Oh, Just A Typical Morning...

Does anybody else drool in their sleep? Anybody? Because I do. I don't remember doing that when I was a kid, or really even as a teenager. But as an adult? Oh yeah. It's gross. Like a St. Bernard I am. It's a wonder I don't wake up dehydrated. That's how I awoke this fine morning. At least it's not every morning.

Then after I wiped the spittle trail from my cheek, I turned to see Ryan in the room. He'd just come in to tell me that "Amy can't open her eyes!" Well, that sounded interesting. I headed downstairs to find Amy, lying supine on the futon, forearm across her eyes. She could open the right eye, but the left eye looked a little swollen. She could hold it open, but couldn't just open those blond-lashed lids; it hurt too much.

Between Adrienne and I, we used a cell phone flashlight (sure does come in handy!) to peer into those baby blues. Amy held her eye open. I held the light. Adrienne looked to see if she could see anything that could be the cause of the distress. Light hurt Amy's eyes but it was kinda funny. You see, she has these amazing blue eyes and usually her pupils are larger, more noticeable. Shine a light in and wow, do those pupils constrict. She could be the model for science class the day the eyeball is discussed. But, back to the I-am-in-pain-something-is-in-there-I-think moment.

Adrienne thought she spied a hair on the surface of the orb. Amy did not want her touching her eyeball. I couldn't see a thing. Really, I couldn't because I'd left my glasses upstairs. So, getting a Q-tip we thought the hair-thing could be snagged. Amy said to make it wet first. Adrienne suggested that Amy put it in her mouth to moisten it. Amy and I looked at Adrienne with a "that is a weird and odd suggestion" and suggested that tap water would be just fine. Once she came back with the wet Q-tip, poised it ready over the eye, and Amy opened her eye, rolling it around so beautifully, we couldn't find whatever it was we'd seen before.

Amy decided to go look for herself in the mirror but then realized she didn't have her contacts in and it was pointless. Then she suggested that I look in the bathroom trash can for the tiny, clear, nearly invisible lenses. In case one of them had torn in her eye. I tried. I really did, but there is just some things a mother can't do. Sifting through the bathroom trash is one of them. I'd had enough to do with spit already.

But then, she suddenly realized that her eye was open of it's own accord. She was back in business. I looked out the bathroom window whilst she got in the shower. Then I turned and looked into the sink. From one side to the other was leftover toothpaste foam and spit.
Amy: "Oh Adrienne always does that."
Me: "Seriously, she can't rinse it down?"
(On a side-note, when this girl brushes her teeth, she means business. She looks like she has rabies with all the foam she produces. She could be the tooth brushing demonstrator at the dentist. )
Amy: "I take water and lick it down."
Me: "What?! You lick it down?!"
Amy: "FLICK! I flick it down, with water."
Much laughter ensues.

But where was Heather in all this drama? I went to her room and knocked. She was just sitting up, no spittle noticed anywhere in evidence, her eyes open, no foaming at the mouth. Was she the only normal female in this house? Then when I told her it was getting late, she just shrugged, "It's Saturday." Umm, sorry but it's Friday. She stepped it into high gear really fast. So maybe she does not know what day it is, but compared to the rest of us, still pretty normal I'd say.

And that is how a morning goes some days in this household. May you all feel either "more normal" after reading this or at the very least that you are not alone in the everyday things of life.

Have a Good Day!
Dianne

Yesterday…Quite a Day.

Yesterday was yesterday. I'd rather not repeat it.

Not that it was a bad day, it was just a day. 

Let's see. 

I got off work, slept about an hour, ran a few errands, then got home. I did a few work-related phone calls, worked on my schedule and to-do lists for the next two weeks, straightened up the house and put a load of laundry in. 

Walking up to get Ryan off the bus, I thought about the cupcakes I needed to make yet today so he'd have them for school tomorrow. Maybe I'd get them done before leaving for the girl's volleyball game. 

I didn't. 

The game was nail-biting. They lost one, won one, lost one, won one, then won the tie-breaker. I think my blood pressure went up a bit and the people around me probably wished I'd go sit down and quit pacing. I can't help it!

So home again, home again jiggity-jig. I still had cupcakes to bake. 

I started. I had ingredients in the bowl by 10pm. Then the  phone rang. Nora, the girl's horse, was frisking about, on the wrong side of the fence. 

Cupcakes on hold, we drove off gallantly to put things right. 

"Mom, just leave the car lights on. So we can see." 

(Uh-huh. Remember that part.)

The lovely Nora was enjoying the grass, which actually was greener on the this side of the fence.

Go figure. 

"You want me to go where? Now? Why? I like it out here." 

If I was Nora, I'd be thinking this:

"If I stay on this side of the gate, these girls pick the fresh grass and feed it to me. Go back? Nah!"

In the end, she did go back, quite nicely. 

My girls, horse whisperers. 

(Ignore the creepy horse eye.)

Okay, that's done. We are all freezing now and head back to the car. 

We need gloves. 

We need another jacket. 

We need jumper cables.

No kidding. 

My car battery is dead and no one is around to give us a jump. We could hitch the frisky horse to the car and tow it home…

We called Adrienne instead. Between the two of us, we got the cables attached correctly, no one got shocked and my car started. She's quite a gal! A flashlight would have been helpful, but right when we needed a light, my cell phone battery died. The way this was going, let's just say I was thankful I didn't have a pacemaker battery to worry about. 

Home again, home again jiggly-jig. Same song, second verse. 

By now, it's after midnight. My night shift brain has forgotten that I haven't slept more than an hour since Sunday morning and I still have cupcakes to finish. The kids went to bed, I baked. 

Gingerbread cupcakes. 

Spicy. 

Mmmmmm. 

 Suffice it to say that yesterday was a day.
What's today got that can beat that?

Love,
Dianne

Ink Spot Blotting

Sometimes it is the unexpected things that take up your time.

Like a mischievous pen that decided to leak black ink on the futon.

I just happened to be folding clothes and sorting them on the futon while I watched HGTV. Too bad they weren't having a show about removing stains. Maybe if it was Martha Stewart...

Maybe if I was Martha Stewart...

Okay, I started by just blotting the ink spot with dry napkins. And I blotted and blotted.
Then I got some hairspray and sprayed it on, and blotted and blotted. And blotted.

Even after spending 20 minutes doing this, I still haven't gotten it all out. It's like the Dr. Suess book where Thing 1 and Thing 2 get all this pink ink everywhere. To clean it up, The Cat In The Hat used Vroom.

 I could really use some of that now. I wonder if it works on skin?
And it seems like it is getting darker the longer it is on my skin. I think I prefer paint to ink.

So, it is the unexpected things that take up my time sometimes. The choice I have to make, is what I am going to do with the unexpected. Sometimes, the surprises in life are nice, like your husband calling out of the blue and asking you to meet him for lunch. Or you get an unexpected package that you need to run out to the post office for.

But sometimes, the unexpected is not so nice. A sick child, a flood in the garden, a flat tire, your husband calling to say he is not going to get home until late, and the list could go on...

I could talk about the really bad things, like finding out you have a serious illness, or the death of a family member or a close friend, but for today, I'm not. I need to work on dealing with the small things. Somehow, that reflects more how anchored I am in what I believe than the big things. If I react with a meltdown over the small things, or have a crisis over a change of plans, that tells me that I am not grounded very well. It's time to find some balance. Faith, family, work, life...they all need balanced.

And somewhere in that balance, I need a way to maintain and reestablish equilibrium when the unexpected occurs.

Like a pen leak.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Love,

Dianne

A Kitchen Table

The kitchen table. Just those three words brings am image to everyone's mind.

Our kitchen table growing up was a white rectangular oval with a chocolate brown border on which each corner (as if an oval can have a corner!) had an emblem of sorts. Very mid-century modern looking. I wonder where it is now?

As newlyweds in our Springs apartment, we used a table that had belonged to my parents. Again, it had the look of the 1970ies, straight lines with a laminate top. We didn't own kitchen chairs at first and we sat on two coolers, but it worked, and we didn't care. Once, as Leo was trying to impress me with a manly pose in the kitchen, he leaned on the table and the metal legs collapsed leaving my man in a pile on the floor. I will admit to laughing (somewhat hysterically), but only after making sure he was okay. Ah, the memories.

When we moved to the trailer with two small children, I think we had the oval, brown-edged table. When we redid the kitchen there, we put in a table/bar and the oval heirloom went...away...I still wish I knew where.

In Louisville, we had a kitchen table and a dining room table. The kitchen table was another throwback from the 1960-1970ies. What I remember about that table is the metal legs that were at such an angle that you were always catching your toes on them, Not just stubbing them, but STUBBING them with vengeance. There were a few choice words yelled at that table during the time we lived there! The dining room table was huge and could seat 600 easily. Well, okay 12-15 easily. It was heavy and wooden and had probably lived in the house at Bonnycastle Avenue since it was built. A lot of different people have eaten around that table and if it could talk, oh the stories it could tell!

Then we moved to the Farm. The first time I saw the house and got to go in, we sat around this oval, wooden kitchen table covered with a red checkered tablecloth and talked to the owner of the house. The table just fit the house, and I hoped that he would leave it for us to use.

Fifteen years later, that oval table is still in use at our house. Daily.
It is made to seat six, but we manage to get all 7 of us around it. A part of me wants a new table that seats eight, but I am reluctant to part with an old friend. Despite the wobbles, and the fact that it needs refinished, I love it; it. is a member of the family.

Lots of laughter and teasing have gone on around it's edges as well as arguments and a few tears.
Quite a few of us have laid our heads on its surface after a long day and fallen asleep.
Through the years, it has been used to eat on, do homework on, cut fabric for a pattern out on, paint, scrapbook and color on (not literally on the table, but you know what I mean!). Lately it has been a racetrack for Ryan and his Cars.

This is my table this morning. I could've cleared it off so it would look pretty, but that would've been cheating. So this is it. I am painting a desk so there is painting stuff on it, as well as Ryan's homework that he forgot to put in his backpack, other misc. papers, my Pampered Chef order, Heather's gym bag, and there is almost always a coat on the back of a chair or two.

For now, I'll keep the table. I know her and her quirks. Definitely not perfect, but a perfect fit for us.

Love,
Dianne

Just being me

This week I love Monday. It's vacation week and I like having a week to just "be".

Just be a mom.

Just be a wife.

Just be able to focus on my family.

To just be.

I want to be able to go to a friend's house without feeling like I am rushed.

I want to be able to drink a cup of coffee without having to drink it in a travel mug on my way to work.

I want to be able to catch up on a project or two.

I want to be able to start a book that has been waiting to be enjoyed.

I want to be able to go to church for two Sundays in a row.

I am thankful today that I am alive. 

I am thankful for kids that make a lot of noise when they come home.

I am thankful for a sister, brother-in-law, and nephew that came to visit today.

I am thankful my husband is so good-looking. 

Yes, I went there.

I hope Tuesday is just as rewarding. Tomorrow the painting of Heather's room begins...

Here's to just "being".

Love,

Dianne

Sunday Siesta

There is nothing quite like a good foot rub and a nap on a Sunday afternoon.  Somehow, taking a Sunday siesta doesn't make you feel guilty like it would any other day of the week. Rather, it is almost a requirement.

When I was a kid though, I couldn't understand at all why my parents would want to sleep part of a perfectly good day away. Why not play outside, read a book, play a game?

Now, I understand.


Not that I take a snooze every Sunday. Sometimes I enjoy curling up with an intriguing book or good movie. In the summer I like to read out in the hammock. On a winter day, scrapbooking is a desirable pastime.  Spring and Fall are ideal for a walk through the woods or down along River Road. Occasionally, if the weather is right, I just can't help but to dig in the dirt, pull a few weeds, plant something. Maybe some would call that working on a Sunday, and not keeping one of the Ten Commandments, but to me, it's relaxing.

Right now, as I am typing this, I am kinda watching the Ravens vs. Patriots football game with Leo. Go Steelers! (Sorry, force of habit.)  I did doze off earlier for about 30 minutes. Amy and Heather are watching an episode of Psych, Adrienne is taking a nap, Ryan is drawing, and Aaron just got home from an overnight job. A relaxing, no-agenda, afternoon. Oh yeah...

Now, if this was years ago, my mom would be making ice-cream, the homemade pizza would be started, and later, the popcorn would be popped and we would eat after my dad got home from doing the farm chores.

For today, I'll just live the moment. Maybe I'll venture outside when Leo goes to the barn. Maybe I'll walk up the lane and back. Maybe I'll look through a gardening magazine. Maybe I'll just go make some popcorn. . .

Love,
Dianne

"Ooooh, I'm drivin' my life away..."

As I sit to write this, the snow is starting to fall again outside; not heavy, but enough that it is in the air with the potential to be more. I am glad my vacation starts and I can be snowbound.

When I was a kid, winter's lasted a long time, and it was really awesome! My sisters and I loved playing in the snow and could spend hours outside digging snow tunnels, sled riding, throwing snowballs and playing fox and goose. We didn't have official "snow clothes" to wear. We just layered on long-johns, pants, another pair of pants, a couple of shirts or sweatshirts and a winter jacket. Oh, and don't forget the mittens, hats, scarves, and at least two pairs of socks. Getting ready to go outside was such a chore! Maybe that's why when we did go out, we would stay out for hours.

I don't remember my mom ever complaining about all the dripping, snow-encrusted clothing that we would hang up all over the utility/mudroom and kitchen. I would think about that when my children were all younger and spending time playing in the snow. I'm pretty sure I was not always so gracious when it came to the snow puddles on the floor and the piles of clothing on the radiators drying.

Beside the house I grew up in, out in The Cove, was "The Field". Long and hilly, it was perfect for sled riding. We would call the neighbor boy to come up and join us and then the fun would begin. First, we'd have to make a sufficient sled track. The best was when the snow was deep enough that you could work it into a winding groove down the hillside. This took time to get it done, but when it was complete....LOOK OUT! Sometimes we'd go down all connected like a train, other times we'd make a couple tracks and race.

And we would always sing an Eddie Rabbit country song, "Oooohhh, I'm drivin' my life away..."

The worst part was walking back up the slippery slope. It took 10 times as long to go up as it took to fly down. Where was the snowmobile when you needed it?

I remember one time it was all icy and you could see the grass trapped beneath this thick layer of clear ice.  Now that made for some fast (I think it was almost illegal, it was so fast!) sledding. Usually we didn't make it all the way to the bottom of the field where a fence separated it from the neighbor's yard, but that day we did. You couldn't stop yourself and had to lay flat or get caught in the barbed wire. Oh, it was fun!

Tomorrow is Saturday. Snowman making day? Sled-riding? (Of course sledding is a little boring when you live on Level Acres Lane.) Fox and Goose? It has been a long time since I just went out and played in the snow. Maybe tomorrow....

2 years ago

Me and Leo built this one down on the dock to the pond.

Ryan did this one without any help. I think they are both adorable!

Hats

 We all wear hats. Some of us never take them off. Others of us are constantly changing them. And there are those who would prefer to never put one on at all.

What hats do I wear?

First, I have a mommy, mother, mom, mama hat that I am very proud to wear.

I have a wife hat that I love wearing.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

Then there is the nurse hat (sorry, no pics...you know, HIPPA privacy blah blah).


I also have a creative hat wardrobe that includes scrapbooker hat, puppeteer and actress hat, seamstress and crafter hat,  home decorator and designer hat....etc etc.

And then I have sister, daughter and auntie hats that I do so enjoy putting on.
Another hat I own is a friend hat.

Me and Val

Me, Roxie, and Kimmy
Awwwwww....

Me and Sam (yep, he's got the nephew hat on)

A blast from the past...
Cousins and Friends
Jencene (Bender) Tice, Me, and Vicki (Yoder) Moyer

And last, but certainly not least, is the thinker, dreamer hat...

My kids are going to be getting off the bus soon. I guess I'll take off the blogger hat, put on the mom hat, and then in about 2 hrs, I'll put on the nurse hat (not literally, although I do have one!). Tomorrow is another day, what will I wear? 

Love,

 Dianne

Time To Pick Vacation

I am next on the vacation schedule. Oooohhh, sounds ominous doesn't it?

At work, the vacation schedule comes out, usually in January, and then based on seniority everyone picks their desired weeks. Being about 2/3rd of the way to the bottom, sometimes I get the perfect week, sometimes I don't. Tonight when I go to work, I will pick my time.

Two years ago when I went to choose "the week" I ended up with August. I wasn't too sure about it because I'd always picked June before. This year was different though. We, as a family, were actually going to go on an honest-to-goodness vacation!

Vacations don't happen much when you have a farm. Those cows just seem to think they can't survive a week without the farmer. Not only do you have to be able to find someone who can milk the cows, but you need to be able to trust them, so when you are away, you aren't worrying too much abut the farm.

But....two years ago, in the Spring, we sold the milking herd and Leo was free to actually have a vacation! So, for the first time since we moved here (April 1, 1997), our family went somewhere where it didn't involve a family reunion, a wedding, or a funeral. We saved our money, we searched online for vacation houses, and we planned.


The Leonard Maust family was headed for ...

            Rhode Island!

I am not sure words can even capture what it felt like to do this. So much anticipation and excitement. So much craziness with all of us in a minivan again for hours. So many memories made...

Early mornings on the beach...

     Sand, shells, and stones...

          Cold waves and warm sunshine...

                Clam chowder and corn on the cob....

                       Reading a book for hours on the beach...

                              Eight mile Cliff Walk in Newport...

                                     Stinky Horseshoe Crab......

                                           Sunsets over fishing villages......

                                                 Quaint shops and antiques....

                                                       Point Judith Lighthouse...

                                                             Being Together....


Just a few random photos...

Too many hrs in the van!

Cliff Walk, Newport RI

Sam

Yesterday was my nephew Sam's 2nd Birthday!!! I can't believe he is already a toddler, entering into the realm of "The Terrible Two's" (Actually, I thought age 3-4 was way more terrible!) 

Opening his Christmas gifts

Opening Thomas The Tank Engine
(Now he gets to open his birthday gifts!)

Sam, this past June 

Yeah, he's cute. Way cute.

And before his mom and dad will be ready, they will  be watching him get on the school bus for that first day of Kindergarten. Then they will turn around and Sam will be in middle school, wanting to play a sport and learn a musical instrument. His parents will blink once and Sam will be in high school, asking for help with Algebra and girls. 

Wasn't it just yesterday that Sam was born and we were all praying that he'd be healthy and strong? That this little baby who insisted on coming six weeks premature (in a snowstorm!) would grow to be a mighty man of God? 

That wasn't yesterday. That was two years ago and we all wonder at how quickly time goes by. 

Not just for Eric, Valerie, and Sam, but for all of us. 

How do I have a 20 year old daughter already? And when did Aaron turn into a man?  I thought Amy and Heather were still my little girls, and in the time it took to blow the fuzzy dandelion and watch the seeds scatter, they blossomed into young ladies. And then there's my baby. Ryan was just born, right? So what is he doing being a boy of 8? I can't even really call him my "little" boy anymore. 

Sigh.

Time passes for all of us. Enjoy today. At least a part of it, a moment of it, if you are able. I need to cherish where my children are at this stage in their lives, because I will turn around, or blink, and it will be gone. I need to cherish where Leo and I are at in our relationship for the same reason. 

Time passes quickly....don't let life pass you by. Live it! 

Love Dianne

New Year's Eve Feast with Family

"You have to smell and taste your ingredients." says the wise chef. That would be my man. (Hmmm, I wonder if he means all ingredients.) Course, if it's chocolate, whipped cream and peanut butter, I'll taste all the ingredients.

We are all together this New Year's Eve afternoon, eating an early supper before everyone heads off to different activities. Ryan is the only one missing; he is spending the night at my parent's house. The rest of us made the meal in a group effort.

Listening to "Straight No Chaser", the kitchen is bustling with activity. Leonard, Heather, and Aaron are handling the hot foods on the stove, I am making the salad and Amy is doing the dishes. Adrienne is gearing up for a night of no sleep by taking a nap. I love the somewhat organized chaos, the 18 different conversations going on at once, the tangle of too many people in a crowded kitchen, the being together.

The counter is actually empty for 2 seconds.

Leo, Aaron, and Heather

Me and Heather taking a break.

The menu:
                     Roast Chicken
                     Alfredo Noodles
                     Seafood blend (Squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels)

It actually was quite delicious! Maybe next I'll try sushi. Maybe.

                 Stir-fried peppers and onions

Yummy!

                   Tossed Salad with mixed greens                

                   Crusty Ciabatta Bread

Even better smothered in butter...mmmm

                     Brownies a'la Heather
                     Tropical punch blend

Now, 2 hours later, I can say that I tasted all the ingredients...and they were scrumptious. The time we spent together was even better.

Happy New Year!

Dianne