Can I do it?

This is a question that I get asked a lot. A whole lot. I'm thankful that as my children grow they want to do things on their own or want to help me. Truly I am thankful, but..you knew there was a but in there somewhere...some days it gets tedious. When I have to get something done I want it done with as little hem hawing as possible. Well, that just doesn't happen when you add kids to the mix.

We all know patience is a virtue. Boy have I learned that. God says that patience isn't something we should pray for, but instead something we must learn. I always thought I was a patient person, but over the years have realized how little I probably had. The good news is patience grows with time. I thought of this today when I was making lunch. Ava and Ella wanted PB&J. Ok. Ava asked to get everything out. It would have been faster for me to do it, but instead I stood back and watched her grab the jelly from the fridge, climb to reach the peanut butter from the cabinet, and fish out the butter knife from the drawer. I set about opening the jars and started to make the sandwhiches. Then Ava asks, "Can I do it?" I inwardly sighed, but handed over the knife and helped instead. That's when it hit me. When the older girls were younger I would have  told them it was just quicker for Mommy to do it, etc. Just like a video game my patience score has been bumped up.

I definitely can't promise I'm not going to lack patience some days and lose my cool. That's the great part of being human or better yet a woman. You never know what mood you're going to get. ;) However I will take this simple memory and draw from it. I will continue to nurture the girls, but also encourage them to learn and embrace them doing it on their own.

Is it over?

February's a short month and all, but geez. Who hit fast forward? I'm convinced time has evolved and gotten faster or something. Seriously.

February was a great month in our household. My man got me flowers not once, but TWICE this month! He said the best part is seeing the smile on my face for something as simple as flowers. Well ain't he a sweetie? *cough* most of the time *cough* Hehe, but I love him all of the time. I also love our girlies so let's catch up on them.

Ella decided potty training was cool and she's been diaper free for a month now. It's still weird not to be changing diapers and sad in a way. Hey, when you've been doing something for almost 10 years straight it becomes the norm lol. My baby girl will be three this month. Insane. She's gotten to be such a big girl and just makes us laugh all the time. I just love to snuggle her up every chance she gives me.

On to Elise who lost another tooth last month. She was freaked that it was a permanent one since she's almost ten. I assured her it was a baby one and that she'd keep losing them until the last little bugger took it's leave. She's gotten so big and is a totally fabulous tween. She loves to read, talk about boys, and watch "grown up shows" with me like The Vampire Diaries(lol really that's probably more of a teen show, but I love it so we won't split hairs).

Next is Olivia who has become the object of several boys fancies in second grade. I understand why as they gaze into her big blue eyes with long lashes..not to mention she has THE cutest giggle. Lord, help us. One certain Lothario even went as far as to proclaim his love by presenting her with a rose last week! Definitely will be keeping her on lockdown once she's older. ;)

That bring us to Ava. Well she continues to amaze us all the time. She's reading on a second grade level already and has moved on to kicking booty and taking names in math. She's curious about everything and is always.asking.questions. She's also our tomboy, so forget girly toys and someone get this kid a motorcycle or another Nerf gun lol. She also loves playing xbox with her Daddy, especially her Indiana Jones games.

Michael and I were blessed to find one another and blessed to be able to create this family. They are my pride and joy. If  I said thank you thousands of times each day it wouldn't be enough. Even on the less than perfect days God is so good!

I'm excited to see what March has in store for our family. I wish a lucky and happy month to each of you!

Storm Season Is Here

Batton down the hatches and get your first aid kit ready, because storm season is here. Wow. It feels like it was just this time last year and man we had an active season. There were six or maybe more tornado warnings for this area in the month of March alone.

It looks like we're in for the same activity this year. We had our first and second tornado warnings of 2011 on Thursday night. It actually turned into overlapping warnings for our county as two different storms headed our direction, one from the west and one from the south moving NE. Funnel clouds were spotted within ten miles of our home, but thankfully no touchdowns were reported here.

I am fascinated by tornadoes. I watch every show that comes across Discovery, TWC, etc...and ok I'll even admit Twister is one of my favorite movies. I watched it twice last month alone. Well Encore was showing it so how could I resist? It's another of my quotable favorites..the better to annoy Michael with! Seriously though I thrill at the prospect of getting to actually witness a tornado in action. It always makes me feel a bit hypocritical, because I don't want to see one hitting our town and especially not our home. I don't wish them on anyone else, but then I want to see all the footage once the storm has ended. Does that make me a tornadic voyeur?

Yes.

Things are lining up for more severe weather tomorrow evening. Some rain and storms are possible late tonight into tomorrow morning, but then it will warm up and the sun will shine. Bing bang boom this is what will make the atmosphere unstable just in time for the next line to move in tomorrow night.

As much as I love the awesomeness of mother nature at her worst, I do pray for everyone's safety and always hope that if one has to fall that it will be in a very remote area. Be careful this storm season and remember not to wait too long to take shelter. Things can go from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Stay safe, my friends!

Lazy days of winter

That saying usually has summer tacked at the end, but hey it happens to apply this weekend. We've been loving this warm windy weather. It's lovely outside at a perfectly pleasing 72 degrees. Windows are open and we're going to fire up the grill for the second day in a row.

Beyond the weather, we've been enjoying just spending time together. I love when the six of us can just hang out. We've watched movies, played games, video games, the girls have made lots of art, we took a drive through the country, and spent time outdoors. There's nothing more precious than this time with our girls.

Besides doing some dishes and laundry no other real work has gotten accomplished since Friday. How much do I love this? More than I can say. I can play catch up tomorrow with the housework, but I can never get this weekend back. 

I leave you with a poem that I completely love and adore...

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth, Hang out the washing and butter the bread, Sew on a button and make up a bed. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking. Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo). Dishes are waiting and bills are past due (Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo). The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo. Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue? (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo). The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

All Hail the King

It is Friday! I swear I can almost hear the excitement thrumming through the veins of all the school aged children right now. They're desperately trying to pay attention in class while their minds are wandering elsewhere. I know it's hard to learn about long division on a beautiful day like today. Especially when the gorgeous day is Friday.

I remember living for the weekends when I was a kid. Friday couldn't come quick enough. I always had my dance card full. Sleepovers, birthday parties, staying up all night giggling, talking about boys, talking on the phone to boys. As I became older it was cruising, hanging, going out, and all the other "wouldn't you like to know" stuff.

Friday was King.

Once Michael and I were married I worked my way up to asst manager of a retail store. There's no weekend in retail land. Good luck even getting two days off together. Friday lost it's luster as it became just another day. A few years later I happily became a stay at home mom and all of the days flowed together. Friday was just a day of our week.

Then Elise started school. Just like that Fridays had meaning again. We both looked forward to it all week long. Now Liv is in school as well and her take is the same. They wake up so easily on Fridays and practically skip to the van to head to school. They're all chattering about what they're going to do when they get home, making plans, and asking how late they can stay up. I love it!

Polish up the crown, my friends. Friday is King.

Winter Meets Spring...

..who will be triumphant?

So I've mentioned before how I love talking weather. Ok not just talking, but watching weather, hearing about weather. Upside? I'll be totally set for conversation when I'm 80.

It's the middle of February and that's a tricky time weather wise. One day we're surviving blizzard-like conditions and mere days later it's in the upper 60s and it's time to shrug off the parka. Don't pack it away however, because Winter still has us within her cold reach. I have to say that this beautiful weather is nice! Seeing the sun out and the fact the kids can play without fear of frostbite is a treat. That being said, I wouldn't mind one more good snow. Yes, that's what I said. Winter is shorter for us in the south so I welcome all it sends our way...well maybe not the ice.

On the 2nd that famous little groundhog prognasticated an early Spring. Will the little varmit be correct? I'm giddy to see what Mother Nature will throw our way. The cold fronts, the warms fronts, and pressure systems, oh my! It's enough to give this weather junkie heart palpitations.

Happy Valentine's Day

It's that time of year again. You know, the one where love just oozes from our pores. Ok that doesn't sound highly romantic, does it? 

A lot of people don't like Valentine's Day. That's fine. I can respect that, but I happen to be one who loves the declarations of love, the candy being given, the pink and red decorations, and cards being exchanged. Yes, we should love our signficant other all 364 other days a year, but life moves at such a fast pace that it's easy to forget to cherish your mate when you're going through the motions of every day life. Having a special day set aside just for this purpose suits me fine!


No tokens of affection are a must, but they are appreciated lol. I have the most beautiful arrangement of flowers sitting behind me from my Valentine. He knows that they mean more to me than anything else he could have gotten. I adore flowers. Small, large, from the yard, from a florist..it makes no difference to me. They make me smile everytime I walk by their showplace on the dining room table. When we were first dating it was long distance. Every Friday he would show up with a bouquet of flowers. Every. Single. Friday. I loved seeing and smelling them and knowing that he was thinking of me even when I wasn't around. They were treasured all week long until the next bouquet came. Being the sappy kind of person that I am, I kept all the petals. Then we used them as the petals my niece dropped on our wedding day and there's a small bag of them in my wedding keepsake box to show the girls one day.


Well that's enough strolling down memory lane for now. Whether you're feeling the holiday ir not, I think we can all agree to remind the loves in our lives just how special they are to us..not just today, but every day!