Happiness is...

Splish, splashing in the summer (or year round)!  There's something so innocent and joyful about watching my children splash in the water.  And they LOVE water!  Whether it's in the bath tub, Lake Ontario, the water table, our blow up pool, or random puddles of any shape or size - it doesn't matter.  I just love it!  And the squeals of laughter, intense emotion, and pure HAPPINESS it creates in my children makes my heart sing!

I've lost track...

I don't know if I'm supposed to be doing a Thinkbox Thursday (TBT) or a Flashback Friday (FF) so I'm starting off with a TBT. Not the typical kind though as I'm too lazy to get off my duff and pull a question from the thinkbox. Instead, I'm on my own personal thinkbox (similar to the soapboxes many of us have and get on from time to time, only mine is simply a semi-dull revelation that's dumping out of my overfull head at the moment).

Lately I've been overwhelmed by life. In a desperate attempt to fill my proverbial 5lb bag with 10 (or more accurately, 25) lbs of crap, I think I've developed a split in the seams. I'm spilling things out at an alarming rate.  Tasks, ideas, random thoughts, knowledge, responsibilities and expectations are falling out at a rapid pace. I pick a lot of the stuff back up and shove it back in the bag to be dealt with later, but some of these things are being forever lost and irrevocably forgotten. That's what happens I suppose when my brain gets full, my days get stretched to capacity, and the sand runs out in my hourglass.

I've realized lately that it's not just me trying to juggle and balance and accomplish more than the day allows time for - everyone has their STUFF.  The stuff that gets in the way of them being 100% where they are.  Stuff going on at home that's distracting at work, stuff going on in your mind or body that gets in the way of what you want or need to do.  I guess that's not an amazing revelation in and of itself.  What this makes me realize is that I really need to get a grip.  The difference between me and everyone else is not in how much stuff I have to cope with but in HOW I cope (or choose NOT to cope) with what's given me.  We all have our struggles to deal with and our crosses to bear.  But true character is developed in how we choose to handle these challenges in life.  I wish there were an easy fix or a sure fire trick to maneuvering life's tricky road with grace.  I guess that's what life is meant to teach us and why it is indeed a JOURNEY.  One on which I struggle and learn something every day.  I trip, I fall, I stumble and with the help of my friends and family, I pick up the stuff that falls out of my over full bag and sew up the seams in an effort to hold it all together so I can trudge along a little further.  

My 25 lbs of crap has me bogged down at times (and highly distractible) but I'm doing the best I can.  I honestly do not forget things or lose track of things on purpose.  In fact, it drives me nuts to be such an airhead.  So, please forgive me if I forget something important (something I promised you, a birthday or special milestone), throw me a bone if I don't get back to you in a timely manner (or forget to get back to you at all) and gently jog my memory if I have dropped the ball as I suffer from these inevitable moments of brain purge syndrome (BPS).   I ask that you simply remind me of where I was when my sentences trail off or ask again I have failed to answer a question.  And I, too, will do the same for you if/when needed.  Hey, it's only fair!

And because every post needs a picture and I could use beautiful flowers like this all year round, please enjoy my lilacs from this past Spring.  Ahhh, I can almost smell them now...

Wordless Wednesday

Restless Brain Syndrome

I am so glad it's the weekend!  And while I realize I'm sorely remiss on my (self-imposed) obligation to provide my reader(s) with semi-regular and somewhat predictably timed entertainment through my Thinkbox Thursday and Flashback Fridays, I just haven't been feeling it lately.  Don't worry (would you anyway?) I'm not giving it up already, just have to get back on the wagon (and perhaps get to sleep once in a while before 1 AM so my brain functions properly when I sit down to write).

As I sit here now, there are about 1,000 things bouncing around in my brain so I'm not even sure where to go with this post.  I'm rehashing the harried week, debriefing from the hectic day, and looking forward to the crazy weekend ahead.  I'm trying to plan out my time, while desperately wishing I had more of it.  Or perhaps just wishing it would go by a little slower.  

While my weary mind and body rests up and prepares to wow (?) you all next week, I thought I'd share some photos of a short jaunt my family took to the Zoo this week.  I played (legitimate) hooky from work and went with my son on a school field trip to our local zoo.  It's not the best zoo, but it's ours and it's the only one we have (which I suppose we're lucky just to HAVE ONE, period) so I won't complain too much. 

There's not a lot to TELL, necessarily.  We went, we saw, we did.  Nathaniel splashed in the water, climbed and ran around the playground(s), traveled onward always with the goal of seeing the polar bears in mind, threw a colossal (albeit short-lived) temper tantrum when we had to LEAVE the water fun, and searched and searched and searched for the Hippos.   Of course we never did FIND any Hippos as our zoo doesn't have any - ditto for the giraffes (none), lions (zip), and seals (nada).  I've heard speak of penguins at our zoo but have yet to see them the last three times I've been, so I think it's a myth.  It was a beautiful day for a trip though!  Thanks for letting me share some photos from our day!

Nate was showing me how to hop like a wallaby here...

Nate showing his attitude.  This is his "no!" stance, moments after he stomped his feet.  Look closely and you'll see his nose in the air and his eyes closed.  It's humorous but gets him nowhere every time.

I started singing "If I were King of the MOUN-TAIN!" (to the tune of King of the Forest from Wizard of Oz) and Nate copied me by singing "If I was King of the H-iiiILL!"  It was cute!!!

I love the look on Alex's face here.  He checked out this polar bear forever before he finally decided to touch it.  His face says "Please don't eat me!"

Wordless Wednesday

Happiness is...

A fresh baked Peanut Butter and Jelly cake a friend makes you because she wants to "try out" a cake baking technique for Alex's first birthday cake smash!  Thanks, Shelby!

Pity Party RSVP - regrets only, please

Have you ever had one of those days when it's difficult to see the silver lining amidst the dark clouds in your heart and mind? I call them my "doom and gloom" days - when my skies are cloudy even though the sun is shining brightly outside.

It starts when I wake up late and can't find anything to wear. Then my coffee isn't ready before I have to head out the door. I get to work 10 minutes late after some jerk cuts me off in traffic only to find a spot of something on my shirt. Nothing goes easily at work. I get home and my kids haven't napped and are especially difficult or challenging. Everything is just hard.

Deep down I know that those are the days when my perspective needs some serious tweaking. But try as I might to dig out from underneath the rubble of my day, I still feel defeated as my head hits the pillow.

Today has been one of those days for me and I find myself thinking back to this post that one of my favorite bloggers wrote (just last night!). The topic is apropros and a great reminder to stop my "poor, poor, pitiful me" mentality in its tracks and set out to find that four leaf clover (read the post and that'll make sense!).

The other day my friend posted a status update on her Facebook account that read:
"Who remembers "Love Is..." cartoons? Tonight mine is: Love is...laying in bed with my hubby at 8:30pm on a Sunday watching Entourage"

It got a whole bunch of responses with people leaving their own "Love is..." comments. I loved it! Now that's a mini-movement I can totally get behind!

Not only do I love those "Love Is..." cartoons (in fact, there's a whole website devoted to them that's great fun to read!) but I love what they stand for! It's a basic principle of counting your blessings and defining the single things in life that mean something to us. So I do hereby declare that I have decided to make this a weekly effort. Call it a self-improvement project if you must. But my plan is to post one thing that defines hapiness in my day/week/life.

Introducing: "Happiness is..." (yes, it's probably a copyright issue, but since my span is limited, I don't think they'll mind!) Feel free to join me and leave your personal "Happiness is..." comment below! Here's to focusing on the positive and reminding myself of all the blessings in my life, one small happiness at a time!!

10 on 10 : August 2009

One week ago (yesterday) my best friend in the whole world gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Brianna Sadie. She joins big brother, Shawn into one of the best families I know! In honor of this sweet new blessing, I focused on all things PINK for my 10 on 10 photos today! (Which, for the record was VERY hard to do in a house of all boys and a workplace with institutionally white walls!) So here they are - one picture an hour for ten hours on the 10th of the month - GIRL style!!

Wordless Wednesday