disclaimer

lately, i have found myself wanting to add things here, but telling myself that no one wants to see the pictures you took of dinner, or your fat (oh, sorry, "big boned") dog enjoying the sunshine. 

but, really that's why i created this space: to store some photos, to document the important milestones, but mostly to remember these seemingly unimportant little details of our days.  because one day, i'll have a hard time remembering how we spent this year.

when you look at pictures from your childhood, you know how it's always fun to look in the background to see what stuff unintentionally made its way into the pic?  that's kinda what this is like for me. except since it's not unintentional, it feels very personal.

so, when you pop in here and find yourself asking why the hell i'm posting about shaving my legs (just kidding, I hope it won't ever come to that), just do what my punk does every time i bust out the camera, roll your eyes and smile! 

i'm a sentimental girl and I don't wanna forget a drop.

Some Lucky Girl

This morning I woke up late.  Really late. 

My Punk was whiny, he was "just toooo tired to get dressed."

After I got dressed, I went to check on his progress.  He's watching cartoons.  Fabulous.

We need to leave in 10 minutes.

I tell him to go brush his teeth.

I race to the kitchen and pack his lunch.

I go check on his progress.  He's playing rocket ship with his toothbrush, no toothpaste in sight.  Awesome.

I attempt to spackle on some makeup, while telling him to put shoes and socks on.  "Ok, Momma," he yells.  Then my favorite eyeshadow falls into the sink and shatters into 50 bazillion tiny specks. Super.

I go check on his progress...and can't find him.  Soon, I hear him - under his bed, retrieving a pair of shoes.  Do I need to explain we have wood floors?  And 3 animals?  Just imagine the monster-sized dust bunnies under his bed. Great.

I call him into the bathroom to comb his hair.  While putting the brush back in the cabinet, I smacked my brand new bottle of nail polish.  It falls onto the toilet, shattering the bottle.  There is currently hot pink splattered all over my toilet, shower curtain, walls, and most important my Saltillo tile.  I attempted to clean it up, and dyed my hands hot pink.  Did I mention we're late? I give up.

Almost in tears, I rush us out to the car.  Forgot my cellphone.  Run back in.  And then I see this:

It's a Bionicle flower.  He took apart one of his beloved Bionicle's to make one of my beloved orchids "bloom."

I stop, sigh, and smile.

Some day, I will have to share this boy.  Some day, I will not be the one he brings flowers.  Some day, some lucky girl will be the recipient of his magnificent heart.  But, right now, I'm that lucky girl!

We're Still Here!

Just checking in to tell y'all that we haven't given up! 

We've just been enjoying Spring Break, which has been filled with hiking trips, late night ice cream runs, visits with cousins that we don't spend near enough time with, and reunions 40 years in the making!

For now, I'll leave you with a sure sign of Spring (other than the 70+ degree days and breezy evenings we have been thoroughly enjoying!).  We saw this little guy (and his family) enjoying the sunshine at a park this week. 

And yes, it took every ounce of strength I had not to ask my Punk if he wanted to keep this little guy!

We'll return to our normal scheduled programming next week!

Acceptance

"We always hurt the ones we love"

I talk to my closest friends and family in a way I would never speak to those a little more removed.  That is, I express myself more openly.  On one hand it's really comforting, I think we do this because we know, deep inside, that these people are our family, will love us always, and won't leave us. 

So, I think the quote is true...right up until something (near) tragic happens.

My brother can annoy the living bejeezus out of me.  Seriously. I wanna smack him upside the head sometimes.  Only because I refuse to admit that, at almost 40, he can take care of himself. 

I  spent the evening nagging at him about something completely unimportant, while he laughed at me.

Then this happened. 

(It's a crappy pic, but you get the idea...)

He was driving.  Three of his friends were with him.  It was 19 degrees outside, and they hit a patch of ice while on their way to work, and rolled the truck off a freeway off-ramp.

All of a sudden, the insignificant differences disappeared.   None of it mattered.  He matters.

Being half way across the country with my heart in my throat all morning did wonders for my perspective. 

From now on, I will open my heart a bit wider to accept and appreciate the small differences I have with those I love.  I am ecstatic to say, that my big bro will be here, buggin' me no doubt, for a long time to come.  And I couldn't be happier about that.

Using the Good Stuff

Did you ever wanna drink out of your parent's fancy glasses as a kid? I did, although I'm not sure if huge wine goblets with a white plastic stem that housed a LIGHT BULB, can be classified as "fancy."  That's right, they LIT UP. Jealous? I know. Drinking my milk with it's own spotlight and my pinky in the air was waaay more fun than a plain ol' cup.  After that, I probably threw on my Jordache jeans, donned my rabbit fur coat (ick, so gross), laced up my rollerskates, and jetted out the door...

Anyhoo -

The other night, we made a lovely little dessert: fresh strawberries, a chocolate chip muffin, and some yogurt. Voila!

I thought our little heavenly creation would be so much more fun to eat if we got to use the good stuff. The good stuff that was a very sweet wedding present, and consisted of only the pair.

It took him 2 minutes to devour it, and another 30 seconds to break the glass.  It's another reminder that "the good stuff" isn't really "stuff" at all.

Behind the Scenes

This blog has really become a part of our everyday lives. Although I didn't realize the impact it would have, I'm totally enjoying it.  It has made me very aware of the small everyday enjoyable activities we do, the memories we make, and the togetherness that results.

Tonight, this is what blogging looks like for us.

It's freezing outside, so we are snuggled into my bed, warm apple cider in hand.  We are discussing concepts together, he is realizing that his opinion is important to me, and delights when he sees his ideas come to fruition on this blog.

Earlier this evening, he lost (for the first time) his sparring match.  He does not like to lose, but learning to lose graciously is an important lesson to learn.  I can't help but think that, with the importance he places on his physical strength, this is a comforting way to focus on his other "strengths." 

It is my hope that this blog reveals some of his creative talents and shows him he has a very strong foundation: his family.  He is always a champion here, always accepted, always loved.

Come to think of it, "loved" almost seems like an understatement.  For that, I am forever grateful.

gratitude

i guess it's the fact that nearly every man on both sides of his family are veterans, but most importantly, his daddy is.  and whatever daddy was/is/does is just about the coolest to my punk.

i used to think that if i limited the amount of news he saw and the types of toys he plays with, it would curb his romantic view of being a soldier.  ummm...nope.  so, now i'm just going with the truth and seeing how that works out.

we have talked about how hard it must be for those men and women to be so far away from their families (he was surprised they didn't get to come home on the weekends!), to sleep when you have no bed, or eat when you don't get a break.  we have talked about what they are fighting for, and how people in other places do not enjoy the freedoms we do.  he was shocked and angered.  which is in a way, i suppose, what previous generations had hoped for.

sometimes he will ask what i think they are doing right now.  last september, on the international day of peace (and global ceasefire), he imagined that they were probably playing video games and eating A LOT.  his emphasis, not mine.

when i found a way for us to take part in "operation gratitude," i knew he'd love it. we came up with several ideas of what a soldier would want/need.  on the top of his list?  grapes.

grapes??

yep, because they'll need healthy stuff to stay strong and energized. 

so sweet, that boy of mine. sweeter still, is the fact that this, no doubt, is something i have said to him at some point.  and he's passing it on. it does a momma's heart good.



after checking out just how far away our package would have to travel to reach its destination, we sent it on the first leg of its very long trip.