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(matt took this picture a little over a year ago because he wanted to depict life as it really is. this shot is so typical of my life with 2 small children, one in hand, and one on my hip!..a t-shirt, jeans, and tennies or flip flops)
last week i was talking to a mom of a little girl in jack's preschool class. we were letting our kids play for a little while on the playground before we put them in the car to go home. we were talking about the things our children loved at the time. jack, i said, was obsessed with super heroes. he loves dressing up as spider man or super man and captain jack sparrow! i told her that gracie wanted everything to do with babies. she carries her baby doll everywhere. she said that her daughter was very much into dollies too and that her daughter is always talking about the day when she can become a real mommy. then she went on to say that it bothered her because she didn't want her daughter to think that motherhood was glamorous....and that she needed an education and a career path to make a difference in the world. she didn't want her daughter to be "just a mom". well, i wish i could say that i stood up for mothers. quite frankly, i didn't know what to say. i can't even remember what i said, if i said anything at all, that comment sent me into deep thought and introspection at my life. the comment, "just a mom" haunted me.
then a few days later, i was nominated to be the historian for the board of parents over the school both my children will attend next year, and i was at the first meeting of the new board. i was talking to the women sitting on both sides of me. the women were talking about what they "do". one woman was a lawyer, and one was the ceo of public relations for key bank (the tallest building in downtown cleveland and largest bank of the state). when they asked what i do, the thought popped into my head, "i'm just a mom". but i said that i stayed at home, but i was a graphic designer and photographer. i also went on to say that i was a teacher for 5 years. WHY COULDN'T I STAND UP FOR MOTHERS?????
i was totally wrapped into society in thinking that unless you get a paycheck, you don't have a real or otherwise important job, which is so NOT TRUE!!!
the world would say that unless you
-increased sales by this much
-closed that deal
-won that case
-climbed more more rung up the corporate ladder
- gave that speech
-or received some sort of tangible reward
that what you do is not important. motherhood is not that way, aside from God Himself, no one sees what we do. most, if not all of the work we do, is behind closed doors. there is no bonus for doing 14 loads of laundry a week, and no award for the cleanest refrigerator...no one to cheer when you picked up the last toy or used the hand vac for the 17th time that day!
however, mothers are indeed important, and though the world devalues our "job", we must not. the poet william ross so eloquently wrote, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." i found this quote in the book titled, "I am a Mother", by Jane Clayson Johnson. we are reading this book for our book club this month and i have found it to be uplifting and inspiring.
as mother's day approaches, i wanted to have this week to feel what i do counts, and that being a mother although so tiresome and many times thankless, is indeed a job, and not something to feel like less of a person because that is my "chosen career path". maybe it is just a day that the greeting card companies make a ton of money, but it's not so bad to have one day a year to pay homage to our mothers, and feel good about being a mom.
so although a baby on your hip, and a child in hand may not be glamorous, it's my life, and i love it (most of the time!)
may we teach our daughters that to be a mother is not to be "just a mom", but a true person who holds the future in her hands (or on her hip), and mothers make the BIGGEST difference in the world. i truly have a legacy of wonderful women behind me, and may the legacy i leave be just as wonderful.
well, i wasn't very good at journaling about all the fabulous "stuff" we got to do as kids to a congressman, so i'm trying to be detailed in this experience so that i'll have something to share with my posterity of my experiences with the government "perks".
so, every year in april, the congressional club puts on a luncheon for the first lady. anyone who has ever been in congress (or married to a congressman) is a part of this club. my mom has been to this luncheon several times, but it has never worked out for my sister and i to go. it was easier this year since i'm in ohio, and my sis-in-law, sarah, is in virginia, and kate had to be flown in from good 'ole utah.
we all anticipated this event for many months and each of us got a new dress for the occasion, and thanks to jergens sunless tanning lotion (it's the best one out there b/c it doesn't have that funny smell), i got a tan! my wonderful friends agreed to watch my kids for 2 days while matt was at school, and i was off!
we drove into d.c. (about 40 min from my parents house) and arrived at the hilton where the luncheon was being held. it was a site to see when we walked into the hotel, hundreds of women all dressed up for the occasion as well, many were wearing big fancy hats too! it was fun to see all the spring suits and dresses adorned on a variety of women. we purchased cook books with some of the first ladies' recipes in it (Jacquie Kennedy's spinach quiche looks super YUM!) and mingled with ourselves as my mother ran into an occasional acquaintance or friend.
when we walked into the banquet hall, it was absolutely lovely from floor to ceiling. the tables were decorated with colorful floral table cloths, flowers, and center pieced with a metal dress form (that we bought so I could use it in my next craft show). there were 2 sets of forks, 2 knives, and a desert spoon and knife. the meal was absolutely divine too. The menu read: Spring Southern Salad (with roasted sweet potatoes, glazed pecans, red beans, green roasted tomatoes, & pumpkin seeds), Spicy Shrimp and Grits (with roasted sweet potato, caramelized lemon, green tomato compote), Bread presentation to include (sourdough rolls, seeded flat bread, jalapeno corn bread), Peach Sunrise (ginger crust with peaches, red currents, dulce de leche, and passion fruit glaze)....SUPER YUM!
we were entertained with a poem reading (i felt a bit like anne of green gables), a very candid and real speech from laura bush, and a musical presentation from frederic yonnet.
i LOVE laura bush. i have met her before at the republican nominating convention in philadelphia in 2000, and when we met she asked me my name, and what i do. i told her my name and that i was going to school to become a teacher. she said, "well, 2 lara's who are both teachers, we must be kindred spirits". i've liked her ever since. this time we did not get to go up and see her, but we got to hear her talk. she was funny b/c she had to come out on a catwalk escorted by a military man, and she told us that the first time she was to come to the first lady's luncheon she was debriefed and told a little about the event. she said she was not warned that she would have to come out on a catwalk in front of a thousand pair of eyes! she said that the thoughts went through her mind, "is my dress wrinkled in the back?, do i have on new pantie hose?, and how much do i actually weigh?" i love that she didn't ever put herself above us, but seemed very human and had the sames thoughts that the rest of us would have and totally owned up to them.
so this picture will have to do as my up-close-and-personal with laura bush! and katie pricked her finger on the washington monument (people were laughing as they walked by, but we still did it any way).
we all relished in the awesomeness of the moments at the luncheon, and had fun too! it seemed as if this was all second nature for most of the ladies there, but to us an anomaly...and i'm glad because it made the day more special and out of the ordinary.
so this is what i've got (see above), and this is what i'm longing for (see below)
so i know that i haven't been as good as a blogger as usual, but seriously...i've got nothin! we are stuck in the rut of winter...STILL!!! nobody told me that the sun don't shine for 6 months out of the year here!!! i've realized just how much of a sun baby i really am. and it doesn't help that this is hands down my favorite time in arizona right now because all the orange trees are blossoming, and it is the best smell in the world, not to mention, the weather is FABULOUS and not FREEZING! yeah, today was a whopping 30 degrees...i was boycotting the cold and wore a pink skirt with no nylons to church...and all my leg hair grew back in the short walk from the car to the church b/c my goose bumps wouldn't go away!
so i'm sorry about the griping, but i miss the sun, and i miss my arizona! i'm ready for this weather to CEASE!!! but the locals tell me that we should get at least one more big storm before spring actually hits...and there is usually no green until mid may, arghhh!
on a good note though, i made a new years resolution to exercise at least 4 days a week, and i've been sticking to it. i actually crave it. i know when i'm getting cranky with my kids, that all i need is a good work out. so here's the deal...we were signed up with a community center, but with an address mix up, we got kicked out...so i decided that i wanted my own elliptical. so costco.com had a $75 rebate on this baby in december, so i bought this for myself for christmas. it was $350...but my community center pass was $290 a year, plus extra for babysitting, so pretty much this is worth paying for a year at the community center.
I work out Mon-Friday at 4 pm, because that is when this awesome show, SUPER WHY, is on PBS, and it's educational (Jack is actually sounding out words because of it)...so no guilt there, and this is the only show that my kids stay glued for the full half hour. so i put 30 of my fav songs on my new i pod shuffle (thanks mom and dad), and have a full half hour to myself, not to mention the burning of 300 calories! i totally can't quit until the calorie meter says over 300 calories...I always want to quit right around the time the meter says 215, but i keep going.
WARNING: LONG POST!!!
so i am now at the beginning of my 28th year on this earth. i love birthdays...at least for now anyway...and every year i try to recap my life thus far, and somewhat define who i am and try to figure out how my next year can be better- my own "personal progress" if you will. my 27th year of life was filled with many opportunities for growth and change in not only my life style and living conditions, but in me as a person. as i take a moment to reflect on me (something that really NEVER happens - with my sweet husband, lovely kiddos, church calling, jobs, and keeping house, constantly filling my mind and time), i'd like to write down, if only for my posterity, who i am...i am:
* a wife, like 99.9% of the time, matt falls asleep before me. i always look over at him sleeping and thank God that matt is my companion in all things.
* mommy, after i look over at my husband, even after i've already gotten all comfy, cozy...i get out of bed to see my children one last time before i sleep. it's always the culminating event of my day...and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. i also feel unconditional love for these two little souls who made me mommy.
* finally okay with who i am, the other day someone made a comment that a year ago would have hurt my feelings or at least make me think that i needed to change, but i didn't feel that way at all...in fact, the thought came to my mind: LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME!
*happiest when i serve others, i love to make people happy, especially through service. i love to cook a dinner for someone who didn't feel like making dinner that day, cheering people up over the phone, giving compliments, or just making someone smile. i recently took a friend that i go to church with dinner because it was the anniversary of her mother's death, and in the thank you note that she wrote me she said, "it's been said that a good deed is a reflection of a person's soul. you are beautiful." i have to say that is just about the best compliment anyone has ever paid me.
*not the best at "picking up", i let the kids play all day and then do a 10 minuted quick clean up right before daddy gets home. sometimes, when i get a really short warning that someone is coming over, i have put pans in the oven, and...sigh...shove things under the beds or in the closets! my philosophy is that if you want to see me, you can come any time, but if you want to see my house - you'll have to make an appointment! i love to have a clean house, but let's face it...it's just not possible unless i follow 2 steps after my kids all day long...and i just don't want to do that.
*a project person, i LOVE to finish something and look at it and think: I DID THAT. that's why scrapbooking is so wonderful for me b/c i get that sense of accomplishment after only an hour or two of work.
*a chatter, i'm usually one of the first to show up (because i HATE being late), and almost always the last to leave. i LOVE talking to people and having real conversations...skipping past the small talk, and getting to real things. i'm not afraid to tell people anything they want to know about me.
*an avid reader, i totally started a book club here in OH, because i wanted to be in one, and chat about books. i read EVERY night. i can't go to sleep unless i at least read a page. if i forget to take a book on vacation, i only go through one night of lying awake for 2 hours before i can fall asleep until i go buy one the next morning. amazon.com is my FAV place to shop...i NEVER check books out of the library (for one thing...i think of people's sweaty, dirty hands holding the book, and it totally grosses me out that the dirty book is the last think i touch before i go to bed.) for another, more logical, reason...i love to own books. i dream of someday having my own library with a ladder that rolls across all the shelves and a plush chase lounge in the corner. some great books i have read this year are: these is my words, gifted hands: the ben carson story, the twilight series, harry potter and the deathly hollows, princess academy, austenland, goose girl, the wedding, the alchemist, christmas jars, fabelhaven, the 5 love languages, the sisterhood of the traveling pants, anne of green gables (i read this series like every other year!), and many more...but this is the "tops" for my list.
*a horrible dancer, but i LOVE to dance! my ring tone for my phone is abba's dancing queen. i love to get fun songs off i tunes, and the kids and i dance around the house. we do this at least once a day! they are always saying, "that's a good one, mom!" or "teach me that move!" so, they think i'm fabulous! our latest favs are ob-la-di (by george and henry chadwick), life's what you make it (by hannah montanna), cha-cha slide (the kids version: kids sing imagine album)...my kids love the clapping part and all the "left stomp this time!"
*camera shy, i LOVE to take pictures, but hate to be in them! i had my sister take a picture of me b/c i needed one for a layout for a tradeshow, and i was SO EMBARRASSED the whole time....i seriously think this is the first pic of just me that has been taken since my wedding day.
so here is a page torn out of my life here in ohio, in my 27th year...
i am: wife, mother, photographer, designer, crafter, teacher, house cleaner, chaos manager, worrier, movie lover, cook, friend, personal shopper, counselor, strong, spiritual, prayerful, playful...i am me.
So this is a collage of my newest line for dream street papers
which is coming out at winter cha in a little over a week. as you can see, it is called RUE. as in the past, i named this after someone special in my life: my sister katie. and now you are confused, because her name is katie and not rue, but her nickname is katie rue! and rue means road in french, and i'm working for dream street...so you can see how this all perfectly ties together! katie also LOVES paris, so i gave it a bit of a parisian feel to it! some of the papers are named: beau & ooo-la-la! i think this line can be used for ANYTHING!! baby, heritage, wedding, boys, girls....just accent it with whatever color that suits your fancy! so if you know of any store owners...have them pick this line up! (and any other of the dream street lines for that matter...they are all FABULOUS!)
here a are a few projects that i've been working on with the paper! this bag if for all of my goodies from {CHA} the topiaries and {L} are for my scrap room. stay tuned for more projects from RUE!!!
(matt took this picture a little over a year ago because he wanted to depict life as it really is. this shot is so typical of my life with 2 small children, one in hand, and one on my hip!..a t-shirt, jeans, and tennies or flip flops)
