Cool Zebras

Memories and friends

2012-05-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Snippets of memories come to me at odd times.

D sneaks into my purse to score a Tic Tac. I remember asking my Grandma for a Certs or a Vitamint. She almost always carried one or the other.

We remember my Grandpa: holding me in his legs, reading me bedtime stories with the book upside down, going for "rides" only to pull into the garage from the end of the driveway.

My mom and the kids and I visited the city where my dad grew up a few weeks ago. We vaguely remembered the path to the farm where my dad was raised. We found it. I had only my cell phone to take a distant photo.

I learned to always bring the fancy camera with the lenses. If I don't bring it, I wish I had. If I do bring it, it stays in the case most of the time.

My Godson was confirmed last Sunday. He's 14 and taller than I am already...and at 5'9" I'm not the shortest woman in the world (also not the tallest). His mom is my BFF even though we go months without talking. It takes moments for us to reconnect.

I remember babysitting my Godson before I was married, before I had kids...Craig and I (dating at the time) babysat him overnight. He was almost one year old then. It was easy, yet not, because he was (and is) a good kid, because we weren't used to kids.

My BFF's family feels, at times, like mine. One of her brothers, and her four sisters sang at our wedding. Their voices, I'm sure, blessed everyone in attendance. Our pastor at the time commented something about angels singing. It was true. My friend and her family gave us a great gift when they consented to sing at our wedding. Today, her father remembered one of the songs his children sang and remembered our pastor's words. Her father said he thought it was the best he'd heard his kids sing this particular hymn. They sang it for us. I'm so thankful I have a videotape of our ceremony.

I think the test of true friendship is that you can be apart for long periods of time, yet still come together as if no time has passed. I have this with my friend, and I am so grateful for her. She is the one constant, that no matter what happens, we are friends.

Cool Zebras Revisited

2012-05-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

D: (pointing to my "girls" or "zebras") That's where the babies drink, right?

Me: Yep.

D: Do you still have babies in there.

Me: Uh, no.

D: Then why do you still have them?

I just can't quit you and then I ramble on

2012-04-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

I still have little to say, but I can't let this place get too dusty. Darn. The spiders are already spinning their cobwebs in every corner.

Still, I don't know how to write here yet without including my kids. I could still include D, but then it would feel like I wasn't being "fair" to my other kids, though it's probably best to not write about the Bigs as much anymore anyway.

So, what to do? I don't think I can mothball Cool Zebras entirely. I suppose I have to reinvent the wheel so to speak. Photography, crafts, weight loss (please let me lose weight! Gaaaahhhh!), fiction and poetry...what type of blog to morph into? I'm not sure right now.

Is there anyone still out there reading anyway?

I guess that doesn't really matter that much, but I'd still be interested to know. I'll write here anyway.

Have you read The Hunger Games series? I really enjoyed the books myself. I liked the first 2 books better than the last one, just because I enjoyed the development of relationships more than the issues dealt with in the last book. I was team Peeta all the way, but then I am a sucker for the boy next door. My 9 (almost 10)-year-old wants to read the series. I'm not sure if she should, but when I went to the movie there were a lot of younger kids there. I'm probably too protective. The whole kids killing kids thing, yet we have that in many cities in the U.S. even today. The Hunger Games is set in post-apocalyptic America, so by the time of the novels there has been extreme violence and hardship. Also, the majority of the kids selected for the games are older. It is a more modern thought that kids are "kids" until they are 18.

I have to admit I sometimes think that kids should not be considered kids at a younger age.

But my kids are not yet at that age so it's easier for me to say so.

When Is Blogging Hurting Kids' Right to Privacy?

2012-04-06T07:39:00.003-05:00

I have opened a blank page many times over the last several days. The blank page is sometimes intimidating to me, but this intimidation has been different. It seems the end of this blog has come about organically. I no longer see everything my children do and say as blog fodder. It is tempered with the thoughts that my kids' lives are inherently private. Maybe they always have been, but when my nearing-10-year-old asks me a personal question about getting older I have to censor myself.

How would I feel if my honest and open questions had been broadcast to the masses? I was humiliated enough when I first got my period. I had little knowledge of what would happen. It happened to start during a long car ride. I used wads of toilet paper to deal with it for 2 days.

Things that should not have been humiliating to me, were. I got my first bra in 6th grade. I wish girls could wait that long now. {censor what I want to say about this! Gah!} The boys teased us mercilessly. They'd run a pencil eraser up our backs to see if there was a bump in the back. It was a big deal then. I haven't cared for many, many years who knew I was wearing a bra.

So I think this blog is ending at least as a "mommy blog." It no longer feels right to blog about my Bigs, especially my oldest Big. I know there are few readers left here anyway.

I will re-work this blog, probably focusing more on my photography.

I reserve the right to post random thoughts.

As I Once Again Consider "Unschooling"

2012-03-20T07:20:00.003-05:00

There is a reason for traditional education. People make judgements about you by the way you speak, the way you write, even the way you dress. I once got a job because I wore nice shoes to the interview.

There are also reasons to buck tradition and cultivate unique talents in individuals. It used to be that you could graduate from high school and get on-the-job training. It seems that is a thing of the past and I think it's sad.

I'm willing to bet there are several qualified people out there who couldn't go to college that would be perfect for on-the-job training, who would also happily work at that job for a lifetime. Many businesses are going to only hiring college graduates now. I think these are the people who will view any "starter job" as just that. Temporary. Then the company will be forced to train another person every 1-2 years instead of training one person for 30 years.

I went on this tangent of thought following my son's school conference. He has much work to do to catch up to his peers. Dyslexia sucks. (But I will take dyslexia if it means avoiding cancer and more craptastic obstacles in life.) He is trying SO HARD to learn and it is still falling short. I am trying with everything I have to make sure he knows he is SMART. Oh boy is this kid SMART!

I can't help but think of genius like Einstein.

Don't misunderstand. My son's IQ is not in the genius range. (And I'm happy that it isn't.) Super intelligence seems to beget super problems socially. My son is very social and very enthusiastic about life...most of the time.

But my son struggles in school. He's reading at about a first grade level near the end of second grade. His writing is sloppy (in Kindergarten it was remarkably neat...I don't know where it went wrong.) and his spelling is atrocious.

I wonder how much these things matter though. How often do you hand write something at your job? When do you not have access to a spell check? (Seems like spelling tests should focus on homophones.)

If you are going to be a cashier, learning to make change is still important. What if you type in the wrong thing to the register? Is it really necessary to call a manager to make change when someone has a bill of $12.06, gives you a $20 and 6 cents?

There is a disconnect with teaching children real life skills.

Things most people should know by the time they are adults:

How to separate clothes before washing.
How to run the washing machine.
How to toast a slice of bread.
How to make change.
How to sew on a button.
Basic manners: ie: holding a door open, letting a pregnant woman pee before you if there's a line, expressing gratitude when someone helps you, and for the love of God pick the thing up if someone drops it.
How to make small talk and make someone feel special. (I have crapped out on this one.)
Recognize that the world owes you nothing.
Give your elders the respect they deserve. (Not if they are abusive or other non-respectful crap.)
Know what to do if you are separated from your group.

My son is very intelligent. His niche is there, whatever he wants to do and to be.

Traditional school does not hold my heart.

Random Thoughts #57

2012-03-19T07:23:00.003-05:00

I miss writing here. I also have lost my words.
And I'm crazy over-booked with things to do.
I, along with a few other moms, took 7 Girl Scouts to The Great Girl Gathering at the Mall of America the weekend of March 9-11. Us moms who endured it are pretty much the best moms EVAH!
My small group of 4th grade Girl Scouts make me feel like I'm awesome. I get hugs and hear words that tell me I am loved by more than just my daughter. This is why I volunteer.
Ms. D's fellow preschool co-op students make me feel very similar. It feels wonderful to have 3 or 4 3-year-olds piled on your lap to hear a story (or 9) read.
The weather in Minnesota has been beautiful. I would love it if it didn't feel so ominous.
My cat continues to eliminate outside her litter box. It's looking more and more like we will have to say goodbye to her.
We continue to adjust to the the reality my brother-in-law is gone.
My female time continues to suck.
My kids are the cutest and funniest kids ever.
My husband has a wonderful and giving heart.
???

Where I'm Writing and Why I'm Not Writing

2012-03-01T07:07:00.005-06:00

I write in my head when I'm laying in bed. It does me no good then. My mind races from idea to idea and if I get up to write them down it would only prolong my chronic insomnia. Some of the ideas are fleeting, others develop into a full story line which is almost always forgotten when I am able to sit down to write again.

That novel I started several years ago? I still think it has potential. I have no idea where my notebook with my writing went. I thought I was organized, but clearly I am not. I've heard that the state of your living space reflects your mental space and mine is cluttered.

It's easy to make excuses for myself. My brother-in-law died last month and the truth of that has brought to the surface issues we all have to face. I want to spend my time on this earth enjoying my family, not doing chores. But chores still need to be done. Circumstances and even tragedy can be spun to give myself excuses why I don't do things. I call bullshit on myself.

Nonetheless, it doesn't seem to spark my drive.

I'm fat and lazy and seem to have lost my writing mojo, if I ever had any. Life seems both too short and too long. I'm both living a dream and thwarting my chances at really living my dream.

When do you know you're not taking enough chances? When is loving your family and being grateful for what you have just being too safe?

Kid Vignettes

2012-02-27T07:17:00.002-06:00

First M decides she will buy herself a box of Girl Scout cookies with her own money. She chooses Samoas after a nice man buys a box for the girls at a cookie booth. He could no longer eat his favorite cookie because he was on a gluten free diet. (Dear Girl Scouts, perhaps a gluten free cookie for next year?!?) She discovers a new love for Samoas.

She carefully counts out $3.50 in coins. Moments later, Mr. K Man arrives with his carefully counted out coins. He selects the new cookie, Savannah Smiles.

D pipes up: I get cookies too!

M: Well, do you have money?

D: Yes I do!

She marches upstairs and grabs her piggy bank, insisting that M count out her change.

She chooses Savannah Smiles.

******************

K Man loses a tooth on a Tuesday.
He loses the lost tooth until Thursday. Clearly, losing teeth has become routine and uneventful.
Friday after school:

Me: So, did the tooth fairy bring you some good cash?

K: Oh! I forgot to look!

****************

::commercial plays for some kind of substance that makes bath water goopy, then makes it normal water again so it can go down the drain::

M: I think most girls wouldn't like that, but I would, because I'm no ordinary girl.

Me: So are you exceptional or weird.

M, without a beat: I'm pretty sure I'm exceptional.

******************

A Red Dress and Confidence

2012-02-21T08:19:00.002-06:00

My oldest daughter and I found this red dress at the Salvation Army a few months ago. M, like most girls (and probably many women) wanted a pretty dress and the price was inexpensive.

Then Jenny the Bloggess posted about the traveling red dress again and reminded me that I should take photos of my beautiful little girl when she's feeling particularly beautiful. A red dress and a glamor photo session can boost a girl's confidence for sure.

I hope I can do more red dress sessions for other girls or women who might need a boost of confidence!

Who Goes First Solution

2012-02-16T06:28:00.004-06:00

My kids can find the tiniest things to fight about. Lately it's gotten to the point that they'll fight over who has to brush teeth first or who has to take a bath or shower first. Needless to say, my husband and I were getting very tired of the constant bickering.

So I decided to take us parents out of the decision-making. If there is a dispute over who is going first or who has to do a task we no longer debate. We roll.

Introducing the Zebra kid selector die! It works out great for us because we have 3 kids and 6 sides on the die so each kid is on the die twice. Fair is fair!

I bought a 1 1/2 square wooden cube at a craft store, printed 2 small photos of each kid and glued them to the die with Liquid Fusion glue. Then I applied another layer of the glue on top of each photo to make it more durable.
Roll on!

Voice Mail

2012-02-09T07:39:00.005-06:00

It was the third time she'd called him. She took deep breaths, taking in essential oxygen in hopes it would calm her. Seems that deep breath stuff is crap. It didn't work, only making her slightly light-headed along with the irritation that bordered ominously on the irate.

His voice mail message was flippant. By now, she had it memorized.

Hey! I'm me and you're you! I'm sure you know what to do!

A shriek that sort of resembled a bark escaped from her throat. Was it possible to move from love to hate so quickly? His voice used to feel velvet on her ears. Now, it felt like cat's claws.

It was obvious she needed to formulate a new plan.

Her eyes traveled to the portrait of him, still on the side table in her sparse apartment. The 8x10 size of the portrait had always seemed a little obsessive in the little space. She laughed then. The popped collar and the spiked hair was a bit too 80s for a boy of their time. He'd given her the frame with the print inside for Valentine's day. She tried to remember the year. Too long ago, whenever it was. The frame was ridiculous, though at the time she'd thought it was endearing. Thinking about it now, it seemed kind of disgusting. He'd stuck chewed gum of various colors then covered them all with sealant. The sealant seemed an extra sweet touch that, at the very least, removed the stickiness from the gum.

Her smile turned to a sneer. His idiocy seemed to ignite her anger.

She left one final voice mail.

When You Get One Of THOSE Phone Calls

2012-02-07T06:58:00.003-06:00

it pretty much stinks.

We were having a normal evening last Saturday. Both Craig and I were tired. He'd spent most of the day at a Cub Scout day camp with K Man and I spent several hours at the Bigs' school carnival with the girls (tiring in it's own right). Weariness leads to lazy suppers so I picked up chicken strips and fries for supper. The kids were pretty full of goodies from the carnival anyway (we brought some home for K) and Craig and I were just filling the void.

The phone rang at 6:13. I looked at the caller ID later. Funny, the 13. If there was a thirteen o'clock it would have rang then. I handed the phone over to my husband without answering it. It was his parents calling and I knew they'd want to talk to him anyway. Craig answered it and said "Dad... Dad..." over and over and I thought that his dad had butt-dialed us again like he did a couple of times last week.

Craig's brother died, alone, in his house, a few days before his son found him. It's awful in so many ways.

"They" call it an unattended death. I call it crappy.

My in-laws are devastated. The rest of us are shocked, numb, whatever it is we are I'm not sure.

Send us positive thoughts.

Preschool Haiku

2012-02-02T08:20:00.001-06:00

It is never dull
when you have five 3-year-olds
to teach in one room.

Writing our letters,
practicing recycling,
tracing all our names.

Home schooling preschool
is a great experience
I happened upon.

Just don't forget your
energy and stamina.
You will need a nap.

And The Boy Struggles On

2012-01-30T07:06:00.003-06:00

My son is a remarkable person. I'd guess that most people who meet him will remember him for a long time. My evidence of this is when we visited Amish country one year later and one of the Amish ladies asked us if we'd been there before. We said yes but there was no spark to her memory until K Man came around the corner and started chatting with her. "Oh yes!" she said, recognition breaking through. "I remember him!" He makes an impression.

When we finally had him tested for ADHD and learning disabilities, it was a hard decision to make. I worried that he would be diagnosed with ADHD and we'd have to put him on medication. I worried he'd be a different kid. It turned out that he was "borderline" ADHD which led us to test him for learning disabilities.

Short story, for those who haven't read about it, is that he has "a disorder of written expression" which is a round-about way of saying he has dyslexia. (Or a more specific way of describing the area of his particular disability.)

We met with the principal of his school who then met with K's teacher and other staff to make a plan for him. The plan was implemented last quarter. Or at least we thought it was.

My son's self-esteem has dropped. Kids at school are teasing him because he "won't get enough points to pass" second grade. His teacher told me she didn't have time to do some of the things in the plan. He started refusing to do even math problems that he knows how to do (saying he didn't know how to do them). That was a big signal to me that he is feeling badly.

I take some of the blame in that I didn't speak up immediately. So now we've lost an entire quarter of my son's academics staying at a flat line once again instead of moving forward.

I spoke with the principal again and he spoke with my son's teacher (who, I'm told, was crying and the kids thought she was being fired. ::guilt::) and the plan is supposedly going to be followed now. MY plan includes checking on the plan at least once a week.

I can admit that my social anxiety gets in the way sometimes, but I will definitely advocate for my kids. I also need to do more reading about how to help teach my son. What have other parents of kids who struggle with dyslexia done?

New Cards!

2012-01-24T20:31:00.002-06:00

I made some new cards for my etsy shop out of some of my photography prints. Kind of fun to combine two of my loves in one!

I Vaguely Remember When I Was Funny

2012-01-14T07:14:00.005-06:00

So my plan of packing up the kids' toys was thwarted by a barfing preschooler. Darn Friday the 13th anyway...though I'm insanely grateful that vomiting is the worst that Friday the Thirteenth threw our way.

If I'm totally honest, Friday the 13th hasn't ever really been that bad. At the very least, it hasn't been remarkably bad since I can't remember anything.

Once the kids toys were packed up, my plan for yesterday included using our new Family Y membership. Swimming is my preferred activity so far (surprising, considering my size) but Mother Nature arrived to make swimming-at the very least-awkward for the next few days. Perhaps D's illness was a sort of good thing in that respect. (I have to say she is pretty much the most agreeable sick person ever.)

I took the Bigs to the Y while Ms. D was at her home school co-op preschool on Wednesday. The 3 of us pretended to play racquetball and we stunk up the place with our bad skillz. Both Bigs took a ball each to the face so at least it was even. Next on our non-aquatic agenda will be basketball. I'm taking bets on the number of bruises received during that first session.

I'm reading the Twilight series. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit I love the books. If I had been a teenager when these books came out I'd definitely be a groupie. I find Edward's character more interesting than the character of Jacob thus far (I'm just into reading Eclipse). Edward has to sacrifice more. The restraint he (especially he) and Bella have to exercise is smoldering. The non-sex scenes are hotter than any sex scene by far. If only we realized that when we were in those shoes!?!

Hey! Nothing like rambling blog posts! No wonder I have no readers! :) It's okay, I kind of like talking to myself.

Very Superstitious and Tangential

2012-01-13T07:19:00.004-06:00

I can admit it, the number 13 freaks me out. It's stupid and silly and idontcarebecausethatsjusthowiam. If I remember during the day that it is Friday the 13th I get a little wigged out. Most of the time I forget. I think.

Today I'm going to pretend it's just Friday. The last Friday of my Bigs' Winter break. We're going to spend at least part of the day packing up the majority of my kids' toys. They've shown lack of consideration of the value of most of their things. They have 4,379,579,895 toys between the three of them and it shows that they have too many because so many end up broken. The broken toys are mourned for 2.3 seconds before they're forgotten because they have so many others to play with (and break).

The most responsible kid is Miss M which is good since she's the oldest. She should be, and in truth, she takes pretty good care of most of her things most of the time.

My son is terrible about taking care of his things. Some of the problem, I know, is caused because he has dyslexia. Dyslexia makes organization difficult. Another issue is that he finds taking things apart fascinating. It can take a toll on the pocketbook. It stinks also because he feels terrible after the thing is broken but he seems helpless to stop himself.
Then there is the little one. So far, most of her toys are pretty indestructible just because she's little still and the toys are made more sturdy. I still worry that she has so many toys around her she sees no value in them.
So my plan includes packing up most of my kids' toys. After a week of proving they can take care of and put away 5 toys each, they can list another 5 toys they'd like back. Until they can't list any more toys because they can't remember what they had. If they can't remember what they had, those toys are GONE.
These kids are too important to me. Entitlement is not something they should be feeling. I want to teach my kids to be grateful for even small things in life. Tomorrow it could be gone.

I like to think of them as anti-accidents

2012-01-11T07:45:00.001-06:00

It's Still 2011, RIGHT?

2012-01-06T07:09:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure how it happened but Halloween rolled right into Thanksgiving and before I knew it we were doing our traditional early hour countdown to the new year with the kids.

My new year so far has been consumed with hours in a courthouse and a courtroom as a potential juror in a criminal case. After 3 days of voir dire I was excused and the panel of 14 jurors were seated. I was both relieved and disappointed. The trial will be long and disturbing. There were hints of how disturbing it would be during jury questioning. I'm probably lucky I don't have to serve on the jury. But it's still a little disappointing too. It would have been interesting to be involved in the justice system and being a part of that. Though I can also admit that 3 days of waiting, sitting, and answering questions was also very draining. I can't imagine how I'd have felt after 2 or more weeks of a trial.

My big kids are on school break this week and still next week. I am hoping that we will pack some fun into next week since my jury duty put a damper on activities this week.

My husband has a "big" birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. It was my hope to have a party for him, but time escaped me. Maybe this summer we can host a belated party. Also? I'm not sure how it happened that this birthday is coming up for him because I'm only 2 years younger than him and I'm still 29.

Yesterday it was 50 degrees in Minnesota. In January. Crazy. I took the kids out for a bike ride and had to keep reminding them to stay out of the mud (I know, I'm a total buzz kill). It also reminded me how out of shape, fat and unhealthy I have become. I may be purchasing a Family Y membership on Monday. I hope. I'd like to go swim laps and work into other activities as I get more in shape. We shall see.

I'm out of practice blogging. This is my weak attempt at posting something.

Perhaps the next days will provide inspiration again.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:54:00.007-06:00

From our family to yours. May your holidays be blessed.

Traditions and the Benefits of Leaving the Lens Behind

2011-12-22T06:03:00.003-06:00

When our children were born my husband and I carried on some traditions that our (mostly my) parents had started with us as children. We carve pumpkins and bake pumpkin seeds and we seek eggs left by the Easter Bunny.

We also started several of our own traditions over the years.

Every New Year's Eve we have appetizers, have a countdown at around 6 o'clock and spray one another with silly string and pop poppers. We drink "champagne" from fancy stemmed plastic glasses. We dance. We put the kids to bed and wake them up minutes before midnight so they can watch the ball drop with us on TV.

Our Christmas tradition includes an evening ride through the city to marvel at the variety and abundance of light displays. We laugh at some weak attempts but concede that at least they tried. We laugh at the exuberance of other displays but concede that at least they were passionate. The kids are always pajama-clad for the trip. Most years we pop popcorn and sip water from reusable bottles. (Not so this year...there was a time crunch.) Our circuit includes some known hot-spots that are usually fancy displays yearly. It also includes a house that happens to include Santa himself. He hands out candy canes and asks the kids what they want for Christmas. (This year he snubbed Craig and I for candy canes, but he usually gave us parents one as well.)

This year was so fun with D. We heard hardly a peep from her while we toured some of the regular neighborhoods. She was taking it all in with wide-eyed wonder. Craig drove the van onto Santa's street and pulled off to the side. D erupted with cheers as she spotted Santa across the street. I had brought our camera on the ride, anticipating a photo op with Santa, but when we exited the van I made the decision to leave the camera behind. We were the third family standing on the sidewalk in front of Santa's temporary home. The kids happened to know another family there so they were distracted as they waited. Suddenly, it was their turn to see him. He asked M, then K, then D what each wanted for Christmas. D was literally awe-struck. She had a wide, dimpled smile and a wondrous expression. I'm convinced if I had brought the camera out I would have been too focused on taking photos to have really taken in D's expression.

Just another reminder that I need to live life on the other side of the lens sometimes.

Cub Scout Cake Auction

2011-12-21T10:56:00.000-06:00

I had big plans to post a photo of K Man with his cake too, but I apparently can't upload more than one photo right now. Sigh. Anywho. K Man and I made this cake for his Cub Scout auction and it sold for $20. Much better than last year's cake which brought only $5.
(Not so Wordless Wednesday.)

We Should All Have Hats Like This

2011-12-14T23:17:00.002-06:00

This Title Has Nothing to do With This Post

2011-12-13T07:50:00.004-06:00

Today is a big day in many ways. It shouldn't be, I suppose, but it just struck me that it kind of is whether I want it to be or not.

My mom is having surgery on her second eye (and last one, because she only has 2 eyes now) to remove cataracts. My dad had the same surgery just a few weeks ago and it's still hard to get used to seeing him without glasses. I hope the outcome is as great for my mom as it has been for my dad. I'm so happy that they can see so well and no longer need (or will probably no longer need!) glasses. I've joked with them that they might wish they couldn't see ME so clearly. It's probably very scary to see me with such clarity.

Today is also my parents' oldest grandchild's tenth birthday. When he was born, I was about 2 months pregnant with Miss M. My sister-in-law had to have an unplanned c-section a little earlier than planned because the amniotic fluid was leaking somehow. He was also breech, so he apparently just really wanted to be force-ably evicted like my children. I was disappointed to hear that she had to have a c-section because I was hoping for some straight talk about what I was really in for with labor. Hahahahahahaha! I should have been asking her what the c-section was really like since Miss M turned into an emergent c-section instead of the drug-free, possibly agonizing, labor and delivery I had been imagining for 41 weeks.

My brother's oldest boy turning 10 years old makes me realize my own oldest will be 10 in just 7 months. Maybe a long ways away, but when the time goes as quickly as it continues to fly, the day will be here sooner than I am ready. Then it will be gone and I'll be lamenting that she's turning 13, then 16, and then she'll be out on her own. Ten years old, the kids are definitely more than half-way grown.

Every year that passes I love to learn more about who my kids are and who they are becoming. I still miss the babies that they were. I try to mesh the two selves of my kids by telling them the funny and quirky things they said and did when they were smaller. They love to hear the stories and I love their reactions to hearing the stories.

I'm still not certain I won't try to stick them in the freezer one of these days. When they invent the time machine I'm going to have several days and years that I want to revisit.

Holiday Haiku

2011-12-08T07:06:00.003-06:00

Christmas is coming.
I'm pretty sure I'll be nuts
before it's over.

My kids are fighting.
Santa threats never have worked.
They just do not care.

Probably a sign
that they have way too much stuff.
We should really purge.

I'm going to try
to remember the reason
we celebrate this.

*********************