From Chaos Comes Happiness

I am sitting in my daughters room right now, it is 6AM . . . . and she is 13. She turned thirteen at the end of January, and last night she had some friends over for a small birthday gathering and sleep over. 13. My Ella. The kids are all sleeping in the family room, and I woke early, mildly suffering from the onset of a cold that is slowly starting to move down to the chest. I needed hot tea - pronto - so instead of making a ruckus in the kitchen, I grabbed my car keys and headed to Starbucks (their medicine ball tea really is the best). This also gave me the opportunity to be the greatest mom (a goal I recognize is unattainable and unrealistic), and picked up two dozen Dunkin Donuts - one dozen assorted and one dozen vanilla long johns (because those really are best). Returning home, I grabbed my tea, my iPad, a book, and a long john (hey, I am human), and took myself to Ella’s room - the only place where I would not disturb all the sleeping creatures in our house. I don...

December 1 I want so much to stop the clock this month. To look. To take it all in. To BE in the moment. To LIVE the now. And NOT think about the tomorrow. Because I don't know where the past 11 months have gone. This morning as Ella and I sat at the kitchen table before our day began, Ella watching a Minecraft Video on her iPad and me catching up on my Yahtzee game, it felt as if time stood still for a brief moment. I stopped. I took it in. It was her breath that did it. It caught my attention and caused me to pause. This beautiful little soul that I brought into the world. My daughter. The sound of her breathing in and out softly, as she did her thing, brought a calmness over myself that I haven't felt in what seems like years. I grabbed my phone and snapped a photo of her, and then just sat there watching her. Hugging her Teddy. Her very best friend. She's changed so much this Fall. Glasses. Braces. Growing like a weed. Each day I watch her blo...

              A cardinal has been hanging around my house lately.  Last week he visited for three mornings in a row, usually around 7am. I heard him chirping away, calling out for his friends, as I sat at the kitchen table taking my first few sips of coffee.  Each day I tried to take a photo of him. The one above was the best I could take - because each time I pulled out the 'real' camera (with the awesome zoom lense), he'd fly away. Almost as if he was saying, "Nope, I am not here for that. I am here just for you ."   I got smart, and started to leave the camera on a little end table in my living room - with camera out of bag and lense already on, I was ready for his close-up.  He didn't come by the two days following. Darn Bird.   So me, my Cardinal, and my little iPhone camera meet up.  I love when he comes by. Because I feel like he is my Dad, checking on me. Just letting me know that he is around.  I still ...

                  I have an amazing husband.  Have I told you that before?   I don't want to gloat, or sound like I am bragging. I am not. I am just recognizing one of my biggest blessings, and sharing it with you today. My husband. He is pretty awesome.  In the past few months, he has been top notch.  And sometimes I forget to tell him that.  Because, I guess, the expectation is for him to be this ' Superman '. Not only for me, but for everyone else.  Sometimes, I forget that he is real. Just like you and me.  Sometimes, I forget that he has pressures and stresses - unlike those that I can relate to. He has that "manly" responsibility to care for all four of us - for our home, to pay our bills, provide . . . all those things. Even though he knows we are in this ' together ' - that we work ' together ' - I know he carries the load.  Yes, sometimes I forget that he really has the weight of the world on h...

I love when you first meet someone and in a short amount of time, they say something so touching that you feel it deep in your soul. I love that this new person in your life, who for all intent and purposes is a stranger, can open your eyes to something that you may have never noticed before. Something that you may have sometimes wondered about. And I love that this person can make you stop and say a silent prayer to the 'Big Man Upstairs" for all he has given you in life . . . and in love. I spent a couple days this past weekend at a lovely Scrapbook event at a nearby Double Tree Inn. My friend Kim, a Creative Memories Consultant, participates in it with a number of her consultant friends, and I have watched her talk about it on Facebook for years. When she posted about the March weekend coming up, it sounded like a good time for me to take advantage of it and attend. I have never done a long weekend of scrapbooking like that before. And while I did get a lot done, the w...

What!?!?! I haven't written since February 14th? Shame on me!! SHAME!! I have written about 100 times in my head . . . but my deepest apologies for not getting it here - to the blog! I have so much to share . . . stories and photos and little updates on life. So let's not waste any more time, shall we? Today, I'm starting with one that I've been meaning to write for weeks. I want to share a little story with you about a recent piece of art I was commissioned to make for someone, and a few photos of my journey along the way. It's a little story about love , really. Love & Art. And what a wonderful combination it can be. It started with an email and turned into one of the best experiences I had in making art for someone. Truly. The email came from Meghan, the dearest girl friend to my life-long friend Scott. Scott and I met some (eh-hem) 25 years ago, in high school. We were theater nerds together (yes, most of us in theater were nerds). Our love for th...

                                   I'm here! I'm here! I haven't gone far away, I promise.  I've been working on some commissioned art works this week . . . one particular piece that I can't wait to tell you about. Until then, I just wanted to wish you all the happiest of valentine's days! A day of love . . . Sigh. Love. It is a wonderful thing.  A few years ago, my in-laws went through a pretty big clean-up of their home and attic and decided to have a huge garage sale with all the things they no longer wanted. If you knew my in-laws, you would understand that a garage sale at their home would be full of the most exciting and interesting finds!! Their house is the funniest place ever - full of the coolest goodies, and I knew I would find lots of things at the sale that I would want to take home with me. Yes . . . I sure did. For it was there that these vintage framed valentines found my...

         " Treat others as you would like to be treated ." I tell this to my kids . . . . over and over, like a broken record. I am sure they are tired of listening to it. But I will never tire saying those words.  I think they are one of the most important lessons I can teach them.  " Do unto others "  It's pretty powerful stuff, you know? And words that I truly believe can change the world.  Last week, while on Facebook - half reading and just skimming through posts of silly weather updates and inspiring art friends pictures - I learned that a neighbor friend of mine was in the hospital. Nothing too serious, but enough of an annoyance to take this mom of three kids from her home and admit her for a few days to try and heal her. After reading comments on her post and learning a little bit more of what was happening, " Dinner " immediately popped into my head. " I'll make them dinner, " I thought. " As soon as she is home, I'll m...

My girls love to play those sort of "Q&A" games, where we ask each other questions and wait patiently for our answer.  "What's your favorite Ice Cream? What do you want to be when you grow up? What's the one favorite 'thing' of yours you would grab if we had a fire in the house? What makes you really really happy?   Which One Direction guy is your favorite? " sort of questions. I love when we play those games, too. It is a great way to really  learn about my girls. I like to think I know everything about them . . . but when we start playing our Q&A game, I realize just how much I don't know. It makes me happy to learn their likes and dislikes, their thoughts and ideas.   I like when the questions really get me thinking for my own answers. Things I don't often stop long enough to think about have to be answered when there are little ears waiting for a reply. For example . . . our favorite possessions. I know that Katie...

                              So . . . in less than 20 hours, I will be boarding a plane and heading to Rome, Italy, where I will officially be able to cross off number 12 from my bucket list.  Number 12 reads "Travel to Italy", in case you were wondering. It's right before 13, "Color my hair bright red like Lucille Ball, just once" and right after 11, "Run a 5k". I'm kind of glad I haven't had the nerve to do number 13 yet. I am not sure I'm cut out to be a red head, but the thought always lingers each time a walk down the hair color isle at Target. And while each New Years Resolution has me thinking about number 11,  I'm not quite there yet either. So I'm glad I am trying number 12 first.  Yes, Italy it is.  It's about 12:49 am the night before I leave, and I find myself sitting here typing this post at my kitchen table. I went to bed at 11 pm, but tossed and turned for over an hour . . . ...

It's funny how the universe works. Sometimes the best lessons are learned when we least expect them. Ella lost another tooth last weekend. Another front tooth. Which means an adorable little toothless grin to cherish for a short time, and a little girl who talks so cute . . . it's almost unbearable. When she lost it, we oooo'd and ahhhh'd over her. She is missing both top teeth, and a bottom tooth as well. Poor thing. It's a challenge to have three missing teeth at the same time. Eating requires some strategy as to the correct placement of food, and talking can be a bit frustrating for one who does so much of it. But she is a trooper. As we all made a fuss over her toothless state, I stopped and observed her reaction to our reaction. I began to think that maybe we were making it a negative thing for this little girl. Words like, "Oh, poor sissy . . . how will you eat?" and "Oh, you poor girl . . . three teeth gone at the same time. That...

I had one of those "Mom" moments last week. You know, when you find yourself watching your child and you suddenly are so overcome with emotion that tears start flowing, uncontrollably, down your cheeks. Of course, this happened to me while I watched Katie during her swim lesson. I mean, it's an emotional time, right? No . . . I don't think so. But right there. Poolside. At our local Lifetime Fitness. That's when it hit me. As she listened so attentively to her instructor, and grasped the butterfly stroke with such ease and finesse, I sat there . . . bawling my eyes out . . . like a baby. Because somehow, somewhere, at some point in the past 9 years, this little baby became a girl. And she is . . . amazing. I don't know how it happened. I mean, I remember bringing her home and those first few sleepless months, thinking that this was the hardest thing I've ever done. And don't get me wrong, it isn't easy . . . being a parent. It is hard...

So, my beloved Katie is finding a passion within herself for quotes. Inspiring, motivating, life changing quotes.  (Hmmmm . . . I wonder where she gets that from.) She likes to google "inspiring quotes" on the iPad, pull up images of her search, and sit with her composition book while writing quote after quote into her notebook. I think she is going to end up with a pretty cool journal when she is done with it.  Often times she'll stop and read the quotes out loud to me, like, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent . . . ", and follow it with a,  "Wow . . . that's pretty deep, Mom." Last week, she was really interested in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt. I think that's pretty cool for an 8 year old (well, she's just 28 days away from 9, so I had better set that straight . . . you know, someday she'll read this and argue that she was 9!) I digress. So, she wanted to know all about Mrs. Roosevelt. Katie couldn't ...

"Mommy . . . . Mommy . . . Mommy? Will you lay with me for a little bit?" I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand. The blurry numbers 4:00 flashed back at me. This morning. 4 a.m. "What's the matter, honey?" I asked, trying to get my mind and body in sync. "I just wondered if you would come and lay with me in my bed," she asked. My Ella. She doesn't ask that of me very often. She is such a good sleeper, and going to bed has never been a big battle with this one. However, every once in a while she wakes in the middle of the night and can't seem to get herself back to sleep. That's when she finds her way to my bedside, and with her sweet little hand, gently nudges me to the land of the living with her soft voice. I don't mind crawling into her bed with her on nights like that. They are few and far between, and it's so rare that this little one stops long enough during her day for a snuggle, that I love late nights (o...

It's PG's birthday today!!! (that's P hil G uy, for newcomers) To the man who makes me laugh . . . all of the time . . . and would do absolutely anything for his girls . . . He's always there to back me up, whenever I need it . . . And knows all there is to know about having fun . . . He is hard working, an amazing father, and always takes care of his girls . . .   And my very very best friend . . . I'm so glad I am walking through life with him. Happy Birthday, my PG. I love you!

I'm participating in a heART exchange art swap this week, and I'm so very excited about it. It has been coordinated by the amazing Louise Gale, from  yourheARTmakesadifference .com. If you take a few moments and read a little about this swap, you'll probably agree that it is definitely a "win-win" sort of thing. One of those opportunities when you can share something special with someone, and receive something special in return. So, the swap is something you have made . . . from the heart. And after a few moments of brain-storming, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was stuck, however, when coming up with the words to put on my piece. . . . what to write . . . what to write . . . I sat at the dinner table Monday evening throwing sayings out for PG's input. Nothing worked. Then, HE (Mr. Phil Guy himself) came up with it. "Follow Your Heart," he said. As simple as that. I stopped and thought about it. ...

Oh, dear . . . those little ears that hear. I've got four of them in my house, you know. Two belong to Katie and two belong to Ella. And I am often very aware of those little ears during the day. It has always been really important to me that those ears only hear things that will build them up and make them happy. That is what they deserve . And I work hard at that. Those little ears are the reason I stopped watching the news about eight years ago . . . children don't need to hear about the dangers in the world right now. If the TV is on when I am home, it is always set to either the PBS children's channel, or Disney (and I've been known to turn off both of those from time to time.) I'm aware of those ears when PG and I talk, too, as the laundry room has turned into our meeting place for serious conversations about life and family. However, every once in a while we must slip and have one of those grown up talks in a place where little ears dwell. Especially la...

Another tear jerking moment, my dear friends. This one took place just moments ago. As Katie and Ella are now outside enjoying a bit of this gorgeous June evening, I found myself running to the computer to share this latest story with you. I am so afraid of the memory falling into that empty pit in my mind that I just had to write this down.  You see . . . I'm not chubby. At least, not in the eyes of my Katie. And that, my friends, has my very own eyes filling up with tears as I type. A short while ago, I stood at our kitchen sink, cleaning our dinner dishes and glancing up out the kitchen window every few seconds, as that golden hour of sunlight tickled the top of our back yard lawn. Suddenly, the front screen door stretched open and I could hear Katie and Ella running into the house. "Mommy!!!" "Mom!!" "Mom, I didn't say it!!!" "Mom, Mom, Mom . . . Ella said something mean about you," and even other exclamations were heard as K...

Well, we have survived our Royal Wedding Party, and I am so excited to share some photos of our tea with you! I am so glad the girls were on spring break this week - they have had lots of adventures all week long, but I have to believe that today's Royal Wedding party was truly the highlight of it all. The girls had such fun . . . and me? I really felt like royalty. I think we did a fantastic job celebrating the new bride and groom, and I think the wedding was just spectacular. Here are a few snapshots of our Royal Wedding celebration. We started by hanging the Great Britain flags that we colored, and the chains of red, white and blue, all throughout the family room. We even colored some of the flags and taped them on skewers I found in our kitchen drawers . . . just perfect for cheering as we watched the procession route! I cleaned up some of our china dishes and we set the table - all ready for our tea. Some delicious cranberry ora...