beautiful boy

12-24 hours!!!!

Matt and I are on the mend...Monday & Tuesday were hard days but Wednesday has been wonderful! We got to sit on the patio at Starbucks with Michelle and my new friend Jill and her tiny baby Lucas. I held him for the first time and lulled him to sleep (bliss) Matt said his little tongue was cute, isn't that sweet? He notices the little things like I do. After Starbucks, we went to the bookstore and Matt somehow managed to talk me into buying a toy. It is a "hatch and grow" dinosaur egg. We rushed home to submerge it in water but when I read the instructions it said it hatches in 12-24 hours...try explaining that to a five year old. It's like my dad says, "always read the fine print."

Just watching, and waiting, and hoping.

maybe it will hatch if I drop it?

nope, not even a crack...

come on baby dinosaur, hatch already!!!

Broken Heart.

There are times as a mother when your heart just breaks.
Matthew ( my tough one) got hurt today.
We were in a store and he was patiently standing next to me as
I browsed through a rack of jeans.
I heard this little whimper, he had hurt his toe on the bottom of the rack (he was wearing flip-flops.)
It's actually really bad. It pulled his toenail back, I'll spare you the gory details.
He was so brave and didn't cry...that's what made it so sad. Seeing him trying so hard to hold it all in. I can really relate to that.
I think about all the times when he has misbehaved in stores, hiding in the clothes,
setting off alarms, throwing fits, you name it.
Would I have been sad if he hurt himself on any of those occasions? Yes, a little bit, but that is what happens when children act crazy.
But today he was being so sweet.
And it truly was just one of those weird little things that happen for no reason.
I carried him through the mall,
usually he's way to heavy for me to carry
but today he felt so light and little.
We stopped by Ben&Jerry's for Free Cone Day (the reason we went to the mall in the first place) and now we're home and slowly his big smile has returned and so I'm feeling better too.

happy friday.

read more cupcake descriptions here

memory lane...

Just so I'm clear I don't miss High School. But I do miss the life long friends I made there.
I've lost contact with Jenny, it's been about 4 years since we've talked...it's happened before though and we always find each other again, always.
I just hope she knows how much I love her, she is truly my best friend.
And Kim, one of the few people who really understands me, probably because she married into the family and she knows how Duke's tend to be :) I love her sooo much!

Kim and Me
She was a cheerleader :)
Jenny and Me
Bonded for life by a mutual love for Pauly Shore.

Senior Picture
Class of 1993
I tanned from 9-5 every non-school day
(It kinda freaks me out now.)

Joe
He got us all where we needed (ok wanted) to go.
He always broke down when I skipped school though.
I sold him to Jenny towards the end of our senior year
and I purchased the Honda Civic (pictured above)

the aforementioned strawberries.

my first attempt at photo editing.
(Carlos is teaching me)

smells like summer.

Today is so beautiful.
and already it's been productive.
I really like taking my kids places
but honestly they overwhelm me
(mostly Matthew)
so this usually holds me back
from going to the grocery store
which means I don't start meals at a reasonable time.
But today I pushed through
and now I've got a chicken roasting in the oven
and Alexandria is peeling corn.
The kitchen window is wide open,
a colander full of strawberries drip drying in the sink... pure bliss.
When there's activity in the kitchen
a house feels alive,
and when your kids can smell dinner cooking
while playing in the back yard
they'll remember it forever...well, at least I do.

beauty & turmoil...

I live on a street
with little houses and big trees
I love it.
I never really think of myself
as a person
inspired by nature
oh but I am.
These big trees remind me of ladies dancing
it's like each of them has a personality.
And the birds,
don't even get me started...
All the little trees are blooming pink and white flowers
soon they'll have their leaves,
but for now when the wind blows
it sends these blooms flying in the wind like snow.

Beautiful spring days are a sharp contrast to the reality
of the world today. All the craziness,
hatred, war, judgment, abuse of justice, on and on...
the nation is up in arms over the election, economy, hot button issues...
we're never going to agree on everything
it's all a little to much for me.
People my age and younger don't seem equipped
to live with all this turmoil.
I think of my Grandmothers
and all they lived through,
they were widows in the making by the time they were my age
each with a house full of kids.
They were strong women,
but something had to make them that way.
I always think of the insight they could give if they were here.
The truth is none of this is new,
there's nothing new under the sun.
The same issues keep repeating
over and over.
Nobody has the answers,
some just deal with it better than others.
Just look at the candidates for proof of that.

Considering all of this God is our only hope
and His eye is still on the sparrow.
Beautiful spring days represent his love for us.

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

Do Not Worry

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

i heart the dollar movie rental thingy...

Matthew was helping me return a dvd today and I was trying to get my phone out to capture this picture before he moved...I missed the mark a little but it was sooo funny to see him leaning over in his skinny jeans, flops, and faded t-shirt waiting for the machine and saying "come onnnn, take it." He's like a little mini surfer dude.

F.Y.I.

M&M's temporarily cure P.M.S.

cuteness is...

Tyler and Vaida

that's my boy!

Yesterday when I picked the kids up from school Alexandria made an announcement that Abraham was "in space" just when I started to tell her that although sometimes Abraham may zone out he's not in space, she finishes saying it means "Special People At C****** Elementary" I realized that she was talking about the Gifted Program. Which actually means "Special Programs for Academic and Creative Excellence" This is what I found out about it online:

This program is an enrichment program for gifted and talented students. A student is qualified for the program based on information gathered in three areas: These areas include aptitude, characteristics, and performance.

Teachers who are responsible for the S.P.A.C.E. program, are adept at working with the mental and behavioral attributes of gifted children. Trained in gifted education, they provide for the unique needs of gifted students.

So He has been going to gifted class once a week for the last month and I knew nothing about it! I'm not sure if a note was sent home that I never got, or if the teacher just figured Abraham would tell me. I was sad that I wasn't up to date on his life but most of all I was happy and of course extremely proud of him!