sign of the times

While driving to the library, the younger three played "let's text" while in the back seat.  They each had a play cell phone and  would proudly announce their texts to one another in the back seat.  All three took on different names.  It went something like this...
"Chelsea, are you on the way to the library?"  send
"yes, I am in the car with my mom, c u soon." send
then my 6 year old son text....
".... MOG!" send
I nearly ran off the road when I realized he really wanted to say... OMG! 
I don't ever remember playing  "texting" - a sign of the times for sure! 

Today is National Coffee Day and here are a few things you should know:

My Keurig coffee maker has changed my life.  I am the only coffee drinker in my house so this little machine makes it so easy to enjoy my morning coffee.  Changed my life, in a big way! I am being serious here....

I used to be addicted to Dunkin Donuts.  I've experienced the D&D withdrawal.... like when I visited Iowa and plugged D&D into my friends on-star only to find that the nearest Dunkin Donuts was hundreds of miles away (and I contemplated a day trip)  or every time I visit my parents I get a little crabby and cranky with a headache and it takes me 3 days to realize....what's wrong with me? what's wrong with this picture? ahhhh no coffee and no D&D on their little island paradise (now they too have a keurig)  and I've blogged about the comfort that the Dunkin Donuts clerk provided while I was divorcing....the fact that she knew my order each morning without me having to actually say it made me feel love when there was little love in my life..... it's the little things that make a difference, right?


I used to drink a medium now I make a large before I leave and fill my travel mug with a medium and a small as I head out to work.  Yes, it is a lot of caffeine.  I've now added an afternoon or evening cup.  Wait? maybe that is why I am not sleeping?  Wow, I am pushing a lot of caffeine through this body....


I think I will stop analyzing my caffeine addiction.  It is depressing me.  Instead I will enjoy my cup of joe and be thankful for that darn keurig.  People, people, people, that little machine makes me happy and with this crazy house, I'll take it where I can get it....


Have a good day!

Life's Little Lessons

I am reading God Never Blinks 50 Lesson’s for Life’s Little Detours by Regina Brett.  It is a collection of essays that makes one pause and take note or in my case, sob like a baby.  Peeps, I am emotional, I am a “feeler”, don’t hold it against me… love me. 

Each essay’s title really says it all.  I guess the book started with one of those email chains that lists lessons in life.  Visit her website for the 45 plus five to grow on list(http://www.reginabrett.com/life_lessons.php)   The response encouraged the author to dig deeper and share essays for each one.  I think I did receive this email some time ago.  Some of my faves are…

When in doubt, just take the next small step.

When I was a single mom, that was how I got through each day. 

Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

Hello? Divorce? Need I say more?… taking the time to work on oneself is always worthwhile.

Don’t compare your life to others’ you have no idea what their journey is all about.In my professional life I am a Fundraiser.  It is my job to connect passion and donor dollars to the organization I work for.   It is a worthwhile organization and most people are happy to support if able.  I can’t tell you how often a committee member will judge the financial picture of a potential donor.  Only to learn it is a completely different situation.  Sometimes we judge and really have no idea of what people are up against or capable of. 

Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save it for a special occasion.  Today is special. 

There are some advantages to finding a second chance at love.  Finding love   with a bit more life   experience helps too.  I am so grateful that I met the World’s Greatest Husband as a confident woman rather than a twenty-something kiddo.  I like celebrating our love affair.  He is special, today is special.

Frame every disaster with these words… “In five years will this matter?” 

Sometimes I re-frame this with “will this matter tomorrow, next week, next month?”

Take a deep breath it calms the mind.

I remember my mom coaching me through some breathing exercises and I have now coached my own children through breathing exercises.  Ahhh, circle of life.

Waiting for Superman or at least a good night sleep....

It's Monday, my and Gayle and Oprah Reflection Day…

So my reflection is this…

As a whole our education system needs a remodel, a do over.  Oprah brought the crisis to light with her two shows on “Waiting for Superman” they have stirred the pot and made folks move to action.  My children are succeeding and working hard, your children are probably succeeding and working hard too!  But as a Nation, our education system is slipping.  Two of my other favorite media pals also got in on the action this week, check out Matt and Meredith on the Today show for their Education Nation initiative. 

What are WE going to do about the state of Education in America?   

The Oprah show spoke about homework and how other countries do homework and then they study…. for hours….  Homework and studying have become one in my house.  I know I plan our evening around the task of homework… and am often happy when we have a night free of homework.  This idea is WRONG-O-DONGO!  I need to encourage “STUDYING” every night, every day, similar to how we encourage our 20 minutes of reading each night.  Another thing to add to my “to do “ list but this one will make our country stronger… smarter….  

One additional though…. We all know fabulous teachers… and we all know crummy ones too.  The show highlighted that student success increased for a lifetime if they experienced 3 positive teachers in a row…  that shocked me.   But parents, Let’s not forget we are our children’s first teachers… how are we doing in our classrooms at home?

This stuff can keep a girl up at night...

Hi Ho Hi Ho off to work I go....

Another night when my children are gone, his children are gone and one of us is working!

This happens too often for my liking.  My husband is usually the one to work but tonight I have a Paperly party so I will be one the working… but really is Paperly working? It’s so much fun, I don’t really view it as a job….more like a hobby, a purpose, a night out.  I think I will be home early enough to have an at home date with the World’s Greatest Husband.  Quite honestly our at home dates usually turn out to be the best kind. 

Those were the days...Underwear with Tags

Lord knows I have issues.

But I don’t get this whole sensory thing that is emerging with my kids…

My underpants… my socks… the tag… the stitching… it bothers me… it itches….

The whole tagless undergarment initiative is causing me stress because when the tagless is dirty and you have dress with tags it makes for a nerve-racking morning.

When I was a child I wore underpants with tags, big scratchy tags, sometimes they were even baggy underpants, too big, with room to grow, sometimes they were my older underpants and a tad too tight, a little uncomfortable, some days I had to wear the pair embroidered with Sunday on a Wednesday!   And socks? I was lucky to have them.

What the heck are we doing to our kids?

Yours, Mine and Ours

It’s Monday, Monday, Monday.  I am listening to favorite radio talk show host Gayle King as I type, which is appropriate because after my Oprah birthday video, I’ve decided to dedicate Monday’s to Oprah and Gayle.  I may sound crazy… but Oprah lets my mind dream big for 60 minutes.  She often says “If you can dream it, you can do it.” 

So here are my Sisterly Oprah and Gayle reflections for today….

Call me a geek but I jotted down a little "O quote" from the Friday show… Oprah gave a family a house and Favorite Decorator Nate too.  Oprah said, “Surround your home with beauty… I believe your house should rise up and meet you” 
So it got me thinking… like only Oprah can……  

I miss my old, little, tiny house, more than I ever like to really admit.  I miss my big back room, my HUGE old wooden office desk, my single woman girly comforter; I sometimes miss the entertainment center I bought at a yard sale (that was such a find!)  
My advice to any blended family - if you can, buy a new home together! It is hard to “move in” and “merge” when it’s his house or her house.  I’ve shared this with other "blended peeps" and they agree.  I sold most of my stuff in a yard sale because we couldn’t merge it all.  It was an exercise in indentifying what was truly important to me.  It was therapeutic to shed myself of an old painful life but the whole merging thing goes to another level… children, their things, their rooms, the way it always has been, the way it becomes… buying new dishes was an event…..sometimes I wonder, how have we even got to today…… and the house is really only one little, tiny, tiny piece of our blended life.  I guess love carries us even when the sofa is being carried down the driveway for $50 bucks at the yard sale.
The World's Greatest Husband and I are working on making this house rise up  but more importantly we are trying to raise 5 kids who rise in a home filled with love and support.

Oprah, I am turning 40!

I love my girl Oprah and my guy Rick and of course the World's Greastest Husband Too!
I thought of the best idea on how to surprise my husband on my birthday.

five for Friday

Five Great things about today:


I've lost 4 pounds.


Today is my first payday in quite awhile.  A two week furlough really hurts.  


I am going grocery shopping.


My daughter doesn't have to take the spelling test today.  She aced the pre-test.


The World's Greatest Husband is really the World's Greatest Father.  I listened in as he coached our six year old through a bad bus experience.  He said it all so perfectly.  I guess that is when "marrying a psychologist" comes with a perks....


Oh and bonus!  Did I mention I am off today?  


Have  a good day!

Today is National Step Family Day

Today is National Step Family Day.  A day that mom’s like me look forward to.  As a step-mo I often feel misunderstood, depleted and frantic.  I’ve come to appreciate small victories.  I have also come to know pride, love and a huge joyful heart through my role as step-mo.  I realize not every woman would choose my path.  As a self-declared “control freak” step –mo-ing has been a challenge on many occasions.  I’ve often felt my life isn’t my own.  But it is my journey.  It is my joy and the World's Greatest Husband and I are committed to making this family the best it can be.  I really can’t ask for more than that.

On this day that celebrates the blended family, the crazy life of merging children, history, grief and heartbreak… I encourage you to think of those families trying to make it in the blender… the ones you hear about at school, the ones you see at church, the ones you share a cheer with at the soccer field and with an open heart give them a thumbs up – knowing it isn’t easy. 

When I proudly announced to my children at breakfast, “Hey today is our day, it is National Step Family Day.”  My son looked at me with a confused stare and said… “ but mom, we are just a family.”   

So today, I really can't ask for anything more.  I am right where I am supposed to be....

Mom, I have a little problem....

Well that was interesting…

My daughter interrupted my morning shower with, “Mom I have a little problem". It seems as though my dear daughter thought she would be helpful and comb out her hair, with a round styling brush, that she proceeded to twist and turn in her long brown shiny locks.  She created quite a master piece and if she weren’t crying and I weren’t screaming we would have snapped a picture to preserve this moment.  Honestly, at one point I was only seconds away from grabbing a pair of scissors.  Our mornings are always full of adventure, sometimes it makes the rest of the day a bore….

I've been sobbing for 3 days

I’ve been crying , sometimes sobbing over the past three days.  I am reading MOM A Celebration of Mothers from Storycorps.  It is a touching account of short discussions between friends and family regarding Moms.  

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 30,000 interviews from more than 60,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. 

This book has touched me in amazing ways.  It has made me proud to be a mom, it has made me want to be a better mom and most of all it has made me feel a new found respect for the role mothers hold in families across America.  I am amazed  by the power, strength and impact that motherhood can have.    The one sentiment that keeps emerging as I read is… to always reach out.   In reaching out to others, being respectful and kind, we may touch someone in ways we can’t imagine.  Our words and actions are powerful.   This is a beautiful book and if you need a good cry? Run out and get your copy now.

FACEBOOK

If you are visiting because of my new Facebook page, thanks for stopping by.  
I've wanted to set one up for some time now.  Yippee, that day is finally here.
As soon as I figure out how to add the facebook like it box to this blog, I will be thrilled! 

Five for Friday

Five great things about today...
One day closer to our special fundraising event.
I get to go shopping as a part of my work day today.
First fall softball game on Saturday.
I am reading the most amazing book (I'll blog about it when I finish)
Rick Springfield posted a recent picture of himself on twitter (ok, I am a dork but that makes me happy)


I should really list... "a blog post" as a great thing because they have been slim lately.  

Happy New Year!

Many of the blogs I faithfully read have been commenting on back to school festivities.  There seems to be two types of mommies, those who cheer and push their babies onto the bus and those who hang on to their little legs and cry a bit as they climb onto the bus.  School has always been a very positive force in my life.  I’ve always loved it.  I’ve always loved seeing the kids bounce off the bus and burst with the stories of the day.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see the calendar turn to September 7^th, our first day.  Our morning went smooth as can be… everyone up, everyone fed, everyone ready!  No tears, no fights, no problems…. They hopped on and waved good bye.  I walked up the driveway and waited for the bus to circle back to give one more wave…. I also prayed.  I prayed for a good year for each of them.  I prayed for smooth mornings like the one we just had and to my surprise…. I sat there and had a good cry.  I am still stunned and shocked by my back to school reaction. I can’t believe I cried. Maybe it is the idea that my baby is now a first grader? Maybe because I see our 10 year olds starting to be more aware of what other girls are thinking and doing? Maybe I cried because our 13 year old is becoming a more curvy young woman?  Or maybe I cried because I still can’t believe our 15 year old can have a 5 o’clock shadow?  Life keeps moving forward, some days at lighting speed and I guess starting the school year is one of those markers of time where we can take a deep breath looking back and looking forward.  It is the start of new beginnings, better than January first, this one comes complete with new notebooks and office supplies, two of my most favorite things.

Best wishes to you and your students… Happy New (School) Year!

Fall Is Settling In, Sort Of..

I've been moving at an incredible speed lately. At least in my head.  Another week with a big work event, school starts Tuesday, fall activities (marching band, swimming, fall softball, ccd, gymnastics, and art lessons) are in full gear.  Blogging hasn't quite been last on the list but my faithful readers might not agree.  I have many exciting posts circulating in my head but just haven't been able to make them appear on your screen.  I've also been focusing on some Paperly parties, with the holidays only 14 weeks away, it is an opportunity to perk up the biz and put away some Christmas cash.  I was able to put this video together, what a cool, fun little project!  I am not done but here is a sneak peak with what I am going for....


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

coffee customer service

I love good customer service.  As I get older, I love it more and more.  Although I guess I view customer service as a fine line…. Because here is example that could be viewed as good customer service but it annoys me ….I think I am getting particular as I approach 40.

Ordering my morning coffee...

I like to enjoy a “medium hazelnut cream one sweet-n-low.”  I have found lately that means… two squirts of hazelnut? How much cream? Here is an extra sweet and low just in case it didn’t all get in there.   People, people, people… please... medium hazelnut cream one sweet and low should not come with additional questions other than kind pleasantries like the weather, happy day well wishing and possibly world or community news comments….Good coffee customer service means there is a complete understanding of medium hazelnut cream one sweet-n-low without additional questioning.  I know, I know, I know, maybe I am just a crank pot! But honestly I appreciate the coffee maker who hears the order and makes the order, no questions asked.  It makes the coffee yummier and the tip bigger.