Turn around

At Maddie's choir concert last night I had moment of total clarity.

She is going to leave me and I'm going to have to let her go.

The final choir sang Turn Around. You know the one ~ the one that rips your heart out with words like:

Where are you goin' my little one?

Where are you goin' my baby my own?

Turn around and you're two

Turn around and you're four

Turn around and you're a young girl

Going out of my door.

Music and lyrics are about my favorite things. They absolutely speak to my soul.

I probably sound like I'm jumping the gun or shooing her out the door. I realize it's not happening tomorrow or even next year but I watched her closely last night. I watched as she walked with beauty and maturity to the stage, I watched her sing with heart and enthusiasm and I watched as she laughed and talked and just enjoyed being with her friends.

She did turn around. . .

Once.

She waved and smiled.

So happy.

When she wasn't looking I couldn't help but wipe away a tear.

I pray that she keeps looking over her shoulder, not out of fear or embarrassment, but in the exact way she did last night. In that 'oh good! You're here!' kind of way.

An interview

Here is an interesting questionnaire I found on another blog. I interviewed my five year old Cooper:

1. What is something that Mom always says to you?
I love you

2. What makes Mom happy?
Me!!

3. What makes Mom sad?
When the kids aren’t home

4. How does Mom make you laugh?
When she says something funny

5. What was your Mom like as a child?
She was just like me

6. How old is your Mom?
13

7. How tall is your mom?
14

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Get on the computer

9. What does your mom like to do when you're not around?
Get on the computer

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being a mom

11. What is your mom really good at?
Making me happy

12. What is your mom not so good at?
Making stuff out of wood

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Be a mom

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
He stops here and asks “does this just get hardor and hardor??”
And then he says with a giggle and a shrug of his shoulders “I guess salmon.”

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
That she loves me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
The yellow girl on Backyardigans because she is funny and dances a lot

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Build legos

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both love Daddy

19. How are you and your mom different?
Mom has longer hair than me

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she is nice to me

Due to his response to question #8 and #9 I am getting off the computer! YIKES!!

Sung to the tune of. . .

'Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?'

Oh what do you do on a Saturday

When your home is torn apart?

Do you engage in a war?

Or play on the floor

Of a garage so very dir-ty?

Is that what you do?

So do we!

Oh what do you do on a Saturday

When it's hot and very stick-y?

Do you plug in the fan?

Then attach a balloon

And gaze like you're hypnotized?

Is that what you do?

So do I!

Oh what do you do on a Saturday

When your kitchen is all a mess?

Do you call it day,

Order out - HURRAY!

Then glory in work that is done?

Is that what you do?

That's what we did!

DISASTER!

Can this possibly be happening?? We finish up the second coat of paint in the playroom and move out to the hallway. We begin painting and I'm thinking - is this the right color?? It has to be. I mean come on. We handed the paint man at Home Depot the card with all the right numbers on it. It is a bit faded but I can read it. I do notice that he examines the card extra hard as he is plugging in the numbers. I think - should we double check those numbers so that what he is reading is what I am reading?? Nay. He's the paint man for heaven's sake! My first mistake was to ignore that prompting. But this is me ~ does Heavenly Father send promptings when the paint man is messing up your paint color?? Now I know that He does. We paint and paint and paint and finally we are done! Now we just move the entire contents of our home out to the garage, back porch, spare tile space, etc. and wait for the carpet. But wait, I am really thinking this isn't right. But I just tell myself it will dry and be just fine. Brent then says, "I don't think this is the right color." We pull out the old card and compare it to the new card that paint man mixed two days ago.

They are NOT the same numbers!!

Are you blank-ity, blank, blank kidding me!!

I am out of my mind crazy mad right now.

Don't stop by - I won't be nice.

Why not - while we're at it. . .

We finally made the decision to replace ALL the carpet.

They are coming on Saturday to transform the house.

We have been working since last Saturday to pack up everything

and clear each room of its entire contents. It is a TON of work

but it will be so worth it. So what do we decide to do while the

playroom/computer room is totally empty?? Paint!

And while we are at it, let's paint the hallway too.

Brent has worked tirelessly at taping and caulking. He said he

does it because I am so uptight about perfectly clean lines. I am.

But if you know my husband, he is too. So I'll take the blame

for the extra work that the taping and caulking take but I know

he wouldn't have done the job any less than perfect.

I'm a bit delirious - is it our crazy pace right or just the excess paint fumes??

At last!!

After 13 years of eating store bought grape jam (yeah, I know, ugh!) on her peanut butter toast and sandwiches, yesterday my daughter informed me she preferred the homemade strawberry jam.

Really?? How absolutely thrilling for this mom.

We were out of the store bought grape goo and her options for lunch were buy at school (I think she did this ONCE last year because standing in line highly infringes on the amount of time she gets with her friends outside at the lunch table), turkey or peanut butter with strawberry. With a sigh that only a teenager can produce, she consented to the strawberry jam.

She came home and reported that she liked her sandwich and did prefer the yummy red spread of love. Which it most certainly is - homemade love sandwiched between a couple slices of bread.

Now hopefully my boys will follow in her path and soon the grape goo will no longer have a place in our pantry.

More bright and beautiful!

In our family Christmas card of December 2001, I made the note:
The Star Spangled Banner ~ She waves more bright, more beautiful and more bold!

Take the time to drive down Cole today. You won't be disappointed. I still get shivers when I see our flag displayed so proudly.

Thanks to my Beehives and their dads (my daughter and hubby too) for getting up bright and early to post the flags. It was a perfect start to my day and I'm grateful to have shared it with you.

Red, white and blue

If you are ever looking for a fun and patriotic treat, this is super easy and yummy. Just dip your clean and dry strawberries part way into melted white chocolate and then dip the ends in blue sprinkles. Enjoy!

The PERKS!

So heading up the read-a-thon at our elementary has been quite exciting but I have to say that tonight I felt like a starstruck kid!



When the Phoenix Suns Gorilla wrapped his big hairy arms around me before his show I was a bit breathless. I seriously felt like I was meeting someone famous and that made me all giddy inside. Am I crazy??

Maybe it was the thrill of the TPing escapade that still has me all worked up. Regardless, tonight the PERKS of being in charge were pretty darn good!

Girls just wanna have fun

See what happens to those who choose not to disclose birthday information at the neighborhood BIRTHDAY celebration.

Check out these crazy pictures for evidence that 'old ladies' can and still do have fun!

Sleep ~ it does a Cooper good!

I just love these sleepy shots of Cooper.

It's what for dinner!

Kabobs turn ordinary chicken into a fun and festive luau!

Brent requested that I put on my grass skirt and coconut shells

but I decided to spare the children the embarrassment.

The sauce was so simple: 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce and

3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate. YUM!