June Eve

Tonight we celebrate June Eve--the last night before the month of June. My family says, bring on the summer! (Although our summer vacation doesn't start until 3 weeks into June--which is ridiculous.) June is also nice for reasons like sunshine (oh wait, we have June Gloom) and my anniversary (Oh wait, we moved our wedding up two months.) Well, June still has its perks. Especially THIS June, as the countdown to i-Phone begins. I recently found my Razr phone in the dishwasher, having completed a full cycle thanks to my 17 month old two year old. My husband found the timing of the loss of my phone a little uncanny considering the release date for the much anticipated i-Phone, but really I'm innocent. And the anticipation of this new device is making the weeks without a cell phone more bearable for me. It is also doing nice things for Apple stock, even if our riveted attention to wall street has taken over our evenings. So, welcome June...we've been waiting for you.

D M N

I would also like to pay tribute to Dan the Man whose birthday it is. Everyone's life is an interesting and unique story, but Dan's life is bestseller material. This brother of mine has a story filled with drama, mystery, intrigue, woes, victories, heartaches, happiness, experience, and adventure. It covers many lands and many paths and currently finds him on an Island in Florida with a beautiful girl and a weimereiner--if he's home from the Dominican Republic. :) Aaaahhhh.... Dan is the kind of guy who's "got it all" and yet remains humble, grounded and simple. His wit is unbelievable and his heart is solid gold. I am infinitely proud to call him my brother and hope he gets all of his birthday wishes.

3,455

It is a beautiful Memorial Day and we just returned from a service honoring the US armed forces, including the fallen soldiers from our city. One lost his life in Vietnam, the other seven, in Iraq. The total count of US casualties of the war in Iraq is now at 3, 455. It was an emotional morning spent in remembrance of those who give their lives in service to a country that often complains about what is wrong with the country instead of celebrate what is right with it. I believe a big part of what is right with our country is that we have citizens who are willing to dedicate their lives to serving and defending it. This is their day, and I stand in respect and admiration of them.

The graduate

Well I tried to transfer a picture over from Lol and Micah's blog to show you the newest Juris Doctorate in the family, but it didn't work. You'll just have to take my word for it that Micah looked right at home in his black cap and gown with 50 leis around his neck. So anyway, my little brother is having quite the week: Graduation from Law School on Saturday and a 29th birthday today. Now that he is an Esquire, he can cross off another item on his "Things to do before 30" list, if he has one, and knowing Micah, he does. Soon he will ace the Bar and then he can cross off another. That's Micah for you--and nobody in our family is surprised by his achievements. From his entrance into the world he has been the kind of guy that accomplished what he set out to do. I like to tease him that the same stubborn streak and determination that drove him to punch his 8 year old fist through a glass screen door I had locked him outside of has propelled him to success in every arena throughout his life. I am proud of my little bro, his beautiful family, his happy life, and I am inspired by his example. Love you, Micah!

high heeled truth

I am baffled by how many women walk around in high heels without staggering, limping, or grimacing in pain. They seem to feel as good as they look, even after several hours in the confinement of them. Have these women just mastered the poker face of high heeled fashion, and are simply grinning and bearing it? If so, it is an art I have not mastered. The first twenty minutes in heels is tolerable, but beyond that, I find myself holding my breath longer and clenching my teeth harder with each passing step. Usually by the third hour in high heels, I am holding them in my hand and walking bare footed, if I am walking at all. To me, heels are small torture chambers designed to punish the natural shape of a foot, and if it weren't for the relief of the flip-flops I come home to, I would not sign myself up for the suffering of this feminine and fashionable footwear. I need some honesty here. Are you all just good actors, or do high heels not cause you this much grief?

Acronymology

If you weren't aware of a field called Acronymology , you haven't met Papa LeRoy. This is one of his specialties, and he can think of an acronymn for anything. In honor of his birthday today, we have put our own acronym juices to work and here's what the kids came up with:

P-lays with us
A-lways tickles us
P-retends with us
A-wesome Donald Duck voice

L-ike it when he visits us
E-xcellent whistler
R-eally, really tall
O-nce he took us to get new basketballs
Y-ou are missing out if you don't know Papa LeRoy

So here's to all 6 feet and 9 inches of the Papa we celebrate today...Happy Birthday!

Mother's Day

I love my mother. I love my grandmothers. I love my mother in law. I love my sisters in law. I love my aunts, and cousins and my nieces who will be the next generation of mothers. I love my daughter. I love my girl friends. I love Mother nature. I love Mother earth. I love Motherhood. I love the Mother lode chocolate cake at Claim Jumper. I love being a woman, and I love being surrounded by many amazing women in my life who share with me the ups and downs of estrogen. I love being loved by a man, and I love being his woman. I love that I can say love 18 times in one blog entry, and I can do this because I am a woman. I can also watch chick flicks, cry for no reason, and spend too much money on accessories. I can drown my sorrows in chocolate, soak my feet in fizzy water, wear hot pink, and sigh over flowers. I can proudly display pasta picture frames on my fridge, and wear baseball photo buttons to Little League games. I can nurture, teach, play, guide, mentor, taxi, cook, clean, listen, love, cuddle, and wake up each day to do it all again. Here's to womanhood, motherhood, and the day that reminds us that although we are far from perfect, we are perfectly content being women.

Meal time

Meals around here have been great. Cairo ate toothpaste and Desitin for breakfast. For a mid-morning snack he talked me into a bowl of cereal (which he does surprisingly well for not talking) then proceeded to dump it on the floor and gnaw on a fake floral arrangement instead. Staten ate a predictable peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch, but Windsyr's menu was more specific, with her favorite: a "pickle, miracle whip sandwich with cheese." I was optimistic enough to think I could slip her a tuna sandwich without the ordered ingredients, but this was not to be. We got our serving of fruit from daddy's orange juice, which he likes so filled with pulp, it's more like eating than drinking, and our main dairy staple of the week is chocolate milk. Oh, and by the shiny, round evidence in Cairo's diaper yesterday, apparently we are also into eating magnets the size of marbles. I swear that kid has nine lives. I'd like to say we'll be having a well balanced and nutritious meal for dinner tonight, at a table set for a king. But instead, we may reheat last night's frozen taquitos and toss them to our kids sometime between homework, bath and bedtime and call it good. Anyone want to come over for dinner?

Boys rule

So I am only hours away from a nice three day get away with 'the girls." My son asked me where I was going and I told him Women's Conference. He wanted to know what that meant so I explained that I'd be going to classes that taught me how to be a better mommy and a better wife and a better person. He thought about that for a minute and then said: "Do they have a Men's conference too, or do boys just already know those things?

Anyone want to answer that?