Oh what a beautiful morning it is when I get my FAVORITE breakfast in bed…

Chocolate cake and a coke. Breakfast of champions. Acceptable only on Mother’s Day and my birthday, maybe. Or on my death bed.
Cards with drawings from the boys…

Love Fish’s version of his hair in this self portrait. He also gave me a coupon book for various chores and favors. That will come in handy. Especially the one for a kiss and a hug. I may make photocopies of that one. (is that legal?)

This is me and Tato skateboarding on the road. The thing in the middle is The Little Guy in an egg. I don’t know why he’s in an egg. When I questioned Tato about it, he just giggled. It will remain a mystery.
Kelly D. gave me a lovely gift from Ward and Child/The Garden Store, my favorite place. I love it. But what I really love is knowing that he went out of his way to go into a place that holds zero interest for him and searched high and low for something that he knew I would love.
I was going to write a long and thoughtful post detailing all of my thoughts on motherhood, but I’m just now crashing from my breakfast sugar high, so I think I’ll get in my pajamas and read. That sounds like the perfect way to end mother’s day.
I hope yours was great too.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

I don’t even know how to begin to tell you how much I love you.
You are a beautiful person inside and out. I remember once when I was in kindergarten or first grade, you came to my school for some reason and stood in the doorway and waited for me to come over to you. You had long hair then, and you were smiling at me. I even remember that you were wearing brown, and the way you held your purse. The girl sitting next to me asked me if you were my mom and when I told her yes, she said, “She’s SO pretty!” This made me so happy, because I was thinking that very same thing.
Did you know that people still say that about you?
You are a fun person to be around. I love the sound of your laugh. You know the one…the one that kind of sounds like a wheezy wino? The one that earned you the nickname “The Chuckler”. It’s awesome. Sometimes I laugh like that too, and Kelly D. tells me I sound just like my mom. I can tell he thinks that is a good thing.
I can’t think of any time that I’ve asked you for help and you’ve told me no. You do so much for me that I almost feel guilty about it. I can be such a brat sometimes (admit it!) and I don’t deserve your kindness, but you never hesitate to say yes.
I thought it would be fun to tell you some of my favorite memories of you. So here they are in no particular order:
-When Dad and Chad would go deer hunting and we spent the weekend shopping, eating at restaurants, seeing movies and you let me sleep in your bed.
-When you would pretend you had lost control of the car and the “magnetic force” was taking us where it wanted us to go, which was always to Baskin Robbins for ice cream.
-When you humored me one day after it rained by driving around searching for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. We ran out of gas and you told me not to tell Dad what we were doing.
-Doing the Jane Fonda workout videos with you. Do not ask me why this is a fond memory…I think I liked that it was just us.
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I admire you for so many reasons. I am only beginning to understand what you did for me as I grew up. I literally worry that one of my boys will be the kind of teenager I was, and it makes me wonder why you kept me around.
You have always shown love to Kelly D….if memory serves, you liked him before I did! I love how you treat him like he’s one of your own.
My kids love you more than they love me. You are such a fun grandma.

You are my friend. I can tell you things I wouldn’t tell anyone else. I love talking to you. I trust you.
As I try to put into words what kind of example you have been for me through my life, one particular word keeps coming to mind. Selfless.
Mom, thanks for being the best mom I could have asked for. If I’m lucky, I’ll grow up to be just like you. (except for your driving. That area has some room for improvement. )

In answer to the many questions I’ve received from everyone about why I put the Spotted Puppy to sleep…
It all began with such enthusiasm. From me, and from you-the blog reader. An on-line book club seemed like a fabulous idea to me. And the first book had some good discussion, I thought.
It was fun.
Then it just fizzled out. Don’t you think?
I don’t know if the books were lame, or if people lost the excitement.
There were in total 54 users signed up on the Spotted Puppy. Only 17 people made posts, and most of those only posted like, twice.
There were a handful of regular posters….maybe 7.
But guess what there was an abundance of?
Spammers! Everything from Cheap prescriptions to online gambling. I literally had to delete between 50-75 of these a day.
This wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if the rest of the site was going strong, if more people were posting.
It kind of felt like I threw a big, catered, extravagant party that only a few people showed up for.
I figured it would be less work to just read a book and then call someone and say, “Hey…you read that book? What’d ya think?”
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Then there was the fact that I mistakenly deleted most of the registered users instead of the spammers, and only a few re-registered. It kind of felt like the Puppy was already dying.
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I’m not sad. I swear. I just read this explanation and it sounds a bit like I’m pouting. SO not true.
The truth is, I didn’t think anyone would miss it. (except for those few regular posters, and I e-mailed them when I pulled the plug)
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I’d love to hear what you guys think was good, bad or otherwise. Did people just read it without posting?

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
-Aristotle

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I was weeding today underneath and around my peach tree. There are peach pits scattered around from the fallen fruit last season. A few of them have shed their casings and sprouted. It never ceases to amaze me!

A tree grows,
then blossoms.
Bees pollenate these blossoms.
The tree then bears fruit.
The fruit nourishes (and delights) me and my little family.
Some of the fruit falls to the ground.
It decomposes, enriching the soil around it.
All that is left is the seed.
The seed which contains a miracle…
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It never ceases to amaze me.
So I took a picture.

Lovely Wednesday breakfast with Shelby.
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Picked up Stephenie Meyer’s new book.
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Spring rain=happy plants…

and happy boys…

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And!
Guess who gave me a freshly-picked bouquet of dandelion flowers today accompanied by a squeeze and a kiss?
I think The Fish is having second thoughts about yesterday’s declaration.

Phew!

My heart is broken.
I was just informed by The Fish that kisses and hugs are special occasion activities only. I guess I knew it was coming. I’ve already been cut off from kissing him in public. Even on the cheek.
The last few days he’s been rolling his eyes when I try to show him any affection, and today he flat-out told me that he hates it.
Hates it.
He’s 7, but whenever I look at him, all I see is this kid…

and he LOVED to snuggle.
…but this kid…

thinks he’s too big for me.
And it’s just too soon.

It really felt like spring today. I worked in my yard most of the day; planting patio pots, window boxes, and most of my herb garden.
I have given myself a new project this summer that has a lot to do with the many uses of herbs. I’m so very excited to see this expanded herb garden fill in. It may look a little haphazard and sparse now, but when if fills in, it’s going to be magnificent!

At the plant nursery today, I fell in love with a flower. I’ve never seen this variety of african daisey before. They call it Blueberry. I call it beautiful.

Look at the way it’s petals fade from purple to orange. These colors really appeal to me and I bought every one they had in stock.
The entire back of my truck was filled with plants so I had to enlist some help to get them all planted…

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Last year, Kelly D. gave me the coolest book for mother’s day. It’s called Window Boxes, and it’s filled with fabulous ideas for making interesting arrangements in creative window boxes year round. I’ve used a few of the ideas, but my favorite one was this…

Don’t even try to tell me this isn’t cute. It’s kind of rustic and wild (which I love), but the coolest part about it is that you plant bird seed and sunflowers, water it all summer long, and then in the fall just let the container dry out and you have a little drive-up fly-up window for birds to eat from. It looks great in the fall.
I didn’t actually place this in a window box. I did a planter box and set it in my garden.
Here’s what you’ll need:

Planter box of your choice (at least 8 inches deep)
Dwarf sunflower seeds
Millet, thistle, and/or milo seed (I used a bag of mixed bird seed)
Potting soil
A sunny spot to set it in.

Every time I look in my pantry, I see tons of cans of beans. Black beans, kidney beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, butter beans, etc… I just want to find ways to make good things with these beans because they are so good for me, and so filling and also, I really love beans.
I tried a new recipe for a three bean salad today. We were grilling hamburgers today (the weather was fabulous!) so this cooking post is going to be a super simple one. I really liked this salad. Not sure Kelly did. I’m pretty sure I saw him make a face. But you should know that Kelly D. doesn’t like beans very much. The truth is that he really only likes potatoes…baked, mashed, boiled and served in a salad, roasted, or french-fried. So let’s not even worry about him.

Three Bean Salad

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans
1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans
1 can (15 oz.) green beans
1/2 C. chopped red onion
1 tsp. celery seed
1/4 C. cider vinegar
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground, dry mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a bowl, gently mix the three beans and onion.

In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.

Pour dressing over salad and toss together.

Cover and refrigerate at least two hours. Gently toss again before serving.

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If you have a great recipe for using beans in a salad, e-mail it to me! I’m in a bean phase.

I heart purple tulips. And that’s all I have to say for now. Happy Saturday!

Kelly D. was shooting a wedding reception late tonight, so it was just me and the boys.
You know what that means?
Pancakes for dinner.
I’m really not trying to get the boys to feel happy when Daddy isn’t home for dinner, but tonight when I told them he’d be gone, Tato said, “Oh yeah! Breakfast tonight!” And then Fishy followed up with, “Please Mom… not the heart-healthy pancakes.” (my efforts are obviously going unappreciated)
I promised to make the least healthy version of pancakes I can.
Speaking of which, have you tried that recipe for IHOP pancakes I posted a while back? My goodness. What are you waiting for?
After dinner (breakfast), we hit the RedBox and picked up a movie called The Waterhorse. The boys really liked it. What I liked about it was watching Tato’s heart break in a number of scenes during the movie. Whenever this creature was in peril, he would gasp in horror and say, “Awwww. Why are they trying to hurt him? Is he going to die?”
He was on the verge of tears several times.
It was precious. Such a tender heart in that kid.
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In other news…
I checked off another item on the 100 ideas list today.
#35, Give away something you love.
This was a really hard thing to do! But I did it. And, I’m glad.

My husband brought home a pie.
A banana cream pie.
(did you know I’m on a quest for fitness? Or, at least a quest to lose fatness.)
He said, “Well, it’s not chocolate, so I thought you wouldn’t be tempted.”
Whatever.
I started off thinking, just a bite. Just a little taste.
Then I lost consciousness and when I came to…
it was gone.

A place to go when you don’t feel like being in the place you are. Do you have one of these?
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Mine is in the desert, in a trailer. On a piece of land that nobody wants. I grow herbs and cactus. I wear cut offs and big hats. I’m tan to the point of ugliness, and my hair hasn’t been cut in years. I braid it almost every day and bathe with a garden hose. I have lots of windchimes that hang from the edge of my patio awning. I sit in the shade, which is still HOT and drink ice water or mountain dew. I have a dog that spends most of her time in a kiddie pool filled with water to keep cool. I listen to music that plays through the window of my trailer. And I paint.

I grew up next to a little slice of kid-heaven. We called it “the hollow”. It’s a ravine right behind my parents house that is full of dense trees, rocks to climb, fallen trees as bridges over streams, and a pond to swim in.
I am forever telling The Fish about my adventures in The Hollow. On Sunday, we were visiting my parent’s house, and I decided to take him there to show him the place that holds so many of my favorite childhood memories.

When we got about halfway to the pond, we discovered that there was a fence twice as tall as I am blocking our way. I hesitated. “Fish, I don’ t know if we can get through here. I think we might have to turn back.” His face dropped.
Then he suggested we both squeeze through a small space underneath the fence. I explained about private property, and trespassing and such things.
Then he said, “Why are grown-ups not as…um…you know…discover-y…as kids are?”
You know what I said?
“Let’s do this.”
We found a way around the fence. It was thorny, and treacherous. And, I was bleeding by the end of it, but I will not sit back and let some punk 7 year old tell me I’m not discover-y anymore.
I’m Mrs. Discover. Evidence below…

magpie nest.

thorns, bark, duck tracks, cracked earth, patterns in nature, and tree shoots.
Discoveries abound. Hazah!
This next picture (look close!) is an old car that has become part of this river bed and has been there since I was a kid. We used to make up freaky stories about there being skeletons of dead bank robbers in it. These are the stories The Fish loves to hear. He eats it up.

This next one is a picture of an area that I used to think was magic. The trees were thick enough to get lost in and the ground was mushy. It felt like walking on a bed of thick marshmallows. I seriously used to think that fairies lived there. It was so quiet and even the air smelled different. It’s fun to tell these things to Fish because he is completely absorbed in what I’m telling him. I can see the wheels turning in his mind.

This log that he’s climbing on here is nearly covered with water during summer.

My friend and I used the high part as a diving board. Every day in the summer we’d go swimming in that pond. Seeing it in person again flooded my memory. I came home and wrote down as many of them as I could recall. So fun.
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The best part of the whole adventure though, was spending this time alone with The Fish. As I shared with him my stories, it was like he was discovering that I am an actual person. Not just a mom.
As we walked, we gave names to all the obstacles we conquered. (death trap, devil’s snare, the biggie, and pictured below is slip-slide-ride)

We balanced on logs above streams…

Chucked rocks in the pond…

Had a splash-making contest…

And raced home…

Idea #20. Write a haiku. (more ideas HERE.)

Realization
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Burned his tiny hand.
“Ouch! Kiss it better, Mama.”
Still hurts. Stares, puzzled.

(I may try this again. It was harder than I thought.)