Numero Uno Times Dos

Although it has been a while since this momentous event took place, here is the very first bloom of the summer on my baby zinnias. AND, this is my very first venture into photos on the blog!


Now there are dozens of zinnias in bloom and soon (I hope) there will be dozens of pictures on my blog. The reason I just have to settle for being hopeful is because I honestly don't know if I can remember how to do this. (Remember technostress.) But at least my computer has the capability now, even if I don't, which was not the case until my genius husband came to my rescue and re-set a bunch of stuff on my computer. Thanks, genius husband. Now if you could just re-set my brain to work better when dealing with things binary, we'd be in business.

The Graduate

I officially have five children graduated from high school. This makes me feel really old in some ways. But wow, Ryan, way to do it in style! I could try to list every nice thing that people have said about Ryan in the last few days at various assemblies and activities, but I'll settle for a few of the choicest ones that Mr. Baser, a faculty member, said about him when he presented the Faculty's Choice Citizenship Award/Outstanding Student of the Year" to him.

One of my personal favorites was "he would rather chew off his arm than tell a lie."

"He is the nicest person I know."

"I've never heard anyone say one bad word about Ryan, but maybe that is because I have never heard Ryan say one bad word about anyone else."

"When he arrived at Mesa High he decided to forget himself and serve so the Mesa High experience would be better for everyone else."

"He gets people to work hard and get things done because he always takes the dirtiest job for himself."

"He is pre-approved to marry my daughter." (I heard this one from several people! :) )

"If I had a son, I would want him to be just like Ryan."

Well, I'm glad he is my son. Thanks for being who you are, dude. Love you forever.

It Gave Me A Fright (what movies is that from?)

JTLYK, there was a grasshopper on my pillow when I made my bed this morning (see my previous post.) Tell me, how did a grasshopper get in my bedroom? It is beyond my ken. (What song is that from?) The most frightening possibility is that it came in with me yesterday after working outside. Hm. That freaks me out...was it in my hair? On my shirt? This is not cool. The offending creature is currently on my bedroom carpet where I smashed the bajeebers out of it in my hysteric horror. Don't think I can pick it up...maybe the vacuum? Ack.

Green Monday

Well, I got sucked in by the green barrel emptiness again today. Maybe it will become a Monday tradition that all previous plans go out the window when I realize the green barrel is not full. I kind of like being spontaneous, I've decided. I especially like putting off all the "dumb things I gotta do" in favor of doing something I love. (One of these weekends we will mow the lawn and it will be full.)

As I puttered around in my yard, it gave me a chance to reflect on a few things, take some deep breaths of fresh air, and get "grounded" again (no pun intended.) BTW, wasn't it a nice morning? Here's my profound thoughts for today:

Be grateful for every single day you are healthy and can dig in the dirt.

How'd I ever manage to be standing in the right line when they were passing out wonderful kids? I think I got the cream o' the crop in that department. Love you guys! (Nice speech at baccalaureate, Ryan!) I was definitely not standing in the right line when they were passing out hair. Hm. Glorious thought, I have a haircut tomorrow! Now if I can just remember long enough to get there...

In exactly 12 days camp will be over. I know, I know, it's gonna be really fun. It just isn't fun yet. I'm the world's most ridiculous novice about this whole thing. Don't get it, don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, don't like camping. But it's gonna be fun, right? Right?

Miracles happen. Every time I plant seeds and in a few weeks have blooming plants, I marvel at the creation. How does that seed know what to do? There is a saying that goes "Who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see...believes in God." It's true. Having said that, I believe in other miracles too...we gotta believe!

Five of my six children will be high school grads this Thursday. Thanks for being 13, Holly. I'm not ready to be an empty nester. I don't wanna grow up.

What are the odds that if you plant a whole row of mixed color zinnias there will be 3 pink ones in a row? Apparently the odds are not that slim.

Grandkids are like the cherry on top. I love being a granny.

I hate grasshoppers. Always have, but 10th grade biology didn't help. I was so disappointed to learn that Arizona has them too. If we have to have scorpions, you'd think we wouldn't have to have grasshoppers.

The end.

News Flash

Once in a while things happen that rock my mommy world! Today the faculty at Mesa High presented R-Dawg with the Faculty's Citizenship Award...Outstanding Student of the Year. Can I just say I'm so proud of you? You too, Holl-Doll! Congrats on the 8th grade VP!

Do you want the bad news, or the other bad news?

Well, the bad news is the Suns lost!
The other bad news is Melinda lost! What on earth?
I'm exhausted. Things will look better in the morning, right?

Green Barrels

What is it about an empty green barrel that plunges me into a frenzy of backbreaking work I wasn't planning to do so I can fill it before the garbage collector comes? Why can't I just leave it sitting there like every other sane person in the neighborhood? Maybe part of the reason is that green barrels are currently our only method of transporting dead (or otherwise undesirable) foliage out of my beloved yard and into the land fill. And maybe part of it is that I'd so much rather dig in the dirt than do laundry, cleaning, errands, or almost anything else I can think of. I grabbed a shovel, a pruner, and what fortitude I could muster and attacked our winter-killed ficus trees. The limbs were thick but brittle, and I managed to cut through them, but the roots were very determined to stay put. This surprised me, since the trees definitely gave up the ghost some months ago. There is a quote by Matthew McConaughey (bless his beautiful heart/face) that gave me inspiration today. "I love having my hands in the dirt. It is never a science and always an art. There are no rules. And if it comes down to me versus that weed that I'm trying to pull out of the ground that doesn't want to come out? I know I'll win." I kept telling myself today that I was going to win. Those roots gave me a royal battle and I have to admit, I'm glad you couldn't see (or hear) me during the altercation. One of them almost got the better of me. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, but guess what? I won!

Of Things Mongolian

It has been 18 months since a bundle of energy left our home for the outer reaches of Mongolia. How do we miss him? Let me count the ways.

1. Miss the energy...he is to the family like a spark plug is to the engine.
2. Miss the laugh...hearing it last night on the phone was fun.com.
3. Miss the hilarity... i.e. the chick magnet dance, fork and spoon pic from the Taj Mahal, twin hair picture with Tyler, etc. Every situation is more fun because he's there...he has a way of getting us all rolling. (Although I have to say, all of my children are pretty good in that department.)
4. Miss the acronymns he attaches to everything...I wonder if he has them in Mongolian?
5. Miss the sensitive side...he is emotionally open and feels deeply.
6. Miss the clothes on the bathroom floor...nah, not so much.
7. Miss trying to drag him out of bed in the morning...j/k...he is an early riser now. Go Yo!
8. Miss the little neat freak, OCD tendencies...so endearing. We call them Mitchisms.
9. Miss the sleeping antics...sleepwalking, hilarious conversations at 3 a.m., not hearing alarms that wake the neighbors across the street.
10. Miss the computer genius that patiently got me out of scrapes on a daily basis.

Well, that is a beginning of a long, long list of how I miss the kid. Do I want him back? Yep...but not for six months. I wouldn't bring him back today if I could. Isn't that weird? It just all goes to prove that sometimes the best way to love them is to let them go. And when he is back home, we will miss the weekly diet of uplifting and miraculous letters, the phone calls twice a year, and knowing he is in exactly the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Love you, Eddude!

The Dixon Family Fairness Doctrine

The Dixon Family Fairness Doctrine. Hm. I was musing about this last night. One of our children (I do believe it was runningfan) finally put a label on our lifelong attempt to make things fair for our children...holiday gifts, birthday gifts, privileges, chores, etc. It would be so much easier NOT to. But every Christmas, the list gets made, every gift for every child listed, price posted, and totaled with love. Everyone has the same number of Christmas presents to open, even if it means purchasing somebody's favorite box of cereal and wrapping it up to make things even. Birthdays and graduation gifts all have a budget (which on occasion I admit we exceed...bah!) And then there is the whole dilemma that even if it costs the same, does it LOOK the same? Ah, there is where stress is born. And then we add the nuances of inflation and relative prosperity into the mix. Hm. All I can say, kids, is that hopefully you know we adore you all the same, and we TRY to be fair and square, always and forever, and that we love every minute of it. BTW, it never ends. If I buy something cute for one grandchild, is it fair to the others? I give up...I'm just gonna be a spontaneous granny! They will all get a turn.

The Boy Band

Last night on American Idol (yes, I'm watching my very first season!) they put out a request for bands to send in a recording and participate in a band competition. I turned to my kids and jokingly remarked that it was too bad Fresh Milk couldn't participate. Fresh Milk was a boy band in which my older son, Eric, was the cutest drummer ever. Although at the time I worried a lot about him being in a band, we enjoy remembering back to the boy band days and listening to the CD they made. I reflected on the whereabouts of the now-grown-up boys in the band...Mongolia, Africa, Austria and Brazil! They have all chosen to serve religious missions and are having a positive impact all over the world. I was never more proud of Fresh Milk.

A beginning.

Although my relationship with computers defines the word technostress, I'm venturing into the world of blogging so I can comment on my ever-so-fabulous daughter's blog (hopefully!) I may even have an occasional post if I can actually figure out how to do this. :) Everyone in my family can attest to my lack of savvy when it comes to things technical, digital, and mechanical. Here's to a new beginning!