Confession

I have to confess something to my blog followers. I stopped blogging for awhile to gather myself a bit. I was in this in-between state of understanding. And while I previously have made entries in this in-between state, I backed off from doing it this time, as I had come under some scruteny from readers about my statements and decisions in life. Then, as if that wasn't chicken enough already, I created an entirely different blog, which I have now had 5 posts on, apart from your audience. Today, however, I realized that I have nothing to hide. And, I actually love a good debate, so please keep commenting. What I am going to do is this: I will transfer the posts from my other blog to this site, and begin again in this moment.
-tara

Helpful Tips

I found this great list of helpful household tips that you have to read. I am definitely going to try out the ant killer one, because we have a major ant problem right now. Enjoy!

http://kopiaste.blogspot.com/2008/02/some-helpful-household-tips.html

Great Quote

I found this quote attached to the end of an e-mail and I loved it! Here it is:

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.
- Christopher Morley

part of mE wanTs to live a life of chaos and traVel. a life where Nothing is predIctable bUt everything is aliVe with coloR.  

Another part of me wants to live a stable life of matching furniture and farm house hospitality. Gardens that thrive and are pruned daily, accompany my guests on my veranda.

Which one will win? Who will I become? Who am I really? ONly time will tell.

Emergency room again!

My husband is an incredibly competitive guy. He does not like to lose. So on Friday, just to beat me out, he dislocated and fractured his finger while we were at the beach! The best part: He didn't even wince. I was balling of course when I hurt my arm, and he calmly walks up to me and says, "We have to go, I broke my finger." Then he shows me his mangled finger that was in all the wrong places. Another lady we were there with even asked him if he was in the military before, when he was trying to relocate his finger with a calm expression like it was no big deal. So, anyhow, we ended up at the same emergency room, with the same insurance that doesn't start for a few more days. Oh, the dramas of life. This is the x-ray of his finger and a picture of his splinted hand. 

Warning! Dryers Can Be Dangerous!

When one thinks of the dangers of the clothes dryer, the thought of fire is the most obvious...don't be deceived. Well, we have a special dryer. Its name is Earl, affectionately named for its many quirks. One of these quirks is the fact that once it gets going, it doesn't stop until it is done or you turn the knob to off. So, when you open the door it keeps right on spinning. This is not a real issue (usually). Today, however, was not an usual day. I threw my daughters swimsuit into the dryer this morning to get it dry for a swim play date we had scheduled. (We went swimming last night and hers was not quite dry yet.) As I went to retrieve it, I opened the door of the dryer. It never occurred to me to turn the nob to off and grab the swimsuit then. No, I just stuck my hand in and tried to snatch it. There are slats inside a dryer to tumble the clothes and one of those caught my arm. (Yes, I know the opening is very large, but the swimsuit was stuck to the side.) Before I knew what was happening, my arm was flipped in a circle and discarded out of the dryer. As I sat on the floor of my laundry room sobbing from the pain, my mother (who was luckily there) found me and helped me to get to a chair. I thought I just banged it up pretty good, but the pain wouldn't go away. In fact, it was getting worse. Then, I felt my elbow. I touched the other elbow to compare and there was a definite difference. I had my mom feel it and she said, "I guess we're going to the emergency room!" The bone was not where it should be. I called hubby, still sobbing and told him what was going on. My mom called our play date and canceled. All I could think was, "What a stupid thing to do!" Luckily my sister and brother in law live close as they came and picked up the kids from the emergency room. We were there for about three hours total. Somewhere along the line, my arm readjusted itself, as my bone was no longer sticking out. The doctor said that the body will do that, just put itself back. The x-rays showed I had no broken bones, but the doctor said I had deeply bruised my soft tissue. She comforted me with, "It will be worse tomorrow." Right now I'm wishing I was good friends with a chiropractor, as my whole body is aching from the dryer jolt. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that our new health insurance doesn't kick in until July 1st. Now that is irony. What is that? 11 days? Overall, it's pretty funny really. Well, lesson learned: Don't Mess With Earl!

Living in the moment

I find myself feeling overwhelmed with life and all there is in it. The world of things to do and learn is massive and interesting. There are all the household chores which, in reality, could take up an entire lifetime in themselves. Then there are the responsibilities of being a mom. I want to nurture and love my children making sure not to ignore any of them and give them what each of them needs individually. I want to spend individual time with each of them and show them love in the individual way that they receive it. Then there is school. I want my children to love learning and just drink it up. I love to learn and want that for them. Of course they need to know Math, English, Science, Social studies, and Health in grades 1-6. Then there is being a wife, and I want to be the best wife there is for my husband. Then, there's all the things I want to learn and do like music, and photography, and writing, and painting, and reading, and dancing, and going to film festivals and art museums. Let's not forget that I must do this all responsibly too. All this can get completely overwhelming! So, I bring this to God and He says, -Live in the present moment. This will greatly simplify your life. Be thankful and grateful. Notice the little things. Spend time with people. Spend time with your children. Find joy in the little things and stop waiting for large events. Lots of little things add up to big things. Do the little things well and precise and with pleasure and you will live in joy. You will be able to see the beauty in everything and nurture your kids in small moments that would normally pass you by.

Thanks Lord. Another fire extinguished. Live in the moment and all my borrowed worries go away. Jesus says, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of it's own." Amen to that. So, I'm off to do the things I have planned to do today, and I going to try not to think about what I'll do when my kids are in high school, or even what I'll do if my kids get offered a spot at the charter. Today I am a homeschooler, wife, musician, mother and a beautiful woman.