Did you feel it? The earth shook this week!

Well, at least at my house it wobbled perceptibly on its axis as two incredible events that have never occurred came to pass. It didn't rain on my birthday and, are you ready for it? My mother forgot!

That is like violating one of those immutable laws of physics - a mother must remember her child's birthday.

I mean how could she forget? Whether it is one year or four decades since the momentous event, it's not as if her memory of labor and delivery would dim. Truly, ask any mother and without hesitation she will recite day, hour, attire, lighting...literally a moment-by-moment playback of the whole sordid affair.

I figure public humiliation in the free press is reasonable restitution for my mother's crime against nurture.

As for Mother Nature's lack of appreciation for my big day, I am utterly disappointed.

As a child, I hated the guarantee that a late July afternoon squall would sabotage my annual soiree.

When we moved to the Middle East, my parents tried to sell me on the idea by promising a desert-dry cake and candles day. Yes, you know what I'm going to say - it still rained. And no, watching our Iranian neighbors celebrate this unexpected life-giving blessing did not make me feel any better.

Last week, as an only slightly more mature birthday girl, I was finally looking forward to the obligatory glisten of precipitation that would fall upon my drought-parched garden and trees.

I think in sports, you'd say my week was 0 for 2.

Redemption was found on Friday when a lovely friend's regrettable loss of a job prompted an occasion to ditch kitchen and kid duty for an evening on the town to commiserate.

Braving the dinner crowd, we were finally seated at our restaurant of choice. A rather charming, not to mention good looking, server took our beverage requests - margaritas all around, of course. After repeating our order back to insure accuracy, he dropped the bomb: he wanted to see our ID's.

Since the statue of limitations surely must have expired, I'll be honest and tell you that I have fake ID's older than our young hero.

That said, he dutifully looked over each license and to his credit did not laugh at us: at least out loud.

My life is difficult enough trying to remain even slightly hip these days. My wardrobe selections hinge primarily on any given item's ability to hide juice stains. I drive a minivan encrusted with playground sand and cereal crumbs. And my children want to know what the dinosaurs were really like.

The threat that a college-aged cutie would address me as Ma'am would have been the last straw.

No wait, that's not my last straw. I have a ready stocked boxful in the van: we mom's have to be prepared for any and all juice-related emergencies.

Laura Douglass writes for the Seven Lakes Times, where this column originally appeared.

• Read More »

The pencils were sharpened and packed securely. Breakfast was a hurried affair. Then off they went: my oldest and my youngest. Their excited smiles and cheerful hearts burdened only by cumbersome backpacks filled with delicious lunchtime promises.

Yes, the school year has begun anew again. And I, as always, am rejuvenated as Summer wanes.

Whether as student, parent, or bystander, in my heart, the New Year does not begin in January. The countdown to midnight, the song for forgotten friends, and the dropping of lit apples do not herald for me anything other than a great excuse to have fun.

My homage to the passage of time rings in harmony with the first chime of the schoolyard bell.

Each August, I find joy perusing the brightly colored stacks of school supplies that sprout up in the stores. Like seeds in a freshly planted field, the rows of lined paper pads, pens, and highlighter markers speak of patience: waiting to yield their harvest in creativity, not fruit.

Not one to be swayed by seasonal marketing, I cringe aghast at the premature display of Valentine's candy the first week in January and the springtime sandals and swimsuits in chilly December. Surely the worst offense is found each Autumn, when the fake firs of Christmas share aisle space with clearance sales of leftover sand pails and beach towels.

However, back-to-school shopping is a retail ritual that I do enjoy. I see inspiration and boundless potential in those unblemished pages of paper - each sheet, a perfect representation of the proverbial clean slate.

At no point ever again within a lifetime will one's slate be as clean as the one upon which we write our first day of school memories. Every turn and class is another beginning; a new teacher, a new book, a new friend, a new experience.

I find, as an adult, were it not for the natural rhythm of the school calendar, my year would simply dissolve from one into the next. As for new experiences, these days this would include benign forays into cookbooks looking for something extra zesty, or taking a different street home while out walking.

On occasion I will find myself blessed by a truly novel experience, however, nothing compares to a first day at a new school. And as a military brat, I endured more than a fair share of those.

As children, we are under a near constant assault of new ideas and experiences and possess a unique perspective of time. I suppose when a few short months represent such a tremendous portion of a young life, it is not profound to view each year as an enormous epoch. Juvenile years then being even further broken down into eras, halves and quarters, especially when it comes to declaring an exact chronological age.

My daughter is not five, I assure you. Indeed she is five and a half years old. A very important distinction within the Kindergarten set.

And so it was as my no longer five, but not yet six-year old, princess stood proudly on her first day of school this week. With notebook and pencil at the ready and lunch sack stowed neatly in a cubby, she grasped her new teacher with one hand - and waved goodbye to me with the other.

As if it were midnight on a late December eve, when we gather those we love in an embrace, I gave her a hug and a kiss, and thought, "Happy New Year, honey."

Laura Douglass writes for the Seven Lakes Times, where this column originally appeared.

• Read More »

Community Bible Study is off and running...we just finished our 3rd week and I am having a ball!  I am the Children's Director for CBS and am so excited about the growth of our ministry.  Last year we had 8 regular children and this year 23!!!!   If your child is in CBS I no doubt play & speak with and/or hug on them each Tuesday.  This time is the hightlight of my week!  When I first took on this position I doubted that I could volunteer to take care of other peoples children each week when at the time I wanted mine to be with someone else :)  Oh how I underestimated what the Lord would do to equip me!
  Each Monday morning I do my own Bible study with CBS and then on Tuesday mornings I perform my Children's Director duties which include quite a bit of paperwork and administrative duties but also a lot of helping out my 2 teachers.  One of the things I enjoy most is taking care of dishing out and receiving hugs :)   Getting hugs from these children boosts my energy enough to last the day and makes me look forward to the next week.  I LOVE MY JOB!

• Read More »

Great family music night at the Postmaster's House in Aberdeen. It is the last community concert of the summer. Kids under 12 are free, grown ups are $8. Pack a picnic supper for one last evening out before it gets too dark.

Hope to see all youmoms there. Please introduce yourselves. Janet

Today we had my son's 7^th birthday party at Jim's Gems and Gold.  It was AWESOME!  It was the easiest party we have ever done AND it was one of the best.  Not to mention it was probably the cheapest one we have ever done, too!  All of his parties so far have been at our house.  That means cleaning the house and yard before and after.  Not so at Jim's Gems and Gold!

When we got there they had a tent set up with 2 tables under it.  They had blue table cloths on them, which just happens to be my sons favorite color!  They had a sign that said "Happy Birthday Ryan - Welcome."  That was really cool!  I was very impressed by that. 

As the kids arrived I had them decorate a bucket to put their gems in.  Once everyone arrived BJ came out to talk to them about the various gems they would find.  She was incredible with the kids, so much patience!  Then it was time to start panning for gems!  The kids were so excited about everything they found.  And BJ was right there making sure they didn't dump anything "good" down the drain. 

As the kids finished up we sent them over to the picnic tables with a drink and their gems.  I think there may have been some gem trading going on.  We had cake, opened the gifts and then it was time to go home.  No clean up for us!  Just hop in our car with all the goodies and head home.  What a GREAT party!

• Read More »

My sister-in-law sends the best photos of her children throughout the year. My niece and nephew are always perfectly dressed and smiling. Even as infants and toddlers, her children enjoyed picture day and loved to pose for the camera. 

You would think that since our children share half the same gene pool, I would also be so lucky. Unfortunately, since birth my two girls have hated having there photos professionally taken. My collection of photos have usually included someone frowning, crying or stomping there feet. Although there have been a few rare occasions in which I have gotten lucky, that has not been the norm.

So why would I think today would be any different? I don't know. I guess deep within my subconscious I've always dreamed of having a "Norman Rockwell" family photo. I know this is incredibly ridiculously and utterly unachievable given the personalities of our family, but a girl can dream - right?

Today was picture day and it has been filled with the same chaos that exists every time I try to rally the troops for a family photo. From Libby's adamant demands to wear her pink ratty flip flops and bring her blue soccer ball for the photo to my husband's realization that the outfit I picked out for him doesn't fit right, it seemed that we were doomed for failure. No matter how you slice it, trying to coordinate outfits and getting everyone out the door without tears or temper tantrums seemed like an impossible task.

Yet somehow we did it. I don't know how, but before I new it everyone was beautifully dressed in matching colors and moving out the door. (Although we did have to compromise and allow Libby to wear her flip flops and bring her dress shoes). And an hour later, we had successful survived dozens of snapshots with smiles and laughter. We left the studio happy and even celebrated with a little ice cream as a reward for good behavior.

I can't guarantee that we will have that perfect picture on our mantel when the photos come in, but I'm sure it will be something I can live with and not groan at each time I pass it. They idea that I might have finally gotten one family picture with everyone smiling might be the miracle I've been looking for. Wish me luck; it's been one heck of a week!

• Read More »

My oldest daughter was invited to a friend's house for a sleepover on Saturday. So my husband and I thought we would just spend an evening hanging out with our youngest (she's 4) child. What we didn't expect was an invitation by my mom to keep the little one overnight. I wasn't sure Libby would go for it, but before I knew it both girls were packed and standing at the door waiting to head out to their destinations.

You're probably wondering what the big deal is? Well, it was the first time since children have entered our home that my husband and I have been in

our house, by ourselves for more than a few hours never mind an entire night. So, what do you do when the kids are gone and the house belongs to you again.....

If you're us, you probably spend a little time looking at each other trying to figure out whether you stay in or head out. At first we thought about going to dinner or a movie, but we ended up vetoing waiting to be seated or hanging out at the cinema with someone else's kids. This left us with Option 2 - Staying Home.

We went with Option 2, but decided not to waste a night alone. Instead we planned an evening reminicant of our pre-kids days. First, we did a little shopping at the Fresh Market and picked up a bottle of wine. Then we spent the evening cooking a meal that was anything but kid friendly. After a quiet dinner with no fighting, meltdowns or complaints about the food, we watched a movie of our choosing that didn't include cartoon characters or a "G" rating.

As far as the rest of the night, that went well too.....And the next day was spent sleeping in, walking the dogs and going out to a late breakfast without kids. By the time our children arrived home, we were ready and excited to see them.

Although, I missed them while they were gone (not enough to go pick them up!) I am gratefully to have finally entered the world of the double sleepover and intend to arrange a few more of those in the near future. It was nice to spend an evening alone with my husband without the cost of a babysitter! Who knew sleepovers could be so much fun for everyone!

• Read More »

 

After being at home with my angels for 2 months, I am so thankful that we have only 1 week to go!!

School is starting I am going to celebrate!

 I have tried to get out of the house; take the kids grocery shopping, out for lunch and even to the park. None of that worked. Not even in our own backyard! Last Friday we took a picnic lunch to Castle park (very nice by the way). Not even that made him happy. He just wandered around, not interested in playing at all. Never has been.

Scott is very happy in his own little house in his own little room. He is very content playing computer games or the playstation and watching movies.

If I try and get him out of the house, he throws a temper tantrum. So we just stay put. It is much better than enduring, sometimes 2 hours, one of his tantrums.

So when Monday comes and the kids are on the bus, I will celebrate by taking my self out for breakfast, getting my nails done and then I will come home and take a nap. 

I can't wait!!

 

• Read More »

I don't know about any of you but I keep asking myself...Did it used to be this crazy last year?  I am referring to what I call the "Back to School Shuffle", in which me, myself and I proceed to reconfigure my family's life to the ever demanding fall schedule upon us.  All of a sudden, extra curricular activities are starting back up, my youngest is heading into 5 day a week preschool, and I am preparing for another semester at college.  Not to mention my full-time job.  Even though my oldest daughter goes to year-round school, I still feel the Back-to-School fever of everyone on the traditional calendar.  It's like I am awakening from this summer haze, in which everything had became so much simpler and easier...but before you know it, WHAM!  Back to reality.  I feel as if I have taken the summer for granted and forgotten how lucky I was for those few months.  I drive by retirement homes and envy how nice it must be to just sit still for a whole day (I know that it horrible!).  But before I feel too sorry for myself, I remember why we are doing what we are doing.  This time next year, I will have my degree and will be teaching school somewhere and my husband will also have graduated from college and hopefully have more suitable working hours so we can spend more time together.  We survive by sticking together and keeping our sense of humor.  We laugh at how we always seem to have to do everything the hard way, and we love every minute of it.    

• Read More »