My Real Life

June 24, 2011

Friday Five – Wonder

Filed under: Five Question Friday — Amy @ 8:08 am
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(The Friday Five taken from The Gypsy Mama)

The end of the week – a good time for few words.

Want to take five minutes with me and see which ones bubble to the surface?

Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not.

Today’s prompt – Wonder

Go:

Last night I was full of wonder as I lay on my bed.

Every summer I rewatch the Little House on the Prairie series.  Head to the library and rent them all, one disc at a time.

For someone as tech involved as I am, it may seem strange that I am so drawn to stories about a much, much simpler time, but I am.  I love it.  It reinvigorates me to center on the home and I really enjoy it.

So, Real Man and I were on the bed, me watching the show while playing with the baby, he playing on his Xoom tablet.  One by one, the monkeys made their way into the room.  First, Monkey Girl, then Baby Monkey, then, finally, Monkey in the Middle.  Soon, all 6 of us were snuggled on our bed, bodies crisscrossed, entangled, resting on each other, chatting and watching and enjoying.

And that’s where the wonder entered the mix.  I looked around and couldn’t believe that this was my family.  This baby with impossibly tiny toes and fingers that grab things and push him forward as he begins the process of trying to crawl.  This girl who loves with her whole heart, making me smile as she managed to read a book AND watch the show AND talk to the rest of us about her day.  This 7-year old boy who never, ever stops, just resting and watching and asking questions as he views them completing tasks that are completely foreign to him, like washing clothes on a washboard and in a bucket.  That little boy, who fell fast asleep at the foot of the bed, completely safe and secure in the love and comfort of his family.  And, that Real Man, sitting next to me, watching over all of us, smiling to himself knowing that we all belong to him, just as much as he belongs to all of us.

Every inch of this bed covered with the people that make me complete and I was filled with wonder.  Wonder that, not only had we created life, but that we had nurtured it and help it to grow into these little, amazing beings.  Wonder at the unlimited potential inside each of them.  Wonder at the science of how they form and grow, and wonder

Stop

Well, there it is.  Take it for what it’s worth.

I think my favorite thing about the Friday Five is that everyone’s interpretation of the prompt is so wonderfully different.  If you visit The Gypsy Mama you can see that her thoughts on “wonder” vary greatly from mine, but are wonderful to read.

Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s offering.

June 19, 2011

Why I Love Her

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:50 pm
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Monkey Girl had her long-awaited (4 months overdue) birthday party this weekend.

It was a roller-skating party and it was fun.

A lot of fun.

Monkey Girl asked her friends to forgo bringing her a gift, and to instead, please bring a donation to the local food pantry.

This wasn’t an original idea of hers; a friend of hers did this with a party earlier in the year and she really liked the sentiment behind it.

She toyed with it for months.

Then, when it was time to send the invitations, she decided she definitely wanted to do it.

And so, when we wrote the invitations, we asked that, in lieu of a gift for her, to please bring a donation for the food pantry.

Wow, did her friends comply.

She had 8 friends come to the party and look at everything they donated:

When she saw the pile put on the coffee table like that, she felt good.

Looking at the picture, I realize it doesn’t do it justice.  It goes back to cover about half of the coffee table.

When we bring it to the food pantry this week, she’ll feel even better.

Man, am I proud of her and impressed by the generosity of her friends.

It was a good day.

June 17, 2011

Five Question Friday

Filed under: Five Question Friday — Amy @ 10:19 pm
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1. What is your favorite summer time activity?
Early morning walks on the beach.  Hands down.
When we go to the beach, each summer, Monkey in the Middle is always the first up and he comes and gets me right away.
We get up before anyone else is stirring and we walk along the boardwalk.
We pass early morning joggers and get the first fruits and veggies as the farmers market stand opens for the day.
It’s quiet and still and it’s rare time alone with my guy.
Hands down…favorite summer activity.

2. Do you have one laundry soap you stick to, or do you buy whatever’s on sale?
I like Tide.
My kids are worse than the kids in commercials with the messes they make.
I can’t even identify all of the stains on their clothes.
I use Tide.

3. What is your favorite dinner to make in the summer?
Reservations!
Hahahaha…anyone else remember that commercial where the woman answers the question, “What’s for dinner” with her heavy Brooklyn accent saying “Reservations!”
Anyone?
Anyone?
Crickets.
Anywhoo…
Burgers and dogs on the grill are my favorite summer meal to make.
Because I don’t enjoy cooking.  That’s why.

4. Do you have any talents?
Everyone has talents.
It’s just a matter of finding them.

5. If you could instantly be an expert in something, what would it be? Why?
Parenting.
I’m always worried that I’m messing it all up.

June 14, 2011

Best Bobblehead Ever!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:33 pm

June 13, 2011

My Mother’s Hands

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 12:41 pm
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The other day, my Mom and I were sitting on the couch and she was showing me her hands.

“I got a manicure,” she said as she held out her hands and showed me her shortly filed nails that had been painted with a clear polish.

“They look nice,” I said.  “But then, I’ve always loved your hands.”

“You have?” she asked, with surprise.

“Yep…I always wished I had inherited your hands.”

“Huh!  I never knew that,” she responded.

And it’s true.

As long as I can remember, I have wished I had inherited my mother’s hands.

She has long tapered fingers and beautifully, perfectly shaped nails.

I used to sit on the piano bench with her and watch her fingers glide, effortlessly over the keys as she played hymn after hymn and try to emulate her finger movements when I sat down, myself, to practice.

I loved watching her write…her pen shaping pretty letters with her practiced penmanship, which I was always sure looked so nice because her hands were so pretty.

Even watching her make meatloaf, covering those hands in ground beef and seasoning made me wish I had those hands.

I don’t have her hands.

Not at all.

My hands are small.

My fingers are short and not tapered.

My nails aren’t perfectly shaped.

There’s nothing wrong with my hands…they do the work they need to do and are caring and gentle and comforting hands…but aren’t beautiful hands, as my Mom’s once were.

However, the conversation got me thinking.

What is it that my children will remember about me?

What piece of me, that I take completely for granted, will be the thing my children always remember?

What is it, that when we sit on their couches when they are grown, will cause them to say, “I always wish I had that of yours, Mom.  I always remember that about you.”

Who knows…maybe it will be my hands, after all, because often, what we find to be most imperfect about ourselves is the one thing that someone else could not live without.

“To the world, you are one person, but perhaps, to one person, you are the whole world.”

June 12, 2011

20 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Each Sunday

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:36 am

Alyssa Milano tweeted a link to this article this morning (yes, I follow her on Twitter, we’ve been through this already, deal with it) and I thought it was a really great, reflective way to start out on an early Sunday morning.

Hope you enjoy it and that it helps you make a path toward a better week!

Sunday Sighs

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:27 am
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Funny.

All I need to see to remind myself that, despite how it feels, Tiny Monkey is still…well, quite tiny, is a picture of his Daddy holding him…hand spanning his belly.

That’s one little big boy.

June 11, 2011

Mystery Solved

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 1:42 pm

Baby Monkey made a bird feeder a few weeks ago.

He’s been distraught that no birds ever seem to eat the seed.

However, the seed continues to disappear.

Mystery solved.

Today

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:57 am
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I believe this sums up the way I’m feeling today quite nicely.

Pardon the video…it’s the only way I could get the song here.

June 10, 2011

Friday Funnies

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 8:00 am
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Check this out.

I LOVE the humor of these people willing to correct their “friends.”

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