She's Afraid of the Dark

Mama!

she says

Mama!

Maaaaama!

(we are working on sleeping with the hall light off)

What?

(although I know perfectly well what)

I'm scared of the dark. whimper.

The dark is nothing to be scared of. What are you scared of IN the dark?

The shadows.

(that answer is good enough to merit another

hug, kiss and stuffed animal.)

Just close your eyes. It's still dark , but there are no shadows.

Love you. Sleep well.

Why We Need Each Other

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Annette West A Story

about an hour ago · Comment · Like

Annette West at 8:30am June 27

(1) Once upon a time there was a princess named E. She was as perfect a princess as any princess had ever been on earth. She had a wonderful mother that was also a princess, of course she had to obtain her royalty from somewhere (right?). Anyway…

Annette West at 8:31am June 27

(2) E’s mother decided to create a quilt, for many long hours her mother worked diligently on the quilt. E’s mother loved the idea that one day the quilt would be ready for what it was meant to do. It would be comforting at times and it would create warmth when the cold presented itself again in its due season.

Annette West at 8:31am June 27

(3) After much work, the quilt was finally ready to be presented. E wanted to give it a name, and so she did. She loved the quilt so much. It was more than just material sewn together, it was evidence of her mother’s love and had been given to her to hold onto for the rest of her life, if she so desired.

Annette West at 8:32am June 27

(4) The quilt was finished. It was time to rest and enjoy the creation. Every stitch counted and every piece of material was important to the purpose of the quilt. Now it could just be a quilt. It would serve, without trying. It would be warmth, without any effort at all. It would comfort a little princess throughout her life. The quilt didn’t even know its full potential. But make no mistake it was perfect, loved and glorified its creator, just by being a quilt.

Annette West at 8:34am June 27

The moral of the story…just as I am and more importantly just as you are…just be! (Oh, yeah - E and her mother are real people that I love very much. You know who you are E & E's mommy)

Reduce Reuse Recycle.

I have started to become more aware of the waste in my household. I am aware of this for several reasons, the main one being the need to spend less money.

I have made some small changes (maybe not so small) but there are others I'd like to make.

I have a recycling bin which goes to the curb full each week.

I would like to start using these.

I have been buying whole chicken and using if for multiple purposes (roasting for meat and boiling for chicken broth)

I am considering using this.

I have always loved shopping at thrift stores and garage sales, but now I am not looking for extras, but for necessaries. So far, with this purpose in mind, I have found a bread machine, weed eater, edger, and a pile of brand name clothes for Emma.

We had a flood in our son's room due to the ac leak. Thankfully my dad was able to help me fix it, and then, rather than hiring someone to come in and change the carpet, we pulled it out ourselves, dried it, and put it back in.

I bring re-useable bags to the grocery store. They carry so much more and really reduce the number of trips needed to bring your bags into the house. Of course there's that whole environment thing too.

Is there a part of me that is embarrased by all this? Yeah, a little. But the larger part of me is very proud of using resources wisely. These are things my grandparents did as a matter of course. They did not have the option to spend more and work less. It IS harder and takes more time, revealing the truth of "Time is Money." It can be super satisfying when I engage in the activities rather than resenting them. Being off work for the summer really helps. ;)

I would like to have a compost pile and keep chickens. Can you imagine fresh eggs? But there are all these stinking cats in the neighborhood.

One of my favorite cookbooks is one my mom used, and was given to me by friends for our wedding. I use it all the time.

I love to make the french bread out of it, and the master baking mix is good too!

What are some ways you save money/the planet?

Metal

I took my daughter to the orthodontist. He, smiling and apologetic at the same time, said with few words that there is alot of work to do. Something along the lines of: We're gonna be buddies.

Impressions, spacers, expander, brackets.

She was sad and burrowed into my side.

I took her to the Mexican grocery store to cheer her up.

We gazed in wonder at the mounds of pan dulce and the rows of aqua con fruita in barrels of bright colors. Picnic tables in the grocery store where people ate and socialized together under the shine of huge pinatas and the ringing mariachi music.

We got our pan dulce and our crema mexicana and headed to the check out. She observed the staples in the belt that rolled our purchaces up to the yellow shirted employee. She said "Wal Mart and Tom Thumb don't have these."

I was suddenly 7 myself, standing at the checkout with Mom, eyes closed, finger resting on that moving belt, wanting to believe that it magically renewed itself, and that I wouldn't feel the metalic coolness of the staples grazing my finger. But I did, rendering me helpless to resist the impulse of counting the seconds to see how long it took to go around again.

Emma didn't have that luxury, since I wasn't doing the weekly shopping. But she noticed. She noticed it. Then I remembered noticing it too.

There is so much I would never recall if I did not have her. Things of my childhood are made doubly precious by the enriching experience of being a parent. She was sad to hear that she had to get braces. I was elated. Major difference, somehow making a discovery of a small similarity that much more delightful.

Sweet Faces

She's graduated. The sweet cheeked girl with the freckle on her nose and the middle fingers in her mouth graduated from high school.  

Zachary graduates Sunday. Oh he who, at age 5, wandered off in the National Museum of Art and was found explaining a painting to a security guard. 

 Finishing up school this year, and so glad to report that I'm going back next year. Happiness.

Thinking about summer. Torn between two extremes.

Planning it all out to the last minute 

OR 

not making a single stinking plan. 

Maybe there is a happy medium.

Here's a happy puppy: 

Hi Bailey!