My Baby My Girl

There is nothing usual or commonplace about my dear daughter.  Look at her and you know that her flavor is deep and rich.  She has the sweetness of confection in her soul and she never fails to let that shine through. I see this photo, which was intended to be a shot of my baby, and I see a big girl. I can't believe how quickly she grew up.

I miss the tiny little baby that used to climb in my arms and sleep.  I miss the giggling head of curls that showed her true excitement.  I miss the beautiful little moments that I had just for her.  She breaks me when she says she just wants a little more of my time. I really wish I could have more.

Now, I enjoy the deep emotion that she can express.  I enjoy the tenderness that she shows to others.  I enjoy her surprisingly intellectual conversations. I enjoy her witty jokes and her ability to grasp allusions and metaphors.  I enjoy her uninhibited dancing and singing.  I enjoy making crafts or cooking something (anything).  I get to teach her everything that I know.  It is awesome.

"Michelle, she looks just like you!"  She does have my exotic traits but, she couldn't be any less like me.  She has a kindness and mildness that I can only strive to achieve.  She is as beautiful and miraculous as God intended. She is one of a kind and I could not be happier for her.

Better Quality of Life

Today, I will go to the gym and I will work out.  My goal is not to lose weight (I hope that is a side effect though :o)), but to create a healthy habit.  I have been evaluating my health lifestyle and it hasn't been coming up very positive.

Today, I have to decided to change two small things in my life for a better quality of life.  I will go to the gym and I will declutter a little every day (along with the usual dishes and sweeping etc).  This will, hopefully, clear my head and thoughts and help me be more at ease in my home.

Every month I plan to do something special for my body and for my home.  Don't worry hubby, it won't blow our budget or anything. I will create a better quality of life for myself, and for my family.

Have a positive day and do something for your body today--drink a glass of orange juice, or stretch for a really long time.  Take a whole minute to hug your oldest child. 

Fall in love with the life you have.

The First Miracle

I have young children and mass is usually something of a production because I find myself reminding the children of their manners, the rituals, and explaining every word of the liturgy and homily.  Although, it seems easier just to keep them home and teach them this at home, if strongly believe in the community of mass and ritual.

I was fairly sure that today would be no different.  During the silence just before the priest delivers the homily, my son asks (in a very un-whisper-like volume), "Mom does your tongue go all the way to your stomach?  Where does it go and stop?"  Of course, everyone around me heard the question and I got several giggles (from other distracted members).  I answered him, kissed his head and asked to listen to the homily carefully.

Today the homily was about Jesus's first miracle of turning the water to wine at the wedding.  He went into the explanation of how Jesus is not disrespectful to his mother and in the end does precisely what his mother asks him.  He explained why we ask Mary to pray on our behalf.  My kids laughed at the joke the priest made and I even thought I saw understanding on their faces.

Later at Sunday lunch, I asked them if they understood.  This is what they got from the homily, "Even Jesus does what his mom tells him."  This was beautiful and truly wonderful for me.  Being a parent is hard, and it is nice to know that I have the support of the highest authority.  Thanks be to God.

This is How you Do it Baby!

After a morning of chatting about everything with an old friend, it was time to get to the gym.  No, my friend is not old; the friendship is old.  Again, I digress from the topic.  I gather my things only to realize that Mack was in need of a shower, he hem. Okay, so there goes my workout time slot.  That is fine, I will try to go this evening. 

I clean him up, bath him, dress him, and send him to play while I cleaned up after bath time.  While picking up I decide to make our donations to the local community center-since now I have just enough time for that errand.  I find my 23 month old son on the couch like this:

 

 (This is what Daddy looks like when he is waiting for me to get ready.)

He was so sleepy and relaxed that he hadn't even realized that I was shooting candids.  He looked over the couch to the door for me and called out for "mulk peeez"  (milk please).  Then he saw me and asked for "gocky" (chocolate).  Yes, he is a chocoholic junk foodie.  But, no worries, I am his mom and he eats what I serve and that is just the way it is. I digress onto another soap box. 

My point is that this is how you live a good life.  You eat, you are bathed and dressed, then you go down stairs to watch your favorite cartoon show, and call out to your adult that you need milk or chocolate.  Can it get any better?

Pretty Princess Hair

Last week in my wide world web wonder, I stumbled across a blog that gave detailed instructions of how to make new interesting hairstyles for little girls or big girls for that matter.  I spent two hours in the middle of the night reviewing the hairstyles and how to make them work.

I was determined to try one out the very next morning on my daughter.  Guess what?  I made it work.  It was simple and nothing out of this world but, it spiced up that boring old pony tail that she reluctantly wore.  The day after that I tried yet another style.  It didn't come out as the instructions but, it looked even more charming the way I made it. 

So I will pass on The Story of A Princess and Her Hair to you my beloved readers.  I hope you find this blog as inspiring as I have.  Share it and pass it on.  This lady is a fabulous teacher and has saved me from my bad hair boredom.

My dear daughter will never look the same.  Well maybe that is more ambitious than I will actually be at 7 am on weekday mornings. :O)

Too Cold for Common Sense

I can not take very much more of this "winter" weather. It has frozen overnight and stayed that way during the day for more than a week. This is HIGHLY unusual for us here and I am not prepared emotionally or financially for this kind of extreme temperature.

I am done making heavy comfort food and I am tired of staying inside because it is too cold. So, today I am going to behave as if the weather doesn't existToday will be as normal as possible...as soon as I have my Malt-o-Meal n biscuit with my baby.

Epiphany-Three Kings Day-12th Day of Christmas

Good bye Christmas and Good bye 2009. I can not help but feel a bit sad that 2009 is gone and so is Christmas. Mainly because in the midst of Chaos at Scarborough House, I lost my picture Christmas Cards. I found them, the real tragedy is that they were printed with a golden 2009 in the center of the card and are virtually useless.

So, if anyone has any snappy ideas on how to save my $20 Christmas cards for next year please let me know. Otherwise, I will be forced to recycle (trash) these.

On a more serious note. 2009 was special for many reasons, from riding a bike without training wheels and speaking in complete sentences, down to the last time I will claim being married for single digit years. As my daughter says, "we will never see 09 again in our lifetime." I mourn that a little too. I never thought about the significance of the number. The perspective of a child can be so profound.

2010-Resolved

What are your new year resolutions?  We always have the same get skinnier, spend less, clean out...I thought about these and they are always the same.  What are we really struggling towards with all of these promises?  This year I had an epiphany!  I have narrowed it to one little rule: Increase my Quality of Life. 

For me, this includes all of the rules and all of the resolutions that anyone could possibly throw at me.  The question is always, "Does it increase your quality of life?"  This works when you are dieting, exercising, buying "wants" instead of "needs",  the hour drive to see a friend, skipping church, etc.  I hope you will share in my new resolution and create a better quality for your life this year.

I got this e-mail from my uber-intelligent aunt.  Thought any one of these resolutions would increase my quality of life.  Maybe you will feel the same or maybe not.  Enjoy the read and enjoy 2010!

HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1.       Drink plenty of water.
2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4.       Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5.       Make time to pray.
6.       Play more games.
7.       Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9.       Sleep for 7 hours.
10.     Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11.    Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12.    Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13.    Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14.    Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.    Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16.    Dream more while you are awake
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18.    Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20.    Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.    Smile and laugh more.
24.    You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25.    Call your family often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6.
29.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
31.    Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33.    Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34.    GOD heals everything.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Last but not the least:
40.    Don't be afraid-God is with you. (I changed this one to one that I like better.)