Thoughtful Thursday

Have you ever noticed the little thoughts that are printed inside the labels of Dove chocolates? I opened one today and this is what it said: "A bubble bath can matter more than a clean kitchen.--Susan, Mechanicsville, VA."

Hmmm....thanks for the thought Susan. Here's a couple thoughts from Lisa, Gilbert, AZ: "A clean kitchen can make me feel better about practically anything." or "Who wants to get out of the bathtub to a dirty kitchen?" Sorry, Susan from Mechanicsville, but this week I'm opting for the clean kitchen.

Wednesday-- What's Up?

We took the kids to Disneyland in February. It is a great time of year to go. We took them out of school and were there Thursday through Saturday. This was our magical year because PK is just about too old and Mr. E was just old enough to really enjoy it. We were able to travel with cousins which made the trip extra fun. This was our first time staying at a hotel right across the street from the gate and I wouldn't do it any other way. Aside from the rain, the trip was pretty much close to perfect. Mr. E was tall enough to go on most of the rides and it was so fun to ride with the whole family. Although, we did learn that just because the child is tall enough to go on the ride does not mean that he won't be totally scared to death of it. Yeah, poor kid, the first thing that we did on the first morning there was Space Mountain. He sat next to me and after clawing my arm off and screaming the whole time he said that he hated Disneyland and wanted to go home. Sorry buddy!

Here are some picture from the Happiest Place on Earth. It really did live up to it's name!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tuesday's Terrific Tip

When you walk into a room, do one thing to make it better because you were there. This can be something quick and easy such as picking up one thing or putting one thing away or straigtening one thing, etc. You can even do this when you're walking through a room to get somewhere else. In just a few seconds, you've made an improvement in that room and you can go on with what you were doing. Every little bit counts!

Monday Memories

One of the reasons that I teach preschool is that I love 4 and 5 year-olds. It is easily my favorite age. As I was talking with a couple of boys in my class this morning, it struck my how much I miss the days when my oldest boy was 5. Over the years I have noticed how life changes and how I find myself reminiscing a lot about when my children were younger. But today was different. I really, really missed this five-year-old. I missed him in a way that you would miss someone who is no longer around, not someone who has grown and changed and you miss the person that they used to be.

Today I felt as if this big boy:
and this little boy:

are two totally different people and I have an empty space in my heart where the younger one used to be. I love the big boy more than ever. He is funny and kind and dependable and good. But here is what I miss about the little boy.

I miss choosing his clothes for him in the morning. I miss buying clothes for him and knowing that he will wear anything I give him.

I miss the days when he would rather be home with me than anywhere else. I miss the days when I was the one person that he would rather play with than anyone else.

I miss holding his hand in the parking lot.

I miss him coming home from school, excited to tell me about all of the new things that he learned that day telling me how much he missed me while he was gone.

I miss the days when he got hurt and would come running to me for help.

I miss the days when the only person he would write a note to was me.

I miss the days when my opinion was the only one that mattered.

So now that I've put these thought down, it seems that what I miss is the fact that his world used to revolve around me and now it doesn't. Sounds a little selfish of me. I'm so glad that he's growing up and life really is about letting go, which I'm doing ok with. Maybe I'm a little sentimental because today he's spending the afternoon working on a gas-powered go-cart that he bought. His friends are coming over to help him and they're using spark plugs and gasoline. When really, I wish I could spend another afternoon like this:

Wednesday-- What's Up?

I loved that Easter fell on General Conference weekend. It made for a very relaxing Sunday. My family did a good job paying attention to a good part of each session of conference. We had fun with our traditional conference meals and treats. But by the middle of the Sunday afternoon session, things were on a downward spiral and this is how it ended up:

Good times.....good times.

Tuesday's Terrific Tip

I recently went through all of the cords in the house. The ipod USB cords and the three digital cameras' USB cords and the video camera cords, etc, etc, etc. We had to do some detective work to remember which cord went to which device. You think you will never forget what goes to what but you inevitably do. I put a piece of masking tape around each cord to label it like this:


Then I figured out that they are much easier to store if they are kept individually in little ziplock bags. It keeps them from getting tangled up.


And please don't think that I have nothing else to do but organize cords! It became necessary when I couldn't put my camera's memory card in my new computer and had to use the USB cord, which I couldn't find. Although, I do love the challenge of a good organizing project!

Monday Memories

Here's another conversation that I want to remember. Eleven and twelve-year-old boys crack me up. They are so funny and I completely enjoy them. They want so much to be more mature but are just not quite there yet. I drove the soccer carpool about once a month and even thought it was a long drive, I really enjoyed every minute. It was so entertaining. Put four boys this age in the back of the Suburban and just listen and drive. Turn on the radio, just a little bit so they think that you're listening to it but not too loud so that you can overhear their conversations. Which is not too diffictult because they practically yell everything that they say. (Notice I said BACK of the Suburban!) Here's some tidbits from the last time I drove:

"Dude,(they begin absolutely every sentence like this), Selena Gomez is soooo hot. Her new video is the best.!"

"Dude, did you know that if you mouth the words olive juice to somebody it totally looks like you are saying I love you? I know, so cool, I just made that up."

"Dude, why are you supposed to end a letter with PS if you want to say something else? Nobody knows what PS means anyway. They should say instead, BTW, you know, by the way."

"Dude, VCR's are so outdated that even hobos don't have them anymore."

"Dude, I went to this guys house who's a dentist, so he is totally rich. He had the richest house that had no mess whatsoever. My mom would do crazy in there because our house is always a mess."

(BTW, the last comment was not from my son.)