Madness and Ennui

OK, I haven't been around much lately

and the earlier post today was just a way of "staying in touch"...

Plus, I thought it was pretty funny.

The "end of the school year" crunch is on...

Too many Doctor/Dentist check-ups...

WAY too much to do, and NO desire to do any of it.

The kids have been operating on High Energy...

I have not.

I'm tired.

I want a nap.

oh well.

I have also rediscovered an Old Flame...

A former love that I spent much time with...

One that I knew well Before I met my Darling Husband...

The Crossword Puzzle

Actually, Scooter got me going on one,

and then I just Couldn't stop...

Don't you just love the clues they give in crosswords?

It's fun to get back to "thinking" in crossword-ese.

It has taken up some of my Blog-hopping time...

I Am Sorry.

I just don't seem to have the energy to organize my thoughts.

And, I volunteered to be Membership Chairperson

of our Homeschool Co-op......

Can you say "open mouth, insert foot"?

Silly me.

A Very Short Fairy Tale

One day, long, long ago.......

there lived a woman who did not

whine, nag or bitch.

But this was a long time ago.......

and it was just that one day.

The End

Good vs. Bad

Scooter and Tilly were thrilled a couple of weeks ago when they found

a Badminton Birdie in the Summer Toy Mess on our back porch.

They love playing with their Dad when he gets home from work.

He loves it too.

We were at a friend's house for dinner,

when they excitedly informed Daddy of the wonderful news:

"We can play Badminton again!"

Snorkie thought for a few seconds and said...

BADminton....NO....

GOOD-minton!

Gotta love a three year old with a well developed moral code!

Snorkie the Teacher

Snorkie McTavish is a very smart boy.

He walked at 9 months.

Climbed stairs by 11 months (yes it was scary).

He is ALL BOY!

At 18 months, he could follow three step directions.

Loves to dust, sweep, dry dishes, sort sliverware, load the dishwasher...

He just didn't like to talk very much.

At one year, he could open his father's tool box and would stand there and

grunt...

just like Tim Allen (wish we had that on video).

No Words.

As time went on, he learned a few words and a few "signs".

With two big sisters to translate, (and wait on him hand and foot),

he made himself understood.

Then he turned three.

I can't get him to shut his mouth!

He chatters ALL THE TIME!

(I believe God gave me that silent second year

so that I could get school work done with the girls...

He would have driven me crazy last year.)

His vocabulary is growing exponentially.

He repeats everything he hears from me, daddy, sisters, movies....

He tended to drop his initial consonants...still does sometimes...

so juice is 'uice, hood becomes 'ood.

Just a little Cockney English coming out...

Last week, at out last Homeschool Co-op meeting for the year,

Snorkie approached a two year old "friend".

He said, "Hi!"

Friend replied, "I!"

Snorkie gets all instructive and corrects his friend,

"Not 'I', it's Hi!"

What a smartie-pants...

"Friends" Mom & I chuckled all afternoon.

(Snorkie in an 'ood with an 'amera on a nature 'ike with Daddy)

They Made a MOM Out of Me

Just a few photos of my little...and not so little ones...


Okay, these are definitely NOT in chronological order...I'm just not so good at the upload thing, yet. This is my Seeker Man, when he was 18 (ish), Scooter was his side-kick!


Scooter, one day old! February 1999

Scooter (3?) and Ginger (7?) our overgrown "sheltie"....she was so patient and calm with the children... Just NOT with fireworks...or thunderstorms...or smoke alarms....

Scooter and Tilly in the bike trailer...being used as a stroller. Spring of 2001
Tilly (aka Sweet Pea) looking too cute for words... Winter of 2005 ... (age four)

Scooter, aka Sweetie Pie...Just home from the hospital...a little yellow still, but that resolved...she sure loved to to be "bundled". That was the best time (I could still nap when she napped).

Scooter and Tilly helping to "paint" Christmas cookies. ( 2002)

Taking the girls out in the canoe on the Delaware Canal in Yardley, Pa. (Late Spring 2001)


Summer 2001...MacDougall & McGillicudhy in the pool. we figured out how to put warm water into the pool from the kitchen faucet...boy did we have fun in the yard that Summer!





Snorkie McTavish, one week old....such a cutie...He really did "snork" in his sleep! Winter 2005

Well, That was just the right way to spend the day before Mother's Day... It is amazing how quickly they grow and change, such fun to look through all the pictures. I think tomorrow will be "Home Movie Day" at our house! Blessings and Happy Mother's Day to all my Mom friends out there (family, friends and blog-buddies)

Return soon for the Ballet Recital Post...Three hour ballet version of Don Quixote tonight!
I just have to find the pictures....Hmmmm.

Obedience and Humility:
a path to peace


This is one of my favorite prints.
It is an engraving/aquatint that
I did in 1994
drawn from a Photograph that
I shot in my sister's backyard
several years before that.

I have a copy of it in my family
room right nearmy usual "spot"
so that I can look to it regularly.
I love that Sunflowers are symbols
of Obedience and Humility.

I like to meditate upon this sunflower.
It was a MAMMOTH Sunflower.
They are truly the largest flowers
that I have ever grown, and yet
they bow their heads.
Their foliage is large and shady and if planted
in rows, can actually form a sort of fort, that little ones can play in.
Their shafts are strong, but ultimately,
the beautiful brown and golden head carries too much weight
and they face downwards.
They also turn their heads to follow the sun.
Shouldn't we all have this attitude when contemplating
the blessings that we have been given?
Bowing our heads before God and turning our faces to the Son.
Can we be all that we are called to be without the support of our creator?
I was thinking about these mammoth sunflowers today, and remembering
those that the girls and I planted when they were very small.
They were fascinated watching them grow,
especially when the flowers towered over them.
Then they were a little afraid to go near them
because of the ever present honey bees.
We let the flowers stay in the garden long after they looked scraggly and old.
It occurred to me that this was when they were the most useful.
The seeds had dried naturally and were ready for the birds to harvest daily.

I may not be my most beautiful right now.
My day doesn't always admit a shower, let alone make-up.
I am not the thinnest I have ever been.
But maybe- just maybe- I am at my most USEFUL:
to my Husband, my Children, my Family, my Friends and my Lord.
I am at Peace.

My Marvelous Mom circa 1951

Well, today is a BANNER DAY in my life...

You see, I got to do something today

that my Mother never got to do....

I celebrated my 44th Birthday!

My mother only made it to 43 years and 5 months.

She would have turned 75 this past April 1st.

Now, you would think that a family history of

heart disease would prompt this gal to be forever vigilant

about her weight, diet, exercise, etc.

nope.

(THAT would be my sister...the one with seven kids...who runs on the

treadmill while we are on the phone together......)

I haven't gotten it together in years.

This will have to change.

So, in the next little while, you'll have to check in on me to see

how I'm doing on:

(Drum roll please............................................)

The Light Weigh.

This is an AWESOME program.

It is a Spiritual Growth-Weight Loss program.

It is Catholic in theology and follows the

Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

(working on one fault at a time until it is resolved)

and Saint Therese the Little Flower.

(offering the little sacrifices we make everyday for others).

In the six months before I conceived Snorkie,

I lost almost 50 pounds following this plan.

In fact many people didn't know that I was expecting

until my ninth month....

Very few people asked any questions...

I think they thought I was just getting fat again

and didn't want to offend me!

Anyway, the program's strength is in the sacrifices we make

of only eating when we are HUNGRY...

and stopping when we are FULL....

Sounds easy, right.

Oh, and you can eat ANYTHING that you want...

Provided that it is not an amount larger than your Clenched Fist.

Anyway...I wasn't planning on getting into it this much,

but I've put it out here so you all

(...sound of crickets chirping...)

can keep me on the straight and narrow....

Oh, and I think the Good Lord wants me to start this SOON,

because He sent me some kind of

Intestinal bug for my Birthday!

yee hah.