Moments of bliss amongst the stress...

We have been thrown into another unanticipated stressful time. This year has been a highly stressful one and again we are dealing with uncertainty financially and the stress of looking for a job and the shift of priorities when we thought we were on secure footing.

The stress levels are high and I worry about my family and what will happen in the coming months.

BUT.  There were a few things that happened this weekend that made me realize that there are things this family can and will endure...because we are strong and love each other.  The moments I wanted to write down now were ones I would have forgotten over time and I want to remember--but they are even more important to document now because I will need to hold on to them during difficult times ahead...

Moment #1:  I hear singing from an unusual source.  My son doesn't sing out loud.  Ever.  But there he is, singing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Octopus's Garden on Beatles Rock Band.  Loudly and with abandon.   I love him and I love the Beatles.

Moment #2: She wanted to just cuddle.  The girl who is in perpetual motion and giggles.  She and I just sat on the couch and she snuggled me.  It reminded me of the times she was a baby and I would just hold her and breathe her in.  I wanted the moment to last and last...I ignored things that needed to be done...we are having a lazy Sunday...and she is cuddling with me.

Moment #3: We are in the car and he is sitting beside me.  I have grabbed a Beatles CD in hopes that he will enjoy it with me.  He pops the CD in, skips to some songs he wants...and I hear him singing under his breath.  I sing too, just a few bars (He usually hates me singing).  We sit in the car and he sings and I listen.  Let It Be brings me to tears as I think that this teenager just had an awful time last night feeling like he is a "freak" and could not be comforted...and yet, today we sing Let It Be and I want him to know that it will be okay.  It will be okay.

Moment #4: We are all in the house on a lazy Sunday.  She is playing quietly, he is doing homework, Chewy is playing a video game.  I fix up a picture frame and do a few household things.  We are home and while not completely happy, we are comfortable and with each other.  And I realize that this is something I am grateful for.


Decided to add this to the Perfect Moments Blog Hop...please go see other Perfect Moments...

Best Part of Back to School Night...

Last night we went to Willow's Back to School night.  It was the usual rush of parents and teachers.  Each teacher had a Powerpoint presentation about how the day goes.

It was interesting to see how some things have changed, some have remained the same.

Willow has the same Kindergarten teacher as Michael did.  (She did not seem to be older--yet, we are!?)

Her teacher went through her presentation (with a stop through to the schools web page--so we could be shown where to put our kids pin number for access--yep, that was different from last kindergarten).

The best part of back to school night though was when she started showing slides of the kids in her class doing some of the activities she was talking about.  One slide showed a little boy and a little girl doing something for science...and as I looked at that little boy thinking "he looks familiar", the teacher said--does someone look familiar in this picture, Mr. and Mrs. _______?   Yes.  That was our son in her class oh so many years ago.  (I made sure to point out to the other parents there that that boy is now a freshman in high school...)

And Now....CELL PHONE DUMP II - the revenge of the seasons changing!

Yes, this was at the beginning of Spring! (the year has zipped by!)

Hey, I took a picture of the first pony tail I did that did not suck!

On the Cape at Ben & Jerrys

This girl--she be left handed!  (Talked to teacher about that last night.  She is one of three lefties in the class--and the teacher is a Leftie too!)

My girl likes to pose.

Yep.

Teenager in the band!  First High School band function--Friday night Football game!

First School Project

Michael and I have it down.  

He shows me the paper which says what the project is and when it is due. 

I tell him that he needs to do a little bit of the project each day to get it done.  I nag him.  He does bits of the project.

He comes to me for suggestions, then rejects them and comes up with his own.  

The night before the project is due--he still has some more to do...mainly the big honking display part.  (You know, the part he is not that good at doing and needs help with).  And then I spend the evening helping him out.

This time was much more fun!  And we did it pretty quickly.

The display is supposed to be about things that represent you (Michael) as a person.

Michael wrote paragraphs about how comics and horror reflect his personality.

And we decorated a shoe box with figures and comics.

Pretty cool!

GRAB(ook) Club Discussion - The Hunger Games

This month's book was one that I really was not sure about.  I had actually read parts of it before because my son had to read it for school last year (in middle school).

It was hard for me to get past some other road blocks, though--my son had read the book and wanted to see the movie--so, I saw the movie, BEFORE I read the book (very unlike me).

Because the writing was a bit pedestrian, it was hard for me to imagine the book for myself without being influenced by the movie.  It did detail some things that made the movie richer for me, but I struggled to be able to shut the movie from my mind completely.

My question:

Do you tend to read the book and then see the movie?  And how do you separate these two interpretations?  For Hunger Games, had you already read the book and then seen the movie or did you see the movie and read the book?  Do you think they left out too much from the book?


After you answer my question, please click over to read the rest of the book club questions for The Hunger Games.  You can get your own copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins at bookstores including Amazon.

Cell Phone Dump

When we go anywhere significant I usually use my digital camera (especially since my cell phone was having issues for a while), but every so often, my camera is not at the ready...

Swans outside a doctor's appointment.  I was alone and sat watching them for a few moments.

Outside our motel in Rockport on Labor Day Weekend...one of the few moments of blue skys.

At a restaurant waiting for lobster. 

Lately she has been a HAM.

In Rockport.

Later that day--getting wet!

Out to breakfast.

Having ice cream with her buddies from Preschool on their last day.

Yep...kids are ready for Kindergarten!  All sugared up!

Ana with a SCARY Halloween decoration!

Michael and Kif.

Willow knows the definition of "photo bomb" way to well.

This is weekend wear!

She lined up stuffed toys in her bookshelf.

Notes from the first few days

Willow: "You packed me a snack, but not lunch. I had no lunch!" 

Me: (I start wondering if she had lunch--I did pay for school lunch electronically, but the payment may have not gotten in the system yet--she did not have a pin until the day before..)  "So, did you have lunch?"

Willow: "No, you did not pack it!  They made me go to the line and get food!"

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Michael: "I have some documents for you to sign."

Me: "Should we go over them?"  (they were mostly signing off for guidelines of class, etc.)

Michael: "Well, lets just fill them out."  "Okay, maybe we should go through them." "Oh, and I was supposed to read a [specific] book over the summer."

So, because we went on vacation and were very pro-active with the schools about how he was going to miss Move Up day...they made sure NOT to tell us they were handing out a book that needed to be read over the summer.  [sigh]

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Random - Willow had a few scrapes from the playground; Michael had trouble logging into his computer animation computer because he is the only freshman; Willow and I already had a small disagreement about what to wear; I like the commute of pick up and drop off much better!

FOUR band-aids!  (it was not too bad the next day)

First Day of School - 2013

This is definitely a different type of First Day of School morning...more scattered, more relaxed (a bit), a bit apprehensive.  (What I mean on the more relaxed--NO ONE wanted to get up on time...and parental units do not have to rush around for work--we told work we were going to be late this morning.)

Two kids going to school.  Huh.

One being a high schooler, meaning I am trying to not be too hands on; one being a kindergartner--the start of letting go (but just a bit).

Instead of my normal routine of pictures (oh my gosh how he has grown and changed over the years!), I changed my focus of pictures to just recording what I could in this chaotic morning.

Michael's bedroom this morning.  (I am not going to go into the various symbolisms of childhood here and how they are being left behind...no, I will not!)

Some of his new clothes.

She.is.not.a.morning.person.

See above caption.

Dressed, having breakfast and watching Riff Trax...almost like a typical morning here!

Brush your hair!

Off he goes!

Only a few tears as I drove off.

One kid is off...as I write this, one kid is watching My Little Ponys. 

Too Many Good-Byes This Year...Good Bye Gabby.

The last few weeks we had noticed that Gabby was becoming reclusive.  She had some type of hard mass on her chest.  Talking it over with some friends who have cats and reading about it, we thought that perhaps she was just showing signs of old age, that the mass was fatty deposits that cats sometimes get when they grow old.  

But this week--she was looking thinner and shabbier.  The last few days we started seeing her breathe heavy.  So we made a vet appointment.  We could not take her in right away--the soonest appointment was today at 3:30 p.m.  

So, we went on our little mini-vacation to Rockport (our good-bye to summer) and came back and took her to the vet.

Where they found that the hardening was mammary cancer.  That had progressed to her lungs.  The vet said there was nothing we could have done.  The conclusion would be the same--chemo isn't too successful on lung cancer in cats.  

She was obviously in pain.  It was time.

Luckily, we were all there.  We thought the kids would want to be away--but in the end they came in to say good-bye too.  (Willow in a Snow White costume--how funny to associate that to this time)

I held her and we stroked her head.  We told her how much we loved her.  We talked about how we wish she could talk and tell us about her adventure last summer when she ran away for three weeks!  We remembered the many times she was a comfort to us and we let her go.

She was our first family cat.  She was Michael's first pet that he cared for.  

We will miss you, Gabby.