Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Food!!
Kai loves to eat:
Spagetti
Chicken stir-fry with rice
Ritz crackers (he can eat his weight in these bad boys)
Gerbers cheetos
Pop tarts
White shells and cheese
Squash and zuichini
Kai will not eat:
Bananas
Carrots
Invisible Women
Kee Ostler emailed this to me and it was so good I thought I would put it on the blog. I know it's long, but it's worth it.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this ? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'
I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel’?
I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please’.
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated
summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she’s going, she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England.
Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package and said, ‘I brought you this’.
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.
I wasn't exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription.
'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees’.
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour – the book.
And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that they eyes of God saw everything
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man,
‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte.
I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.
No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked is too small for Me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction.
But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness.
It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder, as one of the people who show up at a job they will never see finished to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could every be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving,
‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours,
and presses all the linens for the table.’
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re gonna love it there'.
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this ? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'
I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel’?
I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please’.
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated
summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she’s going, she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England.
Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package and said, ‘I brought you this’.
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.
I wasn't exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription.
'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees’.
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour – the book.
And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that they eyes of God saw everything
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man,
‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte.
I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.
No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked is too small for Me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction.
But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness.
It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder, as one of the people who show up at a job they will never see finished to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could every be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving,
‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours,
and presses all the linens for the table.’
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re gonna love it there'.
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Gems of Wisdom
I have a group of online girls that I chat with and reccently we were discussing helpful tips. Thought I would share some.
*If you put your saran wrap in the freezer, it is much more managable and doesn't clump up the second you try to use it!
*WD40 takes crayon off
*Clear nail polish on a cracked windshield will stop the crack from spreading
*Hydrogen Peroxide helps remove blood stains
*When cleaning windows or mirrors with windex, use a coffee filter instead of a paper towel to help reduce streaks
*Put a scented dryer sheet in the bottom of a wastebasket/garbage can to help eliminate odors
*Put i tiny bit of water in the bottom of the candle holder and you wont have to fuss getting the melted wax out
*If you don't do the water trick - put the candle holder in the freezer for a day - the wax pretty much pops right out
*Bay leaves will help keep bugs out of your pantry
*Most recipes that use tomato paste call for only a tablespoon. What do you do with the rest of the can? Divide it into one tablespoon amounts (in an ice cube tray or on a plate) Freeze it, then putt the lumps in a zippered bag and store them in the freezer. Next time you need a tablespoon of tomato paste, you take exactly that much out of the freezer.
*When frying things like chicken cutlets or I guess anything (esp. fish), put out a bowl with white vinegar on the stove (or close to it) - for some reason it absorbs that fry smell
*Ya know those embarrassing deodarant marks on that perfect black shirt (or any color for that matter) - just grab a pair of stockings and rub it right off
*Rinse your hair with club soda if it is turning green from chlorine
*If you peel and take apart the whole garlic clove, put it in olive oil and keep in the fridge, it lasts longer/fresher
*If you use blocks of cheese wrap them in tin foil then refigerate.... last longer
If you have any not listed.... please share!!
*If you put your saran wrap in the freezer, it is much more managable and doesn't clump up the second you try to use it!
*WD40 takes crayon off
*Clear nail polish on a cracked windshield will stop the crack from spreading
*Hydrogen Peroxide helps remove blood stains
*When cleaning windows or mirrors with windex, use a coffee filter instead of a paper towel to help reduce streaks
*Put a scented dryer sheet in the bottom of a wastebasket/garbage can to help eliminate odors
*Put i tiny bit of water in the bottom of the candle holder and you wont have to fuss getting the melted wax out
*If you don't do the water trick - put the candle holder in the freezer for a day - the wax pretty much pops right out
*Bay leaves will help keep bugs out of your pantry
*Most recipes that use tomato paste call for only a tablespoon. What do you do with the rest of the can? Divide it into one tablespoon amounts (in an ice cube tray or on a plate) Freeze it, then putt the lumps in a zippered bag and store them in the freezer. Next time you need a tablespoon of tomato paste, you take exactly that much out of the freezer.
*When frying things like chicken cutlets or I guess anything (esp. fish), put out a bowl with white vinegar on the stove (or close to it) - for some reason it absorbs that fry smell
*Ya know those embarrassing deodarant marks on that perfect black shirt (or any color for that matter) - just grab a pair of stockings and rub it right off
*Rinse your hair with club soda if it is turning green from chlorine
*If you peel and take apart the whole garlic clove, put it in olive oil and keep in the fridge, it lasts longer/fresher
*If you use blocks of cheese wrap them in tin foil then refigerate.... last longer
If you have any not listed.... please share!!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Favorite Things...
Stirfry on rice and whiskers on doggies
Any old cell phone and soft satin blankies
Sesame Street after breakfast at morning
These are a few of my favorite things
Crisp Ritz crackers and bubble filled bath tubs
Storytime and Playtime and crawling on Gus
Scattering my toys all throughout my home
These are a few of my favorite things
Messing up Mom's laundry right after it's folded
Feeding Gus my leftover food at the table
And anyone who will sing me their favorite song
These are a few of my favorite things
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Decisions of a Mother....
Being a wife and a mother has changed so many things about me. But one of the biggest changes that has come is the ability to put my needs and others feelings second to my husband and to my son. In the long run nothing seems to be as important as the well being of my husband and my son. But that's a tricky line to tread sometimes with family. Can a relative cause enough damage through their actions to be cut out of your life? I found myself faced with that question today.
The fact that I'm in a 'bi-racial' marriage has never really been a thought to me. I am in a marriage with an amazing man who treats me like a goddess. What does the color of his skin or the shape of his eyes have to with how he treats me? And I certainly never thought about the fact that my son is 'bi-racial'. But today I had to face the fact that, although I may not think about those things, other people do.
There were several options in dealing with this situation. I could go on pretending it wasn't an issue and ignore the horrible treatment that my husband receives, knowing that one day that treatment will fall upon my son. In choosing this option what is the lesson I am teaching my son? That it's okay for others to treat you like less of a person than others around you simply because of your skin? Or I could choose to cut such people out of our lives. Wow, the second choice seems so harsh. But the world is so hard.... there are so many things to fight against. Do I really want someone in my son's life or my husbands that makes them feel of less value? The answer I came to was no, I don't.
Life constantly changes around us and sometimes we change with it or we don't. I have changed tremendously through the years. And for me I have changed into a person I can be proud of. My goal is for my son to have that same feeling of pride in being who he is and his ability to succeed. And the first step in doing that is to surround him with people who love him and support him for who he is and will be.
The fact that I'm in a 'bi-racial' marriage has never really been a thought to me. I am in a marriage with an amazing man who treats me like a goddess. What does the color of his skin or the shape of his eyes have to with how he treats me? And I certainly never thought about the fact that my son is 'bi-racial'. But today I had to face the fact that, although I may not think about those things, other people do.
There were several options in dealing with this situation. I could go on pretending it wasn't an issue and ignore the horrible treatment that my husband receives, knowing that one day that treatment will fall upon my son. In choosing this option what is the lesson I am teaching my son? That it's okay for others to treat you like less of a person than others around you simply because of your skin? Or I could choose to cut such people out of our lives. Wow, the second choice seems so harsh. But the world is so hard.... there are so many things to fight against. Do I really want someone in my son's life or my husbands that makes them feel of less value? The answer I came to was no, I don't.
Life constantly changes around us and sometimes we change with it or we don't. I have changed tremendously through the years. And for me I have changed into a person I can be proud of. My goal is for my son to have that same feeling of pride in being who he is and his ability to succeed. And the first step in doing that is to surround him with people who love him and support him for who he is and will be.
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