Thank you Neil

Tonight we heard Neil Diamond's Coming to America on the radio. I'm sure they play it every year, but it seems like I haven't heard it in ages. Hearing Neil Diamond transports me straight back to my childhood. It provided a nice little path for the walk down memory lane......such as spending the 4th at Grandma and Grandpa J's house. I distinctly remember waiting and waiting for the fireworks show to start. It took forever to get dark, or so it seemed. My best guess is that I was about 3 1/2 at the time.

Prior to our first trip to Disney Land we got to see Neil Diamond in concert at the King Dome. I can guarantee you that those striped jeans had zippers at the back of the ankles. I also remember feeling terribly fat...if only I was that "fat" now. ;)

Snowflakes and hummingbirds

The other day I was hoping to be called off work and just spend the a lazy day at home with Mike and the girls. The morning phone call never came and my sleep ended abruptly by the screech of that horrible little black box with the glaring red numbers that society calls the alarm clock.

I did what I always do. I got right out of bed and greeted the glorious morning...yeah right...I leapt out of bed and reset the alarm to go off again in another 20 minutes. I crept back under my covers that held the heat in place welcoming me back to my dreams.

When the alarm went off again I had to rush to get ready and to work on time. As I was turning the key to start my car I looked over toward my neighbors house and spied a tiny little bird hovering over little yellow flute clusters growing on a bush on the property line. It's little wings beat so fast they didn't appear to exist at all. I didn't move. I didn't need to as time seemed to stand still as this tiny bird zipped and zagged sucking the nectar form the tiny little fluted flowers. Then in a blink of an eye it was gone.

I drove on toward work. Reaching the long straight stretch of road I'd begun to wish that I had gotten up when my alarm went off the first time so that I could've ridden my bike and thoroughly enjoyed the glorious morning that God had blessed the day with. Through the grime that coats my windshield I was still able to see the sun casting golden rays through low hanging sleepy clouds and bathing the surrounding trees with morning light. It was a beautiful morning.

Work was exhausting. The temperature control was all screwed up so it was roughly 90 degrees. Anytime I leaned against any surface my clothing would get damp due to the sweat. It reminded me of North Carolina.

I commented to another nurse that it was really hot. She agreed and then told a fellow nurse "Hey...It's not hot flashes cause the young ones are complaining about it too." :o)

Although work was exhausting (and very hot), it was rewarding. There are days where it feels like I run and run and run and can barely keep my head above water. There are many days, like this particular day, where I leave work feeling as though I've really made a difference.

It was such a good feeling to leave work and feel the breeze was over me. The sweet smell of summer was carried on that breeze.

The whole day, from watching the hummingbird, to the drive home reinforced how quickly life moves. It reinforced how quickly the children grow and parents age. On a daily basis I need to slow down and tell the people I love that I love them. I need to slow down and look at the little things Samantha notices and play and be silly. I need to slow down and watch a sunset with Mandi and listen about her friends and goals and dreams. I need to slow down and go on a date with my husband and hold his hand and kiss in the kitchen.

I learned once on a cold November night in 2006 just how quickly life can change. I guarantee you that it can change faster than the hummingbird moves it's wings. In life you don't always get a second opportunity to say "I love you."


Sammie-ism: "Mom, can I have some snowflakes pleas?" She meant frosted flakes. I think snowflakes is a better name.

A Summer Giveaway & Happy Update

Prior to our mini vacation I was shopping at JoAnn's and was thrilled to see that they had cotton yarn on sale. I bought 5 skeins and on our trip finished 6 1/2 washcloths. I used my mom's old 4-H pattern.
As the name of this blog implies I have a little something to share. For this first summer give away I'll be sharing two of these 100% cotton, hand knit washcloths.

If your interested in winning simply leave a comment of your favorite kitchen memory whether it's cooking with your mom, or teaching your kids Grandma's favorite recipe. The comments section will be open until 4pm on July 4th.


I am so thrilled. Sam and I were at Haggen's and this is what I saw...
Thank you Dan! I am so thrilled that he acted so quickly in getting the Aspirin out of the section designated for children's medications. :o) I can really appreciate a store that responds so quickly to customer's concerns.

The drive part I

We've had a great couple of days with a whirlwind drive around Washington State. This link provided ideas for places that we had not heard of or been to before. We didn't go everyplace, but it got us beyond our comfort zone try try new things in this state of ours.

Our first stop was at this park near Gorge Dam. Sam needed to run and play and the Dramamine hadn't started working yet for Mandi so she needed some time out of the car too.

This old train was there too. It was so cool. I knew Grandma J would definitely enjoy seeing the girls with this train. The scenery of the area was beautiful.

We made it to Winthrop that first night and in the morning we took a quick walk around the town. The girls enjoyed looking around the candy store before we headed back to the car.

We stopped for a picnic lunch in Pateros. They have a nice little park with picnic benches, public restrooms, a play area, and a beautiful backdrop.

We drove on to Soap Lake which is where were had planned on spending the afternoon/evening and staying for the night. When we got there it was quickly apparent that would not be the case.

We arrived at the public beach where everybody and their brother was. Apparently they were having a monument dedication. We could not reach the beach through the crowd. We went to the information center, but there was a sign that they were closed due to the ceremony. So we decided to drive on around the lake to see if there was another area with beach access.

We found an RV park and decided that we'd pay to use the beach if need be, but again this office was closed due to the ceremony. We decided to stay a little while anyway as we could at least get our feet wet.

The lake stunk like poo. The silt around the lake looked like and felt like poo. Mandi decided right away it wasn't for her and never even got her feet wet. Sam wouldn't touch the water and insisted on being carried. Mike had his aqua socks and I was bare footed. We spent about all of 2 minutes there, most of which was spent getting in and getting out.
Soap Lake was a bit of a bust and we decided to drive on. Of course my family made sure to remind me whose suggestion it was that we stop there. :o)

It was still a beautiful area and a good experience even if I feel no need to hurry back anytime soon.

Happy Father's Day

Several weeks ago I walked into my local Michael's store and saw a display for Milestones stepping stone kits. What a great Father's Day idea. I spent the next couple of weeks using my Michael's and JoAnn's coupons to get a couple kits and a few extras like glass and cement stamps so the girls could make personalized stepping stones for Mike.
The cement mix for Sam's turned out perfect and adding stamps to the design was easy. When I mixed Mandi's I accidently added too much water which prevented her from using any stamps. She was bummed as it messed up her original design. I think she did great salvaging the project. Upon completion both girls immediately asked if they could make another. That made me happy. I had planned on including Mike's granddaughter on this project, but it didn't work out this time around.

I had anticipated that the girls would want to make more and picked up a small bag of cement at Lowes. A small bag there was an 80 pound bag...it was really heavy. That 80 pound bag was half the price of the small "refill" kit at the craft stores. The cement mix wasn't as nice though (there were little rocks in it). Then again, that's probably what I get for not asking for help. I made my stone with the Lowes cement.

You can't tell from the photo, but it has our family name and a few butterflies stamped into it. It too was pretty watery when I mixed it. I plan on playing around with the Lowes mix some more. After all I still have roughly 73 pounds of the stuff sitting outside in the shed. :)

Mike was suprised and happy about the gifts the girls had put so much time and effort into making.

Thank you Mike for being such a good dad.

A little fix that turned out bigger than expected

I've been doing a bunch of sewing, knitting, and general crafting lately. It's been wonderful using my free time to be creative with concrete results instead of reading research papers and writing papers.

The last day of school for Mandi was today and the summer is mostly planned out. We've decided to take a few trips and because of this we wanted to pick up a pair of kid friendly headphones for Sam. We found a couple we found a few and bought the pair that we thought would work.

They mostly worked, but they kept sliding off Sam's head. So I got to work on a solution. A sewing solution...





This took much longer to make than I was hoping simply because I had to sew on four snaps.



When I got home from work Sam was wearing her new headphones and was grinning from ear to ear. It was so sweet. She said in a high pitched voice "Thank you Mama! Thank you so much for fixing my headphones!"

I don't think I could pay Mandi to wear this, but Sam doesn't care. She just loves that I made something for her. I had thought about adding a ribbon bow to it, but then thought "no it's big enough." :) Oh well, it does the job and Sam thinks it's neat.

When she gets dancing around they still slide down a little. I do not think that will be a problem when she is strapped into her car seat.

Aspirin Update

Yesterday I went to Haggen's and spoke to the pharmacy staff and the manager. I was given the phone number of the person who is responsible for the stocking schematic. I called and left a message regarding my concern, my home number, and that I'd be home at 4pm.

Today, right at 4 I got a phone call. Dan thanked me for pointing out the problem with keeping Aspirin in by the kids medications. He said he had not been aware of the warning, that he read the label and saw there was no suggested dosing for kids and that he spoke to the lead pharmacist. He said that they will be making a change and that he would keep me informed.

The biggest thing...he thanked me for pointing it out and I have every faith that he will follow through.

Big smiles here.