Pick Me Up Tuesday

Tuesday has become my favorite day of the week...I get to hang out with my niece and have crazy silly time with her...Just me and her...She actually told me "You kinda funny"...I had to respond "Reallllly I was going for whole lotta funny"...oh well maybe next time...We bake, we sing, we dance, we paint toenails, we play...by the way do you know how hard it is to get a photo of a toddler's foot I'll show below...I probably should have thought about limiting her sugar intake in order for her to be still for a photo shoot...but she really didn't have that much...just the cookie and a bite out of another, the marshmallow for peeing in the potty oh and the chocolate sprinkles in her pudding...oops Sorry Mommy.

We're friends best friends...I dread having to say goodbye but I know her momma misses her dearly and quite frankly I am exhausted...it's been eight years since I had a toddler and I'm not getting any younger...so I give her a big hug and kiss...turn to leave hoping she is staring through the window at me so I can wave one last time...and then I start the countdown...only seven days to our next silly adventure.

"This is so Yummy.  You want some?"

Russian Tea Cake Cookies from the Betty Crocker New Cookbook

1 cup stick margarine or butter softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix margarine, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. (do not over cook try to use an even baking pan also so that the bottoms don't get done before the rest of the cookie) Cool slightly on wire rack. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar. (the recipe also calls for 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts but our kids don't like them so we omit if you prefer just add when mixing in the flour and salt.)



Obviously she had ants in her pants...she would not hold still for one second lol
could it have been from the sugar...hummmm

 

Today Be a Positive Role Model In Someones Life...Make Them Smile...Listen When They Talk...Teach Them...Love Them...Consider Limiting Their Sugar Intake...It's the little things.

 

Kids and Light Switches

Kids and light switches...Come on really is it that hard?  Can't they just press down on that little switch...You know the one that's on the wall...right next to the hand print they leave when they exit the room...I constantly remind them...I have eliminated playtime...oh I've even threatened peanut butter and jelly for a week...(my little one would actually love that)...Perhaps when I get them a job to pay the electric bill maybe then the lights will finally go out...(I'm thinking bathroom duty)...Or maybe even reading a few books about global warming and protecting the earth's environment...Is that mean? I didn't think so either...If anything it will be good for them.  Just like Ann Landers said "It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings."  (Hopefully my kids will become successful at turning out the lights but in the meantime they WILL be able to clean a toilet.) So Today teach your children something...anything...They are the future... 

Obviously I turned off the lights....
Woohoo I don't have to clean bathrooms today.

Growing Pains

I have never felt this kind of pain before...It started with a touch of IBS mixed with strange palpations that seemed to be coming from my both my brain and my heart...and then just when I thought nothing else could hurt there seemed to be a touch of some kind of stomach pain maybe the start of a raging ulcer...they all just seemed to be mixing together...Pain...Pain...Pain...Well this has been my life since the moment I sat in the waiting room of the BMV waiting for my daughter to come back from testing to get her license...I kept telling myself just breathe...it will pass...you're acting silly... just as I was debating whether or not to call the doctor there they came...phew...first the instructor...Do they ever smile?..then my daughter with a huge smile and a soft "I  passed"...how can you feel proud and pissed at the same time...Couldn't we just prolong this for another month or two...She's not ready...In my eyes will she ever be ready?

Truth is she is an amazing daughter with a superb sense of responsibility and reality is I am not ready to see her take on that kind of responsibility...oh but I will because I don't have a choice...It's partially my fault because I have and will continue to raise her to be a strong independent woman...so this will be my life IBS, high blood pressure, migraines and stomach ulcers continuing every moment until she walks through the door and greets me with Hi Mom I'm home...How do Parents do this? Everyone says its hard but you just get used to it...no way never not ever!!!! Pray for us.

 

A Mother's Prayer

I pray you'll be my eyes

And watch her where she goes

And help her to be wise

Help me to let go

Every mother's prayer

Every child knows

Lead her to a place

Guide her with your grace

To a place where she'll be safe

I pray she finds your light

And holds it in her heart

As darkness falls each night

Remind her where you are

Every mother's prayer

Every child knows

Need to find a place

Guide her with your grace

Give her faith so she'll be safe

Lead her to a place

Guide her with your grace

To a place where she'll be safe

 

as sung by Celine Dion

 

Pick Me Up Tuesday

I saw this quote on Pinterest and it brought me back at least thirty years or more...ack how old am I...thank goodness I don't remember

For some reason everything is funnier
if you're not allowed to laugh.

Sit down dinners at the kitchen table were pretty much a staple when I was little...Growing up in a large family on a limited income food was precious to us...and we certainly loved to eat...and fast too because if there was an extra roll and you finished first it was yours...on this particular evening it was dinner time...we were all seated at the dinner table and for some reason one of us just started to snicker...of course I do not remember who started it or why...it was probably because we were having peas and we used to squish them under our plates...what I do know was that my Dad was not happy...He liked for us to be quiet and behave at the table...(maybe they should have thought about the noise level before having four girls within five years...or seven children total...I am not sure if it was ever quiet)...anyway that snicker lead to another snicker...to another then to full out uncontrollable laughing...like milk shooting out of the nose laughing...one by one we were asked to leave the table to get control of ourselves...to stop causing a ruckus at the table...so one by one we went into the bathroom looked into the mirror and laughed till it just wasn't funny anymore...composed ourselves...wiped away the tears of joy...returned to our seat just to glance at each other which one again started the laughing all over again...which landed us back into the bathroom...I think it became so contagious that even my Dad in the end eventually cracked a smile...

So Try not to laugh today...Hopefully milk will shoot out of your nose too....

Come On Enjoy The Ride

The cycle sisters go through is alot like going whitewater rafting...(me and my sister actually did this together and it was a blast...a moment in time I will never forget)...It starts off picturesque...the mountains...the trees...the rushing water...Can you picture it now? oh yeah did I mention you are floating down the middle of an unpredictable river in a raft that somehow shrinks in size at the worst possible moment and all you have in your hands is a paddle...sorry back to the story...the river seems so calm at first almost gliding you to your next destination...everyone is smiling, cracking jokes, looking around at the amazing scenery that surrounds them, working together with a lighthearted anticipation of what's to come...then...all of a sudden...out of nowhere it turns into complete chaos...there's screaming, crying and even some flailing...the raft is shrinking...and the once calm river has turned into a monster...waves crashing around huge rocks that are protruding in every direction...you truly start thinking that you are not going to walk away from this...what were you thinking this isn't fun...in that moment you realize that you are forced to work together in unison otherwise one of you may get hurt even worse die...and just when you think you can't take it anymore the river returns to it's calm state again...your gliding, checking out the scenery, moving on to your next destination and most importantly thanking your sister for saving your life.

Truth is no matter what we did to one another...holding the newborn outside of the crib by her ankle (my mom saved the baby prior to her being dropped...yes it was a heart stopper) what we stole out of each other's closet just to wear it and wad it up like you had nothing to do with it...(I did that unfortunately)...to the endless fights...by the way I did not purposely push Julie out of the bed it really was an accident...we needed each other...we still need each other...and I truly wouldn't know what I would have done or would do without my sisters.

Today tell your sister how much she means to you...I am not talking just biological sisters...I am talking about anyone who has been a sister in your life...and thank them from the bottom of your heart for all that they have done for you.

To my sisters:  Your strengths inspire me. Your knowledge educates me. Your help strengthens me. Your love has made this little thing called life livable...You have helped me become the woman I am today.  Thank You Thank You Thank You for being my sister.

Pick Me Up Tuesday

The Big Scare...Have you ever hid around a corner just waiting for that perfect moment to jump...flail your arms out...and scream roarrrrrrr...Well that was a staple in our house that still brings us many laughs to this day...not like oh yeah that's funny...I mean like laugh till you cry funny...or pee your pants funny...My mom said it was going to bring us post traumatic stress...but really all it brings us is joy...Are we weird?  Does anyone else enjoy this pastime? The best scare story we have to share...We were on vacation in Lake Cumberland...They have a  Lodge were you can get a nice dinner or hang out on the porches to see the little creatures that come out of the woods...well we figured out pretty quickly that it has the perfect bathroom for my sister's plan of attack...A wall separating the toilets and the exit...a perfect corner to carry out her plan...ok now the set up...little sisters had to go to the bathroom...Perfect...act like everything is normal...and then as soon as they are out of sight...hide...she got a little crouch in her stance arms up ready to strike...Silence...toilet flushes...faucet on...faucet off...footsteps...ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Thing is when my sister looked at the victim it wasn't one of us...it was a little old lady clutching her purse...tearing off out of the bathroom...like she was attacked...(hang on a minute need to run to the bathroom almost peed my pants from laughing)...Now I think that undeserving little old lady may have had a little post traumatic stress from that incident...we certainly didn't stick around to find out...did we feel bad? absolutely...did we laugh hysterically? you bet we did!!!!

 

Enjoy some other great scares...Laugh Out Loud Today!



Pick Me Up Tuesday by: Jeanne

I just had to share an amazing moment with my daughter just driving home from an errand.  Both kind of in a blah mood. Her, "Why do I have to get up so early on summer vacation?" Me, Why did I have to buy shorts that need to be dry cleaned? (oh yeah that's right because they are the only shorts that would fit my bootyliciousness. Trust me I tried on thousands.) when a tune started.which led to a glance.even better instantaneous smiles and a crank of the radio.  In that moment, for real we became the back up singers to Little Big Town.

     makin waves and catchin rays up on the roof. jumpin off the back dooon act like you dooon want tooooooo. out here in the open ummm motor-boatinnnnnnn.

Why were those passerbys staring? We were good.My heart is full. It's the little things.