Birthdays

     I consider October to be the start of the holiday season for my family.  That is because we have 2 birthdays 5 days apart this month and from there, it is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.  We just start and keep on rolling.  I love it but it sure is busy.  When I was single or even as a DINK, it never seemed as busy as it is now.  And my kids are little!  This week alone - I have my in-laws, J's birthday, my parents, E's birthday party, and Fall Festival.  I am looking forward to next weekend a lot!  I am going to crash and not get up ever again.  Until the following week.
     But that is why I am thankful  this week.  It is because of birthdays.  Today's in particular.  Yes, I have thanked my mother in law and father in law for the son that they produced who became my husband.  I am very grateful for him.  I love him.  He is having  a bit of a hard time being "in his late 30's" but I love it because it means that we have spent one more year together.  I don't think he remembers that we met the not long after his birthday.  In fact, the co-worker that introduced us wanted me to come to his birthday party.  I felt it was too much.  He even says he wasn't his best that night.  Hmmmmm.

      In any case, I am grateful for every year.  Seriously, wasn't he a cutie?
      Happy "late 30's" birthday baby!   (Happy shrimp and grits for me since we are going out tonight!)

Loving Fall

 I I love fall!  I love the decorations and hate the fact that Christmas stuff is already out!  Let's celebrate the good things about this time of year - like sunkissed apples that you pick off the tree!  Pumpkins!  Carrot cake - this is always a fall dessert for us.  Maybe because my husband always wants it for his birthday.  Anyway, check out these really cool ideas for decorating! 

1

2

Made out of dryer tubing!!!  Awesome! 

2

     Below are the links if you want to check them out - always give credit where credit is due!  By the way, have you checked out pinterest?  New love! That is where I got most of my ideas.  I have always loved the wire pumpkins and was thrilled to be able to make 2 for less than the price of one!  

     So the above ideas translated into what is below.  I am pretty impressed with myself!  So are my kids.  E.  Loved the idea when I showed it to her online and suggested the cat.  I found a silhouette, cut it up and voila' a cat!

     (1 of ) My blessing(s) for this week?  The internet.  Crazy, I know, some think it is a curse but sometimes, it is my sanity!  Plus, it makes me happy to step outside and see pretty things and I got it off the internet!  What was your blessing this week?
Enjoy your weekend! 

1. http://www.aubutfamily.com/2010/09/boo-bash-milk-jug-ghost-craft.html
2. http://mycraftymoments.blogspot.com/2010/10/who-said-pumpkins-need-to-be-orange.html

Blogging . . . hmmmm

     Do you know how many blogs that I have started and/or published?  27.  Of those, I have published 16.  It makes you wonder.  I eagerly await new posts from those I follow.  They are cool!  They have cool pages and cool ideas . . .  sigh.  Perhaps it is the perfectionist in me.  I was never one who embraces stream of conscience writing.  Perhaps that is why I have more started blogs than finished. 
     I have a theme.  I even experience that theme more often than I write about.  I mean, if you are constantly looking for blessings, it really isn't that hard to find them. 
    Keeping that in mind, what is a blessing that I had today?  (And perhaps I will make that my goal; to write about a daily blessing.   Hmmm, maybe a weekly blessing would be more reasonable!)
     Let's see. . . Ahhh!
     This afternoon, S. woke up from his nap early.  So I called around my group and found someone willing to go to the park with me.  We were only there for about 40 minutes but that was enough.  That may not seem like a lot but if you are a stay at home parent, it is a big deal.  Even if you are not a stay at home parent, it is a big deal.  That hour or 2 until the spouse comes home can really drag.  The whining that you listened to all day, the chores you didn't get done, trying to make dinner while listening to that children's show that you have heard so often that you can repeat it word for word because it is on EVERY DAY and it is like a song that never ends, never ends, never ends. . .

Inspiration

     I don't blog a lot.  I need inspiration to write and then it is a matter of if I finish it and whether or not I want to put it out into the world.  That being said, I have 20 (gasp!) unfinished blogs.  I think, however, that this one will make the cut.
     See my blog is supposed to be about blessings, even those that are hard to see and hard to imagine.  I think I tend to write about the blessings and when I am inspired and encouraged, it is usually because of a blessing.  I have been blessed with some really good friends.  Friends are supposed to inspire you to be better. I have a friend with a PhD.  Inspiration: obvious!  Maybe I won't but I know I CAN!  I have a friend who is AMAZING with all sorts of crafty stuff.  I know I can always ask her for her opinion or for help on getting around a problem and she has some really good ideas. I have a friend who last year determined to make her life healthier.  She ate better and exercised more.  While I don't anticipate results like hers, I find that eating better and exercising more has effected my attitude.  Because of her, I am trying to be healthier and I like the way I feel.
     Along those same lines is a friend who is promoting healthy, organic eating.  While I am not going to pay any attention to the evils of chicken nuggets (hey, sometimes mental sanity takes priority), I am going to attempt to feed my family better hence, learning to can and garden.
     Canning and gardening are not only healthier for our insides but also for our budget.  Which brings me to the next source of inspiration - couponing!  Last year, J. and I took a Dave Ramsey class.  It taught us a lot or rather retaught  us things that I am sure our parents taught us but it was at the "parents are stupid" stage of our lives.  I like the security of budgeting and knowing where our money is.  I also like having a goal and seeing it happen every pay period.  So I am trying to find ways to keep that sense of accomplishment coming.  TLC's Extreme Couponing is terrifying! Seriously, crazy people! But that is why I am grateful for another friend who has decidedly sensible approach to couponing and blogs about it.  http://lifestylecouponer.blogspot.com.  Great source of inspiration.  Again, I don't know if I will get the 50 or 60 % off that she usually does but it inspires me to really look for the deal.  And, I get a pretty respectable 15 - 20 %!  And that is with my 2 kids! (Next Saturday, going shopping by myself so I am hoping to do a REALLY good job!)
     I guess I could become discouraged because I have all of these amazing people in my life who, according to what I just wrote here, are better at things than I am but I think that is where perspective comes into play.  All of these women are amazing and they are my friends (which must mean that I am contributing something!).  I may not be just like them but that would be boring!
     Now, if I just need someone to inspire me for housekeeping! No, really, anyone?

7 years ago today

Seattle, Washington

     7 years ago today, I was on my honeymoon.
     Yesterday was my anniversary.  I guess I should say "our" since it takes two to get married unless you are Sue Sylvester on Glee (love that show!).  Some might think that occasionally having your anniversary on Father's Day and it always being near Father's Day might make the anniversary part minimal.  For me, it brings into focus the two different parts of this man that I married.  It reminds me of who I married. 

     J.  will tell you that it didn't take long for him to fall in love with me.  He was divorced so I credit him with experience as to what he did or didn't want.  For me, it took a little longer.  I think I was in love with the idea before I was in love with him.  Falling in love with him happened when a friend of mine went to Georgia for her war wedding (so romantic - short summary - her fiance' was being sent over and they wanted to be husband and wife before he went.) J.  went with me.  Together, we did our best to help make this event as much of a traditional American wedding as we could.   It was great and he revealed a lot of his character on that trip.  I really got to know him and the core of his person.  So that and the fact that the bride is one of my best friends and her response was "I like him" as compared to the last response to the guy I dated being "Do you like him, honey?" NOTE:  Friends, especially best ones who REALLY know you, opinions should be taken very seriously.  Anyway, those two factors made me look at him in a different light.  I had really liked him before but I found myself falling in love with him.  I knew that I hadn't made a mistake an truly loved him and all that he was when I sat with him for 2 hours while he flipped through three airline sites to find the best air fare for our honeymoon.

E

     Sometimes, my husband and I will look at each other and ask why do you love me?  Usually, this happens when the askee has been particularly bratty and is asked in a tone of wonder because the other has been extremely patient.  So here it is:

S

I love you because . . . you see me as beautiful, you think I am smart, you make me laugh, we share the same core values, you are a believer, you love children, you respect my parents, you like my friends and they like you, you make me want to be better, you answer stupid questions, you have read poetry, you like science fiction, you are sexy, you have gorgeous eyes, you are very, VERY smart, you can cook, you love our children, you are kind, you are understanding, you are irritating, you are a provider, you are driven to be a better person, you care about the world, you are loyal to your friends, you think it is great to spend the day going to bookstores, you challenge me, you get me.
     I could go on, but there is a word limit, I think. 
     I love my husband because of all these things and seeing him as the father of my children has made me love him more.  I like having my anniversary on Father's Day because I get to see my husband in his two different roles as they overlap.  It makes me all the more glad that I didn't let him go.
Happy Anniversary, sweetheart, and happy Father's Day.

We are the teachers

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/04/teacher-punches-student_n_871112.html
Watch the above link and let's be honest.

I know that my blog doesn't have a national audience.  The only people who read it are friends of mine.  So really, this is just a way for me to express myself and share it with people I know.  I think life is all about perspective so let's change the perspective of the above incident  to a street corner or a grocery store.  Now, who would the charges have been brought against?  Did you SEE the size of that kid? 
I have been in a similar situation.  I saw a 7th grader shove another against the wall.  Both kids were bigger than me and I marched him to the principal's office.  Now, I did not touch this child but his grandmother accused me of shaking him so hard his teeth rattled.  Really, you should have seen this kid.  If it weren't for the fact that another teacher had witnessed everything from start to finish, there might have been a different outcome because I hadn't had the wherewithal to defend myself.   
Child abuse exists and teachers - unfortunately - have been perpetrators.  However, when did respect go out of the classroom and when did common sense?  We should not hurt our children, those born to us and those placed in our care but neither should we be intimidated by them.  We are to teach them and that includes respect.  That child should have been expelled and the teacher should not have had to leave her classroom because that told all the students at that school where the power lies and it doesn't lie with the adults. 

Why did no one think of this before?

I have a friend whose blog is I would say mostly about style.  She is always posting things that she finds for dirt cheap and then uses in her house in some amazing way.  If you want to check out her blog go to http://mapleleavessycamoretrees.blogspot.com/ Really, it is very cool.  The point?  Well, she re-purposes some stuff (see table turned ottoman) and it got me to thinking:  S. received a picnic table for his birthday - thank you very much Grammy and Grandpa! - and we set it up in the living room so that the kids could eat on it for his birthday dinner.  Seeing it there made me think that this would be the perfect coffee table!  No, really!  It matched my decor (sort of) and it would have a dual purpose - something that I love for things to have!  It would be awesome!  I tried the idea on my sister and she didn't seem convinced.  Just wait though, when she has baby Whatsit in July, I think that she will come over to the dark, I mean, my side!