Roses

I am a rose bush.
Capable of beautiful plentiful "fruit".
But to be healthy, to produce any thing of worth, to even stay alive, I have to be pruned.
And I don't like that.
Oh, I act like I am ok with it. I offer up all the dead branches on the surface.
But when the gardener goes digging, pushing aside the outside branches, and reaching down to the center...
first I try to hide, covering one branch with another, using leaves to cover withered fruit, dried out branches, disease. It doesn't work for long of course. The gardener knows where to look.
When he digs, I get uncomfortable. I try to protect myself. I lash out. My thorns defend me from the disturbance, the discomfort of being moved, shaped, having the dead cut away.
I think I am protecting myself from harm, pain.
Over time the threat of discomfort comes less frequently, as I wither away, colorless and empty.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful...Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
John 15

I attempted to dead head my neglected rose bush today. It was a slow, painful process, that will never be finished.

Mother's Day Interviews

http://961olive.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/mothers-day-interviews/

Holy Week(?) Not irreverent, but certainly quirky.

1 Samuel 16:7 The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

I have to remember that when my grand plans and best intentions look a little...silly.
So I documented some of my efforts to prepare for Easter this year, so that I can learn from them for next year.

This, is "Palm Sunday", if you couldn't tell.
Jesus was played by Sir Topham Hat. The road to Jerusalem is toilet paper. I don't know if Toby got the point, but he thought it was fun. We reenacted several times, until Babyzilla decided to rip up the road.

For months we occasionally threw out "are we going to host a Seder?"
The morning of, I called Scott and said, maybe we could do something, just our family. He had been thinking the same thing. Confirmation.
Maybe you have seen a sippy of Seder "wine"....

But I am pretty sure you have never seen a "Milk Bone" in place of a shank bone. I REALLY intend no disrespect. I just have to believe that God has a sense of humor, and smiles at my (feeble) efforts to understand more of Him.

Toby was given permission(not that he thinks he needs it) to go play during the parts of the reading he didn't understand. He took it upon himself to get his camera and photograph the evening (and the carpet).

We called Toby back for the "fun" and food parts...
he invented a new Seder food... "egg drop soup"...
you make it by dropping a hard boiled egg into matzo ball soup...he was pretty excited, and has requested it at multiple meals since.

Then there was Easter egg dyeing. My natural self cringes at every aspect of this process, with kids that is. Maybe someday the eggs will be pretty, and whole, and the kids won't have blue arms and pink faces, or maybe not. Either way, God definitely teaches me through it.

The grass, the spring flowers, the sunlight through the colored water. Definitely helps me to just enjoy the (messy and imperfect) experience.

Note the splashing blue water. Aimee loved sorting the eggs, dropping one or two into each cup, then removing them and starting over.

Toby was "done" pretty quickly, as always, much to my chagrin.

Aimee stayed with it for awhile, then she grabbed a handful of eggs, tucked them tightly against her body and ran, trying to escape to the van with them.

And then there was one...


This is what we will be using to tell the rest of the story over the weekend. I don't have enough properly sized people, so we will see.

Tonight Toby and I read, and acted out, the last supper and the arrest. Sir Topham Hat played Jesus again. Diesel 10 played Judas. And for some reason, a random donkey kept going on vacation to get a pizza, I think. Unsure. It might have something to do with the chocolate pudding before bedtime. But the donkey seemed to stay put when I got to the part with the swords. Funny how that works.

Second Child

Last night I was trying to give Toby a "quick washdown" before bed. Aimee has recently taken up a preoccupation with the potty. Not the little kid potty. The big potty. She shes Toby use it, especially around bath time, because that is the only time he lets her even be in the bathroom at the same time as him, and she is a copycat, so she wants to use the big potty to.

So Aimee insisted on sitting on the potty last night, and I was totally annoyed, because it was past bedtime etc, but I helped her get up there then went about dealing with Tobe. And then of course Toby said he had to go, so I pulled Aimee off, kicking a screaming, and put her back when Toby was finished. It was quiet for a second (rare), Aimee looked up at me, and then I heard it....water onto water! She peed, in the big potty, despite the lack of encouragement, and even discouragement. Scott and I just looked at each other is shock, then broke into a round of applause and cheers. And she was so proud.

Poor second child. I was annoyed that she insisted on using the potty. I would never have done that to Toby. Then again, she is a year younger then Toby was when he first used the potty.

I am not getting ahead of myself though, because as soon as she had "wiped" sufficiently (6 times) and got off the potty she turned around, reached in and grabbed a handful of wet toilet paper out of the potty. And this morning, when she again insisted on using the potty ( I didn't dissuade her) she sat there, fidgeted around, eventually got off, and then pooped on the floor.

So, I guess I am going to start encouraging the potty thing, but I think we have a long way to go.

The (Officially Sanctioned) Oscar Event

This post may tend toward the "shallow and self absorbed" end of the spectrum, but, what can I say...my thoughts have been consumed with Oscar preparations for the past week, and the Oscars are the showcase of Hollywood self importance.

That disclaimer out of the way, let me just say...

"Black Tie" sounds simple enough, and perhaps it is for men (my dear husband didn't even consider his "crappy shoes" until the night before), and for women who are skilled in such things, I, however, am not fashion forward (surprise!) and I have no idea, nor do I care, what is going on in Hollywood these days, so, I called in a team of professionals.

Scott and I finally decided, one week before the PWC Oscar party, that we were going to go. My mother and sisters coached me through gown decisions (it was only between two), jewelry, shoes, purses, makeup. Thank you, Mom and sisters, for those of you that continued to answer my calls and texts, and also for watching my children.

Thank you, and also, if any of you ever tell me "don't smile" again, when a camera is pointed at me, you are in trouble!

Now, go ahead, someone from high school, and recognize this dress as the prom dress I wore senior year. Yes, I still have it.

And this next picture is me asking forgiveness. Ok, Meghyn and Mom, you were right. You can't tell at all that I am wearing mascara, even though I thought it was WAY to much.

It was definitely a swanky event. This is the Hall of Mirrors.

This is me eating really good expensive food.

This is Scott, and a spoon made out of chocolate.

Taking up where my wardrobe helpers left off, my new Oscar night friend was trying to teach me how to pose for pictures.

And I am going to be kind and not post any pictures of any of the wealthy Oscar Night attendees who very unfortunately had WAY to much to drink.

It was a fun night for a good cause. I will do it again next year. Maybe next year I will need less counseling.

It's my birthday!

I had all these plans in my head for my "mommy's birthday tea party". Then there was the reality of snow, and kids. But, its MY birthday, and I want to have a tea party. Who cares if "boys don't have tea parties", and toddlers just dump, grab and stand on chairs.

It was good. Toby loved pouring water tea and real tea(!).

Aimee loved dumping water and sugar, and sorting her broccoli.


So, that is how we spent our (snow covered) early afternoon. The evening portion of the birthday celebration can be viewed elsewhere.

Toby Quote

Toby just informed me, "If you take off the fish head, you know, the part that the face is on, you know you're gonna have some gooooooooooood fish."

Thank you, Grandpa Bob, for taking Toby to the "aquarium" at Jungle Jim's. (It's not really an aquarium.)