10 "Mundane" things that made me smile this morning

I woke up this morning and after my initial thought of "OMG, do I have to wake up now!" came the thought "I love smelling my coffee when I wake up." As the morning progressed I found myself focusing happily on small mundane details.

I'm not usually a negative person, but things have been tough lately and sometimes it's been hard to find a reason to smile. A day when the little things give me a smile, is always a good day.

1. The smell of fresh brewed coffee
   


2. An empty sink with no dirty dishes waiting


3. Only one load of laundry to get done


4. Hearing the sleepy 'Good Morning Mommy' from my babies


5. Listening to Alex and Liberty chat, with no arguing, through breakfast


6. Being able to open up the front door as soon as I wake up...fresh air!!


7. 'Monkey Baby' hug


8. Bean watching one of my favorite 'Little Bear' episode (yea, I'm a dork)


9. Slipping easily into my favorite jeans again


10. Feeling happy and content

I hope your Friday is a good one :-D

You Hate Me Don't You??

It's been almost a week since I've had any time to try to post. I'm so sorry my angry mob of ticked off annoyed readers adoring and loving public.

Life...has been so crazy this week. I got a job. I started training on job. Second day on job the girl training me had an emergency and I was on my own. I did great.

Thursday we took kids to my MIL's for the weekend and PC and I have just been hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Tonight we go out with my best friend to celebrate Tuesday's impending doom of my 30th birthday. *sigh*

Right now though, as we have no kids and no work or school this morning PC and I are both sitting here with our laptops enjoying the free internet, Turtle mocha's, and the joys of Im'ing even though we are sitting next to each other.

As the great Caribou says: "We are a worn flannel shirt in an over starched world"

So true. So true.

Stealing Cinderella

I couldn't find a youtube video that allowed me to embed this, so you'll have to click here to see the video. It's how I wish my daddy still felt about me and it's how Prince Charming will (does) feel about his little Cinderellas.

This is the one PC mentions in the comments, and the original one I was looking for but couldn't find at first :-)





Sorry if you cry. Guess it's that kinda day today.

A ConfessionandSix Words that Meant the World

I have a confession to make. Or maybe an FYI. Anyway, Prince Charming and I have separated. We have been for a week and one day as of today. We have known since before Christmas that this needed to happen, but were unable financially to do anything. Finally,at the end of January, we were in a place where we could go through with it.

We still talk all day, he still visits both me and the kids, and we are still friends. Divorce is not on the table. We simply both have issues that must be worked out, worked through, moved past, and growing up to do. And some of this just can't happen while we are living under the same roof. At least for me. We are going to go to counseling. We are going to try everything to make it through this. And I believe we will both be better in the end.

So if you have heard me whining about no job, now you know why. And if I am not on here to visit or post, now you know why :-) I really am okay. I miss him. I'm lonely. I'm terrified. But I've had a while to prepare for what's ahead of me. The kids are taking it in stride, trying to figure things out. The hardest part is worrying if I've made the right choice. If this is the path that will help us both in the end. But all I can do is have Faith in myself and my abilities to see my through whatever may come.

There has not been an overwhelming sense of support for me, nor has there been any severe disagreements. Just a mildly worried acceptance. Sometimes that makes it hard, scares me more, and makes me doubt myself. But this weekend, two people said something to me and without knowing what they had done, they gave me an amazing sense of peace, strength and calm.

Somone reminded me to 'Be Yourself'. Something I have been struggling with for a while now. Who I am, who I want to be, who I should be. Somehow those words instantly reminded me of where I wanted to go in my life and draw strength from that.

Another person, who is not an emotional type, said to me "I am proud of you.' And while maybe to others these are just ordinary words, they made me cry and helped restore my faith in myself and in my journey.

So to those people, if you are reading this, Thank you for what you have given me. Thank you for reminding me. And thank you for loving me.

Five Picturus to Explain Why My Morning was Wonderful

Teddy sniffing out "her boy" (a.k.a Alex) to play with:



Teddy being goofy in the snow:



A very rare Snow Snail sighting:



Ice Cycles:

Fresh Footprints in the Snow:

*******************************************************************

For those of you wondering, I will be posting the next part of my story for the battle this evening :-)

The Great Ape By Alex

(I found this taped to the wall with my name on it:-) I love that kid. )

The Great Ape

Once in the great forest there was a big Ape. The big ape ate one banana every Sunday for lunch. The great ape got sick one day. He had the flue so he called his doctor. The doctor said aa-ee-oo-aa-tig-tag-wall-bing-band! The Great Ape felt better.

The End.

Dear Mom,
This story is for your blog.
love,
Alex

Captain Underpants and Fancy Nancy make an appearance

Yesterday, as part of literature week it was 'Dress like your favorite book character' at Alex and Liberty's school.

After much debate, planning and re-planning the kids finally settled on their favorite characters. Personally I think they are adorable, but I may be a bit bias ;-)

Alex was the fearless, "Tra La La LaLa" singing, Captain Underpants:






Liberty was the, Oh so appropriate, Fancy Nancy:





And Bean is sitting on my lap freaking out because she's not on my blog and brother and sissy are. So here is a picture of Bean just being adorable as usual :

WANTED: It Wasn't Me!

Wanted:

Name: It Wasn't me

Age: Believed to be between 8 yrs. and 2 yrs., but has been known to impersonate a 32 yr. old

Sex: Unknown, has portrayed both male and female tendencies

Identifying Marks: Name typically followed by an exclamation point ---> !

Crime:

• Causing chaotic disturbances of toys, clothing and other household items
• Performing chores improperly
• Disregarding household rules
• Framing different members of the household for the afore mentioned crimes

How to know if you have been a victim of It Wasn't me:

• If you ask a particular member of the house who used crayon on a window and the response is 'It wasn't me!'
• If you find a pair of shoes in the middle of the room and say " You guys need to start putting your shoes away properly!" and you receive a chorus of "It wasn't me" (including the owner of shoes)
• If you notice the children eating a piece of candy at a time not normally considered acceptable by mothering standards and you give your significant other 'The Look' and again are told , "It wasn't me!"

What to do if you find you have been a victim:

• Count to 10. At least twice.

• Take a deep breath

• Quickly exclaim to all in room this exact phrase: "Quick, Quick! Find him! It wasn't me is here again and we need to catch him!"


• When family members look at you in puzzlement and confusion (a.k.a.: Mommy has had to much coffee and lost her mind), respond with this phrase: "It wasn't me has been causing all sorts of trouble today! (insert personalized examples here ---> _________________) We have to try to catch him before he does something else that will get you in trouble!"


• Continue in this method until all (or most) of It wasn't me! sightings have been averted
  

A Princess and Her Story

It's hard for me to believe that Liberty is as big as she is. Part of me is so excited that she is in Kindergarten, yet another part of me is still in total denial. I still want her to be my tiny smiley little baby girl. Instead I have this amazing, bright, intelligent and sassy (in a good way..mostly) young girl. She both excites me and scares me with these changes.

Today a whole new world opened for her. She sat down with me so I could read her a book and decided to try and sound the title out. And she did it! So from there, of course, I had her read the book as much as she could. And with the exception of a few big words, she did that too! Her sense of pride, joy and accomplishment was only outshone by one ting.

Her Brother.

Alex was so proud of her and happy for her. He encouraged her and hugged her. He sat there listening to her with the most gigantic smile on his face. He distracted Bean so I could finish reading with Liberty. He was absolutely beaming with pride over his little sister's accomplishment. I realized how excited he is to be able to share stories and his favorite books with her. I am so proud of them both and just think it's so unique and wonderful that soon they will have their own book created world to escape in together.

This growing up thing, it's pretty hard on my heart. But at the same time it's an amazing journey.

Princess Liberty's Birthday Party

Boa's, Feather Fans, Make up and other Diva essentials: $47:



Balloons, Cupcakes,champaign flutes with pink Sugar and other Fashion show necessities: $50:



A 6th birthday party with photo's like these: Priceless

Liberty and Fellow School Diva's

School Diva's, sister Diva and Cousin Diva

Bean - Yeah. I will not allow her to go to high school I'm a thinking ;-)

Mommy Diva

Daddy: Master of Ceremonies

First Day of School: Mission Accomplished.

Yesterday finally came. The first day of school.

As much as Alex pretended he didn't want summer to end, he was ready and the excitement of starting 3rd grade was a huge incentive. He looked so big and so...3rd grade:


Liberty also Started Kindergarten but due to large classes, her first day was 12-2 and she doesn't even go back until Monday. She was very upset that she couldn't ride the bus and had to wait another 4 days for a "real" school day, but the excitement was infectious and she managed to ham it up while we waited for Alex's bus:

(Yes, she's only 5, Yes, she's done this naturally since 2 and Yes, I'm terrified)

They even managed to get along and pose for a nice picture together:

The bus finally arrived and I waved goodbye (tearful, I admit. I am such a sap):


Then we took Liberty to meet her Teacher, Miss Sweet (not her real name..but should be). She looked all sorts of adorable (insert multiple attempts not to cry -> Here) getting down to the business of being a Kindergartener (I am pretty sure that's a word..but spell check is saying it's spelled wrong...so maybe it's not!):



We even remembered a pic with her school sign:


We arrived home shortly before Alex's bus arrived, so I had just enough time to make the new year's first batch of After School Cookies:

And the school day ended in smiles, good moods and with a huge 'Thank you mom! YUMMMY!':


What more could you ask for in a first day?

Saturday Old School Style

Guess what I'm doing right now. At this very moment.

If you said, 'Umm..hello..obviously you are typing on your blog and most likely you are drinking coffee as you are a total coffee whore aficionado!'

You are exactly, 100% correct.

Why is this very obvious fact so important that it merits a late afternoon post?

Because I can't tell you the last time a Saturday has been this calm and relaxed. I'm really not exaggerating. I haven't the faintest idea.

Today we had Alex and Liberty's first soccer games (more to come on that later). Prince Charming coaches both teams, so our morning was a bit chaotic especially because Liberty's game ended about 3 minutes before Alex's game began. After the games we came home, ate lunch, put bean for a nap, Prince Charming and Alex began working on a Lego robot, Liberty played the computer and basically flitted from person to person and I sat and read a cookbook and two magazines.

Once I had finished the magazine I sat watching everyone. I realized everyone was calm, relaxed and really enjoying this stormy afternoon nestled in the living room.

I miss this.

Usually Prince Charming has school or work, I'm trying to catch up on house work and refereeing between the kids, or we have some other activity we need to be at.
But today we are just chilling, hanging out and actually enjoying each other.

What a wonderfully overdue moment.

What I want to be when I grow up...

I always intended on going to college right after high school, but life happened. I moved to Va. Beach to live with Prince Charming while he finished up his last year in the Navy. Then we moved home and I started the business of being an adult. Job, apartment, car and figuring out how to apply for financial aid and get to college.

My plans were sidetracked with the news of Alex's pending arrival. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle being a mom and a college student for a while, so college was put aside. I planned on starting school when Alex was 3 and old enough for the college's on site daycare. Then I would be able to go to school full time, see him in between classes and not feel like I was ignoring him or my responsibilities as a mom.

Shortly after he turned 3 I began applying for financial aid for the fall semester. Then I found out about Liberty's pending arrival. Once again the decision was made to wait until Alex was in school and Liberty was old enough for the college daycare.

Well, the best laid plans...have nothing on Mother Nature's plans. Shortly after Liberty's 3rd birthday, yes, I found out about Bean's pending arrival.

This time instead of waiting until Bean is 3 (or tempting Mother Nature to mess with my Birth Control) I decided to start online classes this January. I am so excited to finally begin working toward my career goals, but at the same time, that is the exact problem. I haven't been able to decide just what it is that I want to be when I grow up.

My top two choices over the past 5 years have been a teacher or a nurse. I knew that is where my biggest passions and talent potentials were. But making a choice between them was very hard. On the financial side of things, being a nurse was more beneficial. When it came to fitting into my lifestyle with 3 kids, school breaks, holidays and other things I wanted in life becoming a teacher made the most sense. And my desire for both careers was huge and I wasn't able to choose between them. Both of them gave me a chance to make a difference in someone's life. To touch a person's heart and make them, and myself, better for doing it.

I ran across this video a few days ago and by the time I had finished it I knew where my heart really was.



I have watched it over and over. And every single time it makes me get teary eyed and covered in goose bumps. THAT is what I want in my life. Even though I know that teaching can be a thankless, underpaid, exhausting and overwhelming job, I also know that it can be richly rewarding and satisfying.

To all those teachers out there who helped me through, made me go beyond where I thought I could, and helped make me who I am today.....Thank You!

What's your 'Fruit of the Loom'?

Prince Charming: Do you know what 'Fruit of the Loom' means and why that's what the clothes brand is called?

Me (puzzled look): Umm, Yeah. Why?

Prince Charming: Because I didn't. I just realized the other day that 'Fruit of the Loom' was another way of saying something made from a loom. Therefore the shirts and etc. really are the fruit of the loom!

Me: (Nothing! I was giggling way to hard! It is very rare that I get a moment like this from him!)

Alas, I have no room to talk. For years (like age 4-17) I pondered what the word 'Sino' meant. I had been saying the word since preschool but only come across it in one place. After much contemplation, I decided 'Sino' must be a biblical term similar to forever or lifetime. It didn't make perfect sense but it did fit: 'Jesus love me this Sino, for the Bible tells me so.'

It's okay. Keep laughing. I'll wait.

*whistling*

Okay, come on. Let's not over do it!

I was taught as a preschooler and knew the words from memory. I had no clue until I actually saw the words that it was really: 'Jesus loves me this I know'

Now 'fess up: What's your 'Fruit of the Loom' moment?

Odd and Ends to the Craziness...

Things have, in a way, calmed down here a bit.

My extremely wonderful mother has allowed me to borrow her laptop until the return of my own. This has made it easier to start catching up...or at least would if Prince Charming and the kids ever gave me 5 minutes near the darn thing ;-) It has been a huge help having a reliable computer for Prince Charming's homework and helped relieve a lot of stress on him.

Also, after much discussion, wonderfully honest and open chats and soul searching on both our parts, PC and I have decided to not separate. We have come through some very emotional things in the past weeks and have found each other again. We are both making a huge commitment to making our relationship work and so far it has been a wonderful experience. I would like to say thank you to all those who offered their thoughts, support and prayers. It really and truly meant so much to me.

Bean's 2nd birthday is in 5 more days. It's so hard to believe she's really that big and at the same time almost impossible to imagine life without her. Right now the guest list is at 26 people. I have no idea why. I just felt like having a get together and this seemed a great excuse.

I met a friend for coffee last night. I felt like such a grown up. I know that may seem silly as I'm 29 and a mom of 3 kids, but I really think it was the first time I've ever met anyone for coffee. I've met up for shopping and for a cocktail, but something about coffee and dessert just made me feel all growed up. LOL. I had a GREAT time and an absolute blast.

I also realized on the way to the resturant that I hadn't had a single anxiety attack over the meeting. I know you are thinking, "Well...it is just coffee!" but the thing is that I always have an anxiety attack whenever I go out with anyone except for Molls and my Mom. I've had Social Anxiety ever since my bout with Post Partum depression after having Liberty. It was a great feeling as I realized that in the past week the trials I've gone through with Prince Charming have resulted in a sense of peace and acceptance within myself. And that, my dearest friends, is really saying something.

xoxo

A Time of Good-bye's...

Once again I am sure you have noticed my disappearing act. It's been a long and strange life here since last Thursday.

First, my laptop finally died. As in Dead. As in...nadda, nothing,zip, zero. So I called HP and they determined I needed a new motherboard, so she will soon be on her way to be repaired. Our desktop also decided around the same time that it didn't like my internet provider and no longer wished to work with it. The fact that I actually got online today is a miracle.

The second is that Prince Charming and I have decided to separate. Not on a permanent basis. Just for a while. We both feel that we need to do some growing up in places we haven't allowed each other, find ourselves, establish positive communication and find our way back to each other. After almost 11 years with him this is the hardest thing I have ever prepared to go through. He will be moving out in 1.5 weeks. I have to get a job. I will be sending the kids with him every other weekend. I have to sleep alone at night. I have to grow up and be a big girl now.

It is hard and yes, maybe even a bit drastic. But right now we both feel this is a truly positive step in getting our relationship back on track. Hopefully this will also prevent us from slipping back into old habits and hurts and establish a new pattern of interaction for us. We are planning on dating each other like we should have this entire time. The talks we've had since this decision have been some of the most open and honest of our entire relationship. I have already, in just the past 4 days, fallen completely in love with him in a whole new way.

We have started the process of facing the world together..instead of fighting each other over the world. We are finding the way back to being what we need, both for ourselves, and for each other. We are learning how to not only love, but show that love, all over again.

So I hope you'll forgive me for not visiting lately and my infrequent posts. Right now I am focusing on how to find me and be the person I know that I can, and learning how to love my husband all over again.

Missing you all lots.
xoxo

Wanted: Creative Juices

The past few weeks I've been on a 'creative juice' roll. I would go to post or do some other project and the ideas and plans just sprung up with no problem. Suddenly in the middle of last week that seemed to come to a screeching halt.

I'm not sure if my brain just overloaded in general or if it just shut down due to all the stuff going on around here, but I want it back. I need it back.

I have decided to start college this fall and am also looking to pursue my dreams of writing. Both of these goals require creativity, obviously.

So I want to ask for your help! I want you to post an idea, topic, or a few lines of dialog or story, that you'd like to see me write about. On Friday I will pick one (or you can tell me which is your favorite of the suggested) and on Monday I will post about it :)

Be as creative, funny, serious or whatever that you can! The more unique and interesting the more fun this will be :-D

Let's find out if I really do have any skills ;-)

I am Five....going on Seventeen.Mommy,You should prepare..

'Hi, Mom!'

Hi sweetie. How are you? I miss you!

'I'm having a lot of fun. Guess what? I have a new boyfriend!'

You do?? Who is it? Are you sharing Aunt Teeny Tiny's boyfriend again?

'Yes. Her and Mr. Past broke up. So he's not really my boyfriend anymore. Mr. New is our boyfriend now. He's really cute.'

Awww. Well, I'm glad Aunt Teeny Tiny doesn't mind sharing.

'She says it's okay. I'm to shy to tell him I like him though. I get shy when I talk to new people.'

Well, that's okay. But you don't have to be shy because everyone loves talk to you 'cause you have a great personality.

'Thanks mom. I love you. I have to go 'cause I want to help Maga (grandma) clean the house.'

Okay baby. Love you too. Bye.

I got off the phone and had tears in my eyes. Not just because I miss them so much. But because it's hard to believe how fast she's growing up.

She's always had a thing for 'sharing' her aunts boyfriends. It's cute and they have a great time teasing each other about it.

She's not even six yet. Not even in Kindergarten. But sometimes after a call like that I get a glimpse of the 17 year old she will be one day. And how wonderfully amazing and vibrant my little baby girl will become.

I hope we talk then like we did today. I hope we manage to find a way through the maze of hormonal, emotional teen girl years and still remain close.

Someday she's going to tell me she really does have a new boyfriend. And then all my own fears and worries will surface. Making the same mistakes I did of having sex too soon. Having her heart broken. I know I can't save her from these things. I know that all I can do is give her the tools to make the right decisions and gently guide her and advise her and hope she will listen.

I have always said that I wouldn't have to worry about her and that it was the guy she dated I would feel sorry for. She's a spitfire with an attitude that tells you she won't take anyone's BS. As high maintenance as I pretend she'll be, I realize that her loving nature, gentle way, inner and outer beauty and overall personality will make her so much more than that.

She will be a force to be reckoned with, no doubt. But that will be part of her attraction and appeal. She's like a wild horse. Playful, crazy, impetuous, sassy, smart, hard to break, soft and sweet all at the same time.

I just wish I could pause her right here in this moment. Just hold on to my baby girl a little bit longer, because it's all moving so fast. But at the same time I can't wait to see where she ends up in the world.

I love you Boo.



And for those of you who caught it..I did have this song in my head while writing this post. Thus the title :-)

Fathers Day Craft Ideas

"I hate that Fathers day is in June."

"Ummm. Okay. Why??"

"Because You get the cutest little crafts and things from school and I never get any of that."

Insert huge feeling of guilt and bad mommy/wife self bashing here.

Seriously, it just never dawned on me. I always stress about the perfect gift for him..and homemade was the answer. *D'OH*

So this week I have been scouring the web for some great craft ideas to bestow upon Prince Charming in thanks for his superb job in helping raise our three royal munchkins.

These are the best of the best Fathers Day craft pages that I have found! So get that craft gear out for a fun summer project and surprise Daddy with a homemade gift this Sunday!

DLTK's Crafts

Family Fun Crafts

Activity Village

Garvick Crafts Page

Woman's Day Magazine Crafts

Childfun Crafts

Family Corner Crafts


What are you giving for Fathers Day?

Behind the Scenes of Backyard Games - X-treme Style

I know some of you have thought I have had some type of horrid mishap. The truth is, it wasn't me. I am perfectly fine (physically, anywhoo). But thank you for worrying :-) It was very sweet.

Last Saturday we had a small cookout with two couples from Prince Charming's work. We had a great time grilling out, playing board games, laughing at the kids and having a few cocktails.

After dinner and a rousing game of electronic catch phrase we were all sitting around starting to get a little bored. We began suggesting different things to liven up the party or at least provide some mild entertainment. One of the guys suggested that it would be funny if someone were to ride Alex's skateboard down the swing set slide.

Yes, I know. Bells are starting to ring, aren't they?

Well, Prince Charming being much more a kid at heart than the old man he pretends to be, decided to relive his glory days. And so begins the the tale of why I pulled a week long disappearing act.

He grabbed the skateboard and headed to the top of the slide.

I shook my head. Everyone else laughed in disbelief. The kids got excited. I yelled that I had best not ever see them try this if they wanted to have a good summer. And I shook my head again.

Everything seemed like it was going to go exactly as planned, until he place the skate board on the slide. The theory was that the slide would act as a sort of track for the skate board. The problem was that Alex doesn't have typical skateboard wheels. He has these big monster ones for 'all terrain' type skateboarding.

Prince Charming realized that the whole 'track' theory wasn't going to work out. But at this point he was committed to providing us all with some entertainment and proving that he was a candidate for backyard x-games.

So he placed the skate board on the slide, leaving one set of wheels on the edge and the other inside the sides. He took his position in an impressive surfer style pose. And proceeded to head down. It all went very quickly, but he did manage to do it. Almost. We had not realized that the slide was not on even ground and therefore the very bottom of the slide was crooked. And it was the opposite side of the wheels riding the edge.

As he made an impressive ride down, the skate board hit the crooked bottom and then the ground. At this point the skate board was no longer a skate board. It became a flying board. It hit the ground then took flight right out from under Prince Charming's feet. Prince Charming attempted to save the landing, but it was too late and he fell in a twisted tangle of arms and legs.

Don't feel bad. It's okay to shake your head and laugh. We all were.

He got up and said that his foot hurt, but there was no swelling or bruising and it started to feel a little better as he walked on it. So we all had a really good laugh and continued on with our evening. However as everyone got up to go and we headed into the house after sitting for about 3 hours, Prince Charming stood up and almost fell. His foot was in a lot of pain and he could put no pressure on it. By this time we had the kids in bed and thought maybe it was just from the cold and sitting so we went to bed to see how it would be in the morning.

It wasn't better the next morning and was actually much worse. So we all helped him to the car and headed to our ER. After x-rays and an examination he walked back out in a cast and crutches with orders that he could not return to work for a full week. He has fractured the bones on the top of his foot and also torn ligaments on the side of his foot. It is very swollen and bruised now and will be in the cast for at least 3 weeks then we find out if it's healed or needs further attention.

For the past week I haven't been online because I've had all 3 kids home due to summer vacation and my husband confined to a couch for the majority of the week. Anyone who has had a sick hubby knows that it is a tad difficult. On top of the fact that I'm a person who likes my daily routine and this threw it into total chaos.

He has been bored and annoyed and in pain. I've done everything I can to help make it easier and relieve some of his 'home bound' tension. And he's been wonderfully grateful and even let me get out of the house twice this week to meet up with my girlfriend and a few (much needed) drinks after the kiddies were tucked in for the night. I guess he knew this was the best way to save my sanity.

The one good thing that has come out of this was a wonderful discussion, complete with visual aides, with Alex and Liberty about why you should never take a dare to impress your friends and that health, safety and using your brain are more important than being cool. After seeing what happened to daddy, they both agree.

Of course, the reality is:
Prince Charming's only regret is that he didn't manage to pull the stunt off.

*sigh*

And that my friends, is what prompted my wonderful graphic (Thanks, mom!):