Pretty Smile

Pretty Smile, originally uploaded by artbyheather.

My baby got her braces off today! We celebrated with a big dinner...baby back ribs, corn on the cob, popcorn and caramel apples. Not the most nutritious dinner, but a long-awaited feast! She's thrilled, needless to say! I think her smile is quite lovely...the down side, she looks older. Braces have a way of keeping kids looking like kids...there's just something about them.
Congrats my sweet girl! You're beautiful!

Ah, now I get it!

Every mother has had the experience (many, many times) of looking into her child's eyes and thinking "You are so precious...you can live with me forever...I don't know how I'm ever going to let you grow up and go..." Usually followed by a sigh, a tickle and a hug and a juicy cookie kiss. You play together and your child steals your heart over and over...even when they smear chocolate sauce on the walls...it's precious...maddening, but oh so precious!
My kids are late bloomers...they've been so easy-going for EVER! My 18-year-old twins have been SO FUN! BUT...they're about to graduate...there's something about that final childhood milestone...something that makes the synapses in their strange, misfiring, brain matter go wonky and they completely turn on you. It's happened. They're normal. They're not so sweet any more. They claim I'm yelling when I'm using my softest, sweetest tone. They claim I'm a nag when I ask something for the first time. They say I'm freaking out when I expect good results in a completed task. It's not rocket science. It's the every day stuff that just two weeks ago wasn't a big deal! Normal...but aggravating!
So, I'm pretty sure God, once again, knows what He's doing...giving them the urge to break away, making the warm, cozy nest that they once adored, a torturous prison. God is making the break a clean one...for all of us. They couldn't imagine leaving us a year or two ago...the thought was scary and lonely and strange. Now they're ready...chomping at the bit. So are we. They are free to go. I've done my job - in so far as instilling my values and work ethic and beliefs...now they need go out into the world and be the people they were created to be.

I'm being nice to me!

Tulips make me happy!, originally uploaded by artbyheather.

So...I made a decision a few months ago. Nothing major...nothing life altering...just a simple little thing that has had a rather large result. Every week, I buy myself tulips. Just a single bunch of 5 stems. 4 bucks worth. It doesn't break my grocery budget and I haven't missed the cash. The result has been a little oasis of happy on my antique pie safe. I found this fabulous copper pitcher for $2.50 at a thrift store...yes, you read that right, $2.50! It is the perfect vessel for my tulips! They look fabulous in it...a contrast of old and fresh. The most important bit to all of this is that the act of buying flowers for myself is so nice. I'm being nice to me. I buy them whether I deserve them or not. Even if I haven't finished my housework. It is my own little reward for all I HAVE done. AND having fresh flowers in the house makes me want to keep the space around them tidy...which is why I put them in the center of the main living space!! :o)
May I suggest that you buy yourself flowers today too!? Be nice to you! They're relatively cheap...even one stem will brighten up your whole day...your home...your attitude!
:o)

The world is her oyster...

Senior Picture, originally uploaded by artbyheather.

aaaah...she's about to leave the nest. This girl of mine is leaving in June instead of August for college. She was offered a FULL RIDE scholarship to the summer session at a State University! She's so excited! I'm so proud! It's the perfect opportunity to acclamate to college life...to train for the upcoming cross country season...to get used to being away from home in a shorter time period - sort of like "summer camp" before she leaves for the whole school year. She's been given such an incredible gift. We are a very close family and to send her away early is so hard, but exciting too. She will do well. She will make new friends. She will do things she never thought she could. She will grow up...not just in responsibility and independence, but in her heart. She has always been confident, but there's just something about being away from Mom and Dad and having to realize that you can figure things out for yourself and manage your own life that grows up a kid into an adult. Into a woman. Into a friend. I'm glad she's going...

I'll miss her...

I've been Funkified!

I'm featured on Funky Finds! Yay! Thanks Jessica! If you haven't ventured over to Funky Finds, you really should...click on the title of this posting and you it will take you there! Her tagline is "They once were funky lost, but now they are funky found!" I'm found! There's just something about being found...especially after you've been lost. It's comforting...a relief even!
I'm going to shout it from the rooftops! "I'm funky! I'm really funky!" - in a good way, of course! :o)