Our lemon tree finally has tons of ripe lemons.
And when life gives you lemons…
…you gotta make lemonade!
It was delicious!
Now we are just waiting for our avocados to ripen so that we can use some of these lemons and make some guacamole!
By the way, the persimmons (our neighbor’s tree) are also ripe. Anybody have a good recipe for them?
Today I’m thankful for our health. A few times yesterday I sent up a little prayer of thanks for our healthy, strong bodies.
I was talking to my mom while A. was climbing all over me and jumping on and then off again, and I called her a “little monkey!” My mom reminded me that I would much rather have her be a “monkey” than not be able to run, climb or jump at all. And it is so true. Besides a few cuts and bruises, our trip to the ER, some colds and an ear infection here or there, the girls are really both incredibly healthy.
I also visited the doctor yesterday for a check-up since I hadn’t seen a doctor since my six-week checkup after I had A. Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know that was over two years ago. But I got a full checkup and apparently, at least until all the tests come back, I am just fine. I realized that I really need to take care of myself because the girls really depend on me. I need to be here to watch them, and help them, grow up.
So today, that is what I am thankful for.
I think I may be in the running for a Mother-of-the-Week award after today.
I had a conference call that was scheduled before my sitter was going to be here. So I did what any good mom would do. I bribed the girls with a movie and popcorn so that they would be quiet for 45 minutes.
Oh, did I mention? It was 10 o’clock. In the morning.
And then after that, I put them to work washing all of the dishes in the kitchen.
I’m expecting my award. Any day now.
Today I am thankful for the “other woman” in our life. Our sitter/nanny, Denise. I’ve written about her many times before, but she really is the reason I am even halfway sane. And today is our last day of Denise for a few weeks. I’m in a bit of denial. I miss her already.
Denise has been working for us for well over a year now. And beyond relieving me, and allowing me to do a lot of work, and a little bit of running errands, and an occasional kid-free run, and even a few “date-nights,” I believe that Denise is a key ingredient in our trying to create a loving and stable home for our girlies.
And, quite simply, the girls adore Denise. I do, too. I never worry when I need to walk out the door if she is here. She is always creatively engaging the girls intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Any mom knows that entertaining two girls, for hours on end, is one demanding and challenging job. It only makes me appreciate her, and the job she does, even more.
And as much as we love her, she loves the girls, too. It is always nice to hear good “reports” on your children, but when someone else tells you how “spectacular,” “funny,” “sweet,” – just generally “how great” your girls are, and really mean it…that is priceless. Denise is worth every penny, and more.
Today (and everyday), I am thankful for Denise.
Today I am thankful for the age, the stage, that both of the girls are at right now. Not that I ever want to be “free” of them, (I’m actually hoping they never want to leave their Daddy and I!) but I have a new-found freedom that just feels so amazing.
The girls beg me to “leave” them at the Gym’s Kid’s Klub. They practically push me out the door, the minute Denise shows up for the afternoon. They color sweetly at their table in the playroom for 20 minutes at a time.
Yes, a tiny piece of me is sad when I look at their baby pictures, they are so not babies anymore. And I do feel a little bit slighted some days when Mommy is pushed away. But, can I begin to tell you how heavenly it is to be able to “let them play” in the playroom while I grab a shower, throw in a load of laundry, and start the dishwasher. Yeah, yeah, yeah – apparently I shouldn’t leave Emma in the playroom with her safety scissors. But, honestly, isn’t a few cut bangs a small price to pay for getting a little break in the non-stop demand for entertainment?
I think so.
And they play so well together. Well, most of the time. I so love to watch them laugh and play together. That is why I was so happy to have two girls. Sisters. They will always have a best friend, no matter what.
When I do get included in their little “bond,” I’ve found that we seem to have finally found our groove. I know it has taken us over two years, but I think we are finally there. We all seem to know what our role is in our little family, and how to make it all work smoothly.
As we get ready to board the plane for Michigan this week, I am actually looking forward to traveling with the girls. We have reached that point where we are all in “sync.” Flying down the same path. We know how to handle the bumps and we are on our way to reaching so many new destinations.
For that I am thankful.
One layout. That is all I have managed to do in the past week – or two, or three…but who’s counting?
I got this paper in this scrap-of-the-month thing I belong to. I think I got it a few months ago, but as soon as I saw the paper and some of the embellishments I knew it would be perfect for Em’s first day of preschool. It matches her outfit perfectly.
(Click for a bigger version, as always.)
I know the next two weeks I am not going to get anything “crafty” done, but please check in because we are getting a few more takers, and somebody will have something with all the holidays going on, right? Ladies? Hello?
What do you have to show this week?
The countdown is on! Single digits until Thanksgiving. And only four days until we leave for Michigan. There is a lot of excitement going on around here. And a lot of running around, on my behalf, to try and get everything done before we leave. So today I am thankful for my personal Mac technician and tech guru, J. May I never make a joke about him being a geek again.
He fixed the problem on my Mac last night. This is very important because now I can actually work today, and if I have to, while I am in Michigan. I know it is his least favorite “chore” when he is home, but I so appreciate his help. I could do an entire month of “thankfuls” listing all the reasons I am thankful for J., and probably still have many leftover for the next month, too. He is that good. But today I hope he knows how very thankful I am for his technical skills.
I really like this pic of Em, even if it is a little “senior portrait” looking. Do you notice anything strange about the photo?
Yeah, me either – until we were at the Pier yesterday and her little wispy “bits of bangs,” (which I thought were just more crazy bangs) were kind of “dampened” to her forehead because of the mist from the ocean. And there was a definite jagged “slant” to them, almost as if…they had been cut.
J: Did she, or someone, cut her bangs?
M: No, I think she has some weird bang growth…hey…wait a minute. Emma! Did you cut your hair?
E: No, Mama.
M: Did somebody else cut your bangs.
E: Um, no.
M: Did you? We aren’t going to be mad, we just want to know.
E: Yes. I did when I was in the playroom.
M: Honey! Why did you cut your hair?
E: My bangs were in my way. They were in my eyes, so I cut them off.
*sigh*
It really is hard to argue with logic like that.
For more Best Shot Mondays, hop on over to Tracey’s.
Today I am thankful for country music.
There, I’ve said it. I really do like all kinds of music and my iPod is a crazy, eclectic mix of stuff.
And maybe it is just my hillbilly background coming out, but there is something about those country songs. They make you stop, think, and realize how short our time on earth is.
I remember when I was pregnant with Emma,on a roadtrip to see my family, and I heard Kenny Chesney’s the Good Stuff song and bawled for a good 10 miles after I heard the part that goes –
Was the sight of her holdin my baby girl.
The way she adored that string of pearls,
I gave her the day that our youngest boy, Earl,
Married his high school love.
And it’s a new t-shirt saying, “I’m a Grandpa!”
Being right there as our time got small,
And holding her hand when the good Lord called her up.
Yeah, man, that’s the good stuff.
Okay, so I was pregnant. But man, that really is “good stuff.”
Or the time, sitting in my dining room with my mother-in-law and sister as we all cried to Martina McBride’s, In My Daughter’s Eyes. I still can’t listen to this part without tearing up –
In my daughter’s eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she’ll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I’m gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I’ll be there
In my daughter’s eyes
Oh, there are a hundred more examples I could give. Tim McGraw’s, My Little Girl (definite tear-jerker when you have two little girls!) or Billy Dean’s, Let Them Be Little –
So let them be little,
‘Cause they’re only that way for a while.
Give ’em hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let ’em cry, let ’em giggle,
Let ’em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.
I could go on and on.
And then I had the CMAs on last week while I was working and Kenny Chesney performed that new song of his, Don’t Blink.
That dude has some seriously good songwriters on his payroll.
Don’t blink
Just like that you’re six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you’re twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your “better half”
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don’t blink.
My mother-in-law called to make sure I had heard it and told me I had to watch the video. If you can watch that video without getting a little weepy, well…more power to you. But I can’t. I can’t even though I have already watched it a few times and know exactly what is coming up next.
After an especially long day, where I am counting the minutes til the girls will be in bed, um…kind of like yesterday, I only need to listen to one of these songs and it reminds me to slow down. Enjoy them while I can. So for that I am thankful.
