Memoirs of a Moorings

Sweet Summer

“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language” ~Henry James

Rhyan and I are enjoying a week of vacation. Absolutely nothing planned. Lazy days. I'm loving it. It's going to be hard to get back in the work week groove! We took a trip to the library where the toys caught Rhyan's eye more than the books. No worry though--he's been requesting the two books I got for him every night for bed time reading. But I have to keep explaining to him that these are not our books, they go back to the library. We'll see how that goes! And I'm not the only one enjoying these lazy days. Rhyan is enjoying his extra TV time and has found a new spot to lounge.

Took My Breath Away

I don't know this couple or the photographer, but this event was like none I've ever seen or heard of.(Thanks Toni for the email!) This young brother took proposing to a whole new level. Get the back story here. And check out the chronicle of this elaborate event here. Wish I could have been there for this one!

Magazine Love

"Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life." ~ Mortimer J. Adler ~

I must admit that I'm a magazine junkie. But not as bad as I've been in the past. I cut down my subscriptions to weed out Essence--the cover story with Se*n C*mbs and and his girlfriend with the headline Real Love was just too much for me. Then I got rid of Martha Stewart Living and Parents--after the first year, I really didn't need it anymore. And finally Radiant got cut and was replaced by Blueprint.

Feeling pretty good that I got my list down to FIVE. But then I find out about Organize Magazine. Oh my, what's a girl to do?!

Growing Big Boy Wings

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings." ~Hodding Carter

Last week, we went to my cousin's college graduation party. There were lots of big boys there who Rhyan had a great time hanging around. The boys all gathered around the PSP--the Sony portable playstation. And Rhyan, the youngest one there, was right there in the mix. Such a cute sight! And they even let him hold it for a few minutes!

Craft Crazy

"Crafts make us feel rooted, give us a sense of belonging and connect us with our history. Our ancestors used to create these crafts out of necessity, and now we do them for fun, to make money and to express ourselves."
~Phyllis George

I'm a sucker for anything hand-made--jewelery, clothing, pottery. I've been browsing Etsy--it's like EBay for the crafting world--and drooling over all the yummy handmade goods! And my oh my....I had to constrain myself. I "walked" away only buying this one piece of lovely jewelery. Talk about self-control! We'll see how long it lasts! If you love unique items head on over and try them out. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Not-So-Funny Talk

"A three-year-old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm." ~Bill Vaughn

Lately, Rhyan has been getting a kick out of making up his own words. You ask him a question and he uses a made-up word and then just cracks himself up. Why do we have television and toys for this kid? The imaginary words didn't cause me much concern until he started using the word "caca." Of course, he doesn't know what the word means. But I do! So I've gently encouraged him to use another word without causing him too much alarm. It has not been working. So lately I've just been ignoring him. Smart strategy huh? Yeah, right! Caca makes him hilarious with laughter. Hopefully this phase will fade too. However this morning he said a made up word that sounded very close to a cuss word. Now, we don't cuss in our home so I know he's not repeating what he's heard, but man, this is not cute.

Anybody else been through this imaginary word phase? What's a mom to do?

Transitioning: Time to Celebrate

“When our first parents were driven out of Paradise, Adam is believed to have remarked to Eve: "My dear, we live in an age of transition."”  Dean Inge (Dean of St Paul's, London , 1860-1954)

One of my dear cousins is graduating from college this month and asked me to make the announcements for her celebration. I kept the design sweet and simple since I had to do 100 of them. She was so thankful for the announcements and I was happy to do them for her because, truth is, I'm just so proud of the girl. I mean, I remember when she was barely in high school and now she's a college graduate!

This is such a a time of transition and moving on to the next season. Next month Mr. Rhyan starts his pre-K class. Boy does the time fly. I'm transitioning into maternity clothes already. Yikes! And I'm trying to wrap my mind around being the mother of two. I know I'll ease into it with no problem. But when your hands are already full, it's hard to imagine adding a newborn baby to the mix. Praying for grace and strength for the journey ahead!

For those of you with two (or more kids) PLEASE offer me some words of advice and comfort on how to manage it all. I know that it can be done. But I just need to see hear some real world experiences of how it's done!

*Updated to add: One of my "curious" friends wanted to see what the insideof the card looked like. I initially didn't post it because of the personal info. But here it goes. This one's for you Toni!