gratitude

I have the BEST MOM EVER!

My mom surprised me with these guys earlier this week as a "thank you" for helping my mom and dad with some stuff relating to my dad's accident.  My mom sure does know the way to my heart!

I love you mom and dad!

sharing

This morning I took part, for the first time, in this food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  Daddy-O swears we talked about this co-op before but I totally disagree. 

Just for the record though....the Daddy-O does swear A LOT and I don't mean in the "I swear I told ya so!" but more in the "Holy S**t" or in "WTF" kind of way.

Okay, so back to this blog post about Bountiful Baskets. 

There are two choices in "baskets" that you can buy---organic for $25 OR non-organic for $15.  Then there are various "add-ons" you can buy in addition that change weekly from what I understood.  Being this was our first time we decided to buy the non organic basket and this is what we received...

Mount Rainer Cherries, Red Grapes, one head of Romaine, One Cantaloupe, 4 Mangos, 4 Peaches, 4 Plums, 10 Red Potatoes, 2 Red Bell Peppers, 1 pint of Cherry tomatoes, 2 Cucumbers, and 1 bag of baby Carrots. 

We thought this was a deal for $15.00.  Don't ya agree?

Here are the "add-ons" we bought in addition....

Tropical Granola which is extremely yummy!

A case or organic blueberries at a cost of $2 each.

And 5 organic nine grain loafs of bread at $2.40 each.

There were a few more "add-ons" that we didn't buy. 

Ordinarily, we wouldn't buy five loafs of bread or a case of blueberries but I can tell you that I spend more weekly on fruits and veggies then what I did today and I received probably double then what I typically buy. 

Each week will vary in what you'll get and when you order your basket you won't know what is in it which we like because we will be forced to use stuff we wouldn't ordinarily use.

So how does this all work....Starting on Monday at noon ordering opens up on Bountiful Baskets website and it closes on Tuesday at 10pm.  You select what basket you want, organic OR non-organic, and how many you want, and then you can select your additional "add-ons."  You pay right then with your order.  Print your confirmation and then show up at your site that you selected.  I selected the Clements Center and I arrived at 6:30ish this morning.  I was the 2nd person there but by 7am the line was HUGE.

I'll be honest....I can't wait for Monday's now just so I can order my next basket and "add-ons."  

As the saying goes....the early bird gets the worm.....so if you want a worm too you should be there.  

PS.... I will deliver for a small fee of.....$1,275.00 per item. 

educating

I've been keeping my toilet tank, desk, nightstand, dining room table and just about any other flat surface covered with a book or two, or three, or four...

I thought I would share with you my selections for reading materials.  Are you ready?  Here I go....

The Well-Trained Mind

You Are Your Child's First Teacher

Simplicity Parenting: Using The Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids 

Above All, Be Kind

Phonics Pathways Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling

Phonics Pathway Boosters!

Phonics Level K

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

As you can see I've been and will be keeping busy. 

mending

As Daddy has kindly pointed out a time or two (or three, or four, or five, or six....or a hundred) "this blog used to be happier."  And he is right.

I never claimed to think that being a full time stay-at-home mom (SAHM) would be easy--I just didn't think it would be this challenging.  I enjoy nothing more then being a mom but what I don't enjoy and what makes being a SAHM challenging is that on most days I feel like I am the "no" police. 

"No, don't do that!"

"Stop hitting your brother?"

"Stop biting!"

"That's a bad idea!"

"Bug, get off your brother!"

"Hey" (as Squish slaps Bug in the face while I am typing this out)

"Squish, get out of the freezer.  It's too early for ice cream!"

And on and on and on....

The word "no" can be very exhausting and I had no idea. 

So now that I have worked on letting a few things go, clearing out my mind of the past, and in light of my dad's accident I am going to start focusing on the things that make me happy. 

Let's start with my kids...

The monsoon season is here but it seems most of the rain parts around our house when it starts.  Here it is mid-July and our rain barrels have only overflowed once.  ONCE!  The last good rain fall we had left just enough standing water for the kids to enjoy. 

24 hours

In 24 hours we went from this....

 To this....

Because of this...

After seeing my dad's truck today it is absolutely amazing that my dad walked away with a sore shoulder and some road rash.  The truck really looks good given the wild ride it took Saturday. 

Grateful

CORRECTION

July 7, 2012

“I saw it coming and I knew I couldn’t avoid it so I just grabbed the steering wheel to hang on for the ride.”  Those were the words from my father today after he was hit by a car running a red light that then fled from the scene. 

My dads’ quick response to swerve at the impending impact caused the other car to just hit the back passenger tire on the Toyota.  That point of impact caused the Toyota to roll over several times and on the final rotation landing on the driver side where it completed it's journey sliding down the road to the outside lane of Golf Links past Swan Road. 

The accident tonight was another wake-up call to how vulnerable we all are. 

The cliché “it won’t happen to me” I think is not often thought about for most people in a settled life.  It’s not that we are invisible to any kind of tragedy it’s just that we don’t take the time to savory the life around us.

I am so thankful that with time my dad’s shoulder will heal, the road rash will disappear, the pain from whiplash will slowly fade and the new truck will be paid off but what chaps me is that man who hit my dad had to see the severity of the impact and he just left not knowing my dad would be okay---there is a place in hell for people like that. 

My dad uttered the words I had thought about but was too afraid to say out loud… what if he had one of the kids with him?

Today I am blessed that my dad will live to see his 57^th birthday on Monday.  I am blessed that Bug wasn’t with him and I am blessed that I will live another day of my life with him in it.

A bullet was dodged today. 

***To the man who hit my dad you left the front bumper of your silver Pontiac Grand AM with your Utah license plate at the scene--thanks jack ass because we have your license plate number now.