Unexpected Guest

As I stated in my previous post, M received a Garden of Manners award at school yesterday. We normally don't watch movies during the day; it's a treat reserved for weekends, but I wanted to reward her in some way (and I had to clean house) so I suggested we go to Blockbuster.

 She chose Tinkerbell.

When all was said and done, she came prancing downstairs and told me that watching the movie made her feel like a real fairy.

She must have wished upon a star because the next thing I knew, there she was ~ The Keeper of the Pixie Dust Herself.

There isn't much more to say;
that smile says it all.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Today when I arrived to pickup M at preschool, her teacher told me, for the second time this week, that she had received a "Garden of Manners" award.

It started out as a little bit of "grass" taped to the board, but each time one of the kids displays their manners, they receive a flower or a bird to add to the garden.

I am so proud of her.

(Watching her Flowers Grow)

And, in other garden news, we decided to plant one this year.

There's a potting soil commercial running right now where the lady says,

"This is where plants come to die."

She took the words right out of my mouth.

This is what we have so far....the tomato plant we bought that size. In the soil is lettuce, zucchini, and cucumbers; we're planning on adding strawberries, spinach, and chili peppers.

I love our planter box. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be a grave for our veggies.

Oh, The Pressure

As a direct result of the geographical location of my home, I have a love/hate relationship with the sun.

In California, it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Phoenix had two seasons: "hot" October through April and "hot as hell" May through September. Maryland was picture perfect, as in the calendar and Mother Nature were always in agreement with what the weather outside should be.

But in the Great Northwest where the sun is a rare commodity, that's where the problem lies. The usual free-spirit, make-love-not-war aura of these parts is quickly forgotten when the sun comes out. He's a dictator of sorts and we are the products of his communist ways. Nobody tells you this when you move here,you go into it blindly, but it's inevitable, live here long enough, and its iron grip will grab a hold of you too.

We will literally stop in our muddy tracks and scramble around in search of something to do ~ something that doesn't involve getting drenched the second we walk outside our front doors. Ironically, though, we can't wait to get drenched, and just like that, our arsenal of water toys are pulled out and dusted off:  Balloons, guns, Slip and Slides.

Oh, the pressure! You feel inadequate, guilty, like a bad parent, if you don't maximize your time in the sun. Not to mention that you're depriving yourself and your kids that much-needed dose of Vitamin D.

So, while I admit that I am now one of them ~ the ones that get giddy over a ray of sun ~ there's also a part of me that feels some bitterness at the fact that I've succumbed to it yet again.

And while we're on the subject of bitter....a lot of folks around here have what they call "'Seasonal Depression." Not me. I have what I call "Seasonal Pissed Off."

It's a condition that occurs every year around February when there hasn't been a sighting of the sun in about five months and the drizzle has been constant for just as long, which, as a direct result, causes one to feel, well, PISSED!

So I wait, and wait, and wait. And then one day, there really is light, sunlight, and I remember just how much I love the sun.

This came totally unexpected! With a cheesy grin on my face I walk over to my closet and open the door to a plethora of leggings, jeans, and sweatshirts. Anything that resembles summer is packed in boxes under the bed; as I reach down to find them, I notice that my toenails haven't been touched in a long time and are in no way sandal-worthy; next, I catch a glimpse of my white and ashy legs ~ a mere second before I realize that any plans we had for the day have to be changed in the next two minutes and the "You-just-never-know-when-we'll-see-the-sun-again.....gotta-maximize-our-time," chants begin.

Did I mention my love/hate dilemma?

Picture Perfect

I had the pleasure of having my mom in town today. We dropped M off at preschool, went to Macy's; I got spoiled as usual by her. We picked up M and went to Applebees.

A few hours later, we met D at Fujiyama. We had a wonderful and entertaining dinner. The kids were generous in their choice of a gift.

Dessert came next...an ice cream cake at home.

.......................................................................MY BIRTHDAY

It was a picture-perfect day.

Come to Momma

This weekend, D decided to take the kids to Corvallis for a visit with his parents. And not only that! It's lambing season to boot! Who could pass that up, right? Apparently NOT my hubby and kids, that's who! This is the second year in a row that somehow my FIL has managed to coerce them into making the three-hour drive in an attempt to watch a sheep give birth.

I'm not as easily convinced. And just like last year, I decided to sit this one out.

One of my favorite things to do is to hang out at home when it's quiet and clean. Unfortunately, that seldom happens for more than a couple of hours at a time; hours which are usually spent cleaning in hopes that I can sit down and enjoy the fruits of my labor for a few minutes before the truck pulls up, the three musketeers come strolling in, and the house is messy in a snap!

They left Friday afternoon. I had a previous engagement at J's school that I attended but cut short at the last minute. I wouldn't have bailed out had it been a big deal, but since it wasn't, I didn't want it cutting into MY time. I went out and got some food to bring home, poured myself a glass of wine, and sat by the TV catching up on shows.

Saturday morning was glorious. I woke up to quiet......I stayed in bed for a few minutes and just listened to nothing. Once I got up I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch watching yet more shows until I decided to stay home all day and tackle my craft closet. It was a daunting task but one that I'm happy to report is almost done. That evening I headed out to dinner with the ladies of the neighborhood. We had good food and conversation. And then I came home, watched more TV, and headed off to bed.

Another quiet morning awaited me. At 9:25 I went to Safeway to pick up some meat for dinner. By 10 it was sitting in the Crock Pot waiting for my peeps to get home. I worked on the craft closet a bit more, went to Barnes and Noble to get a Nook issue dealt with; even spent a few minutes on the phone with them once I got back. Got it fixed, scraped a page, took a shower, organized some pictures, and at about 4:30 greeted the family at the door.

While it's nice to have the time to unwind, I can't imagine doing that day after day. My beloved quiet would probably drive me mad.

I can't really say that I missed them, but they were only gone 49 hours ~ That's not a typo. It was 49 ~ However, I'm very grateful that they're mine; that they're home is here. With me.

That doesn't mean they're not available for loan, not at all. They just have to come to momma after a couple of days.