Where's Waldo? No, wait, I mean, Where's Olivia?!!!

My children loved the Where's Waldo books when they were younger.  Each page was filled with incredibly detailed images amongst which was hidden, Waldo.  It was quite difficult to spot Waldo in all the chaos of those images.  This past evening, July 4th, while at Bridge Street, a couple of hours prior to the fireworks display, my husband and I felt like we were in a Where's Waldo book when Olivia suddenly disappeared.  Earlier we had taken Olivia to see the movie, Cars and afterwards we went to a little pizzeria to get a pizza.  Of course, with it being Independence Day, Bridge Street was packed with people, many of which were children all enjoying the festivities while waiting to watch the fireworks display, once it was dark.  Jeff waited at the counter for our pizza, while I went with Olivia to get her something to drink.  We met at an empty table and Olivia was standing behind Jeff as he was trying to get this rather large box with our pizza in it on the table.  I glanced around Jeff to make sure Olivia was still there and then preceded to move things around to make room for Jeff to place the pizza. I then looked back to where Olivia was standing so I could help her around the table and make room for her to sit down.  Olivia was no longer there!  It was a very small restaurant, but it was filled with people waiting in a long line to order.  We both, very quickly, glanced all around and not seeing Olivia anywhere, Jeff headed out the door towards the carousel that we had promised her she could ride after we had eaten.  I waited at our table while continuing to look around the restaurant.  It seemed she had simply vanished in thin air!  Jeff came back to the door, without Olivia, to see if I had found her.  Seeing that I was standing alone, he once again went looking even further.  This was definitely a time when every moment counted; I had to keep it together and think logically as to what to do!!  I then decided to abandon our food, and quickly explained to the people next to us the situation, asking them if they would mind watching our food.  They were very kind and I rushed towards the back door, which I noticed at that point was open with people going in and out and the restroom was by the back door, too.  After checking  the restroom and not finding Olivia, I went out the rear door.  Right outside the door was a couple with small children, so I asked them if they had seen a little girl with Down Syndrome, dark hair and demonstrated how tall she was.  They had not, but asked her age with the intention of keeping an eye out for her.  I then began to look toward the crowd gathered near the water and noticed three large, blown-up bouncy units; a moon walk, giant slide and a maze.  Olivia loves playing on these, so I ran over and carefully searched around and inside each unit.  What chaos... people, so many people and so, so many kids!!!  Still, no Olivia!!  At this point, panic began to set in.  My heart was racing, tears were beginning to form in my eyes, I was praying out loud, and looking for security!!  I ran back towards the pizzeria to have someone call security for me, but as I came through the back door my husband was back at our table standing and watching for me.  As soon as he spotted me coming through the door, he pointed down.  He had found Olivia and brought her safely back, but not without a pretty harsh reprimand.  She had actually strayed quite far and was about to enter the center walkway that goes up and down the middle of all of the stores when he found her.  At which point, she could have gone left or right, entered any number of stores, and even turned down another alley and who knows if anyone would have realized that she was alone with the number of people around.  Olivia probably would not have cried after getting lost, so no one would even be able to notice that she was lost and be made aware that she needed help.  She has no fear or concept of how difficult it would have been to find her, especially with her not knowing how to tell anyone how to find us by calling us, describing us, or where to look for us.  And I don't even want to think about what "sicko" "psycho" might have picked her up.  Of course, I'm having flashes of Amber alerts going out and my daughters picture on the side of a milk cartoon as I was frantically searching for her among the chaos of people.  Truly, It was like searching for Waldo!!!  Once back inside the restaurant, the husband, of the couple, to whom I had described Olivia, came inside and saw that we had found her.  I had no idea that they had actually made the decision to look for her when they saw the look of fear on my face as I described her to them.  I was extremely grateful!!  Afterwards, I sat shaking with very little appetite and ate a slice of pizza.  I tried to explain to Olivia how dangerous it was that she had done this and that she must never do this again.  We went on to have a nice evening, but I thank God, who sends His angels guard over her as a hedge of protection, that she was safe.  This is a prayer that I have consistently prayed over my children, Olivia in particular with the understanding that for her, getting lost, among other dilemmas, is much more serious and dangerous than it ever was for any of my other children.  Here's to finding Waldo and especially, finding Olivia!!!

                                        

Rocking Baby to Rocking Mama...

The power is out and I’m sitting here in our basement with my family waiting out the tornado weather, listening to my son play the guitar and sing.  As he is playing and singing, I am recalling how when he was little he use to lie down on the couch every afternoon and ask me to sing him a “pretty song” and I would pick up my guitar to play and sing for him while he fell asleep for his afternoon nap.  And at bedtime each night he would say, “Rock a baby” and I would rock him to sleep.  Now, some 16-17 years later he is the one playing his guitar and singing, “Rock me baby like a south bound train. Hey, mama rock me.”  He has also learned to play the harmonica and he plays nicely.  So as we sit here with candles burning because there still isn’t any power, it’s almost like sitting by a campfire with soothing music to listen to and enjoy, and to help pass the time on this April evening with thunder rumbling like a soft bass drum in the background.  This is definitely about making every moment count…

Maybe Not Smarter... But Wiser...

Okay, so I deleted my favorite post in the process of creating my last blog where I had trouble figuring out a way to add a slideshow to my blog.  At my age becoming computer savvy isn't easy, but I'm learning.  Victoria becomes quite frustrated with my "handicaps" on the computer.  So I find myself winging it most of the time and taking longer than I really have to spend at the computer trying to figure things out.  Which of course, if I'm actually doing it, I will be more likely to remember it than someone telling me 10 times what to do in terminology that is mostly "Greek" to me, or not learning it at all if they are doing it for me.  It use to be me, Mom, teaching my children how to do things, explaining things they don't understand, or helping them when they mess up, and in general, helping them to understand and discover the world around them in order to have fulfilled lives, while trying not to "pull my hair out", at times.  Now, it is my children teaching me how to do things, explaining things I don't understand, helping me when I mess up, and in general, helping me to understand and discover the world around me, while trying not to "pull their hair out" - thanks, in particular, to the computer age we now live in, and to modern technology increasing at a speed I would have never imagined possible!!!

My favorite blog, which I deleted, had to do with being a Mom.  I will try to recall as much of it as possible for this new one because even though my kids may not remember the precious, frustrating and endearing moments of raising them, I do.  And since the better part of my life has involved raising them, for me, there couldn't be a more important thing to blog about than my children...


Being a mom is about time seemingly standing still for a period when my children were small, but realizing now, that it was actually a speeding rocket that can't be stopped, now that they are approaching becoming young adults.  Being a mom changes your perspective.  Before becoming a mom, I remember being in a department store at the mall once and witnessed a mother dealing with an unruly child and she asked her child, "Do you want me to spank you?"  I remember thinking to myself, "why would you ask him that?"  Do you actually think he will say, 'Yes, please spank me!'?"  How convicted I felt years later when those exact words were blurted out of my very own mouth!!  Once I became a mom, I became a more compassionate person and less judgmental; more empathetic of what someone else might be going through that I may not be aware of.  Not every mishap had to be viewed as unpleasant, and I learned to view a situation from the perspective that one day I will look back at this and laugh about it, which helped me many times in the moment of crisis to laugh something off.  Once when Victoria was about 2 years old, I was in a small pharmacy slash gift shop and was not watching what she was doing for a moment, which is all it takes at that age, and she had picked up a tube of bright red lipstick from a basket below me, on the bottom shelf.  One of the ladies that worked there came over to me to make me aware of what Victoria was doing, and I could not contain a laugh when I looked down and saw her face smiling up at me smeared bright red all over.  The clerk was clearly not happy about this and preceded to tell me that I would have to pay for the tube of lipstick.  All she could think about was how annoyed she was with me for not watching my child more closely, and all I could think was, "I wish I had my camera!!", (obviously, before cell phones).  I paid for the tube of lipstick, which turned out to cost only a dollar, but to me it was one of those priceless moments and I wouldn't have cared if it had cost twenty dollars.

Being a mom is about letting your son wear his "Bible Man" costume, red cape, "shield of faith", and all even when you take him with you to the grocery store and then letting him wear it to bed to sleep in later that night.  Being a mom is when I used to tell my son, "You're my main most man!" and he would tell me, "You're my main most mom!"  And I would sometimes teasingly tell him after a growth spurt, which always reminded me of how fleeting his childhood would be, "You better stop that growing!" and he would reply with, "I can grow!"
                                                                                              Preston did NOT stop growing!

Being a mom is those special moments when you want to reassure your first two children of their place when a new baby is on the way, so you tell them when their sister is born to place their finger in her hand and if she squeezes it then it means she loves you.  Baby reflexes naturally do this, and their faces both lit up when they stood by my hospital bed waiting their turn to do this over and over; they still remember doing this to this day.

  Abbie Grace - September 17, 1997

Being a mom is many things to other moms, but to most every mom it is a life changing experience that we would not trade for the entire world.  So as the rocket is flying by at an even faster pace these days, I can look back, and I can look forward to the plan and purpose God has for each of my children, and I can rest in His peace knowing that, according to Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." And Jeremiah 1:5, "Before He formed them in my womb, He knew them".

As it turns out, I'm happy I had a moment to once again, reflect on motherhood and write this blog after accidently deleting the original one.  With Mother's Day approaching next month, what better time for a Mom to reflect....

Olivia - Twirling

Creativity On A Budget... (The thrill of the hunt and how to turn "junk" into useful decorative pieces)

After I became a mom, almost twenty years ago, my career as an interior decorator and designer came to a halt.  Having four children relatively close in age became my life and a blessing I would not trade for any career or any amount of money, as most any mom would agree.  Over the years, I have been able to help people on occasion and I have tried to stay abreast of decorating trends and classics in order to maintain my knowledge in the field.  There is no way, however, to stop a creative person from finding ways to be creative, whether it is drawing, painting, sewing, refinishing furniture, upholstering furniture, knitting and most any kind of craft.  I love looking at an old piece of furniture, an old picture frame, an old light fixture, almost anything and seeing the potential in it.  My husband and I share an interest in antiques and I love the look of anything vintage.  We often make trips to antique stores, consignment shops, and even thrift stores, and one of our favorite spots is "Habitat for Humanity" here in Huntsville to see what "treasure" we may come upon.  Sometimes we have something specific in mind that we may be seeking, other times, it is simply the thrill of the hunt and we find things that, we eventually find a use for or "re-donate" to keep from acquiring too much junk.  Sometimes things must remain JUNK.  But the thrill of the hunt is fun and amazingly fulfilling when I find a way to create or recreate something I find into something unique.  For the past four years my husband and I have been renovating our basement.  It has taken that long with Jeff having a demanding, full time job outside the home and with me having a demanding, full time job inside the home.  We finally completed the task last fall in time to have an Iron Bowl party, which was fun until Alabama lost to Auburn.  I did not take before pictures and wish that I had now that I have decided to start my decorating business again.  The kids are getting older and I felt that it was a good time to "ease" back into the business.  I've included the after pictures of our basement in this post anyway and once I get a few jobs worthy of pictures, I will probably start a separate blog for my business.In the following slide show you will see pictures of our basement where Jeff and I actually did all of the work ourselves.  He is very handy with construction... I just tell him what I want and he can do it.  He even had his own ideas to contribute in the lay out and design of the basement.  We had two antique tables that weren't so nice that we couldn't cut them up and use the pieces from the top, legs and feet through out the pub room.  Jeff constructed the bar top in the opening between kitchen and pub room out of one end of the table, as well as, the two wall bars by the pool table.  He pieced the table legs for support to the wall bars.  I pieced table legs adding a base and top piece for the post on the buffet that we used for the main bar in the kitchen area.  I constructed a pool cue rack out of an old coke crate and using the two pedestal feet from one of the tables.  We purchased a two tier chandelier from an antique store, which I converted to two separate chandeliers, painted, added antlers with strips of leather and changed the light sockets for larger bulbs then hung one over the pool table and the other in the pub room.  I painted an old cabinet door with chalk board paint and decoupaged the frame of it for a chalk board to post the Alabama football schedule.  The bulletin board next to the chalk board, I made out of wine corks and an antique frame.  The stemware rack hanging over the bar was constructed from a wrought iron piece I picked up at an antique store in Mississippi near where I grew up.  You will notice several other items made from antlers that we collected; some from deer hunting expeditions by my step-dad.  You will also notice pieces of the tables used for a pair of candelabra and a piece hung as a decorative wall medallion.  I added a piece that came off of the buffet to the top of the kitchen cabinets to give it more character.  I made roman shades for the pub room and media room.  I made double hung swinging doors out of old cabinet doors.  I painted, distressed and changed the drawer pulls on an old entertainment unit for the television in the media room... it was rather boring before.  Jeff actually found it at a thrift store for twenty bucks.  I reupholstered chairs for the pub tables and a couple of ottomans that were covered in the most awful shiny purple fabric you could imagine.  I made a magnetic memo board for the office by hanging an antique coca cola tray on the wall by my desk that belonged to my granny and granddaddy...  as a kid my granddad cut many a watermelon on that tray.  I made tassels out of antique salt shakers (a hobby of mine) and framed a fabric covered board to display five of them for the office.  The old Singer sewing machine belonged to my grandma.  The oil painting above the mantle in the pub room and the oil on canvas of the paint horse were both painted by my dad.  It was many hours of work for both of us and I could write more than you would want to read to detail everything that we did, but it was a fun project to do together and we are both pleased with the end result even though the theme for the media room is Jeff's favorite, "The Crimson Tide and not mine, "The MSU Bulldogs".  If you notice, I did reserve a small space for them on the shelf that surrounds the media room; it's a good thing the colors work.

Enjoy slideshow:

                    

To view full screen, double click over image and choose option - "watch on Youtube"

*Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of my blog to silence or pause music on my playlist.

Olivia going to "Dance Your Dreams" at Merrimack Hall

The highlight of Olivia's week is Thursday afternoon when it is time for dance at Merrimack Hall in the "Dance Your Dreams" class.  It is actually helping her understand and learn the days of the week.  She starts asking on Monday if it is "Thursday" yet, which still sounds like "Tuesday" when she says it.  This past week was no different.  After school we come home, get a snack, and have a trip to the potty before the tights and leotard go on.  Her ballet slippers go in her dance bag and pink Hello Kitty rubber boots go on to prepare for leaving for dance.  Before we go, however, we still have to go to Huntsville Middle to pick up her sister and get her home.  Since, Victoria was home this week, I told her that I would leave Olivia with her and pick her up for dance when I brought Abbie Grace home from school.  Victoria was upstairs in her room when I told her this and came down a few minutes after I left.  When she did not find Olivia downstairs, she assumed that I decided to take her with me.  About 15 to 20 minutes later I return home with Abbie Grace and as we were coming down the street, approaching our driveway, we notice someone running down the middle of the street away from us and suddenly realize it is Olivia!  She is almost passed our neighbor's house headed toward the cul-de-sac, ballet sweater on with ties dangling, jacket on, dance bag on her shoulder, and trekking it down the street!!  I lightly honk my horn, so as not to scare her, roll down the window and pull up beside her.  Abbie Grace and I simultaneously say, "Where are you going?"  Her delightful reply is "Merrimack!!" We tell her to get in the car, so she gets in.  Before I can even reprimand her for this, I am covering my mouth trying to contain my laughter and so she can't see my face to which Abbie Grace is saying to me, "Mom, don't let her see your face, don't let her see you!"  I regain my composure long enough to talk to her about not doing this again, that it is not safe to be in the street, and once in the driveway, I could see the gate to the backyard standing open with the padlock hanging on the fence where the last person had placed it instead of on the latch.  We pretty much keep the house and backyard on lock down for Olivia's safety, but she periodically will check for a way out and go visit our neighbors next door and down the street.  Everyone knows Olivia and knows where she lives, so on occasion, when this happens they can either call us or bring her home and thankfully, they are all very understanding.  Needless to say, there is never a dull moment with Olivia around and my days are filled with more hugs and kisses than any Mother alive!!!  I am a rich woman, indeed!!

A Passion for Pink

It's February... and if we gave the month of February a signature color, it would have to be Pink.  Since my birthday falls in the month of February, it would be appropriate that I should have such a passion for pink.  Pink is the color of universal love.  Some may say red is the color for February because men generally give red roses on Saint Valentine's Day, but give me pink roses for Valentine's and I will be tickled pink!!


Pink has been my favorite color since I was a little girl like many little girls. My bedroom was covered with pink; pink gingham checked draperies, pink bedspread, pink dresser and pink shag carpet.  My bedroom made me feel incredibly happy!!  Some call it a "pink phase", as if you will grow out of it.  Who would ever want to grow out of such a magnificent color?!!!  I suppose I'm still in a pink phase and never grew out of it.  I can't imagine that I ever will.  I would like to be laid to rest on pink satin, or even better, pink silk chiffon!
I like to wear pink, dress my girls in pink and whenever I'm shopping for anything, if I see it in pink, it catches my eye right away tempting me to choose that color above any other color like those pink Cuisinart mixers.  Unfortunately, I've had a white one for years.  Then my kitchen isn't really pink, anyway.

Oh well, one can dream.  I have bits of pink accents throughout my home.  Paintings with pink roses, decorative plates with pink flowers adorn the walls of my dining room, pink tassels, pink tablecloths, and an abundance of antique pink milk glass that actually, my husband and I collected together.  Some day, when the kids are all grown, I plan on having a room dedicated to pink just for me.  It is such a soothing and cozy color for a room and I know it will become my favorite room.  Pink is also my oldest daughter's favorite color, and at nineteen it is still her favorite.

                                                         Victoria - Senior Prom 2010
It's great to have someone else who appreciates and enjoys a passion for pink as much as I do.  Come to think of it when you think of a color that people are passionate about in so many aspects of their life, pink would have to be the number one color.  Sure, others have other colors that they would say is their favorite color, if asked.  But the color that so many show such true passion for would have to be Pink.  
Elvis owned a pink Cadillac and he drove a pink jeep in the movie "Blue Hawaii".  He also wore pink shirts.

 
First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower wore a pink dress studded with 2,000 pink rhinestones to her husband's Presidential inauguration ceremony.  She also decorated their private quarters at the White House in so much pink that reporters called it the Pink Palace.  Now there's a woman after my own heart.  The 1950's became a decade that showed its passion for pink.   Pink poodle skirts were in fashion.  Retro pink kitchens became a fad during that decade, as well as, dyed pink poodles.  Zsa Zsa Gabor owned a dyed pink poodle and enjoyed wearing pink.

  
  












Hot-pink became a fashion icon after Marilyn Monroe wore a hot-pink evening gown while singing, "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" in the movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".  Madonna later imitated Marilyn in a similar hot-pink gown in her "Material Girl" video.

And let's not forget, Elle Woods who had a wardrobe that consisted of pink in "Legally Blonde".  

Victoria's Secret has their entire marketing of fashion centered around pink, using it as part of a logo on much of their lingerie whether it is pink or not.  It states, "Love Pink".

As you can see, pink is certainly a color with the potential to connect with people.  Pink is sexy and sweet; it's flattering, pretty, fresh, fun, warm, energetic in brighter tones and calm and soft in lighter tones.  It's daring and sassy; it says, "Enjoy life because the days are fleeting and you should make the most of It!"  Pink, simply put, makes you feel amazing!!!  So, I say, "Think Pink"!

As for the notion, that one will grow out of pink...  I say, you only live once; why not live it passionately?  And live it "in the pink"!

Life According to Me.... Last of the Baby Boomers

                    my grandparents country store today  

I was born in 1964 the last year of the baby boom.  (My mom was actually born the first year of the baby boom in 1944.)  I grew up during an era of immense change.  One of my first memories was in 1969 at five years of age while standing around the television with several people at my grandparent’s small country store and watching the Apollo 11 land on the moon, and Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moons surface and making the famous quote,  “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.  Between this and Vietnam our way of life began to change.  Music changed, technology began advancing at a faster pace than ever, styles of clothing changed constantly and fashion became an industry all it’s own.  People became more self-expressing for whatever they were passionate about; anything from politics, to the Vietnam war, to music, to religion.  There was a movement of radicalism like never before.  However, among all of this change, I recall a simpleness of life because of my grandparents.  Both sets of my grandparents owned a small farm where they both had chicken houses, a few cows and pigs, and a large garden.  I actually remember my granddad getting up early each morning and going out to the barn to milk the cow.  My granny would churn some of the milk into butter and I was sometimes allowed to help with this chore.  It was the late sixties and early seventies and not many people did this anymore.  Most people depended on going to the grocery store to get milk and butter.  I was not aware, at the time, how unusual that was and I’m so grateful to have not missed out on what has now become a lost way of living and surviving.  I worked in a vegetable garden through out high school, each summer, putting up vegetables into two large deep freezers that helped feed our family of eight through the winter months.  I was not allowed to go out on a date until all of the peas and beans were shelled and put up in the freezer.  It was a different life for most of my friends, but I do not regret all of the hard work and fresh food.  It is an even more different life for my children.  Change is supposed to be for the better, but to keep it at it’s best no one should ever forget what or where they came from or they may take the blessings this life has to offer for granted.  Above all of it, keep Jesus at the center the greatest gift ever given by God.  He gave His life, so that we can live a life eternal with our Father in Heaven.

                                   barn on my grandparents place