My DIY House

There are few things in this world that make me feel as satisfied and accomplished as a good DIY project. When I tackle a craft or a home decor project that adds a personal touch to my home, I feel good, no doubt about it. I love looking around my home and knowing that most of the items on the walls, whether they are pictures I've taken or projects I've completed, are unique and personal. They are items that I will treasure for always, I am sure of it.

I won't go into long tutorials or endless instructions, but I just wanted to compile a picture post of some of my favorite DIY projects that I've done over the past few years. Some of these were gifts and aren't actually in my home now, but they still gave me that sense of satisfaction that a good DIY project always does. I have a few new projects that I've been working on as Christmas gifts, so I can't post them yet, but I can't wait to share them after they've been given! :-)

Whenever I'm feeling down or like my home just needs a little change, a good, thrifty, personal project always seems to lift my spirits. I've got one on the agenda for this week too--I'll be sharing it soon!

Go out and make something, it just might end up being your favorite item in your home.

Stay Small...

My kids are constantly asking things like, "How old do I have to be to ____________?" Mow the lawn, ride in the front seat, drink wine (that was Ava, help us all, lol), use the oven by themselves. The list goes on and on. I completely understand where they are coming from, because for so much of my life I felt like I was sitting on the cusp of something really good. If I could only drive a car, then my life would be perfect. Once I graduated highschool and went to college, that's where the fun would really begin.

Of course now I know that none of that is true. Sure, drinking wine is fun, but hangovers over the age of 30 are pure hell, lol. Mowing the lawn definitely doesn't seem like a privilege. And truth be told, I've always secretly (ok, not so secretly) hated driving. If anyone else offers to drive, I practically throw the keys in their face. Sometimes I'd just rather not have to be the responsible party.

And that's the heart of the matter, isn't it? I was thinking the other day how I hate to separate my life into "before kids" and "after kids" because it seems so one-dimensional. But some days I literally can not, for the life of me, remember what it felt like to wake up in the morning and not immediately have to worry about the well-being of 2 other people. I don't remember what it felt like to wake up on a Sunday morning and lie blissfully in bed, with the most important thing on my to-do list maybe being "organize the pantry." It seems like an entire lifetime ago.

Perhaps that is why, when my littles ask their questions, "When, when, when will I be big enough?" I tend to say things like, "You can drive a car when you're 16, but how about we get through Kindergarten first?" I don't want them to wish it all away, because I just know that it will be here faster than I can blink. I don't want to tell them that being an adult comes with all of these mundane responsibilities, like bills, and taxes, and housework. I just want to let them be kids for as long as they can.

I don't know what made me think of it the other day, maybe just because I've had my brother on my mind lately, but Aiden is now almost the exact same age that my brother was when our dad passed away. I hate thinking about it, how young and naive and innocent my little Aiden seems to me...and that my brother lost his Dad when he was so very small. It was different for me and my sister, we were years older and had more insight into the personal situation going on at home, in many ways even at almost-9-years-old, I could see how losing our father might turn out to be a blessing for us (he was, in short, not a good person, or father). But my brother didn't really know this, couldn't comprehend it. All he knew was that he was 5-years-old, and his father was dead, and never coming back. I think about having to try to explain something like that to my Aiden...it literally brings me to tears. Naturally I hope and pray that this is never something I have to deal with...but still, I've had it on my mind.

Anyway, this post sort of turned out to be a downer! Lol. I apologize. I guess when you are in that state of mind, you can't help but put it somewhere.

In other, unrelated, news. I got a part-time job! I am working at the YMCA in the drop-in childcare for members 3 evenings a week. So far it's been pretty good, I've had some crazy nights, but all in all it is a wonderful experience. It's definitely opened my eyes to how very lucky I am to have healthy, happy children. The kids are taking my job in stride and are very understanding that their Dad has to put them to bed when Mom is at work. So far, it's working out well, so that is great!

Everyone else is doing well. Ava had a little fever this morning and stayed home from school, but she seems fine now. I have Aiden's first parent-teacher conference this evening, hopefully it goes well! He really enjoys school and is doing great, so I am not too worried about it.

Happy Fall to all! I can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away! It will be Christmas before we know it!

School Daze...

I've been a bad blogger. But, doesn't it just seem like September went by at WARP speed? I can't be the only one who feels that way, lol.

My little Avie-bug started preschool back on Sept. 12th. She has two teachers, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Knight, and she's attending St. Paul's Lutheran Preschool, the same school that Aiden went to last year. We've been so pleased with this school, the teachers are so wonderful and caring and it is a great little community. I've been really fortunate to have made some amazing friends from the preschool, and it felt so nice to come back this year and not be "new."

Ava is really loving school. Her teachers say she is very disciplined and the best "rule follower" in the class. Mrs. Johnson also told me that Ava is the only kid in her class (of 13) that can write her name (though, to be fair, it IS only 3 letters, lol). At home we are working hard on learning all of our ABC's, she's definitely been slower to catch onto the alphabet than Aiden was, but she's just such a different child. They are both so unique and I wouldn't change them for anything.

Aiden is loving Kindergarten. I am really impressed with his teacher and the amount of learning that is involved in a meager 2 hours and 45 minutes of Kindergarten a day. That's not a lot of time! I supplement that at home with a lot of reading, sight words, writing exercises, etc, but he's just been a little sponge this month, soaking it all in. He's reading beginner reader books with minimal help and he's starting to get less frustrated with unknown words and learning to take his time to sound out the letters and build the word.

I'm a proud mama--they are both doing great and (knock on wood) I have absolutely nothing to complain about!

Here are some pics from Ava's first day of school. Enjoy!

Take a Back Road

I was driving in the car with the kids today and I had one of those precious moments that I wish I could wrap in pretty paper and keep in my pocket...forever. Not the "big" moments, not like starting pre-school or Kindergarten or birthdays or Christmas morning, just a special moment that felt perfect, and I wanted to keep it. There we were, cruising down 20 with the windows all open and the breezy fall air flowing through the car. Our hair was blowing and my kids were singing all the words to Rodney Atkins "Take a Back Road," because they are forced to inherit my love of country music so they know all the words to all of the great new songs:) They were waving their hands in the air and had red apple cheeks and bright, shiny eyes and I felt it. I felt that tightness in my chest, like an iron vice gripping my heart and suddenly my eyes were threatening to spill over. Because it was perfect. Just a moment, just a silly little grain of sand in this giant hourglass of my life, and I wanted to reach out and drench it in bronze...freeze it forever, because it was happiness and sunshine and light and laughter and love. In just one single moment.

That's my favorite part about being a mom. Most days have bad parts, most days I kick myself for something that didn't go right. But there is almost always that one perfect moment where I can feel the love flowing between us, fluid like hot liquid lava, a thread that was never severed when they left my womb. I feel anchored and whole and like I'm the most important person in the whole wide world. Because of them.

I just had to write it down. I know I haven't blogged much lately...summer was busy and I got lazy. But I tend to forget that I started this blog for me, as a record of my time home with my babies, as a log for my journey into motherhood. I don't always need to be profound, or have something meaningful to say, I just need to write it down. Because those moments like the one today, they happen a lot, but then I forget them. And I don't want to forget. I love that I'm keeping this record, so that some day I can read it back to my babies, right from the very beginning, and they will know that even though sometimes I might not show it in the right ways, my love for them is powerful and my words are my proof.

Kindergarten!

Yes, it's true. My sweet, amazing 5-year-old boy is officially a Kindergartener. I can hardly believe it. He's so big now!

On Thursday morning of last week we had Kindergarten orientation in the morning. We got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Juchnowski, and the parents listened to some important school information while the kids did a bus safety program (even the children who won't ride the bus, just to get used to the rules for future field trips). Aiden is attending Hale Rd. Elementary school in the Riverside (Painesville Township) school district. There are 6 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school in the district. His high school class is going to be BIG--there are 65 kids in Kindergarten at Hale Rd. elementary and I am told that the other elementaries are equally as big. His teacher, who goes by Mrs. J, teaches morning Kindergarten at another school in the district, and then comes to teach one of the two afternoon Kindergarten classes at Hale Rd. I was very impressed by the school's principal, Mr. Miley, who is kind and caring but also strict with his kids and with the parents as well--I can tell he is the driving force behind the school's excellent rating!

Since we live so close to the school, Aiden (and eventually Ava) won't ride the bus, he needs to be dropped off and picked up, which is fine by me:) I know he is a little disappointed about missing out on the exciting bus ride, but selfishly I am happy to take him myself! On Friday afternoon we sat outside the school until the buses pulled up and Mrs. J came out to get the students. The principal shook all of the kids hands and welcomed them to Kindergarten and in Aiden went, with not even a look back to his Mommy. I was wearing sunglasses and hopefully hid my tears from the other 10 or so parents who were also dropping off, lol. When I picked Aiden up he had a huge smile on his face, said he loved Kindergarten and had a great day. A big success!

I can't believe he's actually in real school now. At first I was a bit disappointed that he got put in PM Kindergarten (12:30pm-3:15pm) since Ava will be going to preschool M-W-F mornings, but I can already see the benefits of having some one-on-one time with each child. They rarely get me to themselves and it will be so nice to be able to tailor our crafts and projects to each of their individual needs and interests. I am really looking forward to everything about this year! I also signed them up to both take Gym 'n Swim 'n Splash at the Y every Tuesday morning. It's 30 minutes of games and sports in the gym, a 30 minute swim lesson and then 30 minutes of free swim. I know they will both love it and it will give me a nice little break too:-)

Here are the pictures of Aiden on his first day. He's so excited about school and I am excited for him! Ava doesn't start pre-school until Sept. 12th, so you'll have to wait a few more weeks for her "first day" pics, but she is pretty excited too!

:-)

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

We've probably all heard this quote at some point in our lives. I'm more than a little ashamed to admit that I very rarely live by it. At almost every period of my life, I can remember wishing that time would speed up. I'm almost always looking forward to the next big "thing": the next season, the next trip, even the next weekend. In grade school, I couldn't wait for middle school. In middle school, I dreamed about highschool. In highschool, I fantasized about college. I've always been that way, one foot in the present and the other perched precariously on the edge of something that hasn't even happened yet, but in my mind must be minutely more meaningful.

It feels almost deliriously wonderful to be standing still, for nearly the first time in my life. I am living in every moment of this summer. I'm not looking forward, I'm not looking back. If anything, I am a tiny bit terrified of this fall, sending my babies both off to school. That's a milestone for a mother too, isn't it? I'm excited for them, but I'm certainly not wishing that September would hurry on up.

Maybe it has something to do with being on the verge of 31, a number that feels somehow infinitely older than 30. Maybe it is because my children are just so much fun to be around right now. They are in that wonderful stage where they want to be with me, be in my presence, but don't need my undivided attention every minute of the day. It's my absolute favorite time since becoming a mother, a time that I've dreamed and fantasized about for so long that now that it's here, I just don't want time to keep marching on. But I can feel it, tick tick ticking away, every minute like a grain of sand in an hourglass that I'll never flip over.

Today I will drink pink lemonade. I will watch my littles ride their bikes. I will sing songs and dance dances. I will push swings. I will feel the sun on my face. I will feel the wind whip through my hair with the car windows down. I will hold tiny hands, and try not to think about how they feel a bit bigger than last week. I will be present in the present, because it is my gift.

Dear 16-year-old-me

There is a viral video going around right now called "Dear 16-year-old-me" as part of the campaign for skin cancer prevention and awareness. It's an intense and emotional video, and well worth watching, but it got me thinking. What if I could go back and give my 16-year-old self some advice? Would I do it? I've always maintained that if I ever had the chance to go back and change my mistakes, I wouldn't do it, because without my missteps and wrong turns and detours I wouldn't be where I am today. And today is good...great even. But I think I might have a few suggestions for my teenage self. And I thought I would share them here, because someday my 16-year-old daughter might need a little advice too:)

Dear 16-year-old-me,

* That boy who cheats on you and breaks your heart? It turns out that he really isn't worth it. Don't spend the next 5 years throwing yourself away trying to prove that you are special. It will not improve your self esteem.

* Drive more carefully. Much, much more carefully. Your wallet will thank you if you can avoid the accidents and speeding tickets!

* When someone introduces you to the "screwdriver," don't overdo it. If you do it will ruin orange juice for you forever, and that is a sad thing!

* Your little brother is not your responsibility, but he is your family. He needs you and he won't be able to admit it. Make more time for him, be his friend, reach out to him even if he insists he is ok. He isn't. And someday you will wish you had taken better care of him...

* Don't major in Advertising in college just because Journalism seems too intimidating. You are a writer, so follow your passion even if it means subjecting yourself to criticism and possible failure. You'll never know unless you try.

* Don't stop singing in college. Try out for a chorus or an acapella choir or something. You might not be the best alto in the world, but singing makes you happy--don't give it up because you are afraid.

* Don't spend so much time with your college boyfriend that you lose touch with your best girlfriend. It will be something that you will regret for the rest of your life, because you will learn the hard way that people like her are special and should be treasured, and you will always need a good girlfriend in your life.

* Holding grudges is a terrible character flaw. Learn early how to forgive and move on, it will save you a year of anger and hurt later in life...

* If, at some point, you find yourself with 100 cases of chocolate bars in your living room that are free samples for your job, do not spend night after night eating them. It is true what they say about chocolate: a moment on your lips, a lifetime on your hips. Your body will thank you if you can resist them.

* Take really good care of yourself when you are pregnant. Do not ever start drinking sweet tea, it will add 20 extra pounds to your pregnancy weight gain.

* Floss your teeth. A lot. Just trust me on this one...


I have so many more things I could say to the 16-year-old-me...but then again, if I did, I might not have learned the lessons I know now. I could tell her to never open that credit card in college just to get that free leather binder, but then I wouldn't know how it feels to buy a bunch of things I can't afford and slowly take years to pay them off, lol. I could tell her to think long and hard about getting those 2 cats in college, because cats live a looong time...but those cats love me, and they need me, and I couldn't imagine them with any other owner. I could tell her so many things, but the truth is that I owe it to myself to own up to my own mistakes. They make me who I am today, they are a part of my history. I hope that when my children are teenagers, I have enough faith to let them make some of their own mistakes, but also to protect them from what I can. Luckily for me, that's a long time off!

P.S. Seriously, do take a moment to watch the video link I posted, and make sure to always wear sunscreen to protect your skin. I'll admit, the 16-year-old-me didn't wear a lot of sunscreen either. And it's definitely something I would go back to tell her to do!

Fortune 5-what?

Once, recently, after finding out that I was a Stay-at-home-mom, I had a stranger tell me, with a sympathetic pat on the arm, "Don't worry, sweetie. You aren't the only mom out there who never used her college degree." Because I'm trying to keep my hot-temper under wraps these days, I smiled and nodded and went on my way with my mean thoughts screaming loudly in my head. "NOT use my college degree!! How DARE SHE!!!"

I majored in Advertising in college. And I use it ALL THE TIME.

"Guess what kids? Tonight we're having Spinach Lasagna! Yum, it is sooo good! It tastes just like pepperoni pizza! How great is that? Oh...the green stuff? Don't worry, it's the BEST part! It tastes just like cheese!" Tell me that didn't practically win an Oscar, lol.

And guess who ate it tonight? Guess who proclaimed it "The Best Lasagna He's Ever Eaten!" (ok, so it's the only lasagna he's ever eaten...but really, who's counting?;-) Clearly, I am an Advertising Genius! (*Hint, it wasn't Chuck! It was AIDEN!!)

Seriously though, do I ever get tired of the "Oh, you stay at HOME all day? I could NEVER do that!" comments? You bet I do. And you know why? Because I never imagined myself here either.

Surprised? Me too. But growing up...I'll admit it, I never wanted children. I didn't fantasize about them, I didn't like babysitting them. During my brief, but albeit beloved, stint as a summer camp counselor, I repeatedly requested to be with the oldest children I could legally be with--I just couldn't imagine myself with young children. I sailed easily through college, landed myself a job that I thoroughly sucked at (I use that word lightly, lol), got myself another job that I didn't love but wasn't terrible at...and fell in love with one Mr. Charles Bailey II. Along came Aiden, the surprise of my life...and it's 100% true what they say, children change you. Those people that say, "Oh, I'll never let having a baby change me!" Well, they are wrong. It is impossible. Having a baby DOES change you, oh yes it does. Those people that say, "I'll never let my children become my whole life!" Well, they didn't have children, did they? Because, let me tell you, it happens.

I became a mother, and it became my whole life. They became my whole life. Being part of a non-broken family, a whole unit, for the first time in my life? It consumed me. In the best way possible.

People ask me all the time, "Do you think you'll ever go back to work?" "Don't you miss having your own money?" "Doesn't it feel strange not having anything for yourself?" And I have some answers. I'm not sure...yes...and sometimes. I would like to "go back" to work someday, if the time was right. But I loathe the insinuation that while I'm at home I'm not "working." Because I absolutely AM. I do everything in my physical power to get ALL of the chores that I can done during the week so that we can spend time together as a family when Chuck isn't working on the weekend. That means mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, weeding, sweeping, etc. I try my best to do literally everything inside of this house that I can think of so that Chuck won't have to do it on the weekend. But I also do a really great job of taking care of my kids. I teach them in so many ways, and take them so many places. They get to take lessons and go to museums and the zoo and parks and playdates. We learn a lot together and I take pride in teaching them in new and exciting ways. So it hurts me when people insinuate that this "job" is easy. Because it isn't. Some days it is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And yes I miss the adult interaction, and yes I miss having my own money, and yes I miss feeling important and appreciated.

But do you know what?

I'm a good mom. And it's my JOB. And I am tired of apologizing for it. I am a Stay-At-Home-Mom, and I am proud of it. I am proud of my husband for making it work for us. I am proud of myself for doing a good job. And I will not feel ashamed of "not using my college degree."

How's that for Advertising? :-)

I might not work for a Fortune 500 company, but I have the greatest fortune I could have ever imagined, and it's 2 sets of bright, shiny eyes waiting for me to show them the world, every single morning. No one brings me coffee, most of the time it gets spilled on me. And it's more than ok. It's Motherhood. And it just might be all the fortune I ever need....

The Summer of Warp Speed

Doesn't this always seem to be the case? When you want time to speed up because you are looking forward to a future event, time seems to practically stand still. But when you are finally, mercifully, ready to be IN the moment, to relax and enjoy the PRESENT, it goes by at warp speed? I am in awe of how quickly this summer is flying by. The days are passing in a blur and I find myself wishing I could be Zack Morris back on Saved By The Bell, when he could yell "time-out!" and time would freeze. I would totally time-out this summer, that's how much I am loving it:)

There are certain times in your life when you look around and think to yourself, "Somebody, quickly! Pinch me! I must be dreaming, because this can't be real!" I really, truly do feel that way right now. And I am trying so hard to squash my inner-realist who threatens to rear her ugly head and yell, "Just wait, your luck will run out soon!" We are so happy right now. My amazing husband got a PROMOTION last week--whoo hoo, SO proud of him! So if you live in Ohio and your insurance rates go up, you know who to partially blame, haha. The weather has been amazing. We have healthy children, a pool membership, a ton of wonderful parks and beaches and bike trails and fun things to do nearby. I've never liked the word "blessed" but I certainly have to agree with the definition: "good fortune" seems to sum it all up right now. We are lucky, plain and simple. And I am so grateful:)

Here are some recent pics. The kids showing off their new Indians hats and new pajamas. Enjoying Playground World and the pool. Our "new & improved" swingset--we upgraded the disc swing for a double glider that the kids love being able to do themselves.

Life is sweet. Even sweeter than the fresh peaches sitting on my kitchen counter:) I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Summer of Fun

My apologies for the long wait between posts. You see, we got new phones last month--my Mother's Day present and the coolest, best thing I've gotten in a long, long time. I love it, and the camera on my phone is actually better than my point-n-shoot, and has it's own awesome editing software right on the phone...so, yeah. I've been taking a lot of pictures, but not really putting them anywhere! I promise to be better about uploading them!

Things here in northeast Ohio are...wonderful. Really. Summer has finally arrived, with its fresh grass clippings and warmer temps and no school. The kids and I are having a blast, going to parks and the pool and the beach, riding bikes and eating popsicles and doing all of that fun summer stuff. I really want this summer to be about fun and sunshine, giving us lots of good, happy, warm memories to stuff away and pull out during the cold, long winter (which is, thankfully, far far away still). I joked the other day that I want my toughest decisions this summer to be: pool or beach?; beer or wine?; and peanut butter or ham 'n cheese sandwiches? We've literally eaten every single lunch this week outdoors, and it is heaven:) (My kitchen likes it too! lol)

So here is to a summer of fun and memories. A summer of laughter and smiles, popsicle tongues and dirty bare feet. A summer of splashing and swimming, swinging and sliding, and having the best time we can possibly have. Together:)

On a side note, at the pool the other day (LOVING our Y membership, the pool is very close and so much fun!) I was watching a mother with a 3 month old baby and a 2 year old son try to juggle it all. She was feeding the baby and trying to keep an eye on her toddler, coaxing him to come closer, be careful, stay within sight. The baby started fussing and she looked over at me and the kids who were eating sandwiches and carrot sticks and juice boxes in our deck chairs, and she said, "I am so envious of you right now, you have no idea." I laughed. Oh how I laughed, because I DO have an idea, because I used to be her and I remember those days and how I longed for the time when my kids would be old enough to sit in chairs and eat their lunch and then swim and splash nearby. IT. HAS. ARRIVED. And I am truly loving this stage of motherhood, no diapers, no babies, just me and my littles, who have really become my very best buddies.

It's going to be a fantastic summer:)

Smells Like a Memory

We often joke around our house about Ava's amazingly keen sense of smell. She can smell anything from what seems like a mile away. She's always the first to comment on dinner cooking, or the smell of flowers in the air, or fresh cut grass. She can smell from downstairs when Bailey has pooped in the playroom (damn cat!) on the far end of the house. She can't even walk into Target without commenting, "Mmmm, I smell popcorn!"

It's no secret that smells can induce memories and feelings, and most scientists agree that smell is in fact the strongest sense tied to memory. Most of us will have a strong visual image when presented with a particular smell from a good or bad memory in our childhood. I know, for me, that the smell of a campfire floods my brain with wonderful images, camping with my dad when we were kids, or attending a campfire at Camp Eberhart in my teens. I simply can't smell a campfire smoldering and not feel the smile creep onto my face, literally lighting me up from the inside. My nose knows:)

But I found an interesting article about the correlation between olfactory sensitivity and emotional sensitivity that intrigued me. (http://www.neatorama.com/2009/10/13/correlation-found-between-sense-of-smell-and-emotional-sensitivity/). Are people who smell better more emotionally sensitive? And why? It certainly might explain my extremely sensitive daughter, who seems to feel every emotion like it might be her very last. It might even explain my own over-sensitivity when it comes to my emotional feelings.

Whatever the scientific reason for the link between smell and memory, I know that as a parent I plan to use it to my advantage:-) I want my children to smell a campfire, or my homemade macaroni and cheese, or even just the chlorine in the pool at the Y, and be comforted. I want to conjure happy, loving memories that will last a lifetime. Can you smell that? It's a memory:)

Picture post

Just a quick picture roundup from April, as I've been meaning to put these all up but keep forgetting. We had a very nice Easter dinner at Chuck's sister's house and I remembered to take some pictures of the kids with relatives, since I haven't taken any new pictures in ages. You'll notice that Chuck is absent from all of these photos...one of these days I'll manage to convince him to actually be in a picture with his own wife and children (hint...hint...) ;-)

I hope everyone had a nice Easter and April, despite the terrible very UN-spring-like weather we've all had. I'm sincerely hoping that May is better than April, though is the forecast for this week is any indication, I am going to be disappointed, lol.

Please keep Ava in your thoughts as she's pretty sick with some sort of fever virus, poor doll:( She's been running a pretty high temp for the past two days, I hope she feels better soon!

To Everything, turn, turn, turn...

I love all of the four seasons for different reasons, but there is something particularly reviving about the brink of Spring, that essential time when it hasn't quite yet sprung, but Mother Nature tempts us every so often. I am not, at all, a Bible reader, but I can't help but think of the song adapted from Ecclesiastes, "To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose, under Heaven." Beautiful words with a significant meaning, for spring simply can't exist without the winter that precedes it.

For every time I felt that aching in my soul this winter, that hollowness in my bones and the longing for a warm breeze on my cheek...it's sweeter now. I can lift my face to the sun and finally feel the heat, bask in the smell of new green things about to burst forth. I can literally feel the earth's trembling excitement in my bones. Everything has lay dormant for so long, myself included. I feel like I am finally emerging again, from a cozy den and a long winter's nap, to find myself utterly fresh and new, colorful and fragrant. How strange it is to have felt like I literally lost myself because I couldn't plant my toes in the grass...

I don't believe in the general premise of religion, but I can relate to what a religious experience must be like. There is nothing more soul stretching, more grounding and yet simultaneously uplifting--for me, anyway--than stretching out on a nice green lawn, feeling the wind on my face, and admiring the sky. If there really is such a thing as the "Holy Spirit," that's the only place I can ever imagine it existing.

One of my favorite architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, once said, I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. I couldn't have said it better myself:)

Happy Spring!

Aiden's Birthday

Aiden had a great 5th birthday. Thank you to everyone who mailed cards or sent presents, he was so happy and excited! We just did a nice, quiet family day with presents, cake & ice cream, a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and anything he wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He got two Star Wars Lego sets from Chuck and me and then decided to spend his birthday money from his Granny & Grandad and his Aunt Deb & Uncle Bill on two more Star Wars Lego sets, so he is in Lego heaven and hasn't stopped chattering about Legos since his birthday, lol.

After my failed attempts at both Chuck and Ava's birthday cakes last year, I finally decided to start a new birthday cake tradition in our house. The day before your birthday, you get to go to Walmart (classy, I know, but they have the biggest selection of ready-made cakes!) and pick out any cake you want. Then you can put whatever you want on it, toys or candy or decorations. We found some Power Rangers birthday decorations at the Party Store and Aiden decided to make it a theme. He picked the most atrocious lime green and blue cake (but it was delicious!) and arranged all of his Power Rangers on it along with a Power Ranger candle and a #5 candle. He declared it perfect and it was the easiest birthday cake I've never baked, ha ha.

Happy birthday to my wonderful, sweet boy! Great things lie ahead for him, of that I am certain:)