How Do *I* Spell Relief?

There used to be an ad on TV that asked, "How do you spell relief?" And then it panned to various people who said, "R-O-L-A-I-D-S," which is a brand of gas medicine.

It perplexed me when I was younger since I was very literal and thought, "No. It's r-e-l-i-e-f." But I didn't get the adult sophistication of "play-on-words" humor yet.

Today was a day. Yes...a day.

I'm not sure if it was the hormones currently waging war against each other in my body or just the moon phase. But it was a bit stressful merely from the energies being exchanged on the Internet at the moment.

It's an election year. I despise election years. The news, the mud-slinging, the anger.

All I can say is...Ugh.

So I've been avoiding the news and trying hard to let it all roll off. Later in the spring I'll need to read up on the characters involved so that I can vote intelligently in the primaries. Until then...

But..............

Somehow, someway, somewhy our school has been the brunt of everyone's anger at the moment. We even made the frontpage of the New York Times. The New York Times? Our cyber school is in Pennsylvania.

We've been doing this type of schooling for 10 years. Why now?

Well, that's the subject of another post.

But that's the reason I felt SOOOO stressed today.

So I spelled relief: F-I-N-G-E-R-P-A-I-N-T-I-N-G with my boys.

Fun times!!

Sweet Sunday

We sang this song at church on New Year's Day. Ethan "sang" along (as best as a 3-year-old can sing without being able to read), and when we got to the last line he reached around to his back and said sadly, "But I don't have any wings."

I smiled and whispered that God would give him special wings when the time came that he'd need them.

On the way home, he randomly said, "I don't want any wings. I don't like them. They're made of chicken."

It was hard not to laugh after that thought.

Special song...special boy! Have a very sweet Sunday!

If I Close My Eyes...

and breathe in the remnants of fragrance after I empty a box of Earl Grey tea....

...I am transported back to England to the coastline of Cornwall where I am sitting in the garden of the old Victorian hotel where we are staying, having a cup of tea with my sister and pretending to be old married women conversing about our grown children.  We are proper and polite and speak with "frightfully nice" accents.

...I am hugging the t-shirt my sister brought me from her trip to England with Teen Mission International. She has all kinds of goodies from her trip, including Earl Grey tea, and everything in her luggage smells of it. It is my first time smelling it, and I know immediately that I love it, even though I am 11 and don't really like tea yet. Five years later, I buy a box of it to put in my own luggage on my trip to England with Teen Missions International. I enjoy a few cups of it along the way, too.

...I am on my honeymoon in Windermere, England. I am sitting across from my new husband, enjoying a milder day on our honeymoon...and a pot of Earl Grey tea.  Stuart isn't a "tea drinker," per se. But he enjoys it for me. That's true love.

...I am holding a small gray baby bunny, from the second of Bonny Bunny's litters. He is small and gray...unlike his brother and older sisters at the same age. I wonder at his coloring given the fact that both of his parents are Himalayan Netherland Dwarfs. He is the one that Emily chooses for her 4-H project. He is the one with the most determined personality. He is the one that she names Earl Grey in honor of her favorite tea. He is the one who lives up to the nobility of his name. He sits proud and tall when she talks about him in the 4-H meetings. He loves his hut and sits on the roof like a bunny version of Snoopy. He uses his litterbox with pride and munches on hay whilst sitting in it.

...I am holding a long white bunny, no longer strong and proud. He is sick and dying. It is the middle of the night. I awaken his owner, his "mommy" and the one that he loves more than any other person. She holds him and pets him as he slips away to live with Jesus....

Earl Grey = a tea, a bunny, and so many memories.

Farm Show Fun, Friends, and Photos

And a good time was had by all! 

Great time with awesome friends and yummy food! And the weather stayed mild! A rare occurrence during Farm Show Week. *wink-grin*

Friday Funny

Since we're heading to the Pennsylvania Farm Show tomorrow, I thought a farm-related funny might be good. Enjoy! And I hope you had a fun Friday!

A "Little" Lapse...and a Recap

So I lapsed again...a little. *wink-grin*

Since I can't go back and recapture 2011 through 300+ posts, I'll do a photo summary of the year.

January:

We headed to the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg with the kids -- a first for Stuart and the boys. Emily and I went there a LONG time ago. It was such a treat...and a definite "walk" down Memory Lane.

February:

A very sweet Valentine's Day as Edward turned 10...double digits! And Emily and I hosted a Mother-Daughter Valentine's Tea.

March:

The month of Spring and fresh beginnings. We enjoyed St. Patty's Day...and a fun "half-birthday" for Ethan...and first birthday for the piggies.

April:

We celebrated another half-b'day for Emily, soccer, and Easter -- and my very first trip alone (as a mom) to New York City!

May:

We celebrated my parents' 50th anniversary with them (a month early); we said goodbye to my grandmother, my last living grandparent; we celebrated Mother's Day and our 15th anniversary with a trip into West Reading, complete with a postcard to the kids.

June:

School ended -- Emily and Edward move on to 9th grade and 5th grade, respectively. The kids hosted an Alex's Lemondade Stand. Emily danced in her final recital. My parents had their actual 50th anniversary. We celebrated Father's Day and my grandmother's life in a Memorial Service at her home. Summer started.

July:

Independence Day and summer. A slower time of life.

August:

Camp Woohoohaha! was a blast! We enjoyed the final weeks of summer before Emily started HIGH SCHOOL! Our school books arrived, and we finished the library summer reading program.

September:

School started. Stuart celebrated turning "40-something" (41), and Ethan had his 3rd birthday with his very own birthday adventure to Crayola. It was the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Autumn arrived with all its glorious colors and smells. Soccer officially began for the season.

October:

Emily and I celebrated our birthday by turning reciprocals of each other: 14 and 41. We had hoped to go to NYC but decided against it because of weather and the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. We enjoyed Ballocity instead. Stuart was away, so we had a "staying-in" Halloween after it snowed 9 inches and turned icy. Some people lost power for over a week.

November:

A British feast was enjoyed with Sandy and Tim for Guy Fawkes' Night. We had a bonfire and lots of goodies. My mom celebrated her 70th birthday. Thanksgiving ended the month with another yummy feast at my aunt's house.

December:

The last month of 2011. Emily and I travelled back again to New York City to see the NYC Ballet do the "Nutcracker." We enjoyed some shopping and just hanging together. I had my annual shopping trip (#17) to Schuylkill Mall with my friend and former co-worker from Highlights. Christmas Eve's Eve included a "picnic in the park" in our living room. Christmas Eve was special. Christmas Day spent in bed. Boxing Day enjoyable with another feast. And Pagoda Day we moved the photo to the morning so that we would avoid the rain. New Year's Eve we spent as a family, enjoying some snacks and playing some games. We watched the ball drop together and reflected on the beginning of another new year.

*  *  *

There are so many other things that happened over the year...but these are just a few of the highlights. We try to always remember how blessed we are...and celebrate God and each other.

Happy 2012, everyone!

Winds of Change...and an Apology

So once again, the time has gotten ahead of me, and I'm behind on my blogging, and I'm so sorry.

Originally, I intended to keep this blog to clear my mind of random thoughts and record memories to share with my kids.

Five years on and how's it going? Hmm...

My last post was from August 10th. It's now September 22nd.  Need I say more?

To say that I've been busy would address most of the problem. To say that I just haven't made the time would fit in there, too.

Sigh.

So I'll fill in some of the fun events we've experienced between my last post and now...but I won't backdate them. I'll just reflect on them. Sound good?  That way I won't get further behind trying to catch myself up. You with me? Phew. Glad someone is.

Changes and changes and changes.

I don't do well with change.

I'm not sure if I just ODed on it when I was younger since we seemed to move every few years...or if it's just in my nature...or both....

But yesterday proved a bit stressful for me.  (I'll get over it quickly. I promise. *wink-grin*) Both Facebook and my email provider changed the format on their programs.

While I adapt fairly quickly to new things, I felt frustrated by these changes. I think the world around us is continually changing so it's nice for some things to stay steady. It's not much to ask...really.

Still, I know that I'll get used to both changes...in time for them to change again.

Oh, well. In my next life (if I believed in such things), I'll be a chameleon. It'll be so much easier.

Wordless Wednesday

Past Connections

I lost my last grandparent in May.

My grandmother, Janice S. Bartels, passed away on May 19th, just a little under a month from her 90th birthday.

I have never heard anyone say that death is easy. Ever. Even when you know that it's coming at some point -- there's no other end for us humans -- the reality of it isn't pleasant. Even when you know the person is "better off" because now he/she "isn't suffering," it isn't nice. It just feels so...final.

Suddenly you think of all the wasted moments, the times, the events -- good and bad -- that you won't get to share with that person. You can't just pick up the phone and call her anymore. You can't ask questions about her past to get to know her -- or her "era" -- a bit better, not that my grandmother was into that.

My grandmother had a hard life. Some of it was caused by her own choices, but some of it by just the fact that she was born into a home where her mother was somewhat harsh and the rest of her family perhaps a bit indulging?

Raising four children by herself in the '40s and '50s -- with a deadbest ex-husband who'd remarried a woman who wanted to pretend he didn't have a previous family -- my dad once told me it wasn't easy for her. The rumors that were spoken behind her back; the stories and gossip that were spread about this young, beautiful woman with her pretty teenage daughters who had to take in boarders to help pay the mortgage......

My mom just told me the other day that my grandmother needed to get a job once the divorce was final -- since she got very little of the court-ordered child support from my grandfather.  But she had never worked before in her life. She'd graduated in 1939, had my aunt in 1940, and then had my mom in 1941. She was a daughter and then a housewife and mom. So getting a job that paid well enough to keep their house and four kids was a feat in and of itself.  Add in the fact that she had no real job skills, and it was nearly impossible.

But she did it, and my mom and aunt worked as well.

I asked my mom if my great-grandmother ever offered monetary assistance. My mom said absolutely not. My great-grandmother would have loaned my grandmother money, but she always felt my grandmother was defiant and disobedient and made bad choices. She didn't ever think it proper for my grandmother to have her own thoughts and ideas and abilities. She was just wrong, in my great-grandmother's eyes. She'd "made her bed and so must lie in it."

It suddenly struck me how hard it must have been for my grandmother. It suddenly made me miss her more....wishing I could give her one more hug to let her know how much we loved her -- and how proud we were of her.

Everyone makes bad choices -- some more than others -- but isn't that what forgiveness and mercy are all about?

Sigh.

Nice vs,. Mean

"Attention! Attention!

Nice Mommy has left the building, taking with her all nice thoughts, deeds, ideas, and hugs.

It is uncertain when -- and if -- she will return......"

Sigh.

Some days feel like that lately...today being no exception.

Sigh (again).

Stuart is away on another trip. It feels (though he assures me it isn't so) like he's been away a lot more recently. Maybe it's coming close together or something...because it seems like we've eaten a ton of mac-n-cheese as of late.

I had in my head all the things we could do this week -- all the things I need to do this week. And it all came to a screeching halt when my temper flared this morning.

Sigh (yet again).

It's not that I'm completely unjustified in my reactions to things. But I get frustrated at myself when I can't seem to stop myself from ranting and over-reacting...and, even more so, when I feel like I just want to quit.

I know from experience that motherhood is full of days like this. And I honestly don't really want to quit or change anything.

It's just in my moment of venting, I'm gathering my thoughts and getting down on my knees to ask God to help me deal with things in a more, well, in a more "nice" way.

Then I'll be able to say: "Mean Mommy has left the building, taking with her all mean thoughts, deeds, ideas, and folded arms.

It is hopeful that she won't return......ever."

Well, it's a nice thought, right?

Sigh.

Life's Driving Force

The thing about life is that it moves entirely too quickly. There's a feeling that if life moves fast, somehow I must move faster. In doing so, though, I end up missing out on the most precious and simple moments of joy.

Sigh.

I've always felt that need to slow down, and finally today (albeit, for a just brief moment) I got to do just that.

Sitting at the breakfast table, Ethan began to "drive" using his cereal bowl as a steering wheel. He made the motor sounds and even "shifted" using his spoon.

At first, Emily and I just smiled at his imagination and continued eating our breakfast.

Then he announced quite loudly and excitedly that we'd "arrived" in New York City!

At that moment, for some unknown reason, I felt myself transported with him. I joined in his fun and marvelled at the tall buildings around us. Then I pointed to a Starbucks and suggested going there next.

He laughed and began "driving" us there. He then asked what I wanted to drink and served me quite genteelly.

"Hold on to your coffee!" he said and started to "drive" again.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"To church!" he said happily.

At church, we sang a song together and then got back in our car to drive to....the Art Show!

Quickly admiring a Monet and then a Bouguereau, we then boarded the car to race onward to...Walmart.  I told him I'd get us the big bottle of GermX that I needed.

I requested that we travel to my favorite toystore FAO Schwarz back in NYC. It was a quick trip, because then we had to go "bowling."

At the bowling alley, Ethan said he got lots of balls and threw two strikes! I said that I only got a spare. But Emily, who joined in the fun, got a strike, too. Ethan high-fived her.

After all the "journeying," we headed home and the cereal bowl once again became just a cereal bowl.

We laughed at the fun of "driving around" -- at least in our imaginations -- and finished our breakfasts...but somehow it felt as if we'd just had a wonderful adventure together.

Tuesday Tidbit

Last month, we went to our borough's annual Independence Day Parade. A photographer from our local newspaper took this photo of Ethan's awe in watching the festivities. He was enraptured by all he saw. It was so precious!

Eggs-tra Special

Stuart brought me home a Galaxy Caramel Egg. Galaxy. Caramel. Egg.

For those of you who don't know British chocolate well, Galaxy makes a creamier version of Cadbury's. It's one of the Mercedes of the chocolate world.

I've had it since May.

For those of you who don't know me well, that's a LONG time for me to keep chocolate.

I'm a choco-holic. I know it. My hubby knows it. My kids know it. If there's chocolate in the house, it won't be long until it's no longer in the house. If there was some kind of support group for this addiction I'd be the "poster child" for it.

Okay. So I exaggerate...a bit.

Anyways...back to my Galaxy Caramel Egg...

Each of the family members in my house -- with the exception of Ethan and the various fur-covered ones -- has demanded implored encouraged me to eat said egg.  I'm guessing it's to remove the temptation that they feel in seeing it each day.

But I can't.

It's not because I don't want to. It's not because I won't enjoy it. It's not even because I'm not physically able to.

I just don't want to...yet.

There will come a moment, when the time is right and the coffee is perfect, that I will peel back the foil wrapper and sink my teeth into the luxurious caramel surrounded by creamy chocolate, savoring the sweet goodness with a swig of Starbucks Special Blend.

...........

Excuse me. I think I hear the kettle whistling.....

Worded Wednesday

Can you find the hidden toddler in this picture? Can you find him? Can you find him? Is he there?

Still Blogging...in My Head

The thing about blogging is that it can sometimes get in the way of Life...

But the thing about Life is that it can sometimes get in the way of blogging!

Sigh.

I started this blog over five years ago with the intentions of "clearing my cluttered brain."

Hmm.... It's gotten more difficult in the past year or so, and I've lagged behind in my ramblings.
But, funny enough, I've continued "blogging" in my mind.

I'll find myself thinking of a post while I'm showering or driving or cooking dinner -- all places that make it impossible to put fingertips to computer keyboard and empty my thoughts into a post destined for the World Wide Web.

So much has happened...good and bad; easy and hard; memorable and forgettable.

I'll do my best to get back in the groove of writing. That's the purpose of my jottings on here: just to get myself writing, to keep on keeping on with a hobby I immensely enjoy.

I'm sure I'll lapse again at some point, but it's the "doing" that matters most to me. Just keeping a journal of happenings -- big and small -- for my kids to read later in life.

After all, it's easier to read on here than in my head, right?

Friday Funnies

This is the cutest video and is sure to bring you a few laughs on this fun and jokey Friday! Happy April Fool's Day! And have a FUNNY Friday!