each other -- one thinking the other was a geek and the other thinking the one was a snob...I'll let you guess who's is who.)

It's amazing to think that 16 years have passed since we said our "I do"s...16 years since I walked down the aisle promising myself that I would remember every second of it...and I WOULD. NOT. CRY...hmm...


In honor of the 16 years, I decided to compile a list of 16 "lessons" (really) learned during our years of marriage.

Ready? Here goes:

1. Don't take yourself too seriously.
2. Love doesn't make the world go 'round...but it helps.
3. Never stop making time for each other.
4. Fights happen.
5. When fights happen...make cookies.
6. Be honest with each other.
7. Never give in to the attitude of the world. Marriage is hard work but very much worth it.
8. Marriage before kids is...."boring."
9. No matter how well you thought you knew yourself before marriage...you didn't.
10. Time apart is sometimes necessary...and healthy.
11. Take time to remember your dating years.
12. Share your stories and experiences -- both good and bad -- with your children.
13. Realize -- and accept -- that you're going to make mistakes.
14. Have fun together.
15. Remember the "good ol' days"...because you're living them now.
16. Always be your spouse's BFF.

The Job of Listening

One of the best parts of working for the newspaper is the fact that I get to be really, really nosy. I get to ask questions of people that would usually have me considered, to use a colloquialism, a "neb-nose." But it's all in the name of getting a good story, right? And most people enjoy talking.

Yet, with this fun, comes the added responsibility of how I handle this personal stuff, what I choose to include. I usually ask far more questions and get far more information that I can actually use. But by getting more than I need, I get to know my subject much better and can (hopefully) write a better story as a result.

I realized this morning, as I plowed through the 24 (!!) "mini" -- 200- to 450-word -- stories I'm doing for a "Shop Local" supplement our newspaper is producing in conjunction with the advertising department, that I've been a reporter, of sorts, all of my life.

I have always enjoyed sitting down and hearing the stories of people's pasts. I find myself transported back to another time and another place. Like a foreign country, everything feels strange and new and exciting. And I'm a very curious person.

Even as a little girl of 4 or 5, I would go next door to our older neighbor's house to have "tea" with her. I would listen to her stories. My mom said I was a "little old lady" way before my time.  But hearing people's stories gave me a kind of wisdom far beyond my years. It wasn't that I was wise...I became wise through the experiences of others.

But, lest you think I'm a great listener with the patience of a saint and the wisdom of Solomon, I'm not.

I enjoy listening, but I also want to "fix" things. If my "wisdom" gets ahead of me, I have a chronic urge to "pep talk" people -- even those who don't want help, who just need an ear.

I guess that's because it's a different kind of listening. One is to recount a story...the other to share a need.

My "wisdom" still needs tweaking.

Happy Bloggy Birthday!

HaPpY 6th BiRtHdAy 

to Writer's Block blog!

I can't believe it's been that long!  It's been real...and it's been fun. So I guess that means it's been real fun?

Absolutely!

Before changing my template to a newer one, I copied all of my posts onto my computer's hard drive, and it was fun to remember past happenings and see all the photos.

I reread my first blog post...aww....seems like only yesterday.

Wordless Wednesday

In Sibling Love...It's Complicated.

Emily, 11, hugs baby Ethan, 5 months

It's been said that a picture says a thousand words.

Maybe so. But this one says one word to me: Love.

Sadly, the word wasn't always true...though it's becoming truer by the day. Not that they ever didn't love one another. Sometimes sibling love is complicated.

I love that photos capture a moment, though. That moment looks so peaceful and sweet and serene and...and...

It doesn't matter that a moment earlier the two might have been crying or pulling each other's hair. (They weren't.)  In the photo, they look perfect. (They were.) A snapshot of time...captured peace.

Emily and Ethan have had an interesting relationship.

Being older than him by nearly 11 years makes them in two different realms age-wise.  Emily is his boss, his leader, his "one-in-charge." There's no way around that. She's nearly ready to graduate while he's nearly ready to start school.

It wasn't the spacing that we had planned. But God had other ideas -- all good, I know.

But, much like his sister at the same age, Ethan doesn't like other people being in charge. He wants some, okay, all of the control. He came out of the womb a born leader.

For the first two years, Ethan was all about Edward. Since they're both boys and there's only 7 1/2 years between them, they had a camaraderie from the get-go. For some reason, Ethan didn't seem as keen to be around Emily. Maybe because she was constantly trying to hold him and hug him and swing him around...and call him "George." (Oops...I think that's a Bugs Bunny cartoon.) He seemed to like his space from Day 1. But we had told Emily that her new baby sibling would like that so I think she got the wrong end of the stick from that same day.

Still, Ethan hit 3 years old and somehow that all changed. Maybe it's the Sunday afternoons we've left them together for impromptu playdates, or just a mutual changing and maturity in personalities and respect.

They seem to get along so much better...with a definite love displayed on both sides. Much more like the "story" in the photo above.

Much more like the one-word I see in the photo: Love.

Mom Sense

Blog "hopping" on this subject from : Mummy Muddles' post here.

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I'll start with a preface to this post stating that this is merely a record of my thoughts and opinions on the subject, not the "be all to end all." I love to debate, but I love people more so I am very ready and able to agree to disagree on most subjects.

Phew.

That said, my mind is going on overdrive on this subject.

I will not post this photo on my blog because, while I am in total agreement (read: TOTAL AGREEMENT) with breastfeeding a baby -- of any age you choose -- I don't want to be smacked (literally) in the eyes with a photo of any mom doing it.

Sorry.

I know you have boobs, Time magazine mom, and they were created for this purpose. Yay for you! I have a pair, too.  But I also believe that God asks us to be modest with our special body parts. Modesty does NOT equal prudishness. Because, after all, ladies, we want to be treated with respect and not treated as a sexual object, and yet we whip out our breasts whenever it's deemed "necessary" to prove that we're "all that."  It's like that old Bill Cosby sketch of Adam and Eve..."Com'ere...com'ere...com'ere! Go-away! Go-away! Go-away!"

Frankly, I think it's all a bit too confusing for the opposite gender -- especially as a mom raising two boys.

Okay. I'll expound more on that subject another time. Back to the photo.

So I'm looking at it and the first thing I think is: "NO WAY is this kid 3 years old. I mean, check out his sneakers. They're nearly the same size as his mom's."

I have a large 3-year-old. He is about 2 years ahead of himself size-wise...but -- wait for it! -- I'm 5'9" and my hubby is 6'7". And we're big people. So, like his extra-large siblings, he isn't gonna be a small guy.

And this lady? She's slightly built, with thin arms like spaghetti and small feet. You really want me to believe that she birthed this monstrously-sized kid who actually looks bigger than my already-huge preschooler? Really?

Sigh.

So I feel skepticism from the first glance at the photo and caption.

Now to the photo's subject matter (I didn't read the article because 1. I'm not a Time magazine subscriber and 2. I don't agree with attachment parenting, which is a whole different blog post...in the distant "someday.")

I didn't breastfeed any of my three babies. And I didn't discourage or "trash-talk" or criticize anyone who did. In fact, the feeling of "having to hide their breastfeeding from the world" that many moms feel was how I felt about bottle-feeding.

I bottlefed (with love, of course, as the formula containers state...as if there's any other way to do it, really) and usually faced stares and shaking of heads and even some cries of indignity...because I wasn't doing what was "best" for the baby.

Okay. And making sure a baby is fed isn't doing what is best for the child?

Without knowing or understanding a person's backstory, I really think we need to be careful how we judge. I'm not here to defend how I fed my babies. They're 14, 11, and 3...way past the point of worrying about that. They're all advanced learners, have no food allergies (praise God! not my choice of feeding methods), and have been healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids (again, praise God! not my choice of feeding methods).

But wait! How is any of that possible?  I didn't breastfeed!!

No! And I'm cyberschooling them! Gasp! And we limit their outside involvements to one or two activities! Gasp! Because we want to spend as much time -- gasp! gurgle! choke! -- as we can with them.

But....that's our family.

Not your family...or our neighbor's family...or the Time magazine cover woman's family.

Ours.

We all make choices for our own families and our own situations to fit with our own personalities. No one should judge another merely because she chooses something different for her family.

There's so much judgement and so much anger and so much criticism in the world today. Isn't motherhood (and parenting, for that matter) hard enough without adding in the worry of offending someone else with our own choices??

How's about some support for a change?

Walk with me. Hold my hand. Support me, if I need it. Give me an ear...and even a shoulder to cry on, if necessary. And I'll do the exactly the same for you. I've got your back because I love that you love a little person (or two or three or more) that much, too.

It just makes sense.

Sweet Sunday

Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week.

I love that it starts with church and usually -- not always -- continues at an easy pace. Sometimes Stuart and I even get an impromptu coffee date in the afternoon...or a nap.

In the morning before we leave for church, I've been turning on a worship music station on Pandora. It's nice way to get our focus properly adjusted, and it even seems to calm the scurry and hubbub associated with getting our family of five out the door on time.

Here's a new favorite that graces my iPod's "Worship Songs" playlist. Enjoy, and I hope you've had a very sweet Sunday!

Saturday Sweethearts

Nothing feels quite so good as having Daddy back home!  Everyone (even the dog) shared the same excitement and love when he got home today. Ethan was still napping so he had a surprise to wake up to...and he was thrilled!

Friday Funnies

This woman is amazing -- and so funny!! The fact that she is so serious about the whole thing...wow!

 Enjoy and have a funny Friday!!

 

One...

It's such a small, yet powerful, number at times...

One germ is all it takes to make a whole family sick with a cold virus.

One cookie is all it takes to win the heart of a toddler.

One stone is all it took for little David to fell giant Goliath.

One mean word is all it takes to cut a person to the core.

One word is all it takes to accept or decline a marriage proposal.

One parent is all it takes to raise kids...and yet...

Two parents support each other, make a tag team of sorts, provide balance.

Two words seal the vows of marriage.

Two words heal the damage of a mean word.

Two stones weren't necessary -- with God involved -- to knock down the giant Goliath.

Two cookies more than win the heart of a toddler and teach the valuable lesson of sharing.

Two germs....two germs....nope. No matter what size family you have, you still only need one germ. But two is what you get when it divides itself...and two more...and two more...

Stupid cold virus.

Wordless (mostly) Wednesday

The animals from Noah's Ark, after the flood...

Of Three-Year-Olds and Literalness

Just as his siblings before him, Ethan is a constant comedian...without meaning to be.

A collection of his recent sayings and happenings:

"I can't clean up. I lost my 'fast power' in the jungle."

"I will still love you when I am a giant. I'll be a giant when I'm 83...because 83 is a big number."

While watching Edward play at his last soccer game, I noticed that he kept falling over. "Wow! I think Edward lost his legs." Ethan stared out into the field and then burst into tears. I didn't realize why he was crying until Emily told me that Ethan really thought Edward lost his legs. It wasn't until I showed him that Edward was still running around on fully-connected legs that he understood it was just an expression.

Ethan recently told us that his name is now "T-Han" because "the 'e' is silent and helps the 't' say its name." Interesting that he gets the concept...even if it isn't in the proper context.

Edward told us that he "saw" his name on one of the pieces of pizza on the big plate of extra pieces in front of him. Ethan stared at the plate for another five minutes before saying, "I don't see it."

A Memorable Mother's Day

Lots can be said about the special once-a-year day set aside to celebrate mothers...

For me, it's the one day that is all mine -- at least for the moment.

Having a shared birthday makes that day a shared experience -- not that I would trade it for anything. My daughter is my best-est birthday buddy and, very often, my "mini me." And that makes me so proud!!  People continually tell us how sorry they are that we don't get our own special day. And sometimes that makes us feel a bit sad. We do get our own special day...it just happens to be the same one.

So back to Mother's Day...

Since Stuart was travelling -- leaving on Mother's Day -- this year and Edward wanted to play in our soccer club's annual Quarry Classic tournament, also on Mother's Day, we decided to do Mother's Day on Friday instead of Sunday.

Stuart dubbed it "Mother's Day! (Observed!)" and I loved it!

We opened prezzies in bed...had donuts for breakfast...went out to Starbucks for our weekly writing time...ate lunch at Chick Fil'A...spent some time at Target...made special plates....had hotdogs on the grill....and played a game together.

For me, time together is the best ever present. I love being with my peeps -- big and small -- and listening to them chatter and laugh...and, well, just be kids.

Makes me realize how much I have to be thankful for.

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My gifts this year:

As with my older kids at the same age, I got a funny one from the 3-year-old: fruit snacks. According to his siblings, he was very decisive, after giving up the toilet plunger he had been carrying. I asked him why he chose them (because I do like them very much!), and he told me that he thought they'd be good for us to eat together. Hmm...notice that the gift is one to share...don't know of any other men, er, um, boys who might have gotten their moms gifts that could possibly be shared...

Emily's and Edward's gifts were more "practical:" a ceramic frog and coffee-filled chocolates. Mmm!! And Stuart got me an iTunes gift card to go with their "together-gift" of an iPad 2. Did I mention how much I love my sweet peeps?

Happy Mother's Day!

A little "tear-jerker" from Johnson's & Johnson's. (Or as Emily called it: a "Hallmark (card) ad for babies." Enjoy! And I hope you had a sweet Sunday and a wonderful Mother's Day!

Saturday Sweethearts

These three are the reasons I celebrate and count my blessings this weekend!! Three precious souls!

Friday Funnies

A little while back a bunch of these photo collages popped up on Facebook.

I especially liked this one -- go figure! -- and thought it made an excellent "funny" on this wonderful and fun Friday before Mother's Day.

Enjoy...especially if you're a mother! *wink-grin*

On Love, Chaos, and Kids

The kids just left with their daddy to buy Mother's Day cards and gifts for me.  It's the first year that Ethan can join in.

I had a pang of sadness when they first left. 

On one hand, I was excited, knowing that they are going to pick out something sweet and thoughtful for me.

(They always do. It's such fun. I'm always amazed when I open the gifts they choose...especially when they explain why they chose whatever fun thing they found for me.  I have a "virtual violet," a glass banana, a T-shirt with "Mom's Barn Mom's Rules," and a statue of a rainbow bugie...among other fun things.

My favorite memory comes from Emily's first time going out with Stuart to pick the gifts for me. She chose -- very insistently -- a can of chicken noodle soup...and it had to be the Healthy Request kind since it didn't have MSGs and I could eat it. Why did she choose soup, you might ask? Because "Mommy likes soup." 'Nuf said. She was 2 1/2.)

Back to this evening... 

On the other hand, I had a terrible loneliness suddenly. I know so many moms who say that they just need a break, some peace and quiet. I'm not sure why I don't long for that. (Maybe I'm just strange?) I can't say that I haven't ever wished longed pleaded with God to give me that... But the house gets terribly quiet and dull without the noise of kids. I'm with them most of the time, unless they have an outside activity to attend.

Somehow kids are the life of a house. Their noise and craziness and emotions and giggles and constant chattering all swirl together to bring about a certain chaos called LOVE.

There's a warmth in it that you just can't understand until you've had it and then don't have it. (My heart goes out to those with "empty nests." I can't imagine how empty the house will feel when the last of our "love-chaos" moves out...)

It just takes stepping back for a moment -- out of the fray -- to really examine what's happening. Then, and only then, will you see the blessing of travelling -- with a husband and three crazy, silly, and loving kids -- on this roadway called parenthood.

Though sometimes it's better viewed from a bathtub filled with bubbles, accompanied by a big box of chocolates... Just don't forget to turn down the volume on your music when they get back.

Wordless Wednesday

Peace

Sweet baby feet

There's a song that plays at the end of Ethan's instrumental bedtime lullaby CD that is so peaceful and sweet that I find myself nearly crying each time I hear it play over the monitor. It conjures up so many memories of when all three of my children were much smaller, and life seemed simpler.

I know. I know. Those of you with smaller children do not think that life feels simpler.

But maybe it's because I feel like I've crossed the Rubicon with my older two munchkins, and life has become decidedly more "hands-off" in some ways. Somehow that happens when they reach "double digits."

Not that they don't still enjoy a cuddle or two...or three. But they're definitely their own people, marching ever closer to college and work...and independence.... And with that comes planning and worrying and learning...and dealing with new emotions...and...and...

When they were small, life's routine had a cadence of sorts. The beat of the day moved with feeding times and diaper changes. There were storytimes and naptimes and cuddletimes and outside playtimes. To some it might have seemed mundane, but there was a peace in it -- a sense of wellness that came in knowing that everything was under control.

Now, there is just running here and there from school to activity to chores to bed. No more quiet reading times. Very few walks to the library or park. Everything must be very deliberate, planned or else missed.

Sigh.

And yet, for the moment, I will listen...and remember...the peace.

Let's Make a (I)Deal

Several years ago, I started taking the kids out on Friday to do a little "writing" time. We started it for two reasons: 1.) to further their creativity and enjoyment of writing; and 2.) to give us some supplemental time towards our Language Arts.

It was a perfect way to get us through the week...the proverbial "carrot."

It started off well.

We split our time between Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles, since both had wonderful cafes and the perfect writing environment (and, more important, good coffee for Mommy).

Fast forward a few months...and now I was pregnant with #3. It was still a good way to keep us (mostly) focused through our weekly schoolwork.

I began to look forward to the time as much as (or more than?) the kids.  But somehow #2 was getting bored with the idea; #1 found the environment at Barnes & Noble too distracting -- she would have rather been reading all those awesome-looking books.  So we tried to change the day...and time.

Still, it was hard.

Each week, I had the ideal writing time pictured in my brain. We would go with our notebooks and pens and get our drinks, and then we would dutifully spend an hour together writing from our souls.

Bwhahaha!

Fast forward still another few months and #3 arrives. Of course, some changes were inevitable. For one thing, the newest guy had his own idea of what his schedule should be...and we had to help him work into our family/school schedule. Thankfully, he did beautifully.

But writing time still got shuffled around based on naptimes, feeding times, diaper-changing times, and basic tiredness-all-around times. We got out of practice for a little while.

Enter "Homebucks," our own little writing cafe, done at home with home-brewed drinks and yummy snacks.

Yeah, it worked for a little while -- and it ended up being a great backup for times when writing time just wouldn't work out otherwise.

Once #3 got old enough to miss the occasional mid-morning nap, we ventured back to our old haunts and tried to rekindle our tradition.

Hmmm...somehow it didn't fit the ideal of what we'd once had. An impatient #3 was not interested in sitting -- happily or unhappily -- while we wrote the latest installment of our characters' adventures.

Yet again, my ideal was smashed to pieces as I tried to figure out how to make it work. And yet again, the image of sitting around a cafe table, writing together whilst drinking our bistro drinks, flashed through my mind. Babies crying or throwing everything on the floor didn't fit into those visions.

I was ready to quit.

And then it happened. I realized that we -- more likely I -- had to be patient. My "ideal" needed to be an evolving concept, changing with the children and our moods and experiences during the week.

This past Friday, I sat back and looked at my kids, all enjoying this special time together, whether writing or playing with cars or drawing/coloring in a book, and I knew that I was already experiencing my ideal.

Sometimes, you have to be thankful for what you already have, instead of looking for more.

Thankful for that and a few dozen cookies, cars, and other bribes necessary to bring the moment some peace.

Sweet Sunday

While listening to Pandora this morning, this group came up with another of their songs. But it made me remember this one -- the first I ever heard from them -- and I thought I'd share it on here.

I love the words, and the reminder that, through Christ, we are indeed more.

Have a sweet Sunday!

Saturday Sweethearts

After being away since early last Saturday until late last night, the kids (and I) were extremely excited to have Daddy home!! I don't usually allow them to wait up for him, but it was worth the late night bedtimes to see them cuddle and hug and basically smother him in love.

It had been a loooong week.

Friday Funnies

SO true! (Do I hear "Amen!" from all the parents out there?)

Enjoy, and have a very fun Friday!

The Present Day

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it is called the 'present.'"  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

I had planned to blog on a different subject today, but seeing this on someone else's Facebook status today made me think of something a bit more timely.

We had a "little" incident at our house last night. A shocking one, to say the least. Some things came to light -- quite by accident -- that had been hidden for the past year.

All I can say is: WOW!

Sometimes you find out you don't know someone as well as you thought you did and...it hurts.

Badly.

It was amazing, really. The fact that it happened; the fact that it happened without our knowing it; and the fact that one of us had a hint that something was amiss, while the other was completely bamboozled. Completely.

Sigh.

So we know now. It's out in the open, and I think (hope!) all the various layers of the "onion" have been peeled back so that we're at the center with tons of onion pieces around us, causing our eyes to smart with tears.

And there are tears...many, many tears.

Sigh.

But where to go from here?

I think the collective thoughts are that trust has been shaken and respect has been lessened. Time will most certainly heal all the wounds...and trust and respect can be re-earned.

We all just need some time...

Sigh.

But when exactly does that start?

There's no time like the present. After all, today is a gift.

Wordless Wednesday

Eating Crow...Gracefully

Recently, my job at the newspaper has given me more than the usual amount of opportunities to teach my kids important lessons. It seems the busier I get -- ie. the more stories I take on -- the less organized I am and the more mistakes I make.

Sigh. 

Mistakes are, of course, a part of everybody's life in some way or another...especially as children when we're "learning the ropes" in life, so to speak. So it's not an unusual or uncommon lesson to teach.

Just hard sometimes.

Sigh.

Still, that's when it becomes such a valuable one. 

Through my attitude and actions, I am showing them how to accept mistakes and fix them properly...and, hopefully, gracefully.

Basically: Eat crow.

In today's world, so many people want to hide from their mistakes. They want to pretend nothing happened and just let things roll by. It's an age of "it's not my fault."

I must admit that it's very tempting to join in.

But, while "crow" isn't very tasty, and I won't be perusing Allrecipes.com for crow recipes anytime soon, it feels so much better to do the right thing and make sure to admit my faults, apologize, and move on.

After all, a little "crow" never hurt anyone... Because, look! I'm still here.