IvyVine

Words To Live By - Mothers

"A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary."

-- Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there and to my own:  Ethelene Cardwell, I love you so much.  Thank you for everything.

Shopping With Mommy

This weekend, Arwen and I hit our neighborhood Kroger in search of meals and deals.  Well, meals and deals for me, but for her, payment in the form of Pringles for her modeling job.

First stop, produce!

I don't know about deals here.  In what parallel universe are limes more expensive than lemons I ask?  At any rate, I love their complimentary colors.

Yum.  Oranges.

Had to get some Avocados.  It may be one of my top favorite foods, honestly.  So creamy and delish.

I made Ina's Guacamole with it.  The recipe is perfect!  Chunky and garliciky (is that a word?) just the way I like it.  The chicken quesadillas were only the side dish here, trust me.  You notice the spoon right?  That wasn't for spreading.

Gratuitous cute kid shot.  I had to.  She said, in Arwen speak, "Mommy nook!!  The booniful flowers!"  Ironically that the same pose she uses to pull one over on me.

Only healthy cereal for my babies.

NOT!!! This is what actually made in the cart.

I barely made it out of the checkout before she grabbed her fee out of one of the bags.  Impatient child o' mine.

So I left her in the outdoor cart station.  She's still there today.  If you see her, tell her Mommy said hi.  Just joking of course.  Although she didn't seem the least bit concerned.  She had her Pringles and her pink teddy of course.  All was good in her world.

My Knuckleheads

This is Marc and Arwen.  My two children, also known most lovingly by me, the Knuckleheads.  It'd be easy to say that moments like this don't happen often in my household, but thankfully, that's not true.

Marc was 11 years old when Arwen was born.  Granted, she scared him at first because he thought her uncanny resemblance to ET was just a bit weird.  But he warmed up...eventually.

Don't get me wrong.  It isn't always sunshine and roses.  After all, she is 3 years old now.  She plays with mp3 players, Rock Band and cellphones when she is neither asked or invited to.  And one, "Arwen don't!" from Marc can turn her sunshine to a cloudy day in one second.  But here's the thing: he always, and I mean ALWAYS will tell her after he hurts her tender little feelings that he's sorry and he loves her.

And of course, a kiss is always expected.

To Arwen, Marc is a playmate, a horse, a protector, a human jungle gym, a pet doggie and her big brother.  To Marc, Arwen is a source of unending entertainment, a pain in the neck, a reminder to do his best and his baby sister.  They are so much a part of each other not only because their DNA dictates it, but by choice.

What will she be when she grows up?

No body puts baby in the corner.  Well, not when the baby is Arwen.  My Scorpio girl is far too sure of herself to allow that to happen.  It makes me wonder who she will decide to be when she's old enough to determine that.  Something tells me this girl will know exactly how she wants to spend her life at a very early age.  But even still, I often wonder what she's thinking.  Feeling, well, she shows me on a daily basis what she's feeling, but thinking....that I still wonder about.

 

"Maybe I'll be a model.  Yep, I've got this posing thing down."

 

"Or maybe a Rock Star!  I play toy piano too!"

  "Who really cares.  As long as I'm happy."

Yes sweets, as long as you're happy.

Sweet Arwen

I love her when she's sleeping.

 

I love her when she's awake.

 

I love her when she's nosy.

 

But that face just takes the cake.

 

Happy Saturday!

Naughty Baby

This is a story about a very cute baby girl.  We'll call her Arwen.

     

And her Mommy's jar of Eucerin Aquaphor.

    

It's also about various degreasing agents like Dawn and Ajax.  But there's no time for that here.  Let's have the pictures tell the rest of the story shall we?

 

 

 

 

Now that wasn't so bad Mommy....was it???

 

I'm sorry.

Happy Sunday all.

Too Cute!

 

She's a doll, huh?

 

She's saying CHEESE!!!!!  Happy Election Day all!!!

Family Reunion

Well my high school reunion was also a family reunion too.  This is me and my 4 wonderful brothers.  From the left:

Ronald (Ronnie) - He's the oldest and a NY State Trooper and the most incredible big brother.  He's what you wish for when your a younger sister.

Steven (Stevie) - He's the middle wild child living it up in Houston.  I haven't seen him in 8 years.  We are number 3 and 4 and the closest in age (just 22 months apart).  I missed him severely and I realized why this past week.

Me - Elena (Lanie) - You know me.

Michael (Mikey) - He's the second oldest and the family class clown.  He makes me smile.

Corey - My baby brother (and also the tallest, but you can't tell in this picture).  The best human being I've ever known.

That's us.  I love them dearly and was so happy to be with them.  I realize how lucky I am to know that any of my brothers are just a phone call away.  Being with them reminded me of just how important family is.  Any of them would give me their heart (literally) if I needed it and I'd do the same.  Ronnie, Mikey, Stevie and Corey, just know that your girl loves you so much and can't wait until she comes home again.

Bye Bye for now!!!

I'm heading home to NY to see my family and go to my...ahem...20 year high school reunion.  Peace out!!!

First Day Revisted or What he does when he doesn't think I'm looking

The first day of school for my son Marc was this past Monday on the 4th (we start real early in my county of Georgia).  He was finally an 8th grader.  The top of the food chain in the middle school world.  But this is a new middle school for him. When I bought my house earlier this year, it put him in a new school district.  So let's just say, he wasn't a happy camper.

Well the day arrived.  He was the most nervous 13 year old.  "Mommy, I think I'm gonna throw up!"  "Mommy, I don't know anyone."  "Mommy, I'm scared."  I did what all "Mommies" do in this situation.  I reassured him that he would be just fine.  He was a nice kid and he would make new friends easily.  I gave him the pep talk of my life.  I went into the school with him that morning.  All kids needed to go to the cafeteria where they'd get their schedules and get taken to their home rooms.  I didn't go into the cafeteria with him.  I stood outside and watched my "baby" make his way through the sea of long tables to find a seat...on his own...in the back...alone.  My heart ached for him.  I wanted nothing more to run in and grab him.  Pick him up and take him home, but I couldn't.  He's a big boy now and I would have to leave him to navigate his own way through this new point in his life.

This is him that morning.

My baby.  An 8th grader.  I remember when he graduated from kindergarten in his little blue cap and gown and his crooked little tie.  I remember every thing about him from the time he was born until this very moment. 

I remember......wait, WHAT????  I DON'T REMEMBER THIS!!

What the?  Do you think this boy calls me "Mommy?"  Uh no, I didn't think so.  Possibly "Was-sup woman?" This picture was apparently taken on day three after school in his room when he realized that he had nothing to be afraid of.  This picture must have come after the fact that he realized he was almost the tallest boy in the 8th grade and all the little girls thought he was a cutie.  Or when they found out he was from NEW YORK!!!  Upstate ya'll, not the city....and he only lived there for the first year of his life.  Yeah, I don't remember this.  And for the record, that is NOT a real earring in his ear.  It's a magnet earring that his best friend left behind after a summer sleep over that I have since confiscated.   It seems like he needs a different "kind" of pep talk.  Maybe it should start like, "Honey, you don't need to look like a gangster to be cool...."

At any rate, it was also Arwen's first day of school too!  She started a new daycare Monday.  It's closer to my house and a like it so much.  Of course, I wish I could be a stay at home Mom, but it's not a possibility right now, but I'm working on it.

What a cutie huh?  She fared well.  I called 4 times during the day to check on her.  She was fine just as I suspected.  Arwen is a tough little cookie.  Both of them are really.  Arwen is adapting quite well and Marc has made new friends his first week and is much more relaxed.  Now if I could get him to stop looking in the mirror......