35

Well, here it is. The day I've kinda been dreading. The day I turn 35. I'm not officially 35 until 7:02 this morning. And as I pointed this out, my teenage cousin said, "Well, enjoy it while it lasts."

I know I'm not alone in this anxiety about turning 35. I have talked to many other women that dreaded it. For some, it was the idea that 40 is right around the corner. For others, it was the thought of not accomplishing goals that they dreamed would be met by now. All could laugh (uneasily) at the thought of now checking off the third box down on most surveys. But overall, the thing that bothered most in my quest for comfort was the whole, "Advanced Maternal Age" factor.

Take my BF for instance. "Pixxiee" and her husband have been trying for years to have a baby. I can not begin to understand how they feel every month when that unwanted visitor beats down her door every month. She is constantly reminded that time is tickin'. She was even informed that even in adoption, she is "advanced." Talk about pressure.

The other couple of women I talked to both had their 3td child after 35. Both happy accidents. Both ladies wanted the 3td, but the husbands not so much. They got their wish. They also got worry and stress and lots of demands for their husbands to get taken care of immediately after #3 was born.

I would love to add another little guy to our craziness. My husband is on the not-so-much bandwagon. I can understand why though. One of the moms of 3 told me, "If you look at your family picture and it feels like someone is missing, someone is." I like this. I get this. I sometimes see an empty spot in our little family. I can dream. No pressure.

Get Your Lemonade Here!

On Monday, Jake asked, "When can I have a lemonade stand?" Since it's summertime and the livin' is easy, I replied, "How about tomorrow?" His friend, Josh, was there and the two started creating a business plan. It was going to open at 3 and close at 7, unless they wanted to go swimming, then it would close early.

So, Tuesday at 3 rolled around after a long day of questions and scenarios presented by Jake. What if no one comes? What if too many people come? What if I want to go swimming? Unfortunately, Jake's silent partner (his little bro) was still napping, so the Grand Opening was postponed. I contacted Josh's secretary (his mom) and let her know of the delays. She, too, had been hounded since 6:30 a.m. about the Grand Opening.

We gave up on Sleeping Beauty and set up shop. We didn't have lemonade (oopsie) and went with Crystal Light Cherry Limeade. Just as yummy, according to Jake. Within minutes we had a customer. Shockingly, a neighbor who is either always yelling at her kids or giving us the evil eye drove by and noticed the stand. Minutes later, one of her ultra-polite teenage sons came over and said, "I heard there was a lemonade stand." My heart soared. Thank. Good. Ness. Bless you and your cranky mom, you just made my day. He paid a dollar and Jake poured about a tablespoon in to a Spongebob cup. The teen said, "Thanks, that's all I needed."

Soon, Josh and his siblings and mom showed up. His 3 year old sister sat in full diva mode in her tutu and glasses, never cracking a smile. I think that kid drank about a gallon of the product that day. We had one drive by customer (they actually backed up and got car hop service, nice) and two customers due to social networking.

Although Dad paid for most of the cups, it was a fun day for all. And I think we made it through without getting a citation from the HOA....

Summer Traditions

Do you have any summer traditions with your family/friends?

I got to thinking about this as I started planning a fun-filled summer for my easily bored, little guys. Summer vacation started this past Friday, but summer starts officially today. And what better celebrates the taste of summer than ice cream. Better yet, (in my house) frozen yogurt.
So I am starting a new tradition and doing something crazy with my family-having fro yo for dinner. My 6 year old thinks this is crazy and rebellious. All the reason more to do it. I am a very picky mama when it comes to what my boys eat, so I'm letting loose.

I strive hard to create experiences and traditions for them that will last them a lifetime. Most of my memories of summer consist of babysitting my brother and then step-siblings. Staying inside all day, watching hours of cheesy movies and doing chores. Good times.

There are some good moments/traditions that I remember and still enjoy. My birthday is near the 4Th of July, so I would get to celebrate with family on the 4Th , complete with fireworks. I waited for what seemed like hours as my dad made homemade ice cream on the driveway. Last summer our family attempted making it in a Ziploc baggie. Once the frostbite passed, the ice cream was yummy.

I hope my boys remember their summers as fun, carefree times. I hope they appreciate that I was so excited for school to be out, just to spend more time with them. Most of all, I hope that they enjoy our traditions enough to do it with their children someday.

My Summer Goal

I love scrapbooking. I hate my system of photos. It's not even a system. It's a disaster.


Ever since our first digital camera, it has been a nightmare to find the exact picture I want. Way back when, I printed pictures on our home printer. These pictures are now purple, if there is any ink on them.


Then came Shutterfly, Snapfish and other printing services. I swear by these. Printing at home can get expensive and I just don't see the quality I see through these services. I am always watching the deals on these sites. They do offer some good deals. You know you order a lot of pictures when they offer you free albums, prints and gifts for being a loyal customer!


Well, anyway, about my goal. I want to organize all of my digital prints and save them in 3 locations. I have too many and I know this, but I think I can do it. I even started and completed 2 whole photo cards. Yay!

And summer vacation just began...

p.s. I mysteriously received a magazine yesterday. A crafting one. Wonder who sent it? A blog reader that saw my wish list perhaps???

School Year Wrap-Up

Well, we have 4 days of school left. 4 days of Kindergarten.

It seems like just yesterday, all us Kinderparents were sitting together in the multi-purpose room listening to what would be expected of our then preschoolers. None of us seemed to know each other. I was so worried about how many trantrums my 5 year old would have, how we would get homework done with his lack of focus and would I remember to keep his uniform clean and ready to go each day?

I was not only focused on the transition to Kindergarten, but my future transition into a SAHM.

Fast forward to the present. I have made friends with many Kinderparents. I was able to volunteer way more than I could have ever done as a working mom.

My son has not (as to date) had tantrums, received a citation, or recommendation for military school. He has become a math whiz of sorts. HE CAN READ. He has made so many friends that seem to accept his bossiness, um, leadership. We walk to school and there are children hanging out of their car windows screaming his name to say hello.

Homework has not been an easy task, but we've done it and turned it in on time! Yes, I said we. I think I should get an A for the amount of times I have said, "Focus!" and "Pick up your pencil from the floor."

As this school year ends, I am so grateful for his amazing teacher, who is retiring this year. I couldn't have picked a more patient, fun and just amazing teacher for him. I am already missing her!

Goodbye Kindergarten, hello First Grade!

8 years of Wedded Bliss

We are celebrating by attending a 1st grade information night, cleaning up a pee'd in bed and watching, "Star Wars the Clone Wars." Is this what I saw as I looked away from the camera in this picture? Probably not. But I wouldn't change it for anything.

My Wish List

I haven't posted in a while and really have nothing interesting to say, so here is my own personal list of scrappy wishes---in case anyone wants to make my dreams come true. ;)

1. Glimmer Mist/Glimmer Mists Screens/Stamps...Anything related! I tried this stuff over the weekend and it's pretty awesome.
2. A small butterfly punch...I love butterflies, what other reason do I need?
3. Fiskars paper crimper. Easy and fun!
4. Alpha stickers. Yes I have a million, but "X, Y and Z" will only get you so far!
5. 7 Gypsies Painters Artist Tray... I have big ideas for this one
6. Small flower punch (rounded petals). I bought (for some reason) some flower embellishments a while back and now that I'm trying to make my own embellies, I have no idea why I paid whatever I did for these. I can make them, if I had this punch.
7. A new scrapbook mag. I know, boring, but they can be $$$!

I'm sure there are a million more things I want out there, but I'll stick to the small things today :)