The kids and I are roughing it this week. The hubs is out of town. No Dad means no stable adult influence (because I am clearly a MESS), no stern voice besides mine which clearly everyone tunes out, and no... well, no Dad.
We are surviving, which is to say that I haven't strung them up by their toenails (yet) and the house is still standing, but beyond that I am spent.
And it's only Tuesday!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Memories of what used to be
We have been so busy that I haven't gotten around to all of those fabulous park reviews I was going to write. What a departure from normal! :)
Since I honestly have nothing exciting that I NEED to share with the greater interwebs--we're doing great here, by the way--I just want to share a sweet thing that happened to me.
My grandma passed away 18 months ago. We were very close. I feel as if I lost a great source of wisdom since her death. I honestly believed at times during my childhood and teen years that she was the only person in the world who loved me unconditionally. Now looking back and as a parent myself, I can see how my parents loved me unconditionally too, but they had to discipline me. Grandma rarely had to do that. She just loved me and we had an awesome relationship. I remember only a couple of times when I felt as if I had really and truly disappointed her, and it was incredibly jarring, nearly as bad as feeling as if I had disappointed God.
Just this morning I was feeling as if I really needed her here so I could ask her some questions about marriage, child-rearing, all of the stuff I feel as if I need way more help on now that I'm married and the children are all here. Back when I first married and first had children, she was there and an incredible resource.
Since I don't have the ability to conjure spirits I sent a dear older lady a note asking her some of the things I would have asked Grandma this morning if I had the chance. Imagine my surprise this evening when I received a sweet note from this friend with a great bit of helpful advice that included her calling me "dear heart." I don't think this is an incredibly common thing to say to/call someone, but Grandma used to call me that. Among other pet names, she used to call me (and probably others in my family, but I'm the one who matters in this story today right here and now ;)) "dear heart" all of the time. Since she was the only one I ever remember calling me that, imagine my surprise at hearing that (well, reading it in this case) again tonight. All I could do when I read the note was sob.
Tonight I will have sweet dreams not only of my dear late grandma but also of the other sweet older ladies who are still here and still founts of wisdom and care, here in my life as gifts from God to help teach me how to be a better wife and mother.
Since I honestly have nothing exciting that I NEED to share with the greater interwebs--we're doing great here, by the way--I just want to share a sweet thing that happened to me.
My grandma passed away 18 months ago. We were very close. I feel as if I lost a great source of wisdom since her death. I honestly believed at times during my childhood and teen years that she was the only person in the world who loved me unconditionally. Now looking back and as a parent myself, I can see how my parents loved me unconditionally too, but they had to discipline me. Grandma rarely had to do that. She just loved me and we had an awesome relationship. I remember only a couple of times when I felt as if I had really and truly disappointed her, and it was incredibly jarring, nearly as bad as feeling as if I had disappointed God.
Just this morning I was feeling as if I really needed her here so I could ask her some questions about marriage, child-rearing, all of the stuff I feel as if I need way more help on now that I'm married and the children are all here. Back when I first married and first had children, she was there and an incredible resource.
Since I don't have the ability to conjure spirits I sent a dear older lady a note asking her some of the things I would have asked Grandma this morning if I had the chance. Imagine my surprise this evening when I received a sweet note from this friend with a great bit of helpful advice that included her calling me "dear heart." I don't think this is an incredibly common thing to say to/call someone, but Grandma used to call me that. Among other pet names, she used to call me (and probably others in my family, but I'm the one who matters in this story today right here and now ;)) "dear heart" all of the time. Since she was the only one I ever remember calling me that, imagine my surprise at hearing that (well, reading it in this case) again tonight. All I could do when I read the note was sob.
Tonight I will have sweet dreams not only of my dear late grandma but also of the other sweet older ladies who are still here and still founts of wisdom and care, here in my life as gifts from God to help teach me how to be a better wife and mother.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Park Reviews
For those in LA, specifically the westside, I plan to begin reviewing parks for your visiting pleasure. The area has many beautiful parks, but I already have my favorite parts of those we have visited. Thanks in advance for checking out these posts.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
California Science Center--a must-visit!
Last Saturday we went to the California Science Center. Located at Exposition Park, we were able to have a picnic lunch before visiting the museum. Parking was $8. The kids had a blast, and we were grateful for a fun place to spend a Saturday that was relatively cheap (donations for admission).
The museum has exhibits on ecosystems, technology, weather, all sorts of things. I especially enjoyed the "show" on chemical reactions where I learned a few things I should have caught back in high school chemistry class and apparently did not (ahem). ;) We spent a couple of hours at the CSC and didn't see nearly everything, and of course there are many other museums, such as the California African-American Museum and the Natural History Museum, that we hope to visit in the future. The California Science Center and Exposition Park are fun for the whole family!
The museum has exhibits on ecosystems, technology, weather, all sorts of things. I especially enjoyed the "show" on chemical reactions where I learned a few things I should have caught back in high school chemistry class and apparently did not (ahem). ;) We spent a couple of hours at the CSC and didn't see nearly everything, and of course there are many other museums, such as the California African-American Museum and the Natural History Museum, that we hope to visit in the future. The California Science Center and Exposition Park are fun for the whole family!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Funny things about LA #1 and #2
#1. You can walk into a mall, just running a random errand (in our case, buying our youngest daughter's first pair of real shoes ::sniff:: because she took her first steps on Monday!!! ::sniff::), and see a sign that says something along the lines of "Commercial filming here... if you walk beyond this sign it means you have consented to being filmed." Fascinating. My biggest fear as we walked past that sign was that there would be an expose on obesity and I would be filmed. You know how on the news there are always really unflattering shots of headless bodies, camera aimed right at flabby mid-sections? I was really worried I'd be female body #2342987432. Thankfully it didn't seem like that kind of filming, but instead a real movie/sitcom type of scene right in the middle of the mall. Between a couple real kiosks, there was a fake pretzel stand (I know because I ran into the mall for something else last week and didn't see the pretzel stand there) with cameramen and make-up people and screens and all sorts of things around. It was interesting. I wish the kids had been older; we would have stayed to see what was going on a little more closely. Maybe another time...
#2. We have a gardener. Well, more accurately, there is a gardener provided with our rent. This is so odd to me. My husband loves not having to deal with the yard, especially since this type of grass/vegetation is different from anything we've ever had in the Midwest, but it is still odd. Our gardener seems very nice, and I guess it's kind of like in other countries where the economy depends on families even of modest means having nannies, gardeners, maids, cooks, etc. It will just take some getting used to.
#2. We have a gardener. Well, more accurately, there is a gardener provided with our rent. This is so odd to me. My husband loves not having to deal with the yard, especially since this type of grass/vegetation is different from anything we've ever had in the Midwest, but it is still odd. Our gardener seems very nice, and I guess it's kind of like in other countries where the economy depends on families even of modest means having nannies, gardeners, maids, cooks, etc. It will just take some getting used to.
Monday, January 17, 2011
We're here!!!
After all of the chaos of packing up our old house, spending the holidays with family, and taking four children under the age of 8 on an airplane, we made it here safe and sound. Since then, the adventures have been no less stressful--a walk-in clinic trip for me for strep, a huge gash on our son's head after he tripped over his feet and ran into a desk at the credit union in the middle of Sony Pictures, of all places.... yeah, exciting stuff, I tell you. We are just thankful to all be here, to be in one piece, and to start our life here in LA.
We love the house we have here! It is smaller than our old house, but we never really needed all of that space anyway. I can see this one actually all being clean at once...someday. ;)
We have already been to the beach once (on Saturday we hit 80 degrees), and between the orange tree in our backyard and the fact that there are restaurants featuring every type of ethnic food imaginable within two miles of our house, we feel incredibly blessed to be here and are excited about the opportunities here.
Back to work... still unpacking. :)
We love the house we have here! It is smaller than our old house, but we never really needed all of that space anyway. I can see this one actually all being clean at once...someday. ;)
We have already been to the beach once (on Saturday we hit 80 degrees), and between the orange tree in our backyard and the fact that there are restaurants featuring every type of ethnic food imaginable within two miles of our house, we feel incredibly blessed to be here and are excited about the opportunities here.
Back to work... still unpacking. :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
We have an address!!!
Truck comes in 5 days, we leave in 7, and we arrive in LA after the first of the year... very excited!!!
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