Mindy's profileFive of UsPhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
|
April 24 May Day (thank you, Amy)As a child, I remember May 1st as a frantic race...find/make a flower basket for Grandma Newton, drive to her house from various distances (usually after school and maybe after gymnastics or before tee ball), hang/prop/set the basket by/on/near the front door, have Mom park the car at a safe, unseen distance, ring the door bell and RUN as fast as you can behind the big pine trees in the front yard where she "couldn't see us" when she answered the door. Grandma was always cheerful/tearful when she opened that door and found her basket...because, you see, she remembered the same ritual with her Grandma each year. And she continued the ritual with her own children. And her child, who grew up, continued the tradition with us...and this carried so much meaning for her. As we grew up and didn't live close enough to Grandma to deliver May Baskets anymore, I missed that tradition. We grew out of it, I guess, as we became teenagers and adults, and until I became a parent and remembered this tradition (when, the first year that we moved back to our home town, my mom mentioned something about May Day being near, and asked me if I remembered running to Gram's porch and then running to hide...), I didn't give it much thought. That first year, just after Reasa was born, we delivered our first May Basket in years, and my Grandma was absolutely shocked (and we delivered one to Mom's doorstep too). This time, we didn't hang around to see Gram open it--I thought she wasn't home, as it took her a long time to answer the door, so we left, thinking she would find it when she got home. In the meantime, she called my Mom--I believe she thought it was she who dropped off the gift--and when mom told her it was me, she was surprised and very tearful...and called me right after I got home to thank me. Each year after that until she passed away, we continued this tradition...and the first year after Gram died, we delivered a May Basket to just my Mom. We did the same park-the-car-around-the-corner-run-to-the-door-and-ring-the-doorbell-and-run-away-to-watch-MeMe's-reaction routine that I remember from my childhood, and the kids tried so hard to hold in their giggles...they really didn't expect Mom to be crying at the door...but when she explained to my children, who hold my Grandma almost as dearly in their hearts as I do, they understood her tears, and added a few of their own. I cherish our May Day tradition. It brings us great joy. It is an opportunity to spoil my mom, to tell her we adore her, and to show her with our flowers or baskets or crafts. It is a chance to honor the memory of my Grandma, and her Grandma and Mother before her, and probably even the generations before that. I hope that this tradition "sticks" with my children too, and that someday, I have the opportunity to stand on my front porch in tears as my grandchildren bless me with flowers.
I'm sure May Day has different meanings and significance for everyone who has celebrated the "holiday". My friend Amy talked in her blog today about reviving wonderful holidays that have been lost in the shuffle--to "reclaim holidays for the good" as she put it (well said, Amy). I think this holiday deserves mention. If you don't have a wonderful Mom or Grandma who lives close enough to surprise, imagine how you would make a neighbor or friend feel, just to put something beautiful (it doesn't have to be flowers...or expensive...or anything else--I remember making a paper bouquet one year, and a ribbon bouquet another year, and picking flowers from the garden another year. Amy talked about a candy basket...it's not what's in the basket! It's the principle of the thing!) on their door/doorstep and make his or her day. Tell them they are special, and thought of especially on May Day. I'm copying a couple of links Amy mentioned, just in case you want to try it yourself...what a wonderful venture this would be!! And if you have children, maybe an opportunity for you to start a tradition with them of blessing someone in their life...or a couple of someones, for that matter. Random acts of kindness...selflessly blessing someone just for the sake of blessing them.
What a concept.
Go outside and pick a handful of dandelions on May 1st, put them in an aluminum foil clutch with wet paper towels inside and leave them on our neighbor's doorstep. Ring the bell, run away, and watch them find their gift. Really, do it!! It will bring them (and you!!) joy.
April 22 I've been tagged!OK, I think I've done this one before. And I think it was 8 things last time. So I guess I should be glad. This is me avoiding that which I should currently be doing. The rules: 1. Link to the tagger and post these rules on your blog. B. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some weird, some random. III. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Lastly, let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. I've been tagged by my dear friend Stacy (yeah, thanks)! I'm offically tagging the seven ladies below. I can't wait to read your responses! So - seven things about me that you may not know.. 1. I can't be still. Ever. It is physically impossible for me. Even now, I am standing in front of my laptop wiggling my toes while tapping my foot. Can't be still. 2. I love the smell of my children when they come in from playing outside. There is nothing like "outside smell." Especially in the spring. Then the smell of their bath...and knowing they're headed back outside the next morning...yeah, that's pretty good too. 3. I love driving my husband's pick up truck. I can't wait until he gets his new one. There is power in driving something so large, especially when you're smallish (Now, notice, I did not say anything about parking a pick up. Or backing it out of anything. But driving it? Yeah, that's pretty great.). And it's fun being on eye-level with the other guys in their big trucks. They always kind of look at me like, "What the heck is she doing driving THAT??" It makes me smile. 4. I still have calluses on my hands from when I did gymnastics as a teenager. And I found out yesterday, I can still bridge down from a handstand and kick back over. :) Have I mentioned how much I love gymnastics? Even as a very old, very out-of-shape adult? Hooray for the summer Olympics this year! 5. I have a file of home decorating ideas in my file cabinet. Stuff I've seen on the Christopher Lowell show years ago, ideas I've seen on Trading Spaces, stuff I've looked at in furniture stores, things I've seen in magazines...I've clipped them out or drawn them on scrap paper and thrown in that file. Some day, when money is no object, I'll actually follow through and have a house I've decorated, rather than a house I live in that has furniture and pictures. 6. I have filled three drawers in a storage thing (what are those things called??) with scrap fabric. Just fabric. From projects I have completed over the time period we have lived in this house (five years). And that doesn't include patterns, yarn, cross-stitch, or the partially completed projects lying around. I also have an 18-gallon tote full of stamping supplies (with a bag of jewelry making supplies) and haven't even touched my scrapbooking stuff, which will require more than one tote, of that I can assure you. My husband accused me on Saturday of being a packrat. I beg to differ. I just have altogether too many hobbies. :) And three kids who craft right along with me. 7. We are moving to the Williamsport area in the next 4-6 months. Some of you already know that, or you have figured it out by reading my somewhat veiled entries. We haven't said it out loud to this point because Seth hadn't gotten to talk to his current employer, but he had that conversation yesterday morning (which went very well). He accepted a new position with a company based in Texas late last week...we're going to see our first house (and I'm not even going to tell you what we have to do to our house before we sell it) on Thursday night. We would so appreciate your prayers as we make decisions, make preparations, and make adjustments. Thanks!! K, I don't have time to link to these. I'm sorry. I love you all...your links are in my links spot on this page (and if they're not, you need to send this as an email.): Amy Sarah, Paige, Jenn M., Stacie L., Quinne, Mom April 18 Permission GrantedYou kind of assume as a child that when you become an adult, you will no longer seek your parents' permission to do the things you desire to do. That when it comes right down to it, choices will be yours to make when you grow up, and you will make them. You figure that turning 18 automatically entitles you to the right and the privilege of making your own decisions, and if that magic age doesn't do it, then surely marriage will.
Not so, dear teenagers. Not so.
You see, as you become an adult and assume those responsibilities which accompany grown-up-ness, you realize that you no longer need their permission, but rather, you find yourself seeking out their wisdom as a means of double-checking yourself. Triple-checking yourself. That after talking to your spouse and coming to a conclusion, you both agree that you want their perspective. Then you pray that they can offer that perspective without bias.
And you feel so blessed when they do.
Yes, I know that my husband and I have a different relationship with my parents than most grown children have with their parents. I don't take this blessing lightly. If you are a teenager reading this (or one of my kids?), I hope you're working to develop that relationship with your parents right now. You definitely play a part in establishing that. If you are a parent of a teenager, I pray for wisdom and discernment on your part--that you are working to build respect and trust with your teenager as she makes hard decisions, so that down the road, when she needs your guidance, she will come to you with the hope and trust with which I often approach my parents. As the parent of little ones...it's certainly something I had better start thinking about right now. Before tomorrow, even. How I long for this with my children some day--the relationship, and the peace which can come from it.
Thanks, Mom, for your perspective today. April 16 mind wrapping Tonight I'm trying to wrap my mind around what might happen to our family over the next six months. More than likely, we will live in a different city. We will go through the process of selling our house and buying another. We will figure out how we're going to afford/finance different vehicles, arrange different insurance, obtain different state licenses, navigate different homeschooling laws, seek out different churches, attract different cake clientèle, make different friends, find different grocery stores, enroll in different extracurricular programs, etc., etc., etc. I would so appreciate you prayers as we make real decisions based on new facts (and I'll fill you in on all of that as soon as I can), talk to a realtor, decide what we will actually do to prepare our house for it's eventual sale, find something we can afford in PA, and make adjustments. The kids are really split on all of this...we have one who is adamantly opposed, one who is dancing for joy around the hotel room, and one who is completely indifferent. My brain is spinning. I can't even think straight. Overwhelmed would be a perfect word right now. Oh, and Seth's truck broke down yesterday (while we are all in PA, of course), so we've been on pins and needles a little bit...we're waiting to hear from the place we took it today...it could be anything from a thermostat, to a sensor, to a cracked head. Ugh. And see, I don't know anything about the cracked head. But I know it's bad, and involves the engine, which is very, very bad. Ugh again. It's always something, you know? The kids were so good today...we drove the truck to the shop (it took a while to go that half mile), stopped at a teaching supply store while one kid waited outside with the dog (they rotated turns), walked back to the hotel, dropped off the dog, walked to the grocery store (about 1/4 mile) to get supplies for beef stew tonight and lunch tomorrow, walked back, ate lunch, made dinner, and hung out all afternoon (interspersed with walking the dog around the hotel, hitting the fitness center (umm, if you can call it that), cutting out their quilt squares, watching tv, doing nothing...). They were so good. They love being with Daddy. Even if we're only with him for a couple of hours each evening. Seth even invited the kid he's working with this week for dinner in our hotel room, which is just so funny...I was so apologetic about the stew, and he was literally just grateful to not be sitting in a restaurant alone someplace...and the kids were amazing while he was here. I have the best kids in the world. Don't try to argue with me on this point about how awesome your kids are...I won't hear it. I'm sure they're great. Really. But mine...they're the best. I get such a kick out of them. Every single day. OK. Time to sleep on the bed that rolls to the middle. :) Gotta love king sized beds in hotel rooms. No, really, we can't complain. Having so many points from staying in hotels that we get free upgrades to suites, and a separate room for the kids to sleep in...that's awesome. We can live with rolling beds. Better than him being here, and us being at home. That's for sure. Thanks, all of you. :) More updates to come. April 14 a day in my lifeMy friend Quinne today introduced me to her friend Jenny's blog--and on the 14th of each month, she writes about her day. Basically, she writes a diary entry. The goal, as Jenny says, is not to brag about how much or how little she does, or to try to stick to a rigid schedule, but really to document her life, and to be able to look back on it and know what life was like. Visit Jenny's blog here.
So, here in the home of the Frazers, this was my day...which actually felt more like two or three days, but alas, was not.
My husband did not sleep well last night, and thus...neither did I. So, though he got out of bed at 4:30 or so, I laid in bed until 9...whilst my children watched the Emperor's New Groove from my bed (Lainie laying on me, and Bryson next to me and Reasa...she was actually on Webkinz). I ventured downstairs to let the dogs out (they were crossing their legs, poor things...they're usually out by no later than 7!), and hopped into the shower. Bryson and Laine made their way downstairs, still very much jammie-clad as I was dressing, swishing and swiping the bathroom, and putting on my makeup. After that, I tossed the fabric we picked last week for the quilts the girls were going to start today into the washer (after folding the load of dark laundry I put in before bed last night), and decided to tackle the kitchen next. Mid-process, we started drawing designs for the kids' quilt projects...and as I was finding the homes for some of the stuff on the kitchen table, the phone rang (about 10:15)--Seth. While switching the fabric to the dryer, and started a load of towels, we chatted. "So, are you guys coming down?" he asked? "Umm, I thought you didn't want us to come since you're coming home on Wednesday," I replied. "No!! Come down!! I want you guys down here. I'll try to upgrade to the suite while you're here." There are some advantages to having him out of town so much. Free room upgrades, for one. Lots and lots of points--enough to keep us in a Best Western for the week when we go to Florida. Continental Breakfast. Very good things.
OK. Back to the diary entry.
I told him I had A LOT of work to do if we were going to be in PA by 5:30, and got off the phone...I started making lists in my mind, and promptly told the kids to go pack three sets of clothes, jammies, and stuff to do during our stay. I changed over the towels to the dryer, pulled stuff out of the clean laundry piles to pack, stacked up all the rest of the folded laundry, which I knew wasn't going to get put away before we left, and started to make a list of things to take with us. I checked my email, asked the kids if they had eaten anything for breakfast (two yeses and a no...Lainie had been complaining of a tummy ache on and off all morning...poor monkey), looked for a crock pot recipe for Tuesday night (no kitchenettes in the suites at the Best Western, and we really try not to eat out every single meal while we're in PA...), broke up a squabble, tended to Bryson's pinch wound on his leg from his suitcase, called my sister-in-law to see if she would keep Chelsea for the couple of days we're gone, and packed up school stuff for two days. I measured out rice, packed snacky foods and my rice cooker and microcooker and crock pot, called my mom to see if we could borrow her sewing machine, and packed up the quilting supplies and my cross-stitch for something to do in the hotel room (one sewing machine will not be enough for both girls...). I put the kids to work picking up all of the toys in the downstairs so that we wouldn't have to come home to a disaster on Wednesday, and they put on their rollerblades to skate around the house. I emptied the dishwasher, checked with Amy about finding a sub for worship in two weeks, tried to call a bride about her upcoming wedding, prodded the kids to pick up the living room again, and suddenly realized it was pushing lunch time. We opened a can of black olives and started chicken noodle soup cooking. While we waited for that, I reloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the countertops, checked Bryson's clothing choices, and dished up lunch. We all ate soup together, amidst practicing beam routines on the pink carpet and flying through the kitchen on roller blades...eventually everyone finished and took care of their dishes, and I checked the girls clothing choices after going to the attic to find the suitcase they would share--they have outgrown their overnight bags, that's for sure. Bryson had a lesson in reading the time off the clock, and I cleaned up the kitchen from lunch, and decided it was time to balance the checkbook/pay bills...which took an hour and a half (note to self: do not let two weeks pass between the times you balance the checkbook and pay bills), including fighting with the computer to print out the bank statement to cross-check everything. By this point, I suddenly realized it was 2:30, and I wanted to leave by 3:30...uh, yeah. I quickly packed my bag, asked the kids to get their sleeping bags and pillows, put all of the stuff we would be taking in the front room, packed up the computer, packed up stuff for the dog, finished tidying the floors so the girls could vacuum them, swept and mopped the kitchen, searched for my bluetooth (to no avail), did a final sweep through the house, got everyone and all our stuff into the truck with the dogs, and headed to my Mom's to drop Chelsea off. We picked up Mom's sewing machine, stopped at the bank, and headed out of town...on the road by 4:30.
We made it to the hotel by 5:45, and left for TGIFriday's by 6. At 7:15 we headed to Tractor Supply so Daddy could get a tape measure he needed for work, and on the way home, everyone picked a bednight snack...Reasa and I went to Rita's for Ice Cream and Cream Ice (yay!! no lactose!!), Bryson and Daddy went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee (Daddy) and donuts (Bryce), and Lainie decided she wanted to go back to Rita's for some ice cream of her own. :) We came back to the hotel room to take Chani out for her walk, and the kids hopped into the big Jacuzzi garden tub for a swim. We hung out and watched a little bit of Minute Men and John and Kate plus 8. It is now 11:34, and I'm watching Little People, Big World, which I don't enjoy at all...but nothing else is on. Ugh. That's the problem with not getting out of bed until 9...not tired at 11:30.
I think I'm going to cut my hair like Kate next. I think that's where I'm headed.
And that was our day. These days are interesting. All of our days are interesting, but these days...
...well, you see.
And that is definitely enough for one post. April 12 PaulOK, you have to check out my brother and sister-in-law's collaborative effort. Paul is the amazing photographer, Sarah is phenomenal with drawing/painting/etc, and she does the photoshop work. Together, they are quite the team. Check out his flickr site here.
But you have to see this picture. This is my girl. Paul is an incredible photographer, but she's a stunning kid.
Can't wait to see shots of the other two... April 03 Flowers...Who came up with the brilliant idea of mixing a whole bunch of confectioner's sugar with dextrose, corn syrup solids (???) and sodium alginate (sounds lovely, right?), then pouring water over it, rolling it out ridiculously thin, cutting it, and shaping it into flowers wrapped around wire and dowels and shoving them into cakes? Why not just grow the real thing in your back yard months in advance? Why not purchase them at an exhorbitant cost from your local florist? For Pete's sake, get them online!!
Guess what I learned how to build tonight?
Yup. Calla lilies. In gum paste. With stupid looking green leaves. I have some work to do before they're wedding-cake ready for September. Not sure these are bridal shower cake ready for Saturday. We'll see. If my sister-in-law hates them, she has my full permission to pull them off the cake.
But I have now officially worked with gum paste (with absolutely none of the official tools. It's amazing what you can do on a card table with rudimentary tools).
Ah, cake baking. So much to love...
...so much weight to gain.
|
|
|
