Blew out my Flip Flop, and Other Love Songs

Music is very important to me. A song can remind me of a person, a place, or a feeling. I think I have a song that goes along with just about everyone that is close to me.

There are defiantly songs that remind me of Big D. There are songs that we also share together, our wedding songs, songs we listened to when we were dating, and songs that remind us of the kids.

One song that we share is Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Not that Big D and I are frequently wasted on Margaritas; the song reminds us of our alone time we spent in Florida. Whenever we hear the line, “I blew out my flip flop, stepped on a pop top.” We look at each other and smile. I know, a little nerdy but still sweet.

For the past couple of days I have heard a song by Toby Keith that screams BigD, and one of the many reasons I adore him. Want to read it? Here it goes…

Love Me If You Can - Toby Keith

Sometimes think that war is necessary
Every night I pray for peace on earth
I hand out my dollars to the homeless
But believe that every able soul should work

My father gave me my shotgun
That I’ll hand down, to my son
Try to teach him everything it means

I’m a man of my convictions
Call me wrong, call me right
But I bring my better angels to every fight
You may not like where I’m going
But you sure know where I stand
Hate me if you want to, love me if you can


I stand by my right to speak freely
But I worry about what kids learn from TV


And before all of the debating turn to angry words and hate
Sometimes we should just agree to disagree

And I believe that Jesus
Looks down here and sees us

And if you asked him he would say

I’m a man of my convictions
Call me wrong, call me right
But I bring my better angels to every fight
You may not like where I’m going
But you sure know where I stand
Hate me if you want to, love me if you can

I’m a man of my convictions
Call me wrong, call me right
But I bring my better angels to every fight

You may not like where I’m going
But you sure know where I stand
Hate me if you want to, love me if you can


I could go on and on with my reasons why Big D is so amazing to me. He stands up for what is right. He is a rebel. Not in a without a cause kind of way, but in a good and loving way.
He teaches a rebel like me (without a cause) to have the strength to stand up for what is right, even if the world says it’s wrong.

We are two rebels passing in the night (Now I am just being funny)

He will forever be my love and hero.

A Knight in Training

Lil D is my first born son. He is the light of my life, full of personality and wit. He is extremely funny and quite the little charmer.

As of right now I am clueless when it comes to young boys. With Miss I can spend hours with her as she describes in detail her feelings, what’s going on in her life, and her thoughts on it. Lil D on the other hand is not the type to share his feelings; it is hard for me to come to a conclusion about what is going on with him.

For the most part he is an awesome kid, I think he just needs to learn a little impulse control. And to come to the understanding when and where being the funny little comedian that he is would be appropriate.

I don’t know how many times I have to ask my husband, “Is this normal?” about my sons’ behavior. Every time Big D will shake his head and with a smile say, “Yes, it is normal.”

Lil D loves knights and everything that goes with them. Swords, castles, the battles, you name it he likes it. Big D came up with a great behavioral chart for Lil D. It is a chart that will help him learn to use the Cardinal virtues. Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude. These are virtues any good knight would have. When Lil D shows that he has done one of these virtues, he gets a badge. After a month if he gets a certain amount of badges he will receive a knight award and a prize.

Even more exciting was when Big D took him into the back room and reveled the real sword I had bought Big D before we were married. (Even big boys like to be knights)I thought Lil D’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. He could not believe that in our own house we possessed a real sword. When Lil D saw this magnificent piece of shiny metal he said, “When I get big and you move out do I get to keep this.” He thinks that when he gets older his dad and I will move out and he will get our house. I don’t have the heart to tell him it is the other way around

Big D told him that if he worked really hard on learning and using the virtues to become a proper knight he can have the sword, and we will hang it on his wall in his room. (Just an FYI, the sword is a decorative piece it is not sharp)

So I think this is going to turn out to be a good plan for Lil D. Meanwhile I will be waiting patiently as my little squire grows to become a gallant knight. All the while picking my brain to come up with the combination to crack the safe I call my son.

The family Garden, Full of Love and Non-acid Tomatoes

We were able to get all of our planting done. Dig D and the kids put in the vegetable garden and the herb garden. We planted tomatoes, peppers, and onions. We also planted cherry tomatoes, my favorite. There is nothing like a warm tomato from the garden. Put it on some toast with mayonnaise and I am in heaven. Big D said he basically planted everything we would need to make spaghetti sauce. We are big spaghetti eaters, and you have not tasted goodness until you have tried Big D’s sauce.

Big D let the kids pick out a vegetable to plant. He is the type that lets the kids make a decision and he just goes with it. I think it is a very good way to be. It lets the kids make their own decisions and be proud of what that decision was. I on the other hand have a bit of a control problem. I will let the kids make their decision, try not to interferer, but it is very hard for me not to make tiny suggestions.

Under my husband’s supervision, the kids picked out non-acid tomatoes to plant. I can’t imagine what these will taste like. Big D does not have the control complex like I do, so this choice was fine. The kids were happy that they were able to choose their own vegetable without someone (me) suggesting a better alternative. I just don’t know what I am going to do with baskets full of non-acid tomatoes? Any suggestions?




Bug planting onions


Lil D looking for worms


Miss and her tomatoes


The herb garden looks a bit like a graveyard right now.
It will soon be full of yummy herbs.


Poor St. Francis needs a good painting.

The Florist Lady and the Balloons

My plan for this morning was to go to the grocery store to get laundry detergent. I had two big garbage bags full of empty bottles and cans. Bug, Oney, and I would make a quick trip to take the cans back and get the detergent. I figured it would take a total of thirty minutes, quick and easy.

I packed up the kids and the two garbage bags in the van and away we went. It is about 53 degrees here with a lot of wind. As I am getting the kids in the cart the wind is whipping us around the parking lot, we finally make it into the store. I start putting the cans into the machine, while Bug asks me about twenty times if she can help. I picked her up a couple of times so she could put the cans in. I realize if I keep this up we will be here for a good hour, so I give her the job of putting the cardboard in the bin. Meanwhile I have to stop every so often because Oney, who hates wearing shoes, is taking them off and throwing them as far as he can. The lady who is next to me can see how haggard I am at this point and offers her machine up so I can get done faster. Bless her heart.

We finally get done with the bottles and cans; I am now sweating and focused on getting the one item I need and getting out of there. I go straight to the detergent isle, not stopping to look at anything. I grab it and we are almost to the check out, almost home free. That is when I spot her. The lady who is the florist at the grocery store, I see her quickly grab four big helium balloons and she starts walking towards us. She walks up to me and says, “We can’t use these anymore, and I was just waiting for some kids to come in to give them to.” Bug and Oney have huge smiles on their face. I am trying to make my smile as natural as possible. In my head I am thinking, “You either have no kids, or you have not taken toddlers shopping in a good long while.” She hands Bug and Oney the balloons, we say thank you and now my fun begins.

At the check out Bug is screaming because Oney is grabbing one of the balloon strings. I ring up my item; pay and now we are on our way out. From the grocery store to the van, I have dodged and picked up flying shoes that Oney feels the need to throw. At the same time trying to keep the balloon strings from wrapping around his little neck. As I mentioned before the wind is whipping and the balloons are flying all over the place.

We get to the van and by now the four balloon stings are in a tangled mess. I tell Bug to hold on to the balloons or they will fly away. Bug then goes into a crying fit, screaming that she does not want her balloons to fly away. I try to get Oney in his car seat but he has a death grip on the strings. I pry the stings out of his hand, and now I have two screaming toddlers and four tangled balloons.

I get everyone safely in the car, and the balloons untangled. On the ride home I get to listen to Bug and Oney fight, balloons hitting me in the back of the head the whole way home. At this point I need to find something, anything with a point so I can pop those dreaded things and end this whole episode.

Now we are home, the balloons are in the corner of my room, tangled for the third time and not being played with at all. This was my morning, thank you grocery store florist lady. Thank you very much.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. A day for family and friends to get together, go to parades, and visit the many BBQs that we will be invited to. Today is also a day to remember and say thank you to all the brave men and women who serve this country. From our family to you, we remember and thank all the veterans, the soldiers that our serving now, and their families. All of these people have sacrificed and are sacrificing now. thank you for all you have done and all that you do.



I ask St.George and St.Sebastian to pray for all our soldiers who give so much.

Corpus Christi

Today is the feast of Corpus Christi. My parish has a procession around the grounds of the church. Litanies are said and hymns are sung. It is very beautiful. Deacon Clint helped out at our parish last year. He is so sweet and funny. He has the ability to remember everyone’s name and treat people like he has known them forever. Deacon Clint is now Father Clint. Father Clint came back to the parish to celebrate mass with us. I was happy that he was able to say mass and be with us for Corpus Christi.

It was a good day.

4th degree Knights. (my son likes them because they have swords)

Generation Gap

There are certain ages in my childhood that I can remember very distinctively. Miss is at one of those ages. The things she says and does brings me back to memories I have of that time in my life.

When we were watching the American Idol finale I thought she was going to have a spasm when the Jonas brothers performed. Big D kind of looked at her in a puzzled but amused way. I was watching her and it was bringing me back to when Michael Jackson performed Billy Jean on TV for the first time. I acted the same way. Screaming as he did his moonwalk, clasping my hands together while I had a permanent grin plastered on my face.

Yesterday when we were driving to the store, Miss was telling me all about the Jonas brothers, which one she liked the best, who her friends like the best. Giving me random facts about them. All the while I was smiling and thinking, I can really relate to her right now. I can share with her my childhood and how I felt the same way about Michael Jackson. This is how it went…

Miss~ “The Jonas Brothers are so cool.”

Me~ “Yeah, they are pretty cool.” “I remember when I was your age I loved Michael Jackson, he was the best.”

Miss~ “Who is Michael Jackson?”

Me~ “You know the guy who sings Thriller and Beat It.” I then went into my rendition of both songs.

Miss~ “You mean that weird guy with the long black hair?”

Me~ “Well he didn’t look like that when I liked him.”

Then there was silence for a while.

Me~ “I used to lay in my bed while I listened to his album and stare at his picture.” I said this with a worried laugh, thinking maybe I gave to much information of how weird of a child I was.

Miss~ “Really, that’s weird.”

So the whole relating to my nine year old didn’t work out like I thought it would. I think I will just listen to her and let her bring me back to the great memories I had at her age. I will still share some childhood stories with her, will she relate to them, maybe, maybe not.

At least she didn’t ask me what an album was.

Tales From a Messy Bed

I am not a good housekeeper. There I said it. We don’t live in filth; the house is what you would call tidy at times. You will find dust, toys, some dirty dishes, and things of that nature. One thing I do not do is make the beds. I don’t require my children to do this either. I know some people may disagree, and think that this is a good discipline to make a habit out of, but I don’t. I remember when I was younger my mom tried to incorporate making the bed into my routine. I gave her a logical reason why I thought this practice was impractical Why should I make my bed when I am just going to mess it up when I go to sleep? My mom bought this, or she did not feel like arguing. From that day on my mom only asked the beds to be made when company was coming over. I have kept this philosophy.

Let me get to my messy bed. My bed is a place where I like to go during the day and just think by myself, with no interruptions. I am laughing to myself as I write no interruptions. For some reason my kids love my bed, they must be on it when ever they get a chance, especially if I am on it thinking by myself. I still try to get some alone time. I will very quietly sneak up on my bed. All the while keeping my eye on the door. Listening to the kids playing in the bedroom. I think to myself, perfect I made it; I am up here, alone. They didn’t hear me. Then I see a little face peak around the door. It’s Oney, the baby. He sees me and starts screaming “UP, UP!” Then I hear the playing stop. I hear the kids jumping off their own beds, and running into my room. They know mom is alone on her bed. Here they all come, one by one they jump on my bed, hugging and kissing me. They argue who is going to sit right next to me. The boys start to wrestle. Miss wants to talk about stuff. I want to scream, “GET OFF MY BED!” But I don’t.

I remember what I used to do as a kid. I loved being in my Mom and Dads bed. We would all snuggle, as I listened to my Mom and Dad talk and laugh. I remember when my Grandma would be talking teenage issues with my Aunt on her bed. I would just lie there and listen. When my Grandma would lie in her bed and read, I would jump up and insist she read to me from her book, she always would.

Now my bed is the place where I talk to Miss about things that are on her mind. Where I cuddle with Bug. My bed is the place where Lil D, Oney, and I tickle and wrestle. When Big D is home we all sit on the bed and look at Photo albums, listen to music, or just talk about the interesting things going on around us. Sure I could lock the door and tell Miss to watch the kids while I have my alone time on my bed, but I won’t.

I don’t want to think about a time where I may be alone in a big messy bed. Wanting a waiting for someone to come and talk, cuddle, or wrestle. So I will keep my door open and I will welcome the chaos and the quiet moments that happen on my messy bed.

F is for Flowers

Yesterday Bug and I started planting flowers in the front yard. I am not a very good gardener, I really don’t know what to plant and where. I basically buy plants that I like, plant them and then cross my fingers and hope they grow.

I bought some daylilies, Hostas, and a pretty pink flower called a volcano. I have no idea how these volcanoes grow. They are beautiful and smell so good, so I bought them. Bug was happy to help. We got outside, I had started shoveling the dirt when Bug needed me to go in and get her jacket. I came back with her jacket, and started planting. Bug then announced she had to go potty. Fine, I take her inside to go potty. We get back out and we are ready to go.

Bug then says it would be a good idea for me to go get her shovel. By her shovel she means a little red plastic snow shovel. All I pictured was me planting on one side and her digging up the flowers on the other. I suggested she just use her hands to dig in the dirt. She was happy with that suggestion.

I found a chair in someone’s garbage. I don’t consider that garbage picking. I refer to it as recycling. I took the seat out and painted the chair. And there you have a planter. I may not be that great of a gardener, but I love it like someone who knows what she is doing. The hard work of planting, the care, and then you get to watch and see all of your work grow into the beautiful creations that they are. I hope so anyway.

Nothing says springtime like a freshly planted flowerbed. Besides a coffee mug on my window sill filled with Dandelions picked just for me, thank you Bug..

Recycled Chair

Volcanoes


Little feet



Flowerbed


Flowers for mom

Daybook

Day book for today May 21,2008

Outside my window…There is sunshine and wind blowing through the trees, I see empty spots of dirt that are begging for plants and flowers.

I am thinking...That bug and I will soon be outside planting.

I am thankful for...I am thankful for another day that my family is is healthy and happy.

From the kitchen...I can hear the dirty dishes calling me, but I have so many better things to do. I will let then wait a little longer.

I am wearing...Pink, red, and white heart flannel PJs

I am creating...A curriculum for my children who will be home schooled next fall.

I am going...to get dressed, clean the kitchen (groan) and then I will get to planting. Yay!

I am reading... I am hoping to get a new book for myself soon. For now I am reading lots of blogs, textbooks, workbooks and readers.

I am hoping...For smooth and wonderful deliveries for all the women that I know who are pregnant right now.

I am hearing...Bug calling the dog, and Oney calling from his crib.

Around the house...Is very quiet. Oney is trying to take a nap. Miss and Lil D are at school. The kids that I baby sit for are not here today. Very quiet here today indeed.

One of my favorite things...I have so many. I will go with planting flowers. I love the smell of the dirt, the way it feels to get your hands dirty. I love the pops of color flowers bring to my yard, and the smile they bring to my face.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…My children will be out of school for five days. Our plans are to relax and enjoy the time. We have the Memorial Day Parade coming up, Corpus Christi, and BBQ’s

Here is a picture I thought I would share...


The Simple Woman

Carnival

Everyone loves a carnival. I know I do. What do I love about it? The small town feeling, everyone in the neighborhood is there. The families from the parish are helping out and having fun. The kids are running around like they have gone mad with excitement. It feels safe and it feels like home.

Of course you can’t forget the wonderful food. Pink and blue sticky sweet cotton candy that takes about eleven baby wipes to get it off little fingers. Or the games, giving your children a bunch of dollars and when they are done playing they have pockets full of rubber balls, rubber snakes, fake tattoos, and all the treasures ten dollars can buy. Then there are the rides. The carousel, bumper cars, rides that go up and rides that go upside down. The ride workers, or “Carnies” as Lil D likes to call them can’t be beat. Especially when they tell you to go back and spend another fifteen dollars in order to ride the kiddy rides with your 3 year old. Yes, I love it all.

Last weekend my family and I went to our parish’s yearly festival. There is a ride called the hang glider. You lay on your stomach and it takes you up high and in a circle. Lil D wanted to ride it. It was his first big carnival ride. I decided to go on with him. Lets just say I am not as young as I used to be. I also learned that eating a Polish sausage with sauerkraut before going on this ride was not such a good idea. While on the ride, I kept my eyes closed and prayed to God that this rusty contraption would hold up. When the ride stopped and we finally got off, Lil D was excited. I on the other hand was nauseous. My dad was smiling at me, asked if I was ok and then said, “You should never close your eyes, that’s the problem.”

I thought about this and feel this little lesson could be put towards my everyday life. Sometimes life will be filled with excitement, butterflies in your stomach. Sometimes you will be souring high, and sometimes you will be low. Life may spin you around so fast you will wish you had not eaten that sausage with kraut. To make sure you get the best out of life you need to keep your eyes open. You can’t see the blessings and the thrills if they are shut tight, you will be thrown off balance. You need to pray for the trust in God that he will hold everything together. There are so many fun things to do at a carnival, why not learn a little as well.

Next year I will be there again, but this time I think I will learn my life’s lessons on the kiddy rides that don’t spin and go nice and slow.

Catholic Calendar

Here is a site that is very helpful. It's called the Catholic Calendar.
It's a daily summary of the liturgical calendar.

The New Kid

This is the very first post of my very first blog. I am a little scared and a little excited. The same kind of feelings I get when I think about embarking on the adventure of homeschooling.

Next fall we will officially be a homeschooling family. I have been a mom for 9 years so I feel pretty comfortable with it. I can hold my own so to speak. Now that I am plunging into this new area I really feel like "the new kid."

When we decided to home school, I knew I wanted a Catholic curriculum so that narrowed it down some. I still spent the first couple weeks glued to the computer looking at all the great curriculum and what would be just perfect. I have met some great ladies that belong to the home school groups in my area. They have pointed me in the right direction. One mother home schools eight children, that gave me a little hope that I would succeed in homeschooling my oldest two.

Even though I feel like the new kid, awkward and unsure, I have felt so welcomed in my home school community. The support is such a blessing. Life is such a wonderful adventure, you never know what will be around the next corner. I will be taking the love of my family, the trust in my faith, and the support of friends. I better hold on because here I go!