Cake Crumbs

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sunday Funnies: Haven't You Ever Seen "The Christmas Story?"

The morning was not going well. It seemed like every time I turned around another stumbling block had been placed in my way, preventing a timely arrival at school. We had no milk so there was no breakfast, Izzy wouldn't brush her teeth, Emma didn't want to get her coat on and Kira was still trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of lolygagging. And school was scheduled to start in FIVE minutes. To top it all off I still had to stop and grab my nephew on the way to school.
So Sgt. Mom stepped in and took control. Orders began flying from my mouth before my brain even had time to contemplate what I was saying.

"SHOES! TEETH! SOCKS! COAT! BACKPACK! NOW!!!!! AND GET OUT TO THE CAR!

As I herded all my little duckies out the door we paused when the door was opened. It was beautiful! The frost was so thick that it lay on top of the world in what looked like perfect little snowflakes. It was so cold that the air shimmered with glittering frozen condensation. It was breathtaking. Literally, it was so cold that it took your breath away.

With our moment of awe in for the day I started giving orders to get moving when I realized that I had left the keys in the drawer of our entryway table. And so with instructions to the girls head to the van I quickly stepped back inside to grab the missing keys.
And that's when I heard it.
"Izzy, go ahead and eat one." Now one thing that you have to understand about Izzy is that her favorite thing in the world to eat is, snow.
"Don't you dare!" I screamed expelling every bit of air and exasperation in one breath.
I ran for the door but not quickly enough. There before me on the porch stood my five year old with her lip and tongue stuck to the metal railing in her attempt to lick up a snowflake.

WHY ME? I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes heavenward.
"Izzy, what were you doing?" I yelled at her (I know I'm a horrible mother). "Haven't you ever seen "A Christmas Story"? Don't you remember when that boy stuck his tongue to the pole?! What were you thinking?"
In my impatience to be on time to school I forgot to be the loving kind mother that I should have been. My tirade and advancement to help scared Izzy so much that she pulled herself back so hard that she ripped her tongue and lip off from the metal railing.
The blood and tears came in earnest. I bent to inspect her mouth it wasn't too bad, so I gave her a hug, told her she would be fine and scooted everyone to the van.
Izzy's tongue stopped bleeding very quickly, and the tears abated until next time. She was calm and composed by the time we stopped to grab my nephew.
When we got to my mom's she kindly allowed my children to eat breakfast at her house, where she had milk. And we finally made it to school, 15 minutes late.
And so I learned a valuable lesson for the day. When life is throwing everthing at you just remember, the blood and tears will only last a little while. :)

Sunday Funnies is a weekly theme here at Cake Crumbs. If you would like to play along just think back through your week and find the funniest thing that happened to you and jot it down. Then simply sign up with Mr. Linky and join in the fun!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Project 365: Week Five

Another week come and gone.

Day 29

January 29th
The moon rose so large and full that the chance to take it's portrait couldn't be missed.

Day 30

January 30th
The girls decided they wanted to jump on the tramp Saturday morning. But after they were cold
they didn't want to go tromping through the deep snow again.
So they did the only thing they could think of, holler for dad, until he came and rescued them.
Kira tried to jump on Kevin's back last, and missed.

Day 31

January 31st
1 jar of body glitter + 2 girls = sparkly blizzard in the house

Day 32

February 1st
Back to the dentist. Here's Kira taking a nap while waiting for the Doctor.

Day 33

February 2nd
Every year in July we hold a big family reunion where we raffle off a quilt. Every person in the family is given
a few squares of fabric and we make a 12 inch quilt block that reflects our personalities.
We then send back to our official quilt maker and she works her magic and creates a beautiful masterpiece.
These are the quilt blocks that my parents and siblings are turning in. Can you guess which one is mine?
(hint: It's the one that has the goof up)

Day 34

February 3rd
There are no words other than "Emma"

Day 35

February 4th
The beauty of puddles!

Hosted by Chris

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday: Buttons Blogger Should Invest In

I have diarrhea of the mouth (or keyboard) today, so my Wordless Wednesday is going to be, well, wordy.

I have invented a few buttons that if Blogger would be so kind to include in their tool bar I would be ever so grateful.

This first one is for people like me that have a problem sticking their foot in their mouth.

Open Mouth Insert Foot Check

Have you ever tried to place a picture or an HTML code into your post and blogger tells you that it is impossible? Just click this button and ha ha, the impossible becomes possible!

Just Make It Work Button

And for all of you out there that have ever sat down to the computer and just can't come up with an idea for a post this is the button for you! This also works well when you find yourself mid story and your mind goes blank. Or if you really need to impress someone you can just:

So if anyone out there has a connection to Blogger HQ, would you please pass along the message. Thank you in advance. :)

For more Wordless fun check out Wordless Wednesday HQ, and for more Wordy fun check out Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus.

Sepia Scenes: Positive Thinking For Groundhog Day

For more great photos visit Mary T at Sepia Scenes.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sunday Funnies: Night Terrors

Silence fell all around in the deepening darkness of the night. The only sound that could be heard was the deep steady breathing of my husband who lay beside me in the comfort of our warm blankets. The familiar sound lulling me closer and closer toward oblivion. Dreams filled my head as scene after scene played across the screen of my subconscious theatre.
Darkness touched my dream, noises reached out through the night in ways that seem unnatural. Through my sleep fogged brain I heard the piano playing, but that can't be. I hear my husband say something that I can't quite understand. "Oh it's just the maid," I mumble into the pillow. "She'll stop in a minute." I say.
"What?" My husband says loudly. "What are you talking about?" Instantly my mind snaps to attention.
"Oh, sorry was I talking in my sleep again?" I asked. As my mind becomes more and more clear I realize that notes are being slowly and clumsily picked out on our keyboard in the front room.
"What is that?" I asked as I felt a peculiar ball forming in the pit of my stomach.
"It's the keyboard, is Kira in there?" Kevin asks. We both tilted our heads in the direction that the music was drifting from, but there was no sound of movement that either of us could tell.
Slowly we both rose from the warm comforter into the crisp cool air of the pitch black night.
As we cautiously made our way down the hallway the light from the streetlamp outside the window lent it's light to the eerie scene before us. There sat the keyboard, keys still being played at random but no one was next to it. The room was empty
My husband, being quicker and closer than I was reached the piano first and quickly turned the power to the board off.
We headed back to bed slightly disturbed. Climbing back onto our respective sides of the bed we both said at the same time, "That was kind of creepy."
And so we tried to find our way back into the land of restful sleep. Soon my husband resumed his slow rhythmic breathing. But sleep continued to elude me.
Now if there is one thing that I have always prided myself on is the thought that I don't scare very easily. Scary movies rarely make me jump, sometimes they make me want to gag because they're gross, but they really don't scare me. People jumping out from behind doors doesn't make me jump ten feet in the air, and creepy things in the night never keep me awake.
But here I was, creeped out. the minutes stretched by slowly with a growing sense of unease. What would have made the piano start playing? had something fallen and hit the keys? But that couldn't happen because it was playing different notes. I was plagued with question after question. My mind trying to wrap a reasonable explanation around the event that had just happened.
I scooted closer to my husband surrendering my pride to the fact that I was down right, well, scared.
I stared absently at my closet hoping the answers would come, suddenly out of the darkness at the end of my bed rose a spectral white disembodied head. It began slowly floating closer and closer towards me.
Shear terror gripped me like I had never felt before. I screamed and tried to climb up Kevin's left arm.
"Whhaat?" Cried a terrified voice from the direction of the ghostly white figure.
It was Kira.
Why on earth did I have to give birth to such very pale white children?

Sunday Funnies is a weekly theme here at Cake Crumbs. If you would like to play along just think back through your week and find the funniest thing that happened to you and jot it down. You can leave your story in the comments box if you would like. Or if you decide to do a post on your own site just mention it in your comment and we'll be sure to come check it out!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Photo Story Friday: Motherhood

Tuesday evening came, the kids were finally asleep and the hubby and I popped in a movie that we had rented. Motherhood with Uma Thurman.

I have been so excited to watch this movie, I just knew that I was going to find a movie that I could really connect with. A woman who could show the world the joys and sorrows that come with this ever shrinking occupation, the SAHM. And to top it all off she was a blogger. Yes I admit that I was excited when we pushed the play button.
That enthusiasm lasted about five minutes. This was not the stay at home mom that I thought would be a crusader for our cause, but an angry, resentful woman that didn't seem to enjoy anything about her life.
One part of the movie was that she wanted to write for a parenting blog, she had to send in 500 words about what motherhood meant to her. When she finally finished it and it was read at the end of the movie all I could think was hypocrite.
And so today I would like to give my thoughts about being a mom. And I can sum it up into one word:

I picked this word, because even though it consists of only three letters, it is a powerful word. Joy consists of much more than just happiness. Joy is a deep feeling that causes you to be moved. Joy cannot exist without feeling sorrow, deep sorrow. Joy is something that is earned. It takes commitment, hard work, and LOVE.
And this to me is what motherhood is.
NO, it's not always easy, there are times when I would like to go back to work and leave the daily chore of raising children to a babysitter. I mean who really wants to clean up after a toddler learning to go potty? Who really wants to do dishes, laundry and clean for everyone that lives in the house? Who really wants to watch Spongebob? Who really wants to read The Big Hungry Bear 11 times in one hour? Who really wants to have their two year old throw their binky at the waitress? Who really wants to have to apologize to someone because their daughter has just whispered "that lady's fat"? Who didn't sit down and cry the day that they realized that the fairy tale ending was never going to happen?
I feel confident that I am not alone in these feelings. But I hope that I am not alone in wanting this life despite the dark side of it.

When we have the opportunity of becoming a mother we are given a chance to work hand in hand with God in creating a wonderful little body for one of his precious children.

I LOVE being a mom.

I love being the one who my kids want when they are sick.
I love that I am their comfort when they are scared or hurt.
I love reading "The Big Hungry Bear" to them 11 times in one hour.

I love to watch them learn, I love to help them discover the world from a gentle perspective.

I love fixing them dinner and having each one of them tell me they love my cooking (granted this one doesn't happen very often, so that's why I love it when it does). I love to read them bedtime stories.

I love to see them play.

I love when they pile on their dad
I love the adventures that we find ourselves in.
I love to see them laugh.
I love the way that they make me laugh.
I love the things they say.
I love their unique personalities.

I also love the sorrows that we have had with our kids. I feel that these obstacles, even though they cause sadness for a time, bind us together as a family unit. Making us stronger than we are by ourselves.

Motherhood is my life, and it's a life that I love.

What does motherhood mean to you?