steph's stuff

Moving on

I've been a bit melancholy lately about Elizabeth. At the ripe old age of 6, she has decided that she doesn't need her Mommy anymore. I have a feeling that it's partially because from August - February, she had to deal with me way too often as we dealt with her seizure disorder and her side effects. And so now, she's feeling great and ready to assert herself. It's not so easy for me, but I totally understand her need to be independent and I'm thrilled that her health issues are no longer an issue. I want to make sure that I back off a bit and let her have her independence even though it's sooooo hard to let go. And I have this wonderful photo of her being so silly and so full of joy and I couldn't figure out what to do with it. So, I had to do this to remind her and me that I'll still be there as she moves on. And to remind myself that moving on is a good thing. An online friend of mine lost her dear son to cancer this weekend and it's all about perspective, ya know?

No rules

I'm not playing by the rules today. LOL!  Wendy tagged me after Jessica tagged her, so I'm supposed to be blogging about 6 weird things about me, but then I went back to Jessica's blog to read her stuff and found this instead. Visual DNA - too much fun!!!! Make one for yourself! And I think it gives 6 weird things about me, too. Ha!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

What's on your walls?

I have this problem.

I don't have many photos that I took on my walls.

And I tend to like a lot of the photos that I take, so why the heck don't I hang them on my walls?

We went to Chicago last weekend to Navy Pier and I took over 300 photos and I love them!!! I want to do a storyboard and hang them up, but will I?

This picture of a kite Emily was flying last week would look great framed and hanging in her room but I haven't gotten around to printing it.

So, what's on your walls? Am I the only one who does this?

Can I get a Woohoo?!!!

We're going to Maine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my holy heck, I had totally given up on going this year and have been silently mourning for months now. But, my mom just called and a friends' cabin is free for the first two weeks in July and we're going! Texas will just have to wait!

OMG!!! I'm totally in tears - I am sooooo grateful and soooooo happy - I'm going home!!!!!!!!

And here's the view from the cabin!!!!!!!!

Maybe another baby????

Okay, Stef, Burch, and Wendy - don't start yelling at me just yet.

How about another furry baby?

I'm thinking that's part of the change I want. I've been thinking about kittens for months now - our cat, Maggie, is almost 12 and I've always thought that it would be best for us to have another cat for the kids in the house before Maggie gets too old. So, we could get another kitten and the local shelter has a ton right now.

But something in me is drawn towards a puppy. And holy cow, do I really want a puppy? It's like having a newborn all over again and I'd have to make sure that I didn't go anywhere for too long and overnight trips would be a huge hassle to either find someone to take the dog or find a kennel and the chewing and house training (although I've house trained dogs before and feel pretty good about that), but all the extra work and blah, blah, blah........that goes with getting a puppy.

What do you guys think? Puppy? Kitten? Neither?????

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Okay, '80's ladies, sing with me ....

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

Sigh.
That needing change bug is back. Any suggestions?

Pioneer Dreams

Okay, true confession time.

Raise your hand if you read the "Little House on the Prairie" books when you were a little girl. I'll wait - raise 'em!

Me!!!! I dreamed and dreamed about becoming Laura. Oh my gosh, I wanted the bonnet that hung down my back, I wanted the open prairies to explore and the huge sky over me, I wanted to listen to Pa's fiddle in the evening by the fire, laugh at Mr. Edwards' jokes, and snuggle down every evening under Ma's quilts and wisdom. Seriously, I dreamt of this for years and years. Okay, I still do. Seriously do.

And, yes, I watched every single episode of the TV show, too, and while it was a good show, it just didn't have the same pull as the book did for me. Somehow, Ma and Mary and Mr. Edwards were all so much more real in Laura's prose than in ABC's depiction.

And then there was Anne of Green Gables when I was a tad bit older. Oh, Anne Shirley was just IT was for me!!! I so admired her sass, her spirit, her drama, her passion - just everything about her. And my middle name is Anne - spelled with an E - the CORRECT way. And I loved that she hated her name because I hated my name, too. Although in my case, I longed for my family to use my middle name and call me Anne, rather than Stephanie. I am just not a Stephanie. Anyway, I digress. Anne Shirley's life was absolutely idyllic for me and I could totally relate to it because I was living on the coast of Maine. I wanted Marilla and Matthew to be in my kitchen when I woke up, I wanted to have Diana just down the lane from me, and I wanted Gilbert waiting for me by the school fence. Good, good totally inspire you series of books. And this TV series was excellent, by the way! PBS's production is phenomenal and yes, I own the series. :p

So, what's the point of all of this besides just me blah, blah, blahing about childhood books? Well, I have discovered the adult version of these books - now, it's not so cutesy and certainly doesn't portray life as idyllic as Prince Edward Island. It's truly the adult version - meaning that once you've been married for 10+ years, have birthed and nursed 3 kids, do 15,000 loads of laundry every day, and are staring 40 in the face, you know that Laura's and Anne's worlds were probably a lot less fun than the books portrayed. I mean, baths once a week???? Dirt floors???? Outhouses??? Petticoats in 95+ heat???? See, ya know that pioneer life really must have sucked at times, ya know?

So, anyway, if you want to have a really good read and see some GORGEOUS pictures, visit the pioneer woman -  http://www.thepioneerwoman.com - fantastic blog!!! And, yes, if I'm seriously the last person on the face of the world to discover her, then just wave and say hi on your way out the door. :)

Traditions

Do you ever have one of those days when you realize that everything seems the same and days and years morph into each other? When you realize that nothing has changed for a long time? That last year, you did the same exact thing on a birthday? And that you always have the same schedule for Easter every year?

And, really, while I had one of those days on Sunday, it wasn't all bad. Realizing that things ARE the same is secure, too, ya know? Knowing that Easter will be like this every year and that birthdays will involve the same family members coming over and that the cake will always be a DQ ice cream cake.........there's security and tradition in that. And that part is good. I craved security and tradition for much of my growing up years. And I'm so glad that Tom and I have given that to our kids. But, yet.....I don't know. Sometimes security and tradition are just.......well.........too much of the same.

Okay, enough of that. I have no point to make at all. Just rambling. :)

Anyway, on Sunday, we celebrated Easter and Andrew's fourth birthday. Too much fun for one day for my little kiddos!

 

 

My Libby

She is my heart. And her personality has come back to us. I don't have any other words. Except that I'm so proud to be her mommy.

Brain Extractions

I simply had to scrap this. A conversation with Andrew on Monday afternoon. (I think he's gonna give Janet's Bubba a run for his money one of these days!)

Journaling: Andrew is almost four and he is constantly coming up with things that stop me in my tracks. How does a little almost-4-year-old come up with this? Today, I had to pull the van over to the side of the road and write down this conversation because it was so hilarious

Andrew: “Mommy, sometimes my brain makes me silly.”

Me: “It does? How does it do that?”

Andrew: “My brain makes me silly when it extracts itself. That’s when I get goofy.”

Me: “Your brain extracts itself??????”

Andrew: “Yes, Mommy! That’s what makes me silly!”

Well then ......... glad we got that figured out!

Monday, April 2, 2007

All supplies from Mindy Terasawa's Flutter Butter kit at Designer Digitals.