Tag: life

Winter Momentos at the Quarter-Acre Wood

Winter Momentos at the Quarter-Acre Wood

Posted on by Mama

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Spring was in the air this weekend, and we actually did a bit of trout fishing and yard work out in the wonderful sunny weather; we even had burgers and ice cream for dinner last night (looks like some bodies are jonesin’ for spring). But before winter is completely a thing of the past I thought I would share some photos from our last snow storm at the Quarter-Acre Wood.

I’ll miss all the birds flocking to our feeders, but it’s almost time to reclaim the deck for humankind, a few potted plants and the occasional nesting feathered friend. Until then, please enjoy these momentos of winter. . . 

As usual, click on the photos to enlarge.

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“Hate” is a Four-Year-Old Letter Word

Posted on by Mama

Every now and then I catch a glimpse of unexpected assurance that our four-year-old son is actually soaking up a few of our better parenting moments. It’s usually when we least expect it and often when he doesn’t know we’re watching, but when it happens it’s gotta make a parent proud.

The other night there was just nothing on TV for the family to watch, so I switched over to Netflix (no, this is not the fine parenting moment of which I speak). I started searching for a family-friendly Disney movie that was not animated, because frankly there are times my husband and I deserve to watch “real” people doing real things during our son’s waking hours. I settled on The Rocketeer, and although I hadn’t seen it in many years I remembered it being a fun wholesome movie. Perhaps I should get my memory checked (showing an unscreened movie to my preschooler — still not my finest parenting moment, but stay with me here).

The first 10 minutes included a rolling gun battle, death, robbery and the D-A-M-N word at least four times. We finally decided to find something else to watch (which probably ended up being Bubble Guppies or Umizoomi after all), but our son was already riveted to the screen. He just couldn’t understand why we nixed the movie, so we told him that the people in it weren’t being very nice and they were saying bad words. Immediately he asked, “What did they say? What did they say?” Of course when we weren’t forthcoming with the actual term, he was left to ponder what he had heard. A few seconds later he came up with the answer.

“Oh, I know what they said. They said ‘hate’ and that’s not nice.”

I smiled and said, “Yes, baby, they said hate.”

Now this may not seem like much to most, but inside I wanted to take a victory lap or do a whole-hearted chest-bump with my equally triumphant husband. Still lost? Well let me interpret:  Thankfully our son hasn’t had enough exposure to the d-word to know it’s connotation and we’ve never heard him say it. On the other hand, he does know and use the h-word. As of late, we have been trying to instill the dislike of hate into his pretty little head, so you just have to understand that it’s a complete proud parent moment when your little one suddenly assumes that “hate” is a four-letter word.

Poplessness for World Peace (or My First Attempt at Lent)

Posted on by Mama

I’ve decided to give up soda for Lent. No , I haven’t converted to Catholicism, Lutheran, Presbyterian or any other religion that routinely celebrates the season leading to Easter with forty days of sacrifice, but I do think it’s a worthwhile exercise in spiritual discipline. Now I’m not sure how giving up Dr. Pepper will bring me closer to God. . . but give me a few weeks and it might become clear, or at least semitransparent.

I hadn’t much a thought about Lent until I realized it was Ash Wednesday yesterday morning as I sipped on something funky I was told to be Dr. Pepper from the local drive through window. It didn’t taste good, it makes me fat and I spend far too much on my weekly fizz fix; but by golly, I drank it anyway. And that’s when the idea hit me — I’ll sacrifice soda for forty days, hopefully shed a few pounds and keep my money where it belongs. Of course I quickly wondered if it’s actually considered “sacrifice,” if I’m planning to get something in return. Hmm?

So just like that I made a half-hearted, completely uninformed superficial commitment to participate in this year’s Lenten season (I’m sure my Catholic-raised husband will be so proud of me). So with Ash Wednesday in full swing I swore off sodas, starting as soon as I finished the one in hand, which really shouldn’t count because it tasted awful. Later that afternoon my husband brought home a cola Freezoni (a shame to let that go to waste), so I restarted my sacrifice only after my brain freeze faded. And alas, the pop machine called my name right before Bible study last night. . . but I was really thirsty, and all the proceeds support youth group endeavors. Ah, patronage pop — is there anything better?

So I’ve started day two of my 40-day 39-day journey; and while it isn’t quite over, I have managed to steer clear of anything soda related so far. I have discovered that if I don’t drink anything, I’m less likely to pick pop. I’m not sure dehydration was the desired outcome. 

I definitely think I’m missing a key component (the super important spiritual one) in this whole process. While I’m already feeling the sacrifice, I don’t think this is exactly the point of Lent; and unless cola companies are the devil (and I’m not chasing that rabbit), I’m not sure I’ll ever come close to anything similar to the sacrifice Jesus made in the desert. Of course, I’m positive that if I think long enough and delirium sets in I’ll be able to justify every last noncarbonated liquid through my lips. I can see it now — move over ice buckets, here comes poplessness for world peace! Yikes, I need a soda.

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