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A page to pass the time

Things aren't looking to quiet down soon enough around here, so I thought I'd post a recent layout to pass the time.

 

These photos were taken back in December 2007. (I've been revisiting some old photos lately.) G & E used to love getting buried in a mound of stuffed animals. I love the way the pictures turned out. Reminds me of a shot in "ET" when he was camouflaged in a closet full of stuffed animals. Anyway, I kind of like this very simple layout.

(Paper and elements from Out of This World Friday Freebie Add-on - Creations by Karen.)

Things are crazy as ever around here. I'm starting to feel the effects of... (bear with me...I love bullets!)

• spending five days a week at the soccer fields (this week it's only four...woo hoo!)
• preparing for a major purchase that will change the way we live our lives (more on that when it's official)
• a couple of health issues for E and me (lots of doctor appointments lately)
• vet appointments seemingly every week (Molly's thyroid, arthritis and weight; Maddie's incessant chewing/licking)
• a bully on G's school bus (who unfortunately lives on our street)
• work deadlines
• unusual preparations to start working with a new client
• my lifelong priest retiring
• getting back into the school-year schedule (especially the after-school schedule, which often cuts my work day by 2.5 hours and forces me back to a working-nearly-every-night-too schedule)
• a strong desire and no time to do lots more scrapbooking
• a strong desire and no time to do another installment of my digital scrapbooking how-tos on my good ol' blog
• a strong desire and no time to update my blog with lots of pictures of our recent trip to Colorado
• a strong desire and no time to get in shape (wish I had time to work out!)
• a strong desire and no time to learn more about photography, especially photo editing, as I'm getting ready to weed through thousands of pictures from summer (I am, though, getting ready to start a 9-week class I'm very excited about!)
• a strong desire and no time to get together with friends more often, some of whom I haven't hung out with in weeks or months
• a mild desire and no time to clean my house, which is way out of control lately.

Anyway, I'm also starting to get worried about the H1N1 flu, which has hit an elementary school in a neighboring town and resulted in 54 absences in one day. It also has been confirmed at a good friend of mine's daughters' preschool in another neighboring town. Hitting too close to home. Making me worry. I'm good at that. :o)

So anyway, it feels good to make lists when I'm stressed, so getting this down is actually therapeutic for me. I also love to look back on things like this and remember what my life was like in this little snippet of time. So someday I'll hopefully be able to look at this list of things on my mind and know that I made it through just like any other old time. Hopefully I'll be looking at it from the beach or somewhere else where I'm doing nothing but relaxing! :o)

Out of sight, out of mind...

...out of MY mind, that is. Things have been crazy around here, and so I haven't had the time or energy to keep up the old blog. I've been sick, busy with kid stuff and crazy-busy with work. So my beloved memory-keeping pastimes, blogging and scrapbooking, have been forced to the back burner. I'm hoping to re-surface soon, though, so don't go anywhere for long. Keep checking back. Hopefully I'll have something of a more interesting post soon. (This is a time when Google Reader would make your keeping up with my little blog much easier! Check it out if you don't use it already.)

In the meantime, here's a recent favorite photo of the two sweetest kiddos around. This was Easter Sunday. Don't they look sweet?! :o) I love these kids!

A mess of emotions

I have been a mess of emotions lately. It typically comes with being stressed for me, and this time is no different. I'm in one of those all-too-common cycles of being overbooked and strapped too thin — with pet health issues, kids' swim lessons and baseball practices, kids' school and family holiday get-togethers, Sunday School teaching, doctor appointments, house- (or rather, land-) hunting and lots of work — and I feel like my own life is getting out of my control. I hate it when that happens.

But I can handle the stress and the mounting to-do lists, and I'll make my deadlines for work. Fortunately, the busier I am, the more productive I am, too. But the emotional side of it, well, it's a bigger challenge, I guess. It's what keeps me up at night. And two stories I have learned about in the past day have really gripped my heartstrings and pulled them to their limits.

First is Matt Logelin. He happened to be on Oprah today (which I unfortunately didn't get to watch), and I just was introduced to his blog yesterday by an old classmate from school who is now a friend of mine on Facebook. I read his blog for more than an hour last night. He is 31 years old and lost his wife the day after she gave birth to their baby one year ago. His story is heart-wrenching. It just makes me once again realize how quickly life can escape us. If you have some time, read it. Go back to late March 2008, and read the blog posts surrounding the death of his wife. One of the most touching things he talks about is that the happiest day of his life (the birth of his daughter) will always, forever be linked to the saddest day of his life (the day his wife died). They're a day apart. Matt's wife, Liz, never got to hold her baby daughter. She only got to see her once. She was on the way to the NICU to hold her for the first time when she collapsed and died of a pulmonary ambulism. Man.

Then, on Matt's blog was a link to another grieving parent's blog — that of a mom who lost her one-year-old daughter in an instant. Ironically, this beautiful little girl's name was Madeline, the same as Matt's daughter's name. And the two Maddies were playmates. It's another story that just pulls at my heart.

I cannot imagine the unbelievable grief one must feel when s/he loses a spouse or child. I pray that the day I have to experience either option either never comes or holds off for dozens of years. I know many people, even some of you, have experienced such a horrible thing, and my heart goes out to you. I cannot say I know your pain, but I feel for you...tremendously.

Reading these two stories yesterday and today made me realize — once again — how important my family is to me. I am a fortunate gal. I have an adoring husband and two awesome kids. And I want to hold on to them forever. I just pray God doesn't have other plans.

(Now that I have ruined your day, as Chad claims I did for him when I told him of Matt's story, I need to go to bed. I will probably lie awake thinking about these two families — Matt, Liz and Maddy; and Heather, Mike and Maddie — and being thankful for the family I have been given. Go hug your closest family member.)

*****

Oh, and how can I forget Stephanie Nielsen? I have been following her blog since last Aug. 16, when she and her husband were involved in a horrible plane crash. The pilot died, but she and her husband — parents to four young kids — survived. Stephanie sustained terrible burns across much of her body, and her blog is an inspiring look at her life of therapy, surgeries and just wanting to hold her kids again. She is also quite the inspiration for me as far as being a mom and wife. It is so obvious by her writing how much she adores her husband and children, and I hope that my kids and husband know I love them as much as she loves hers. Because I do.

Aren't I full of uplifting stories tonight? :o)

So good to be home

I love coming home almost as much as I love going on vacation. For some reason, the process of coming home after being gone for a while awakens my senses to all of the things I love about my family, my home, my animals, my way of life. I need that reminder on occasion.

Coming home (yesterday's thoughts)...

I love hurrying down the airport terminal hallway in anticipation of seeing my husband again.
I love that first hug and kiss with my hubby after being apart for a while.
I love the scent of his cologne.
I love catching up with my hubby on the way home from the airport.
I love pulling onto our street and knowing I'm almost home.
I love hearing the dogs bark inside the house because they know someone's home when the garage door opens.
I love being bombarded by two big dogs who missed me.
I love seeing my house after being away for a while.
I love that my husband and kids cleaned the house before I returned.
I love that my husband bought me flowers to welcome me home.
I love going in to each of my kids' rooms and giving big hugs and kisses to sleepy little ones.
I love unpacking my stuff and getting settled back into my routine.
I love having space to myself in the bathroom again. (Chad doesn't take any space at all!)
I love sleeping in my own bed again.
I love sleeping next to my husband again.
I love my cats sleeping at my feet and on my pillow.
I love my dog sleeping right next to my side of the bed.

(and today...)

I love waking up to my alarm and getting started on an average day.
I love that both kids come in and give me giant hugs (now that they're awake and really realize I'm home) while I'm still in bed.
I love that my little girl wanted me to get her ready this morning. (Daddy usually does that when I'm in the shower.)
I love that Chad took both kids to school (bus stop & day care) so I could have some extra time to get ready this morning.
I love that I have today off, sort of, with only one lunch meeting on the calendar.
I love that I could take care of house stuff—paying bills, unpacking—without having to immediately worry about my workload.
I love that my desk is still clean.
I love that I got mail (paychecks!) while I was gone, and now I get to open them all at once.
I love that the weekend will be here soon.
I love being back to "normal."

I loved my vacation, too; don't get me wrong. But there's something wonderful about home when you've been gone. I'm feeling very appreciative of home and my little family today. I want to feel like this every day.

Have a good Thursday, everyone.

Here's a cool video for you

This is so cleverly done...and a great message!

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"Everthing's amazing and nobody's happy"

I was sent a link to this video and wanted to share. It'll take about 4 minutes of your life, but it will hopefully make you look at things a little differently. This guy makes a few good points (in a humorous way) about how everyone feels entitled to so much, but we fail to see what amazing things are around us every day. Take a few minutes and watch.

As horrible as things are right now, with so many people who want to work without jobs (several of my close friends included), I have had a fleeting thought a few times that maybe the world needed this shake-down. (I always feel guilty after that thought crosses my mind.) Hopefully it'll make us all appreciate the little things in life a little more than we did a year or two ago. And when everyone gets back on their feet (hopefully very soon), it will be a much-deserved treat to be able to splurge on things we all take or have taken for granted for so long. We all live in an amazing country and have so much about which to be thankful...even in terrible times.

Have a good week!

Bad blogger = boring blog

I know, I know. It's been forever. And for no good reason, other than I have been taking it easy this week. Things are finally slowing down a bit, and I'm trying to enjoy it rather than keep on adding to the chaos. So I took a little break from blog-land. But I'm back (today, anyway). I can't promise this will be the most interesting post, but it's a post, and that's progress for me.

A few miscellaneous happenings around here:

• Valentine's Day is Saturday, and Chad and I are joking with each other: "You buy me the washer, and I'll buy you the dryer." Our 9-and-a-half-year-old dryer has been dying a slow death over the past year and has finally kicked the bucket. We have had it serviced once before, but the effects were short-lived, and having another service call would mean we've paid more for service calls than we did for the brand-new dryer. So we're moving on. We found a new set we like (to replace just the dryer and risk not having a matching washer down the road when we need it goes against my desire to be organized and have things match), but we've dragged our feet this week on buying it. Why? Because the very day we went to shop for washers/dryers was the very day we finally paid off two credit cards we have been whittling down for some time. Our pride in being somewhat debt-free (minus a car payment and mortgage) has been short-lived. We haven't even reaped the benefit of having a month with no payments yet. Now we have to add right back to it. Ugh. But we kind of have to be able to do laundry, right?? Plus, washers and dryers are a lot more expensive now than they were 10 years ago (so many gadgets, gizmos and technological breakthroughs...who had heard about "smart water" back then? And who needed pedestals?)!

• Yesterday was a depressing reminder that severe weather season is right around the corner. I'm so not looking forward to that. I hate tornados with a passion. And during this season (which could last from February through November, apparently), our tiny, basement-free house is a constant reminder of one big reason why I want to move.

• I joined Facebook. Yes, the peer pressure finally got to me. After about 18 people asking me if I was on Facebook (in about a month's time), I broke down and did it. It's been fun to see what everyone's up to, but the first few days, especially, I was addicted. It can suck more time out of our strapped schedule pretty quickly. So I'm trying to limit myself to logging on once a day. If you haven't joined yet, do! Then hunt me down and be my friend! :o)

• I have been making some progress on E's ABC book. For you fellow scrappers out there, enjoy some of my recent pages! Only about six letter pages left to go (then there are the "extra" pages like the cover and miscellaneous stuff). Don't worry, Mom. You'll be the N page (Nana), but I need a new picture of you with E this weekend! And Anita, you (along with Marion, my grandma and G) will be on the G page. I have been trying to figure out how to handle fitting four of you very important people into her book when your names (Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandpa and G...) all start with the same letter! I don't have a pic with the four of you...but I'll wing it.

Can you find Maddie in that picture above? Did you miss her the first time? She blends right in with the Christmas tree!

 

Well, that's enough for now, I guess. I'm getting impatient with the uploading! More to come later, perhaps, and more from this album in an old post.

******

Edited, 2:27 p.m. By the way, with regard to the matching washer and dryer: No, I would normally not justify buying a major appliance we didn't desperately need just because it was slightly different than the one sitting next to it. We're talking about a MAJOR difference here! Think, a four-foot, top-loading, white washer and a five-and-a-half-foot, bright blue, front-loading dryer standing next to it. WAY too different, in my opinion! That would drive me crazy! Plus, because we'll hopefully have these appliances a LONG time, that's a long time to be annoyed! So we're going for it. :o)

Random thoughts galore today!

My mind has been distracting me today. There are at least a hundred things on my mind. Thought I'd jot down a few, and then maybe I'll have a better chance at focusing on my work.

• The day care drama continues. My friend Michele sent me a note today about what she witnessed at the local park this morning. She was visiting with her kiddos, and G was there with his lovely day care. Let's just say there might as well have been no adult presence there. These kids are 6 years old. Get with it, people. I'll share her note with you all later. My gosh.

• We're looking forward to a fun evening with old friends tomorrow. Our friends Kevin and Kelly, and their three (and a half) cuties are coming into town for dinner and hanging out. We can't wait to see you and catch up, guys. Let's hope for some sunny weather!
  

• Somehow I need to find time between now and tomorrow to clean my house. (I know, Kelly! You say don't worry about it...but you know I have to at least try! I won't subject you to it as it is right at this moment. It's not pretty.)

• Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. I have too much on my plate this week. But I'm squeaking by. Staying productive (although my mind's been wandering as I've tried to write an article for a local magazine today).

• As much as my family stresses me out  (as everyone's family does, I think) sometimes, at least I have a family, and I didn't spend my childhood feeling like no one loved me or wanted me. That article I mentioned? The woman had NO family from age 7 to 21. Watched her parents have physical fights. Heard her mom ask her brother to load the shotgun so she could kill her father. Taken into custody of the court. Completely abandoned by her mother. Separated from her siblings. Father had no interest in taking her back. Became a child servant on a farm. (Interesting story. Find her book, I Was a Waif and Child Servant...No Regrets, by Joyce Robinson, online at www.authorhouse.com, or watch Mooresville Magazine for my story, out Sept. 1.) My life? Could have been much worse. Thanks, Mom and Dad (and everyone connected to them - steps, sibs, etc.), for wanting me (although I'm sure you questioned yourselves sometimes).

• Is a good preschool program more important than quality care for my child? Why should I have to choose between the two? Is it time to move back to our beloved old day care?

• Man, I really need to get some sun (and get rid of my farmer's-tan shirt lines) before my sister's wedding in four weeks. Could stand to lose a few pounds, too. But who am I kidding?

• I'm only making $13 this month after paying for day care and all of its activities. Is working 128 hours worth $13? (That's 10.15 CENTS an hour. Thank goodness this is the worst month of the year for that. G will be out of day care very soon!)

• Only NINE more days of day care for my oldest child! Woo hoo! Six years of paying out the wazoo and dealing with occasional terror teachers, and it's almost over! Yea!

• Thank goodness for all-day kindergarten. By the time my daughter gets there, it should be standard for everyone. One less year of day care. My goodness.

• Can you tell day care is consuming my mind today?

• Get off the darn blog, Corie, and get back to work!

Gotta go. What's on your mind today?