Memories

I finally got my Disney picture cd in the mail today!  Yay!  I will post a few pictures, even though the trip was about a month ago now.  Happy Memories.  I'm still glad we went, it changed some yuck into good. : )  Here's my favorite:

So sweet..makes me remember that night.. the night we got rained on running back to the car, and we smelled.  Ahh..good times!  heehee  That's what family is made of (not bad smells, just shared memories!).
Oh, and tinkerbell!  She was so cute!

And let's not forget the Buzz Lightyear Experience:

If you totally forgot the story (or didn't hear about it..) you can read it here.
Ok, so on with the show.  Today we were up early again, and had to hit the ground running.  It's going to be a busy week, and today I had to fit in grocery shopping and laundry.  Ethan and I also stopped by a couple houses..just for fun.  I really like one of them, but I'd probably want it rebuilt on a different lot.  It looks out into chicken houses and some barn/lean-to/horse stall things.  I love the house (smaller kid rooms and smaller garage size), but good.  Ches likes the idea of less yard to take care of, and I could clean less (maybe).  It's just a thought.  We always toy with the idea, and we are thinking.  I think if you aren't always conscious of what's going on in life, you aren't living.  I don't want to just coast along-I want to be actively involved.  That may involve downsizing!  We'll see how things go.
Tomorrow, another doctor's appointment for me.  I am going back to see my ob/gyn again.  We'd made an appointment to talk after the specialist appointment, but I already know my blood work was all fine.  Now, I guess we talk about what happens next.  Ches and I talked last night, and I decided (more me than him) that I could only do this one more time.  I can't take an endless stream of disappointment, so there has to be an end in sight if it continues to be devastation.  I have to know I can move on with my life.  I can live either way, and I'll be okay; I just want to know.  The not knowing what will be in a year is hard.  I'd like to plan for the future, whatever it is. I'd planned to go back to school before we decided to try again (and it became a passion-who knew!).  So, I'm psyching up for my morning appointment, and I'd like to go alone.  I have to discuss real options and what will happen.  I can't tell Ches to stay home, but I might if he asks.  If it's pregnancy, it's our decision, if it's my body, I think it's mine.  So pray for me!
Tomorrow is also Bunco (and we don't know where yet!), and Clay's baseball game.  Mom is watching Mary Claire and Ethan in the overlap, it's just crazy.  Wednesday gets worse with Girl Scout ceremony, JDRF ambassador event at Gator Golf (I'll have to take Ethan too), and another baseball game.  Summer will be a welcome calm after the storm!  We can't wait-although then the camps start..
Genevieve is still doing well.  Now, we can set her out the door, she'll do her business and come back to the door and bark!  She's so good.  She eats her meals, poops (sorry, but if you have a pet you understand) afterward, and takes a couple naps a day-we're kinda on a schedule!  I like a routine so we both know what to expect!  The only thing she's doing not-so-great is some chewing.  She's chewed my nice Pottery Barn bath mat, my wicker cubes & hamper, and some shoes. Mostly we've caught her before she's caused major problems.  She kinda chews/bites at the kids' heels/pants, and that makes them crazy.  Ethan is actually the bravest.  I think it might be since he's with her the most.  He'll play with her, run with her, and isn't afraid to pet her.  It seems like Mary Claire is still skittish (can you spell it better?) around her, and Clay will jump up on the couch to avoid her snappy playfulness.  They call her Nipper since she nips their heels.  Her bites don't hurt, but their fear makes them hurt.  Mary Claire cries.  Hope it gets better.
Ok, I should go to bed...Just one more picture: our day in Hollywood Studios!

Notice anything familiar?  Look closely... Yes, these were the same clothes we wore to Magic Kingdom in the very first picture!  We'd spent the day at Hollywood Studios, but I had to go back for the Wishes Fireworks-I just love going back at night-it's a whole other spirit being so close to so many people, and hearing Jiminy Cricket talk to you about dreams and wishes, and seeing Tinkerbell fly across the sky-so magical.  It's always worth going back, even the fifth and sixth times...
Take some time with the ones you love, even if it's a puzzle, game, a walk outside, or a vacation!  It helps you see the world in a whole new way.

No Gold Medal

Sweet memories are flooding back. I have all these memories of my childhood, my family, and just being little-when all you worried about was finding your shoes, and not slamming the door on the way out (or leaving it open too long, or you hear, "Shut the door!"). I have found some cousins I haven't seen in absolute ages (amounts to about 20 years, give or take?). They were beautiful things I adored getting together with-just to play at Grandma's house. It just takes me back to visits, eating with extended family, my grandma's pork chops, her letting me make the mashed potatoes, playing out back on her stained concrete (before it was in style), spending the night in her room with the windows open listening to the train or the cicadas, sitting in her old crabapple tree out front, pretending it was a fort, or collecting a coffee can (remember those?) full of crabapples to do nothing with. Oh, happy times. Now the tree is gone, the house is sold, my grandma is in Heaven, but I have my pocket full of memories. Memories no one can take away. Things turn golden over time, don't they? I'm so glad.

There was a time when I spent the night with my grandma and I was in sixth grade. I was supposed to go to the Little Olympics the next day. My grandma drove me dutifully to the field where the games were, and I'd practiced so hard for two weeks, and (as I remember) I had the fastest time (or one of the fastest times?) of the other kids who were practicing for the obstacle course. My grandma pulled up and parked, and I couldn't get out. I don't know what happened. I don't know if I knew she was going to drive away alone (and geez, she didn't even drive across Hwy 71Business, and she was on the other side of it! and how would she get home alone?), she couldn't stay (for fear?), or if I was scared to get out and go up there alone. I don't know. All these things flashed through my head: my team not winning without me, me not finding my school/team/friends, me alone, my grandma alone, the afternoon I'd miss with her if I stayed. It was all too much. I just sat frozen in the car (back when you could sit in the front seat. And maybe not even wear a seat belt?). She just said, "Let's go home." And we did. I felt awful: for my team, for my fear, for my grandma, for how things would go in life. I just had this feeling. I had a good afternoon, and we went to the library (our usual), and she shared her love of books with me, and we probably had frozen pizza and refrigerated Reese's. Two things I don't eat now without remembering her. Anyway, I wouldn't trade the afternoon for anything now. Gold medal, or no.

So, this brings me back to my cousins. I love them, and I love that we share history. And the blood of family. It seems I have less family every year, so I cherish what I have while I have it. I hope my kids carry some history on to their kids. Don't you wonder what little things will stick in their minds?

What memories do you still carry around?

A few more of mine: Eagles blaring in the car-me in the back seat, getting Nerds at the gas station, washing dishes with an apron, fingerpainting on the sidewalk (yes, on paper), playing dolls, playing Star Wars, more music: Johnny Lee, Oliva Newton John, Princess Diana's wedding, roast beef, carrots, and potatoes, chocolate pies, old cars, no air conditioning, the Dukes of Hazzard, Love Boat and Fantasy Island, Wile E. Coyote, Fruity Pebbles, Kangaroos, lots of rainbows, purple Nikes, sleepovers, I think I could go on all night. : )