Ode to My Mom on Mother's Day

A year ago you were feeling tired and sick

We didn't know what was wrong.

The news they gave hit me in the head like a brick

Because none of us knew "how long..."

 

I didn't really cry throughout all of the steps

Just focused on what had to be done.

But there was one day that I broke down and wept

At that thought that my mommy could be gone.

Infusions, then surgery, then chemo began

We didn't know what to expect.

But even through all of the pain and exhaustion

You still stood strong and erect.

Week after week, first chemo, then shots

You did it without any fuss.

From the outside it looked like nothing was wrong

Your plan to protect the rest of us?

March 1st the whole world heard me holler YIPPEE

That the pump was officially out.

No more chemo, no more shots, it's finally done

Now one more CT scan to 'find out'.

The news we hoped for: "You're clean" finally came

And I finally let myself cry.

The tears kept coming no matter what I did

When I realized my mommy wasn't going to die.

'Whatever it takes' was our anthem this year

Thank you chemo for doing your job.

My girls have their Nana all better again

More lake trips with corn on the cob.

 

Now it's Mother's Day - almost a full year later

As I write this I still shed a tear.

For even though we aren't together this day

You're.  Still.  HERE.

I love you

April Apriori One Day Sale

     It seemed easier to blog about this rather than post it all on FB.  On Monday April 23, 2012, Apriori will be having a 24 hour sale.  There are 3 main items that will be at a 45% discount.  Sadly, the skin care line is not on sale but there are a couple of other products, WHICH I LOVE, that might be of interest. 
      Just give me a holler if you want to order any of these - or anything else for that matter.  $200 orders get free shipping but if we don't get to $200 we will all just share the minimal shipping cost.

1.  Bronzing and Translucent Powders - as a set $37.40 (reg $68)

Pure, gentle minerals provide sheer perfecting coverage and protection from the effects of environmentally induced aging. Unique ingredients from the NutrientReservoir™ nourish skin, while natural minerals provides gentle, physical protection. Use alone, or layer with Pure Perfecting Veil and Pure Perfecting Powder for added coverage and protection.

Translucent | Sheer, natural coverage gives a translucent glow.

Bronzing | Sheer, natural coverage gives a sun-kissed glow to all skin tones or all over coverage for darker skin tones.

2.  LifeoxyLEAN Weight Loss Accelerator - 60 tablets for $17.60 (reg $32)
           
Are you losing the weight loss battle? Get help with LifeoxyLEAN! This all-natural dietary supplement is the perfect weight loss buddy. Five complexes and 18 key ingredients help to suppress appetite, burn fat, stimulate metabolism, support digestion, support urinary tract health, detox fluids, and energize cells for accelerated weight loss.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. 

P-A-D C: Before & After

The Playroom. Regardless of how many organizational systems I employ and how efficient I set it up, the room gets trashed. Regularly. I have been cleaning up the girls' messes for, well, 6 years really and I found myself getting more and more frustrated the older they got. A couple of months ago I started making them clean the playroom.

The first time they were responsible for it the task took them 5 hours. The first hour was spend rolling around crying hysterically about how hard it was going to be. Then they finally got to work.

The length of time it takes to clean this room seems to be in direct proportion to the amount of effort Ellis puts in. Not only is does she struggle in the 'focus' department, but she's not very committed to hard work. At all.

Here are the before and after pictures of the playroom. I took the before pix on the 20th like I was supposed to but couldn't take the after pix until today because they just couldn't pull it together to get it done in 3 hours yesterday.

P-A-D C: Something you wore

In honor of "Fancy Day" at BLS I wore a skirt. I normally wear skirts in the spring and summer - maybe early fall. However, my butt has gotten so big I am tired of people looking at it in jeans so I hid it under a skirt today.

Yeah, That's The Ticket!

Logan and Ellis have always been pretty good eaters. Aside from a period of time where Logan suffered an easily triggered gag reflex, I haven't had to worry too much about their nutrition. As long as the food isn't too spicy or too mushy we are in business and Sir Gags-a-Lot hasn't made an appearance in quite some time.

However, because there are developmental stages in a child's life where she chooses to exercise her "power muscle" I have set up a boundary for dinner and dessert that eliminates any arguments over food: The Dessert Ticket.

For Logan, dessert is her sole purpose for living. She looks forward to dessert the second she gets up in the morning the second she finishes her dessert from the night before. Because she will fill herself up on bread and then fail to get any vegetable or protein in her growing body, I determine a "Dessert Ticket" for each meal and then leave it up to the girls to decide if it's worth it to them.

Tonight we had spagetti & meatballs, vegetables and french bread. Logan asked what the Dessert Ticket was. Before I could tell her, Ellis said, "How about all of the vegetables. That's a good idea." Agreed. The vegetables would be the ticket tonight.

Not 10 seconds later, she had changed her mind. That was no longer a good idea. In fact it "didn't make any sense" to Ellis. She made tearful statements like "This isn't a good idea. It's not a good idea at all. It's a bad idea. A very bad idea." While I didn't capture the majority of her adorable and heart breaking melt down at the table, this is the tail end where she asserts that this is no longer a good idea at all.

Click to watch the video:

The Dessert Ticket Video

P-A-D C: 5:00

Today's photo-a-day challenge shot is titled: 5:00. I planned to take a picture of us eating dinner at 5:00 but it was spagetti night and neither of the girls were wearing clothes. Instead, I took a picture of the clock in our home that gets the most glances.

This clock has caused some controversy among my family members; my dad in particular. I had the clock hung a few months ago but it fell off the wall. The crash caused the hour hand to slip out of place so they minute and hour hands are no longer synchronized. You'll notice in this photo that the minute hand is straight up 5:00 while the hour hand is about 5:15. This drives my dad insane. It hasn't bugged me enough yet to do anything about it but my guess is that during my parents' next visit, this gets dismantled and fixed.

P-A-D C: A Smile

I couldn't choose between them so I am posting 2 :)