"The Ignatian Workout" by Tim Muldoon

     My nephew and I have always been quite alike in many ways.  I think it comes from our genes...and our upbringing...and maybe even the amount of time we spent together as kids.  We stress.  We worry.  We try very hard to strive to be some form of perfection only to find that it hurts us anyway.  As kids we were full of magic shows and imagination.  Dance numbers and make believe.  As adults we take life way toooo seriously.  The other day we spent some time together at a children's museum.  We were the goofballs playing around in the make believe supermarket.  Our spirits are always pulling us to be silly and free but life keeps tugging us in the other direction. 
     A bit ago he sent me a book that he was reading.  It is a series of daily spiritual exercises for a healthy faith.  I had it on my night stand.  Waiting.  Tonight after catching up on many belated posts I realized I needed a new thing for today.  The book practically waved to me from the side of the bed.  So I picked it up.  Now, if you recall...I have mentioned many a time that the universe guides us more than we know.  The first few pages were about working out on a rowing machine and introducing the theme of finding spirituality.  Why is the timing so odd?  Well, I have been wondering about spirituality more than ever.  My faith has been shaky.  My beliefs have been shifted.  My spirituality has been as weak as my muscle strength.  Oh, and yesterday....JUST YESTERDAY...I got on a rowing machine at the gym for the first time in hmmmm...let's see a decade or two.  Yep, universe...I hear ya!  So somewhere between the gym and finding my path back to a life of something bigger I will read this book.  I am excited to do so.  I tend to go from inspirational book to series to blogs...anything that will keep me on a road to a better tomorrow.  This time maybe instead of walking there I will row, run or bike!!!
    I would also like to thank a certain wonderful guy for being an amazing man, a terrific Dad, an awesome hubby, a caring grandson and one heck of a nephew!

DJ Hero 2

Taps...check
Scratches...check
Cross Fades...check
Special Effects...check
Freestyles...check

You can take the girl out of the Boogie Down but you can't take....
(insert DJ at huge club in NYC fantasy here)

Madeline's 4th Birthday at The Please Touch Museum

     How have I lived in this state all of this time and missed such a place??? Well, thank goodness for Madeline and her awesome birthday party event...because we got to all enjoy it together!  It was a fun day full of giggles.  There were rockets shot out into space, grand carousel rides, water play and lots and lots of pretending.  We shopped at the supermarket, had tea with the Mad Hatter, played doctor at the hospital and still had time to check out the construction zone.  Heck, we even learned some stuff at the historical exhibit.  I'm not sure who had more fun...Madeline...or the rest of us!?!
     Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest little girls I have ever met...I'm so lucky to be related to her! We have many more adventures to come!!!

100 Days Project

     Ethan has made it to a the big 100.  100 Days of School.  They have been an adventure of excitement and learning as well as frustration and tears.  But whatever the feeling...there is an accomplishment here.  His sweet teacher did it up big.  Since I'm behind in my posts I'll be able to tell you more about that.  First we needed to do a project that he could present to the class.  You had to honor the number 100 by using it as a theme and having that many of a thing to create it with.  At first I thought a lego tower.  Then maybe buttons.  Then it hit me...those funny little plastic beads that you fuse together with the iron!  Perfect.  So we used 100 tiny beads to create an actual "100".  But we couldn't end it there...why not make one for every student in the class???  Hours later and with cramped up hands we were quite proud of our pile.  They had themes ranging from the Yankees to Boba Fett but they were all pretty cool. 
     I went to school yesterday to help with the celebration.  We made 100 days Snack Mix.  They colored crowns, made necklaces and had cute little glasses to wear.  Everyone presented their projects.  Some were absolutely incredible.  There were counting games, dice games and coloring books.  To an adult or even an older kid this is no big deal...but I'm glad that I was reminded of the milestone this truly is to my little guy.  We're over halfway there...whew!

The Descendants

     You've heard the buzz that George Clooney is at his best in this film.  The buzz is correct.  One more checked off of the Oscar list. 
      And hey, Bev...way to sneak in those Twizzlers.  ;)

Christa makes Les Carbonades Flamandes

     Lunchtime at work is always an adventure.  Sometimes I sit on a chair alone in the front gallery and quietly eat my brown bagged lunch.  Other times there is a rowdy crew squishing around a small table diving into a culinary treat.  It depends on what the mood and workload is...or if someone has made a special dish for the crew.  Sometimes once of us gets inspired and is kind enough to share.  Other times someone makes a feast as a gift to us all...
     Christa is perhaps one of the nicest and kindest souls the planet has ever known.  She usually brings a small container of yogurt and eats quickly by herself.  If we are lucky she takes a long enough break to join us.  This time she made us a meal that made us feel like we were celebrating a beautiful holiday.  It came about because one day she mentioned a family recipe and asked the silly question, "Would you like me to make it?".  We had a good giggle over that one. 
       She went so far as to write up a little recipe card that had the following story:

Flemish Beef Stew

"Beef stew cooked in beer has long been of the culinary heritage of Belgium, and is still one of he most popular stews in the Flanders.  Through the ages, the recipe has varied, and every mother passes on her "secret" to her children.  My mother liked to add sweet gherkins, which certainly gives the stew a more distinctive flavor. "

The dish was absolutely delicious.  We ate it with some red potatoes sauteed in olive oil and herbs and a fresh loaf of asiago cheese bread.  Seven of us sat around the table and ate and laughed and shared stories.  I think we should make it an annual event...but even if we don't she sure did make one regular old Thursday feel like something very special!

Ethan Takes a Shower

     Ethan got another free haircut from Mom tonight.  Might be one of my better ones.  But instead of throwing him in a tub full of warm bubbles and whales and submarines...I made the executive decision to throw him in the shower.  We've done the bath thing forever and even graduated to the quick bath which was sort of a hybrid of a shower and bath...but never the full on shower.  He wasn't so sure at first but by the end was requesting more time because he loved it. 
     I was excited for him...then it hit me...was I behind?  So of course I had to research it.  Turns out the age of 6 is the right age to shoot for the solo shower in conjunction with some guidance and temperature monitoring.  Just another example of mother's intuition. 
     Just a few weeks ago I took the "baby" towels out of the closet.  I washed them and put them in a pile.   The pile is still lingering.  I might need them for a visiting child.  Oh come on...let's be honest...I just couldn't do it yet.  Then it hit me.  It really is all going away.  The baby stuff...the toddler stuff...the pain the ass 3's and 4's.  Little Man is 6 and Emily is about to turn double digits. 
     I am slowly but surely trading in silly bedtime stories for chapter books.  Moving up from basic skills to life lessons.  Saying goodbye to juvenile cartoons for more sophisticated ideas.  Karate is replacing tumbling classes.  It's in moments like this a mother wonders what will become of her.  A title is given to you and you form a life around it.  Those little milestones are your energy...they pass from one to another...new challenges...new successes.  What do you do with yourself as they grow more independent?  Of course your heart swells with each new victory...but in the very next heartbeat there is a loss...a mourning.  It is one breath closer to them not needing you in the same way ever again.  I get through these times with a new list of goals...a new batch of ideas...a fresh look at the future.   But as the tears flow down my face and into the mommy well of yesterdays...I see so many of the moments that have defined the last decade of my life. 
      I am grateful for the lessons that I have taught them and for the ones they have returned.  I carry them with me always.  My darling little baritone tooting, piano playing, karate kicking, smartie pants...my sweet, sensitive dirty blond snuggler learning big words and how to count money...and the little soul that I never got to meet.  If I'm getting this sentimental over a shower I might be in trouble for the big things coming...