Thursday 37 (Week 48)

1. Puppies that housetrain easily.
2. Eva Kay, holding up a tampon: "Mama, what is this?" Me: "Blah, blah, nlah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Eva Kay (clearly bored): "Oooooooookaaaaaaay."
3. Conversations at Evergreen Park afterschool.
4. Katie, Stacie, and Linda: "So, is it 'D' day?"
5. Instant Messaging conversations with Melanie. Laughter truly is the best medicine.
6. Silence is golden. It probably won't last, but we all appreciate it, so thanks for sharing.
7. This in an email from Beth: "Thus the 'small tests of change' slogan I'm working on spreading.  :)"
8. My cell phone has been uncharged since Friday. That is a very nice feeling. I may never charge it again.
9. Crisp, fresh air in the morining. It is amazing what a little outdoors does to me.
10. David: "Love, what made you think that goose was real?" Me: "How was I supposed to tell it was a fake goose? It's not like it had one of those red bows around its neck."
11. Steak with mushrooms for dinner being served dans la tent.
12. Having the campground to ourselves, mostly.
13. Pre-run activities in the warm, warm sun.
14. Wishing someone told me I looked like I had gotten some sun so I could say, "No. I'm just drunk."
15. Sometimes, if a bathroom stall door isn't locked, it may lead one (me) to push the door open with gusto, thereby hitting the (pregnant) woman in there on the head.
16. Tickets to Vancouver.
17. Making a Mother's Day Bundt cake the day after Mother's Day with Eva Kay.
18. Alexander's Mother's Day Placemat "My mom really looked beautiful on the day she every day."
19. Eva Kay talking to the Tooth Fairy Assistant from TheRealToothFairies.com
20. Me: "George, do you want some more pasta?" George: "No. More cake."
21. Eva Kay. You perfect little person you. I just love you so much. It make take the moving of mountains for us to ever come to peace with each other, but there's something inside of you that just gets me.
22. Alexander doing the dishes.
23. George making a volcano from a cake.
24. Alexander and George working together to decorate the volcano cake. Pretty cute.
25. My mom. For offering to help.
26. Two kitties adopted from PAWS. No, they aren't mine, but they sure are cute.
27. A great conversation with George in the car on the way to school - after we'd dropped off Alexander and Eva Kay and had to return home for the forgotten volcano cake.
28. I'm far from perfect, but I think I'm starting to get this whole parenting thing.
29. Oh Banks. You make my life so interesting.
30. Alexander wanting to try out for the traveling soccer team.
31. Using Aidan's calcualtor watch.  1) They are so making a comeback, although, with a certain crowd, they probably never left, and 2) I kinda want one really bad.
32. Aidan: "I don't use my watch at school to cheat, though. Just mostly for division. To figure out my test scores."
33. Beth, for seeing what I didn't see and telling me it was there.
34. Lula Cafe for dinner.
35. David: "I can't believe I didn't save you some of this. But here, have a sip of the broth."
36. Codeword Yazmavan.
37. Coming Home (which begins at 1:33)

So, there you go.

A Mother's Day Thursday 37 (Week 47)

This Thursday 37 is dedicated to my children, who made me a mother, the greatest (and toughest) job I'll ever have.

The first five entries listed below are quotes about motherhood, the rest are little notes, pictures and school work in which my children express their love for me.  In truth, I know my children can never love me as much as I love them.  Motherhood is full of heartbreaking love with constant reminders that our children are in fact, our hearts walking oustide of our bodies. 

George Mark, Alexander William and Evangeline Kay Renee, thank you for giving me the gift of motherhood.  I am so, so lucky to have you in my life.

1. If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much. - Jackie Kennedy Onasis
2. When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. - Sohpia Loren
3. God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers. - Jewish Proverb
4. A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. - Tenneva Jordon
5. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. - Author Unknown
6. Why did God make mothers? "To love us and care for us and put us to bed."
7. Why did God give you your mom and not some other mom?: "Because the other mom would not understand us."
8. What is the difference between moms and dads?: "Moms love you more."
9. What makes your mom the best mom?: "She makes me happy."
10. What ingredients are mothers made of?: "Love, care, laughter, happiness, playfulness."
11. What kind of little girl was you mom?: "I think she was loving."
12. On a note found in my wallet one day: "I love my mom because she is nice."
13. How old is your mom? 45
14. My mom's favorite food: "Olives and macaroni"
15. My mom is beautiful because: "She always wears a dress."
16. My mom gets mad when: "She never gets mad."
17. I love my mom because: "She's special."
18. On a random piece of paper: I Love You. M.om O.f M.oms
19. What would you do if your mother asked you?: "I think I would not tell my mom about the Cat making a mess."
20. "I love you so so so so much."
21. "Your the number 1th Mom."
22. "Your nice your kind you are the best mom in the world."
23. On the back of a note I wrote to Alexander: "Thank you Mommy."
24. dear mom, i love you becus you are nise to me. and you teck me in to bed. I will try to be nise to you. becus you are nise to me. you get me brekfist. and you pack me lunch. and you make me Diner. It iz so Yummy. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH.
25. On my Christmas Card from George: "To Mom. XOXOXOXOXOXO From: George" Except all the O's are hearts.
26. On a note left in my car: "Mom, I love you."
27. From George for Valentine's Day:  "mOm I Love You"
28. From Eva Kay for Valentine's Day: "I love you. happy velantine day"
29. My Mom wears many hats in our family. My mom is a teacher. She taught me how to knitt.
30. My mom is a cook. I love it when she makes cake.
31. My mom is a nurse. She always makes me feel better when she kiss me.
32. My mom is a magician. She can always find lost things. Once she found a pin.
33. My mom is a sanitations worker. When she see my room, she says "good job."
34. My mom is a chauffeur. She drives me to therarprt.
35. My mom is the best mother ever.
36. From Eva Kay: Mom, I love you.
37. Strength of A Woman

So, there you go.

Thursday 37 (Week 46)

 

1. Eva Kay: "It's no fair! The White House has a bowling alley, a movie theatre and 32 bathrooms!" Alexander (with emphasis on every single syllable): "Be-cause-peo-ple-think-he-has-the-right-laws."
2. Alexander: "But no women have ever been president." Eva Kay: "Well, women can live there." Alexander: "Oh yeah. Barack Obama's daughter's live there."
3. This in a text to David: "There is something seriously wrong with me -- Marshall and Lily's wedding on 'How I Met Your Mother' just made me cry."
4. Kelly. Thank you for organizing "Laugher & Cocktails ...therapy for whatever ails you"
5. This is an email from Kelly to The Ladies: "we are celebrating the next chapter for Jackie..." 
6. Za - I think it is absolutely perfect and wonderful that you and I have the exact same needs from a cake: yellow cake, butter cream frosting, no fancy filling. Thus proving what I've known all along: We share a soul.
7. Dinner at Boka with the Lewis'. Wonderful company and wonderful food.
8. Waitress to David: "Would you like a flax seed cracker?"
9. So, I may have slept through the majority of The March. There were just so, so, so many words.
10. Also, I may have visited the Men's room at Steppenwolf which was only discovered when I heard a man coughing from the next stall. All I'm saying is maybe this happened and maybe it didn't, but what do you think?
11. Boozy Braised Bacon Bourbon Collard Greens.
12. Gabriel, Isaac & Aidan. Thank you so, so, so much for cleaning off the porch and helping with the purge.
13. Target opens at 8:00 AM on Sundays, which is especially helpful when it is discovered that shoes were not purchased for Alexander's First Communion. And while some people can really pull off the tennis shoes with a suit look, I'm not sure it is a look I'd like to encourage.
14. Being told I look beautiful in my dress.
15. Alexander's First Communion. And the celebration after. Turns out, we were the fun table.
16. This in a text from Beth: "ooh yum you're at Wilde! They also have a good nz sauv blanc!"
17. Mimosas all around. Except for the massive Bloody Mary with the tiny beer chaser people.  
18. Jake thumb wrestling with Alexander. Ridiculously adorable.
19. Sometimes cake from Sweet Mandy B's is the perfect breakfast food.
20. George showing me his wonderful Social Studies test! He was so proud of his grade, and that makes me so proud.
21. Making a good recommendation for Anne. I'm glad it's getting the thumbs up!
22. Sometimes, when you replay a conversation backwards, it really does sound much better.
23. This in an email from Jen: "Are you pregnant? seriously...your scrubbing your floors at 6:45 on all fours...sounds  c RA zy....."
24. Finishing my yarn cataloging project. I feel cleansed.
25. An honest email exchange.
26. Now we have an Oscar and a Harper. Standard Poodles of Silver and Black.
27. May 2012 Photo-a-Day Project.
28. Me to Melanie: "Okay, well, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later. And also we got two puppies yesterday. Bye."
29. Melanie: "I told you to stop buying dogs!" Me: "But you didn't tell David..."
30. Angela: "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"
31. When Judge Thomas J. Kelley asked "What does he do," Beth and I were certain this was a trick question...
32. Beth: "Okay, come over here so we can celebrate away from people... Not everyone in there is as happy as you are!"
33. Beth with me. Because you really do start as you intend to go forward. And sometimes, things end exactly how they started: With a best friend right by your side.
34. If you ever need a secret kept, Eva Kay is your girl. Trust me, you can trust her.
35. The Ladies: "Jackie, is this what you do with your friends? You pretend like you don't go there, but really, you always seem to wind up at The Pleasure Chest..."
36. Thank you JoJo, Jen, Kelly, Beth, Jen and Melanie. Because of you, I made it!
37. Freedom

So, there you go.

Thursday 37 (Week 45)

1. Playing poker with Isaac and Barry. 
2. Losing poker to Isaac. Fear not, Team Barry-Jackie shall rise again.
3. Starting my own Solo-Knit-Along. By the end of May (2012) I'll have a finished sweater. I will. I will. I will.
4. Mani/Pedi's with Toomey. Love that. Also love my trip to the Apple store post mani.
5. David: "So, what color did you get?" Me: "What makes you think I was getting my nails done?" David: "You were out with Jen on a Friday morning. What else would you be doing?"
6. George: "I wish I was smart enough to skip high school and college and be done with school." Alexander: "Yeah, but then you wouldn't be able to drive or even drink alcohol." George: "Yeah. Good point."
7. First Communion Retreat with Alexander. It was holy. It was spiritual. It was all that jazz. Really. I swear to the JC Himself.
8. This in a text to Beth: "We are now contemplating the single grain of wheat and the grape." Beth: "Praise the Lord for the almighty grape!" Me: "Amen."
9. This in a text to Mark: "We reflect God's light." Mark: "I like to think of myself as God's disco ball."
10. Katie and Barry during First Communion rehearsal. We really should have gotten kicked out of church.
11. Alexander's soccer game. Oh the joys of the lakefront.
12. This in a text from David: "That's my sister with a sex toy." Anne: "Just tell him it's mine!"
13. Anne: "When I'm with people is hardly the time when I need to be drinking."
14. Ummm, my compost pile was ablaze. Thank God the worms were already dead.
15. My house totally did not burn down.
16. Julie: "I just thought your neighbors were barbecuing."
17. Tickets to Bruce Springsteen at Wrigley Field.
18. Dropping Alexander, Isaac and Gabriel off for a Magic The Gathering Tournament only to turn around and pick them up because it wasn't a Magic The Gathering Tournament after all.
19. George: "Mom, where are all those Pokeman cards that were on the floor in Eva Kay's room?" To answer honestly, would I need to describe the exact spot in the landfill?
20. David: "So. How many women were here and how many empty bottles of wine did I just throw out?" Me: "Well, there were six women and six bottles of wine. Except that Anne and Tracy weren't drinking..."
21. A box that doesn't go in the office but goes somewhere else which is determined after 15 hours of talking about where the box might go.  Thanks.
22. Beth and Melanie are the voice of reason. And sympathy.
23. Cataloging my yarn. Kinda makes me dorky. Definitely makes me organized.
24. Okay, I'm already behind in my knit-along.
25. Tea with Stacie and Katie after drop-off.
26. Chaperoning the field trip to the Art Institute. The kids were awesome. The art was awesome.
27. On a related note, the Art Institute has restored some of my love for Chicago. It may serve as a (sometimes) substitute for hiking and outdoorsy stuff.
28. The park after school. I am so glad the weather is warm enough. 
29. Winter: "Eva Kay is beating up all the boys."  Damn straight.
30. I have the best friends. Ever. Ever. Ever.
31. Alexander's First Communion Banner. It is awesome. It totally rocks. And it has giant rhinestones in all the O's in his last name.
32. This in a text from David: "Mornin. Do not forward. xo d"
33. This in a text from Beth: "obviously you'll need to drink for the game..."
34. Flacker Touch. It just cracks me up.
35. This in a text from David: "You can click your heels if you want."
36. You can say whatever you want about me because 1) I don't care and, 2) it doesn't mean I did what you did. 
37. Here Comes My Girl.

So, there you go.

Thursday 37 (Week 44)

1. I registered for classes. Wow. Busy and broke. Two awesome things.
2. From Priya: "congrats! which school? btw, once you get your social work degree, the salary continues your grad school ramen diet. ;)"
3. Not knitting, but definitely giving it some serious thought.
4. This in a text to Beth: "She is really losing it. Like DSM-IV R losing it."
5. This in a text from Beth: "Hahahahaha.... Perhaps even DSM V (which is apparently coming out!!!!) losing it"
6. From Isabel, as relayed in a text message from Beth: "She's done that before..." Oh the wisdom of children...
7. Me to Melanie: "I'm downstairs. I just ran over the cones."
8.  Johnpaul: "Who is Jackie going to bring next year?"
9. Melanie: "Johnpaul said we should have had shirts made." So, you know, we did.
10. Me: "No. The course isn't hilly at all." David: "That course is the opposite of not hilly."
11. A fourth place finish in my age group at the Black Squirrel 5K.
12. From Beth: "That shirt could not be funnier!"  From Senora: "I need a shirt like that!!!!!!!"  From Jen: "I want one... Cleveland rocks."  From Priya: "oh, I love this.... :)"   From Kelly: "That shirt is pee-in-your-pants funny!"  From Jen R: "Wowza! Nice job. Maybe I could be your man for 2013? You could be my bitch. It would be really fun :)"
13. Knowing that if you can't laugh at yourself it means everyone else is just laughing at you.
14. Chagrin Falls (which seemed much larger when I was there with Dr. Alec in an, umm, inebriated state) and lunch at Lemon Falls.
15. Dinner at Fahrenheit. Our server Joe was awesome. Until he sucked.
16. Breakfast at Grumpy's Cafe. There was some crazy prayer circle in the parking lot. Or else it was just a bunch of people saying goodbye. Hard to tell.
17. Riding on the Towpath Trail. Which is fun, even after you get a flat, which sounds exactly like a gunshot.
18. Alexander reading to me. It's music to my ears.
19. Figuring out the devious mind of George. Trust me, if he ever gets his act together, we're all in trouble.
20. Eva Kay.  Somehow we may survive this year...but I'm not placing any bets on the teen years...
21. Brent: "Oh. I thought you would be wearing your shirt." And "I like the placeholder for 2013."
22. This from Rebecca: "I was really inspired by you to learn how to knit, so thank you. I'm glad I finally finished the norse mythology project, which I'd been thinking about for so long." Who knew I could be inspirational?
23. In a phone conversation with Eva Kay: "Mom, you know my Polly Pockets dolls? Well, her skirt broke. Right down the middle. Can you fix it?" Me: "Ummm, sure?"
24. Me: "Eva Kay, who gave you my cell phone number?" Eva Kay: "I just memorized it." Me: "Have you been drinking?" Eva Kay: No."
25. As I'm about to get off the phone from Eva Kay: "But mom, mom, mom, mom!" Me: "Yes?" Eva Kay (as though I have completely abandoned the family): "Well. Come back, okay?"
26. Hillary: "Are you getting out of bed, though?"
27. Singing songs about the Kitchener stitch. My that was boring.
28. Brent: "What is that, your skin cancer song?"
29. Worms are coming soon.  Composting Take Two can commence.
30. Little girls playing soccer apparently = skipping and holding hands. Isn't that sweet.
31. Me in a text to Mark: "George just puked. Come pick him up."
32. This to Beth: "Strong Mama = Strong Daughter.
33. This from Beth: "Ooh good you're knitting again!!!!!"
34. One of the best phone calls I've ever received and not a single ounce of mixed emotions.
35. This from Melanie: "If this means what I think it means (a) that sucks because I was looking forward to more counting down and (b) that's great!"
36. Alexander and the snuggles I get in the mornings. Now, if he would just nicen up to his sister...
37. Stuck On You

So, there you go.