I wrote possibly one of my favorite posts ever for today. But it isn't going to be displayed here because I wrote it as a guest post for Neely over at A Complete Waste of Make-Up.
Although he's in high school, when I look at him I still see this sweet face.
But really? This is what he looks like..
at the Air & Space Museum
Freshmen Football Banquet
For the record, he has been dating the same girl for almost a year. And we absolutely adore her. She's the sweetest young lady. So the post isn't about her.. just all of the other girls out there. And for the ones who are thinking about the middle son who is nearing his teen years quickly.
I am begging highly recommend that you head over to Neely's & read my post.
I admit it.. I'm a yeller. I really really try NOT to be one, but inevitably I get pushed too far and freak out.
What does surprise me is that while the kids grow up (oh-so-fast), their punishments seem to be staying the same.
The classic "removal of toys" is popular. If their grades aren't what they should be, the boys will lose either their phones, video games, TV privileges or a combination of all three.
Jolie was trained early on that if she wanted to throw a fit, it was fine but I wasn't going to be subjected to watching it. So she was sent to her room even at 2 to have a meltdown. And now? When she's mad about the unfairness of her life, she stomps off to room, slams the door & wails. But at least it isn't in the kitchen floor while I'm making dinner.
The most popular method in my house is simply the "time-out". It's my serve-all punishment. Smart mouth? Sit in the corner. Fighting with your brother/sister? Sit at the table for 10 minutes.
Chances are, if you're at my house and one of the kids are misbehaving? THIS is what you will see.
Now that Cheeks is old enough to sit in the bathtub & play unsupervised (for small amounts of time), I often do a few chores while she plays with her toys and waits for me to wash her hair.
Several months ago, I ran her water and even added bubbles. When I walked past her bathroom this is the conversation that transpired.
Me: J, stop playing with your buttons
(buttons are nipples, by the way)
J: I'm just playing guitar on them
Me: Did your Daddy teach you that?
J: No, I just figured it out myself.
And she continued to play guitar
I couldn't make this up people. Guitar? Really? Oy.
They were so simple, but adorable. I baked chocolate cupcakes then used a star tip to pipe chocolate icing in an football shape for the top. The "laces" were placed using a round tip and white butter cream icing.
They were certainly a hit. I brought 2 dozen, but left with 0.
From the time I can remember (and from what I've been told, even before then) I have always loved a good book. I would crawl into my parent's lap & beg them to read. And when they did? I would follow up with asking for just "one more book."
I love everything about books.. the feeling, the sound of turning pages, the weight, the smell. One of my favorite ways to spend the day is browsing aimlessly in a book store or library. It's heaven.
With that said.. The Love Item of the day are my favorite books.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Easily my favorite book ever. It's the only novel I've ever read more than once.
Read during my junior year of high school. I empathized with Hester
because some days I felt as if my ever growing pregnant teenage
belly was my own big red A.
My love affair with Mr. King began in 6th grade with IT & has continued to this day. I prefer his classic works to the ones around the time of Dolores Claiborne. I stopped reading for awhile, but his new stuff? Reminds me of classic King.... and I like it.
(and yes, I was the dork in middle school that lugged around 5 lb 1200 page books in their back pack)
The Dark Halfby Stephen King:
"The Sparrows are coming." We all have good & evil within us, but which side is going to win?
The Stand by Stephen King
Post-apocalyptic society killed off by the Super-Flu.. It took me longer to read this book
than any other Kin novel, mostly because I received it as a Christmas gift. When I started it
, I was sick with flu-like symptoms and it freaked me out. I waited til I was well before finishing it.
IT by Stephen King
Still covering his classic good vs. evil motif, this one played into our childhood nightmares.
Who doesn't hate an evil clown and various other childhood fears.. And although I was near
14 when I read it, I started sleeping with the hall way light on and my door open.
"Try to keep smiling. Get a little rock and roll on the radio, and go toward all the life there is with all the belief you can find and all the truth you can muster. Be true. Be brave. Stand. All the rest is darkness."
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
I was in high school when these books came out & I was positive I couldn't enjoy some silly wizard book written for kids. So I ignored them. Then, the movies came and I fell in love. I waited until the last novel was released before I started reading. In true Natalie fashion, I devoured them. I laughed, I cried.. These characters were so well-written, I felt as if I knew them. They became my friends and I watched them grow up before my very eyes.
Charlotte's Web by EB White
I enjoyed this sweet story about friendship on many levels.. when my mom
read to me, when I read it alone & then later as I read it to my own children.
Charlotte was even on the short list of baby names for a girl.
"She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. "
Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss
The most-requested book from my childhood. My grandfather often recounts how he would have to read it to me at least 30 times a day. The constant repetition lead to memorization and probably why this was the first book I remember sitting and reading by myself. As a mother & reader, it killed me to watch my first born struggle with learning his words. So when Andrew was finally able to master it & his reading light-bulb went on, there were tears in my eyes. It meant that much more because his first book to read to me? Was this one. Also? That first copy that was read and re-read so many times? Now has a special spot on my bookcase.
This post could probably continue for days.. There are so many books that I love... even if I read it only once or many years ago. If I fall in love with a book, there is an emotional connection to the characters. I truly fall in love with the people on those pages.
And just to ensure the next generation also loves books as much as I do, I encourage each of my kids to become readers.
In case you missed week one, where I discussed the importance of a well fitting sports bra with my oldest son, read THIS POST..
On to week two:
We are yogurt people in this house. It's great for breakfast, lunch, snack & sometimes dessert. I often buy the tube version and freeze it to put in Jolie's lunch at school.
go
I typically place the yogurt in the freezer the night before so it's ready to go the next morning while I'm packing her lunchbox. One morning I was running late and had forgotten the night before so I sat it on top of the ice inside the freezer. I figured it would get colder faster that way and because I was pressed for time, it was a win-win situation.
Little did I know that I was being watched by a young person. A person who assumed that the ice bin was the place to set yogurt tubes in our freezer.
Do you see where this is going?
While making an ice water, I noticed the ice not coming out of the door as well as it should. I thought it was odd and commented to Joe later about what was going on, but he either didn't believe me or didn't want to deal with it because he ignored the problem. A few days later, Nathan bounces into the kitchen, opening the freezer door & says
Oh, Man! The ice bin ate my yogurt thing AGAIN.
Yes..again. It seems my child had started placing his Go-Gurt tubes in the ice bin after seeing me that one morning and couldn't understand where they were going after waiting all day to return to eat one.
We removed the full bin of ice and emptied it into the sink. I snapped a picture just to document exactly what the cause of the problem was.
the inside of my ice bin
In case you can't tell from my crappy beautiful iPhone pic, it's the plastic tube stuck in the exit for the ice. It was no only stuck, but the yogurt itself had been squeezed out and the plastic was being shredded.
Where was the yogurt going, you ask? Good question!
Remember that glass of ice water I was making myself? Yep. It was a 32 oz. Big Gulp size of cup and when I got to the bottom half of it, I noticed a funny flavor. Not to be deterred from drinking my water I ignored it until I got to the bottom when I saw a large hunk of SOMETHING pink floating. I poured it out & got a closer look. Yep. It was pink, frozen strawberry yogurt.
Because of all this, we now have the rule in my house that NOTHING goes in the ice bin except for ice.
Have you had any absurd, off-the-wall mommy talks this week? If so, I'd love to hear them.
My wedding day was one of the favorite days of my entire life.. rivaled only with the birth of my children. Looking back, there are things that I would change or do differently but only a select few. It was not only a celebration of our love, but really reflected who we are.
I stressed over every detail, but at the end of the day? The only thing that mattered was that I became his wife.
my little man was NOT happy
my little Mommy's Boy
one of the moments I remember most was shared with my grandfather before the doors opened. With tears in his eyes, he told me how proud he was of me & how much he loved me.
my shoes.. Yes, I went for comfort over style.
Our guests held sparklers as we left the ceremony.
3 tiered wedding cake: yellow cake with pineapple filling & white cake w/ strawberry filling
The pictures on my cake table were of each of our grandparents on their wedding day. Joe's grandfather played a huge roll in his life and passed away when he was only in high school. It was my way of remembering such an important part of why the man I loved became who he is.
the centerpieces: I made these myself. The vases are metal coffee tins covered in contact paper
our wedding party
the bridal party serenading us with Happy Birthday
my mini-me dancing to "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison
Our first dance
dancing with my Daddy
dancing with my grandfather
They lasted through the cake cutting, the dances, the food & just couldn't last any more.
First Dance to "Crazy Love" by Van Morrison & "Crash into Me" DMB
Grandfather/Daughter to "Beautiful in my Eyes" by Joshua Kadison
Daddy/Daughter to "These are the Days" by Van Morrison
Little Touches
I placed personalized notes with poems and handkerchiefs at each of my family's seats on the pews.
I made every centerpiece for the reception and each of the bouquets for the bridesmaids
Our Guest Book was actually a scrapbook filled with black & white pictures of each of us from childhood
all the way through our engagement. Each page is filled with words of advice and well wishes from our family & friends.
Wedding favors were cd's filled with songs that were meant something to us
Wedding programs included a lyric from a favorite DMB song
Celebrate we will
Because life is short but sweet for certain
After the Fact
The reception was over at midnight, but the party didn't end. We walked across the street to a local, hole in the wall bar. I was still in my wedding dress, but had lost my shoes somewhere along the way. I had no id, no purse. And half the bar bought me shots and drinks.
Best advice I received and have passed on to many new brides-to-be: Don't stress about the wedding. It's only one day. The focus should be the marriage and life you're planning.
Pick what's important to you and focus your budget around those things. For me? I wanted a great photographer, dress and venue. Everything else was immaterial because I knew I couldn't keep them. I was willing to cut back on the flowers & cake if it meant I could have the dress I wanted.
