Category Archives: Life

Running away….for 26 hours!

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With 17 hours in my old city to visit friends (and 6 of them filled by sleep), I wanted to make the most of my time.  I wasn’t able to see EVERYone, but the friends I did manage to visit……QUALITY time.

The trip was spontaneous-ish and came about because a sweet friend is moving from my old city to Washington D.C. with her family.  I happened to be taking a few days off of work at the same time.  The girls lucked into a VBS @ a Catholic school the next town over for the same week (with my neighbor who was driving there AND back!!).  Hubby was on board and encouraged me to go.  And so, the quick “up and back” plan was hatched.  Continue reading →

Trendy VS Classic…there’s a reason trends come and go

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I’ll stick with the trends that won’t wreck my life, scar me or put my children in position they are not ready to be in before they can handle it.

This came and went….

This will never disappoint….

trend·y (trnd) Informal

adj. trend·i·er, trend·i·est

Of or in accord with the latest fad or fashion: trendy clothes.
n. pl. trend·ies

One who is drawn to and represents the latest trend
Fashion trends are one thing.  They come, they go.  They add a little zip into your wardrobe and shake things up.  I like a trendy piece here and there, generally though, I am a T-shirt and shorts or capris kind of gal.  I put a little extra effort in for Mass on Sundays and date-night with Hubby, aside from that, I’m happy in my regular outfit, or even workout clothes, it’s all about comfort for me!
 
                                                                          I just don’t get it….
Then you have tattoos.  Quite popular these days.  We live near the beach and believe me when I say we are SO in the minority here, having fresh, ink-free skin.  Everyone’s got ’em.  From a little wrist or ankle tat, to the tramp stamp to the full on sleeves.  A day trip to the water park is a quick education in all the varieties and evolution of the tattoo from the fresh 19 year-old skin to the been-there-done-that 40 something, few kids later and some sun damage and suddenly it’s not quite the tat it was 20 years earlier.  Other people can do what they want, it’s just not for me.  I can’t seem to pick something that I think I’ll STILL love 5, 20, 50 years from now.  Tattoo removal is a big business, big money,  pain involved and you don’t end up with the smooth ink-free spot you started out with when you are done.  I’ll stick with the trends that I can pack up and send to Goodwill after a year or so….
The one parenting trend that currently “wraps me around the axle” (as my girlfriend says) is the Co-Ed Sleepover for high schoolers.  Time magazine even has an article with tips on how to run your own child’s co-ed sleepover.  WHAT?!?!?!  THE??!!?? (insert expletive here!).  You’ve got to be kidding me!!!  For our family, we limit sleepovers to a few friends and are slowly phasing them out.  We don’t even host them.  We have boys and girls and as they get older, it’s just a mix I don’t want to  encourage.  There’s just nothing to think about here.  Add boy + girls + raging hormones and shut out the lights.  Hmmmmm   Really?  I’m just flabbergasted that anyone would think this is a good idea.  Implement all the “safety issues” you want, but believe me, “IT” can still happen, even with safety measures in place.
Recently, a Facebook friend took a poll on co-ed sleepovers and with the exception of ONE person, the majority was mightily against the idea.  It turns out my friend was polling to show proof that most parents oppose to her high-schooler.  It was refreshing to see those opposed, but it also made me wonder:  if it’s the parents that are pressured into the sleepovers by their kids, then what message does that send about how to stand up against peer-pressure to the kids?  Kids will do what they are going to do (and I was a kid and I DID make poor choices), but as parents, aren’t we called to guide those choices wisely?  To guard them against youthful mistakes?  With medical proof that brain development is HUGE from adolescence to age 20 or so (nothing we didn’t already know….but now have  proof!), a teen’s frontal lobes are still developing and learning to master emotions and decision-making skills, why would we willingly thrust them into a situation to further complicate matters?
Kids are going to mess up.  It’s a fact of life.  I don’t want to purposefully make it harder on them.  They NEED us to help them distinguish right from wrong.  They NEED us to say “no”.  They NEED boundaries.  They NEED rules.  They NEED consequences.  So for us, and our children, we will continue to call and verify the occasional sleepover, say “no” to uncomfortable intuitions, enforce boundaries and consequences for breaking rules and testing limits.  These are things that will help our children grown into responsible adults.  It’s hard.  It’s painful for all of us.  It molds our society for tomorrow.  Until they grow up and spread their wings, I’m fine with NOT being the cool parent.  It’s a work in progress and we are far from perfect, but at least we are trying.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Mayhem, chaos and sore glutes…

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It’s the last day of school.  Give a little idea of why no blogging lately?

  • Soccer tryouts (for FALL) were Wednesday night….2 hours long…little girl and Mama enjoyed supper at 8 p.m.   OY!  Need to plan better!!!
  • Dunkin’ donuts stop yesterday morning for Munchkins since I didn’t make any “Birthday snack” for my summer birthday girl who asked (so sweetly I couldn’t say no) if we could bring something to share.  After soccer.  Good times.  The Munchkins were a hit though!
  • Made a quick batch of “Deliciousness:  melted butter and brown sugar poured over saltines with melted chocolate chips spread on top and then frozen” for my other daughter’s class.  EVERY.  ounce.  of.  willpower.  NOT to eat a huge piece myself!!!
  • We celebrated 18 years of marriage this week! (actually we have dinner plans in another week, but we celebrated with PB&J tea sandwiches and watermelon dinner since our band kiddo opted out of Awards at the last-minute and we were unprepared for dinner home!)
  • A childhood friend got great news on his post chemo lab work for his Leukemia:  ALL CLEAR!  Such awesome news!!!
  • Seriously hard boot camp/Cross Fit class last night.  Big mistake:  dinner prior to class.  Thankfully.  Only an hour-long.  Sitting may be optional later….I’ll be back Saturday morning!!

I’m the “Early girl” and need to get those kids moving!  Happy Summer Y’all!!!  Did I mention our garden is going nutso!!!  Tomatoes!!!

18 years and we still got it!!

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18 years ago, my 24-year-old self became a June bride.  My husband would turn 25 on our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.  It was the “Year of the Wedding”…not just ours but with many of our friends getting married as well.  We joked we belonged to the Wedding of the Month Club.  It was a fun time.  Expensive, I’m certain, but at 24 who really dwells on that?  I certainly don’t remember losing any sleep over it.  For our own wedding, my girlfriend and I attended a bridal show and I won the GRAND PRIZE as we were leaving.  It consisted of a wedding gown, tux rentals, limo rental, wedding cake, hotel room, flowers and a bunch of other stuff.  All I know is…… SCORE!!!  (and boy were my parents happy!)

Fast forward 18 years, 4 kids, 1 townhouse, 3 houses, 2 dogs and 1 cat later.  We are but a glimpse of the smiling young couple you see above.  Not in a bad way.  In a roll-with-life way.  Kids change you.    Growing up changes you (NOW finances can cause you to lose sleep!).  Jobs change you.  Life changes you.  For us, I am happy to say that we still enjoy each other’s company.  We still laugh.  We still fight.  We still love.  So much has changed and yet, most days, in my heart, I still feel like the bright and happy 24-year-old.

Anyone that’s married can tell you, it’s not easy.  And either no one tells you that before you get married or you choose not to hear it from those cynical old biddies.  After you’ve been married awhile you see the humor in the jokes and understand what those people were trying to tell you.  It’s worth it though.  A marriage requires an effort.  A marriage requires TWO people to be engaged.  If you are in it for the long haul, be sure to pack some humor, compromise, forgiveness, hope, dreams and lots of love.

It’s been quite the ride and I’m looking forward to the rest of it…achy bones, graying hair and all!!

1 Corinthians 13:13

13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the [a]greatest of these is love.

All good things must come to an end….until next year!!

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Thanks to The Treasure Trove (Lynnell), Dance Mommy’s Odyssey (Laura), Sempiternal (just call me AJ), The General (MB) , Redefining Normal (Brite), The Eagle’s Nest (Amanda), and Blog it ALL (Lea) for this month’s “Blog-Every-Day-in-May”.  Or most days.  Or some days.  Or whatever you felt like days.  It was fun and all good things must (PRAISE GOD FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!) come to an end. (I know my Hubby is happy, too!)  So we will all now return to our regularly planned blog schedule or non-schedule and I thought I’d wrap it up with what I gained from this little exercise Bloggapalooza.

In no specific order:

  • I gained new “Followers” this month….these lucky people automatically receive an email each time I post a new blog, so they never have to worry about missing one single minute detail of my life.  Lucky, right?  Well, in case you want to be lucky, too…just click on the “+Follow” in the top left of the screen…..see below….other handy-dandy tools, “Like” if you enjoy the post and “Reblog” if you really like it and want that to be your post on your blog.  I didn’t even know what that WAS until Sempiternal “Reblogged” me…very cool indeed!
  • I found several new blogs along the way, one to encourage my fitness and health journey AND encourage my Faith walk like Clare @ Peak313Fitness.  The woman loves her some Jesus and keeps the workouts fresh to constantly keep that temple humming and wondering what in the heck is coming next?!?
  • Ellie @ Emerald Pie.  Her life in Ireland is fascinating to me, a world apart and yet no different in her daily life, challenges and busy-ness as a mom and wife.  Her Irish scenery is AH!MAZING!!!!
  • Ex-pats and their very interesting lives in Dubai @ Circles in the Sand and Three years and home in Switzerland.  Witty, insight and photos into other parts of the world, customs, differences in their “normal” lives and how they adjust and roll with each day.
  • A gem of thoughts to teach our daughters (though us parents and sons would benefit, too) from One Joyous Heart . Witty, dry, sometimes right on the edge of cracking, raw observations on motherhood and life to two very young and very close-in-age cutie-pies, Camp Patton (I see glimpses of myself when the girls were so very young at this stage….I want to hug her and tell her, keep taking pictures, take videos…they grow up and you. will. survive!!)
  • I’ll be keeping my day job.  The only time I want to write is first thing in the morning…that 20 extra minutes or so (the “or so” often sets me running behind!) after my Quiet Time.  I don’t think I’ll get a Nobel in those 20 minutes.  Probably.  Apparently you need to write often and enjoy it..another strike.  Soooooooooo…..just press “Follow”…you’ll know when I update.
  • You can get lost for VERY.  LONG.  PERIODS.  OF.  TIME.  on the internet.  You might think I learned this from Facebook.  Child’s play.  There are so many flippin’ blogs out there.  Thank goodness for my Reader, but then I often get sidetracked by hyperlinks to other blogs, then add them to my reader and boom….there goes another hour.  CrAzAY!!!!
  • Stepping out of my comfort zone to share something I feel passionate about usually brings out my best writing.  Over the next couple of months as I move my old mac blog over to WordPress (an EXTREMELY time-consuming process–one would think as “user-friendly” as apple generally is, that “THEY” would have made it easier to transfer blogs once they decided to no longer support mac blogs–but that is a whole other venting blog…) I will also add a page of “The best of….according to Hubby”.

This month I’ve celebrated Mother’s Day internationally, my birthday, my sister’s birthday, the end-of-the-year chaos, enjoyed new baby pictures, witnessed the ups and downs of a NICU baby doing her best to grow big and fat and go home (and won a T-shirt!), remembered the joys of maternity leave and the heartbreak of it ending, new house pictures, great words of encouragement, learned about Broadway plays, enjoyed recipes from new gardens and a world of LIFE happening.

So, this month comes to a close, but the blogging goes on.  Maybe not everyday, but it goes on.  Like life.  So get out there and enjoy it!!  And THANKS for visiting!!