Saving

My Children's Nutrition

My Waistline

Myself

Hostess

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Earlier in the week I was watching a news story on TV about Hostess possibly filing for bankruptcy protection.  When the story was over Jenna turned to me and said, "What's that?"

I began to explain bankruptcy and the poor state of the economy when she interrupted,  "No, not bankruptcy ... what's a Twinkie?"

Be still my heart, my baby girl doesn't even know what a Twinkie is!

Sure, Hostess produces nothing but chemical cupcakes, HoHos, DingDongs, Suzy Qs and Twinkies, and they're all nutritional garbage ... but really?  Have I deprived her of even knowing what one was?  They were staples of my childhood, one of my favorite treats ... but instead of being an occasional treat they were staples.  There all of the time.  And I acquired a taste for junk food that I've been determined to not share with my children.  But they need to experience life, right?

So the next day I ran right out and bought a box of Twinkies and HoHos, in an effort to save Hostess.  Tonight Jenna got to sample her first Twinkie, and it was love at first taste ...

Apparently it's a love that knows no distance because as soon as the Twinkies and HoHos and I were re-introduced I was right back to where I was as a child ... helpless to their lure. 

About 4 days later both boxes were empty and I had eaten about 4 of each myself.  Now I know the real reason Hostess isn't welcome in my home.  It's not entirely for the nutritional protection of my children, it's because I can't control myself.  Old habits die hard, I guess : )

The Rest of Izzy's First Week

Kara really, really, really wants to take Izzy for a walk and hold the leash herself.  I told her she could practice in the backyard, and she did.

It took a few days for us to get used to Izzy and for her to get used to us and our house ... but I'd say that she's getting pretty comfortable here now!



Jenna just loves to play with Izzy and Izzy goes crazy when Jenna gets home from school, so I'd say the feeling is mutual.

We FINALLY got some snow this week, and Izzy seems to love running and scampering around in the yard and burying her face in the snow.





The biggest accomplishment of the week is the fact that Izzy will now not only let Mark near her, but he can pet her and she'll even jump up on the couch or bed next to him on occasion.  Quite the improvement from a week ago when she did nothing but bark and growl at him every time he entered the room!

It's Here! It's Here! It's Finally Here!

S N O W !!!

I'm the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of cold or snow or winter in general in the Midwest ... but even I have been wishing for snow around here.  I can't remember a time when it's taken this long to get here, so I was just as excited as the kids when there was enough accumulating to actually go outside and play in it. *



* I have a good reason for the poor-quality photos.  They were taken from indoors where I was perched, in the window, taking pictures and drinking coffee with my fuzzy socks and slippers on my feet.  When I say I was happy for the snow to play in I meant for the kids.  It looks pretty, but I like to avoid it at all costs!

A Boy and His ...

dog.   Cousins' Dog

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Jack was so excited to have Izzy to himself this afternoon while his sisters were at school.  A chance for him to get to play with Izzy all by himself, and have her undivided attention.

I think Izzy was just as afraid of Jack as he was of her, but they finally realized they made good pals today.

They played ball and chased each other all around the yard on this GLORIOUS January afternoon.



And I'm happy to report, they wore each other out in the process ...

Win-win for me!



Welcome, Izzy!

Today we brought home our new foster-dog Izzy.  Izzy's brave mommy and daddy and brothers and sister all packed up and moved to Helsinki, Finland for the next 6 months on what is sure to be a grand adventure.  They've been planning this adventure for months now, and a long time ago we agreed that we would take Izzy in while they were away.  It's been a while since we've had a doggy in the house and the kids are super excited about having her stay with us for a while.

It's not hard to see why ... look at that face!

I'm the first to admit ... I've never been much of a "dog person". 

We  had Dakota for 12 years and he was a part of our family that we miss, but I have to say there's  nothing about the shedding, dog food splattering, in-the-house accidents, muddy paw prints everywhere that I'm nostalgic about.  But for some reason, I'm quite sure that Izzy might be the perfect pet to win me back over to the dog side.  She's smaller, doesn't shed, super friendly, and just the right size to leap up on the couch and rest her head on my lap. 



While Kara was a bit hesitant about her at first, now both of the girls are big fans.  Izzy and Jenna took an immediate liking to each other.  In fact, Izzy sat next to Jenna in the car for the entire 2-hour drive down to our house and didn't move a muscle.  Jenna pet her the entire way and talked to her soothingly, so now I'm pretty sure they're bonded forever. 



Welcome to the family, Izzy!  We're glad to have you here until summer : )

Thanks to the Reynolds family for choosing us to be Izzy's foster family.  We'll take good care of your puppy while you're gone!

January?

I can't get over this January weather we're having.  Not only have we not had any measurable snow yet this winter but this week the temperatures have been over 50-degrees every day!  It feels like spring.

Today just takes the cake ... 61-degrees on January 6th?!!  Crazy!!!

I love the balmy temperatures but am deeply worried that a winter Armageddon is on the way.

Deal of the Day?

Usually I'm all about hitting the after-Christmas sales but this year I just haven't had the time or the energy.  Today I finally had some time alone with the kids all back to school, so I hit the clearance sales at Target.  I found one of those grow-your-own amaryllis kits dicounted to just over $2 and happily took one home to grow.

I think I might know why it was on sale ...

My Favorite New Thing

For Christmas I got a lantern from my sister-in-law and I just love it!  I've seen lanterns popping up on people's porches since fall, with candles glowing, and I've had severe lantern-envy.  I'm hoping to find some others to make a grouping on the front porch but for now, I'm loving my favorite  new thing.

Thanks, Mary Karen!

As The Kids Get Bigger, The Legos Get Smaller

54 minutes

130 pieces

26 page instruction manual

Happy little boy





Mommy feels a sense of pride and accomplishment that she hasn't felt since the days she gave birth.

Mommy misses Duplo blocks.

And she needs a drink.

Wii

As I mentioned earlier, my parents gave us a Wii for Christmas this year.  We thought it was a good time ... the kids are getting more into playing video games on their ds, and this would allow us to have some quality family fun together.  Or so I thought.

The Wii was set up on the 29th and in the last 6 days I've witnessed more crying, whining, fighting and general unhappiness than ever before.  The biggest problems are frustration over not knowing how to play a game yet, and having older sisters (or dad) purposely doing things to annoy/insult/upset the littlest member of our family.

The best outburst happen when playing the new Mario game.  Apparently there are horses or dragons or something on one of the levels that Jack desperately wants to get on but never can.  On the same level it seems that other players can reach out their long tongues and snatch up another player.  Therefore, wails of "Spit me ouuuuuutttt!" can be heard echoing through the house and when I go to yell at the culprit I sometimes find it's not the 6 or 8 year old but rather the 38 year old child laughing to the point of tears. 

I've only caught 1 such outburst on film, and it wasn't even the best one I've seen, but it will give you a pretty good idea of what's been going on around here lately ...

Do You See What I See?

A few weeks ago I posted about the things I did to decorate our house and get ready for Christmas.  Of all the things I did the most difficult was, of course, getting the outside lights done and placing the electric candles that I've always wanted in each window.  It took suction cups, holders, adapters, timers and a whole lot of patience, but when it was finally done I couldn't wait to go outside at night and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I put on my coat and walked down to the sidewalk on a cold, blustery evening to stand back and take it all in ...

Pretty, right? 

But do you see what I see?

That the candles aren't lit in the upstairs bathroom window and Mark's office?
Because that's all I could see.

I had my camera in hand, ready to take pictures of my hard work, but was about to walk back into the house in disgust without taking any photos.  It wasn't done.  It wasn't perfect.

Suddenly, it struck me.  Why can I only see what isn't there?  Why do I focus on what I don't have?  Why can't I enjoy the beauty in front of me instead of wishing for things that aren't here?  And I'm not just talking about a few dim bulbs.

I stopped in my tracks and took a photo anyway.  I noticed how the bare tree branches directly above me framed the top of the photo in the foreground.  I noticed how much I liked the lit garland around the doorway (also new this year) and was happy about how the candles that were lit looked in the dark windows.

I did go back inside later and replaced bulbs and re-set timers, and continued to do so throughout the Christmas season.  It seemed that almost every time I pulled in my driveway at nighttime things were never perfect.  Some candles were always unplugged, at least one timer stopped working, bulbs burned out and an entire net light on the big bushes out front stopped working entirely about a day after I put them on the bushes.  From the outside, nothing was perfect.  It was flawed and constantly needed fixing and attention.

There were a few times that everything was perfect, though.  All lights on, glowing in the darkness.  I was tempted each of those times to grab my camera and take another picture, one that was perfect.  I could erase the photo above and not let anyone else see the flaws in my decorations.  I could replace those realistic images with ones that I had virtually Photoshopped with my neurosis.  But I didn't.  I forced myself to not take another single photo of our house from the outside this year, forced myself to accept that it is what it is.

Ironically, we had no such troubles with our inside decorations.  The tree and mantle and stairway lit up each and every day at dusk and the lights automatically turned off every night at bedtime. 

I don't know if you see what I see ... but what I see is a life and house that isn't always perfect on the outside but always just as it should be on the inside.

2012

This past year my favorite blog author passed away from complications surrounding the degenerative disease that she had been suffering for the last several years, making her first home bound then bed-ridden.  She was the same age as me and we had so many things in common, but our lives had taken two totally different paths.  She was a remarkable writer and an even more remarkable person.  Her spirit and positivity were nothing short of heroic in the last few years of her life.  Every year, she chose "one little word" to focus on in the new year.  The beautiful scripted words below were actually her creation that she shared and I'm using on my post today.  I had a hard time choosing just one, but found ways to think of several, in her honor.  Rest in peace, Sara!

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2012    

As 2011 comes to a close and I look forward to the new year to come I can think of many valuable lessons that I have learned in the past year.  Rather than trying to set New Year's Resolutions and spending any amount of time coming up with a specific list of my shortcomings and areas where improvement is needed, I'm going to focus my energy on the things I want to see more of in my life in the year to come.

Last year we suffered a big loss in our family when Jerry passed away.  Mark lost his dad, my kids lost their Grandpa Buck, and Carolyn lost her husband and best friend of over 50 years.  I know that I grieve the loss of my father-in-law in ways that I don't always express out loud because I feel I don't have the right.  The loss I feel over his passing is compounded by the pain I see others feeling over the loss of their husband and father and grandfather, but my loss can't compare to theirs.  I trust that we will all be okay, that life will go on and that every one of us will learn to live life without him here, in ways that honor his memory and the lessons he taught us.



I'm incredibly thankful that I had a chance to know Jerry and that my kids had a chance to know all 4 of their grandparents.  I know many people that haven't been so lucky to have their parents live to see their children being born, their wedding day, their college or high school graduation.  I'm thankful that I have. 
I'm so very thankful for all of the people that I have in my life; my husband and children, my parents, my brother and sister-in-laws, mother-in-law, brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends, co-workers.  I want to live each day this coming year with a sense of gratitude for all of the people and other blessings I have in my life.  Because I know now, more than ever, that life is short and none of us knows what lies ahead.  I need to be thankful for the here and now.

"Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks."

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

I've come a long way in this department, but I want to continue to grown in this area.  I no longer pray the kind of prayer that asks God for something to happen or not happen; I don't ask God for things for myself, or even for others.  What I pray for now is that God's will, which is entirely out of my hands, is something that I can find the strength to accept.  I pray that He will give me what I need, when I need it, to face everything that life has in store for me.  I pray that He knows the thanks I feel, and I pray to find ways to share my blessings with others that need it most.



I have enough in my life, I truly do.  I want to live my life this year being full aware of that and not wanting things that I don't need or focusing on the things I don't have.  To see the overflowing closets and not think that I need to go buy more clothes ... to see the overflowing pantry and freezer and not feel like I don't have enough groceries for the week ... to continue working to make our house a home in ways other than ones that cost money.  It's all part of being thankful, just realizing that we have enough and everything else is just extra.  What can I do to share that extra with others?

Choose joy.  Each and every day.  Make that conscious effort to focus on the positive instead of the negative.  Let go of anything that makes me feel bitter or resentful and instead focus on something else.  Looking for the positive instead of the negative, finding ways to encourage rather than discourage.  This will probably be the toughest one because there are days that are less than joyful, but the example I can show my children is priceless.

Every one of these focus points or goals comes down to one thing:  being intentional.  Living my life in complete awareness of what is going on around me, not only so I can be grateful and joyful about things but so that I can be more completely aware of others and what they need and what I can give.  I've known a few people in my life, whom I admire greatly, because no matter what they have going on in their lives they always ask about your life first.  They always remember little things that you told them before and give to you what you need, sometimes before you even realize you need it.  They're upbeat and positive, even on the hardest of days.  I'm intentionally going to try to be more like them in the year to come.