Time To Go Shopping?

When you don't realize you have a hole in your purse with a pen sticking out.....

...your pants will look like this.

Anxiety

If there was a class called Anxiety 101 I would ace it.

My husband keeps telling me to Let Go and Let God.  He's half joking and half serious.  He's right though.

I have some things on my mind causing me angst.  Little things.  I'm talking inconsequential things. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it.

For instance, I'm "on call" to watch my friend's 3 year old when she goes into labor. She is due to have her baby any day now.  I have been freakishly paranoid I will leave the house without my cell phone and she won't be able to reach me when she needs me and her husband will miss the birth of their child all because of me! 

Also, another dear, well-intentioned friend thought it was a good idea to post my video on her Facebook page for all of our parish friends to see.  Since then, I've had writer's anxiety. (I know, I'm using the term 'writer' loosely.)

And lastly, Allume.  This is the Christian women's blogging conference I am going to next week.  Holy cow!  When you read the bio's of the women going to this, I am totally out of my league. There are published writers, inspirational speakers, business owners, homeschoolers, etc. who are going to this conference.  I am already in awe of them and I haven't even gone yet. I'm also anxious about what I should wear. Will anyone talk to me? Is there audience participation involved?  And if so, where's the nearest Exit?

But as Divine Providence would have it, while writing this post, I remembered the little card I have on my kitchen window sill that faces me while I'm at the sink.

 

How awesome is that?  My cell phone and I are going to bed now. *wink*

Out Of The Mouth Of....

Mary Kate and Ann.

The other night at the dinner table I was patting myself on the back about what a great job I did in picking a spouse and asked the girls if they agreed.  Of course they did.  They love their dad.

So I asked them, "What will you look for in a husband if you get married someday?"

Without skipping a beat this is what they said:

Mary Kate: "Catholic"

Ann:  RICH!!

Bill and I had a good laugh and agreed neither answer took us by surprise.

Birthday Celebrating And Pumpkin Patching

Monday was Bill's birthday.  He was off for the Columbus Day holiday, which was nice.

Morning doughnuts:

Matt's buddies Joseph and Luke celebrated with us.

Later, we headed to our yearly tradition of Pumpkin Patching!  Perfect fun.

We named a couple of the pumpkins we saw.

This was the Darth Maul:

This was the "E.T. Barely Alive":

Here they are with their finds.  Billy traded his in for a bigger one he found on the way back to the tractor.  It weighed 55 lbs.  Heavy, both literally and on the pocketbook!

Yes, I was having a heart attack.

The real me.

Later there was more Happy Birthday festivities....cake and ice cream!

Happy Birthday Bill.  I'm glad you were born.

What Will They Remember Of Me?

On this anniversary of the day my Mom died I often think about the life lessons she taught me.  There are so many.  The two that stick out the most are "Never settle" and "Always stay true to yourself."  These have helped me navigate some important decisions in my life and I'm so grateful to her for that.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what my children will remember about me when I'm gone. What important lessons have I taught them?  Are they armed with the tools they'll need to go out and face the world?

I figure the blog is the best way to ensure that they always remember me and what I think is important.  So Billy, Mary Kate, Tommy, Ann, and Matthew, may I present...

Lesson One:  The "Single, Single, Double, Double."  In social situations whenever music is involved, this dance move is key in fitting in.  You can switch it up, add some 1980's era hops or even the current "Dougie" dance move.  Make it your own, but at least you will be armed with the social coolness that I had.

Matt was around to help me make this video.  Notice he's telling me I'm "Looking good."  I know Matt.  I am cool when I do the Single, Single, Double, Double.  And you can be too.  Watch and
learn.

Let's see if they paid attention, shall we?

That's very good.

Lesson Two:  Making a fool of yourself on YouTube and/or a blog is totally worth it if it gets someone to laugh.

Everyday Happenings

**Anybody miss me?  This is was one long hiatus from blogging.  It was kind of nice taking a break, even though I know my fans have been waiting with bated breath for me to return. 

**Bill and Billy have a bad case of poison ivy.  I mean, really bad.  Of course one of the treatments for this is Epsom Salt baths, but our only bathtub has a leak and is unusable right now.  Go figure.

**I did some baking over the weekend.  The kids used to say, "Can I have some?"  Now when I bake they say, "Who is that for?" because I've gotten in the habit of not baking for our family but for someone else's family or an event we're going to.  (Kind of like when I clean the stove top Bill will ask, "Who's coming over?")  Kind of sad really.  Anyway, my go-to, delicious, crowd pleaser is Pumpkin Roll.

It was gone almost as fast as.....

** The Wasabi Peas I bought yesterday.  See how much is left?

I am the only one here who likes them. You do the math.


**My parish Moms & Tots group met again to start the fall season indoors.  We even got a special visit from one of our priests who read about Guardian Angels and St. Francis.

Stay tuned for my next post where I share one important lesson all mothers should teach their children.....