Daffodils

When I was little I used to get daffodils and dandelions mixed up. I knew they were both pretty flowers but I also knew one of them was a weed. Honestly, to this day I think a hand full of dandelions can be just as pretty as a bouquet of daffodils. My mother in law brought me these. I was thinking about giving her a bouquet of dandelions in a return bouquet, especially after the whole "you missed a few spots" upon viewing my children's freshly painted bedrooms. Maybe just a bouquet of poppy's to make her sleep......sleep.

The Basil dog can (mindless....don't read if you value your time)

I just love our pup Basil. It is pronounced Basil so as to rhyme with "spaz" for "spazil". We make up little songs for him. We really have lost our minds over this dog. He has the friendliest personality and creates a new adventure in our home daily. I always felt a little bit guilty moving to an apartment in New Jersey as I had felt I squashed his dreams. I would assume his dreams included catching a bird, a squirrel, and eating an entire pot roast all by himself. He showed his true worth while living in that apartment. One day a little bird came crashing down through the chimney. He had it within moments. It was fantastic. Later when we lived on the farm he showed his hunting prowess by grabbing a barn swallow that had been harassing him right from the air. It was just a warning...no one was hurt. It was his way of saying "hey, stop doing that, I could eat you if I wanted". The bird left him alone after that. Truth be known I think he is a little bit bored. Maybe I should run the vacuum to spice things up a little.

Neighbor Names

My husband and I have a nasty little habit of giving our neighbors names wherever we live. At our first home we had "shut up guy" He earned the name when he became frustrated with a barking dog one evening. We also had O.C.D guy, who had a very very, very, need I say very one more time clean yard with identical blades of grass and a white white car. Griswald was our neighbor with the Christmas decor including a hanging penguin on the flagpole. Now we have "Wayne". This morning we sat and ate hard boiled easter eggs while we looked out the patio door as our new neighbor was mowing, My husband decided to name him Wayne since we hadn't met him yet. Yes, he looks like a Wayne, so why not? The only real problem I see with this is that I called our neighbor "Maude" for several years due to my husbands naming thing. Poor "Maude" (later to be known by her real name "Helen") was too kind and gracious to ever let me in on the little secret while my husband giggled from afar. Dirty rotton trick if you ask me. Happy Easter!

Easter eggs

This morning we woke up and headed downstairs for some easter egg dyeing. I broke out the multi-colored fiesta mugs and the plastic tablecloth before carefully placing the children onto the TABLE. Wait, let me explain. We didn't have an old shower curtain. Did that explain anything? Hmmm....well, if not, that is all right. They had a great time. We had a great time.

Etsy

Well, I make so much stuff that I thought it would be best to make money while I make so much stuff. Check out my new Etsy shop with only 1 thing in it so far. My Etsy Shop

Online Shopping

The other day I was online shopping. I found this dress. It is going to magically find it's way into my closet. I'm not sure that it is cute but I just really like it! Earth friendly too. I hate when I fall in love with clothes and they just sit on my brain until I finally put them into the budget. Here is the earth friendly website. Gaiam

Minus one

Today is the anniversary of my due date with my firstborn daughter, stillborn daughter. It has been five years. This whole week is marked with anniversary's ranging from due date, death date, birth date, funeral date, and finally Easter. I have a difficult time making sense of this. I don't understand why it doesn't get easier. I know it creeps up on me like freight train carrying 20 amplifiers playing the loudest drudge anyone has ever heard and yet I am still surprised by the intense emptiness and the depth of loss I feel year after year. I look at my living children and I feel pure joy. I believe that knowing that extreme sense of joy contributes to the sense of loss, the sense of what I am missing in not having her here. I try to think about the good things that knowing her created in my life. I will hold my two little ones a little closer this week and try to think about the good things. I will count my blessings minus one.

I have a vision

Well, after a long evening in the living room with a years worth of Martha and Better Homes and Gardens I have a vision again. Whew. That was necessary. I broke out one of the Royal Dalton tea cup's and made a pot of green mandarin with a side of a half of a piece of VERY dark chocolate. I found this fantastic picture of a woman descending a staircase in a beautiful and decorated country house. She actually looked and dressed just like me....honestly. So much so that my husband actually said "is that you?". Nothing can brighten your day like your honey mistaking you for a magazine beauty. That feels good. Oh, and my tomatoes have sprouted. Garden Smack down is more than officially in the works. We actually have baby plants now sissy!!!! Now they just need to leave the warmth of the laundryroom and green up. The funk is so gone that I think I will go take a morning walk.