My crazy family adventures
Vibrant blue and green night skies. Sauna-like geothermal pools. Lava fields. The Arctic Circle! 
Icelandic Landscape
Reykjavík, Iceland has always interested me. The city name alone is intriguing. It sounds romantic and other worldly. It conjures up images of rocky desolate landscapes similar to the moon; short sturdy evergreen trees and dark blue freezing cold water. Game of Thrones. Expanses of snow and ice. Continue reading “Mother Daughter trip to Iceland!” »
My living room walls are covered in dings and scratches and dirt marks. These are all signs of family, exuberance, a life well lived with kids, dogs, cats, friends and family. Right?? Right?? (me trying to convince myself…)
Some days the dirt and scuff marks don’t get a second glance. Others they seem the enemy, Continue reading “Dirty walls, Cookies and Prayers ” »
My first guest blog post has been published! I’m super excited! It’s such an honor.
Head over to Seeme and Liz to read my article “4 Steps to Resetting a Bad Parenting Day”. I share the ways I’ve learned to recognize, and quickly reset a bad day before it gets out of hand. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
And don’t forget to read more of the great parenting advice Tanya shares at Seeme and Liz.
Mother Daughter trip to Iceland!
Wow, I can’t believe the change in weather lately! Yesterday morning was cold, rainy and nasty. Even at 2 pm driving over the Shawangunk Ridge, the weather was dreary and foggy. I had about a half hour to kill before my appointment with naturopath (the most amazing woman in the world!), Continue reading “Seed starting time!” »
Hockey season is officially over in our household. The snow is melting and temperatures are inching warmer. Spring is here. So many things to be thankful for!
But don’t be fooled by the positive upbeat tone of my voice. Though I love the weekends and I love being home with my family but sometimes tempers and attitudes flair. Usually it’s Sunday mornings as we’re getting ready for church. I like to have a relaxing morning but usually we relax a little too much and end up rushed and running around to get ready in time. I can guarantee there will be an issue with appropriate church attire and where those clothes might exist in the house (dirty laundry basket, washer or put away somewhere incorrect). The irony of losing my temper in preparation for church is not lost on me. You’d think by now I’d anticipate these catastrophes and be able to head them off. But no, I am not that organized or self aware.
Despite our imperfections and mishaps, I have so much to be thankful for.
I am looking forward to:
Today-family dinner, not having any commitments outside the house.
This week: PTA meeting, being able to attend 4H meetings again
In the future: warm temperatures! Being outside more.
What are you thankful for or looking forward to?
Aileen
Do you tell your kids you love them everyday? Do you say ‘I love you’ or do you have something else special you tell them?
My daughter is an angel. Yes, an angel in the flesh. Let me explain… when I was 7.5 months pregnant, my dear sweet grandpa passed away. He was the kindest, sweetest, gentlest and strongest man. He helped raise me and acted in place of the father I did not have growing up (my dad was tragically killed when I was 4 years old). Grandpa took me fishing, game to every school event and taught me how to drive. I’m crying as I type this…Anyway, this amazing man died at the age of 90 while I was pregnant. Until this point in my pregnancy, Teagan did not move around much in the womb. I secretly and constantly wondered if she was alright because she was not as active as everyone said she would be. That is, until grandpa died.
Starting the day after he passed away, and especially from the day of his funeral, my baby girl was in constant motion. She kicked and punched and flipped all around. Maybe it was the emotion stress that was the catalyst for all the movement. I prefer to think that part of my dear sweet grandpa’s spirit became part of my unborn baby girl.
So that’s the story of when my baby became and angel. Since the day she was born, Teagan’s name has been interchangeable with “Angel” or “Angel baby”. Every day, I make sure to remind my little girl that she’s an angel. I thank her for being mine. I tell her that I am so thankful God gave her to me. I tell her that I am the luckiest mama in the world. Our extra special exchange is “I love you to Saturn and back”.
I hope these daily expressions of love fill her up. I want them to penetrate into her soul and become ingrained in her. My prayer is that these things will stick with her as she grows and battles the many challenges of adolescence and adulthood. I hope they protect her from the evils of negative peer pressure and society.
So how do you tell your kids you love them? Do you have a special word or phrase?
Aileen
Dirty walls, Cookies and Prayers
It is officially a blizzard in upstate New York. The forecast originally called for 16-20 inches of snow but now weather reports are predicting greater than 30 inches of the white stuff!! Holy cow! I don’t ever recall getting 30 inches of snow in one event! School declared a snow day late yesterday. Non essential employees were told to stay home.
Today is a pajama day. And also a day to get caught up on a few things we’ve been slacking on (some homework that was missed while we were on vacation, a 4h presentation that needs to be finished, laundry, and most of all downtime at home with no schedule).
There’s so much to be grateful for today but strangely enough I’m suddenly feeling anxious and cranky. Maybe it’s the list of things I should get done on this ‘extra’ time? Maybe, as a mom, I no longer know how to truly relax without guilt? Are these feelings normal or is it just me??
I know today I need to focus on the important things in life and forget the laundry, carpets that need to be vacuumed, etc.
Today, I am grateful for my big presentation being over, my sweet husband coming to watch and support me, my beautiful daughter resting her head on my shoulder and loving me no matter how cranky I may get.
Today, I am looking forward to a slower pace and no commitments, maybe a nap, a long hot shower.
This week I am looking forward to sewing class, the end of hockey season party.
In the near future I am looking forward to spring. I love seeing the flowers emerge, new leaves and having baby chics.
I hope you’re safe, warm and enjoying this day.
Aileen
Preparing for a variety of emergencies should be an important part of every family’s life. Whether it is fire, an intruder, major weather event, terrorist attack or something else, each family member should know what to do in each of these situations. Continue reading “Family Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness” »
Upstate New York has received nearly two feet of snow in the last 14 days. Lots of snow, lots of cold weather. Last Sunday when we got out of church, it was snowing like mad. The beginning of the week continued with a few snow flurries and seasonable temperatures.
Saturday the temperature was incredibly warm. At 9am, we grabbed our snow gear, sleds and snowshoes for some winter fun around our yard before the craziness of the day began. We showshoed around the yard for a bit, threw snowballs then went sledding down my moms hill. It was so warm, even I was sweating and had to take my coat off.
Since the weather was amazing and it’s a three-day weekend, I decided we needed to find a much bigger hill to sleigh ride down on Monday. The day before, the temperature reached a balmy 60 degrees! Crazy for February!
Again, we got all our snow stuff together and this time loaded it all into the car and headed for the big hill. Super excited, we pulled into the parking lot (the hill is actually a well known hiking spot) and…
Serious disappointment. There was barely any snow left. We almost didn’t even get out of the car. We sat and pondered the hill for a few minutes while eating the snack we brought.
Eventually the excitement from the last two days of anticipation got the better of us and we braved the muddy parking lot, icy path and climbed to the top. The first run down, we both got stuck on grassy patches and thought sleighriding was over.
Adjusting our path down the hill some, we managed to squeak in a piece just wide enough and steep enough to propel us over the grass and continue down the hill. This area was actually quite icy but that was perfect! We slid even further down on the grass and though it wasn’t a hill, it was still super fast and super fun.
Initially, this was a total mom fail. I’m glad we convinced ourselves to give the hill a try. We had a blast, giggled a lot and made some good mom-daughter memories.
This week has been a struggle. A battle at every turn with lack of patience at home with the little one and my sweetheart, a battle to focus at work, stomach issues, lack of self confidence, stress over our upcoming trip, and on and on. If I had written this post yesterday, I would have struggled to with counting my blessings. Today is a little better but the blues and other nonsense is still hanging on. Regardless, I live in a country that has so much more than others. Even on my worst day, I still have more than most people in the world.
Today, I am grateful for:
I am looking forward to:
Today: getting outside after work
This week: a satirsday morning not yet full of commitments
In the future: our trip to Disney is less than 1 week away!! (Still so many things to accomplish. I sound way more excited than I feel.)
Blessings to you all.
