Randomness

Well it seems that today, I don't have much to write about.

I simply have random....or should I say ranDUMB, thoughts rolling around in my head.  I have taken a couple pictures of things that I want to share with everyone because I'm bored, just as a fun thing to do.

Peep this...

~This is not randomness by ANY means!! This is downright YUMMINESS right here! We took a trip to the Dekalb Farmers Market last Friday and I just HAD to grab me two one of these baseball sized Chocolate Chip Macaroons! Oh my GOODNESS! And it had the nerve to still be warm. I've got one word for you...ORGAZMIC AWESOMENESS!!

 ~Ok, I admit...I'm a little anal planner. I have resisted the bigger-than-purse sized calendars for way too long! I have a bunch of stuff going on during the week. Especially when school is in. And that cute little pocket calendar just wasn't gonna cut it anymore. So for only $4, I came across this little gem. Lord knows I need it!!

~This picture is just adorable to me. Trae is SO tolerable of Jayla dressing him up. More tolerable than me, even.

                                                

~I found this picture on the internet. Not sure what I was searching for... I'm SURE it wasn't a LEGO wall though. But can you imagine how cool this would be to have in your room? No? :-)

See, I told you this would be a random post. Sad thing is, I'm sure there's more where this came from. So tell me what kind of "random" thing do you come across during your daily stroll through life?

SPECIAL EDITION Post

Allow me to introduce my friend & special guest writer to my blog today,  Mr. Greg Lang. 


Greg "found" me and my blog a few years back when he was in the process of writing one of his books. 


We had a brief phone interview where we chatted about my amazing super hero mothering skills or the lack thereof. :-) As well as what I enjoyed and struggled with being a mother to girls.


And honestly, the timing couldn't be better considering the last post I wrote.


So without further ado, I introduce to you, the author of......

Mr. Greg Lang!

Big Little Moments

When I began work on this book (Mom's Little Angel, HarperOne, 2009) I expected to be told stories that would prove to be very similar to those I had heard while writing Daddy’s Little Girl, but with a feminine twist. As mother and daughter stories came in, however, I found myself scratching my head. Instead of tall tales of heroic rescues in the middle of the night, or of profound life-altering discoveries and revelations that emerged from unexpected moments while in unexpected places and situations, I heard something very different. True, mothers do at times wear red capes and leap tall buildings and find ways to leave indelible memories of a time when words of wisdom from the ages were shared with their daughters, but more often than not I heard simple, sweet, gentle stories of moms being, well, moms.

Daughter after daughter told me stories of moms who kept the home smelling like fresh baked bread, sautéed onions and hot apple pie, who could mend a garment while blindfolded or nurse an injured doll or stuffed animal back to health. I heard of moms who were the calming, predictable and steady force in the household, unassuming and at times behind the scenes, yet always ready, willing and able to step up to whatever the challenge at hand may be and even wrestle it to the ground if necessary.

I was also told stories of how becoming a mother led a daughter to look back with renewed respect and appreciation for the mothering that had been given to her, for the unwavering love, support and devotion that flowed from a limitless reserve, for the sense of self that, perhaps, I think I’m beginning to understand, only a mother can help foster in a daughter.

When I turned to my wife and shared my observations with her, she (I swear she did) made that famous gesture of her mother’s, tossing her open palm in the air and ever so slightly rolling her eyes but not before giving me that look that silently screamed, “Duh!”

And then calming herself, realizing her perplexed husband needed her expertise, Jill explained everything to me.

“Dads like to address everything with an action plan,” she said. “If something’s gone wrong, you’ve got to fix it. When you hear that either of the girls are mad or unhappy, you immediately feel like you must get to the bottom of it so that it can be repaired. Moms understand that sometimes girls are just in a snit with a need to vent, whine and wail. There’s no need of an action plan or resolution for that, just let them do it.”

Before I could point out the frivolity of such a non-action plan, she went on.

“Just look at the stories you’ve been telling me about. Moms are consistently doing what mothers do, day in and day out, providing, comforting and caring. Dads rush in and fix things or come to the rescue and get credit for large gestures and major decisions, but really it’s the moms who quietly maintain the equilibrium in a family. Dads succeed at so many big moments because the moms have already handled so many more of the smaller moments.”

In spite of all my thinking and scribbling, writing late at night after the others have fallen asleep or jotting down notes while waiting for a traffic light to change, probing my brain looking for the profound truism that would serve as the central theme of this book, it wasn’t until that conversation with Jill that it all became so clear.

I guess I should have gone to my wife with my questions in the first place. She is, after all, both a mother and a daughter. It was she who told me the role of this book was to reassure moms that their position in their children’s lives, especially those of their daughters, is secured by all the many day to day things they do. It is by a mother constantly being there, constantly doing for them, making loving and nurturing small but meaningful gestures an everyday event in their lives, the unending giving of herself, that gives her children roots.

And so it is – just as mothers and fathers play different roles in their daughters’ lives, they make different imprints, too. As I mentioned in the introduction to this book, I believe my relationship with Meagan and Linley is more than it would otherwise be because of the help and influence of their mothers. I confess that when I made that statement I did not fully understand why I held it to be true. But now, thanks to Jill, I understand it ever so well.

I once wrote elsewhere that daughters need moms because dads cannot be everything for them. I know now, better than I did when I first put those words to paper, that daughters need moms to help them grow into the wonderful women they have the potential of becoming. In my family, this is proven each and every day.


http://www.amazon.com/Moms-Little-Angel-Stories-Daughters/dp/0061451509/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228859619&sr=1-24


I hope everyone enjoyed this excerpt from Greg's book. I did!  


Greg, special thanks to you for your time and for sharing your special gift with me and my readers.


Have a great day, everyone!!

FUNway model

I love having daughters!

And what's really fun right now is that my youngest,  is a very girly girl! She LOVES pretend play, playing with her dolls, "cooking" in her oh so cool kitchen and playing dress up.

This is one of the delicious meals she made for me
:-).

Watching her play dress up has been super fun for me. If she's not wearing something of mine that I don't wear anymore, she's wearing one of her "fancy" dresses and sparkly  high heeled shoes. We go to the thrift store sometimes and pick up dresses for a couple bucks and she's a happy camper. She even has a garment rack to hold them all.

We've also been blessed to have a friend who attends a Mardi Gras Ball every year. Being that she won't wear the same dress more than once...I mean, who WOULD? :-) She has more dresses than humanly necessary she knows what to do with. So being the good friend that she is, she gives them to J'Bear.

Tell ya what...let's take a look at some of the treasures that J'Bear has accumulated, shall we?

This is from our "wedding collection"
Simple & elegant. Perfect for that pretend beach wedding.

This is also from our wedding collection.
Complete with a "veil" in a lovely seafoam green.

From our "bridesmaid collection".
This is actually the skirt of a 2 piece ensemble :-).

Apparently Trae is not amused by this
bright pink ensemble with
mommy made pick ups
 from our bridesmaid collection.
 Maybe it's the shoes! :-)

This is her newest piece from
her "aluminum foil" collection :-).
Notice the jewels at neckline.

Another lovely dress from our
"Bridesmaid collection"
(it looks bright red on this picture.
But it's really a brick red almost burgundy.)

And this cute little number is from
our "party line".

We opted out of showing the powder blue dress from our "bridesmaid" line. J'Bear said that it was, "SOOO 2 weeks ago!" LOL

I just love how she's so creative and watches way too many fashion inspired TV shows to know that there are LINES of clothing designs.

What type of pretend play are your kids into these days that make them feel like such "grown ups"?

I'm starting to get tired of being nice....

...DOGGONIT!!! If there is ONE thing that is frowned upon in our household, it's annoying phone calls!

ARGH!!!

I think I'm the only one in this house who knows, that when the phone rings, you're supposed to answer it. Everyone else kinda wanders around with that, Hmmm, I wonder what that ringing is-look on their face.

Ok, maybe the word, supposed to is a bit of a stretch. Especially since the invention of the Caller ID.  But when those, "out of area", "unknown name/unknown number" things come up on the display, sometimes you just gotta answer it.

Here are a few that really get my big ole granny pannys in a wad:

~"Hello, can I speak with Mr./Mrs. _______ Bibbs" calls. Ok, Bibbs is not one of the most popular last names this side of the hemisphere. So I ASSUME that since there are so few of us, one would think that we all know eachother.

NEWS FLASH - we DON'T!

For the past few...ok, SEVERAL months, we have been getting calls from a collection agency for someone with the same last name as ours, but with a first name we do not know. When I tell Mr./Miss Collection person with an unrecognizable accent that, not only does this person not live here, but we don't even know them. I get a little salty attitude...as if I'm lyin' or somethin!

Trust me people, I am not harboring ANYONE in my home. There are enough people living here!  So why do they ask me if I have a number where this mystery person can be reached?

REALLY?

I've had at least 3 - 4 collection people over the past year or so tell me that, Mr./Ms. Mystery person GAVE them our number, but they would remove it from their "list". And they have yet to do it. They've called twice this week already! ARGH!!


~"Hello, this is ______ calling from the Kidney Foundation/ADD/Disabled Vets, etc. And we were wondering if you have any gently worn clothes or household items you'd like to donate" calls. Alright, now this is a hard one. Because I'm all for helping folks out and donating stuff to a worthy cause.

However, I don't have old stuff to donate EVERY week!

I've even tried to tell them that, when/if I do have items to donate, I will contact them. They still call at least once every other week or so. Times are hard for everyone...who knows, I may need to start back wearing some of the clothes I was thinking about donating!

~Recordings from Mr/Ms. State Representative/Congressman calls. Look, with all the signs up and down the streets, posters stapled to telephone poles, stuff all over the news, and folks standing on street corners holding babies & waving. I KNOW it must be time to vote for something.

I do not need your recorded voice or the recorded voice of one of your posse calling me. That's enough to make me reconsider hitting the polls on your behalf.

~"Hello this is, so & so from  such & such calling for Mister M." calls. Now these are the source of many thorns in my side.

FIRST of all, I HATE when people pronounce my husbands name incorrectly. If you are someone who "really appreciates his business", you'd know how to say his name.

Same stands true if you are a friend/associate of his.

Second of all, this is his WIFE!...if this is just a "courtesy call", why can't you talk to me?

Third of all, he's at WORK this time of day. So there's really no need for you to tell me that you'll call back tomorrow...cuz he'll be at work then too!

And more than likely, he's at work making money to pay whoever this is calling :-).

Ok, OK...I'm stepping down off my soapbox.

I've been wanting to blog about this for quite some time. But just haven't gotten around to it cuz I've been answering the dang phone all day...until the 2 calls came this week for some unknown "family" member!

So tell me, what are some of your annoyances? Other than this ridiculously long, nit-picky post of mine.