Wednesday, May 28, 2008

A High-jacked Tag

So I wasn't officially tagged by anyone, but I wanted to do this one so I am tagging my self!

1. What is something your mom always says to you? "Sufficient unto to the day is the evil thereof..." but I like that better than "Mosiah 4:14!"

2. What makes your mom happy? Being in her garden and being with her family.

3. What makes your mom sad? When she thinks that her grand babies won't remember her.

4. How does mom make you laugh? Her sometimes morbid sense of humor and when she forgets things like turning on the crock-pot after putting the dinner in it....

5. What was your mom like as a child? Smart and imaginative, she would put a towel on her head and pretend to be a princess with long flowing hair.

6. How old is your mom? 49, and as I have been informed numerous times if she makes it to the big 50 she expects one hell of a party and not a mock funeral as that would be in poor taste. (see, mom, I was listening...)

7. How tall is your mom? 5' 2"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Garden and read.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Garden and read.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? We would love it for her to become famous in a medical study that found a way to cure cancer. On her own merits it would be her writing.

11. What is your mom really good at? Gardening and reading. She is also one of the most faithful and positive people I know. It isn't everyone who in facing their own death worries about helping others cope with it.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Remembering things (see #4). We call it chemo-brain.

13. What does your mom do for her job? Lives. She retired from being an executive assistant in January, which as she said was like getting paid for being a mother, organizing someone else's time, making sure they don't forget their homework, er, board meetings, etc.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Right now, anything that doesn't hurt too much to swallow. She has sores in her mouth and throat as a side effect of the chemo. But she normally likes Mexican a lot.

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Everything. She is a woman who's price is far above rubies. She is patient beyond belief, uncomplaining, faithful and loving. She is also intelligent and independent. She raised us to have self-worth and compassion and I hope that I can do as good of a job mothering my children.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? The Undaunted Gardener, complete with cape and tights. (There is a visual for you.)

17. What do you and your mom do together? Go on adventures with my kids, hang out in her pool and just enjoy each others company.

18. How are you and your mom the same? No one can tell our voices apart on the phone, not even my brother and sister.

19. How are you and your mom different? I pretty much kill any plant I come in contact with, but she hasn't given up on me yet...

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she tells me. (Which might seem like a simplistic answer, but I am so grateful both my parents realized the importance of communication skills and taught us to tell people how we feel. You can never say "I love you" too much!)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Birthdays can be dangerous to your health....


Happy 5th birthday to Jake! I can't believe how big he is. We had a fun day, we went to a picnic in the park with his preschool for the last day of class. Then we got to hang out at Mima's house and get ready for his party. It was so much fun with lots of friends and family. Jake got so many great presents, including a bunch of new Hot Wheels.

He also got a trip to the instacare after the party. (You know it's not a party until someone needs medical attention....) While running around and playing tag with his cousins, Jake got poked in the eye. It seemed to be
getting worse and hurting more, so we took him to the doctor and they said he had a pretty bad abrasion on his eye. So they put some medicine in it and gave him a cool eye patch. When the nurse got done putting it on him, he sat up and gave her his best, "ARGGG, Me Matey!"

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Jacobisms

Here are a few of my favorite Jacobisims from this past week.
1) "Hey mom, on a show I was watching today Mr. Rude parked his car in front of the fire detergent, and then a police man came and arrested the fire detergent instead of Mr. Rude!"
2) I have a tote bag from Barnes and Noble with a picture of the cover of To Kill A Mockingbird on it which we use for a diaper bag. I asked him to go get something out of it for me and his response was, "Oh, the To Kill a Hummingbird bag?"
3) And the hands down favorite of this week, while we were driving with my parents to a family function this weekend Jacob was in the back seat. Out of the blue he announced, "Hey guys? I'm thinking about thinking outside the box."

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Spontanious Girls Night Out

So yesterday while at lunch with my mom and grandmother I had an epiphany. It struck me as really, really unfair that my husband was going golfing on Saturday of Mother's Day (let me emphasis that... MOTHER'S Day) weekend. I will give him points for not going every weekend, or more than we could afford, or things like that. But it really didn't seem fair that he was leaving me alone for the better part of the day to go play with the boys. So, since it was a little late in the day to object to plans that had been in place for 2 weeks, I hurried to see if we could arrange a Girl's Night Out. It was so much fun. (And thank you to my brother and brother-in-law for being flexible enough to let their wives go play.) Mom, Caite, Elena, and I went mostly window shopping at the Gateway, and to a movie (Baby Mama, which turned out to be really a cute, funny show and appropriate since half of us are pregnant.) and then to dinner. It is always a good thing to spend time with other grown-ups, it's nice to come home and hear how much my kids were asking for me. Evie threw her arms around me this morning and said, "Misss-ew mommy!" It's a nice reminder that I love being a mom and my kids are pretty great, when sometimes my perspective gets a bit off from being with them day in and day out for loooong stretches of time. Plus it is always fun to spend time with my mom and sisters. I have the coolest family and I love that we enjoy each others company. Thanks mom, for being the best mom and friend a girl could ask for.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!

Take this test!
Hey there, funny girl! You're living proof that nothing brings a family together quite like bonding over good times. While you may not always laugh at exactly the same things, you and your mom certainly share your own unique sense of humor — and it shows.


Whether you guys are exchanging smart-alec remarks around the house, making fun of Oscar outfits, or sharing an inside joke, your mom obviously taught you how to lighten up, and you use your lesson well. No doubt she helped you deal with life's more serious matters, but it is her smiles and laughter that you're sure to remember, inherit, and pass on. What a perfect pair!
I thought this was a pretty good test for this time of year. Love you mom! (and no, I don't mind turning into you too much.... I guess it all depends on who you turn into! tee hee hee!)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Blog that Mom!

This morning as we were getting ready to leave for the day I asked my son if he had remembered to turn off the lights downstairs. This was our conversation...

Me: Did you turn off the lights?
Jake: Yes, but mom, here's the thing.... every night I turn off the lights when I come upstairs and then when I go downstairs to play the next morning they are on again!
M: Well, I guess that you are probably not remembering to turn all of them off.
J: No. Mom, we have an electrical problem.
M: (trying not to snort) Oh, hmmm.
J: Mom, do you know an electrician?
M: Ummm, no, no I don't think I do.
J: Well, don't we have one in the family?
M: No.
J: Wait! What does Uncle Brady do?
M: He is in hospital administration, I think.
J: Oh. Hmmm.... Oh, mom! I know someone who isn't an electrician, but he knows how electricity works.
M: You do huh? Who?
J: Pa Dave! I'm going to call him.
Fast forward through the part where Jake gets my cell phone and calls my dad to explain the "electrical problem" we are having. I then took the phone and explained why he was calling.
Pa Dave said he thought he knew what the problem was so I handed the phone back to Jake.
Pa Dave: Ok, Jake. I think that what is happening is the ambient RAM is malfunctioning during the down cycle.
Jake: Huh? What does that mean?
Pa Dave: It means that you forgot to turn off the lights.
Jake: Uh, ok, I gotta go.
Jake then hung up the phone and with a look of disgust turned to me and said, " He was wrong."

I manged to control the laughter long enough to call my dad back and tell him what Jake thought of his diagnoses. Jake was really on one today though. After running some of our errands we stopped at my parents and had lunch with them. Jake was sitting at the counter talking to my mom, my sister, her husband and myself. Patrick (Caite's husband) asked Jake how his watermelon was. Jake said, "I'm too embarrassed to tell you." Then he whispered in Caite's ear that he thought it was "water-licious!" All of the sudden he said, "I'm too embarrassed to say anymore words," and slid down from the bar stool. As he walked away he threw his hand in the air, with attitude, and said, "So put that in your blog." (Poor Mima had just taken a drink and just about snorted water out her nose.)