Ben & Jerry's No More

I have finally allowed myself to come to the realization that Ben & Jerry's icecream is no longer the same as it was before they sold the company. I have bought a few pints, each one with it's own unique problem, very little chunks, too watery, not creamy enough. It is so sad and dissapointing. I love Cherry Garcia and have for years. It is the one standby feel good comfort food that I always would turn to when I needed that extra something when life was not so good. It's gone, all gone. The current company is in denial or atleast trying to convince the rest of us that it is still the same B&Js. I am soooo not convinced. Don't worry about me, I will move on. There is a new creamery out of Brateboro, VT that looks promising. I will let you know.

Over the past few months I have learned a few things. I learned that a baby toe is really important to your stability but most importantly I learned that a career outside the home does not compare to one in the home. I learned that money is not more important than peace of mind. I also learned that money is nice to have but it is only temporary and can only buy temporary happiness. One thing that I already knew but was brought to the forefront these past few months is how important it is for me to be a full-time wife and mom. I really learned how hard it is to work full-time out of the home and try to maintain sanity in the home. In my experience, the two can not exist. I'm not sure how people do it. I learned that I can not give my husband and my children what they need while working. It is just not possible. I only have so many hours in a day and if I spend the best part of it giving my energy to something other than my family I have nothing left. I'm empty emotionally and physically. I think above all else, I have learned how wonderful it is that I have a husband that sees the value of being at home as much as I do.

Where did the summer go?!

I can not believe that the summer is virtually over. I feel like I just blinked and it went bye-bye. My life gets so crazy that I look forward to the lazy days of summer to relax but in reality the summers push into over-drive with all the activities. We had soccer practice with a game once a week. We had Camp Good News, we had Vacation Bible School, violin lessons, vacation to Camp Damp, a weekend trip to Story Land, church meetings,barbecues, pool parties, job interviews,day trips, house renovations, the list can go on and on. Now the summer is over. My pool lay still and merky. No longer do we hear the hum of the filter working over time in the heat. The mornings are cool and damp and the nights are getting longer. I noticed there are blotches of red and yellow on some maple trees leaves. Normally I am ready for the fall with all the its seasonal fun but this year is different. I really can't explain it other than I feel like a chunck of time was stolen from me. Like I was in a coma and just woke up. I guess I will adjust and make the most of it. I think I need to learn to say no more and slow down and enjoy the moment. My kids are growing up in front of my eyes, I just can't believe it. I suppose that is what upsets me the most. I see them growing up before me and there is nothing I can do to stop it, I am helpless to slow it down. I relate to that old commercial for the Latter Day Saints. The one where the woman is being wheeled out of the hospital with her new baby girl in her arms and looks behind her down the hall and sees her girl growing up in front of her. I mean, that commercial was on the tv when I was very young and it impacted me so much that I remember it and feel it to my core today. It is so true. I guess I will stop writing and go snuggle with me kids while they still let me.

Lesson in Being a Better Parent

Last night we went to my daughter's school production of Peter Pan. It was so hot and sticky and sitting shoulder to shoulder with other hot and sticky people made it almost unbearable. Evelyn was in the chorus. She had three songs to sing with several other students so she was not a main character by any means. It was a typical school play, kids forgetting their lines and cues plus worst of all they were not speaking loud enough for everyone to hear them. I thought it was going to be a long night. But I just thought about what a Christian speaker said once about being a parent. He said that it is not important that YOU are watching the play as it is that your child SEES you in the audience watching the play. SO in the end, it's not about me. It is about supporting my girl. Lesson learned.

Stinky Beagle Strikes Twice

I don't understand it. I have had my beagle since he was 5 weeks old. It is not like we just got him. He has been house broken for a long time but the past two days in a row he pooped in the house. I know that he is not sick and is not having accidents. So what is his deal! He is a typical dumb dog but when it comes to pooping in the house he is no dummy. Normally when I leave the house in the morning I am gone atleast an hour so when I come home he is sooo happy to see me that he meets me at the door. Well the little piglet was no where to be seen the other day and I knew something was up. If he does something wrong like get into the garbage or chew up one of the kids toys, he'll go down into the cellar where his kennel is kept. He knows that is where he will go to be punished. So anyway, I looked down cellar and sure enough he was in it. It did not take long to figure out why. So I slowly tipped toed around the cellar to be sure I did not step in anything and sure enough a pile of poop was behind the couch as if I might never know. He must of thought he was clever. So he spent half of the day in his kennel as punishment. He did not make a peep because in his own doggy way, he knew he deserved it. Well, then today he did not even wait for me to leave. I was in the kitchen and smelled something foul. Immediately I yelled,"BINGO"! He put his ears down and headed for the cellar. I followed behind, looked in the same spot as yesterdays pile but nothing. He thought that he might pull a fast one and confuse me. He left his stinky stuff in the laundry room. SO again I put the dumb dog in the kennel where he spent all morning. I am hoping that he will learn his lesson and go poop outside. I don't know what to do.

Outdoors in Northern New England

Here in Northern New England it takes awhile for the weather to catch up with the calendar but after a long winter it has finally turned into spring. My family has been enjoying the summer-like weather by spending time outdoors. When I say outdoors, I don't mean "The Great Outdoors" or the wilderness or the woods as one might think. But here in this part of New Hampshire we call outside the outdoors. Don't know why, we just do. Just like the driveway is referred to as the door yard. I guess it has something to do with going out the door, through the door, out there, not indoors as we refer to the inside of a house or building. It is funny, I use these terms a lot and don't often think twice about it. I suppose the people I am talking to understand and use the same words. If I had to sit here and think about all the New Englandisms I use, I probably could not come up with any until I actually use them and someone who is either a english major or a city slicker would have to point them out. They are such a part of me now I really don't know the difference. I remember being a kid and picking on my mom for using certain phrases or words because I thought they sounded dumb or ignorant. But now that I am older I see how it is part of our culture and history and charm and that it has nothing to do with one's intelligence. I am sure there are still plenty of people from the big city who laugh at us in a condescending way, but I don't care. I will continue to embrace phrases like, "For corn-sakes!" Whatever that means, but my mom said it all the time so it must be important.

The Joy of experiencing your child's triumphs

There is nothing like being witness to your child succeeding at something. Tonight my daughter won first place in a local writing contest for her grade level. There is just something about being in a crowd of people and having your child singled out for their accomplishments. When her name was called it was so exciting, to see the look of sheer joy on her face and to meet her eyes from across the room and to give her the nod and wide grin of approval instinctively know what she is thinking and to communicate with each other only with our eyes and facial expressions but knowing exactly what we are saying. All of the emotions all at once brought tears to my eyes. Happy tears. I am so proud of her.

America's Next Top Model Junkie

I don't know if it's the gorgeous girls, Tyra or the drama that keeps me glued to my set but I sure am hooked! I happened to catch an episode of last season's Top model show and from then on I can't miss a one. This season I have a love hate with Jade. I really was turned off by her at the beginning of the season but now I'm kind of impressed with her. I guess I feel like she has so much passion about modeling and that this is probably her last real chance being she is the ripe old age of 26. Five minutes until tonights show starts...gotta go!

I WANT A POOL!!

Call me selfish, I know I am but what are you? Just kiddin, about you, that is. Lately I have been obsessed with wanting an above ground pool in my backyard. I have been having fantasy's while standing at my sink doing dishes while gazing out back. Bing Crosbys', Mele kalikimaka going through my brain and envisioning my whole family enjoying a fun-filled afternoon in the pool. Aaaaaahhhhh...You see, I live in the heart of New England. If you are not familiar with where or what New England is let me give you a brief description. New England consists of 6 states that are located in the most North Eastern part of the United States, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Conneticut. Because of where I am located winter lasts about 6 months out of the year but the short summer months are quite unbearably hot and humid. Hence the pool. I absolutely loathe going to the beach. First of all, I hate having to pack up all the things we would possibly need to survive a day in the sand and sun. I don't appreciate sand in my food, shoes or bathing suit.I prefer not to use large public restrooms at all costs especially ones that the floors are permently wet. I hate swimming in a place where the bottom is unknown and creatures are scurrying around your feet. Last year my 4 year old son came home with a leech on his foot. It still gags me thinking about it. Most of all I hate having to parade around in a bathing suit in front of a million strangers. I am sure I don't have to elaborate on that one. Can I get an AMEN! Anyway, a pool would be the perfect solution. I have a large, private back yard with a deck that lends itself to having a pool. That takes care of the whole world seeing me in my had-one-to-many-kids swim suit. The pool would be conviently located by my kitchen, bathroom and house for that matter. No packing or driving required. That is a big plus with the way gas prices are these days and the fact that I have a SUV which is perfect for New England weather but not so good on effincency. Another bonus about having a pool in my opinion is you can see the bottom of the pool through the sparkely blue goodness so not only do we see the bottom of the pool we also know what is swimming around in it. So there, I have it all figured out. The only problem is that my husband does not see it the same way. I can't say I blame him. He has a lot of good reasons why we should wait atleast another year on getting a pool. Matter of fact he has as many reasons not to than I have to get one. This is where my selfishness comes in. His list goes something like this. Pools cost a lot of money, blah, blah, blah. We really need new windows instead, blah, blah, blah, the bathroom plumbing has a leak, blah, blah, blah. The electrical needs updating, blah, blah, blah. We owe money to the government, blah, blah, blah. Must I go on. Can you actually believe those lame'o excuses! Sigh...Sniffle..well, I guess I could go to the beach, it's really not THAT bad.

This is all new to me

Hi, I just got done reading my brothers blog and thought how cool it was that you could actually have an on-line journal for all to read. Call me naive but I really had no idea that these places existed. Sure, I have heard people talk about blogs, and heard references to blogs on tv but I really had no idea what it was and was sure that it would be something I would not be interested in. Most certainly I thought it was a place a married, Christian woman should not be caught fooling around on. Well with all that said, here I am.