June, 2009

Now We Are One — No Comments
13
Jun 09

The Rhinestone Baby


(Press play on the video above before continuing!)
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(Sung by 13 Month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

June 2009 by you.

I’ve been walkin’ these streets so long
Singin’ the same old song

June 2009 by you.
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway
Where hustle’s the name of the game
And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain

June 2009 by you.

There’s been a load of compromisin’
On the road to my horizon

June 2009 by you.

But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me!

My Little Cowboy by you.

Like a rhinestone baby
Riding out on a steed in a rocky-horse rodeo

My Little Cowboy by you.

Like a rhinestone baby
Getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know

My Little Cowboy by you.

…..and offers comin’ over the phone!

My Little Cowboy by you.

Well, I really don’t mind the rain
And a smile can hide all the pain

My Little Cowboy by you.

But you’re down when you’re ridin’ the train that’s takin’ the long way
And I dream of the things I’ll do
With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe

My Little Cowboy by you.

There’ll be a load of compromisin’
On the road to my horizon

My Little Cowboy by you.

But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me

My Little Cowboy by you.

Like a rhinestone baby
Riding out on a steed in a rocky-horse rodeo

My Little Cowboy by you.

Rhinestone baby….
Gettin’ cards and letters from people I don’t even know

June 2009 by you.

And offers comin’ over the phone!

Thoughts from Mom — 1 Comment
11
Jun 09

Country Cottage Chic

A Day in the Country from Flickr

I absolutely adore the old fasioned country cottage, vintage, and even Victorian decorating styles.   Many of the blogs I read are geared towards simple living and country life.  I even have a subscription to Country Sampler (one of the few magazines I read).  Long flowing dresses, aprons, farm life,red barns,  clean sheets, braided rugs, plank wood floors, beat up wooden furniture  and the like make me feel content.  

Fortunately, Kevin gravitates towards the exact same styles I do.  It rarely fails that if I see something that grabs my attention – such as an old piece of solid wood furniture – he ends up loving it too and wanting it as much as I do.  It’s quite exciting when you can share a sense of homey decoration with your spouse!

What styles do you find yourself gravitating towards? The purpose of a home is to surround your family with objects, colors, textures, and mementos that speak to you all.   It defines you. It tells the world just who you are and why you’re here. After coming home from a stressful day, your place of residence should also engulf you in pleasure with sights, sounds, feelings, and smells. Adding decorative touches through color, lighting, candles, fabric, and plants in your style of choice will accomplish just that. Never be afraid to reach out and embrace the styles that bring peace into your life be it country, Asian, Victorian, western, or even uber-contemporary.

After all, isn’t life more fun when you live in a place all your own?

Towards middayThe old minerMas de los Clerios (I) -vista general-Rhiwe CottageCountry Cottage

round and roundWood Chairs (12)Old barn in ColoradoCanada - Saskatchewan

Gardening — 1 Comment
9
Jun 09

Look what I found in my Garden…

This is my first year of (halfway) successful gardening.  For the past 26 summers of my life (give or take 3-4 considering I was a baby during some of them), I have wished I could grow things.  Any thing.  But alas, I’ve always had a black thumb, successfully killing everything from an impossible to kill spider plant to a silk petunia.

So why have I been able to successfully grow tomatoes, chives, pumpkins, and beans from tiny seeds this year?

I was wondering that too.  Perhaps someone had been helping me behind my back??

Well, today, I found the answer.  

It took a lot of stealthy snooping, but I finally caught him….red green handed.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you. Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

Doozer Meets World by you.

He can run, but he can’t hide anymore!

Gardening — No Comments
9
Jun 09

Score on Free Garden Supplies

DSC03843 by you.

Someone down the street from my dad had these nice black seed starters in their trash bin along with a large white planter (not pictured).  There are 4 trays with 18 pods each!   You know what they say….one man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure. :)

Thoughts from Mom — 5 Comments
9
Jun 09

Do you really want to be the perfect wife?

Time:   8:32 pm, 3 days ago

Setting:  Kevin and I are driving home in the car.

———————–

Me:   :::sighs suddenly:::: It’s going to take forever to get that house cleaned once the bedroom floor is finished, and I have no desire to do any of it.  WHY can’t I just be the person I want to be???

Kevin:   ::::::turns the wheel, looks at me out of the corner of his eye whilst driving:::::::::

Me:   ….see, the person I WANT to be is inside of me.  I have this great picture of who she is.  But when I look at my life, I’m totally different than who I think I should be.

Kevin:  ::::raises his eyebrow, unsure of where this is going::::::

Me:   Well, for one, I hate getting up early.  I hate cleaning.  I rarely dust.  We eat from Little Ceasars, Taco Bell, Subway, and the Dollar Menu at McDonalds far, far too often.  The only vegetables I’ve ever grown in my life are probably about to die because I didn’t know how to transplant them properly.   We ran out of clean underwear twice last month.  And I swear, our stuff sits in the living room at night, breeding, and plotting how to take our lives over.  That, and I haven’t touched the laundry in a week, which might lead ot more trips to Kmart to buy you fresh underwear.  Why oh why can’t I just take a pill and instantly become the person I have in my mind that I want to be????  

Kevin, speaking non-chalantly:   Baby, you already do a lot.  Plus, you are with our baby 24/7.  That’s a lot of work.  Don’t make yourself sound that bad.   You know you always get around to stuff sooner or later. 

Me:   No!  You don’t understand.  I don’t WANT to be that kind of person. Period.  I want to be different than I am.  I want to be an awesome wife and mom.  See..here’s how it is.  I’m supposed to get up before you do, have your breakfast cooked, enjoy a wonderful hot meal together, then kiss you on the cheek, and send you off to work at 5:30 am with ironed clothes and a packed nutritious lunch……

Kevin, butting into my tirade:   Yeh, I remember you did that one time a couple years ago……

Me:   ::::looks at him annoyed::::

Me, continuing:   …..then after you leave, I should get the laundry caught up, do my morning routine, then wake up our son, get him dressed and feed him a hot nutricious breakfast.   I’m home all day, so the house should be spotless too, right????  The bed should be made, the floors sparkling, the dishes done, and soft classical music playing in the background.  It doesn’t SOUND like it would be too hard.  And truthfully, when I get to doing it, it doesn’t physically take that long.  Then, there should be a garden of vegetables out back.  I’d love to learn how to can things!  And all this talk about organic being the best, shouldn’t we look into learning about that stuff???  And we should see about getting a city recycle bin too as all this going green talk has me feeling guilty every time I throw the weekly circular into the trash.  Better yet, I should just turn it into paper pulp, make beads, and sellthem on Etsy!!   Also,  I want to look pretty every day and enjoy going out to lunch occasionally too. I don’t like being cooped up all the time and it’s good for Jack to get out.   Yet in reality, I don’t even want to get dressed when I wake up and by the time I return from taking Jack to the morning storytime, the hermit in me doesn’t want to do anything else, much less grocery shop or cook the evening meal every night.  But everything that SHOULD be done SOUNDS so easy in my head, and that’s the kind of wife I truly want to be.  As a Christian, that’s who I’m SUPPOSED to be, right??  Isn’t that what you want too???  Our home should be tranquil…peaceful…clean.   Anyway, that’s what annoys me – the version of me I picture in my head is not who I am in reality…..she’s there…I can almost feel her…but I can’t make myself become her….and….  

Kevin:   :::::cuts into my tirade, looking strait at me instead of the road::::::   Uh, no.  Listen, I don’t know what weird things you’ve been reading, but if you acted like that I’d kick you out or leave myself.   You don’t need to get up when I do!  You need your sleep. Plus you know I like to be alone during the morning.  And I could care less about any of that other junk you mentioned.  You’re awesome.  I don’t want you to be like all that.  Are you seriously nuts???  I want you to be like YOU.  

Me:   ::::::sinks into subdued thoughtful silence for the 2 minute remainder of the ride::::::::

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LESSON LEARNED:   Don’t try to be someone else’s version of the perfect wife and mother. 

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DISCLAIMER:  This is a true story.  The names were not even changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

Gardening — No Comments
9
Jun 09

Pumpkins have Sprouted!

Whoohoo!   

My first pumpkin seeds have sprouted.  

DSC03803 by you.

I just planted them on June 2!

DSC03806 by you.

Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to do with them. :)

Gardening / Now We Are One — 2 Comments
9
Jun 09

Jack and the Not-So-Tiny Bean Stalk

(Voiced by 13 month old Jack-Evan, typed by Mommy)

Out in the Yard by you.

Once upon a time, on June 2, I planted some magic beans.

Out in the Yard by you.

After 5 days of waiting, they still were not tall enough to climb.

Out in the Yard by you.

So, last night, mommy broke the sad news that there was no such thing as a magic bean stalk.

DSC03815 by you.

But I think she must have lied to me….

DSC03812 by you.

…because look at them today!

DSC03814 by you.

At this rate, I’ll be able to climb to the clouds by next Friday.

DSC03823 by you.

Won’t mommy be so excited when I bring her back a goose?

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TO BE CONTINUED….

Thoughts from Mom — 1 Comment
8
Jun 09

Fare thee well, Chad at Alltel. It’s Revenge of the Nerds 2009.

You should have watched your back more carefully, Chad.  
You know all those times you bested the nerds?  

2553152319_e249f53752

 

Well….one of them finally got the best of you.

We just received notice today that we have now gone from this….

chad_verizon

….to this….

verizon_guy

………………yup.  That’s right.

DSC03789 by you.

Alltel becomes Verizon Wireless by you.

Gardening — No Comments
8
Jun 09

My lovely little flowers

Here are a few photos I snapped last night of my little container flowers.  

It’s my first year ever of gardening.  I’m happy that I’ve managed to kill only one plant so far!

Out in the Yard by you.

They make me feel so domestic. :0)

Out in the Yard by you.

Out in the Yard by you.

Out in the Yard by you.

Out in the Yard by you.

This little guy was building a web between the hanging plant and porch banister when I snapped this.
The circle behind him is the full moon!  I wanted to sit out in my new arbor all night, swinging, and staring at the moon. :)

Gardening / Now We Are One — 2 Comments
8
Jun 09

Jack & the Tiny Bean Stalk

(Voiced by 13 month old Jack-Evan, typed by Mommy)

kent-pole-beans

Once upon a time, I found some beans.

Out in the Yard by you.

 I stuck them in some dirt so the birds wouldn’t eat them.  

beanstalk_cover

Plus, I had heard some great stories about what happens when you plant magical beans!

Out in the Yard by you.

I cried when I couldn’t find my beanstalk the next morning.  

Out in the Yard by you.

Mommy mentioned I should probably water them or they will die like hers do.

Out in the Yard by you.

Finally, on day 5…. my magic beanstalk appeared!

Out in the Yard by you.

It wasn’t quite what I expected though.

Out in the Yard by you.

Perhaps tomorrow, it will be tall enough to climb on?

 

THE END.