Pride & Joy

On the KNK message board, someone asked if you ever feel guilty for scrapping one child more than the other(s). I had to admit that I do (scrap one kid more AND feel guilty about it). Lately I have not scrapped Jared very much, due in large part to the fact that he so into himself and things that he wants to do that he's not really around for me to snap him picture very often. This weekend I deliberately made it a point to get a few picture of him - he's so handsome. Anyway, I turned one of them black and white and scrapped it. I call the LO, "Pride & Joy." It's really a very simple LO, but I love how it turned out! Here it is ...

Gotta go - ttfn!

Justin's First Kiss

When my mother picked Justin up on Friday afternoon he informed her that he has a girlfriend. When I called her to check in after she picks him up, she passed the news along to me. I asked her a few questions but she didn't know the answers, so I waited until that evening to probe Justin myself ...

I asked him how he wound up with a girlfriend. He said that at naptime he and "Haley" were laying next to each other and she told him that they were boyfriend and girlfriend now. I asked him some more questions like if he really liked her and if he thought she were pretty (his response to both of those questions was "yes"). Anyway I forget how it came up, but he told me that he kissed her. I couldn't believe it. My five-year-old baby has had his first kiss with a girl?!?! How could that be?!?! I asked him where he kissed her. "On the forehead?" I asked. Pointing to his lips, he said, "Here." That sealed it. It really was his first official kiss with a girl. Not that I'm afraid they'll elope, but I had my mother tell their teacher to separate them when she dropped Justin off this morning. He is definitely David's son ...

After Justin's revelation, I just kinda sat there lamenting how fast kids grow up today. I don't know if I looked sad or perplexed or what, but my expression caused Jordyn to ask what was wrong. I told her that I couldn't believe that her younger brother had kissed girl. And do you know what she told me???? She told me that she had kissed a boy too. I needed to find out if hers had been official too, so I asked, "Where did you kiss him?" I added hopefully, "On the cheek?" Her response let me know that her first kiss had been official too. So I asked her the boy's name - the name she told me escapes me right now, but she only gave his first name so I asked her his last name. And do you know what she told me??? She said she forgot because it happened two years ago when she was in kindergarten! What the??? Is Kissing 101 part of the kindergarten curriculum these days???

No, I'm not mad because my two youngest children had their first kiss at age 5. It's all innocent enough, and I'm particularly pleased that Justin's was special enough to come and tell Mommy about it. However, like I've already said, it does make me wonder why they have to grow up so fast.

Oh well, according to Jared, he's made it to the sixth grade without his lips touching anyone else's that wasn't a relative. At least that's what he says. I believe him too. He's showing little to no interest in girls - he still thinks their pretty gross, except for one girl in his class that he made me promise not to tell his dad about. When I asked him if he'd like to kiss her he blushed, and didn't deny that he would. But he's shy about those things so I think it'll high school before his lips ever make it far - at least I'm holding out hope for that.

Speaking of Jared, I made one of my most favorite scrapbook LOs of him over the weekend. I'll post it later.

ttfn

Why Am I Still Up?

Five minutes until midnight and I have to get up and go to work in the morning. Why am I still up? I feel restless but don't think I'll have any trouble to sleep once I get in the bed...

I've had so much on my mind lately. Actually "lately" isn't really the right word because I always have a lot on my mind. I can say that lately much of it has to do with whether or not I will have a job this time next month. I am assuming that the re-org will have been announced by that time. Am I worried? Honestly? No, not really and it's not because I feel so secure, because I don't. Not at all, but it's one of those things that I realize that I cannot change one way or the other. So weird because my inability to change certain situations has never stopped me from worrying about them in the past. To some degree I equate the possibilty of being unemployed with the possiblity that a publisher might actually like the book I wrote and rather than second guess myself, I should submit it.

I never thought that my first book would be a children's book but it is. I always wanted to write a book that I thought was good, not one that I wrote for the sake of writing and being published though even then the book would have to be good right? At least good enough to catch a publisher's eye - well no, not necessarily as I have read a few bad books in my day. Anyway, I am very pleased with how it turned out and the fact that it is based on an actual conversation I had with Justin, that's just the icing on the cake.

What else is on my mind? My mother. Her memory and the loss thereof. As I was telling Dena, it makes me angry. It makes me sad. I am starting to struggle with aging. Not because of vanity and the inevitable decline/deterioration of "beauty" but because of the physical and mental decline/deterioration of the body and mind that is also inevitable, or so it would seem. Not to mention the whole death and dying thing. Being a Christian, I find some comfort in knowing that I will see some of the people I knew and loved and miss again in heaven, but that doesn't stop the longing in my soul to see them again. It doesn't stop the dread in my soul, knowing that if I live long enough that I will lose people who are closer to me than anyone that I have ever lost in the past. I have so many questions that I want to ask God ...

My scrapping mojo appears to be missing in action yet again. It is coming and going so frequently here lately. It comes, stays a few days and then it's gone again. I could really use that mojo to keep my mind occupied with creative processes rather than the depressing, mundane, discontent that seems to have set up shop there.

I brought home a Lincoln Navigator tonight. Maxine arranged for me to get it as a way to show her appreciation for the work I did with the Production Creation picnic.

I really need to get off of the 'puter now and try to get some rest so ...

ttfn

The Unofficial End of Summer

Summer is over. Well technically we have sixteen days until the autumnal equinox according to the calendar, but unofficially it was over last Tuesday when my two older kids, Jared and Jordyn, went back to school.

How is it that I have a kid in middle school now??? I swear, I remember cradling Jared in my arms for the first time like it were right now. That kid is getting so big. I predict that within 18 months he'll be taller than me - probably sooner.

Jordyn is a second-grader now. She's getting big too and is sassy as ever.

And then there is Justin, my kindergartener.

All three of them seem to really enjoy going to school. I was a very good student, but I can't say that I really liked school. It was okay, but I wasn't happy to get up and go every day. My kids on the other hand appear to anticipate each school day with enthusiasm. Admittedly, I think the boys, well at least Jared, is more into the social aspect of school than the academics (he is a pretty good student though). Jordyn, despite being so sassy and in-control here at home, is actually kind of shy and reserved so she seems a little more into school for the learning, though she has her freinds too. Justin, enjoys the social and academic aspects of school.

Other indications that summer is ending are:
- ads for the new fall television season
- it's dark at 8:30 now
- I'll be starting my school year work schedule again
- not running the A/C as often
- the kids could have used a light jacket this morning, even though they refused one

I'm off this week and it feels great to have the house to myself. There so many things I need to get done - I even need to do a few things for the job. Right now I have no motivation though. I don't see that changing either. I know that how much I get done will depend on how well I "just do it." I could spend a bunch of time planning and allocating time for this and that but in the end, I have to get up off my behind and just do it. Speaking of my behind (which I would rather not) it's growing. I have no motivation to eat right and exercise to get rid of these extra 20 pounds. At this point I am finding it harder and harder to maintain my weight, let alone to lose any...

Well that's all for now. I'll try to blog more often, even though my entries aren't particularly interesting ...

ttfn