The End of a Wonderful Era

Today is a heartbreaking day.  It is the end of a wonderful era...to me anyway.  It is the end of my mother's visit to Pennsylvania; she flies back to California today.  Sigh.  It was much too short.

I should be grateful for such a visit.  She stayed here for a month and a half, which is a lot longer than most people get to vacation.  Plus, at least I get to see my mom, some folks parents are no longer living.  Yes, I am blessed.

That does not mean I am not sad.  Seeing as my mother lives cross country, I do not get many chances to see her.  The last time she saw her grandchildren was 5 years ago.  A lot of growing up happens in that time. 

Even though I am a "grown-up", I still wish my mother was here.  I miss her like crazy.  I know my days (and hers) here on earth are limited, so does that make me a little selfish wishing she could be here with me?

Yes, but that doesn’t change my feelings.  Anyone with a wonderful mother can attest to the fact that having your mom around is a blessing.  So while she did a wonderful job raising me to be my own person and I am able to survive on my own, I still wish my mom was here…

Crazy Summer Months

Oh my goodness, what a crazy month June has been! It's been a whirlwind of activity that has finally settled down.

It all began with the countdown to my youngest brother's wedding. Since we're not originally from Pennsylvania, we had some family come in from California and Virginia.

You can never just sit when you have family over that you haven't seen in awhile, so cook-outs to catch up and family outings were required. My husband likes to joke that the vacation he took was actually work!

And it was. Preparations for the wedding were insane! Once again I was reminded of how thankful I am for getting married at the courthouse; much less hassle.

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and the reception a blast. We had so much fun. It's amazing how quick the actual day goes!

Now the newlyweds are off on their honeymoon and I'm in Virginia visiting family. It's a slower pace that is much appreciated.

Not that it is staying that way for long. Today we go out on the town. Stay tuned for the pictures!

NOT A Morning Person

It is amazing what 12 hours of sleep will do for you. 

My siesta last night was absolutely perfect.  After eating tons of carbs for lunch, and another bout for dinner, my eyes were drooping close to 7:00 pm!

This happens to me every once in a while.  Overextend myself and all that exhaustion catches up to me and…BAM!  I fall into a coma.

So at 6:30 am I woke up refreshed and ready for anything! 

Not really.  I still woke up cranky.  I am just NOT a morning person and I don’t think I ever will be.

Chaos Reigns

My mom was here less than a day when she made the observation that I cannot do just one thing.  I must multi-task.  Not because I need to, but because I am used to it. 

This includes eating.  While chowing down on a meal, I am either on the phone or reading a book.  Occasionally I eat on the go, grazing while I do a more “important” task. 

My jefa called bullshit on me.  She told me to stop and smell the roses.  Sit and enjoy your repast.  Taste the food.  This made me stop and think - I couldn’t remember the last time I actually just sat and ate!

Today’s mission: do nothing but eat a meal in peace.  Easier said than done, right?  I prepared myself a bowl of cantaloupe and strawberries plus half a whole grain bagel.  I was at the table expecting something to happen…nothing.

I did not experience food nirvana.  There was not anything special about the meal except that it was not rushed.  I ate at my leisure and tasted every morsel.  No over-eating since I was not shoveling crap in my mouth.  

However, I kept thinking of all the things I could be doing.  The unfinished book was staring me in the face, the remote was calling my name with series still in progress, the computer was begging for my fingers to type away and all that laundry…GRRR.

I resisted the urge to do more than one thing, but my mind was definitely jumping between various thoughts.  Maybe this relaxing stuff will come when I am older, but for now, chaos reigns.

Interruptions

I have tried so many times in the last couple of days to write, with no success.  No writer's block here, just a whole lot of interruptions. 

All my attempts are in vain.  Late nights, we spend them chit-chatting.  Mid day naps? I need one, too.  Early mornings?  8:00 AM is not early enough!

My last failed endeavor at blogging began this morning.  I ate my breakfast and proceeded to type away and I hear, "Mommy, can I have some oatmeal?" followed by, "Can you get me some sweatpants and a T-shirt? I'm cold."

I guess that there are no such things as quiet moments when you have children, and with Abuela visiting?  No chance!

Feeling Old At 30

I never feel old...until I have a hard day of manual labor.  No matter how much I stretch before and after, the next day I definitely feel my aching muscles.  No amount of warm up is enough anymore. 

I spent the day yesterday sanitizing my kitchen.  Not the normal kind of clean up either.  I moved appliances around, scrubbed walls and the floor.  As I found miscellaneous things that DID NOT belong in there, I came to this conclusion: my family can no longer eat.

If you cannot wipe up kool-aid after you have spilled it, and I cannot kick you out of my home, then you are not allowed access to beverages...except water.  Food?  Forget it!  Since you cannot throw garbage in the trashcan, you can dine outside.

I got up this morning with my bones creaking and popping, and I feel every muscle in my body as I move.  This is my reminder of what a thankless job it is to be a stay-at-home mother.  Now I remember why I was so gung-ho to get a job outside the home!

I look around my home at all the unfinished chores and I can almost hear my body weeping…more floors to scrub and carpets to be cleaned.  And that pile of laundry waiting for me? Ugh.  I wonder if I will be able to stand up by weeks’ end.  

I did not have a problem turning 30.  It did not make me feel “old” or any different.  That is, until I started moving.  Now I feel each and every movement my 30-year-old body makes.  I definitely feel “old” now!

Animal Adventure

Wildwood Park

My little family went on an animal adventure on Sunday.  We went through the thick jungle forest in search of the elusive black mamba....


In reality, we were not too far from our backyard at Wildwood Park looking for frogs and turtles.   It was a beautiful day for a walk, and after a week of rain, the walk did not disappoint!

We were all ready and dressed with our gear.  My daughter looked like Dora the Explorer with her backpack! We found numerous frogs, a box turtle, a dragonfly, some fish (mating, I think), snails, squirrels, chipmunks and a couple of bluejays.  There was a family with 3 rambunctious boys behind us, so every time we found something, we had to let them know so they could see.  Everything was, "So cool!" to them.

Originally, the slotted time was to go for a community flower walk, but we found the animals a tad more interesting.  All in all, a pretty good day!  Check out some of our finds below:

Frog

Frog peeking out of the water

Dragonfly



Ducks!

Blue Jay

Fish mating