Pomp and Circumstance

As hard as it is for me to believe, my baby sister Lauren graduated from high school!  In my mind she is still the blonde little girl sitting on her rocking chair, selling duplicate beanie babies on the corner of our street.  Its amazing how fast time goes by and it seems to go by way too fast when you don't get to see your loved ones everyday. I'm so proud of Lauren- she has a great spirit about her and has the ability to bring joy to so many peoples' lives. And I must say, she has a way with Conner- that boy is just crazy about his auntie Lauren. I think he already is showing a preference for tall, leggy leggy blondes. 

We had a great time in Nebraska but it just went by way too fast. Made me realize how unfortunate it is that the twins live so far away from both sets of their grandparents. While I too often discount living in Nebraska, there were moments that really had me taken aback when I was home. One was watching Conner, in nothing but his diaper, being pushed around in a wheelbarrow on the farm. It was the epitome of being a kid. Another moment came when I was picking asparagus and came upon a stalk of asparagus, standing perfectly straight out of the ground. Its always amazing when you get to see the food that you just pick up from the grocery store growing in its natural habitat. Now, if I do make it back to Nebraska in the winter I might not have as many fond memories to report from that trip. Its freakin' cold there!

Barrel of Monkeys

Spring has sprung and along with the arrival of flowers, I do believe two monkeys have inhabited my house.  These monkeys come with an intense love of bananas, great climbing abilities, and the use of hands as eating utensils. Fortunately, slinging of feces has not occurred yet.  Here are a few pictures of my cute monkeys:

Ode to Mom

I was sitting in a lecture a few weeks ago about troubled teens and a program designed to prevent problem behaviors through behavioral therapy. One woman asked if this was the right approach and if a better approach may be therapy with the parents. Well, I think this woman was on to something. Perhaps the kids are troubled because they aren't receiving the parental support at home needed to keep them on the straight and narrow. As today is the day we celebrate the mothers in our lives, and this being only my second year of celebrating motherhood, I want to give a big thanks to my Mom! So far, I think I've been a pretty good mom. Though the twins can't give you affirmation through words on that, they do say ma ma a lot and are always really happy to see me when I pick them up at daycare.  All in all, I would say that they are pretty fond of me. And for this success in becoming a mom of my own, I owe a big thanks to my Mom. You did what I imagine to be an impossible task and raised two girls as a single mother. And, you raised two girls who were only 15 months apart!  The twins are now 15 months old and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have another baby to take care of at this point.  Any success I have in being a mother is owed to you, for giving me the foundation needed to build a family upon. I love you!  

Granola with Greek yogurt and strawberries