Aunt Fran may you rest in peace.

When Aunt Fran entered the room everyone knew it! She had an infectious laugh that at times made me wonder why I was laughing along with her. But I couldn't help but laugh with my Aunt Fran.

In my world Aunt Fran enjoyed sharing her secrets and was good at keeping mine. She was brave, always spoke her mind, yet had a soft heart. She gave the best hugs, made the best cookies, and always had a candy dish filled with mints by the door. She even had a few tricks up her sleeve (along with her handkerchief which if I remember correctly, wasn't exactly up her sleeve)! In fact, for years she had me convinced that she could actually pop her teeth out with her tongue and put them back in! Ha! Aunt Fran always had a story to tell. (At times it would be a story that I heard many times, but that didn't matter.)

I thought it was the greatest that my Aunt Fran owned a country store. I adored spending time with her there. It was a safe place to study people from afar and feel warm when I really needed a safe place to feel warm.

One Christmas, Aunt Fran suggested that I go Christmas shopping there. Wow! I felt so proud to have bought my family gifts. Funny thing is...I only remember one of the presents. I picked a back scratcher for my Uncle Cliff. Aunt Fran lovingly devoted that afternoon teaching me how to properly wrap each of the gifts. I wasn't the best student, but she didn't seem to mind.

My Aunt Fran could juggle mixing spoons, crack eggs and yell at the dog all at the same time! As a young girl, I marveled at how her hands didn't hurt when she touched something hot, and how she swiftly traveled on her crutch after Shadow (the dog) when he misbehaved. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of that crutch. I never was, however, she knew how to keep me in line. Her facial expressions and tone of voice were a clear indication that she somehow knew when I snuck a snack, or slipped out of church early. (How did she do that?) If she called me, "Kelly-Ann," I knew I was in for it. But she wouldn’t be cross for long, and I always knew that she loved me, and I loved her too.

I cherish the days that we shared. Just thinking about her gigantic hugs and her cunning smile as she recited (yet again) the famous story of how she wouldn't let me turn three unless I stopped wearing diapers makes my heart ache a little. But I am truly grateful to have spent these moments with my Aunt Fran. And each time that I wrap a present or eat a mint, or even slip out of church early, I will think of her and hope that she is still laughing and telling her stories.
　

From Our Home to Yours...

Merry Christmas!

12-14-12

Why? Why!? Those sweet children! We could blame domestic disputes, video games, guns, mental illness...it doesn't matter. It will never make sense. A disturbed person did this. As a mother, my heart is bleeding, as a human being my heart bleeds as well, on behalf of the witnesses...I pray. 

Get Into The Groove...

Going back to work after 17 years as a stay at home mom has been extremely exciting as well as challenging. When I was home full time, along with parenting, my job was to ensure that the house ran smoothly. (Who am I kidding...things were rarely “smooth” but I was pretty good at faking it.) If something was missing, I inevitably knew exactly where it was, because I most likely put it there. "Mom! Have you seen my harmonica?" "It's in the bottom drawer of the desk under the extra felt from your project!" Naturally, the kids always had chores, but keeping the house in order was my domain. I had devised a system over the years that worked fairly well. Having order made our home less chaotic, and I liked that. Needless to say, all bets were off this fall when I began working again, and I needed more than a Madonna song to get me back into the groove.




The mound of stinky sports equipment topped off with scattered dance bags, half full water bottles, combined with overflowing backpacks and straggling lunch boxes, not to mention notices from three different schools (that need to be filled out right away!!) was wearing thin on me. After weeks of ending my days feeling completely aggravated and exhausted, I realized my mistake. I was attempting to cram my old routine into less time and failing miserably. So, after thinking about it, as I baked cookies for yet another bake sale, it dawned on me that I needed to change my "system."



The first area that needed improvement was multitasking. You would think a mother of five would excel at this, but not me. I prefer to concentrate on one thing at a time and get it right, but this isn't practical for our family. Hence, I began washing the shower walls while waiting for the conditioner to condition in the morning, quizzing for spelling tests while sorting laundry and making dinner, making phone calls while supervising the kids playing outside. These steps seemed to help, but since folding laundry at soccer practice isn’t practical and peeling potatoes while driving is even more dangerous than texting, I needed to ask for more help. This was a problem because I am a terrible delegator. You see, I like things done a certain way, so it was just easier to do it myself. Nevertheless, an overwhelmed mom is no fun for anyone. I had to resist the temptation to redo the kids work and live with it.



My first attempt was when I asked my son Zachary to empty and load the dishwasher. (It was my daughter Emily's week, but she was sick.) He initially complained, "I don't mind unloading mom, but I can't stand loading it." My reply, "I can't stand scrubbing the toilets Zach, but it needs to get done." Guess what? He did it without further complaint. I confess that I did jam some more dishes in when he left the room, but I didn't rearrange his work, I promise! I also relinquished the duty of putting the groceries away to the kids. (Consequently I have no idea where anything is anymore.) Also, they each have a room to "keep clean." And believe it or not, I even have a girl that does windows...our daughter Lindsey.



I then decided our youngest needed to get into the mix. I asked Allyson (our five year old) to sweep the kitchen floor for me. (Boy was she thrilled.) I handed her the broom and went about my business. A few moments later I returned to an empty kitchen. I was initially impressed, but as I made my way deeper into the room I noticed a pile of crumbs and various samples of breakfast cereal in the center of the room. Normally I would have finished the job for her, but since I was turning over a new leaf, I called my little friend in and asked her why she didn’t finish sweeping. She innocently replied, “I did Mom, did you see all of the stuff that I found?” I gazed back into those proud blue eyes of hers and smiled as I reached for the dust pan. Note to self…be specific when asking for help.



So even though I occasionally step on an overlooked cheerio, and I have no idea where the croutons are, it's okay! Collectively, we are all into a groove of our own. As a result I am a bit more relaxed by the end of the day and am very proud of my staff of helpers.









FYI: If you have a dust allergy I recommend you call at least twenty four hours in advance before visiting us.

A Quick Update

Lots have happened since I last checked in. I got a job for next year! That was a funny story...

My first job interview in 20 years and I woke up with an allergic reaction to a new moisturizer! I had run out of my usual cream the night before, and without thinking I grabbed one of those little sample packets they hand out at stores. (That was a bad decision!) When I woke up on the morning of my interview, my stomach was in knots! Then when I caught a glimpse of my inflamed red rashy face, I nearly fainted. Since my churning belly couldn't tolerate waiting. I decided to down some Benedryl and go to the interview. My friend suggested that it would be a good ice breaker...explaining that I don't normally look like the elephant Woman! And I guess it worked! I got the job on the spot! I will be teaching at a new Montessori school in our area. I am so excited!

The kids are all well. Emily sustained a concussion playing lacrosse, but is recovering well. She has had a spectacular year at school! Ryan is finishing up strongly with school and played his first season of volleyball (which he loved…glad he decided not to return to rugby!). Zachary, Neil and Ryan just returned from a long weekend of baseball. Boy does he adore baseball! Lindsey is having a great year at school and has made lots of new friends. She is becoming such a beautiful person! And I am enjoying my last year at home with Allyson before she heads off to kindergarten next year. She turned 5 three weeks ago! She is such a sweet little girl!

Here is a recent picture of the kids... 

Gosh I love the things children say!

Emily, Allyson and I went to a specialty store the other day to buy a new leotard for Em. As we were backing out of the parking spot another car went whizzing by just missing us. Allyson instantly blurts, "Oh for Pete's STEAK...That was a close one!"

LOL...I just had to write it down before I forgot. She also says...

"I am scaring at you," instead of staring. Hee he. I remind the other kids not to correct her, she will figure it out on her own some day.

Zach used to say Burber King instead of burger. And Ryan would call spaghetti skebby skebby? I recall feeling a little sad when they got the words correct. Is that weird?

Please share your own cute little blurbs, I would love to hear them.

Onstar Commercial

I automatically turn on the radio when I work in the kitchen. If it’s music, I dance like a fool and if I am lucky I may even gain a dance partner. If it’s talk radio, it’s extremely likely that I will talk back to the person on the radio as if they can hear me. This can be confusing for my family.

“What are you talking about Mike?” I shout at the radio.
“Who is Mike and where is he?” one of the kids will most likely say to another.
“It’s just mom talking to the man on the radio again.”
“Oh.”

Even the commercials get me going. Have you heard the most recent Onstar commercial? They replay an actual recording of a young woman that has just been in a car accident and she is 8 months pregnant. She sounds fairly calm at the beginning of the conversation, but near the end she sounds completely panicked because she can’t find her cell phone to call her husband. With her permission the kind and collected Onstar lady contacts the husband and we hear the husband and wife's emotional conversation. They are both distraught! The call ends when the distressed husband (Eddie) stutters, “I, I, I will be right there baby!”



Well…is she okay? Is the baby okay? Don’t you think they should have an update of some kind?

I have heard this commercial several times and it tugs (rips at) my heart strings every time.