Grand Scheme

There are times in parenting when you question several things.  Like for instance:

1.  Why did I have children.  Yeah, yeah, I know I prayed for them, but why did you pick this time to listen.  

2.  Do I really know what I am doing?  You wouldn't think it would be hard, we are adults, right?  More life experience.

3.  Why don't I just give them what they want and the NOISE will go away?  That couldn't end badly right?

4.  Why can't I have a split personality that can deal with this issue right now?  I have a feeling that would go badly.

And then there are days when that adorable little offspring that you prayed so hard for comes running in the room giggling with favorite blankey under shirt.  (she said it was funny to have a fat belly.)  So happy to have figured out something new that quite positively you are seeing for the first time in your life....

...and then one bonks his head on the side rail of the bed and that moment passes...

 

...and you switch hats to be the healer of all bad things...

...which leads to hugs and kisses...

...and you KNOW that all those things that you question don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Because this face has become the healer of all bad things.

Everything is bigger here...

Those white spots are snowflakes.

Notice how I had just brought out the patio furniture...
The Dude loves to catch "No" to taste it.



We awoke to ice covering the windows.  A truly beautiful sight, but a really chilly one.

An hour ago the snow started.  You know the kind...really big.  So big you have a hard time wrapping your mind around them.  Covered half of the Dude's hand.  One hour later we have over 3 inches and counting.

We even have icicles that proved to be just the thing to make Miss Boo smile today.  There isn't anything better when you are 4...er, almost 5.

She is having  a great day.  Her best friend Elise is here all day playing and then they are having a sleepover tonight.  Could life be any more perfect?  They sound  like a little old couple when they play.  It is so cute!

The Dude has started using the term "freakin" like his mommy does.  I almost fell over in my chair when he said something was "too freakin hard".  Oh my!  I had just been talking to Mom Enid the other day about how I need to watch what I say around my two sponges.  I have to admit it is completely adorable when a two year old says it though.

I am trying to download BOLT to my iPhone.  Anyone have a clue how to do that off a MAC?  Arrrgghhhh!  Should it really be this difficult?

Fargo Flood Evacuation

I have been very emotional this morning as I listened to MOJO104 in Fargo.  It is a beautiful audio piece about the thousands of volunteers working around the clock to fill sandbags and dike the area.  They had originally been told that the water would crest at 41 feet needing about 1 million bags.  Then yesterday it was confirmed that it would rise to 43 feet, needing an additional 900,000 bags that is impossible to do at this time.

So, they evacuated Fargo along with friends of ours.  The Smith family is on their way to Minneapolis as of 11 p.m. last night, praying that everything they did would save their belongings left behind.  Their family has been working for days sandbagging along with their community.

At times like this I become emotional as I see the good in the world.  I forget sometimes how much there really is.  The news allows us only the bad and disturbing. This gives us the chance to see people shine.  If people are united in a common cause they put their differences aside for the common good.

And that touches me.

Update:  The Smiths are safe in Minneapolis with family this afternoon.  Fargo has begun to evacuate volunteers and goods.  Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers during this season of hardship.

Love to you and your family Ang.

Slow Start...Tasty End.

Today is a chocolate cake day.  Why, you ask?  Because Mr. Finn bought a cake mix along with what I needed from the local grocery store.  I often give him my shopping list as he is leaving work and he often adds his own items to it.  This is his subtle way of saying he wants something sweet to eat.  I don't bake that much, so this is a treat for him.  

I had plenty of help from two of the best helpers ever.  One to crack the eggs...all of my eggs!  And, one to lick the spoon and bowl.  Who needs a dog?

Tonight it will be chocolate heaven for all.

Because this means I am done cooking for the day...so LET THEM EAT CAKE!

(Of course it's leaning to the side.  It tastes better that way!)

True Love!

Comes in many shapes and sizes


The Dude loves this Big Red Fire truck.
Fun field trip to the Fire Station with a lot of 3 year olds.  He loved looking at the trucks, but was very unhappy with having to see where the firemen slept and ate.

Bend it like Weston!

Laughing Cow

My friend Shannon just pointed out that my cow calendar was dancing to Holly Holy by Neil Diamond and it made her laugh.  I had to go see for myself and it made me laugh out loud.  Thanks for pointing out something that is so small, but brings joy.

The lesson for RS on Sunday is "Come What May, and Love It".    There are basically 3 points to doing this.

1.  Learn to Laugh

2.  Seek for the Eternal

3.  The Principle of Compensation

I think it is a great reminder of what we need to do to be happier in this life.  I take life so seriously sometimes and forget all the rest that makes up the puzzle.  

I am working on number 1 this week.  I need to exercise more muscles in my face.

Pain and Agony

My sister broke her foot.  I feel really bad for her.  It has to hurt.

Kind of like when I had to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with my older sister because I was too young.  Really painful.  I even had a date and it wasn't her.  From the recesses of my mind I do recall that it was either don't go to the dance or be grounded for two weeks.  (I was late getting home earlier that week.)

And those outfits.  You would think we had grown up in a hick town.   Oh yeah, we did!!  Excrutiating.  

But, not as bad as the macrame hanger or those "curtains".  

Hope your foot gets better so so we can have a ball while you are here.  Not that I am doubting our level of "funitude" while you are here, but I would hate to have you in pain.

Happy Green Day!

I am not very good at celebrating the "lesser" holidays.  I know this will be a sore spot with my offspring, but I am hoping that my guilty conscience will bully me into becoming a "Doer" of sorts by the time they can remember that their Mother is a "slacker".

I lack enthusiasm for all the work that goes into these somewhat festive holidays.  Yet, I can remember the joy they gave me as a child.

I am going to be digging deep to find that inner "holiday" child so that mine and in saying mine, I mean "ours" Mr. Finn, will be able to enjoy every drop of green milk on this day....

                     .....IN THE FUTURE!

Two Bits, Four Bits

Today I am choosing to remember days of jumping off the bed with wild abandon.






This is what I am going to remember today.

The rest of the stuff I am filing under "I don't need to know".

Whine and Roses

I heard that whining is rated higher on the scale than nails on a chalkboard.  It has the same effect for me.  I get chills up my spine and some button gets pressed inside my head that makes me a crazy person. 

I dearly love my children, but there are days that I question that intense desire I had to bear children.  What was I thinking?  I can tell you it wasn't about the whining.  It was all the stuff that you see from the outside not the parts that are the "REAL" part of parenting.  

We have moved into the "I hate you" phase of parenting.  Miss Boo uses it frequently these days when she is being denied something that she doesn't believe is within her rights as a child.

The Dude just likes to whine.  ALOT!  I have to remind him to change his tone, which he can do immediately and then will return to his former whine.

I have to find new ways of dealing with the behavior because it is driving me off that very steep cliff in my mind.

My senses have been heightened since the Lasik.  I find smells to be more odorous, sounds to be more sharp and my vision to be less sharp.  I know it takes a couple of weeks for it to work itself out, but I am impatient.  I already have a hard time dealing with daily things without it all heightened.  I guess this would be a really great time to rely on the Lord.

My greatest weakness is relying on him when things are the roughest in my life.  I like to go to bed and pull the blanket over my head.  I know!  That is the true definition of insanity!

I am truly blessed to have these whiners in my life.  I prayed for many years to have them and need to count those blessings daily.  

This is the proverbial "look a gift horse in the mouth".  Time to rewind and be kind.

"Eye" am tired...

It is amazing that less than 24 hours after surgery I was able to drive myself to the Eye Doctor for a post op followup.   I can see to drive.  A bit fuzzy on the edges, but I can SEE!

When I get tired or don't get enough wetting drops in them, which is every 5 minutes, it gets hard to see.  They say this will last for a couple of weeks until the flap heals.  Small price to pay.

For the first time in my life I was able to wake up this morning and see the clock across the room on the dresser and think, "Oh my heavens we are going to be late today!".   

It is only going to get better from here on out.

And for those that are wondering, they didn't install the laser beams as requested.  According to a friend, I should have waited a couple of months for the second stimulus package.  

Good night.  Need to rest them eyes now that they cost more than my first car.

Holy Eyeballs Batman!

Today I join the gild of Superheroes around the universe with my NEW Bionic Eyes.

I will let you know how the laser beams work tomorrow, as well as my xray vision.

I will have to find a new name for my side kick now that his wife is a superhero.

Any ideas?

It...is done!!

I have finally rid myself of the festering boil that has been attached to my B_%*@ for the past 2 - 1/2 years.  My fault completely.  I allowed it to grow and fester and last night, 

  I

          POPPED  

                           IT!!!!

It was a yucky mess, but it is gone...over...finito...DONE.

Now I can focus on what is important and deserves my undivided attention, constant care and devotion.

MY  CHILDREN...

Goodbye HOA!

Morning Java!

The Dude just informed me that his orange juice is "Too Orangejuicery".

Where does he come up with this stuff?

OH, my cousin Michael was featured on Cjane's blog.  Small world, isn't it?

You can go here to see his photo shoot in her retro kitchen.  For weeks he has been trying to find a retro kitchen through Facebook.  How funny to see what he came up with and I actually "kind of" know her.  Who doesn't?

http://blog.cjanerun.com/2009/03/hell-o.html

Eye Opening Monday

I am in awe! She is the embodiment of what we are supposed to be as Latter Day Saints. She is only 20 and answers all these questions with such ease and grace. Thanks Cjane for sharing this on your blog.

Sunday, our lesson was on missionary work and how we can share with those around us. She is the What, Where, How, When and Why. Thanks Sis. Burch for your missionary version of Jeopardy that made this mean so much more today.



Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

WOW!

Real or Memorex

I wish I were better at writing on my blog. There are days I sit here and can't think of even one interesting thing that has/is happening in my life. It is completely PATHETIC!

There was a day when everyday was an adventure. Or, at least I thought so. I USED to have so many memories of good times, but I have to admit that they are fading with time. Could it possibly be that those memories don't hold as much value as they once did? I used to remember everything about my childhood, adolescent years and post High School days, but those vivid stories of my life are dimming in my mind.

I know my life has great meaning and the stories are there, but I can't seem to pull them out of my exhausted mind. My fear is that I won't remember them to put them down for my children to remember.

Their lives are important and the stories that are created daily need a voice.

Just now, as I was putting the Dude back in bed for the 7th, 8th, 20th time. Who keeps count anymore?! I swatted him on the bum, I have to follow through on my threats every so often. He looks up at me and says "That wasn't nice, now you have to kiss my BUM!". So, I kiss his bum. He tells me that I didn't kiss his bum. For heavens sake...I know where his bum is and I kissed semi close to it. I had to kiss it 3 times as he giggled. Such the serious Mommy that I am.

He is becoming the teller of stories when it is time for him to be sleeping. It always starts with, "Remember when...." Tonight it was remember when the two of us surprised the two of you? I said I remembered it. We have many of those moments in his room. He loves to yell surprise. Then he hold us two fingers on his right hand and says "remember the two us" and then holds up two fingers on his left hand and says, "remember the two of you?" I nod my head and then he explains that one of those fingers was his sister and the other one was HIM, pointing to himself. He did the same for mommy and daddy. I love to see how he grasps concepts at such a young age. I am impressed with him.

I hope he continues to be a teller of stories and much more importantly, a documenter of such stories.

My brain is in a fog from the lack of sleep last night due to thunderstorms that the Dude is terrified of and the daylight savings that is done for the sole purpose of driving me completely insane.

I will get it together and make more sense tomorrow....I hope.

I am soooo HOT!

Snicker....I mean I am physically in heat.

Tee hee...that didn't come out right either.


80 Degrees!

Does that help?

My body can't take this sudden heat wave.

My palms are sweaty and I am irritable.

Sounds like menopause, but NO that isn't where I am at today.

I can hardly believe that we were sledding on Tuesday.

CRAZY WEATHER!

Crazy Hair!

Crazy Hair Day! Miss Boo is 4 years old and in preschool. What will they think of next? I remember doing this when I was a freshman in high school. You remember all those things you had to do during initiation week?
What could they possibly be initiating these babies into? Real life? Social circles? Drinking out of real cups..without straws? Running without abandon?
Miss Boo was so excited about her hair. I tried for crazy and it turned our crazy adorable. See what I had to work with? It's all in the equipment.
I took the kids sledding with some friends yesterday and had a great time.  Miss Boo got right on the tube and went down without any direction or hesitation.  I could hear her from the bottom of the hill yelling with all her might, "That was so much fun!".

This picture is witness that she can care for her brother.  Note that she is carrying both of the sleds and is HOLDING his hand.
NOW...you can see that he is crying because she has abandoned him in her tromp back up the hill.  At least she tried.

She had a really great time. It was as if she and the tube/taboggan were ONE!

Tagged...

Go into your picture files, open the 6th folder, 6th picture -- then tag 6 people.



This is when the Dude was 6 months old. He loved being fed cheerios. He was having a hard time with the photo shoot and was starting to cry, but this seemed to distract him. I LOVE BABY PICTURES!

I tag Denise, Rachel, Clarissa, Tamara, Nyoka and Lalani.

It was kind of fun. A little worried about what I would find, but pleasantly surprised.

Play Day!

Except for Mommy!  It was a work day.  Had to shovel off the driveway so Mr. Finn would be able to go to work.  His gerbil mobile would never have been able to makeit over the hump from the snow plows.  He had the flu so I was the "man of the house" for a day.
I only did half the driveway.  Ran out of steam and with the way my shoulders and back feels today, I know I made the right choice.