What I Can Do

See this little guy? His name is Froggy and AC has had him since she was two years old. She quit requiring his presence at bedtime maybe two years ago, but called down to me last night around 10 PM to ask if I could find him. She really thought he would help her go to sleep. As I dug through toy boxes and storage containers that are kept in the garage, I asked myself why in the world I was going to this much trouble to find a stuffed animal. But in the same second that I asked myself this question, I knew the answer.

I can't control the fact that her teacher is at a conference and the class is in total chaos under the supervision of the substitute. I can't control that she is in tears when she gets in the car because all this added activity overwhelms her. I can't control that she sometimes faints and loses consciousness for no apparent reason. I can't control that a classmate coughs on her and passes her all those lovely strep throat germs. I can't control that her friend at school likes to brag when her team wins the relay or that she has to run slower than she is capable in Running Club because she has to stay with the group. On a day-to-day basis all the minor irritations and hurts are completely out of my control.

But, I can control whether or not she has her "Froggy" in bed with her at night. That is what I can do.

Valentine's Day...Some hate it, some love it and some grow to realize that everyday is a day worthy of showing the people you love how much you truly cherish them. I like to think I fall into the third category, but if I am truly honest with myself, I have to admit that a special surprise on this day really does make me feel loved. So, the little diamond filled white gold ring that Matthew surprised me with over the weekend really touched my heart and I smile every time I look down at it. He also surprised AC with her first Pandora bracelet. She kisses it before going to sleep at night. But, do not be concerned that he is not receiving his own special valentine because as I type a new top-of-the line triathlon bicycle is on its way to our home. 

But, Valentine's Day is not just about receiving, it is also about giving. This past week, AC and I have been working on the gifts she will bestow. Somehow, she managed to walk out the door without me taking a single photo of the 25 cute bags we made for her classmates, the 36 cranberry orange muffins we baked or even the photo frame she made for her teacher. But, for the record, the bags were stuffed with teddy grahams and tied with pink and red ribbon and little notes that read, "I can't 'bear' being without you", "To: A 'paw'-sitively  great friend" and "To: A 'Beary' Good Friend".

Lastly, I was able to squeeze in a few fun crafts to add around the house for the occasion. I'm only adding them because when AC saw the first one, she exclaimed, "Oh, Mom, that is sooo cute. I just love it!" and then commenced to sticking her finger in it to see what it was made of. (It's colored epsom salt.) And when Matthew saw the second one, he commented, "I see things like that and I just appreciate who you are. I mean I don't know anyone else who thinks to do that." Really, with comments like that, I don't need diamonds to feel special.

These are really just my adaptation of the wooden
blocks that are all over the blogosphere right now. ;)

A Matter of Perspective

"Mom! Guess what?! We voted to see who from our class would get to go to the Student Council meetings and I got TWO VOTES!"

Those were the first words that came out of Anna Cate's mouth when she entered the car last Friday after school. She then went on to tell me that every member of the class was nominated and each student could vote for one person. The students could not vote for themselves. Two girls received three votes so the class then held a run-off to see who would hold the honor of class representative.

After explaining the whole episode to me, she added, "I felt like I was going to cry." Okay, this seemed a little more like what I was expecting, or maybe I should say, what I would have felt like doing. But not wanting to assume I knew what she was feeling I asked her why she felt like crying. She answered, "Because two people really believed in me; TWO people really thought I was responsible enough to go to all the meetings for them; It really meant a lot to me."

Once again, my daughter taught me an entirely new perspective. It wasn't the winning that mattered, but that someone saw her strengths and trusted her. I'm going to have to remember this one.

 

I'm including this other picture to remember her goofy self. I wanted so badly to pull her hair out of her face and return the bow to it's place, but then I decided that there will plenty of time for her to worry about looking perfect - for now I'm glad she is comfortable being just AC.

snow play at OneTrueMedia.com

Katie has published several videos using this site, so I was just playing around with it. Here are some videos from Flag.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One Reason to Love AZ

We were there to meet him at the finish line

Do you see this picture? It was taken on January 17 at 10:30 AM. We are all totally comfortable, in fact, AC and I soon shed our pullovers. Sunny days in January are definitely one of the things I love most about living in the valley.

And, I would like to add, that Matthew finished his half marathon in 1:35:36. He came in 548th out of 19,000 plus. I'm a little math handicapped, but he told me that meant he finished in the top 3%. I am one lucky lady!

Friends and teammates from Mission

A Time to Play

Christmas did not go as I had planned. AC woke up the Saturday before Christmas with a fever of 102 which hung on until Christmas Eve and was accompanied by an ear infection early Thursday morning. All my plans for having friends over to bake Christmas cookies and to create crafts slowly crumbled before my eyes. But, more importantly, we didn't get to play. Anna Cate's big belly laugh was missing and the house seemed a little sad because of it.

On Christmas day, we flew to GA. As we landed, we saw snow flakes filling the sky and covering the ground and were so excited to have a "white Christmas". Unfortunately, a white Christmas also meant more time inside. AC was still on antibiotics, our schedule was packed and we really didn't have warm clothing. Again, it seemed we didn't get to play.

On our arrival back to AZ, Matthew and I decided that our family needed some time to play together - some time with no schedule and no where to be.  We decided that a weekend in Flagstaff would be the perfect solution.

Having fully recovered, AC was so excited. With mittens, ski jackets, rain boots and two-feet of fresh snow awaiting us we were on our way.

Upon arrival, we claimed our bedrooms and AC asked if she could have hers all by herself. (Heck, yeah!) We then explored around the hotel looking for fresh snow that no one had yet walked on. While exploring, Matthew found an abandoned sled and we took turns sledding down a hill in the dark. Fun, fun, FUN!


The next morning AC woke up at 6:30 ready to go. After breakfast and showers, we loaded up our things and went out in search of a hidden hill that our friends had raved about. The hill was a disappointment, but the family time shared during our drive was not. We talked about how when Matthew and I were kids and homes lost power everyone would huddle around little kerosene heaters. Matthew laughed and said, "You wanted to get so close to the heater, but you couldn't because you might catch on fire!" and AC thought that was really funny. We then discussed time before cell phones and AC got a kick out of the idea of beepers and being able to prank call people. We were all three talking and laughing and totally stress-free.

Having seen that the secret hill was really nothing special, we headed to Wing Mountain to sled and play. The mountain has a backdrop of the San Francisco Peaks and is absolutely beautiful. We took turns sledding - AC totally took out a boy that was standing at the bottom of the slope. (I wish I had been recording it, b/c it really looked like footage for an America's Funniest Videos runner-up) We had snowball fights, added on to half-made snowmen, made snow angels and hiked to find a place where no one else had yet made footprints.  Matthew also attempted to snow board on the sled, the resulting fall was another moment that I wish I had caught on video.

In short, it was a day of play, filled with big belly laughs. We had no schedule, we had no other place we had to be. We were able to just be with one another and laugh and enjoy the moment. It was extremely good for my soul.

Our Twelve Days of Christmas 2010

On the twelve days of Christmas my family and I had

12 Glee tunes playing

11 poinsettias blooming

10 crazy friends

9 rounds of Wii Just Dance

8 nutcrackers

7 minutes with Santa

6 jars of hand scrub 

5 hot blonde guys

4 kids making ornaments

3 trips to the pediatrician

2 fainting spells

and


1 house off of Partridge Lane

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!