This looks like Birthday goodness!

I believe that these will have to be made...for any number of birthdays but I will make the sacrifice and try them out on mine. Tell me these aren't beautiful!

Chocolate Fudge Jr Mint Centered Cupcakes | Picky Palate

For your enjoyment

The air conditioner is broken. 86 degrees in the house, downstairs. We are seeking refuge upstairs for the next couple of days, as the unavoidable new one goes in on Thursday. After a well planned meal of pizza, as no one is cooking in this hot kitchen, I decided to head out for ice cream. Here's what it looked like:

And then Kierstin decided that she knew of a better way to eat it:

I do not know why the photos won't open in another screen. I don't really like the way I download photos on here, but I am not having much luck with picasa on my mac either. At any rate, we had a great time on our impromptu visit to Beth Marie's in Denton. We enjoyed the Extreme Sundae with 8 scoops of ice cream and brownies and cookies. Actually it was a better deal than getting ice cream for all of them. :) Hope your homes are cooled off nicely this evening!

"I am a mother"

So, I have been thinking. Thinking about words shared by friends and family and strangers about the work of a mother. Now, let me state first that I get it. To some, choosing to be a full time mom/ homemaker/ whatever you want to call it seems archaic. It seems that we can have "more" than that and that those of us who willingly choose this role are somehow not as bright, or talented, or dedicated to ourselves as we should/ could be. And the truth is that for some that may be true. For some; however, and I consider myself to be one of these people, we are mothers and could be anything we want to be. We could be lawyers or doctors and anything in between, but we choose motherhood. Now, before anyone gets carried away and takes this entry personally, please know that I don't think that anyone is entirely right or wrong on either side of the great debate. Yesterday's entry got me thinking though. Do we hide behind guilt to avoid the work of living and say that we are simply living for our kids? Are we wallowing in the muck of mommy and complaining that we don't have enough time for ourselves, when we could and should be making that a priority? Well, the truth is that I think that only one person can really answer that. You, for you...not for me or for any other mother out there. I can't begin to know what it's like to be in anyone else's shoes. Mothering is a full time labor of love, whether you get the choice to be home full time or you get the choice of working at something you love... or maybe you don't have a choice but to work to provide. You are all still mothers first. Well, at least that is what I think. Mother is not a four letter word. It is an honor and a full time gig. To underestimate a mother is an exercise in futility. You have no idea what we are capable of. Why are we less than because we are mothers? Why do we think that we have any right to diminish this job and by extension, this woman?

I believe in the eternal nature of Motherhood. That doesn't mean that everyone else does, or that I expect that. The job at hand is to create and produce and nurture a new generation and that doesn't happen by accident. These babies are a majestic destiny in a fragile world and I don't trust just anyone to do the job of raising them. I know that I have an absolutely divine calling in being their mother. They, for whatever reason, chose me and it is my privilege to know them, let alone be their mother. Whether I get to the gym, or get a night out every now and then is not what defines me or makes me happy. Certainly we would all do better to take better care of ourselves. Walk more. Breathe more. Sleep more. Laugh more. Would I like to be strong and vibrant? Yes. That is a goal. I am happy to wake up with them. I am happy to sit and talk to them. I am happy to turn out the lights at the end of a good day and know that they are all safe and sound and taken care of. I am happy that they are mine and I am theirs. I am happy being Mom.

May we honor Mother, honor ourselves and support each other in these paths we are on. Remember well that we are all on the same path, the sets are just a little different and the characters are never the same.

I read this article by Jane Clayson yesterday. It speaks to this topic incredibly well and I hope that you enjoy it.

LDS Living Magazine

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Transition

Ok. So you know that part of child birth, that very ending part right before it's time to push. The time when you really think that something is literally trying to kill you and the medical staff you are paying to help you get through it seems to be helpless in your plight? That time that seems to go on forever, until...it stops. The baby is suddenly no longer inside of you and for a few blissful moments the pain has given way to the thrill of this newest accomplishment. Visualize, those of you who can, that period of time...some of you are more recently familiar with it than others of us...but just go there for a moment...Ya with me? Ok, that is called transition.

I have come to both hate and love that word. Now, obviously I am not pregnant, nor will I be. So this little analogy is just that, an analogy. The latest transition that I am finding myself in is still just a giant pain in the...well, you know.

From baby, to toddler, to preschool, to elementary school to middle school. No more baby to chase. So you ask yourself, or at least I did, what now? What will I achieve now that walking and talking and potty training are all checked off the list? Obviously there will be continual parenting choices and challenges, but for this moment in my life I am choosing to make it about me. (gasp!)

I know, it's not the mommy thing to do, but selfish is as selfish does and it's time. I have been reading a bit on this newest cleanse fad that Gwyneth, my pal, is raving about and it is interesting. I have read lots of books on cleanses and weight loss and being healthy. I know a lot. It is the practice and the diligence and proactive...wait, that's Larry talking. I am doing nothing to make that knowledge work for me. It isn't just about weight loss or being healthy though. It's school, and style, and singing, and travel and love and so many things that I really do cherish in this life. Life has been busy, and hard, and numbing sometimes, but happy is here these days and that makes room for growth. I am sure that we are growing when we are suffering as well, it's just not the kind of growth you get to order on a menu. It's tough. What I am saying is that I am transitioning. Into? No idea??? Where to start? No clue??? Is it worth it? Yes. Absolutely yes. The transition is hard and the stretch is necessary. As a famous fish friend once said, "just keep swimming".

Don't know at all what I will do with this yet, but this is what I am thinking about these days. Back to school. Waning summer nights. And becoming. Transitioning.

Pictures as promised...a little late.

End of Summer 2009

20 days

How do you set to saying goodbye to summer vacation? To late nights and sleeping in. To bickering kids made better by games and popsicles. To sweltering heat softened by thunderstorms. I am keenly aware of time these days. Time measured by birthdays, trips home from Vancouver, and deadlines brought on by jobs and projects and school systems and, of course, myself. Time seems to be in some sort of fast forward motion right now. For those wishing for jobs to end and Daddy to be home more often, time can't move fast enough. But for those watching the babies become 7th graders, it is all too much. How do you treasure 20 days? What can be done to stop time for this short 3 weeks? School will claim them soon and with that comes so many things. I am happy for the renewed structure and chance to improve on old habits never broken. I am optimistic about all that comes with these new years for each of the children, and myself as I enter into this new phase of motherhood, sans baby. Baby has been such a tour guide for us for so many years that I don't know which path to take without that to lean on. With Baby, you know that certain things just wait. With Baby, time is a friend for a short while as you learn to crawl and walk, talk and play. The lessons come hard and fast as Baby leaves and you find children working towards independence, all looking to adulthood. Along that path, from time to time, you ask yourself if you are doing enough. Will they be successful adults? Can they make good decisions? From Baby to Adult is not as long as you might think, though some days feel like eternity. We have one who has only a short 6 years before the world expects him to be an adult. I am not sure that I have yet mastered it myself, so the idea of making sure that he is ready is daunting. And thrilling. And sad. And hopeful. From Baby to Adult.

How do you treasure 20 days? How can we treasure 1 day, or 1 hour? Zoo trips and bowling, ice cream parlors and movies, board games and swimming pools, bike rides and band-aids. My goal is to make the most of each and every day and along the way, get ready for entrance into new grades, friends, challenges and triumphs, and visits home from Daddy.

Are there things here that prolong summer days:

thelongthread.com » 50 Summer Crafts for Kids

August

Well, I have to say that I am greeting August with some hesitance and sadness. I thought that so much more would have been accomplished by now. I am not ready to go to school. Larry is leaving again tomorrow. I am feeling a little blue about the whole thing, to be honest. It doesn't help, or maybe it doesn't matter really, that I am turning 36 in two weeks. I like 36. It sounds good to me, so I suppose that I am not really sad about that one. I told Kyra that we would have to celebrate all month long. And I believe that we shall. We are now on countdown to August 24th, which is when school starts. Kierstin is set to start a preschool, don't know which one yet, on September 8th. Countdown is on.

And I have decided to go back to school this semester. Don't know how many credits yet.

I will share pictures and fun stories tomorrow. :) Until then, enjoy the waning days of summer vacation.