The Sky is Blue

Do you ever wonder what makes some people friendly and cheerful, and some people dour, and cranky? I do. I am sure there are many reasons behind it, and a ton of psychology that I am unqualified to interpret. As my husband recently pointed out to me, I definitely have a positive bias toward friendly, outgoing people. I attribute positive characteristics to people who smile, and make conversation. When people are quiet, unsmiling, or cranky, I assume not so positive things. Time normally uncovers a persons true character, and often my first impression proves wrong. Quietness can be shyness, or nervousness. The appearance of disinterest, or negativity, can really be insecurity. It is just a little harder to be warm and fuzzy, with someone who makes you work so hard for it. It is exhausting. People are worth the effort, so I'll keep smiling, and trying to make eye contact, whether they smile back or not. It is not my job to change anyone, I am just supposed to love them the...

For everything there is a season, right? My seasons are feeling a little convoluted. My older sons have truly reached the age of independence. They have lives of their own, they have schedules and commitments. At the same time, I have little ones, still looking for me to be the entertainment director. It is making for an interesting summer. Trying to make plans for the little ones, around drop offs & pick ups for the older ones is challenging. My oldest nephew graduates from college today. I couldn't be more pleased for him. He has been living a pretty adult life for a while now. He chose the path less traveled, (coming to LA, and taking on a lot of financial responsibility, rather than enjoying dorm life, on scholarship back east), and I am so proud of him. A little worried too, I must admit. Those first few years of adulthood, with a job, and no real responsibilities (no family to take care of), can be filled with excess and temptations to live not so smartly. I r...

I know everyone has different views of what family means to them. For some, it is the blood connection that is unbreakable. For others, who perhaps haven't been blessed with very good blood relative relationships, it is friends that make up a family. I grew up in a generation where it was not uncommon to have divorced parents. My own parents were divorced when I was pretty young, and my husbands parents also divorced when he was in college. The result of those divorces, was like the splitting of an atom-- where two people separate, remarry, combine families, and so on, and so on. We are fortunate, as our parents have ended up happy, and we have a huge, loving, and relatively close family. All of this comes to mind, as my oldest nephew is preparing to graduate from college this weekend. His brother, and his mother are in town for the festivities. His father is remarried to my sister. It feels like no time has passed. We are all just as comfortable together, maybe even more...

Worry is a sin I struggle with every single day. If you allow yourself to, you can find things to worry about without even trying. We struggle a bit keeping up with the financial commitments of a large family living in LA with one income, there is always something that can keep me up at night there. People we love are struggling with some pretty serious health issues. People we care about get in senseless accidents with serious consequences. Life just keeps on happening. Now don't get me wrong, mixed in with the tough stuff there are amazing blessings being poured out. Beautiful children, graduations, fun holidays, every day joy, those blessings come daily, and I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of them. I would just love it if I could get a strong handle on managing worry. I know it doesn't do anything positive. When I wake worried before the day even starts, that sets the day up for stress. That is no good. So, before my kids wake up, before the hustl...

Happy Summer everyone! I am so glad to have all of my boys home for the summer. Yeahhhhh ! We started summer off with a great weekend celebrating my brother-in-laws birthday, and Father's Day. Now we are off running. Two of my boys leave for camp this week, and as usual I have left the details to the last minute. (That procrastination habit gets me every time!) At least the weather is gorgeous, which inspires me to move and get things done. Clouds make me tired. We are picking up our pup Murphy today too. He has been on an extended stay with his Foster Mom. We decided the chaos of my household wasn't conducive to his healing. (he got an infection after being fixed, not pretty) The boys are looking forward to seeing him, they are afraid he won't love us anymore. This pup is pretty lucky, he has two families who love him and want the best for him. I have details and things to do swirling through my brain, doesn't make for very interesting reading, so I'll ...

We celebrated our son's 8 th grade graduation last night. It was a nice ceremony, mercifully paced, and thankfully not too hot. It is a lot of pomp and circumstance for a middle school graduation. While I am always happy to celebrate a child's accomplishments, I don't really agree with all of the hullaballoo over pre -school, elementary, and middle school graduations. In my humble opinion, it isn't such a big deal. Many disagree with me, I know, I get that I am in the minority on this one. I must admit however, that I found myself overwhelmed with emotion yesterday, and it caught me totally off guard. It didn't happen at the graduation ceremony, but when I picked Jack up at school. It occurred to me, as I watched him walk down the sidewalk, saying goodbye to friends, that this was the last time I would pick any of my children up on the curb of AC Stelle Middle School. For some reason, that realization made me emotional. Even today when I think about hi...

I am an impulsive woman, no doubt about that. I have learned over the years to slow myself down, a little at least. I try to think on something, to detail lists of pro's & con's, to run it past my husband, to seek council from wise friends, to pray. Notice I mentioned pray last. I list it last because I would be lying if I didn't confess that I run far, far, ahead of God on most decisions. I have been living under the misconception that I know what is best for me, that I am a smart woman, that I can trust my gut, that I don't need God to intercede in my decision making process. The problem is, that last part, the part where I decide if God intercedes or not... yeah, well, it doesn't work that way. God does as God will. He decides what will work in my life, and what will not. If my chosen path is wrong, it will work, or it won't, but I am not the one who decides which way things will go. Sooooo , it doesn't much matter how possible or impossible ...

Ok, am I the only dork that didn't realise that this coming Sunday is Father's Day???? Thank goodness for our "Mommy & Me" class, (where the craft was, of course a Father's Day gift), or I would be in super duper trouble. It's not my husband I am worried about, God bless him, all he wants is a little peace and quiet, a beer, a good meal, and a guaranteed nap. It is my own Dad, and Father's In-Law I am worried about! Good thing it is only Tuesday or I wouldn't have had a shot at taking care of them on time. (East coast, and AZ) Well I was saved by Mommy & Me. Close call. All is good in the Rhodes abode. If you have been following my "oh no, we may have to move!" drama, I am in a calm, what will be will be, frame of mind. We have a week full of graduations, celebrations, and camp preparations. Next week, we may even hit the beach. Life is good. I am super psyched about this whole couponing thing though, no kidding. If I run in...

I just finished an awesome tutoring session on extreme couponing . It is really cool. When you see how much you can save, It really makes you feel foolish for ever having spent full price-- for anything! Things that up your budget like hair products, razors, skin care products, ... apparently those are the items that we can get for free, or super inexpensive. My friend Amber shared a few key tricks that make the whole venture a little less intimidating. Don't get me wrong, it is work. Much like hitting the thrift stores on the right days to get awesome designer deals, it is worth it. I also like the idea of stocking up on things a bit, not out of control stocking up, but a bit extra in the pantry. There is nothing like finding out your son is out of deodorant by way of a super smelly hug. Oh, yeah Mom, I've been out of deodorant for like three weeks----- WHAT!!! Or the classic running out of toilet paper at 9 o'clock at night. Hopefully stocking up smartly will h...

We are in the home stretch! School is officially over for my younger two sons on Thursday! Yeahh!! This has been an interesting weekend. We have spent a lot of time caring for our poor pooch Murphy. His incision got infected, he managed to tear open his stitches, so he will be sporting a super huge cone for weeks to come, as well as needing full on nursing care till it heals. The challenge is, he feels fine, and is running around at top speed, getting stuck and banging things with that super size cone. This poor little guy has had one trouble after the other since he was born. So this week holds lots of end of year festivities. We have field day today, the boys are having a little swim party on Thursday, and they have a birthday party on Friday, should make for a fun week. All of the every day details of life have been filling up an awful lot of time. My focus this week is to really focus my brain and heart on the important things. It is hard to do when life feels so busy. I...

Prepping your body and brain to go back out in to the work force is not an easy thing. I have decided to start looking (for projects, contracts, and last resort- a full time job) , mostly because a few very interesting opportunities have popped up. It is time to get that resume, and bio in shape. I need to be ready to go just in case anyone is actually, seriously interested. I LOVE the idea of what another income could do for my family. I am a little concerned about my ability to hang with the big boys of Corporate America again. Is it like riding a bike? Will my skills re-emerge on demand? What the heck to people wear to jobs these days??? My Mom uniform of Yoga pants, flip flops, and tank tops might need a little freshening up. My "I'm growing my hair out" perma ponytail, might have to go too. I know many a friend who is contemplating the same thing. Moms who have been volunteering, and leading brownie troops for more years than they ever worked are considering ...

My poor puppy got fixed on Monday. Despite the cone of shame he is wearing, he still managed to chew his stitches out. My husband had high hopes for the change in temperament that he hoped would accompany the loss of his gonads. I think he thought Murphy would come home, and be all calm and cuddly. No more running around, digging, eating shoes, and the like. No such luck love. He is our same energetic, dare I say, hyper, little guy. I am just praying that he heals up ok , and that he doesn't get an infection. He just won't leave his nether region alone. This has been a crazy week. Well emotionally crazy anyway. It is surreal seeing a "For Sale" sign up in your yard, when that is the last thing you want. I know I am not the first person to experience the loss of a home. I also realise that my situation is not the same as those who are losing their homes due to foreclosure , I really feel for folks who have experienced that nightmare. Just the same, co...

I am a frugal shopper. I have always been cheap (as in not loving to pay full price, not the other kind of cheap....:). But I have never really tried to get the most out of the common coupon. I have certainly gone through phases where I clipped and filed them, but they just kind of built up my my folder, and expired. Using them is where I get hung up. It is hard enough to get through a store with a toddler, and at least one other child with me, without adding to the madness by cruising the aisles really slow, so I can match up coupons with products. Lately, you see all of these women (some of them friends) singing the praises of shopping at super discounts, or even getting items for free by combining manufacturers coupons with a stores weekly specials. I am a little intimidated by the whole thing. It stretches my organizational, and attention to detail skills to their absolute limit. Clipping, organizing, going from store to store, those are all things that go against my gra...

I was catching up with one of my oldest friends this morning. (via facebook chat, that in itself is hilarious to me). We were talking about our kids. One of her daughters has had some very serious health issues this year, and it has been a really scary time for them. I am grateful, that health hasn't been a challenge we have been faced with. We were comparing the personalities of our kids. She has three daughters and one son, I have four sons-- but it is funny how alike they can be. We each have a sweet, lovable, very gifted, but not especially motivated, chore avoider. We each have a self motivated, overly mature, and a little bossy, child. The jury is still out on the others, my third is my sweet, funny, free spirit. My fourth is just a ham, so smart though. I really miss being able to hug my old friends when times are rough. I miss having a glass of wine, and telling silly stories about our youth. I miss crackin' crabs, and drinking beer, in the hot, sweaty mon...

Good morning friends. I hope your week is off to a good start. This morning I am off to the PFA installation breakfast. Translation, I am jumping back in to Elementary school politics. I took a hiatus for the past 2 years, and much to my surprise, I missed it a little. I have my trusty assistant Nicholas in tow, nothing like a 4 year old to spice up a meeting. As I have whined about before, my Nicholas is off to school in the Fall, it will very strange not to have him with me all of the time. He has been attending meetings, and going every where I go since his birth. Life is good, and relatively calm. I am sorting through our family challenges one by one. My oldest is done with school for the year, so he is the only one in the house "on vacation". That is strange. Only a week and 1/2 more for the rest. I am still hoping that some free lance work comes up for me in the next few weeks. It would make some of our other challenges (potentially moving, etc..) a bit l...

Today is the last day of school for my oldest. The other guys still have two more weeks of school. That is one of the many joys of having kids in multiple school districts. Keeping track of the schedules is mind boggling. I am not really prepared for summer. There is simply to much going on at once. I have to say, for once, this chaos is not of my own making. Dealing with the whole "our house is for sale" thing is enough to give me an ulcer. I cannot seem to get my head around the idea of moving. I am looking at homes, but nothing seems good to me. I feel like I need to establish a date, to give my brain a little structure to grab on to. Right now the whole situation seems so open ended. The house could sell fast, could sell slow, could not sell at all. I have no clue. I am just not really comfortable with letting the real estate market dictate the details of our next move. I would rather control it myself. Therein lies the rub. I think I would be better off ...

I experienced a surreal sense of deja vu last night. I was watching my son struggle through algebra problems with my husband by his side going through each one with him. Sounds kind of Norman Rockwell, but it wasn't, let me set the stage. #1 His Algebra final is today. He didn't study more than a wink all weekend. He did however read a lot of Manga , play a lot of video games, hang out with friends, and avoid a lot of chores. #2 His Dad was using every ounce of restraint. He was trying to maintain a calm, unfrustrated countenance, even though his face was turning red, and his knuckles were white from clenching his fists. #3 My son couldn't have looked more bored, put out, or irritated. Eyes rolling, deep sighs, looking into space, the whole deal. Then this morning he has the audacity to say, "Mom, you always tell me it is not good to cram before a test, but Dad kept me up till 11pm last night"-- he conveniently neglects the part where I tell him to stud...