Life is made of this stuff. See above. Sweet Brookelyn and awesome, rad me, otherwise known as MOMMY at the Pirate Fest in Granbury. Too cute! I mean real pirates, fo real. As you can imagine, when the Pirates got off their boats and "invaded" the beach, B was wide eyed! It was a great day for fun w/ my sis, Kristyn, otherwise known as RIRI! We ate at OUR place- The Merry Heart Tearoom, shared OUR favorite sandwich, I had mango tea and she had Raspberry. Both total yummo. We went to the ranch for a bit and rode the go cart. Brookelyn and Uncle Kelly took a walk to the creek. I love the serenity of there. As long as a wild turkey doesn't chase me down, it is all good. It felt nice to be off and just be! We made it to dinner at Grandma's at 530pm. Riri gave Brookelyn a couple of gifts and there were a few cards for each of the girls. A.M was so proud of hers, fell asleep in the car clutching them tightly. I was so exhausted by the time I got home. I woke up before the girls which is odd, but was kind of nice.
Can I say just how much I LOVE this time of year. I feel so positive and at peace w/ the crisp cool air. I do not love the persistent, never ending cloudy days....ready for some Vitamin D. So missing it that I went to tan day before yesterday and I had earned enough tan bucks for a spray tan. woohoo. So what if it doesn't look real, I can now stand in front of the mirror w/o barfing! Spray tan (and real tanning) does wonders for those lovely stretch marks, I mean love marks, right above my war wound. Yep, I loved my kiddos so much I said SLICE ME OPEN AND GIVE ME THE GOOD STUFF! hehehe
So! One b-day down, Miss B is officially six and will be all year. Next up, Ashlee, who will be 3 on November 6th. She is becoming more and more strong willed while B is becoming more daring w/ her word choices w/ me. Today she questioned why she has to put up her shoes when my tennis shoes were in the living room too. First I gave her the answer, which was the truth, I had them on this morning and I was planning on wearing them to work. The End. Well then I gave her the real answer- "Brookelyn, the point is, I'm the mommy and if I say put up your shoes, just do it and understand I might decide to keep all of my shoes in the living room, I can do that, I'm Mommy"
She was half way to her room during my ramble. But hello, I've done my time honey. I sat at the table for my parents staring at squash and praying the dog would get let in. I've sassed my mother and regretted it for days. I've been told a million times over again that I'm the big sister and need to act accordingly. I could go on and on but my stories aren't that unique really. Some are, but these are not.
Things I wish I had more time for -
Scrapbooking- nothing fancy, just pictures to pages, how hard can it be. I think I need a work station
Reorganizing- the toys and our master bedroom. I'd like to turn our master closet in to a "place for Michael"- maybe he can have his computer in there and cable tv? Most of our clothes are not in that closet, it is a waste of good space. but it is a job i can not do on my own. I think I need my daddy to fly down and help me gut it and start over w/ paint, elfa shelving and new light (it is hanging down w/ wires exposed)
Reading- I go in phases. I'll read instead of Facebook or Blog then stop. I absolutely love books. Right now i've been itching to get the B and N for some detox/health books b/c I have this feeling like there are toxins in my body that need to be released. I'm not weird, I'm for real, my skin always tells me whats up and right now it is saying, your body is nasty up in here!
Home projects- just in general, want to paint downstairs bathroom, repaint kitchen same color- probably-
Workin on yard- yes you heard me right- I found so much gratification in planting this spring, and the two plants are doing GREAT! I want more!!
Since work is slow, I'm going to keep going. Oprah did a show on a Schizophrenic 7 year old, one of the most severe cases professionals have seen in years. My heart broke in half hearing her story. I usually talk to 2 persons w/ Schizophrenia per shift at my work. It is a debilitating illness and meds do not cure it. From my understanding, most medications just keep the person from acting violently or responding negatively to the delusions and hallucinations.
While writing the above paragraph, I got a call about a person's brother who is suffering from Schizophrenia, homeless and walks the isles of HEB in Waco near Baylor Univ. Truly tragic. I gave her all of the advice I could think of, but at the end of the day, we know that too many times the mental illnesses are bigger than those who want to help, just as in physical illnesses. To me, there is no difference. This makes me strangely empathetic to the mentally ill, drug addicts, overall those who appear to be screwing up, but really it is illness....except I am not even a little sympathetic for those who do not want help. I know a few who could use some good pro help, but simply turn away. Sad really. And by no means would I exempt myself -- I know my limitations, my problems, issues, anxiety, fears, frustrations. I am pretty human with a cocktail of "issues" that make me the Candice that I am. I never blame my past or a parent or a childhood or a wrong doing. My past was really quite brilliant. Even the part where my mother dies when I'm 19. So classic right? I think suffering breeds perseverance, for some anyway, for me anyway. I know a lot of successful people who did not have hardships and I know a lot of people with screwed up pasts and now an even more screwy present. Life is only as precious as we make it. I try to focus in on the things that bring me the most joy. If it is watching my girls do their tumbling and cheer, then I try to be as involved as possible. I have made friends. I never complain about having to go, not in the rain, not any time. It is a fun part of our week. I do not get joy from dishes. I have been known to let the stack up for a few days. So what?
I love me some life and I am excited that Miss B is off tomorrow for Columbus Day. No plans, we'll just have to see what the day brings. Maybe paint pumpkins. Kelli's blog got me in the mood for some pumpkin painting!
If you made it this far, you deserve blog reader of the year!
p.s I make no apologies for typos, run-ons or gramatical errors- did I spell gramatical correctly?
