Friday, May 27, 2011

A mom's love...

Busy busy busy around these parts.  Plus, James has been sick since Sunday and home all week with us or my parents.  (Thanks mom and dad!)
It makes it hard to work, run errands and just generally live life.  But we are managing with help and hopefully we will be all better next week.
In the meantime, look at this video of a mother's love.  It transcends species. 

Mommies make everything better!
Pretty Darn cute.
(I can't find the exact person to attribute to this, but whomever it is, thank you!)
happymommy

Monday, May 16, 2011

Do your eyes light up?...

I haven't posted in over a week, and honestly, it is exhausting me to do it now.  My life is one big car ride and work event.  First world problems, I know, but it is still a lot.  I am excited to get back to our house sometime in the next 400 years.  It will be a major blessing to be home.  For now, I am trying to juggle the happymommy house to the best of my ability.

In other news that don't involve me whining, I have been watching the Oprah show every day for the past few weeks.  Mostly on DVR after the kids have gone to bed.  This makes Jeff very happy.  (Not!)  It has become my obession as of late, and yes, I am behind the times.  These last shows of hers have been great and I have taken something away from each of them.  (Dad, stop rolling your eyes!)

On last Friday's show, she had recaps of interviews that moved her, changed the way she thought about things and how she handled herself and her show.  She replayed an interview with Toni Morrison and one of the things Ms. Morrison said was, "When a child walks in the room, your child or anybody else’s child, do your eyes light up? That’s what they’re looking for."

It made me think.  Do my eyes light up when my children walk in the room?  For a while now, no.  They haven't.  Not because I don't love and adore my children and think that they hung the moon, but I am so obsessed with getting them dressed, in the car, to school, to activities, home.  I worry if James has taken a nap.  I get so irritated with Lilly because she drives me crazy when I want to brush her hair.  Do I greet my children with an "I love you?"  More often than not I am asking them to move faster, stop whining or quit jumping up and down.

I want my eyes to light up when they walk in the room.  I am working on this.

happymommy

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Happy Cinco de Mayo

The day is almost over, but here is my tribute to Cinco de Mayo...



happymommy

Monday, May 2, 2011

Conflicted...

UPDATE:  The quote below is not actually a quote from MLK, Jr.  It was a cut and paste job from others and once I figure out who exactly, I will update again.  My opinion:  The message is the same!

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- unknown, partly Martin Luther King, Jr and others all pieced together...

This quote by [who knows really] has been all over twitter, facebook and the internet today regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.  I am so conflicted as how to feel.  What do I tell my children when they are old enough to understand?  Does this mean our troops are coming home and life will get back to the way it was pre-Osama?  I just don't know.  We celebrated the death of Hitler.  Should I celebrate the death of Osama?  Conflicted...

I look at photos of the fallen NYFD.  I listen to stories of families who lost mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers on September 11, 2001.  I think of the men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I think of the men and women who haven't made it home.   I honor these heroes and I wonder, why don't I know how to feel about the death of Osama?  Conflicted...

What do you think my readers?  I, for one, have no idea how to feel.  I certainly don't feel like celebrating, but I am also not crying for a loss.  Conflicted....

happymommy

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Weekends...

When you are a parent of small children, weekends are really harder than days of the week.  Let's face it, Monday through Friday, most children over the age of three are at daycare, preschool or school.  My children are either at school, with their grandparents or with great friends who offer to keep them a couple of hours once a week.  They are not home asking to be entertained with things other than the babysitter known as television.

Weekends can be exhausting.  For the most part they are wonderful, full of adventure and fun, but they are mind numbing and tiring all in one.

This weekend the happymommy house was no different.  Jeff was out of town enjoying himself at a Bible festival in Las Vegas (no, he he wasn't at a Bible festival, but he was in Vegas).  I found myself with only one child on Friday night and Saturday.  I only had one child and one dog to deal with for those first 24 hours Jeff was away.

James and I spent Friday evening having a picnic in the living room while we watched Tangled for the 967th time.  Friday night I rewatched the Royal Wedding for the 3rd time ater James went to bed.  I was obsessed with it for 48 hours, but I think I am over it now.  It was beautiful and history making, but let's move on shall we?
Photo Credit:  Matt Dunham / AP
I do think the flower girl agrees with me.

Saturday morning James woke up at the lovely hour of 6:30 and we cuddled in bed for an hour or so.  James wanted to watch Tangled but I wanted to stay in bed and just rest.  So, out came the DVD player and he watched Tangled for the 968th time while I twittered around on Twitter and Facebook.  Turns out, I should have been paying better attention because James' 2nd diaper of the day leaked onto every available surface of the bed.  We quickly ceased the relaxing and scurried to clean and get on with our day.  It was 9:30am. 

I decided that since the forecast was so great and it was supposed to be 70 or so in the city, we would pack another picnic, head to the beach and soak in the rays.  I packed sandwiches, drinks and tupperwear and a kitchen strainer.  We own the BEST beach toys. 


We lasted at the beach for an hour and a half.  I would have been better off packing ear muffs, a snowsuit and gloves.  I am not a novice at the Pacific Ocean beaches in Northern California, but I failed miserably yesterday.  It was freezing, windy and ridiculous.  James even commented on how cold it was to anyone who would listen to him speak 2 year old.

We ended our Saturday at my sister's house celebrating my niece's birday with thirteen 11 year olds.  My sister put together a great party and my niece had a ball.  I was allowed to leave but my sister and her husband hosted those 11 year olds all night.  She is one brave woman.

Lilly was in heaven hanging out with the big girls and James made it his business to be in all the girls' faces and get hugs and kisses from each of them.  I am already scared of Lilly's teenage years, and now I figure I should be scared of James' too.

The Cousins...

This post is going on forever, and I haven't even gotten to the part about how I had to have the police come to the Muni bus stop today while we were waiting to get to a street festival across town.  I was scared, but I must say, the lady at the station and the police responded quickly to what was probably a non-dangerous situation, but one that frightened me and Lilly as well.

Pre-Police Action...

We are home now.  Four buses, one which ran into a tree and two trantums later, we are home.  So is Jeff. 

Weekends are long, and hard and maybe even a little bit entertaining.  Maybe.

happymommy