do it again tomorrow!

some mondays are great.  some mondays are slow starting.  some mondays begin in a frenzy.  today, my monday was just the way i like it to be. kind of.

this morning began with kids going off to school, on their buses as usual.......unusual this year.  we had alot of  mornings this year where we practically had to pull our kids out of their beds.  grace had so many false starts, that we had to ask her what day it was or what school she goes to.  the first question she once answered, "fluffy" and to the second , she answered the wrong school, in the wrong town.  t.j. woke up but seemed to be stuck in peanut butter as he maneuvered his mornings.

we have probably driven our kids to school more this year than all of their school years combined.  grace wiwth mono and t.j. with the flu has had uw hopping or in the kids' case, flopping.

having grace with mono zapped a monday or two.  t.j. has had a few sick days this year as well.  considering this family made it until about 7th grade with no absences, we're doing o.k.  we have been most fortunate.

i had some "stuff" to take care of this morning....no big deal...just "stuff" on a list.  i had some things in the house to take care of. and of course, the fun part of the morning...walking daisy and fitzy.  no matter what, they get me up and atom.....in any weather.  i actually like that.

one phone call came in from grace....not a text, since her phone is off limits for awhile!  she actually had to speak when she called to ask me to bring her bag with gym clothes.  it's surprising how the sweet and sugary politeness is magnified when a cell phone is removed/pryed from her hands.

i was happy to make the delivery since i was on my way out to walk the dogs.  i walked with them around the green in town and up and down a few streets.

my main goal on this bright and sunny, cold monday was to go ice skating on a nearby pond.  late yesterday, biff and i went skating alone....and we were practically alone on the ice at the end of the day.  superbowl sunday is on of our favorite skating days.  so many people are out at parties or home preparing to watch the game, it's great to get the ice to ourselves. as we used to say at the rink where we met, "no rink rats".

we do love the little kids skating, we've always had our own kids out on the ice since they could walk.....but, there's something magical about having a pond just for us.

today was a monday of lists and organization....which i'm still learning.  some mondays feel so full of potential, i feel like a school kid with new notebooks and pens on the first day of school.  nevermind starting out fresh for the new year or labor day, monday is my chance every week to get things started right.

all of those lofty goals.....i'm ready for them on monday.  i've got plans, big plans.  i've got out the datebook and the calendar and i'm ready to roll.  if i can make it here, i'll make it anywhere, it's up to you monday, monday!  now we're talkin'!  oh yeah!  it's a new day.  i'm off!  i'm alone and i'm ready!

sometimes it just works. i get it all together.  i just get started and everything goes my way....at least it seems that way. it helps my momentum. sometimes a phone call comes in and changes my plans.  sometimes a sick kid changes my plans.

i had e-mails, e-bay biz, facebook for a couple of fun minutes with coffee, i had "stuff" like dishwasher, laundry and kitchen cleanup after the whirlwind of family coming and going all weekend....just the usual "stuff" to do.  i was ticking things off my list.....house, dogs, speed shop at the grocery store, auto body to fix a light....it was a big day for me just because i remembered the list!

i called a friend who usually meets me to walk our dogs.  her cell phone wasn't on.....i stopped by her house.  just as i knocked on her door, she was calling me on my cell phone!
i told her i was there to make her an offer.

when i ask a friend this question, i usually have to skate around the issue.....the question,"do you want to go ice skating with me?"  usually, friends rattle off a list of excuses why they can't, why the won't, why they couldn't, why they wouldn't.

this friend had possibilities.  she likes doing things outdoors.  she likes getting exercise.  she has great get up and go when others sometime make excuses about their get up and go.....they explain that it already got up and went. so, i was hopeful. it sounded like a yes as we sat together having a cup of tea.

nope.  not today.  it wasn't happening. maybe tomorrow.  the only trick with making plans to skate...ice melts.  i had to go today. we never know if the ice is good tomorrow.

that's what kept me moving today...ice. i got everything done just to have that little bit of skating time for myself.  i knew i'd probably go alone....i like that anyway.  still, i wanted to try to get someone else to share the sunny day on the ice. 

after our cup of tea, i drove off to the pond. i had the dogs with me.  i parked the car alongside the pond and parked so that they could stay warm in the sun. i took my ice cold skates out of the car, crossed over the ice and mud mixture and let the sunshine warm me up as i sat on the makeshift bench....lacing my well worn skates, still white as snow.....after all of these years.

i was no longer cold as i tredded carefully across the edge of the pond, frozen and ruddy....and made it out to the ice that had been shoveled and free of snow.  ahhhhh.  i was skating in the cold air and sunshine.  i couldn't ask for a better monday. no matter what, i need my exercise....just to stay happy and fit.

skating. gliding on the ice makes me feel so free. "push, push, glide," as i say to the kids that i teach.  i'm not a professional skater and i'm not a skating teacher....i just love it and i love to teach kids to love it too. it's almost the same feeling as riding my bike.....it's freedom!  "pedal, pedal, glide," i shout out to the kids that i teach to ride a bike.  swimming gives me that same sense of freedom. it's just another place to feel free. i love teaching kids to swim too! "blow bubbles and kick, kick, kick!  i repeat over and over...enthusiasm never lacking.

i think i love those teaching times because it's sharing the joy of something that i love....it's something that i take for granted....until i see what a struggle it is for a child just starting out.  it's so great to make it fun! and safe! it's great to see how proud they are.....proud of accomplishing something new that seemed so daunting.

i was feeling proud today too.  i had the whole pond to myself.  i had accomplished so much this morning just for this moment.  skating. skating.skating.  i was feeling the wind blowing across the pond, the warmth of the sun reflecting on the snow and ice and the muscles in my legs relaxing.  i was taking it all in.  i was loving everything......the peace, the solitude, the endorphins, the sun, the wind, the warmth.......


then, *BOOM* i slipped backwards and i slammed down on the ice...bottom first....then, *WHACK* my head went *BANG*! i had hit a patch of grass frozen into the ice....the pond was shallow.  i was shaken to my core.  i sobbed.  i sobbed more as i carefully plodded back to the bench....i unlaced my skates.  i slipped on my warm, soft boots and trudged back to the car.

i cried on my way home.  i called biff to tell him how i hurt.  i just needed someone to know.  someone who would care.  there was nothing he could do, but it was comforting just to have him know how shaken up i was.

i wiped my tears. i told the dogs all about my woes.  at home,i walked in the door. grace had just gotten in the door.  t.j. arrived home in moments.  we were back to our routine.  the weekday routine.

i had a great day. my head is still aching.  it was great to start a new week.  it was great to have ice in winter.  it was great to have a day to myself.  it was great to take the time to skate. it was great to have freedom.

i'll to do it again tomorrow!

that's nice!

we just got back from a fun dinner with friends. some new, some old....mostly connected through our kids.  just take any three couples who are out for a night and unless there's an axe murderer in the bunch, i'm pretty much going to have some fun.  we are out. biff and i are out alone...with another couple....and another couple....and another couple.

it's a date.  i count it as a date.  we showered, got dressed up a little...for our shoreline lives, said our good byes to grace and t.j., drove to the next town while listening to the radio station of our choice, walked into the restaurant, met one couple who we didn't know yet....until we figured out that they were there to meet our friends....and us for the first time....and the other couple for the first time.  then our friends arrived....with the other friends.  got it? o.k.  it doesn't matter.

it counted as a date.  kind of like our kids' playdates from toddler days....we all met at a restaurant.  we looked down at our menus instead of up when we ordered.  we all played well together.  we all had alot of laughs.  and we all shared...stories, not legos or barbies.  we were all just happy to be out....anywhere...just out.

and that's pretty much the way the night went. 8 people who liked to get out for a date and play with others.  we all did have our kids in common.  but, it's funny how they didn't even come up in conversation.  we love them.  but, it was our playdate.
we share alot of playdates with our friends.  i even share playdates with our golden retrievers.  sometimes we just need our own playdates.

it's so nice to know that there are other people who live like us.  just living life....loving their kids.....getting out....getting away from their kids.  it's not so much the getting away from the kids.....it's just getting together with each other ....without the kids.  does that make sense?  to anyone?

it makes sense to me.  it really makes sense to me.  i love my kids more than they'll ever know.  i love them so much and i am very grateful....as my mom would say, "with a capital G!".
 

and even though they're teens and they do their best not to show it, they love me.....i think.......or maybe just a little.....or maybe not so much, today....or maybe not at all, today...or maybe not at all, for a little while.  i did have to take a cell phone away from grace tonight.  oh, and i did not allow her on the computer tonight.

o.k., so maybe they hate me....now. or maybe only grace hates me right now. t.j. doesn't seem to hate me.....yet.  he might have hated me temporarily today.

it might have been at 3 o'clock this afternoon, when he asked me if i could drive him, 45 minutes away, to buy a gas mask..... at an army navy store.....because he and some friends were making a movie.....sometime in the near future.  or maybe this summer.  it seemed to be of the utmost importance at 3 o'clock this afternoon.  not yesterday.  not even at noon.  go figure.

for some reason, i had disappointed him greatly.  the kid who had been to the doctor this week to make sure that he didn't have strep throat.....to make sure that he would make it through the weekend.  he made it on the ski bus this week....sick, sore throat,coughing, aching. 

he seems much better.  it's saturday.  why not feel better?  what's not to like about a saturday?  only your mom, when she won't drive almost two hours and a half a tank of gas.....to buy a gas mask.  a gas mask!  not sneakers or a pogo stick or a boat or a snowboard.....a gas mask!

how do teen age brains work? hmmmmm. wake up. listen to ipod.  walk downstairs...with the snuggee....sit down at the kitchen table for some cereal and juice.  hang around a little. cough. pet the cat. play with the dogs.  take in a little friend time with the x-box....have some more juice.  and then, at 3 o'clock, suddenly realize that it is not possible to make it through another night without a gas mask!

all of those mommy and me classes...and gymboree....and karate....and soccer.....and lacrosse....and sailing....and skiing....and ....................a gas mask!  which fish is different?

oh, we'll buy him the gas mask.  oh yeah!  we promised. we promised one night about 6 months ago....when we stopped in this town......for dinner.....while en route home from boston.....when we stopped in, for kicks, to that army navy store....just to look around.  as we were leaving, t.j. asked if he could get that "cool mask"......and we said, "maybe some time, not now.  we have to get home."

who knew.....that 3 months later......at 3 o'clock in the afternoon....the pressing, urgent desire for that gas mask would be the moment that my son would hate me.

i hate when that happens.  i'm just having my life and *POOF*!.... somebody hates me.  just like that!  in seconds.  everyone is happy....life is good....life is great.....just ducky....and *POOF*!.....somebody hates me.

thankfully, it doesn't last long. or maybe it does.  but, long is relative.  "hate" is relative....i don't even think "hate" means "hate".  i think "hate" means "but why won't you do what i want"...or "how come you're doing that to me?".....or"why not"....or "huh?".   because usually the hate might be over by.....the next request.

the nice thing about going out....on a date with my husband.....to a playdate with friends....new, old or strangers....at least they don't hate me.  and that's nice!

"pleeeeez!"

since the birthday girl turned 15, all she has talked about was having a sleepover with a few girls...it might have been 12 but we widdled it down to 4..make that 3....since one was cut off from sleepovers for the last month. long story. aren't they all. sometimes when someone else is grounded, all of the parents seem to breathe a sigh of relief. somehow, in the world of teenage daughters, when one friend is grounded or on vacation, everyone slows down. it seems that, temporarily, the volume has been turned down.

it's something that i've only discussed with moms of girls. the moms with boys live in a parallel universe.
they know nothing of life with girls.....nothing except the bazaar behavior of their own life....how life was as a teenager...chock full of stories....good, bad and ugly!

we've heard the usual stories of sulking teens, we've heard of the teens at sleepovers, we've heard the stories of untruths and stories half told. we know. we remember. that life seems like yesterday and a very long time ago...all in the same breath.

i never want to presume that i know everything my kids are doing. we meet lots of parents...along this bumpy parenting road....that seem to think that their kids are above making a mistake. call me crazy, but i feel like all i can do teach, live as an example, watch, talk to other parents, share information, pray and be here for them. and that's about that. did i say pray?

and that's with really good kids that i'm proud of. really sweet, kind, loving, compassionate, caring, sharing kids.....but..they are still teenagers! that's the hard part...for them and for us! we all know the pain of learning about life, trying to pull away while trying to push limits....trying to act the appropriate age while feeling like having a tantrum. everything is topsy turvy...inside their bodies and outside! it's one of the greatest time of life....and one of the most intense, learning life lessons....and how to deal with parents, friends, teachers and peers. every bit of life is changing.

was i describing parenthood? actually, as parents we are going through some of the same lessons. we are trying to hold our standards high to help them to be the best that they can be. that's just as people! the other challenge is to help them be the best student that they can be.

it is a daunting task! everyday, i hope that my best is good enough. i try to trust that if we're doing our best, at least they have hope of doing the right thing and staying on course! but even in the best wind, a sailboat with a great sailor has so much to consider....the boat, the crew, the depth, the weather, the sky, the tide.....and that's our life everyday...and that's the same for our kids.

they're just doing the best that they can do...and it's a struggle to do all of that and do it with the intensity of hormones and emotions and bodies changing and schoolwork and friends changing....and the whole world is changing.....yikes.

so tonight is the sleepover. we only have three girls sleeping upstairs. all of their parents have checked in...they are all nice girls.

our house is safe and peaceful and filled with laughter and a sleeping brother and a quickly fading dad.....and mom. we're all having a very nice night. they have been to the movies, had pizza and birthday cake....

and now, they are upstairs...making phony phone calls! hysterical, innocent and fun!

they all have their cell phones. they all text. they all talk and have good fun. they'll watch a movie on a computer screen. they may use the computer.

and still i worry....because the world comes into our world with all of the techo living. i can't protect them from everything. oh, i want to. we survived. our parents survived. i just pray that they will survive!

oh, earlier tonight, i gave each of the girls bags of candy to take to the movies....my daughter was thrilled. after "thanks mom"...she said, "o.k. mom! stop being so mother-ish! pleeeeez!"

i can dream, can't i?

yay!  it's the weekend!  there is snow expected for the weekend.  i love when we have so much snow that we can just stay in by a roaring fire and play games like monopoly and clue and......oh wait!  that's not my family anymore.  those are my snowy day daydreams!  this is how we lived growing up....oh wait....i didn't get that either!

i was finally old enough to enjoy the roaring fire and games with the family and my brothers were in college!  my mom went back to work!

 i was finally able to play scrabble because i could spell and everyone was tired of the game.

oh, i'm not complaining.  it's just my dream.

when the kids were little.....if there was snow, they were up and trying to stuff themselves into their snow suits, boots and hats to run out the door.  i remember the chaos.  there was so much excitement in the snow.  it was like a puppy when you leave the room and come back.....it's all new again...everytime, it's a surprise! weeeeeee!

enthusiasm!  excitement!  fun!  all before 8 a.m.! every snow day was an event....joy to the world!  getting out the sleds.  kids laughing....  making a snowman....working together......creating....  making hot chocolate. serving  hot chocolate in the snow.....tossing snow balls....walking through the woods.

there were fingers wet and cold.....socks wet.....toes frozen......snowballs in the face.....ears frozen........whining...... sleds rolling over.....snow down the back.....crying......runny noses.

there were wet snowsuits  peeled off onto the wood floor.....boots kicked off at the back door....  mittens tossed over by the heater......wet socks kicked aside..... soup...... more hot chocolate......p.b.s.....quiet moments.

then, a repeat performance.....snow suits on....clean socks....dry clothes...dry snow suits....dry mittens...dry hats.....zipped and buttoned and velcro'd......for more fun with more kids!

all before 10:30 in the morning.  on and on throughout the day.  life was living from one event to the next.  everything was an occasion.  every word required an exclamation point!  it's all a blur!  thank goodness for all of the photos....in an instant i can feel those moments....and remember the chain of events.

now, our kids are barely awake at 10:30.  when they wake up, they feel relieved....as though a snow day means no school...no rush....chill out....sleep some more......roll over.....ipod.....i-touch......slowly roll out of bed and down the stairs.....grab a bite to eat or a sip of milk....and slowly step over to .........the computer.

never even a thought given to outdoors.  no phone calls to make plans to go ice skating.....sledding....frolicking in the snow with friends......nope......... no way.......it's too cold.  too tired....some down time....hang out.....facebook with friends....i chat.....text......hang around.

all of the suggestions i make.....a game of uno....bananagrams....trouble....cards....nope.

oh well...there's always a fire in the fireplace.....nope.....the wood.....needs to be chopped.......later.

a duraflame will have to do.  it's still nice to have a snowy day.

it's just different these days.......we will cut the wood........we  will have a fire in the fireplace.......we will be home.......it will be quiet......we will go out.....to walk the dogs.

a snowy weekend can still be cozy.  i can dream,  can't i?

Bonnie Hunt Part 1

take a few minutes and have a laugh...this story reminds me of my life...just when i think i'm all dolled up with my makeup, mascara...even eyeliner....and grace comes home and says,"mom, were you crying?"....uh.oh....i walked around like this?

another story to tell.

i've done it again!  resisting murphy's law is when i get into trouble.  if i could have just gone along with murphy, things would have been different. i have to pay attention...i have to be on my toes...i have to lookout for murphy.  murphy and i  have been together a long time. murphy is the closest thing to a paparazzi in my life, waiting for just the right moment to jump out from behind a bush!

biff had a business trip.....he was up and out early monday morning.  i was up and ready to start the drill....get those tired teens out of bed and off to the bus. i had lots to do.  write my blog, start my e-bay business, walk the dogs and have a cup of coffee.  not quite a corporate merger, but for me, the technology of e-bay had me all jazzed up and ready to learn...remedial or not.

i've got the checking account, the post office box, the stuff to sell, the e-bay account...littlemarymixup. i even have a mentor!  'i can do this... i can do this...i can do this....just do it..just do it...just do it...."
is my new chant.  slow and steady....

so, back to murphy.  grace gave it her all to get the bus...oops!  a valiant try.... i had to drive her.  so, the next job was to shake up the morning and wake up t.j.....easier said than done.  he was pleading with me to stay home...his throat was sore...he wanted me to check to see if he had a fever...he felt week.  he made no effort to move out from under the cozy covers.

grace was feeling the pressure..."take away his x-box"...."he's going to make me late"....he's obviously faking".....""take away his x-box"......"pleeeeeeeeease  drive me to school! i'm going to be late!"

after threatening and  raising my voice...(i hate when that happens).....i dashed out the door to take grace to her school.  i race back to get t.j.....after all, i had made it my mission to get him up and out the door and to school....i couldn't believe it was a sore throat...i was feeling taken advantage of...was it just because biff was off on vacation...oh! i mean a  business trip.  i told that stubborn son t.j. who was challenging me i would be back...i would be back....i would be in the driveway.....no if's ands or buts....or butts!

think wizard of oz music with margaret hamilton riding on that bike.....da da da da..dadada......i waited in the driveway. t.j came limping out with backpack in hand and only his toes in his sneakers.  all right!  i won...i made my point...and away we drove.  frustrated, he slid out the door and slowly stomped into the school.

i was off....back home, up the driveway, into the house and back to the dogs....who looked very confused by the neverending firedrill that we had just lived through.  i'm glad they were there...i needed someone to talk to.  they were the closest to an adult that i was going to have in the house til the end of the week.

i made more coffee and went to e-bay school...i took my notes out and began MY day.....after i fed the dogs and walked the dogs and took my shower.  i was late for school too.


well, grace got home from school. t.j. got home from school.  and we began again.  homework.  frustration.  sore throat.  dinner. showers. bed.  and poof! it was tuesday morning.  t.j.still didn't feel great.  today was the ski bus after school.   i had to drop off grace's skis at her school and t.j.'s snowboard and both kids would get on their luxury coach bus and go off to ski with lots of other kids and be back home by 9p.m.....to eat dinner, shower and get to bed to start all over tomorrow.

that was the plan. in between doing my own work, walking the dogs, going to an appointment, going to a meeting for moms of tweens,dropping off equipment at two schools....i left my phone at the farm where i had my coffee.  i didn't know this until i saw my kids at ski bus.  that's when they each told me that my phone was at the farm.  no wonder why my morning had been so quiet.  my phone was 15 miles away.....my quiet afternoon of starting my business would be spent in transit.  and t.j. informed me that he did not have his boots in his bag....and he knew my phone was at the farm because...get this.....he called me from the nurses office earlier to tell me that he didn't feel great and the nurse thought he might have strep throat.  oops.  murphy...again....when mr. murphy goes out of town that's when it hits the fan....sometimes big and sometimes small.  he was still going to go on ski bus.

he really was sick.  i hate when that happens.  and when he called me from the nurse, my phone was at the farm. when my ship comes in, i'll be at the airport.  cell phone. day in day out.  cell phone..everywhere...i have that cell phone everywhere except when i'm in the ocean.  it's my lifeline.  and besides all of my social calls.....i'm supposed to be available. oops.


i haven't had that happen in my mother career....except for that one time that grace will never let me forget.  she was only four years old.  she was at her montessori school.  in the morning, she told me that she didn't feel so good.  she seemed fine to me.  i sent her to school 3 hours later, i went to pick her up...she was like a raggedy ann doll...all flopsy.  and the line she'll never let me forget is,"and i fell asleep in the library chair"....a big event apparently....when you're four.

i guess i deserve just  a bit of that.  i did the same to my mom...and over the years that story grew and grew, more and more dramatic, just to egg her on.  i would tell my library chair moment.  "remember in fifth grade when i didn't feel well....and you dropped me off at school....and i stopped in front of the gates....i was bent over...almost in tears....remember the pain i was in.....remember that you told me to stop faking and get in there."  that was a great one....i got back in the car....she finally had to take me to the doctor...it was a kidney infection!  i milked that story forever and i'm still telling it.  i guess i'll be hearing more about the day of ski bus.  i'll be hearing about him missing two days of school....his doctor's appointment....and my missing cell phone.  the one good thing that i'll remember is that when i went to pick up the cell phone, 4 towns away, the woman who serves me coffee and who acted as my social secretary told me that i had a busy morning ....and that my children were very polite!

oh, biff isn't home yet.  there's supposed to be a snow storm coming our way.  he should be home tonight.  i'm prepared for murphy and i'm prepared for the weatherman to be off by a day.  just look for his plane circling over connecticut....that will be him!  and i'll have another story to tell.

just for fun...mixing it up!

just for fun, i thought i'd let you see some of the projects that keep me busy...i love to paint.....do collage.......bead.......dollhouse restoration........paint dollhouses....paint furniture.......sew.....


 this is the family room when i tried out this happy blue color...we have a big couch and a big chair slipcovered with  heavy "blue jean" .....it's great for the family room...i covered everything with blue and white fabric...floral, stripe.
we all liked the blue....but biff and i thought we'd try going back to the yellow....that we had years ago...laura ashley, cowslip 3...

http://lauraashley.valspar.com/   i love the colors because they are so clear.   gravitate to clear rather than muted or muddy...and i love those colors when i'm in someone elses house... clear colors keep me happiest.

this is the blue in the family room with a bit of the blue jean chair visible....i had little hits of black to give it some updated feel...the pillow on the chir is a great big pillow that i got at home goods and stitched on a marthas vineyard  or nantucket or new york cotton, dish towel...the stitching was with red yarn...just some idea i had when i found the dish towels at lillian august http://www.lillianaugust.com/

the black rocking chair i found in an antique store in connecticut...oh how i love the little nook and cranny antique stores.

this is the color that was in my head for the family room...a clear, crisp blue .....like a beautiful sky at the beach....who could be happier sailing on a day like this.

  

the buffet, behind the couch, was from my mom....she had it since she and my dad got married in 1949.  we had the dining room table, the breakfront and the buffet.....and one night while biff was at my mom's for dinner, he heard the "TSST" sound behind him...and he recognized the sound....his mom and dad had the same dining room set.  talk about feeling at home with each others' families!

of course, i stripped the mahogany and shabby'd it with some white and cream paint, sanded it roughly.....now it's more my style.  and my mom was so happy that we could give it new life with our family.

 

above, you can seethe painted buffet some painted mirrors from antique stores... i love when things are not so perfect and i can play with them to turn them into my style...just a little lighter in feel.  you see the candelabra style "lamp"....i  removed the electical cordsrurned into a candle-abra...abra kazoo!  i added new crystals and painted it cream...sanded a touch and attached some glass votives for candles...we use it often.   i love the cherubs...the round table  the candle--abra ka-dab-ra is on....it was a marble top table...i didn't want the marble.....i left it at the store....i took the base, painted the legs and basse....i went to lowes and bought a round pre-cut table top, painted it....and it's sweet.

  this pic is in the dining room...just to show the jade green from laura ashley.  this was here in the middle of furniture moving...it's history now but we still love the green...

these chairs were painted cream to sit at our irish pine table...we love the table and we now have chairs that are much sturdier and better suited for the table....cream of course.  i like  the textures and contrast of the two.

this is not my mom's breakfront.  i love the lines....i have some of my china in there.  some is from years of collecting...something my mom and i loved to hunt for..."chelsea" or "Grandma's tears" its called...and there are also reproductions, so you have to be careful....it is important to check it out carefully.  

so many beautiful china patterns...they deserve to be mixed and matched...i have lots of collections...it's insanity my mom passed down.....the insanity and lots of china....i do use it all...no museum living for us!

this is on the way upstairs...this house has a coat closet and a coat rack...you'd never know it after school!

believe in angels.

who knew what a blog could do? when we got the apple computer and biff signed me up for one year of tutorials, i never knew the direction that would take me. sometimes life is like that.  i've noticed that just since i began writing my blog.

while the new computer motivated me to challenge my inept computer literacy skills, or lack thereof,  it seems that this blog has opened me up to many new things.  the first thing that happened  was the enthusiasm i had for the new computer simply so that i could enjoy putting my photos on line ......just for organization.is it me or is it my blog?  once i became comfortable with the computer, i decided that i would write a blog, just for me.  as i began writing the blog, i found so much pleasure writing and posting my pictures.....then for some new layers of interest, i found you tube with movie clips and funny videos.

 i have always loved taking pictures.  i have always loved writing.  i have always  putting together projects with photos and collage, even scrapbooking.  i did that before it was an industry!  i love layers and layers and layers.....whether with clothing or paper or photos or decor.  i love colors and textures.....and here i am.  everything i love has taken on a life of it's own.

i met a friend for coffee yesterday.  while we sat in those giant cushy chairs, a big score for mid day......we talked about my blog......i love the positive feedback and enthusiasm although i'm still not that  comfortable with the word "blog", it just feels awkward....

here's how i describe this pretty cool woman .....my friend....

.... another leo,......mother.....happy blonde highlighted woman who lives  her life like a golden retriever....... another mom who's passionate about her children and actively works at guiding them through life's challenges......with similar values...a deep faith in a higher power....from similar backgrounds.....and the aching desire to push ahead in her quest to begin her own business.....the motivation to get it done....and the enthusiasm to encourage other women..... to do well and follow the dreams she turns into reality...... and networking skills to make them happen!


last month i met a friend for lunch.....she and i hadn't seen each other for years.  after getting married, we lived on opposite coasts...we shared friends..eventually, we.kept in touch through christmas cards.  now we're within an hour of each other.  we had so much fun.  she encouraged me to start my own e-bay business.  i've alwaays wanted my own store....but, after many years in upscale retail stores, i'm done with the saturday work schedule.  i want to spend weekends with my family. so, with great excitement, i am in the process of beginning my e-bay littlemarymixup business.

  i have always wanted to have my own store.  when i was very young, i created my own store in our basement on a ping pong table and surrounding area.  ever the entrepreneur, i have decided that this will be the bestlocation for my store.  i've never had the confidence before because i've never felt computer literate enough to begin. thanks to my blog, i've developed a pretty comfortable relationship with the computer.  now i can truly say,"the computer is my friend."

so, it is with great pride that i introduce my e-bay business that will be up and starting by next week.  i could not have more enthusiastic and encouraging friends.  friends who tell me that they love my blog...that it is so honest and like me...friends who have believed in me before i believed in myself....

what more can i ask for.  it is a wonderful time in my life.  i've been learning about myself for a long time now....i know i can do this.  the last few years have been challenging...we've had some difficult days with some sadness.....we've had alot of family loss in the last few years...i'll never stop missing my mom, but now i'm less sad and more grateful to have had our special relationship...and the timing  is just right....now, our kids are at a great age, young teens....this will be a business that will allow me to work from home......and  be my own boss.

i love to look back and see how the pieces of my puzzle all fit together. i feel that i'm at a great place in my life, just by being open to all possibilities.  i'm grateful for so many pieces of the puzzle making sense to me.  i have never been in a place where i have the introspection and awareness to take on some new opportunities.

i've spent much of my non working days volunteering.  way back, when our kids were small, i had some very good advice from a friend who is the mother of  five....and a volunteer in a position that could well be a paid position in our community.  we talked about volunteering and egos and becoming a part of the dramatic soap operas of parent teacher organizations and the day to day volunteer work as a mom of grammar school children.  that's when she told me this tid bit of information..."i only volunteer where i have direct contact with my child....i don't need to do work for praise from others to feed my ego....my volunteering at school is for me to use that time with my children"....she has done way more than that...her advice stuck with me and i'm still grateful eight years later. 

i've always been amazed to have so many people in my life, who appear when i need them...i know the joy of serendipity....thee luck of timing.....but i feel that there is more to it in that.....i'm sure everyone has there own take on it.....i know there are many possibilities....and i'm open to them.

it seems to me that all i had to do was sit down and write, which i love...i took the time to do something i love and things begin to click together...like a jigsaw puzzle....all we have to do is take action and commit to small goals....an surround ourselves with good friends and others who support and encourage us, realistically.

oh, did i mention that i also believe in angels!

Bill Cosby---Grandparents

bill cosby's take on grandparents. when our moms and dads become grandparents......they're just different with our kids than they were with us!

all that matters.

everybody can rest easy....it's true....this family has just celebrated another christmas with family.  after 3 tries since mid december, we have finally managed to get together!  before valentines day woohoo!  and grace was able to continue her birthday celebration with her grandparents!

it is a blessing to have grandparents.  they add so much to our lives and our kids' lives.....in so many ways.  numero uno...they are the parents of the parents.  the kids get to see the love and respect shared between a parent and their grandparents.  if the kids are blessed even more, they witness a mutual respect between  their grandparents and the mom or dad who isn't the son or daughter.

wow. do we all hear stories.  some are heartbreaking. some so magical......of good times shared. the ones who lose out the most....when in-laws and out-laws and grandparents and kids and .....the whole circus......just don't play nicely together....it's the kids! and the grandparents!  sad.  sad. sad.

who wins?  not the grandparents.  not the kids.  not the parents.  sometimes we hear of these kooky stories and lots of stories.  those stories make me sad. i love my husband and i love his family.  biff loves me and he loves my family. aahhhhhh! sweet!  one big happy family!

and we all have our kooky ways.  we all recognize that.  nobody's perfect.  we all know that.  i just feel like biff's parent's are pretty important in my life.....they are the reason he is who he is.  they play kind of a big role in his life.  i'm not married to them....they are not my parents.  but, wow!  i'm blessed to have people so sharing and supportive and loving in my life.  i'm blessed to have their lives be a part of our children's lives.

biff was so loving to my mom.  and wow!....she loved him so much.  she made him laugh....he made her laugh.......and the bad news is....they both laughed at my expense!  she had so much respect for him...she knew how happy he made me...she knew how much we love each other.  she really cared about biff.  she loved biff.

when biff asked my mom if he could marry me, she said, "if you think you can handle her!".....without missing a beat.  and 17 or so years later, he still says,"hah? if i think i can handle you?".....and we laugh.

biff's mom and dad  and my mom all played nicely together.   a regular mutual admiration society!   families respecting families.  not judging, just appreciating.  oh, it's true.  and the best part of all, biff and i came to this place knowing that neither one of us is perfect....  and neither one of our families could possibly be perfect. we know because we both represent the best of imperfections from both families. oh, and how boring that would be if we had no imperfections to share!  it would be like a patchwork quilt that's machine made...... rather than stitched bit by bit, by hand.....with different thread, different stitches and loving hands who put the time and effort and love into each bit of
                                                      of a handmade creation.  isn't that what we have to teach our children?    

                                                      everyone has flaws and imperfections...an imperfection to one person may be a delight on the next ......everyone wears there imperfections differently.  life is better when we can all "a.y.t.c.", as our dean of students in college reminded us...."adapt yourself to circumstances".....or roll with it and do the best with what we have.  everyone has to work it out the best way they no how....our kids are watching!

some husbands and wives do have a difficult time with relatives, i know, stuff happens and life happens and people happen....to live and think differently.  most of us can respect that without having to judge that....but stuff happens and life happens and people happen.  it's just too bad for the whole family if it severs the whole connection....in big ways or subtle ways.....the stress makes it unpleasant for all.....and the kids are the first to feel it.  the kids are the ones who have the most to teach us.
                                        

the one thing that i feel.....deep, deep down....is that grandparents are a part of who our children are.  they certainly share the same gene pool. since biff and i have had children, we have always noticed how people on both sides of the family see a bit of their own family in the kids....as babies, as toddlers, as teens.....

of course.  we have always noticed the bits and pieces that each child has...from each family....that makes sense...especially since they are related.  sometimes, an in law will say,"no...this baby looks like MY father...just the spitting image of MY father!"  sure, that's possible but there might be just a teeny tiny miniscule tid bit like uncle whiffenpoof. especially because WE made the baby....i couldn't do it alone, could i? why do people act like that's a surprise.  it's a kid made from 2 people that come from 2 other people.  that's how it works.

i think it's beautiful to see the little bits of  family in each of our kids.  sometimes, we're not so sure that it's the best trait from either side!  and in our case, the biggest truth of all is that we have irish descent and german descent....so what matters most to both of us....not the hair, the eyes, the legs, the brains........oh dear lord, none of that.......it's that we have stubborn kids.  oh yes!  and guess what....stubborn comes from both sides of the family!  and stubborn comes from a long line of irish stubborn and a long line of german stubborn.  we just roll our eyes at each other when we see the rath of stubborn we incur.

thankfully, in our marriage, we try not to allow the stubborn in each other to get in the way of the US in US.  thankfully, in our marriage, we can look at each other and each other's families and not try to assign blame to one side or the other.  that's just not fair...especially from my point of view.  my side might be an easier target.  thank God that's our biggest challenge...deciding whose family is more bizarre.
actually, it seems that both sides of the family that are nuts.....in some very wonderful ways.  and we share that with our kids.  why should we hide the truth!  it's better to learn the truth now....while they're young!   no surprises later on. there are some benefits to be had when a kooky family is in your genes.  it's fun. and people love each other just cuz they're family.  we share in the joys and the sorrows.  we share in the hardships and the gravy trains.  it's all out in the open...honesty is the best policy. we care. for better or worse. we are family.

grandparents are what memories are made of.  grandparents love the children like no one else.  grandparents see their own children in their grandchildren.  who could love these kids who we love so much? our own parents.....

i have a lot of grandparent memories. my mom loved her own mom and my dad's mom.  that was great for me to be a part of that.  i never saw them have an uneasy moment together.  i feel like my mom showed me by example.....love your husband's family....that's where he came from.

and the relationship i have with biff's parents is never anything i would question......they are HIS parents...and that's that.  how disrespectful is it for me to not respect HIS parents....what does that say to him?  maybe i just learned from my mom or maybe biff's parents just make it easy.

i also think it's important for biff to have his some time with his mom and dad...just so they can have their son alone,....to themselves...once in awhile......just him.  time with him.  i'm just glad that he's shared them with me.  i'm just glad that his family welcomed me......with pecadilloes and all.

that is so important in so many ways.  just the history they are able to share matters. mostly though, i think that it's in the moments.....those little moments.  really, life's little moments are some of the most outstanding.  memories of moments with grandparents are special and so different from any other relationship.  they just love....love their grandchildren....even the imperfections. 

grandparents help the kids see their lives in a bigger picture. generations....different styles...different ages...different strengths......they have  great stories to share....and really learn about their mom or dad as a daughter or son....appreciate the difference in age and learn from the grandparents....grandparents have a different perspective to share.

different perspectives are good for everyone.  how would i feel if i was biff's mom...or dad?  how would i feel if i were his sister....relationships are to be promoted.  it just seems to be win-win for all. everybody benefits.

i feel blessed that my kids had my mom in their lives until about a year and a half ago.  the relationship that grace and t.j. had with my mom was like no other in the world.  she shared so much with them.  even her arthritis...they saw her plow through life, determined and strong....not complaining....with a sense of humor...with great style....and donuts.....and ice cream....and waking up at our house...and waking up at gramma's.  to them, the fact that she lived in an apartment was exciting.  all of her nooks and crannies were there to explore.  she gave comfort and unconditional love.  her apartment building was filled with many friends and friendly faces.  until the time that grace and t.j. were about five and six, they used to ring the doorbell of my mom's 90 year old neighbor to go play hide and seek with them in the lobby.....and she always did!  with a twinkle in her eyes!  she nicknamed them "the darlings."

biff's parents share so much.  our kids have some very special family memories.  they have great appreciation for the many ways that the share their love.  they have traveled with their grandparents and shared family events at home and out of town.  memories.  dinners.  breakfasts. casual. dressed up.  hanging around. at the beach. at the lake. ice skating. hiking. swimming. talking.  listening.

i think kids and grandparents both benefit.  both gain more compassion and empathy and understanding of each other and the world in which  they live.  they can respect each other.  and, we all know, they have lots in common! i think the world would be a better place if more kids had more exposure to grandparents in everyday life and vice versa.

i feel bad for kids that get jipped of grandparents.  to me, it's like having a beautiful, colorful,patchwork quilt that has been passed down through the ages.......it gets a big tear in the middle.....and it shreds a little more...and a little more.  it's still warm and cozy, it still has all of the loving, caring artwork and delicate sewing but that rip frays more and more.  unless, it's attended to.  unless, someone takes responsibility and helps to have the rip repaired.  at the center of the quilt, it's a very important piece.  it's not scraps.  it is the center.  the beginning.  it's how all of the other pieces connect.  and the connection, not always perfect, is all that matters.






**********************************************************************************biff's dad made that grandfather clock for grace.....now he's making one for t.j........he made that beautiful box of blocks...we've had hours and hours of play with those blocks, made with love.  i'm grateful to have family where it's not about the gifts ....it's not about the material stuff....it's the biggest gift of all to share time and love.    and that's just my opinion....
**********************************************************************************

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I know."
-Chinese Proverb

"we're gonna need a bigger couch"

http://www.toonopedia.com/mixup.htm:

this is a pic of my mom with grace and t.j......young at heart and forever in my heart.....she's the one who gave me my nickname little mary mixup!  

the above link shows littlemarymixup, a cartoon from the 1920s.  i think it's funny that it appears after littlemarymixup blog on google.  a friendly follower mentioned this to me.  we were talking about my blog and how i got the name littlemarymixup.....really because that's the nickname my mom had for me....especially when those little mix ups occurred.

one thing, i know, my mom had to have a sense of humor to live with my dad, my brothers and i.  i'm grateful for that gift.  she may have realized she would need it to get through her "life with liz", as biff calls it.

i loved to go through my mom's jewelry box.  it was so sparkly and colorful and fun.  i loved the latch.  i loved the big mirror inside. i loved the loot.  that may be where i gained an appreciation for getting all dolled up, for no occasion .....just for my own pleasure.
i used to try on the jewelry....taking it on and off....posing with it all before a mirror.  i loved the glam!  i guess it may not have been such a good idea to wear alot of it down to polliwog pond.  my mom always said she'd love to dredge that pond out someday to see how much of her jewelry box landed in there!  she laughed.  now that kind of sense of humor could get you through alot!


i thought it was a name she made up.  now, i think she must have had this name from the cartoons of the days of childhood.  of course!  that was her era....she was born in 1924.  no wonder why she loved my mix ups.  or maybe, it's because of her that i learned to have a sense of humor about my life!  certainly, my life has been alot more fun sharing the stories for my whole life rather than pouting about them.this info. below is also from dan marksteins, toonopedia
… existence, in part at least, to the fact that cartoonist Robert Moore Brinkerhoff, in his mid-30s when he created her, had no little girls of his own. Invited in 1917 to create a comic for The New York World (the paper that later debuted Keeping up with the Joneses and Caspar Milquetoast), Brinkerhoff, a newspaper illustrator who had never before contemplated doing comics, surveyed the scene and found a niche that wasn't filled — and that would also provide a sort of daughter substitute for him. Little Mary Mixup is what he came up with. Before long, she was being distributed nationwide by United Feature Syndicate, whose best-known stars are Nancy, Li'l Abner and Charlie Brown.
now, i wonder if that's why i think in thought balloons.  my cartoon world that runs through my head in those awkward situations or mixups.  thankfully, i'm married to someone who has music playing in his head at all times.  wait!  don't call the white coats until i finish my story.

funny enough, my mom also told me that all of my pictures (she called them "artwork"...talk about love unconditionally... "ART" ...she really believed in me!  perhaps, a bit unrealistically....i mean, i'm creative...i'm an artist, i'm not an artiste')..... all of my"artwork" always had a sunshine in the "work"......i always have had a bit of an optimistic outlook....that is, when i'm not behaving like chicken little for my little childrearing foibles and perceived foibles. "uh oh!" i'm always saying,"what if"..."i should have made them...."

i seem to think that my whole world, this family that i live with, has ups and downs or mistakes or failures  because of me....something i have done or said along the way.  oh, that's healthy!  i try to be the best mom in the world.. i really do!  and i recognize that it is an impossible wor anyone to do the job just right...just perfectly.  oh, i have a sense of humor about it!  thankfully!  but for a brief and horrible moment, the is thought process, or unthoughtful process is that i think i am almighty and powerful in our world....not for the good.  for the bad....if something goes wrong, it must because i haven't taught the kids or i have done something to have created the situation.  o.k. that's healthy thinking.

opposite of someone egotistical? or is it?  to think that the good or great the kids have or biff? it's great i'm so happy for their individual achievements.  but if something goes off track for anyone under this roof....even a dog..... i somehow cans twist and turn any little thing to have been because of me.  imagine the power i have.  just one little person in this world.....it's mine all mine!  the good is theirs...the bad, oh, it must be something i've done.   hmmmmmm.  can anyone say therapy?  maybe they should just wheel in a nice comfy couch right now.  i'd better make room because if it is my fault, we're all gonna need one...a great big couch! i'm thinking of jaws  "we're gonna need a bigger boat."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/quotes
only i'm thinking, "we're gonna need a bigger couch!"

Why Try To Change Me Now? '59 (Frank Sinatra)

how cool is life. a very special person posted this for me....it's frank singing ...... it's perfect for littlemarymixup! a mellow frank meets littlemarymixup......also of note...it's the year i was born. wait...don't start counting on your fingers now. i'm proud of every little age line i have....and i hoope i grow up to be like lots of great people in my life.....with a way youngeer sprit than their age. i like it that way and that's the way i'll have it! don't judge the age thing....if you're lucky you'll get to be this age too! i say that enthusiastically! pretty feisty at this age, huh?

Crazy Heart Movie Trailer http://movie-trailer.com

for two hours!

after school today, grace asked to have some friends over before the basketball game.  i said yes....they could bake some cupcakes.  it was becoming code for facebook.  they would come at five o'clock.  then i would take them to the game.  at the time, i considered going with the family, knowing they would each go off with their friends. that idea changed when the phone rang.

t.j. was off to a friend's house.  i stopped in to talk to max's mom.  she was happy to have t.j. for dinner...she was having her book club in for dinner, they had been reading a book about india........her husband was bringing take-out ordred from and indian restaurant!  t.j. smiled and enthusiastically told max's mom that he liked indian food.

wow! i thought...what a good kid.  just last week, i had been to an indian restaurant for a friends birthday....it was the birthday girl's choice.  i told the kids about the menu.  they both feigned a near death experience.  frustrated by their antics, i left the room, ready for more living life in the pasta aisle.

not to rain on my own parade....i'dlike to get back to that moment.....that joyful moment.....when i looked at the cute boy of mine....13 1/2 ......maybe taller than me....still sweet and loving....except for when he can't stand me or may vocabulary.

he loves me or should i say he tolerates me as a teen.  or maybe, because he tolerates me one smidge more than his sister, i take that as effusive show of loving.  i'll take any morsel that they toss me at this moment in time.  t.j. just does not...DOES NOT...like my vocabulary.....i say things like:
i have to write my blog.
hot dog is a hot diggety dog.
sneakers are sneaks.
computer thingy.
woolly wool for his hair when it's not buzzed.
surfer dude hair, when it's summer  blonde and curly.
so much more!  i can't think of them...i'll have to pop them in as they pop into my day.  belive me, i could fill a page.  oh, and don't even think of me singing.....or telling them when a song was really big in my life.  when i go back in time....telling him a story from college or my 20s, he just goes all dazed and bleary eyed....he humors me for a moment....but truly, just a moment.
he also has been the one to tell me that i don't dicipline the dogs properly.  he also says that i'm not assertive enough with the dogs.

just last week, i was painting the vanity that i had mosaic-ed....a great project.....i had on shorts...it's january, i know.....but, since i'm running low on clothes to drip paint on, i thought it was rather clever of me to wear shorts.....i mean, the paint would come off my legs.....eventually....after 20 or thirty showers.  no, really.  it was water based. i was o.k. he walked in the door from school, and before his backpack hit the floor, he said,"ya wanna put some clothes on mom?"....go figure.  you'd think he'd be used to me after 13 1/2 years.

so there was my boy, polite as ever....i know he has been taught...it's just such a treat to see him perform in front of others, because i am not always graced with such politeness used so willingly!  there was my boy smiling about indian food.  there was my boy, with another mother, just so happy to hear someone think of the dinner....food of any kind....in advance.  no wonder why his face lit up!

on my way home, i drove through our little village and realized both kids would be out.  our kids are moving into a new teen life...how nice for them.....how nice to be that age....isn't life good.

as i sat at a red light, in front of our little movie theatre, i thought,"hey! how nice for us....how nice to be this age.....isn't life good.............................biff and i can have a date!"

i love a date. any date....a booksore date....a beach date...a walk with the dogs date.....a starbucks date.....a bike riding date...... a dinner date......goodness, a deli date.......a movie date.......

"that's it!  we'll go to a movie"  let me call biff.  yup!  he was happy to go to a movie....me too.  life is good.

picked up pony tailed teens.....lots of laughter, whispers, singing, tory telling and giggling......we dropped them off and watched them all run, pony tails swinging, into the sports building.
bye bye!

and we're off! weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  we're off!  imagine...they are teens...they can't wait to have a little independence.  they can't wait to be out of earshot of us.....they can't wait to be free!

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  we were free...for 2 hours!

without the cupcakes!

the birthday girl woke up this morning, a school day, to her snuggie and new camera.....and other goodies....life is good.  the week goes on!  grace's birthday certainly has been fun for all of us. after school. she asked our neighbors to come over for cupcakes with the 4  year old she babysits and his little baby brother, 15 months old.  grace also had 2 friends over.....to make cupcakes.  everyone came for cupcakes.


the cake mix that i bought was whipped up the moment i said that the oven had been repaired.  that was monday.  rick, my appliance repairman had been here.  he knew that i needed that oven to bake a birthday cake or cupcakes!  even rick knew the birthday reverence we had at our house.

rick and i go way back...our relationship began with a glitch in the washing machine.  he came to save us....it was no big deal to fix...it was just unfortunate that i got tossed under the dryer!  luckily, the washing machine trouble only took one quick visit.  that's when he told us that the load had been too full and some little doo hickety broke off.  oops? who might have overfilled the washer?


rick had won biff over when he praised biff for his wonderful self control involving the washing machine.  rick was delighted that biff had not touched the washing machine in order to look into the problem.  rick had no idea how lucky he was.  biff has been taking things, any thing, apart since he recieved a pocket watch at age 9.  he loved the pocket watch so much that he had to take it apart to see what made it work. wow!


i should be thankful that biff is handy like that. actually, biff himself  comes in handy.  i know i've mentioned how great he is with the christmas tree....he cuts the tree down on the coldest and dampest or snowiest nights, puts it on the car, ties it on, drives us all home and carries it to the house and puts it in the stand!  and he's happy and proud to get the job done.  this is not something that i was familiar with.

  and it stays up.....that was worth marrying him just for that.  he knows i say this.  he also knows i was scarred living in a family with more charlie brown christmas stories than shoul be legal.  many a tear of mine has been shed over a christmas tree.....i wanted to live in a hallmark commercial but instead i felt like our family trees always had a glitch.  sorry, i digress.


biff and rick had a wonderful relationship from the first date/appointment.....at my expense.  they had fun discussing my laundry issues.  my mom didn't spend much time teaching me  laundry techniques....i've learned the hard way. i had to learn it on the streets.   i've learned alot from friends.

when grace was born, my friend karen told me all about stain stick.  she had her baby just months before.  my friend susan had a great cleaning knack and she taught me about chlorox and when to use it.  by the time i had 2 babies, the laundry seemed to multiply.  most likely, grace wearing different clothes every hour based on her need for fancy dress up or bathing suits to coordinate with her snow suits had something to do with quantity.  at some point, i pleaded with my friend cathy....."please tell me what you do to get all of the laundry folded and how do you get stuff so clean?" .....and that was she gave me the laundry tip of my life.  "tide with bleach," she said. "and i buy all white socks...just white!"  and i wondered how my life had grown so complicated.  for one thing, i knew that the end of the "socks of the month" was near.

so, i have learned alot over the years. any morsel of a suggestion?  i'll take it. just put your info. into the comments.  it's never too late.  of course, a little laundry insecurity hasn't been all bad....biff was great about helping me.  especially, in our first apartment....our cute little mary tyler moore apartment on the 3rd floor of a victorian house....3 floors up....stairs.....with laundry in the basement.....3 floors down plus stairs to  the basement......then up, up, up, up!  as wonderful as our little tree house was, i called our basement "the dungeon."  it was a bit dark and dingy.....and to me a bit scary.  he made some major hauls to "the dungeon."

now, here's the thing.....rick actually installed the new oven piece.  the one that was supposed to be white.  after many attempts to get the white.........finding out that they no longer made white...........no longer had any white in stock, i am happy to that we are the proud yet quirky of a newly installed black panel........that's on a white oven....after months of using it as an island, a bookshelf and a plant stand........the piece we settled with is black.......there was no choice.  it looks fabulous!  keep in mind, our standards aren't that high.

so biff, rick and i live happily ever after until....our white refrigerator has an issue....and by then, they probably won't even sell the plain old fashioned white.....the whole world will be stainless....with no magnets on refrigerators.....anywhere in the universe.....but our kitchy kitchen.

when rick left the house that day....we had tears in our eyes!  we had been together, living through this anguish together.....we lived through 2 ovens together....we were....like.....family!  it was over.
we thought it was over....until the dogs barked.....rick was back at the door within minutes!  he couldn't bare to be away!  he was back! ..............he left his toolbox he was so filled with emotion. 

so, on that big day.....to celebrate....grace made cupcakes after school .......2 days before her birthday!  we had all of that time with no oven....it was time for a celebration.  t.j., grace and i had cupcakes!

so, sure enough on grace's real birthday, wednesday......grace wanted the world in to have birthday cupcakes.  something we've done forever.....inviting all of the kids who live nearby!  only.....wait.....alot of families have moved away....nothing personal, i hope.  so, rather than immediately after the bus, we would have some friends in after four o'clock.

t.j. tolerated this well, considering the mix has fewer boys these days... fewer kids actually........now we have to improvise by  importing friends.....and for the birthday girl, it was her friends.

and what do girls do when they get together?  laugh, giggle and share.......facebook time together.  oh, have times changed!  so, fun times were had for all in front of a computer screen.  laughter emanated through the house.  no cupcake essence wafting through this home!  just peals of laughter.

the cupcakes couldn't be made without the mix.  we had no mix!  the cake mix had been used up.  so had the icing....on the oven celebration.  what's a mom to do?

this is when i'm at my best thinking moment!  elli was expected to stop by.  just then, grace asked me to call her mom.  i called her cell to check in.  hallelujah!  they were in the car.....on there way to stop and shop....they would be here after a quick stop!  that was a wonderful moment.  i if they would buy some cake mix and icing for me!  for the birthday girl!
asked
not every mom would be comfortable asking this of another mom.....especially one that has very high cooking credentials....as in a chef!   i'm pretty honest about my domestic dilemmas and this is no surprise to elli's mom.  she came through for me....she delivered elli and the cake mix.  they came to the door and happily gave the yellow cake mix and pink icing to grace, as her gift!  it had been on sale....it was a happy moment for us all!

we talked. the girls laughed. we talked some more.  the girls laughed all day.   t.j. had male bonding with the boys on x-box.  life was good.  elli's mom and i talked so long that the little boys from down the street arrived with heir mom and dad.  they had just eaten dinner!  they had big smiles and gifts for our little lady.  babies in the house!  weeeeeeee!

wait, we promised them cupcakes.....we hadn't made the cupcakes.  i asked grace and the girls to mix up the batter and get them started.  it's just one of those things that grace does when friends come over....make something.....cookies.....cakes.....lemonade stands.....always something to keep us jumping.  only today, she put it off.  facebook was the leader of the world.....nothing could break them away.

so, elli's mom left when she realized the time.  elli remained.....with grace and kate......and t.j. playing x-box.....and the 2 little boys and their mom and dad.  that's when biff got home.  what fun we all had.  only, no cupcakes.

it's a sad day for me when i have broken a promise to a 4 year old.  little jack woke up that morning talking about caroline's birthday.  he told his mom that he wasn't going to school......because it was grace's birthday!  he must have known my family history with birthdays.  he waited for the right time to come for cupcakes.....he even brought grace a present!

it was bait and switch.  the time flew by while we all shared some stories.......they had to leave.....it was his bedtime....with no possibility of a cupcake in sight....the girls were still at the computer.  we had to send jack off with cookies and milk.  he was happy..... but it was no cupcake.  now, we'll have to have a day with make up cupcakes.

with the kitchen finally quiet, the girls came out to the kitchen to make the cupcakes.  as the cupcakes baked, kate's dad came to the door to pick her up.  he came in the kitchen to chat while she got ready.....i mean, she had to be torn away from the facebook fun.  we stood and talked for awhile.  we laughed about the oven and the kitchen.  he owned a kitchen business!  we almost had a new kitchen by the time he left.  although, i just wouldn't be able to part with that oven....not yet!

well, no cupcakes for kate.  she was whisked away into the night with no cupcake...the reason she had been here...to celebrate with the birthday girl.  then, it was time for us to drive elli home.  you guessed it.  no cupcake....and they bought the mix!

so, we all had a great day.....birthdays are even if we had to wait for the cupcakes!