Let's Play #126

1. It's cold and __it doesn't matter because love doesn't freeze___.
2. __Cucumbers and___ tomatoes.
3. My favorite health and beauty product is __tiber river anything___.
4. __To clear my head I try to take ___ a nice long ride.
5. Well, first of all __let's remember what matters most___.
6. __A swinging bridge, a deep canyon, a voice, and me___; those were the cast of characters in a recent dream and it was __bizarre___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __family time___, tomorrow my plans include __a soccer jamboree___ and Sunday, I want to __relax - please!!!___!

Soccer Convos.

This evening sitting at soccer, there was a little girl on the other team that everyone kept calling Kristina. Being that her name was stitched across the back of her jersey, I know it was her name and I know it was spelled with a K.
Steven climbs up on my lap during one of his off shifts and asks me, "Mommy, why is everyone calling that girl Kristina?"
"That's her name. It's one of the awesomest names you know." I am biased. I know this.
"Oh. So, Mommy, it's the same as your middle name, right?"
"No, Silly. Kristina is my first name."
"No it's not. You first name is Mommy."

What could I say? I love him!

Fast 5.

1. Tupperware is an essential addition to every kitchen.
2. Garage sale treasures are some of the best.
3. Cell phones DO come home!
4. Self-discipline is the best kind of discipline you can have.
5. Embracing a child is as empowering as it is frightening. While I do good most days, sometimes I feel that tremble in my heart knowing everything I have been entrusted with.

Let's be friends, Wednesday. Raise your glass with me!

Ahoy Monday!

What a nice start to this week. A lazy morning sprinkled with raindrops and an overall wetness outside. A happy baby and a beautiful boy who is still sleeping are just icing. I'm going to do some boring things (read: housekeeping) and I'm going to try to study. The clouds usually help me do that.
One of the trees in our backyard is soaking up the droplets and growing. I can see it happening. Ever so silently it is preparing for an explosion of white flowers that will themselves rain to the ground only days after they appear. They leave behind buds that become berries. The berries hang around long after the leaves fall. Those berries end up being nutrition for birds, squirrels, and other brave beasts that stick around for our winters. And so the cycle goes...
There is a tea cup that needs filling and laundry that begs to be started. I'm lucky today. I'm lucky every day.

Negligent.

Negligent - (neg-li-juh nt) adjective; guilty of or characterized by neglect.

This is what I've been to my dear blog. SORRY. The last little while has run away on me. Between birthday parties, check ups, strep throat (AGAIN!), studying, catching up a few things, and a plague of dreams that leave my mind racing and unsettled I feel like I'm falling behind on a bit of everything. I couldn't even find the strength to play along with Friday Fill In's this week. Sigh.
I have managed in the whole shebang of things to lose my cell phone and this time feels like a doozey. I can't recall the last time we two spent so much time apart. I'm beginning to get concerned. Panicked even. So, Sweet Cell Phone of my Universe, please come home.
I have also separated from the remote that controls my TV. No DVD watching. No Wii Fitting. No Mario Karting. Just plain old cable TV. I'm going to need some luck finding this one. It may have been stashed somewhere that I thought was a good idea at the time.
I need to establish missions again. Solid ones. Ones that will see me through each day of this new week.

Heels.

I have developed a new found love for shoes. All kinds of them - flats, heels, platforms, runners, boots, flip flops, the list goes on and on. Through my teen years, shoes were always too girly for me. I wore heals. I owned sexy boots. I had runners. I don't remember which were my favorites or which I wore most often unless you count the ones I wore to work. I wore that cute black pair so much I wore the heel out. To avoid going out shoe shopping, I took them to a shoemaker and had the heel rebuilt. They were comfortable. All in all, though, they just weren't important enough to me.

I now keep an eye on shoes. I look for ones that call me. Last fall's clearance sales had a pair that found me - a simple black sandal. That pair came home and sat in the closet all winter waiting to see the sun. Today was the first day that I had them out to wear. Really wear them rather than just slip them on to take out the garbage (yes, I sometimes wear heels to do that). I've learned a bit more about shoes after today.

My idea for these shoes was completely wrong. This one-time-great purchase is not for everyday wear. It is for special occasions only. The tip of the heel is slippery. Every step I take in them makes me wonder if they are going to hold for me to take another. Errand shopping, spontaneous retail therapy, running out to pick up groceries, a casual stroll with the kidlets are all tasks that will not entertain these shoes.

#124

1. If we had no winter __we may take for granted the other seasons___.
2. __Watching children as they grow is___ a perpetual astonishment.
3. If I had my life to live over __I would live it the exact same way___.
4. ___The possibilities are endless__ inside of four and twenty hours.
5. If you've never been thrilled __look at things differently___.
6. To be interested in the changing seasons __listen to what your heart whispers___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to ___date night with hubby__, tomorrow my plans include __perhaps a visit to the snake pits___ and Sunday, I want to __enjoy brunch___!

Mamma.

My mother said to me, "If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the pope." Instead, I became a painter and wound up Picasso.
~Pablo Picasso

My mother believes in me. She has always known that anything I want to do, I can do. It is this belief in me that inspires my soul to become everything I want to be.
Thanks Mom, for always knowing I can do it long before I ever know what it is I want to do.
With love, me.

Let's Play #123.

Friday Fill-Ins are awesome. Mine don't always make sense to anyone but they're mine and I like that.

1. Apples are to oranges as __flip flops are to boots___.
2. __One of my favorite lines to use is, ___ "and that's all I have to say about that."
3. I think I hear ___my inner me whispering that I'm on the right track __.
4. __Silly___ flag.
5. Do what you want to do, but __don't forget who you are in the middle of it___.
6. __He walked with determination___ and behind him was a Radio Flyer wagon; in the wagon was a bucket filled with __wild flowers___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __no plans yet___, tomorrow my plans include __a birthday party___ and Sunday, I want to __celebrate mothers, ones who are, and ones who will be___!

Mega Missions.

I have compiled a list of 27 things that I want to accomplish in the next year.

1. Keep things simple.
2. Create a worry box.
3. Master my cappuccino maker.
4. Pray.
5. Give from the heart.
6. Make one major investment.
7. Buy no more than 15 new books.
8. Host a dinner party.
9. Take a trip.
10. Print a book.
11. Teach a workshop.
12. Plant a flower bed.
13. Lose 10 pounds.
14. Find work that I love.
15. Inventory my library.
16. Spend time outdoors.
17. Build a sand castle.
18. Make ME space.
19. Read at least one book per month.
20. Jump in a pile of leaves.
21. Eat healthier.
22. Take a self-portrait every month.
23. Scrapbook.
24. Break a habit or change a routine.
25. Develop and stick to a budget.
26. Write. Ink to paper.
27. Keep progress notes about this list.

Once Upon A...

Once upon a morning, I woke up pregnant. I felt a rainbow of emotions. I did not believe that I was qualified to be a parent. I didn't understand why I was one of the lucky ones that was chosen.
Once upon an afternoon, I thought I was going to birth a baby. It was a long drawn out process but it worked. They laid him, all tiny and squished, in my arms. I had no clue what I was doing. I did know that whatever came our way, we would pull through. He had me. I had him.
Once upon an evening, I stood on the front steps of our home watching as my almost 5 year-old ran down to the park to meet our Nonna. He was going for a sleepover. He was so proud. I still wonder what we've done so right. As he reached her, he looked back at me and called loud enough for the whole block to hear, "Mamma I love you!" We had a few moments of calling back and forth. Then he took Nonna's hand to walk back to her house. I snuggled our baby a little tighter and turned to come back inside, tear streaked cheeks. I want to remember these moments. They are both growing.

May Day is My Day.

Every living thing the whole world wide shares at least one thing in common. We all have a day that we were born on. Today is my day. This day gave me my start. This day was the very foundation on which my life is being built. For me, nothing would be possible without This Day. This day deserves to be celebrated.

On the agenda for today:

Pedicures with my sister!

Lunch somewhere delicious.

A lazy afternoon with the kidlets.

An amazing dinner with hubby and the kids this evening.