Catching Up

The last few days have flown by in a haze of chaos, grief, and marvel at the irony of life.

Friday my maternal grandfather took a turn for the worse. He's suffered for years from Chronic Pulmonary Lung Disorder (CPLD), and for those of you not affected by the hazards of smoking, this is an awful thing to witness. Over the last few years he has slowly had a harder time trying to breath. He's been on oxygen for several years, suffered numerous bouts of pneumonia and now is on life support after ceasing to breath on his own. There is little to no hope of recovery and in my mind and heart I have told him goodbye.

Less than 24 hours after hearing this news I hosted a baby shower. It was bittersweet celebrating a new life while my grandfathers was coming to a close.

The baby shower was for Alex's previous teacher at his school. It's a Christian private school so when his engaged, but unwed teacher became pregnant she was let go. There was no warning for the students, parents or even the teacher herself. Alex loved her and it was quite an upset to deal with for him. His new teacher is also wonderful, don't get me wrong but we loved the teacher who's now gone. This baby shower was planned for a month and all the parents and kiddos from her class came together to show her how much she is missed. It was a wonderful afternoon and reminded me what a great teacher the school has lost. Alex had a blast having all his friends over, he shared his toys well and everyone enjoyed all the snacks. The adults all got a good laugh too when all the kids simulteanously started crying for different reasons. No worries though we brought out the cake and all was good!


My feelings on her dismissal are worthy of their own post so I'll just say that the Christian principles of acceptance, charity, and helping those in need should not be revoked at the very moment that someone needs them most.

This afternoon we stopped by the garden to see how things were going, make sure the timer was watering regularly and see if the recent hail storm caused any damage. Alex and I (Eric was not as verbally enthusiastic) were quite excited to see most of the plants were already sprouting. :)

The Camel Ate My Cranberries

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Yep you read that right, The Camel Ate Alex's Cranberries yesterday. Sentences like that make sleepless nights, long days at the office (well long days at the desk built into my kitchen :)), and the inevitable tantrums disappear. I love watching Alex grow and seeing his imagination at work. Just yesterday he warned my in-laws that their plants are food for camels, horses, and giraffes. And a few days before that we had a quick shoe shopping expedition turn into a hunt for dancing shoes*, and when we couldn't find those, running shoes.** I never know from one minute to another what's going to come out his mouth, and to be honest I encourage his imagination because I can't wait to hear what he comes up with next!

*His fave pick was a pair of black mary janes, boy did his daddy have a fit :).
**Not sure how preppy boating shoes are running shoes but for Alex if you can run in them, then they qualify for the name. He's nothing if not literal.

Taking Your Work Home

Telecommuting is a growing benefit that many companies are using to hire great employees and keep those that would have once had to leave the office to move or stay home. This video is a great example of a company that is ahead of the game.



Even better, set me up with one of these babies! I love the idea but am not sure if my two year old wouldn't view this as a part of his outdoor playset. Check out the latest in the 10 second commute. Office Pods

My Time

Hubby is upstairs doing the laundry (yes I know He ROCKS!), Alex is supposed to be in bed but I just heard him running around, and where am I...downstairs catching up on American Idol from last week enjoying a brief half hour of me time. The older I get, the more I feel less like the person I think I am. Cryptic huh? There are so many pulls on my time now between being Mommy, Housekeeper, Working Girl, and Wife. This half hour is my time to enjoy some of the things that make me the person I remember in my head but rarely get to see.

Blogging is something that has really let me decompress and unwind, think through thoughts that would sometimes get lost in daily shuffle, and most of all connect with other people who are like-minded. The past year we have dealt with Eric going gluten free, the trials and tribulations of Alex's second year, typical growing pains in our marriage, worries as the economy continued to spiral down, and most stressful of all, we purchased a new home but were unable to sell our old one. We are now landlords to great tenants but the worry never really goes away. Through all of this I have been able to come here and let myself vent, and de-stress. However regardless of how stressful things get there is comfort in knowing others have been there and gone through similar circumstances before.


There are some wonderful groups out there who help connect people with amazing blogs. 5 Minutes for Mom brings a smile to my face with their Ultimate Blog Party (how can I resist a party, even a virtual one :)). Click on the picture and see if you find something new and fun, and don't forget to sign up for some of their awesome prizes at the same time!

My Crazy Life

OK so maybe others lives are like mine but something tells me that most of you didn't have a crazy two year old sitting on your shoulders this morning stroking your face with his feet. Every time I screamed about the total gross factor in having anyone's feet that close to my face he laughed like a tiny narcissist and kept on. I finally booted him to the floor, let him veg on Handy Manny while I finished my yummy first cup of coffee and finished my latest Jen Lancaster book. Now I'm printing my gardening plan (thank you bhg.com for FABULOUS pre-made plans) and it's off to the community gardening center to plant this year's organic veggie garden.

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Keep your voice down, or don't get mad when I laugh at what you say

The technical age is taking over the world. With people talking, texting, and emailing all the day long, sometimes it's important to cut the cord and get away from it all. I try to do that every few weeks getting together with a good friend for coffee. We both bring our computers and spend a few hours working and chatting. Yesterday we tried a new coffee shop here in Austin called Summermoon Wood Fired Coffee (wow what an amazingly yummy drink I had :)). It was definitely outside of my suburban bubble, being on the south side of downtown. The area was charming, the coffee shop great if you don't count the 10 degree temperature swing that happened every 5 minutes as the AC kicked on and off.

About half way through our working coffee a group of ladies came in and took over the table immediatly behind me. Over the next half hour I was distracted from my work when I heard bits of their conversation that went something like this.
"Well, yes she was convicted of murdering her husband, but she only got probation"

My head snapped up and saw my friend looking at me with the same "did you hear that" expression. But it's none of my business so back to work.

"Yeah the poor thing handled having to wear shackles pretty well"

Hmmm this conversation might be more interesting than the training I'm updating...

"Oh I felt so sorry for her when she had to quit her job to go to jail"

Ok seriously? At this point I'm cracking up and wishing I had made a trip to the bathroom before two cups of coffee and my chatty neighbors.

No one glared at me (or I didn't notice while I was busy cracking up), but this reminded me of other funny situations where strangers overhear and interject on semi-private conversations. In high school I got a call from a friend who had recently been to the post office. She was having a conversation while waiting in line (a 45 minute endeavor on a good day) and a little old man behind her tapped her on the shoulder. She asked the person on the phone to hold on and turned to the old man who was a foot shorter than her. He smiled and told her "I wanted you to know that I can hear your conversation so you don't say anything too personal." Amused, she smiled, told him Thank You and went back to her conversation. Tap, tap, tap. Not nearly as amused the second time she turned back to the old man. "I'm not sure you understood me. I can hear everything your discussing." My friend said "Okay, thank you" and again tried to finish her conversation. Tap, tap, tap. At this point my friend is no longer amused, pretty impatient and starting to see red. She turned to the old man and said "The sooner you let me finish this conversation, the sooner you won't have to listen anymore. OK?" The old man smiled, pointed at the open counter spot and said "Your turn." Since then I make it a point to check the post office line for little old men before answering my cell phone in line.

Acceptance

Another site I frequent prompted all of us today to post about Children with Disabilities. March is Disabilities Awareness Month and it's a great time to reflect on both an important issue and a parenting challenge that is down the road for us.

Alex is still at that wonderfully innocent age where he doesn't notice any differences. All the kids in his class are his "brothers and sisters". He doesn't see cosmetic differences, ethnic differences or anything else. However as much as I would like to believe that day will never come I know there will come a time when the differences between himself and his peers raise questions for him. When that time comes I hope we can sit Alex down and not only tell him about all the differences that make everyone so special, but more importantly teach him the grace he'll need to truly accept others his whole life. Children are blessings but they come with responsibilities. I accept that my toddler has meltdowns, I understand that he has to have everything his way, I embrace his chaotic, temperamental personality, but I refuse to raise a self-obsessed boy who has too little regard for others. Yep I abosultely refuse...now to implement! :)

This month take a few moments and visit CVS and their site CVS Caremark All Kids Can to learn about the programs and work they are doing to help make this a better world for children with disabilities.