Mommy plus Five

My 365...

What does family mean to me?  It does not mean strangers who happen to be related who come in and out of your life every now and then.  Family to me is my children, their children, the people they love, people who are part of my life every day, day in and day out.  Good friends included.

This weekend was about family.  It was about renewing what my family means to me, to Jack and to our children.  It was important, and not just because it was Father's Day.  It was important because it was long overdue.  As a family we have been through some dark times, but we survived.  There is a foundation here and it is strong.  It may not be perfect, and we still have some work to do, but it exists and that makes me very happy.

I received some slack yesterday because a member of our extended family was in town this past weekend, and we did not stop everything to see him.  Why?  For two reasons really, first, Jack did not want to, second I was not going to change my weekend plans because they (the plans) were that important to me.  

I have mentioned in the past that I can be a bear when it comes to my family.  I think I proved it this weekend.  Sunday was about Jack, and it was about "our" family and it was amazing.  I am not the sort of person who does (or does not) do things because they are ...politically correct, I do things the way I want to do things and if that hurts your feelings, I am truly sorry, that was not my intention.  But there was no way I was going to let anything ruin my weekend with family.  A stressed out Jack would have done just that.

Why does he not want to see you?  I don't know...ask him.  :)  And if you want to turn this into a huge drama fest, be my guest, but we are not part of that.

I know so many people who say "yes" because they feel they have to, not because they want to.  Then there is all this regret, and stress and discomfort.  I know because I used to be one of those people a long long time ago.  I outgrew that mentality.  Now you won't hear me say yes unless it is something that I really "sincerely" want.  The End.

A conversation with Blake...

"Mommy, when we move we need to take the mirror."

"Of course we will Blake."

"And...those shelves."

"Yes son, we will take the shelves."

"And that mirror over the bathroom sink."

"The medicine cabinet?"

"Yep."

"No honey, that belongs to the house."

"Oh.  "We need to take the fireplace tools."

"No honey, those belong to the house too."

"The coffee cup hooks in the kitchen?"

"No, we can buy some new ones."

"But I like those."

"No worries, we will get new ones."

"Okay, the new house has to have BIG windows."

"I agree."

"And a big yard."

"Okay anything else?"

Yep, a park behind our house, a great view of the mountains, a big tree so we can build a tree house, close to a store so we can walk if we want to, lots of kids in the neighborhood, close to the river so we can go fishing, stairs, a big glass patio door, a deck......"

"Anything else?"

"Nope, that will do."

:)

My photos of the day...

I was sitting at my desk working, and this little guy (or girl) came to visit.  I shot these pictures through the window so as not to scare him/her away.

 "Hello Veronica.  Word to the wise....avoid family drama, it sucks rotten nuts!  Now go away, I am foraging here."

Such a wise little squirrel.  :)



Blake:  "I hope the new house has squirrels."

Mommy:  "Me too!"

My new favorite snack, cucumber, tomato and ricotta cheese!  Blake loves a plate of cucumber and tomato to munch on.  We had some ricotta cheese in the refrigerator, so I put some between the cucumber and tomato and made little vegg sandwiches.  So good!


Music I am listening to today, "Nights in Rodanthe" soundtrack. (I love the Dinah Washington tracks.)

Until next time..."Rules?  What rules?  I don't need any stinking rules!"

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Love,