Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Today’s my mother’s birthday. She lives in Florida now and our relationship hasn’t really been great for the last few years. When my father died, things got a little crazy between us. . . . We’ve had our share of ups and downs. Although, despite all those ups and downs, I have realized that the one thing that will never change is that I love her. And she loves me too. We don’t always understand each other. . and we certainly don’t always agree with one another, and I’d venture to bet we’d say that we even don’t like each other from time to time, but one thing I am now sure of is that we always love each other. Becoming a mother has completely changed my viewpoint about my relationship with my mother. In an instant you become part of a club that is a complete mystery up until the moment you hold that little baby in your arms for the first time. It’s at that instant that you learn what they mean when they say. . . “only a mother’s love”. Being a mother can be a thankless job at times, but there are moments, that although few and far between, make everything about this whole experience worth the while. So today, I will attempt to share with you some of the most wonderful things MY mother’s love has done for me over the years. . . .

My mother kept a great baby book – full of wonderful memories of her hospital stay, the flowers and gifts and phonecalls when I was born, what my father said first, and much more. It has dates of when I had my first smile and even my first sentence- its all in there! It’s been the inspiration for the scrapbooking that I do today – I consider it my attempt to create that sense of importance for my children that she gave to me.

My mother had an amazing way of being successful in her career as a real estate agent without compromising her family life. If you asked me if my mom worked, I’d say yes, but then I’d have to tell you that I don’t remember when. I know she was there when I got on the bus every day and she was there when I got off. In fact, other kids came to my house before and after school and she watched them. And, when it came time for high school, she changed jobs so that she would be able to keep that balance. You see, she knew she’d have a hard time saying no to clients so she’d be able to go to my lacrosse games or my sister’s band competitions and she didn’t want to miss out on those things. Those small things make all the difference in a kids life. . .and even more of a difference now that I have to keep those same priorities in focus with my own family.

My mother came to pick me up at 1:30 am from a New Years party when I was in 10th grade. Yeah! Who’s mom does that? I was SO MAD! So mad that she wouldn’t just let me spend the night like all of my other friends! You know what, that was and has been noted by me and my friends (also now moms ) as one of the best things my mom ever did. She stuck to her guns despite all of my arguing and man I remember putting up a good fight. But, she wouldn’t let me stay over because she didn’t know the family – turns out some pretty bad stuff happened after I went home and many of my friends have horrible memories of that New Years as a result.

My mother has a gift for seeing the strengths my sister and I have and guiding us towards using those different talents. Whether it was me playing lacrosse or my sister’s artistic talent, she knew how to guide us in the right direction to provide us with the most opportunities for success. In fact, she took us out of Catholic school and put us into public school in 7th grade which provided us with far more opportunities than a Catholic education would have at that time. She also helped me put together a “best of” video from all my lacrosse games in high school to send to each college I was applying to since I was hell-bent on playing lacrosse at the college level. And in the end, she helped me get to Lehigh where I would surely have the best chance at getting a good job out of college. No matter what the decision, she always knew how to guide me in directions that would provide me with the best opportunities. My hope is that I have the ability to see where my children’s strengths lie and guide them in the right paths to success without ever forcing my hopes or dreams on them the way my mother has done for me throughout my life.

My mother read my diary when I was in college because she knew there was something wrong and couldn’t figure out what it was because I never opened up or talked to her. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I hated her for it back when it happened, and I am sure I let her know that too. But today, I sit here realizing that when you love someone that much, you will do ANYTHING to help them and I am thankful that she loved me enough to not just let me deal with those problems on my own. That year she also took me away to Aruba and it was the best vacation I’ve ever been on. I say this knowing that my husband always cringes but in fact, this was the only vacation where I truly rested each day and each night. Never before and never since have I relaxed so thoroughly and I am so thankful for how special she made me feel taking me on that trip just the two of us.

My mother understood that I would find and create my own relationship with God and allowed me to join and attend a Presbyterian church in high school even though she raised me Catholic. Instead of trying to control this aspect of my life, she let me figure it out on my own and come to God in my own time and in my own way. I found God’s love much earlier than I otherwise would have and made friendships that have lasted my lifetime all as a result of that decision. She let me choose my own path and I am very grateful for her open-mindedness during that time of my life.

My mother knew that having the family together for meals was important. She made breakfast for our family EVERY weekend. When she was here last year staying with me when I had Sydney, I clearly remember the nostaligic feelings I got waking up to the smell of French toast. I loved it because it brought me back to a time when life was simple and breakfast just happened without any effort on my part. And it didn’t stop with breakfast, my mother packed me a lunch in a brown bag for school everyday. And dinnertime - we were fortunate and always did dinner together. I know now that there is something so important that happens in a family when you spend that time at the end of each day together. I am so appreciative that my mother modeled that for me since I think it makes all the difference in keeping and raising strong families.

My mother always wrapped my birthday presents in birthday paper (even though my birthday is 12/26) and always made my favorite dinner, lasagna. Even now, she knows how much I love that for my birthday. Last year she was up visiting and things were not so great in our relationship and she still made a lasagna and delivered it to me for my birthday.
My mother has shown me how to have strength and persevere through the tough times. She has taught me that God doesn’t give us anything that we can’t handle with His help. She has helped me get through so many of life’s milestones especially those where I was really missing my dad – like when she sent me Valentine’s day packages when I had no Valentine and when she danced with me at my wedding when I should have been dancing with my dad. She has stepped in to try and fill the shoes of being both my mother and my father and tried to make it feel like we were still a family when all I felt I had was a mom and a sister. She has held my hand through these milestones until I have been able to create a new definition of family on my own which has made all the difference in my healing from the loss of my father. I am so thankful for all of the ways in which my mom has sacrificed her own life for the last 15 years to be everything she could be for me and my sister. I am grateful for her attentiveness and concern despite how it sometimes appeared as meddling and nosiness, because now that I am a mom, I realize that all it really was, was a deep rooted love of a mother wanting her child to be happy, safe, comforted, and secure. And these are all things, I am confident that I will be able to provide for my children because they were provided for for me by my mother.

Mom, I hope you realize how wonderful of a mother you have been and continue to be. . .

Happy Birthday! Love always, Dawn Christine









Cheap Therapy

So my mom's group did a cheap therapy session where we just wrote "stream of conscience" about ourselves to help remember who we are and not get lost in the daily grind of Dora and diapers - here's mine!

I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a sister. I am a daughter, grandaughter, aunt and cousin. I love my family - even with its quirks! I am a Capricorn. I am good with numbers. I love my mom's lasagna. I grew up being called bossy and became a manager. I sing out loud in the car when I am by myself. My dog Yahoo! after how I met my husband. My daughter's named after our honeymoon. I hate being alone - especially going to bed alone. I hate thunderstorms, but I love the smell after the rain. I have a sensitive nose and remember things by their smell. I get cranky without sleep. I always fall asleep in the car which makes me a horrible passenger but I am great with a map - you decide! I love being pregnant - my husband hates it! I can't stand to hear kids crying. I am not a funny person. I just don't get sarcasm. I love people. I will talk with anyone. I randomly stop people when I am shopping to get their opinions. I love with my husband holds my hand. I miss my mom that moved to Florida. I love hugs from my son. I like running. I don't do it as often as I should or would, but I have a goal to run a marathon. I played lacrosse in high school; its why I went to Lehigh University. I dind't play at Lehigh - and its not why I stayed. I love scuba diving but always get worried something will happen to me. My husband completes me perfectly. I save everything. I create (it is an ART) dozens of scrapbooks. A bunch of folks think I am nuts when I show them my books. I am not one for impressing people. I am not a girly-girl. I don't like shoes. I wear a size 10 1/2 ( or closer to an 11 after the second kid!). I am really good at softball. I odn't have good self-esteem, but I think I am really good at softball. I love being a mom. I learned how to love by watching and listening to my grandmothers. I went to Catholic schoo. I hate knee socks. I just learned how to crochet and find it very therapuetic. I believe in God. I want my children to know God loves them. I want them to also know how much I love them. I just sent my first text message last month, but I met my husband online - go figure! I hate doing dishes. I would rather clean the bathroom than do dishes. I am a morning person, not a night owl. I'd go to bed at 10pm every night if I could. I have a compulsion to answer the phone. I think it came from my mother's career as a real estate agent and the fact that I never want to miss anything. I love wearing baseball caps - maybe because my husband always compliments me and hugs me when I am wearing one! I love vegetables. I can't stand working for my food ( ie oranges, chix on the bone ) and don't do it. I used to think I was an organized person until I became a mom, now I know there are LOTS of folks out there more anal retentive then me! I bite my nails. I have my entire life except for the year I was engaged. I am emotional, I am passionate, I am a close-talker - esp. when I drink! People always told me I'd make a good lawyer. I am a big competitor, everything is a game to me. I love a glass of good red wine. I have never broken a bone. I hate hospitals. I look down while I walk in them so as to not see people sick in bed. I wanted to be a pediatrician, astronaut, dancer and a mom when I was younger. I love the smell of mens cologne. I don't read books for leisure, my night table is loaded with self help books of one kind or another ( parenting, mothering, marriage)

I am thankful for my husband - his love has taught me so much more about myself. . .

Sydney's Walking. . .



Yes. . . Sydney began this month taking just a few steps and now as we are ending the month, nothing will stop her. She gets up and walks wherever she wants to go! Its adorable and so cute and I forget what it was like with Zach so its been super fun watching her "go upright" these past few weeks.


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

6 Quirky Things About Me. . . .

Looks like I got tagged again by Lesley - so here are 6 quirky things about me!

1. When I am playing a board game, I will pick a color piece to match my outfit. Yes, so if I am wearing a red shirt, I will be the red man in Candyland. Unfortunately, Zach picked up on it and now will look at what he is wearing before he decides what color to be! so quirky huh?!?!

2. I like to clean first thing in the morning. . . the very first thing I start doing when I get up. Once I get started I can usually go on a roll. And since I am talking chores, my least favorite is doing dishes. . and maybe that's because there are (in my house) always more at night after dinner!

3. I am a list girl. I need to write things down. Not to remember them necessarily but to make a note of them. I know I think better when I am writing. I used to be so much worse before kids. I make lists of everything, not just grocery or to-do's. . We're talking during the final episode of Survivor I get out paper and start predicting who will vote for who, and can't do it without writing it! When I was a kid I'd watch the Miss America pagent with pen and paper in hand writing down "who I thought was pretty" to see if I could pick the winner. My husband thinks its completely bizarre - probably because he is a thinker/reader and I am a talker/writer.

4. I am emotional and passionate..... about most everything! They say that the only thing worse than hating something or someone is being indifferent to it. I am indifferent to hardly anything in this life although I've learned to keep my emotion/passion contained sometimes since its branded me as a "spaz" on many an occasion since high school! : )

5. I love my name Dawn, Dawn, Dawn. . .I love everything about my name. Hello - its in my blog title! Most of all I like to have things with my name written on it. I love things Personalized! I love meeting other Dawn's, too.

I'm nuts huh??

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Wordless Wednesday. . .


This is my daughters crib - and yes, its even on the mirror!



OMG! Yes, it was on her face,
all over her legs and her hands. . .
does she seem to mind - NO
I still can't figure out if she removed the diaper and then pooped, or if she pooped and then removed the diaper.
In my 3 yr old son's words "Sydney went poopy and then played with it"










Sunday, July 20, 2008

Sisterly Love. . .

Where do I begin? First, let me start by letting you all know that when I started this blog I did not believe that my life was funny or crazy enough to write about . . . now, I think I am just realizing that sharing it with others is the most crazy part of it all!

Only my sister would. . . come to Cheap Therapy and immediately click with everyone and make the night even more enjoyable!

Only my sister would . . . call crying that she got sprayed by a skunk and pack whatever she could find because she had to leave her house because of the smell! (by the way - her house is up for sale , not a very good selling feature!)

Only my sister would . . . end up staying for the weekend and think she needed to replace water bottles she drank!

Only my sister would . . . not mind that Sydney had pink eye and still let her daughter Gianna play with her!

Only my sister would . . . watch my kids so that Mark and I could have a date night and go see Batman - The Dark Knight (it was great by the way! )

Only my sister would . . . leave for home, get into Downingtown, only to get a call from me that she needed to come rescue us since Zach got us all locked into his bedroom! ( No I am not lying! Thank GOD I had my cell phone in my pocket! )

Well, this was a summary of Friday, Saturday and Sunday at my house. We had no plans for this weekend and probably would have ended up doing a few small projects like cleaning the garage or the office and instead were able to have a fabulous weekend with Karen, Andy and Gianna. I don't know what I'd do without my sister! I think I am going to go through withdraw when she starts back teaching in August. Over the years we've had our share of highs and lows and we really haven't been this close since we went to college - we've talked regularly, and even lived together (although I was gone for most of that experience travelling for work) but I don't think we've ever connected the way we have since both having our daughters this past fall. I'll know I'm going to miss talking to her everyday and spending so much time with her!

I love you Kar!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

My Birthday Boy




So, Zachary has turned 3. . . and I am in awe at the concept of the fact that he has been in this world for three years.


Here are some highlights from his birthday party with family and close friends this past weekend. The first was him blowing out candles (the first time - check out the video which is forthcoming to see how he convinced us to let him do it twice! ) Then the morning of his actual birthday with the balloons we had for him. And finally, riding in his new tractor car that we gave him.


Monday, July 14, 2008

I got "tagged" . . .

I know. . many of you are wondering what kind of world did I get sucked into where I make lists of Thursday Thirteens and Meme's about books.

Well, just continue to read and you too can learn more about this world of blogging! :P

So the rules. .
Pick up the closest book and turn to page 123 and in the 5th paragraph - write out the next three (or was it 4 ?) sentances. . .

You are ALL going to laugh at this one. The closest book to me is the Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy - and NO I am not pregnant! My sister just returned it to me and its thrown on my desk instead of being put back in the bookshelf (typical! )

OKay so there are not 5 paragraphs ont he page so I'll improvse! Here it goes: " I still remember the days in each of my four pregnancies when I learned that I weighed more than my husband. I found that the pregnancy appraisal test in the three way mirror was particularly distressing during the middle trimester of pregnancy. By this I mean my breasts were even bigger than they were a month ago, but my waistline had completely disappeared and my belly was starting to pop out enough to provide a resting place for my breasts. This is the period when no one is sure whether you are pregnant or spending too much time at the dessert table, so they dont' mention your appearance."

Okay - so now I tag five others to do the same!
1. Denise
2. Shannon M
3. Nancy
4. Shannon
5. Jenn K

Have fun with this. . . and post a comment here so I can come check them out!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Cakes. . . .


So each year when I was growing up my mom would make these fabulous cakes. With a Christmas birthday, I'd have Santa Claus cakes, Wreaths w/ candy, Snowman out of coconut, then eventually I started to love Ice Cream cakes so my mom was off the hook from making her typical creations. I really did love those cakes! So, when Zach's first birthday came up, I was inspired by my domestic neighbors (Shannon and Denise) who go all out decorating the cakes they make for their families and since I loved them so much as a kid I decided I HAD to make and decorate his cake. For his first birthday it was a #1 cake and last year I made a dump truck and well we went with his new "favorite" for the big '3' - the Backyardigans! I didn't have time to go out and purchase a Pablo pan (Wilton DOES make one! See it here) . . . . so I improvised!

Check out the cakes I made tonight!! I am so excited to show Zach his birthday cakes when he cakes up tomorrow! : )

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

We have a bed and a floor, the floor would be good for you!

Sometimes we have a hard time staying in the room at naptime. . . . so today unfortunately was one of those days. When this happens, I give Zach plenty of opportunities to stay put in his room and do puzzles if he's not tired or read books but tell him that I will lock the door after two "escapes". So, I always go in to unlock the door after he's asleep and today this is how I found him!!! Can't wait to show Mark this picture. I personally like how he removed EVERYTHING and brought it to the floor with him!

I love you, Zach. . . even when you don't want to nap! :)


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Who needs more sleep???



I just can't wake up today. I am running around trying to get ready for Zach's birthday party this weekend and my mom's in town and well. . . let's just say I started to steam-vac the carpet's last night at 10:15 and that's when I need to go to bed to be able to function when Sydney gets up at 6am. You see, these are the things that happen at my house when I don't get enough sleep!
So it's about 1:30 . . . Zach's gone to the potty and proceeded to leave his underware in the bathroom, I get him to go get it and he comes back and has put his underware on backwards. Fine, no problem, but then I show him the tag and we decide to turn it back the right way. As I attempt to help him, he runs off. Being tired, do I chase him? No. . . I just hang on to the underware and head to the family room. Not 5 minutes later I look down to see I am holding Sydney and I have just put the underware on HER!?!
I need a nap!

Thursday, July 03, 2008

We hold these truths. . .

So, here it goes. . . this is called a "Thursday Thirteen" as I've come to learn in the blogger world.

From Sarah, List 13 things that define of our country or 13 things that make you proud to be an American.. I'm changing it up a bit to include my own personal favorite memories of my life that were associated with the 4th of July or times when I felt strongly patriotic

1. Phillies games
2. Fireworks ( at the Robert's house, GND, and SIC )
3. Neil Diamond's " I'm Coming to America"
4. Watching Keri Strug vault in the 1996 Olympics
5. The Rhonnda bike parade when I was 5 - my bike had so many red/white/blue streamers on it!
6. Liberty Bell - my visit when I was 12 I think (oh if I only had the picture handy!?)
7. Crying while reading memorials at Ground Zero in Dec '01
8. Being at the Flyers Game and listening to Pres. Bush's speech in Sept '01 with 20K other proud yet, grieving Americans
9. Wearing Red White and Blue on the 4th of July
10. Reciting the Declaration of Independence for school
11. Watching Team USA win in the Miracle on Ice in 1980
12. Freedom of Speech
13. Arlington Cemetary - so many emotions while visiting . . .

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

the POWER to be brave

So my phone rings this morning. . . at 7:27 am! Usually if I am going to a playgroup at 9 am someone might call to cancel but today - there was nothing planned so I have no clue why my phone is ringing and am semi-worried as I go to pick up the phone. Checking caller-id (which I don't always do) its my mom. . . okay so now I am pretty concerned. I dont' bother to say hello and just cut right to the chase. . . What's wrong? Is everything okay? She responds, in the most high pitch voice ever, those pictures were the best! Now mind you, I have forgotten that I sent my mom some pictures from the kids week at VBS last night and she got them and was in LOVE with the pictures so much she called first thing to tell me.
Fast forward about 12 hours. . . I read my friends blog where she has all but called me out for not jumpin on the whole blog bandwagon. Well, since having Sydney I haven't really sent out ANY pictures and half of my family and friends haven't seen her since January if ever so today I will embark on this fun outlet as a way to share the goingons in our life. Then maybe my mom won't have to call at 7 something because she received a picture of the kids!

PS . . . Vacation Bible School's theme this year was Group's Power Lab hence the lab coat's and the title of my post. Quite cheesy but Zach loved it and dances around the house to this song and MUST wear his "goggles" as he now calls them!