Quote of the Day

"It is easy to be brave from a safe distance."

- Aesop

Photos of the Day

Quote of the Day

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.

- Margaret Young

Before and After

I picked up this great dresser at a thrift store last week. I have been looking for something to go by the front door to replace the chest for the boys shoes.

Sorry, for the bad pictures, but you get the idea - this was not a pretty piece of furniture! I stripped the paint off, painted a pink undercoat, white and then distressed it.

I love the way it turned out! Both of the boys have their own drawer for their shoes as well as their backpacks and so far it is keeping my entry way much neater. Which makes for a much happier mom!

I painted the pulls turquoise and it fits perfectly!

What do you think?

Quote of the Day

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.” -- Lao-Tzu

This is one of the hardest things for me to do - just be myself. I have spent so many years listening to the voices that it has been difficult for me to just relax and be me. You know the voices - the outside ones from other people, the running script from your parents, and then the nasty little voices that subtly put you down...

And then there is the direct comparison to other women - they have it more together than I do, they handled that parenting issue better than I have, they keep their house cleaner, more organized, have dinner ready on time, have a cuter haircut...

What does it takes to stop the voices? Stop comparing? Stop judging myself? What does it take to learn who I am, relax and settle in to becoming the best me I can be?

A Date!

I have a date this weekend!

Not a romantic date, but a friendship date. It is no less exciting and in fact I am probably even more excited!

You see, one of my goals over the past year has been to increase my friendship base. For lots of very legitimate life reasons, I haven't developed that many close friendships in the past 8 years. And the amazing friends I do have - most have moved away to other parts of the country or do not live close to me. They are still incredible friends, but we can no longer just hang out or go to the movies without a plane ticket being involved.

Although I was seriously dating someone for almost three years, I have been a single, stay-at-home mom and just finished graduate school. As a therapist, the people I meet on a daily basis could never be friends...So, I found myself finally lifting my head up and looking around thinking I need to work on this!

What do you do when you decide you want to make friends as an adult? It's not as easy as when you were in school, or even working in a larger office. There you see people on a daily basis.

How do you meet new people? Then moving a relationship from an acquaintance to friendship takes effort. First of all there has to be some sort of attraction - similar interests, similar views on life, or for some reason you just want to get to know them better.

But then what? Do you ask them out? Do you keep calling? What if your kids don't get along?

Juggling work, kids, husbands, boyfriends and families while trying to develop friendships is much harder than it once was! Because in addition, the time I spend with my friends is time something else is not getting done - laundry, housework, yard work, painting, reading...and really I have a fairly tenuous grip on those things anyways!

I recently ran across a new blog that is asking similar questions. And even though I had been thinking about this issue and in fact had written something last year, I never wanted to publish it because I felt a little, well, crazy. Even though we talk about making friends, and wish for deep connections with others, we don't really talk about how or why. Reading her posts on her own search for a deep friendship made me realize that deep down, we all have the same feelings. We all feel isolated and alone, scared and lonely, and even a little bit crazy.

And sometimes, sharing these feelings brings us closer together because we realize that we are not alone. We are not crazy. We are not isolated. We all long for someone to understand our own personal brand of crazy. Someone to make us laugh. Someone that can honestly say that your outfit isn't the most flattering on you and we appreciate it! Someone that can make us laugh. And someone that we can call up and be with, just because.

Husbands and boyfriends are wonderful, but nothing can replace the fellowship, friendship and love of other women! (Oh, and I have realized that friends are directly related to my goals of joy!)

Skate Park

The city recently built a skate park by our house. The boys wanted to go check it out the other day, so I naively thought, "Sure. Let's ride our bikes over and leave the skate boards at home until we know what we are dealing with." In other words, mommy is not ready for this. And I don't want to go to the hospital today.

Turns out it is for bikes and skate boards. All at the same time. Adults. Teenagers. Kids. Chaos.

My little one, who is barely six and just lost his first tooth (I want the rest to come out of their own accord) decides to take one of the bigger ramps on. (He is also on a bike that is slightly too large for him...)


Yes, that is a bandanna across his face...well, actually it's a napkin...



He's almost up...

...not enough speed...I stayed and watched from the sidelines, but a very nice teenager was immediately their and helped him get his bike out.

Boys make moms nervous. It's their job. And they are good at it. Unfortunately, my job is to let them.

and that's why they wear helmets!

Wordless Wednesday

Birthday Projects

Last week was my mom's 70th birthday! You would never know it form looking at her or even spending a day with her. This woman has more energy than I know what to do with!

The boys and I went down and spent Easter break with them and helped her get a few things done. We installed her vegetable garden which this year is a mix of raised beds, container and straw bales.

We sanded down and oiled her badly dilapidated porch swings.

Papa took the boys fishing. (Which gave mom and me a nice day to be with each other.)

And Ryan got a new dog.

Ok, so this last one wasn't exactly a birthday project for mom - but it did get rid of one of the dogs currently living at her house. Which makes her very happy!

Lost tooth

Max lost his first tooth last week. It was a very happy occasion for him as it marks yet one more milestone towards growing up, it marks one more milestone for me that he is growing up...

Quote of the Day

“You can never predict what little things in the way somebody looks or talks or acts will set off peculiar emotional reactions in other people.”

Andy Warhol

Wordless Wednesday

Max's Birthday

A little late, but Happy Birthday Max!

Wordless Wednesday

Quote of the Day

"Whoever is happy will make others happy, too."

Mark Twain