Pictures. Some Old, Some new.

Things I have read and wanted to share...

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop
quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the
questions, until I read the last one: 'What is the first name of
the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke.
I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired
and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper,
leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student
asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
Absolutely, said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many
people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if
all you do is smile and say hello". I've never forgotten that lesson. I
also learned her name was Dorothy.

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands

lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.

I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.

"Somebody"Said...

… a mother is an unskilled laborer.
"Somebody" never gave a squirmy infant a bath.

... you know how to be a mother by instinct.
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

... that "good" mothers never yell at their kids.
Somebody's child never sent a baseball through a neighbor's picture window.

... a mother can End all the answers to her child-rearing questions in books.
Somebody never had a child stuff beans in his nose.

... a mother always adores her children.
Somebody never tried to comfort a colicky baby at 3 a.m.

... a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.
Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies into a cookie-selling brigade.

... the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery.
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.

... your mother knows you love her, so you don't have to tell her.
Somebody isn't a mother.

-Renee Hawkley in Welcome Home

The society we live in is pathetic!

And people wonder why girls decide to become anorexic or bulimic. They see stars like this being called fat. Now yes, she is not a stick like she usually is but she is NOT fat. It just kills me that people think that is fat. And it is so sad to me that this is all our society cares about, what you look like. There is so much more to a person then just their weight. Believe me I know, I've had my struggles with weight, but my weight is not ALL there is to me. I am a mother, I am a friend, I am a good listener, I care about people, I love doing nice things for people, And yet, more often then not, people don't care to look past my weight. They see an overweight girl. Doesn't matter how nice or kind or giving i am, I'm fat. So that means I'm not worth getting to know, I'm not worth being friends with. It's PATHETIC. So, if you are one of those people who just judge a book by its cover, and not by whats inside, SHAME on you for being so shallow and closed minded.

Yes i know, I'm rating, but it is something that bothers me and I had to get it out.

New Life

Congrats to my cousin Kristen & her family on their newest arrival! She is beautiful!
Sydney Marie Baker
7 lb. 10 oz. 18 inches

Two year olds!!!

Don't get me wrong, two year olds are so cute and so much fun. But along with that, comes the two year old attitude! Baileys favorite word to everything today has been "NO!". Her face in all of these pictures just captures her mood today perfectly! (Yes, they are old pictures, but they fit.)

Cute! Cute!

I realize I may have already posted some of these pictures, sorry. But they are just so cute! :) Addison is giggling now, it is adorable. And bailey gives Addison kisses! I love it! I know the majority of my posts are about my kids, but when you have kids they become your life :) Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

planning a wedding...

Is A LOT of friggin work lol! :) So many things to do and decisions to make!

Children...

I don't think I have ever been so stressed out or frustrated with my child. Having a two year old can be hard enough most days, but add not drinking milk and being a picky eater on top of that, and its almost too much to handle. I have been worried about her eating lately. She will not drink milk in ANY form. I've tried pretty much everything to get her to drink it and she won't. And she won't eat veggies anymore, and will only eat fruit sometimes. There really isn't much you can do about it either, its not like you can force a two year old to do anything, let alone eat. You just have to keep offering things over, and over and hope and pray that they will eat it.

So by that, i think you can tell how my day is going :) I love Bailey, and don't know what I would do without her, but MAN I wish she would eat better and DRINK MILK!

Body worlds 3

Finally had the chance to go to the body worlds museum. Despite having to stand in line for two hours, because it ends on Sunday, it was amazing. I am so glad that I had the chance to go. The human body really is an amazing thing. I had a hard time with the whole baby section. Seeing something as small as a bean, that already has fingers. And then seeing a baby at 13 weeks, and 24 weeks, and 32 weeks. It was just sad to me. But all in all it was great and I am glad I got to go.