The end-of-the-school-year special one-on-one restaurant dates kicked off tonight: Jesse took me and chose The Olive Garden (recently opened in Richmond). He was the best dinner date. It kind of dawned on him about 20 minutes into our time together that he really did have my full attention and no one to interrupt him, and he grabbed hold of the conversation and ran with it. I asked him a few questions when we got there about his favorite part of the year so far, and what he was looking forward to this summer. When there was a lull when we were starting to eat, he got this totally serious look on his face and said, "So, mom, what would you say is the best year of your life?"
Love that boy.
Just a very small sampling of the topics we touched on: Italy, salad dressing varieties, Eric and my life before kids, grapes and wine making, cousin Evan the-absolute-cutest-smartest-1-year-old-in-the-world-today, Christianity, siblings and their quirks, that fettuccine does not necessarily mean alfredo, the proper relationship of the napkin to the meal....and on and on.
He kills me.
He's right in the middle of the pack - a position which has taught him patience, perspective, and more patience.
He's right in the middle of boyhood - halfway between new baby and that age they call "adult". He promised tonight that he'll always be my boy.
Best line: The waitress asked if we were ready to order and he so politely explained exactly what he wanted to her, so politely answered her questions, and so politely asked if the salad had tomatoes and if she could please leave them off.
Me (when she left): You did such a nice job ordering and speaking clearly and kindly to the waitress, Jess. Good job!
Jesse: I know. The whole time in my head I was like "Wow, I really sound like an adult right now."
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Things You Find in Kentucky
Shapes in the clouds...
Beautiful nieces...
Interesting choices...
Personality...
Old railways on perfect spring days.
Beautiful nieces...
Interesting choices...
Personality...
Old railways on perfect spring days.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
7 Things I Don't Buy
(in the spirit of Money Saving Mom)
This seemed like an interesting thing to think about - what don't I buy that helps our budget and what are others not buying that might help me? My list, however, may reveal more of my contrarian side than I want. =)
No particular order...
1) New towels. All I can say is, put good towels on your wedding registry. And look around at auctions and you will end up with boxes of near-perfect towels from an estate sale for $1. However, if perfect looking matching towels are important to you, skip this one.
2) Mixes. Whatever the threshold is after which it makes more $ sense to make from scratch than it does to buy the mix has been passed. No brownie, muffin, pancake, pizza, bread, etc. mixes here. (occasional cake mixes for a recipe!) Lots of flour, though.
3) Organic ________. I have lots of friends that do, and I am absolutely all for choices. Paying a lot more for organic blueberries in January that were shipped across the country (world? who knows where?) doesn't float my boat.
4) Cable.
5) Manicures/Pedicures. My breed - farmer's daughter/pianist/mom - doesn't tolerate soft pretty hands well. And I'll deal with my own feet, thankyouverymuch.
6) New vehicles. We did, once, and were cured of that illness forever.
7) Youth Sports Team Photo packages. If we had banked the money saved every time we say "no thank you" to Package #32 or Deluxe Individual playing cards or photo buttons (would I wear all 5?), we could be on a beach in Hawaii right now.
What are YOU not buying??
This seemed like an interesting thing to think about - what don't I buy that helps our budget and what are others not buying that might help me? My list, however, may reveal more of my contrarian side than I want. =)
No particular order...
1) New towels. All I can say is, put good towels on your wedding registry. And look around at auctions and you will end up with boxes of near-perfect towels from an estate sale for $1. However, if perfect looking matching towels are important to you, skip this one.
2) Mixes. Whatever the threshold is after which it makes more $ sense to make from scratch than it does to buy the mix has been passed. No brownie, muffin, pancake, pizza, bread, etc. mixes here. (occasional cake mixes for a recipe!) Lots of flour, though.
3) Organic ________. I have lots of friends that do, and I am absolutely all for choices. Paying a lot more for organic blueberries in January that were shipped across the country (world? who knows where?) doesn't float my boat.
4) Cable.
5) Manicures/Pedicures. My breed - farmer's daughter/pianist/mom - doesn't tolerate soft pretty hands well. And I'll deal with my own feet, thankyouverymuch.
6) New vehicles. We did, once, and were cured of that illness forever.
7) Youth Sports Team Photo packages. If we had banked the money saved every time we say "no thank you" to Package #32 or Deluxe Individual playing cards or photo buttons (would I wear all 5?), we could be on a beach in Hawaii right now.
What are YOU not buying??
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
There is no "safe" place...God is my place
God is our refuge and strength;
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam; and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam; and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
"L"...is for the way you look at me
Did you know February is the month of lluuuuuv? No, not because of that holiday - which is just perfectly A-OK because we justify making heart-shaped cookies and heart-paper-chains and other things that cheer up this gray month - but because E and I first met in person on Feb. 18. I know, I know...call us sentimentalists...I don't care. It works out well for me because E hates store-created holidays like Valentines Day and Sweetest Day and Mothers Day and...you get the point. But by the time the hype hits it's peak on the 14th, and he sees heart-shaped cookies arrive in the kitchen, it triggers a memory switch in the engineer brain somewhere and he relishes completely ignoring that holiday and remembering our "18th" in some nice way.
Anyway. One of the kids was looking up quotations for an assignment today and I completely rabbit-trailed and found some great ones on husbands. I hate the trend of "jokingly" putting down men/husbands and how they are all made to look like buffoons on television. How, exactly, does being critical encourage them? Yeah, not so much. Let's treat them like we appreciate being treated - with respect always, with praise for all they do, and forgiveness that comes easy.
"Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots."
"No, I don't understand my husband's theory of relativity, but I know my husband and I know he can be trusted."
-- Elsa Einstein
Anyway. One of the kids was looking up quotations for an assignment today and I completely rabbit-trailed and found some great ones on husbands. I hate the trend of "jokingly" putting down men/husbands and how they are all made to look like buffoons on television. How, exactly, does being critical encourage them? Yeah, not so much. Let's treat them like we appreciate being treated - with respect always, with praise for all they do, and forgiveness that comes easy.
"Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots."
"No, I don't understand my husband's theory of relativity, but I know my husband and I know he can be trusted."
-- Elsa Einstein
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person"
Thursday, January 26, 2012
In which I am currently...
...loving... the long days at home of winter, where children have time to make best efforts on hard things, instead of rushing through so we can head out the door to the next thing. A couple boys in basketball give me just enough "get out of the house" for a good balance, with still time to catch up on reading and conversations with The Husband.
...reading...a randomly chosen biography at the library, which I grabbed while searching the stacks for the book I had put on hold but the librarians had not had time yet to pull for me. Is that the sign of obsession?
...waiting for... a Big Snow. I do not live in the Midwest for rainy winters, thankyouverymuch. We must go sledding, make snow angels, completely freeze more insects, then start pining for spring.
...excited about...my family coming here this weekend for basketball and visits! Winter time is quality time for farm families.
...missing... our nephew Evan, who is now Nine Months Old (Oh, how sweet the years when I marked time in months!), and doing all sorts of wonderful new things every day. Yay for Oovoo! Boo for hundreds of miles apart.
...trying... to learn a new piano piece instead of replaying my old favorites again, and again, and again.
...working at... breaking the Dt. Mt. Dew addiction. There. I said it. On the Internet. Have not had one in more than 2 weeks, but am more than slightly worried about the amount of calories I am consuming in hot chocolate compensation.
...enjoying... Spotify. A song pops in my head. I type it in search. It plays. The kids and I discuss some history and the music from that time. We search. It plays. Making new playlists is *my* Pinterest.
...snacking on... *nothing. (*See: working at: not eating after supper)
...using... benadryl to try to rid Jesse of mysteriously appearing rash on his stomach, elbows, underarms. Comes and goes. Benadryl not working too well. Suggestions welcome.
...wearing... "pajamas" - old shirt of Eric's and comfy gray pants. Not a lace kind of gal.
... planning...yes. Always.
...singing... "All Creatures of our God and King", off "Downtown Church" - Patty Griffin.
...needing... seriously fitting/arched walking/workout shoes. And 16 things fixed in the house. And 2 sets of braces for kids. But really? Nothing.
...learning... the very, very fine line between demanding excellence and inducing exasperation.
...listening to...my squeaky dryer, my sleeping husband. Thankful for both.
...wishing... that is wasn't only hindsight that is 20/20. I could really use some corrective lenses for foresight, Lord.
...praying for...obedience. That I would listen, and obey, and NOT try to control results. Praying for opened eyes and changed hearts.
...dreaming of... a place that would a safe place for broken, hurting people; that would be a place where light and hope were found; an adventure in reaching beyond comfortable and safe.
(...stealing from...fuzzy hair)
...reading...a randomly chosen biography at the library, which I grabbed while searching the stacks for the book I had put on hold but the librarians had not had time yet to pull for me. Is that the sign of obsession?
...waiting for... a Big Snow. I do not live in the Midwest for rainy winters, thankyouverymuch. We must go sledding, make snow angels, completely freeze more insects, then start pining for spring.
...excited about...my family coming here this weekend for basketball and visits! Winter time is quality time for farm families.
...missing... our nephew Evan, who is now Nine Months Old (Oh, how sweet the years when I marked time in months!), and doing all sorts of wonderful new things every day. Yay for Oovoo! Boo for hundreds of miles apart.
...trying... to learn a new piano piece instead of replaying my old favorites again, and again, and again.
...working at... breaking the Dt. Mt. Dew addiction. There. I said it. On the Internet. Have not had one in more than 2 weeks, but am more than slightly worried about the amount of calories I am consuming in hot chocolate compensation.
...enjoying... Spotify. A song pops in my head. I type it in search. It plays. The kids and I discuss some history and the music from that time. We search. It plays. Making new playlists is *my* Pinterest.
...snacking on... *nothing. (*See: working at: not eating after supper)
...using... benadryl to try to rid Jesse of mysteriously appearing rash on his stomach, elbows, underarms. Comes and goes. Benadryl not working too well. Suggestions welcome.
...wearing... "pajamas" - old shirt of Eric's and comfy gray pants. Not a lace kind of gal.
... planning...yes. Always.
...singing... "All Creatures of our God and King", off "Downtown Church" - Patty Griffin.
...needing... seriously fitting/arched walking/workout shoes. And 16 things fixed in the house. And 2 sets of braces for kids. But really? Nothing.
...learning... the very, very fine line between demanding excellence and inducing exasperation.
...listening to...my squeaky dryer, my sleeping husband. Thankful for both.
...wishing... that is wasn't only hindsight that is 20/20. I could really use some corrective lenses for foresight, Lord.
...praying for...obedience. That I would listen, and obey, and NOT try to control results. Praying for opened eyes and changed hearts.
...dreaming of... a place that would a safe place for broken, hurting people; that would be a place where light and hope were found; an adventure in reaching beyond comfortable and safe.
(...stealing from...fuzzy hair)
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