Although 2008 was fun, we're looking forward to the 2009 adventures that are waiting for us! Happy New Year, friends!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Many thanks to my Tuesday class for this great bulletin board:

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Warm Holiday Wishes from the Haney Family

Don't worry about getting the perfect gift
or if everything is decorated just so -
The real reason for the season
can only be found in your heart.
Spend time with your loved ones,
share a few hugs and much laughter -

Those are the true moments
that are remembered for years to come!
Merry Christmas, friends!

The Birthday Party for Jesus

Okay, so this incident happened before she fractured her elbow. I've had the pictures and the story but I didn't get a chance to post. I hope this brings you a warm holiday smile.

The day before we unpacked her Little People Manger Scene that we gave her last Christmas. So it was pretty much new to Julia. Now, I've always been in love with the Little People (even when Eric was a baby) so this is as much fun to me as it is to Julia. It's a great set and I love the fact that it plays "Away in Manger" when you press on the Angel that sits on top of the stable. Every house should have one for the holidays :)

Anyway, as I was curled-up on the couch checking email and finishing my morning cup o' joe the next day; I was able to listen to her play with the set. She was creating a birthday party for Jesus. "It's time for your party" "I going to make a cake" "Do you want to come to the party?" Before I knew it she had taken my decorative snowman and added him to the party. Then she turns to me and says "Have to get ready for Jesus Birthday Party, bye!"

Okay, that's sweet. At least she's listening to her teacher at school. At least she's listening to me as I read her "The Real Christmas Story". But now it gets comical.

I exited the family room and went into the kitchen to clean-up from breakfast. I overheard her in the playroom talking about the party and how she needs to make a cake. As I was cleaning the table she walked up to me and said "Mama, here's the birthday cake for Jesus! I'm ready for the party" And here is what I saw -

Happy Birthday, Luci!

Here's a birthday wish to my dear friend, Luci. We met Spring 1996 semester and have been a part of one another's lives ever since. She's one of those who I can be myself around (good, bad and very ugly) and for some strange reason she still loves me. Her life has been an amazing journey so I encourage you to read her blog. In fact, she's the reason I decided to start this crazy train! Happy birthday, dear friend!

Mama said...

...there'd be days like this:

These are the days that being a Mom really stinks. When your child is in pain and there is nothing you can do to make it stop.

Last night while I was driving to my staff Christmas dinner I got a phone call from home. When I answered all I heard was Julia's screaming on the other end. Apparently while riding her big tricycle in the kitchen she wrecked. Her inner upper lip was bloody and she was favoring her left arm. But since she could still move her arm, we thought nothing of it. She did get up several times during the night with an "ouchie arm".

This morning she was still favoring the arm and asking for a band aid. However when I approached her with a band aid, she didn't want me to touch her arm. And then there was the fact that she didn't want to do anything except cuddle on the couch. Huh? This is not my constantly curious daughter.

Thankfully I was able to get a doctor's appointment at Noon. When the nurse asked her what happened she stated "I wrecked on my motorcycle. Papa sang to me". (side note: I had no idea about the singing. When I called Steve after the appointment he confirmed that yes, he did semi-sing to her. How sweet!) After her exam it was decided that she needed x-rays. So...off to the Radiology Associates.

We sat for an hour waiting for Julia's turn. She sat on my lap the entire time, talking here and there. She asked what we were doing. I told her we were waiting to get pictures taken of her ouchie arm. "Ok, Mama. I get pictures of my arm ouchie". When it was time, she politely announced to the waiting room "I get my arm ouchie picture!". At least a bit of her spirit came through! She was a champ during the x-rays. Because of her bravery, she earned two Tinkerbell stickers, a purple star ring and a green bracelet.

It was determined that she had a bubble fracture on her humerus bone. Thank goodness it wasn't a break! Our nurse practitioner was able to get us a last minute appointment with a pediatric orthopedist. Because she is such a busy girl and we didn't want it to end-up breaking, the orthopedist decided a cast was in order.

Our nurse was fabulous and got her to laugh when he told her about his cats. He did give me some crap about wearing my Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt (he was wearing Redskins scrubs) but that's what happens when people are jealous - right?! Anyway, he gave her a choice of green, orange, pink or purple for her cast. She firmly chose purple. At first she thought it was neat. Then it started to get hard. Then came the "Band aid off, please" request. Oh, well. The cast will be removed on January 2.

Right now the only thing we can do is cuddle (the cats have camped around her) on the couch and give her Tylenol. Whew...it's going to be a long three weeks. We keep telling her that she has a really cool band aid and that we are so proud of how good she was today. She was such a trooper.

This past spring it was two stitches at the corner of her mouth. Now it's the fracture. My nerves are just starting to calm themselves. As my friend Teri says "I just want to wrap them in Bubble Wrap". These are the times when it is so hard to be a Mom. When your heart goes on your sleeve. When you try not to cry because you want to be strong for them. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Exhaustion

Maybe it was the migraine, the lack of proper diet and sleep; but the past few days I felt like I was walking thru a thick fog. Nothing seemed to perk my interest. Even Chris Berman's "Fastest 3 Minutes" didn't make me smile. My class this morning was exceptionally good. But I still felt like I was in a fog.

Then I went to Natalie's house so she could torture me again with Bosu Ball and crunches. My physical balance is starting to get better but my emotional balance is lop-sided. In the middle of my training session, Julia did something that snapped me out of the fog. As I was finishing the session with crunches, she came over to me. She laid her head on my chest and patted me on my head. She then popped her head up, kissed me and went to the medicine ball to do her own exercises. It was literally 30 seconds. Immediately my grumps turned to a grin.

After we got home she was a sweety. We shared cookies as we watched 'Sesame Street' and 'Curious George'. She pulled her blanket across my legs. I need to capture these moments so that I can remember them when I'm done for the day - and it's only 10 am. Being a Mom is so hard but heartfelt times like the ones we had today make it all worth it. Hopefully we can have a good day "toonarlow" (Julia's word for "tomorrow").

PS - Success! Julia's been going to the potty for one whole week. Thanks, Grammy and Tinkerbell :)

Comfort and Joy

So the Thanksgiving holiday didn't go exactly as planned. Julia decided to nix any type of sleep. I ate too much. Steve enjoyed many Yuenglings and cleared leaves with Jerry. And then my migraine arrived Friday afternoon. Unfortunately I'm still feeling the leftovers from that killer. My January lesson plans still aren't finished, I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to see, I ate too much and slept too little. Grump, grump, grump.

However, it was so nice to be in a comfort zone. Although it wasn't my legal address growing up, I was home - the place where I spent a lot of time growing up. I can be me there. I can have conversations about life and receive honest, heartfelt advice. Julia is loved because who she is and not because she is the "granddaughter". Love my child, not the label or ideal of "granddaughter". Needless to say I didn't see any of my biological family. It was nice not to have to worry about it. It was nice to be free of that burden. Especially since I felt like crap for the last half of the visit.

Anyway...it took me a long time to realize that safe havens are important necessities in life. Feeling comfortable in your own skin is important to your well being. That's why I love going 'home'. I have a bad day and it's okay. No one tries to provoke me. No one tries to make me feel bad because they are having a bad day. My soul feels safe. Do you know where your soul feels safe? Good for you if you can think of a place. Just make sure you don't forget it's there and visit it frequently :) Peach (from Finding Nemo) said it best when Darla was banging on the tank: "Find a happy place, find a happy place, find a happy place!"

Now it's time to celebrate Christmas. Thanksgiving is over. Replace Fall decorations with festive Christmas and Winter glitz. I'm ready to break out my snowmen army. Steve's ready for the chocolate mess-ups from my Christmas orders (shameless plug for www.sweettidings.com). Oh, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Make sure you find time for your comfort and joy (your happy place)!

Many Blessings

Many blessings to you and your family. Eat a lot, laugh much and watch football :)

A Mozzarella Snowman, A Refrigerator Doctor and A Bottle Leaf Blower

It's obvious that I love our daughter's imagination. Now that she's a non-stop talker we get to hear her take on life. We make sure we engage her in imagination conversation and play. It's a lot of fun to view what's inside her little mind.

Last winter we ordered pizza and an antipasti salad from our favorite Italian place, Tony's. The salad had everything, meats, marinated veggies and an assortment of cheeses. When we placed the salad on the table, Julia immediately said "Mama! Papa! Snowman!" Now, if you've ever seen our house during Christmas/Winter you know that it is a snowman haven. So it wasn't too much of a surprise that she was telling us that a snowman was in the area. But she kept saying it and pointing to the salad. So we moved it closer to her. Sure enough there was a snowman. The circular fresh mozzarella was sliced on top of the salad and arranged like a snowman. The next few antipasti salad orders after that night contained a snowman but she has since moved on to "Mama, Papa, more yummy cheese please".

During our fridge/freezer fun this past week I was in the middle of a conversation that went something like this (while I was washing the shelves and Steve as at work):

J: "Mama, Papa has an ouchie"
H: "Oh, he does? Where is his ouchie?"

J: "Papa has an ouchie toe. It's very ouchie"

H: "Oh dear. Does Papa need a band-aid?"

J: "No. Papa needs to go to the doctor."

H: "Are you going to drive him to the doctor?"

J: "No. Papa goes to the doctor in the refrigerator."

Update: I still haven't found the doctor that apparently is in the refrigerator. But I'll keep looking...

Yesterday afternoon was a good day to stay inside and gather leaves. Yes, I typed that correctly. Apparently our living room was in need of a good leaf blowing. She commandeered an Ocean Spray bottle, a paper towel roll and my under the couch duster. Using her toy hammer, this was quickly assembled into a leaf blower. Safety first: she put a sock on hand (it was a glove). Then it was off to blow the leaves out of the living room - complete with the 'buuuuurrrrrrrr' sound -

My Own Mighty Mighty Bosstone

Preface: During my junior year at Shippensburg, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones came to Heiges Field House for our entertainment. The concert was awesome. Watching the punk and plaid moshpit was equally entertaining. So as soon as I saw Julia's outfit, my thoughts immediately went to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones :)

Wednesday night the freezer in our upstairs fridge/freezer stopped working. Steve and I packed all of our frozen items into coolers and place them on our back patio. Thursday morning I opened the fridge and felt only slightly cool air. Oh, great! The next three hours were spent running up and down the stairs to the basement fridge, clearing out non-essential food and then taking out all the shelves/drawers to clean. Yes, it really took three hours. Julia thought running up and down the stairs was a game, so that added more time. Julia had to help take the organic food to the compost pile - more time. Julia needed to help wipe out the fridge (and disassemble the shelves on the door - UGH) and wipe the drips on the floor - more time.

There was a moment during my stairs running where I was able to find her something else to do. I pulled out one of those huge Crayola coloring books that I found on clearance at Target. It was new to her so it immediately caught her attention. She quickly took her crayons and book to the playroom, settling on the floor.

During my madness, I didn't notice that she had also raided her dress-up clothes. As I finished my last run, I heard her talking away to an imaginary friend. I popped my head in and asked who she was talking to..."I talking to Grammy". Sweet! Okay. But it was the outfit she created that really caught my attention. It also gave me a laugh that I desperately needed that day. What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Jesus

This post will be short and most definitely sweet. But it was something that made me smile and I had to share.

Due to one of my teaching coworkers not reading her curriculum I am now in charge of the December bulletin board. This is a little stressful for me. Our boards are at the entrance of the school - seen by all...including those who go to church there on Sunday, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. They ask us to take time since they reflect the program. I did a funny pumpkin board for October. I thought I was done until March. NOPE. And, of course, it's over the holiday season. OH JOY.

Being part of the United Methodist Church, we are asked to focus more on the real reason for the season - Christ - and not so much the commercial stuff. Fair enough. But the only ideas I had for the bulletin board included cotton beards, cuddly snowmen and handprint Rudolphs. Great. But after a quick Google search I decided on a large birthday cake and the kiddos would make the candles (painted handprint for flame, pipe cleaner for wick, kiddos can customize their candles). Maybe a few holly leaves to fill in the space. Heading "He's the LIGHT of our world - Happy Birthday, Jesus!"

After class today I went to the craft room to gather all of the supplies. One of my coworkers was there and we started to talk about the bulletin board. I explained the layout and, of course, Julia listened intently as she played with the many egg cartons that seem to take over the craft room every once in a while.

Flash forward - three hours - after an active lunch/play time at Chick-Fil-A with Sandy and crew. Here's the conversation as we walked to the car:
J: "Mama, are we going home"
H: "Yes, it's time to go home"
J: "Oh. We go home to make a birthday cake for Jesus?"
H: "No, Cheeky, we're just going home to relax"
J: "No, Mama, we make a birthday cake for Jesus"

Her memory amazes me. Her expressions and annunciations while she's talking make me laugh. Maybe for Christmas we'll make Jesus a birthday cake.

On a side note - here's a site that you should visit (thanks, Luci!). It supports Mom-preneurs and their business. Look close and you'll find http://www.sweettidings.com/ and http://love2decorate.uppercaseliving.net/ as well as other cool businesses ready to help you with your holiday shopping list.

Balance

Yeah, I know. Five weeks...

Natalie, a fellow MOMS Club member, is a personal trainer who is helping me with my fitness routine. She's very supportive and understands that it's hard to fit an exercise routine into the life of a Mom. The last two sessions she's helped me with my physical balance. Which basically means torturing me with Bosu Ball and Gliding Disc activities. I'm sure with enough practice I'll get better. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel for this balancing act. But emotional balance? That's another story.

Shortly after my last post, Steve and I went to the Poconos for a bit of rest and relaxation. It was time for us to reconnect as a couple without the little girl. It was fabulous! And Julia had a great weekend with Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Jess and Ruby. She's still talking about the events of the weekend. And trying to give Jimi a "smack down" (Thanks, Jess. You're fantastic.).

It was hard to come home but nice to return with a renewed spirit. That lasted for a few days. And then the families reared their ugly heads. It's no secret that I've never felt close to my biological family (except Eric). After having Julia I really don't understand them. Now, as a mother, I really don't understand why people do the things they do/say to their children. Parenting is tough at times but it's okay to walk away for a breath when things are a bit hairy and to recognize that you'll always love them...you may just not like them at that time. And if there is something that happens that you're not proud of - it's okay to tell them that you're sorry. And ALWAYS tell the ones that you love that you love them. And mean it. If you don't, then don't lie. It just makes things harder down the road. I'm tired of the constant 'flare-ups' and uneasiness of what was going to come around the corner next with my family.

So, here I am sitting on the couch with a sick Julia watching "Cars". God is telling us it's time to slow down. Snuggle on the couch, watch silly movies and make sure we wear our pajamas all day. The living room is covered with toys, shoes, papers, animals and blankets. Do I care? No. Cleaning will be for another day. If I was running around cleaning I would miss Julia's giggles when the tractors are on or her "Mater funny!" expression when he's driving backwards and then when he's in the fancy helicopter. And they're not worth missing.

It's been a roller coaster ride lately. Balancing life, and its surprises, is tough. I don't think I'll ever get to an even point (but I will conquer that stupid Bosu Ball) but I'm learning to take a moment here and there. It's been a long learning journey but little moments are something that will help make the rest of the journey a little more enjoyable.

Kitchen Country Club and the Bubble Pirate

The kitchen and my craft room are my havens. They are places I can go and release my pent-up creative juices. Now, just because I love the kitchen DOESN'T exactly mean that I love the monotony of creating weekly menus and getting dinner on the table. The stress of the day usually ruins that for me. But I do love weekends when I can let homemade soup simmer on the stove or make a huge batch of tomato sauce and homemade meatballs. Or the days following the Farmer's Market when we're canning or freezing our culinary treasures.

Yesterday I spent the entire day in my craft room (aka the basement living area and kitchen. Yes, there are two kitchens in our house! The realtor said it was our dream house.) filling an order for 100 gold dusted chocolate lollipops for my hairdresser. She's opening her own shop and wanted something to attach her new business card to. Julia had a great time playing with her basement toys and cooking with popcorn. Yes, the remains of our popcorn snack turned into a tossed salad and meatballs. It was quite amusing. Even though I was fighting a cold, it was so nice to go and be creative. Julia had a day to play and be creative with the toys that stay in the basement. It was a good day.

This morning while I was digging in our basket of cold medicines, I discovered a cat toy that we had taken and hidden from Julia. It's a plastic ball that when hit against something lights up like a Christmas tree. A month or so ago it was her canon. So it was taken away and hidden in the void above the refrigerator. Since we had a new kitten we thought it was okay to set the toy free. This produced a good 20 minute play session between Julia and Jimi. Now enters the paper towel roll. Julia keeps a few around to use as musical instruments. Occasionally the cats are seen batting them around. But today it took on a totally new form.

Julia carefully held the roll next to the toy ball. She looked forward. Then she took a swing. "Papa - I golfing!" She chased the ball around the kitchen with Jimi; then would use her "golf club" to roll the ball across the floor. It was so cute! She loves to go in the backyard and fetch the practice golf balls that Steve launches. So now she had her own little course. In my kitchen.

This brings me to the "Kitchen Country Club". All week she was using my kitchen floor as a pretend swimming pool. She would bring a teddy bear to the middle of the floor, lay down and move her legs and arms like she was swimming. "Swim bear, swim!" "Mama, I swimming" "Mama, I fish!" Sometimes the step stool would be used as a diving board. That's my girl! So now we have a certified country club in our kitchen. Swimming pool and golf course. Now I just need a golf cart to help me chase her!

After dinner tonight I refilled our hand soap dispenser in the half-bath off of the foyer. As I rinsed the container, suds filled the sink. Of course someone was watching me. Julia jumped onto her stool and promptly had both hands in the suds. "What damage can she do with suds?" I thought and exited the bathroom. Steve and I were out in the kitchen when we heard "I pirate, AAARRRRR". Huh? We walked quietly over and peeked into the bathroom. There was our little girl with suds all over her face in a beard pattern. "Mama! Papa! I pirate! AAAARRRR" Steve and I looked at each other and thought the same thing - "Where did you put the rum?"

The Week of the Pumpkin

Finally! The days are getting shorter, football rules the TV, apples are plentiful, Catoctin Orchard brings out their cider and the pumpkins arrive at the Farmer's Market. Fall is my favorite season. The air smells crisp and it's so much fun to play in the falling leaves. Snuggling with Steve on chilly nights while we watch football or our favorite shows. We planned to have Julia in the Fall but she arrived a few weeks early. We celebrate our anniversary in the Fall. It's just a special time for me.

So far we've purchased two pie pumpkins this season. Julia has never called a pumpkin anything but "pumpkin pie". When they started arriving on decorations she would let me know. "Mama, look! Pumpkin pie!" Although both Steve and I have tried to correct her by telling her that it's just a pumpkin; she still says "Look, it's a pumpkin pie!" She told everyone who stopped at our house that we had pumpkin pies. Oh well, it's something we'll remember and tell her when she's older.

She is still on a birthday kick - singing happy birthday to her animals and imaginary friends. On Thursday it was apparently a pumpkin birthday. She pulled one of them off of the table, placed it on a tea towel in the middle of the kitchen and then adorned it with a crown that she made in school. I had to stop making dinner to sing "Happy Birthday, Pumpkin Pie". We called Grammy to share the madness (or at least have one other adult hear it...so I didn't think I was dreaming). Her animals started to join in the celebration. It turned into a full-blown party for the pumpkin pie. Thankfully when Steve came home he was able to convince her to move it from the center of the kitchen floor back to the table. It was a bit chaotic.

While we were shopping at Target on Friday, she yelled at every pumpkin decoration she saw "Mama, pumpkin pie!" "It's a birthday pumpkin pie!" Thankfully the rest of the Target shoppers thought she was simply adorable. Adorable, yes. Imaginative, yes. Quiet, no.

Yesterday I was finally able to open one of the pumpkins, steam it and scoop out the pulp. After some blending we had some very orange puree and a very curious Julia. So we decided to make an actual pumpkin pie from the puree and freeze the extra. Steve read the directions and I executed them with Julia watching very closely. Then came the polar bear. NO - we didn't start watching my LOST DVD collection. It was the polar bear from the Little People Learning Zoo.

She stood by the bowl I was mixing in and proceeded to tap the bear against the bowl and then pretend to crack it open. Steve and I were successful in hiding our chuckles. She was using the polar bear as a pretend egg! OMG. At least she was able to keep him out of the pumpkin custard. I cannot say the same for the measuring spoon that she was using to dump pretend spices. For a few minutes I tried to figure out where her play eggs were from a cupcake set that Peter gave her for her birthday. Well, they were busy being used for Little People train cargo. Who knew?

Pay For It

"Pay for it" is Julia's word for a cash register. I guess it makes perfect sense to her. When we go to a store she helps me shop, put things in the cart and then throws a fit when we put the items on the conveyor belt to pay for it. So many times over the past few months I've repeated the same thing over and over "Julia, we have to pay for it". And she sniffles as the cashier scans and bags our treasures. She's getting better but she still loves to watch the check-out process.

A couple of months ago we watched as almost any item in the house was turned into a scanner. On those rare occasions that Steve and I were able to sit on the couch; she used Steve's foot to scan her various items from her play cart. She would hand them to us and then ask for them again...only to repeat the process...again...and again...and again. At Grammy and Grampy's it was a neck pillow. But hey, it kept her occupied.

So as her birthday approached I searched the stores for a scanner/cash register. And then I heard some great news from fellow Moms that one of our Target stores was discounting all of their toys to make room for renovations. AWESOME. The Mom and the bargain shopper in me both rejoiced! Thankfully, the cool cash register was marked-down and I snatched it up for J. It was so hard to wait...I wanted to give it to her as soon as I got it! Or maybe it was to save our feet from being scanners...

Anyway, yesterday was her birthday. It was a time to reflect on the little bundle she used to be and the beautiful, creative and crazy little adult she is becoming. She spent most of the day just playing with our new kitty and watching the NASCAR race, as well as the E-A-G-L-E-S (YES. They actually aired it in our area. Steve was on cloud 9). When a birthday call would come in she would announce to the well-wisher "Happy Birthday to You". What a nice gal! One of the highlights of the day was the call from across the Pond. Uncle Eric called from London and she officially wished him a happy birthday as well.

No, she didn't get a cake. She wanted cookies. So we had cookies and opened presents - FINALLY she had her "pay for it". She scanned her other gifts (Tinkerbell box, Sandra Boynton books and a monkey watch) and used the play money to "pay for it". Steve got in the action with the credit cards. It was a great family moment. (She is currently scanning our couch pillows, blankets, my school papers and lesson plans - hence why I'm able to write!) Now Steve will have an opportunity to teach Economics to our little shopping champ.

Unfortunately, I had to "pay for it" yesterday as well. As many of you know we adopted a sweet dog on July 9 and named it Phoebe. As much as I wanted it to work it was putting a strain our household...the constant attention, making sure our errands/outings weren't too long, keeping Julia from playing dentist with her and trying to keep her from chasing the cats. Although Steve grew-up with dogs he has always proclaimed that he is not a dog person and that he enjoys our cattitudes much better. He tried to make me happy by letting us adopt Phoebe. But it wasn't working. Last night Phoebe went to another family for a "vacation". If it works they will permanently adopt her. They have two beautiful boys that will certainly give her all the attention she deserves. It's hard. Especially since all of our friends and family welcomed her with love. She's a special dog that deserves a family who can shower her with love.

Now for the funny part. Julia and I were at the Farmer's Market and there was a woman with a huge box in front of her. Marked on the box, in big blue letters, was "Free Kittens". At least Julia can't read! HA HA HA. She ran right over and picked-up a cutie and stated "Mama, birthday present?" Are you kidding? Another animal? After a quick call to Steve it was determined he should be a part of our home. So, we are now a three cat family. Jimi is his name. Why Jimi? Two reasons - 1. Steve loves Jimi Hendrix. In fact Willchenzo was almost "Hendrix" until we witness his silly-willie antics. He was then christened Willie (Willchenzo when he is being calm); and 2. While watching him play with a longer cat toy (laying on floor, front paws around it and back paws scratching it) Julia yelled "Mama, Papa, baby kitty playing guitar!". And that was that - he is now Jimi. Chloe just watches him and Willie hisses and then runs under the nearest piece of furniture. Ah, yes. The Haney House is finally back to "normal".

On My Sleeve

We've all been there. We meet a person who intrigues us and we want to know more. The more we know, the more we fall in love. They become our soul's best friend and we cannot imagine life without them. They compliment us. They help us grow. They help us become better people. My someone is Steve.

The same can be said about individuals we meet as we go thru life. They just fit into our lives. They know our good and bad sides. They're honest with us when we need a good dose of reality. It doesn't matter how long it's been since you've spoken to them. The conversation starts at the place where you left it. My individuals are Jess, Steph, Luci, Leigha, Melissa, Sandy, Teri, Bob and Nancy, and Grammy Sandy. They represent every step in my life. Grade School, College, Professional and now Motherhood. It's comforting to know they are part of my life.

Then there are the siblings. When I was 11 1/2 years old I became a sister. I was an only child until that time. Of course this was a major life change. But I wouldn't change it for the world. He grew-up in front of me and I hated to leave for college when he was only 6. From then on, my little buddy who I watched grow daily, grew in flashes - visits to Shippensburg and home over holidays. He's now taller than me. An adventurous 20 year-old who just started his Sophomore college year in London. I'm glad I only blinked and not shut my eyes! The years just flew past me.

Three years ago this Sunday, God introduced someone into my life. Her name is Julia Grace. The pregnancy was rough, the labor/delivery very long and painful. But she arrived safe and has forever changed our lives. I might not always like her...but I love her with every fiber of my being. Steve and I were fortunate enough in our marriage to travel the country and the Mediterranean. But after everything we've witnessed, nothing compares to this little person who is living proof of the love and respect that Steve and I share for one another. We love being parents. We love watching her learn. She never fails to make us laugh. And everyone needs a little laughter in their lives.

Why am I being so sappy? It's been a long emotional (but a good emotional) week for me. My brother turned
20. Two days later he flew to London for the semester. Our little girl is turning 3 on Sunday. Steve and I are planning a small trip to celebrate our 9-year anniversary in early October. Whew, all this while going about the daily fun of parenting and housekeeping (if that's what you call it). In the middle of what I thought was a crazy life, a friend sent me a link to a blog. Suddenly I was grateful for all of the emotions I felt this week. Why? Simply because they involve the people in my life that I love - not because I might lose them.

Stay-at-home-moms have a strong network out here in Manassas. Our husbands are involved in professions that require travel (some are stationed in Iraq), long hours, weekend hours, hellish commutes and riding the train to and from the District. We all band together and help one another when a day has gone awry. We frequent parks and activities around town...sometimes I think it's more for our sanity than for the kids social experience :) Most days I'm exhausted and wish for some alone time, or a less busy schedule.

However this blog introduced me to a family in a neighboring town that is desperate to get back to that way of life. On September 11 a stay-at-home-mom was rushed to the hospital - leaving a preschooler and an infant behind at home. She hasn't regained full consciousness yet. Here is their story:
http://www.hyatt911.blogspot.com/
My heart cried when I read this. Here is a family that just wants their crazy life back. I said a prayer thanking God for everyone in my life and asking him to provide strength to the Nolan family. I'm asking everyone to find a moment and say a little prayer for this family and for those that you love. It's not often that I wear my heart on my sleeve. But right now I need it there.

Snap Bead Soup

*Disclaimer* yes, I know I said I would try to write almost daily but the past few weeks have been a bit wild with Steve out-of-town and working on weekends; then school started and I had an order for 90 baby announcements...excuses, excuses :)

Nope, that's not a typo...I'm currently enjoying Snap Bead Soup made by Julia. Obviously she's been watching me freeze beans from the Farmer's Market. Last night it was Snap Bead Salsa. Again, obviously watching me can salsa after our weekly trip to the Market. We haven't been served Snap Bead Pickles yet...but she may never want to see pickles again after we pickled 20 pounds of cucumbers! Lately she's been expressing her culinary abilities since I've been spending so much time pickling and canning our treasurers from the Manassas Farmer's Market.

Julia has also started making cakes and pancakes. She enjoys watching Steve make chocolate chip pancakes on the weekends and watching me make the various cake orders that come in. Two weeks ago I had two cakes to decorate, both for girls named Molly. One was Cinderella and the other was an electric guitar. Julia sat in the chair next to me and watched me carefully ice the cakes with homemade buttercream icing. I wish I could say that she was quietly watching, but no, she was telling me how to decorate. Now we all know her love of "Lowly" but this was sweet. While I was putting the icing strings on the guitar she clearly stated "Mama! You put Lowly on the cake!" "No," I said "Lowly doesn't go on cakes" "No, Mama, Lowly is on the cake. Yes". Well, that was that.

For weekday breakfasts she loves to eat waffles with peanut butter. So much that we buy them in bulk. Yes, she loves her 'awfuls and peanut utter'. While walking into school we step over a man hole cover that is in the middle of the sidewalk. I never really paid attention to the cover. Most mornings I'm just trying to get her to walk faster so that I can get into the classroom to set-up. She loves to watch the squirrels in the trees and sing about something or other. Last week she stopped on the cover and proclaimed "Mama! It's a 'awful!" HUH!?! My first thought was to tell her not to pick it up, thinking another child dropped their breakfast waffle on the ground. As I turned to look at her, she said it again and pointed down to the cover she was standing on. Sure enough the cover has a grid pattern, just like her waffles.

Although this morning was a little different. She had yogurt but I have to share with you what she said to me. Yes, last night our beloved Eagles lost to the Dallas Foulboys. But we still have our pride. I put her Eagles shirt (brave here in Redskins Country) on and as I was helping her with her shoes she said to me "Mama, I wear Eagles! I love my Papa's Eagles" Now that's father/daughter bonding at its finest. Fly, Eagles, Fly!

Playtime in Julia's Imagination

This morning I watched a very interesting segment on the "Today Show" called "Are Your Kids Playing Enough?" Parents are so focused on giving their kids the latest and greatest electronic toy, educational toy and not really engaging in free play. Like yesterday, Julia and I really didn't play with her toys (except the ride along truck) but explored with her imagination. The sticks were presents, the wind was a dinosaur and something in her mind was an alligator. Not that I'm against all educational toys, it's just that some are so focused on getting their kids ahead of the curve that we lose sight that they just need to be kids.

It was grocery shopping day and off we went to Harris Teeter. This is Julia's favorite grocery store because of two things - food samples and the airplane grocery carts. It is my favorite because of two things - the samples and the cool cart give me one sane shopping experience and they sell San Marzano tomatoes. Kidding...well, not really. Anybody who knows Julia knows that her and I are exactly alike in the personality department (poor thing). Which just means our heads butt constantly. So anything to help distract her from what I am trying to accomplish is worth its weight in gold.

When you turn onto the road where Harris Teeter is located, you immediately see the fountains that are in front of the town center. Even if I had my eyes shut (yes, Steve would be driving) I would know when we reached the road thanks to Julia screaming "The FOUNTAINS! They are going to the SKY!". In the last several trips she has added one more thing - "The fountains are in the bathtub, Mama!" Well, I guess they are in a bathtub.

She is also a big fan of construction sites, trucks, tractors, cranes, buses and airplanes. The Harris Teeter road is under construction; so of course there are lots of dirt piles and tractors on the side of the road. Before I go any farther, let me explain something. In our backyard I've started a compost pile that is home to lots and lots of worms. Thanks to Steve and I reading her Richard Scary books, she has fallen in love with "Lowly Worm". Whenever we are working in the garden and find a worm it's Julia's job to take it to the compost pile. Whenever we take scraps out to the pile she informs us that we are "feeding the lowlys". Whenever I turn the pile she has to be there to see the lowly family. You get the picture.... Well the trip today went past the construction. And just like she does with any construction site with dirt piles she exclaimed "Mama! They are digging for Lowly!"

I'm so glad that Steve and I feed into her imagination and let her be a kid. Would she have such an imagination if we didn't? The world may never know ;)

Trash trucks and dinosaurs

Imagination is a funny thing. It can be our best friend or our scariest enemy. Well today Julia decided it was her best friend.

This morning she overheard me sing "Happy Birthday" over the phone to my friend Sandy. At the time I thought she wasn't even listening. But after we went outside to play with Phoebe and to inspect our garden; I realized she understood my conversation. She was running around the backyard gathering sticks with Phoebe, then decided it was time to come over to my chair to give me my 'birfday pawensense'. After carefully laying the many sticks down on the table she proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday". Then it got really interesting. She was handing me the sticks saying "happy birfday to you, Mama" and "happy birfday to Miss Sandy, Mama". When I said thank you for the stick she curtly corrected me. "No Mama, that's your pawensense". Sorry!

She heard the mailman and the distribution of presents was forgotten. It was time to get the mail. Usually after getting the mail we go inside again. But since the weather was perfect today we sat out on the front walk. As she discussed the flowers behind her, she heard a noise that brought a huge smile to her tiny face. THE TRASH TRUCK WAS COMING! Oh, how exciting! She quickly stood-up and watched as the large, white truck came down our road. She waved and the trashmen waved back. It was a cute moment...but wait...there's another truck coming! Two in one moment! She screeched with joy and clapped - how awesome! As she watched the second truck get our neighbors trash can she exclaimed "Mama! The trash truck is taking their dirty diapers!". Now it was my turn to smile.

The rest of the morning and into the early afternoon she played "trash truck". Using her Little Tykes ride along truck, she rode around the foyer and kitchen exclaiming that she was a trash truck. Various toys that were on the floor were put into the back of the truck as she made the noise of the hydraulic lift (garrrrrrrrr rrrrr rrrr). Wow, I didn't know we had a resident trash truck!

Before we left for Sandy's house to watch her kids (and make birthday cupcakes) so she could take her hubby to an emergency doc appointment we went out to the backyard again. It was a bit breezy. But little did I know the wind really wasn't the wind. It was a dinosaur! She grabbed my hand and pointed with her other tiny finger towards the trees that line the back of our property and yelled "Mama, yook! It's a dinosaur! It's walking!" One couldn't help but get excited with her! After confirming the siting, she looked up at me and smiled - "Yes, Mama. The dinosaur is here. Yes" As we started back into the house she stopped at the door, turned around and waved. While she waved she said "Bye bye alyeegator". Dinosaurs AND alligators?! I had no idea we had a reptile world in our backyard. Someone should warn the dog... And call Aunt Jess for reptile help...

Whoa

Well, it's official...the Haney Family has a blog. It's something I've been thinking about for a little since it's hard to keep track (and remember) of my thoughts and memories of the week.

This morning Steve, Julia and Phoebe are in "Papa's Office" playing something on the PlayStation, no doubt. Julia loves to hang with "Papa" on the weekends after she stuffs herself with his awesome chocolate chip pancakes. That's the weekend ritual...Steve makes chocolate chip pancakes and then we are off and running. But thankfully today is a lazy day. Steve and Julia will play and I'm going to finish canning. Last night we canned pickles and today it's tomatilla salsa and creole simmer sauce. Yes, I'm crazy, but when the product is finished I feel so proud of what I accomplished! Maybe I'll post some pictures if everything goes okay.