Queen Mother of All Hodgepodges

 

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. Did you watch the coronation of King Charles III? Share some of your thoughts about that, or about the royal family in general. 

I had no interest in the coronation. I find the royal family intriguing but I think it's lost some of its luster without Queen Elizabeth.

2. What are you the uncrowned queen of? 

Nothing comes to mind but I'm sure if I asked CH or my boys, they'd have a few things to say.

3. In a box of chocolates which one do you usually go for? 

All of them. I'm talking double-fisted, shove in my mouth, regardless of which one it is!

4. Something learned at your mother's knee? 

My faith.

5. 'Like mother, like daughter'...in what way is this saying true for you? 

I looked in the mirror the other day and was really taken aback by how much I looked like her at that moment. I definitely have a love of music in church as she did. At a meeting of the women's group the other night the president mentioned my mom as an officer but said she didn't remember which office she held. I said under my breath "Secretary" and everybody laughed because that's the position I held for a term and have had to take over this term. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I keep harping on this, but retirement will be here very soon. I'm thinking about how I'm going to react on that last day...to walk out for that last time. It's actually pretty scary, not knowing what my future is going to look like. Guess that's where my faith comes in. I don't know what's in store, but I know God has a plan and I have to be able to just go with the flow and allow Him to work!

Beginning of May Hodgepodge

 

1. May Day! May Day!...last time you shouted for help? Or maybe just asked? 

Just a couple of days ago, actually. Our women's group at church is without a secretary at the moment. It's a pretty big job so I asked a young woman if she would be willing to take on half of the job because I'm having trouble finding the time to do that part. I love it when people say "yes" and mean it!

2. What's something you may do this month? 

I may go camping. It's perfect weather for it. Hopefully, we can find a campground that has openings.

3.  'April showers bring May flowers'...is this true where you live? What's blooming? What's your favorite springtime blossom?

April was drier than I remember it being in past years, but the flowers are just beautiful! Honeysuckle is blooming and the azaleas are fading away. I don't have any in my yard, but 1 of my sisters has a couple of huge ones in her front yard. The irises are in full bloom and they are just lovely! I don't have a favorite blossom. At the beginning of spring, I like the jonquils and Lenten Roses and then the tulips, followed by the wildflowers in the park, honeysuckle outside of our side windows, and the irises.

4. What's something you learned at your mother's knee?

What didn't I learn at my mother's knee? She taught me so very much: how to be compassionate & kind; how to not take yourself too seriously; and how to be a good mother.

5. Share a thought about motherhood. 

It's hard, and it doesn't get easier as your children grow into adults.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I love this time of year: it's cool enough to not need the air conditioner yet and doesn't get cold enough at night to need to close the windows. We have our windows wide open with cool breezes coming through. It won't last long, probably just another week or 2 and then we'll have to turn on the air.

{Friday Fotos} Busy, Busy, Busy

The planter on my front porch is really quite the eye sore. I need to research and see if I can find something that will actually thrive with little sun. Little water would probably be good, too, since I can't seem to remember to water them on a regular basis. We found these lilies, so we're going to give it a go.

CH & I spent most of Mother's Day in Home Depot, firming up the kitchen plans. While we were there, my favorite twins left something for me:

That evening, YS fixed an amazing dinner for us:

It was the last week of school, so I try to do something fun for the last day. I found this cute idea on Pinterest:

The kids really enjoyed it, and it was a cheap & easy idea. By Friday, my rooms looked like this:

Thursday, my in-laws treated us to an anniversary dinner (33 years in the books!):

I was able to get home on Friday before they left. My FIL took the above picture, and the picture below:

We had a couple of little storms over the week. Laika is not a fan:

Every time I put coffee in my new coffeemaker, I hear the Darth Vader theme:

I'm ready to take a couple of days to relax before I get into a summer schedule!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another weekend gone. Another weekend closer to the end of the school year! Friday was the 2nd school carnival at which I worked. 2 very different carnivals. The first one was held all outside. I'm not sure what all they had; I worked the snowcone station, which was next to the popcorn & cotton candy stations. It was cool enough to need to wear a sweatshirt:

The second one was inside & outside. It was really warm. I punched tickets for the face painting station, so I got to spend a few few hours with a clown. Just a tad bit freaky.

That is our head custodian giving the bunny ears to 2 of the Kindergarten teachers. 

Saturday was the Scholastic Warehouse book sale:

Oh, happy day!!! I snagged a few new kids' books, and a Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook for myself.

CH & I ate dinner and went to the grocery store Saturday night. I started watching Murder in the First later that night. What a good show! Steven Bochco is one of the creators, so you know it's good! There are a lot of names you would recognize in the show (mainly, Taye Diggs!). It's on TNT; if you haven't seen it, it's worth watching.

Sunday, I went to Mass and then went over to the cemetery for a few minutes. Daddy said Mama would always tell him not to buy her flowers because she thought it was a waste of money. I'm pretty much the same way. All of the moms got a flower after Mass, so I took mine to the cemetery.

I didn't buy it, and it came from Church, so I'm pretty sure she would approve! CH grilled steaks for dinner, and Daddy came up & ate with us. MS & YS were also here; OS called first thing yesterday morning.

I did okay yesterday. Several friends sent texts & called, which was so nice.

Back to the old grind tomorrow; it's our last full week of school & my last week of seeing kids. I'm looking forward to getting back into the same summer schedule that I had last year.

Mother's Day

Java didn't post Meet Me On Monday questions because she was busy spending time with her boys, and, frankly, I just didn't feel like coming up with anything last night.

Yesterday, after Mass, we had the crowning of Mary, which is a tradition every May.  In the Church, May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  How fitting is it that we had the May Crowning of Mary on Mother's Day?  It was so sweet to see the children placing flowers at the statue of Mary.  I didn't get a picture yesterday; I didn't think it was appropriate to fight my way up to the front and take a picture!  Hopefully I can get a picture up tomorrow.

All my boys are home for the summer.  Makes for a little bit of a crowded house since FES is still with us, but we'll manage.  OS & MS usually sleep in the man room when they come in, and it will just be for about 4 more weeks.  OS should be at the river quite a bit with his water rafting guide job, and MS will be busy with taking Freshman English and working 2 lifeguard jobs.  He decided to wait until this summer to take English at a community college to keep his GPA up.  YS just needs to start the job hunt and we'll be set!

OS' girlfriend came by yesterday with her labradoodle puppy.  At one time, all 3 dogs were in the house (but thank goodness they all get along well!) running around, when Ally (who has an UTI and will go to the vet today) decides to squat and pee.  As I'm cleaning that up, girlfriend comes in to let me know that she thinks the toilet needs plunging.  OS has the dogs outside, I'm cleaning up the accident, and girlfriend yells for OS:  The toilet is overflowing.  OS runs in and leaves the dogs outside (which is fine except for Ally who likes to visit the park when no one is looking) and starts taking care of that.  I leave the accident and grab towels, then run down and get the shopvac.  Then I realize the dogs are outside, so I herd all 3 of them back in and go back to the bathroom to help with cleanup.  This is life in our household!

I went on a nice walk with OS, girlfriend, and all 3 dogs yesterday.  The weather couldn't have been nicer!  It was so nice seeing families in the park, enjoying each other.    With Ally's UTI, I had to stop just about every 2-3 minutes and let her squat. All of the dogs enjoyed getting in the creek; I forgot I had just given the girls a bath on Saturday!  I remembered as Ally got in for the first time.  There were some ducks hanging out near the fountain, so the dogs were all very curious about this thing quacking at them!

All in all, it was a good day.  I went down to my parents' and spent a few minutes with them.  Mom said she didn't expect to see me since I had been down on Saturday night when one of my sisters was there.  I just kept thinking about friends that lost their moms this year (actually within the past month).  You never know when that Mother's Day is going to be the last one you're going to have your mom with you.

So, on that note:  I hope everybody had a good Mother's Day, whether you're a mom with angels on earth, in heaven, in thoughts, or with furbabies!

It's Gonna Get Crazy

This week is going to be absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y.  District Soccer Play begins tonight:  It's do or die time:  If they lose from here on out, they're done.    They shouldn't have too much of a problem tonight:  they beat the other team by 8 goals the first time they met.  Tomorrow may be a little iffy:  If they play the team I think they will, it may be close.  MS' team only won by 1 goal during the regular season.  If they win tomorrow, I think they'll play again on Thursday for the district championship.  And, if it plays out the way we hope it does, they will be playing either the team that beat them by 2 goals 2 weeks ago, or the team that beat them by 1 last week (those 2 teams tied during their regular season game).

On top of all the soccer going on, I'll be finishing up meetings this week, winding down the school year.  (Only 1 more Monday!)   I'll have one more meeting next week:  The last week of school!

And, to top that off, MS graduates on Friday.  That means a few out of town guests, a house that needs to be cleaned, weeds that need to be killed, a cake, fruit tray, and veggie tray that need to be ordered, and figuring out what else we're going to eat after the ceremony.  I.will.not.get.stressed.  My mom asked if there was anything she could do.  Sure, mom...how about letting us borrow your yard so that the dogs won't be in anybody's way?  Unfortunately, we don't have a fenced in yard so the girls can't be out without supervision.  That's where my parents' yard comes in very convenient!

I hope everybody had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I woke up to this on the kitchen table:

I was also given this card:

Just in case you can't read what it says, here's a close-up:

Yes, I was laughing when I read it!  MS must've taken a lot of time looking for "that special card"! He said that it was stuck in with the Mother's Day cards, and didn't realize it said "Birthday" until he was home.  He keeps us laughing, for sure!  He redeemed himself with this:

WHAT?  I'm on a what?  I know, I know, but sssshhhhh, don't tell MS that I've cut out sugar!  I did have one...just one, mind you!  Surely if I just have one a day, it won't hurt, will it?  I mean, it's not like there are a bunch in the bag; there can't be more than 10 in there.

I spent a little time down at my mom & dad's house in the afternoon.  My sister, Jeffy, her husband, and my brother (the guitar player)  were there while I was there.  (I've gotta tell y'all something about Jeffy:  she rides a Harley:  not a girlie sportster, either.  I got educated on such things while I was visiting with them this afternoon.)  That's one of the neat things about living in my hometown:  getting to see my parents and siblings without having to think about a 4 hour drive, or getting home at a decent hour to get the boys in bed because they have school the next day. 

Anyway, back to me:  we were going to go to dinner at a new place in town that just opened up last week.

 We tried to go there on Friday night, but were told there was a 90-140 minute wait.  When we pulled in the parking lot, it looked as full as it did Friday, so we went to Chili's instead.  We only had about a 15 minute wait.  As we were leaving, it was getting pretty packed.  We're really getting uptown now: Here's what opens up today:

It's going to be about a month before we get into eat at that restaurant; betcha! 

If my postings aren't as frequent this week (especially at the end of the week), don't lose any sleep over it:  I'll just be really busy!

Hope everybody has a spectacular week!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! + Sabbath Sunday

This post is dedicated to my mom.

My mom was pregnant for at least 90 months...that's 7 1/2 years out of her life that she spent pregnant.  She said that when she was little she wanted to be a nun...or a concert pianist.  When I was growing up, she was the organist at church; in fact, she was the whole music department!  I remember getting to sit with her in the choir loft during Mass.  I remember sometimes it was very hard not to bother her during a hymn if I was up there with a sibling who was bothering me.  (I know I never did anything to them first to make them bother me!)

My mom was a mother within a year of becoming a wife.  By the time she & Daddy celebrated their 10th anniversary, they had just had their 7th child; I came along 6 months after their 11th.  She moved to Tn. after living her whole life in Tx., leaving behind her 7 older siblings and her mom & dad.  I can't imagine how hard that was for her; they didn't get back to Tx. often, and phones weren't used like they are now.  I'm sure there was a lot of letter writing!  And, I think she did depend on their next door neighbor...a lot!

Mom kept traditions that she had growing up and then added her own.  I've tried to incorporate not only our family traditions, but also some of the family traditions of my husband into our holidays:  From the Alleluia Egg at Easter to all of the baking and candy-making at Christmas.  She used to make tons of candy for us at Christmas:  She'd have it all made by Thanksgiving, then we would come with our tins and fill them up!  One year for Christmas she gave each of us the recipes of all of the candy and cookies she made.  We all just kind of looked at each other until she dropped the bombshell:  She wasn't going to make that much for us anymore!  She was pushing us out of the nest and making us fly on our own!

My mom is an excellent cook, although she credits my daddy with teaching her how to do that.  She was a stay at home mom (imagine that!) until I was in high school, then she went back to school to take refresher courses since she hadn't practiced nursing since she & Daddy got married.  She worked the night shift at a nearby hospital for a couple of years.  I think she stopped working because it was breaking her heart to see the people on her floor in pain.

My mom can sew.  She used to sew a lot of our clothes.  And, not just our clothes, but our dolls' clothes, too!  She also used to do some crocheting.  She's been taking art classes for a few years, and is doing great with it.

I have no idea how Mom kept her cool with everything that was going on.  It seems like she knew (or thought she knew!) where each of us was at all times. She let us fight our own battles, but she stood up for us when she needed to:   There was the time that she had to go to court with one of my brothers because he couldn't make it home to use the bathroom (the bathrooms in the park were locked) and he got caught by a policeman.  There was also the time when I was in jr. high that she marched into the office and let the administrators know that the school had no business talking to the students (without letting the parents know) about birth control.  My mom is a Devout Catholic with a very high moral code.  She & my dad did a great job raising all 10 of us:  We've all become responsible, productive adults.

My mom has always been there when I needed her.  From being there after the birth of the boys, to when I had gallbladder & knee surgery, to just being there when I needed to talk to someone.  She's always there.  I am so very, very thankful that God gave me such a wonderful person that I call my mom.

I couldn't end this post without at least mentioning the lady who gave birth to the love of my life!  I'm also very thankful that I have such a wonderful Mother-in-law.  I couldn't have asked for a better one!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, peaceful, restful Mother's Day!


I'm also linking up with Father Christian over at Blessed is the Kingdom (even though I kinda broke the rule about resting on Sun. by linking up to a previous post!  But, I did post last night, so maybe I didn't really break the rule! ) for Sabbath Sunday.