House of Estrogen

Night-Night, Addison

I brushed her teeth, read her stories, and tucked her in bed. She yawned, cozied up under her blankets, and I knew she would drift off shortly.

So... WHY? When we checked on her two hours later was she here?

 

There she was, fast asleep, on the floor, carefully covered with a blanket, Foofa next to her, three-quarters of the way under the bed.

Three year olds... their logic defies me!

Simple Woman's Daybook, April 25, 2011

 

For Today...

Outside my window... it is a bright, sunny, HOT day! Still too much pollen out there to want to be outside.

   I am thinking... that this is going to be a speedy drive-by post. I'm painting Elise's room today and need to get started.

 I am thankful for... Benjamin Moore paint... it goes on so smoothly!

From the kitchen... likely pizza delivery tonight. I doubt I'll feel like cooking much after painting all day.

I am creating... a green room for Elise!

I am going... to do nothing but paint all day.

I am reading... People magazine. I should be reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot since we're discussing it at book club on Wednesday, but I got a bit distracted.

I am hoping... that my cousin Lisa's family is holding up OK. My heart and prayers go out to her husband and children.

I am hearing... birds chirping, the AC running.

Around the house... all of contents of Elise's room are in the hallway. What a mess!

One of my favorite things... Frito pie.

 A few plans for the rest of the week.... busy week - lots of meetings at work, faculty appreciation luncheon at Addie's school, book club, and all the girls start swim lessons on Saturday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... cute (albeit a little blurry) cell phone pic of Addie and Grandmama from Saturday.

  
 
 
    To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

The Stubborn, Competitive Child

We decided to go on a little family outing today.

 

The destination... bowling! How flippin' cute are toddler bowling shoes?

 

Size 14 bowling shoes aren't quite so cute, but JC wore his lucky socks and skunked us all.

 

We smiled and laughed, gave high-fives and cheered.

 

We tried out different bowling techniques. Some strategies worked well.

 

Others didn't.

 

Some of us used the ramp.

 

Some of us didn't.

 

The littlest one yelled "GO BALL!!" every time as her ball slowly made its way down the alley.

 

A good time was had by all. Or, uh... almost all.

Our stubborn, competitive middle child refused to play. She had lost a game of Super Mario Party 8 to her dad earlier in the day, so she pouted all the way to the bowling alley. She was not about to enter another competition where she could possibly lose again in the same day. No amount of begging or pleading would convince her to play, so we gave up. Little Miss Headstrong sat by herself in the bowling alley while the rest of us played. 

 

I keep trying to remind myself that tenacity and a desire to succeed are characteristics that should take her far in the business world, but as a seven year old... she is just plain STUBBORN!

Hoping Good Friday is Better than Not-So-Good Thursday

Today was a tough day. I woke up to learn of the death of Tim Hetherington. Hetherington and Sebastian Junger were the journalists who reported from the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan while my cousin was stationed there.  I think it is important for people to understand what our young people in the armed forces are up against when they are sent to war. My cousin wasn't even old enough to legally drink alcohol when he was deployed to the place considered the most dangerous and deadly for the U.S. military. I don't think people really grasp what our troops sacrifice for us. Hetherington and Junger risked their own lives to bring us the stories of these soldiers. Their in-depth article for Vanity Fair is well worth the time it takes to read it. J.C. and I also recently watched their Oscar-nominated movie, Restrepo, a documentary filmed at the Restrepo Outpost in the Korengal Valley. It is raw. It is war. It is hard to watch, but it is excellent. It is exactly how my cousin had described his experiences there. It is on Netflix streaming right now. Watch it. Tim Hetherington was killed yesterday while he and several photographers came under fire in Misurata, Libya.  His death is a loss for all of us.

In the afternoon, my cousin Lisa's son posted to her blog. Things aren't good. Matthew quoted his mom as saying that she doesn't want to be alive if she can't live.  Based on that, for her sake, I hope her life doesn't go on much longer. We will all miss her, but none of us want her having to endure life the way it is now. Lisa has worked with friends to plan her own memorial service. As unnatural as that must feel, I have to say that the two most wonderful, moving memorial services I have attended have been for friends who died of cancer and participated in planning their own services. One was for a friend with melanoma. He wanted the ten songs that he had declared, "the top ten rock and roll songs of all time" played at his service. That's what they did, and it was the perfect tribute to him. Another was for a friend with breast cancer whose service included a Harley Davidson ride on the way to the church. Seeing all her friends in the church in their leather jackets and pants was just what she wanted. I'm glad to hear that Lisa has found some peace in planning her own service. I just hate that her life has come to this. I will miss her.

By late afternoon, my allergies that seem to be morphing into a sinus infection left me feeling miserable. About the time I decided to leave work early to go home for a nap, J.C. called to say that the elementary school had called. Nina was throwing up, so he was on his way to pick her up.

What a day... too much sadness, too much illness. I hope Good Friday is "more good" than today.

Simple Woman's Daybook, April 18, 2011

 

For Today...

Outside my window... it is dark. I'm late doing my daybook post today. The children are in bed, and I'm ready to crash.

   I am thinking... about ways to avoid the laundry.

 I am thankful for... being spared any damage to our home or losses in our family during the awful tornados that came through our area on Saturday. If our house had been 3-5 miles to the North, East, or South, we likely would have been in the path of one of them. We just got lucky. We are hearing stories of friends and friends of friends whose homes were damaged or destroyed, who are still without power, or whose neighborhoods are impassable with downed trees. We are counting our blessings. We simply have clumps of insulation all over the place that blew in from who knows where.

From the kitchen... zucchini and pork chops on the grill and mac&cheese.

I am creating... a possible Mother's Day gift. I can never seem to get things done on time though.

I am going... to watch a little TV and head to bed.

I am reading... The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is a slow read, but I am still enjoying it and learning a lot.

I am hoping... that JC's granddaddy recovers from his anxiety attack from the tornados. One came very near his house, and he had a rough day.

I am hearing... the washing machine. It sounds like it is ready to blast off into orbit.

Around the house... <sigh> toys, Easter candy, dirty socks, Crocs without mates, school pictures, wet towels, stuffed animals, overdue library books, clothes hangers, Girl Scout vests, fuse beads, lunch boxes, etc.  If you have children under the age of 10, is your house tidy? Will you share your secrets?  Or better yet, can I just move in with you?

One of my favorite things... Trader Joe's peanut butter Easter eggs. They put the Reese's eggs to shame!

 A few plans for the rest of the week.... not too much. The kids are all out of school on Friday, so I'll have to figure out something to do that day. Perhaps we'll dye eggs. I'm tempted to try making those Rice Krispy treat eggs with M&M's inside that they keep showing on a commercial on TV. I have a feeling it isn't nearly as easy as they make it look though. We would probably just just end up with a big sticky mess!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...  

  
 
    To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

The Strawberry Room

Every summer growing up, I would spend a week or two at my grandmother's house in Virginia. I would help my grandmother pick cherries or cucumbers, wander out to the old tobacco barn, play gin rummy on the big front porch, or walk through the woods picking up bits of moss for the moss garden I was constructing in a canning jar. My grandmother would check me over for ticks and use butter or a match detach them. As a big city girl, everything was an adventure out here in the country.

 

Her two hundred year old house had character. We usually entered through the keeping room which was a dark, cool place, not quite a basement, not quite house, where my grandmother kept all the jars of canned peaches, tomatoes, pickled beets, cherry jelly, and pickles that she expertly canned each summer. The step down into the keeping room was long, and the doorway was short, so adults would invariably hit their head the first time through on every trip.

 

To the right was the quaint little kitchen. You had to step up and over a big step in the entryway, and there were frequent curse words thrown about here as heads were bumped again in the doorway. The kitchen was a warm, cozy place where my grandmother was always busy canning, baking, making sandwiches, or preparing to entertain guests. My memories of the salty Virginia ham, hamburger meat fresh from the farm down the road, tart cherry pie from the cherry trees in the yard, and fresh veggies from her garden will never be equalled.

Also off the keeping room was the living room and dining room. It had an old wooden door with a wood and leather latch to keep it closed. In the winter, you were in big trouble if you forgot to latch the door and let out any heat from the fire place. Upstairs off the porch was a formal living room where my grandmother played the piano beautifully and attempted to teach me. Sadly though, piano lessons two weeks per year don't go very far. The third floor was a narrow space with sloped walls, but it was the perfect bedroom for a visiting grandchild.

 

 

One of my grandmother's favorite spaces in her home was a room we called the strawberry room. It wasn't much bigger than a walk-in closet in a modern home, but it was my grandmother's little sacred space. There was a round glass-topped table with strawberry print table cloth over it. There were strawberry pillows in her reading chair. There were strawberry tea cups on the table and strawberry paintings on the walls. I see strawberries now, and I think of my grandmother's strawberry room.

 

I see strawberry fabrics and envision that print as the newest tablecloth on her table.

 

I find myself drawn to them, unable to resist sweet strawberry dresses, as if the dress came straight from her strawberry room. Maybe it is just a little bit of my grandmother in me.

 

I think she would like that.

Welcome to Nina's Room

 

Tip for Bloggers

If you are going to blog about an upcoming "surprise dinner party for a friend's birthday", make sure that said friend DOES NOT READ YOUR BLOG.

Just sayin'.

You might ruin a surprise.  Not that I have any experience with that or anything... just trying to provide a helpful tip.

Simple Woman's Daybook, April 11, 2011

 

For Today...

Outside my window... a little cool this morning, but it is supposed to get up to almost 90 today! Crazy!

   I am thinking... about my cousin Lisa, and sending prayers her way.

 I am thankful for... Nina not having a full-blown croup attack last night and no trips to the E.R. I think we managed to head it off before things got too out of control.

From the kitchen... good question. I haven't even thought about it yet.

I am creating... Easter goodies.

I am going... to lunch with friends today. I was supposed to have lunch with them about a week ago, but due to multiple communication and technology failures, I completely missed it.

I am reading... The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is an amazing book.... absolutely fascinating.

I am hoping... that my ankle pain eases up.

I am hearing... birds chirping.

Around the house... there are so many places we need to paint... chipped paint, a water stain on the ceiling, scribbles from toddlers.

One of my favorite things... my iPod Touch.

 A few plans for the rest of the week.... the usual chaos of school/work/activities, a surprise dinner party for a friend's birthday, and a "Girl Talk" Girl Scout activity with Elise to learn about all those lovely things up-and-coming tween girls need to know about their bodies.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...  J.C. and Addie going on a bike ride to the park.

 

  

 
    To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

Centenarian

In April of 1911,

• Bread cost $0.05 per loaf. A gallon of milk cost $0.34.
• A car would set you back $500, and a house $2,600. The average income was $983 per year.
• Postage stamps were $0.02.
• The DOW average was 82.
• William Howard Taft was president with James S. Sherman as his vice president.
• Ragtime Violin by Irving Berlin was one of the top songs.
• Neon lighting, the knapsack parachute, and CRT television were invented.
• The Pulitzer prize was established.


AND... the girls' great-great Uncle Herman was born!  Happy 100^th Birthday Uncle Herman!