a.rose

I think I have every one of those chicken soup for the soul books. I certainly have books one, two, three and four.  I also have chicken soup for the pet lover's soul.  I even bought myself Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul, and didn't figure it out until halfway through what Golden** meant.  I think that one is one of my favorites though. We got to have Devin's parents here for a few days last week, and as I watched them with the girls it seems to me that grandparents are chocolate chip cookies for the soul.  And they are great for helping with yard work. **Apparently a Golden soul is a soul that occupies a body that has lived on this earth for 65 years or longer.  (According to the chicken soup people.)

I love what spring says to me. And just in case you aren't sure what it is saying, I will translate for you.  Don't give up.   It's never too late.   It will be ok.   You can do it!   Don't worry.  Life is good. Try, try again.  Peace, be still. I hope you had a nice Easter.  If you want some good Easter reading, these are my favorite two things to read at Easter.  Favorite One . Favorite Two.   Enjoy.

From time to time we all need a quick pick me-up.  A little personal renovation.  Some color to brighten our lives.  Are you in need of a free pedicure and manicure? If so, you have come to the right place! I am here to offer you a free manicure and pedicure!  I can only give away a limited amount of  manicures and pedicures for free (one), so don't delay!  There are two ways to win this incredible offer: 1. You can call this toll-free number: 1-800-Hallie (please don't call this number. It is not a real number, and if it is it probably does not deal in manicures and pedicures.) 2. You can leave a comment right here on this very blog and Hallie will choose one winner for her free manicure/pedicure. Frequently Asked Questions: Do I get to pick my own color? It is highly unlikely that you will be allowed to pick your own color.  The stylist is stubborn, and independent.  It will be easiest on all involved if you let her choose the color. Th...

I looked out my window and what did I see? Popcorn popping! I truly never understood the reference in this song until this spring. (I don't know how I missed it last year, given that every house on our street has one of these trees in their front yard, but I'll blame it on the boxes I was unpacking.)   That's my friend Megan driving down the street.  Hi Megan!

To be quite honest, I don't mind if my girls grow up to be princesses , or cowgirls. I like both kinds of head-wear.

Treat, anyone? Don't mind if I do.

I decided yesterday that women spend at least 90% of their lives waiting.  (The algorithm used to come to this statistic is more an equation of emotional, rather than mathematical origin.) As children we wait for the things that all children do: We wait for summertime to come so we can go swimming. We wait for winter to come so we can go sledding, and Christmas! We wait for Halloween so we can go trick or treating. We wait for the Fourth of July so we can watch the fireworks. But as women we really set ourselves apart in the waiting department when we grow up. We wait for someone to ask us out on our first date. We wait for someone to ask us out again. We wait for someone to ask us to marry them. We wait nine months (or much, much, much, much longer) to have children. We wait for husbands to come home from work. We wait at our doctor's appointments, and those of our children. We wait while our children try to figure out how to make a number two on the potty. We wai...

But don't worry, it's not a picture of the bruises. We were at the library, oh, a month and a half ago?  First thing we always do is return the stack of books that we have read, in preparation for taking home another stack of books.  There are always a handful of Clifford books, the odd assortment of books for me, and maybe a Clifford DVD or two.  Hallie likes to help.  I put the books on the little shelf next to the drop box, lift her up high so she can reach, and then she slowly, one by one, drops each book into the box. Hanna wanders all around the library, touching people, touching  books, eating things off the floor, and all I can do is watch while Hallie takes her sweet time.  I think the librarians pretty much all know me by this point, and the children's librarian in particular loves Hanna, and it is a mutual thing. But I keep a close eye on her just in case she does something that I would have to respond to. So my attention is always divided ...

Back when I wrote my post about BRAGGing, I was working on a baby blanket for my little nephew.  I must admit that I have little knowledge and less experience with sewing in general, so most of my success at sewing in the past should be attributed to enthusiasm, a never-quit attitude, and having many people in my life who do know how to sew.  AND just so you know that I am not dealing in false modesty here, last week I tried to make a surprise pair of pajama bottoms for Devin. What I got was yoga pants for me. Incredibly ugly yoga pants.  It's not good. That said, I wanted to make this blanket for my nephew and I thought it would be so simple. It was just one panel of fabric, that I would sew onto a length of brown fabric, bring the brown over the top to bind, and then quilt it somehow. I wasn't too worried about the details of the quilting part, in my typical gung-ho fashion I just went ahead and did the part I knew how to do and thought I'd figure out the other detai...

A 16 year old girl that I know has a list of 100 things that she wants to do before she dies.  She has shared a few of the goals on her list with me, and it appears to be a truly fantastic and thorough list. 1. Sing with Justin Bieber 2. Organize a fundraiser. 3. Go skydiving. 4. Attend a movie premiere. That's all I remember. But I started thinking what I would put on a list, if I were to make a list of things I want to do before I die. So, here goes. I don't think I'll ever get to 100 of them, but here are 10: 1. Write in this blog until dementia or paralysis sets in, or blogs become extinct, whichever comes first. 2. Bake cookies for Hallie and Hanna to have warm when they come home from school at least once a week. 3. Go to Hawaii with Devin. 4. Go on a mission with Devin. 5. Maintain an environment in my home that is welcoming, accepting, and comfortable. 6. Sew Hallie and/or Hanna an Easter dress. 7. If the Easter dress goes well, sew more. 8. Take Dev...

This is where Hallie drew on the wall with a ball point pen:  This is where Hallie drew on the wall with a crayon:  This is where Hanna drew on the wall with a dry erase marker: This is the wall where I first noticed the blood:    And this is the floor where there was more blood: And somehow she got more blood all over the fireplace: And blood all over the bench: What's that you say? There's no blood in these pictures? Oh, you are so clever. When Hallie drew on the wall with the ink pen, I thought I should really call my mother and ask her how to get it out. When Hallie drew on the wall with crayon I thought again that I should talk with my mother.  When Hanna drew with the dry erase marker I shrugged my shoulders and added it to my list.  But when I saw the blood**, I leaped for the phone, and called my mother.  "MOM! How do you get blood stains off of a wall?" And, trusting that the people who read my blog have no intent to ever do b...

Or on air, as the case may be. Do you remember the first pair of shoes that you really fell in love with?  The first shoes that I remember forming an emotional bond with were my Airwalks, in ninth grade. That's right.  My brother had a pair, and so I had to have a pair.  Call me Cool, cuz I so was. Not. Anyway, you never forget that first love. This baby knows how to rock her Airwalks.  I guess she got that from her Uncle Pete.

When my babies go for their close ups, they want it to be close.up.  I mean, how about that milk 'stache, eh?