"These happy golden years are passing by, these happy golden years." Laura Ingalls Wilder

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Five Minutes Of Freedom


Today Nathan played unsupervised for a whole five  minutes on the driveway.  Not such a big deal to most 14 year old boys, eh;) ... but this little guy has been known to take off.  He possesses an extra chromosome and has been a challenge to figure out most of his life.  Lack of his personal safety, awareness of his body in space, poor communication skills, and a myriad of other baggage has haunted him and our family for years on end.  He had this freedom because I was reading his mind.  Today is his bowling day with the family to celebrate his birthday.  I knew he only wanted to wait until the family was out the door.  Ann asked, "do you want Nathan outside unsupervised?"  ... yes, perhaps just this once ... after all ... it is HIS five minutes of freedom and my five minutes of being a normal mom ... we have strange ideas of normal in our family:)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sunday Afternoon ... Rest ?

Another day of rest as I recover from a pinched nerve in my neck.  Mr. Mac and Patrick headed out to church this morning.  I stayed home with Nathan ... he seems a bit agitated and complaining about his head hurting ... he seems not to notice the more he screeches the greater his head hurts ... no amount of reasoning seems to work with him.  My job is to sooth him and set him on a path for calming his inner being.  Not an easy task at times ... especially when the 'calmer/mother' is trying hard to rest quietly.  A dog chasing after its tail is a good description of life in my world today. 

Photo credit: Here

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Whatever Happened To ...

... Mrs. Mac's Hives?

After changing my diet by removing any and all processed foods (anything not in a whole state) my years (four) long battle with hives has come to an end.  In a way, I'm thankful for such an annoyance (the hives) because it/they were a giant wake up call to the toxicity of store bought, prepackaged foods.  Has it been easy?  YES (because I'm blessed to stay home and have the time to cook without the 'help' of prefab food.  Was the change in diet worth it?  YES!  With the awakening of the American populace about the horrific nutrition of ready made foods ... have you been tempted to include more whole food items in your diet?  Are you trying to eat more seasonal foods? 

Photo credit:  Carl Larrson

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Things That Go Bump In The Night (revisited)

Mountain lions, bears, bobcats, moose, deer, raccoons, skunks and coyotes ... oh, my ... no lie!  The more I talk with neighbors coming out of winter hibernation, the more I don't want to venture out into the great outdoors after dark.  Some nights the dawg is climbing all over herself with fright and anxiety.  Critters here ... and there ... and everywhere. I keep  having to remind myself that this was their territory first.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Put Another Candle On His Birthday Cake

... he's another year old today. 

My little mister is celebrating his 14th birthday today.  It's Saturday ... and he's excited to have a day off from school as well.  Our plans include a trip to Toys-R-Us for a little shopping spree.  Being young at heart, he still enjoys boyhood toys, dvd's, Disney character shirts, etc.  And it's a rare treat for him to browse the toy isle with his mom and pop.  No cake ... but I'm sure we will have his favorite sweet ... oatmeal cookies.  During his upcoming spring break a little bowling excursion with a certain little red head is in order.  Happy Birthday, Son!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Sit A Spell

... is something I'd like to do once in a while.  Being a busy homemaker rarely affords such a luxury.  There is a slim window of opportunity some days between two and three PM for a little cat nap, but that old foe ... my alarm clock brings me back to the reality of parenting a special needs child with the afternoon arrival of the school bus.  Some days I wish I could turn back the hands of time and be a carefree youngster on a lazy summer afternoon under the roof of my parents home. 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

My Brain Works Overtime

 .... coming up with ways to save money around the home.  Cutting grocery expenses in half, fermenting this and that, baking, gardening, It scares me to think what job I would have had if all this energy was unleashed beyond my front door. 

Sunday, March 07, 2010

You, Me ... and the Kitchen Sink

I'm over at 'The Thrifty Garden/Home' ... my blog was featured at Down To Earth  ... an Australian blog that gives me so much inspiration ... go check out Rhonda's site ... she'll teach you how to knit, garden,  make soap, bake bread, preserve food, relax, take care of chickens ... not all at once (of course;)

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Thankful For Not Much Snow

... this winter.  Now eager for spring to arrive to green up the landscape.  Without a cover of snow this winter, brown, dead, crunchy landscape has been the view from my windows for quite some time.  OK, I won't complain ... no snow to shovel off our roof ... no gutters to fix ... no snow piles that take until June to melt ... no waking up an hour early to blow the snow off the driveway.  With such a winter reprieve, I've grown fat and sassy;)  Sorry about sending the snow to the four corners of the globe ... but ... winter is what it is:  Fickle ... just like the Snow Queen!

Top photo: Mr. Mac and Jacob ... sledding on two inches of snow ... taken in December, 2009
Bottom photo:  Mrs. Mac's unplanted garden ... oh so brown