Hosting a family event

Oh hey!

I'm hosting my family for Easter lunch tomorrow.

ARGH!!!!!

It's not so bad really. I'm doing my best not to over-analyze things, like I normally do.

I did spent today cleaning from top to bottom. I also did the laundry.

Thankfully, my Mom got the kids around 2:45pm this afternoon to take them to our church's Easter Egg Hunt. It's actually 6:57pm and my Mom just called to let me know that they were coming home.

Yes. They've been gone for over FOUR hours! I was able to finish up the laundry and go to the grocery store for some additional items.

So what am I serving tomorrow? I'm fixing some crock-pot ham, stuffed mushrooms, homemade baked mac-n-cheese, quinoa, and some steamed veggies. My Mom is probably going to bring some stuff even though I didn't ask her to. My sister is bringing some pasta and dessert. She's a baker. I have no idea what she's going to make, but whatever it is it's going to be yummy.

The kids' are so happy that they're going to see their older cousins. They just love hanging out with them. And I enjoy watching them all get along now. Yes. There were some issues between my son and my youngest nephew when they were little. My nephew was jealous or something about my son and wasn't very nice to him. There was some knocking down and unkind words. The two get along famously now that they're 8 and 11 AND about the same height.

Anyway, I'll be awake bright and early tomorrow to get the food cooked. I'm thinking 5am would be the best start time. The ham has got to cook for at least 6 hours, so that'll have it finished by the time we get back from church. I'll prep the mac-n-cheese so that I can just throw it into the oven when we get back. I'll get the mushroom stuffing all prepped as well so that I can get those into the oven when we get back as well. And then I'm going to make the quinoa and the veggies fresh. I think it'll be a nice time for us all.

What I don't enjoy about the whole thing is that I'm the only one getting stuff together. Normally for parties, the Hubs would be helping me clean and doing the food shopping. This time? It's just me. So I'm missing him a lot. A. LOT. But thankfully my family will be around me. Even though my heart is aching, I won't be alone. And that means a great deal to me.

Acting like kids & being silly

While my children can be at each other's throats at times. They can totally play together in the most silly ways.

They have a shorthand communication where they know how to move a "game" along.

I was working on the computer while I was watching a movie while they played. Then when I turned around.  THIS was the first image I saw.

What the HECK is on my girl's head?

It's a pair of "earmuffs" that my son created during art class that my daughter re-purposed into a "facemask". You can see the lightsaber she's flung over her shoulder. What you don't fully see is the messenger bag she's got over her shoulder with all her supplies. That's a plastic snake wrapped around her waist like a belt. Then she's got her foot in a bucket to simulate a pegleg. That's right folks. A pegleg. Like a pirate. Don't you love her serious face below?

While my daughter went all out in her creation, my son went the more traditional route.

While my daughter does a serious face? My son always makes a comical one. Can they be any more opposite?

But the two of them played for about 3 hours before they had to take a break from each other.

It's just funny listening to them "act" out their scenarios. For a while there I had the movie on mute while I just listened to them chitter-chatter with each other.

I love it when they get along. It makes me so thankful that they are my kids. THAT and the relief that I didn't have to referee. Right?

Costs a pretty penny to stay hydrated

I live in an area that has horrible tap water. HORRIBLE.

As a kid, we drank water from the tap. And I hated it. I didn't like the taste at all.

Now as an adult, I realize why growing up I didn't enjoy drinking water.

Because the quality of the water from the tap was horrible.

Like it is now.

When the Hubs and I bought our first house in the desert, we invested in an RO system.

I must tell you that the water tasted wonderful.

But I thought water didn't have a taste, you ask?

You'd taste the difference if you'd been drinking tap water your whole life.

When the kids and I moved here, I didn't want to have to buy bottled water every week - it's so darn HEAVY!

My solution? One of those water filter systems.

Fine and dandy.

But we drink a lot of water when we're home and this little container just couldn't keep up.

So I started to research other water systems.

I mean, the kids and I mainly drink water. We don't do a lot of juice. We don't do soda. Yeah, we're pretty boring.

I realized that one system I'd read about was far better than any other I could find at a regular store (versus getting something online).

And after a week of contemplation? I bought it.

Yes, I did!

Not only does it filter out more contaminants, it's got a much larger reservoir.

In this scenario, bigger is better.

What's even more interesting is that this particular unit came with a water testing mechanism.

I tested water from the tap and it registered 464.

I tested water from my original unit and it registered 333.

I then tested the new unit and it registered 0. ZERO!

Needless to say, I am mighty impressed with the results.

And even though the filters cost 1 1/2 times of the original unit, I think the end result it worth it.

Less junk in my kids' system, you know?

Everything I do is for them...

Long day ahead

It's 5:34am right now.

Many of you wake up around this time every weekday to get ready for work and get your dis ready for school.

The big problem?


I woke up at 4am and could not go back to sleep.

FOUR O'CLOCK!!!

My eyes are going to be tired today.

I can already feel it.

I typically drink decaf but today I'm going to need some caffeine.

Oh yeah!

Big time.

And now?

It's time for me to make some sandwiches for the kids and throw some stuff together for myself as well.

Then it'll soon be time for me to rouse my sleeping children.

The kids were on Spring Break this past week, so I'm sure they'll be kind of horrible this morning. You parents KNOW what I'm about.

But we'll get back into the groove.

No worries.

But I'm definitely going to need some strong coffee today.

A bit of quiet for my restless spirit

No news about my husband and finding a new job.

So my mind?

It's been endlessly shifting between being upset and then being okay.

I try my hardest to be okay and fine when I'm with the kids.

Then I'm alone in bed at night and there are times when I let my mind go into despair mode.

When I do get into that kind of mood, I do allow myself to bit upset for a little while.

But then I try to read some inspirational verses from my Bible and finish with prayer.

I mean, that's all I can really do.

It's up to the Hubs to keep looking and get a job.

I can't do that for him.

My job is to keep the kids occupied and happy AND to keep the home fires burning here.

[sigh]

But I did sign up the Bear for football this Fall.

The Princess is all signed up for middle school.

AND I started working out a little bit this weekend.

Yes, I did!

Some sit-ups and pushups.

The Bear kept me company today when I ventured out on a 3-mile walk that had a nice hill in it.

It felt so good to be outside on such a beautiful day!

I've definitely got to continue to do this for myself, you know?

I may just make an "appointment" for myself to take a walk/job about 2 days a week before I pick up the kids from school, which means not staying late at work.

It'll be a little snippet of quiet in my week that I definitely need. 

What happens when no one says anything?

My son is a person who doesn't complain about much.

He's pretty easy-going about most things.

He just goes with the flow.

Oh! Except when we doing errands. And then it's all about the dragging feet and sighing behind me.
 
Are we done yet?

We were walking to a store and I noticed that he was walking strange.

Me: Why are you walking funny, buddy?
Bear: I am?
Princess: It's because his shoes are broken.
Me: Your shoes are broken?
Bear: Yeah. The bottom is a little broken.

I had him lift his shoe and I immediately chose to head on over to the shoe store that day.

Y'all? His shoes were a mess. It wasn't just he one shoe. BOTH shoes were "broken". Look how abused the shoes are.

The bottoms were just a mess. Can you see the HOLES?

No wonder my son was walking funny. And no wonder that he was trying to avoid puddles (which would make his socks wet).

I felt like such a bad mother. I should have been checking his shoes. But I figured he would tell me if there were any issues.

I should have figured that his participation in running club would put some quick wear-n-tear on his shoes. He runs every Tuesday and Thursday at recess. I mean, he's already accumulated 50 miles for the school year. You'd think the lightbulb would click on in my brain, eh?  Sucky Mom Award! 

Thankfully, we were able to find two pairs of shoes for him at the first store we stopped at. That's an amazing achievement since he's got duck feet like me. Yes. WIDE feet! And the new shoes are one full size larger than what he was wearing. Ay-yay-yay!

Here are both pairs in all their clean glory. Because these things are going to get some immediate abuse.

My days typically look like this...

For me, weekdays follow a basic scenario.

Some might consider it boring.

Some people like to have a routine.

There are days where I get totally frustrated. There are days where time flies. Of course, there are those days that drag like nobody's business.

6:20 am:  Friday started with this. The Bear's homework is due every Friday morning, so I had to compile all the paperwork. He's been so happy with his work lately. He's been getting 4's (on a scale from 1 to 4) because he's been doing extra sheets from a workbook we've got here at home.

7:15 am:  The kids and I normally head out of the house. My son, of course, is all packed with his jacket on. My daughter? She needs to be prodded and cajoled and convinced that we've leaving. LEAVING! Note that she doesn't have her socks or a jacket on. She's just finishing brushing her hair here. Ay-yay-yay!

7:49am:  My drive to work can take from 25 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. Actually, it depends on how many accidents there are on the freeway, where 95% of my commute occurs.

7:53am:  As I drove up to my last turn into the parking lot, it inevitably started to sprinkle.

8 am: I still made it to my desk on time though! Woohoo!

8:23 am:  I ended up getting a breakfast muffin to go along with my morning coffee (decaf) and water. It was a yummy treat.

11:28 am:  I head out to lunch around 11:30. I usually sit at my desk the entire morning crunching stuff into the computer/database. So an early lunch is just what I need to stretch out and laugh a bit. Yes. Laughter is just what I need after such a quiet (albeit busy) morning. You like my little sign?

4:42 pm:  And the afternoon flew by. I'm supposed to leave at 4, but I've been staying until after 5. Here's all my stuff that I needed to bring home. My purse. My 2 lunchboxes. My water container, which I fully love since it keeps my cold water from sweating on my desk and papers. My leftover strawberries and Greek yogurt. And there's my darn empty pill case for my daily meds.

5

5:08 pm:  Finally, I took off for home. Yeah!

5:18 pm:  Here is the glorious sight as I started my drive home. The clouds had parted and sun shined brightly. BEAUTIFUL!

I was so happy to see that the wait to get onto the freeway wasn't so bad. I was only about 15 cars back when I got in line. What was even better was that there was no accidents. I ended up getting home in 20 minutes. I was able to go to the grocery store before I picked up the kids.

6:22 pm:  The kids and I sat down for dinner.

6:23 pm:  Here's what I mainly ate. Romaine/spinach salad with mozzarella cheese, dried cranberries, and croutons with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Yum!

11 pm:  I finally went to bed. After the kids went to bed, I got on Netflix and watched more of The Office. Folks? I'd never watched the show. EVER. My sister and I were recently talking and she watches it. She knows my own co-workers drive me batty many days of the week and said that I would thoroughly enjoy it. It's dry humor, but I am enjoying it.

My weekdays are just like this. EVERY. DAY.

That's why I enjoy relaxing on the weekends with the kids. Here's what we did today!

 That's right. We hit a local track meet. Saw some running. Saw some of the shot put.

 It was a beautiful. Check out the sky!

 But it was a little cool out when the wind blew across the field. Here's the Princess laying out with a blanket on.

 She's such a clown. She was acting like the sun was "burning" her eyes because it was so bright out. Ha!

My nephew's been throwing the javelin for a couple years but this is his first year throwing the disc. He's doing great. Today he got a PR of 127.03! Yeah!

Are your weekdays as scheduled as mine? Do you relish the thought of weekends where you can fit in a nap or just cuddle on the couch with your loved ones?
 

Is yoWhat did you do today?

Scenes that make me stop

We all have been there in a movie theater (or at home) when a movie scene just GETS you.

It hits you right in the gut.

Touches that part of your heart.

A scene that takes your breath away.

That minute or two that makes you ache.

It's in that moment where the tears automatically flow from your eyes with no notice.

Those burning hot tears that you never want others to see.

I remember when I first watched Legends of the Fall and that scene where Tristan (Brad Pitt) tried to run and catch Samuel (Henry Thomas) but didn't make it time. He could only watch as Samuel was gunned down right in front of him and then he cut out his brother's heart so that he could bring it to his father. I still choke up when I see that scene.

I don't think there's any over 30 didn't shed a tear when they watched the first 10 minutes of Up. Watching the progression of the man's life from boy to young man to married man to widower. To see his dreams, his life, and then his loneliness.

That bit in The Green Mile where Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) touches Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) and sees how the little girls truly died. Oh that scene! The expression on Tom Hanks face! The anguish in Coffey's voice when he said, "He kill them with their love. With their love for each other. That's how it is, every day, all over the world."

The beginning scenes of Saving Private Ryan were groundbreaking when it came out. The shaky camera added to the chaotic nature of the scene. It added to the grittiness and feel of confusion in combat. I tend to hold my breath each time I see it. But that isn't the only scene that makes me cry in this movie. I tend to be quite an emotional mess if I watch the entire thing through.

The most recent couple of minutes that get to me are those first few minutes of Star Trek. You know, the one directed by J.J. Abrams? Watching George Kirk stay behind to steer the darn ship when it's navigation system goes kaput. He stays behind so that everyone else can escape. He remains on the bridge while his wife flies off in an escape pod while giving birth to their child. The way it's pieced together along with the music? Ugh! Gets to me every time.

What are some movies that you love that make you cry or make your heart ache every time you watch it?