Wednesday's Words of Wisdom Not My Own.....

"After all, what are parents for if not for storing stuff you don't need."

--Mary Armbruster

Diabolical Plan - Part 1..............

Remember my concern about keeping my kids busy this summer?

I think I've got an idea.

Last week Jacob and Peter spent the entire week working on the yard. Their dad offered them an undisclosed amount of money to rake, weed, and mulch the 'natural area' in our backyard. It's a pretty big area and it needed LOTS of work. It kept them outside and busy most of the week. And they did a great job, too.

My plan for this week is even better. I signed up the four still at home (Jacob, Mary, Sam and Peter) to help out with Cub Scout Day Camp. They will spend the week serving as Den Leaders and Den Chiefs for a bunch of cub scouts. They will be gone every day from 8 until about 4:30.

I figure that if they can't find paying jobs, then I will find non-paying jobs for them. The next week, Mary will be volunteering at our church Girl's Camp for the week (that one is a sleepover camp!) And I may just send Jacob to Boy Scout camp in July if he is still unemployed. If this doesn't make them want to get 'real' jobs, I don't know what will!!

I wonder what other organizations need help this summer........

A Favor For Mary.....

My daughter, Mary, has entered a contest and needs your votes to win. The contest was to design a twitter background for Paperback Swap. Here is the link. You are only allowed to vote once. Please share this with your friends so they can vote for Mary, too. Her design is the one with a blue bird standing on a red book (pictured above). Her name is listed as 'medimedimary'.

Thanks, everybody!! Remember to give her a 5-Star rating!!

Desire vs. Reality......

I discovered (long ago) that wanting something does not equal having something. Wanting your children to get along will not make it so. Wanting a job will not get you hired. Wanting to be good at something will not mean that you will be good at something.

For instance, I want very much to be 'crafty'. I want to cross-stitch and quilt and sew. I want people to come into my cozy home and exclaim "Oh, did you make that?!" and be able to glance humbly at the wall-hanging, or quilt, or tapestry and say "Oh, that? It was nothing."

I want to be an amazing photographer. Oh, I've taken some good pictures in my lifetime, but I want to take the kind that people will pay hundreds of dollars for and be amazed at how I captured the light or the mood or the expression on a child's face.

I want to scrapbook. I want each of my children to have an amazing book (or several) to look at and remember all the fun times they had growing up. The vacations, the school plays, the Christmas mornings. It's not going to happen.

I also want very much to be able to play a musical instrument. I'm thinking maybe the piano....or the guitar....or maybe the drums. (Rock Band on the Wii is giving me a false sense of hope for my budding musical aspirations.)

Unfortunately, simply wanting these things will not make them happen. Procrastination is my constant companion. I am forever considering projects, dreaming of projects, even starting projects....but they never get finished.

I give you exhibit A: I started this project when I was a Beehive in MIA. MIA stood for Mutual Improvement Association. It was the youth group at my church consisting of the boys and girls between 12 an 18. The Beehives were the 12-13 year old girls. (This organization still exists today, but it's simply called 'Mutual' now) This means that I started this project sometime around 1970. I take it out every once in a while, and think how nice it will look when it's framed and hanging in a place of honor in my home.....then I pack it back up again for another 5-10 years. But I never give up hope. I still believe that 'someday' I will finish it.

Exhibit B:

Here is my quilt project. I bought this 'quilt-block-of-the-month' kit back in 1997. I was convinced that I would find time to do just one block a month! I actually started the first block, but the pieces didn't line up the way I wanted them to (ie: perfectly) so I packed it up again. It's also on the 'someday' list.

As far as the scrapbooking goes, well, let's just say it's on the back burner. When Mary was about 5 (she just turned 21) she came to me asking where she was in the scant photo albums that I had patched together. I told her that she wasn't in there because those pictures were taken before she was born. (At the time I had 6 children under 10, I barely had time to shower in those days!) She gave me her most horrified expression and replied: "You took pictures before I was born!!" I ended up buying her a 4 X 6 photo album at the dollar store, handing her a shoebox full of pictures and telling her to make her own photo book. (a testament to the fabulous mother that I am!) She did make her own, and still has it today and continues to add pictures. Maybe I should just get her the rest of the supplies and put her to work!!

I could go on and on, but it seems that blogs are about the only things that I have learned how to finish!

Sunrise, Sunset.........

I'm feeling very 'Fiddler on the Roof' today. I seems like just recently I had a houseful of little ones. Today, my youngest daughter and my youngest son had a birthday. Mary is 21 now, and Peter is 16. (Yes, they share a birthday. We couldn't figure out what to give Mary the year she turned 5, so we gave her a brother. They call each other 'birthday buddies')

When did this happen!?

How did this happen!?

Oh, I know that people told me it would happen.

'Enjoy them while they're small.' '

They grow up so fast.'

Of course, I didn't believe them. Those toddler years seemed to last forever. I had 6 children in 10 years. Chaos was status quo back then. It was like living in the eye of the storm. Looking back I'm not sure how I survived it. My life today seems almost boring.

I miss the days of little ones underfoot. I miss the sticky kisses and the skinned knees. Nowadays, my boys tower over me and I'm dealing with broken legs and collarbones. (Trust me, the skinned knees were easier!)

But they grew up, with or without my permission. So, Mary....Peter.....this song (or at least a part of it) is for you......

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older

When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?

When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday

When they were small?

Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears

Happy Birthday, birthday buddies! I love you bunches and bunches! Hope you have a great day!

What Next?!

What do these two things have in common?

They are both being given out at the drive thru at my bank.

If I drive through with a kid, they give the kid a sucker.

If I drive through with a dog, they give the dog a biscuit.

Mary is hoping that the next time she's with me at the drive thru they're handing out Patrick Dempsey!!

Do you 'Twitter'?

My daughter, Mary, is a Twitter maniac. (For those of you who don't know 'twitter', get with the program and click here.) Twitter is for those of you/us who don't always have time to write an entire blog but still want to give people a quick update on what's going on in your life. You get 140 characters to write your 'twitter'.

Mary has reached a milestone on her 'twitter'. As of Monday night she has posted 1,000 twitter updates. Yes, you read that right, ONE THOUSAND twitter updates.

Now, let's say that each twitter takes 1 minute to do.........that means that Mary has 'twittered' away 1,000 minutes of her life. That translates to more than 16 hours of 'twitter'. This would be a conservative estimate as she would first have to sign on to twitter, then decide what to twitter, then make it fit into 140 characters. Some take less time, some more, but you get the idea.

So, I thought maybe I would poll my faithful followers (yes, all three of you!) as well as any lurkers that may, or may not, be out there. I will list some alternate activities for Mary, and after the polls close (maybe after the first 5 votes or so) I will present my findings to Mary and encourage her to spend some of her valuable time doing something other than twittering. Here goes:

A) Get a job

B) Do your homework

C) Make cookies

D) Take out the trash

E) Forget it, Mary, keep on Twittering, we love it!!

Remember, vote early and vote often!! Feel free to add your own suggestions. I will report the results on a future blog.

Marvelous Mary Monday...

(Okay, the date is off on this pic. I obviously don't know how to work my camera. Just change the 2005 to 2008 and forget it ever happened!)

So, this was Mary's idea for a Monday themed blog: "Mary Mondays". I'm supposed to talk about how cute and clever she is. I'm sure that this would keep me busy for months and months of Mondays, but for now I'll just say that MARY IS AWESOME!! If you want to know how awesome Mary is, here is a link to her blog, where she will personally fill you in on her awesomeness. Or, you could click here, and listen to this awesome song about how much fun it is to be with Mary. Mary is truly Fun and Fabulous, Sweet and Sassy, Cute and Clever, Bubbly and Beautiful, Helpful and Happy. I love her bunches and bunches. Here's wishing everyone a Marvelous Mary Monday!!