Annnnnnnd we're off!

Found this quote the other day, " Working mothers are guinea pigs in a modern experiment to study the effects of sleep deprivation". Hmmm, might explain the 'mood' I'm in of late! So why do I push the envelope and stay up tonight trying to get a mega-post up when I must be at work again in the morning? Because I've finally downloaded the pictures for the month of May and if I do not act on my resolution to give my daughters the gift of memories via this blog the whole month may be lost to posterity!!

May is the month for horse races in this house and I feel very much like a thoroughbred with the gate about to open before me! For the reader with ADD you may just want to do a quick scroll down the page to look at all the pictures because this is the beginning of a looooong post! No 1/2 mile sprint here....this will be the full 1 and 3/4 mile race through our month of May.

So I've already covered the Kentucky Derby but my Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day coverage was a tad skimpy. Here's a slightly beefier accounting of those two events....

Cinco de Mayo would seem a rather unusual holiday to garner so much attention in this family. The plethora of Irish ancestry (more later on my current obsession with Ancestry.com!) that resulted in the Mahoney family would logically lead the reader to assume that a minor Mexican holiday would not rate very highly. No, the two latinas have nothing to do with our love of any reason at all to eat Mexican! They're Guatemalan NOT Mexican!!! We've just developed a passion for the food of our Southern neighbors!!!!

Now get real! We are American after all, so flame seared tortillas come from the gas range not an open cook fire.

Even Grandma adores the Mexican cuisine and joined the crowd for some 'guacamora'...an old Irish ladies adorable merge of two cultures. You know....where guacamole meets Glockamora?!?! 

Baby brother Kelty is always hopeful that he is allowed to join in some burrito or even watermelon rind eating...but alas he must settle for.....

his big sister giving him some loving...in a very "short, wash your hands after, and where's your inhaler" kind of way!

No flan or sopapillas for dessert though...too rich for our stuffed bellies. Instead we willed in summertime with a watermelon!! Andrew has quite the sense of humor and this was how he let us know that his portion was too small for his liking (:

Love this picture of Mari with her piece of watermelon...she begs to differ calling her look "soooo weird"....sigh, how much longer before she gets through this phase??? Biting my lip hard since we seem to have had a veeeeery short stage make-up phase and she's discovered her 'look' and all it entails is a little eye liner!!     

And this is what Mexican food does to a gaggle of cousins!!!



Next up is the answer to my brother on why my wicker basket of hats and gloves is still parked just inside my front door!

[This is also a reminder to my children on why Mom is always begging Auntie Peggy to "come and take pictures'!]  Spring soccer, in May, always involves freezing rain!!!

Now I see Julia out on the soccer field through the drizzle....and decidedly out of focus picture, don't you?

Nope, the focus never did work that day  ): Probably had a lot to do with the camera operator wearing gloves and shivering?!?!?



Then came a 'big' birthday!!!!

Andrew turned 13 on the 8th of May!!! So exciting, yet agonizing as he knows that his 'kidnapping' has been planned but no one would crack and tell him when and where. I began the panic that day as it meant that Mari was bearing down on 13 too quickly for my liking! Funny how your brain can hold two opposing emotions in the same thought...I went to the ends of the Earth to become a Mom but never planned on having a teenager...not yet anyhow!!!

Andrew and Alyssa's painfully shy and camera phobic little brother Ethan loves his big brother more than he hates cameras here! Hey Peggy, getting the hint here???? "Forgetting" your camera isn't allowed anymore!!!


Then we were back at Auntie Peggy's house the next day for Mother's Day!! Uncle Peter was in charge of the turkey......

which also means guarding the skin from the family of addicts we have! Note between the above picture and this one, who managed to snag the first piece of skin?

Once the others saw her munching there was no need to make the call to dinner! 

Today, Kelty took matters into his own paws!! Not content with his usual crumb patrol, he waited for us to get seated at the dining table and then helped himself to what he felt was his fair portion! Luckily it was the less desired dark meat. Bought him time in 'basement jail' as the girls called the confinement behind the closed door.

My sister arrived with her children to visit Grandma. Since their Dad was already on his way to his Mother's house they were only 'supposed' to visit and take off to see the other Grandma....but the pull of turkey aroma coupled with the full compliment of cousins resulted in a 'slight' change in their plans...as became obvious when Daniel arrived at the dining table with a plate full of food and asked where "his chair" was?!?!?

This is my Mom after a day of being loved on by her family....and thus my melancholy of the Mother's Day post below. 


Patrick's birthday followed Mother's Day on May 13th. Review last year's post on the topic of his birthday and you will recall that he's not 'comfortable' with my family's tradition of gathering for cake and tea no matter your age. 

Except that this year, when I had not properly prepared for the day, he asks me "so, is anyone coming over?" Guess he's finally warming up to the attention after 14 years of marriage? [PS. I did manage to pull together a big ham with cabbage and turnip 'comfort food' dinner with guests!!]

Then our talented cousin had her band concert....

.....and there was another horse race. Deirdre inherited the original scrub top as Julia did receive a new one that fits over her head!! Julia's winning streak came to and end with the Preakness....her horse came in SECOND?!?!?


The "end of the year" crunch is now upon us at both of the girls' school! As room mother, I get the honor of organizing and attending the class picnic for Julia's 3rd grade class. It is the same day that Alyssa graduates from 8th grade....

...so in anticipation of being crazy busy and stressed that day I have worked with Julia on some of her 'projects'. These are her pages that will be included in the teacher's gift which is a scrapbook  [to accompany the gift card to a local spa!]. 

Now if I could only get Auntie Peggy to upgrade her camera so I can claim her 'old' one as the feel of it in my hand is so natural...hint?
 

Redirect!

Been "in a mood" of late. Read somewhere, a long time ago, that a true Irishman "has days of despair punctuated by seconds of joy". Now, since I'm like 3rd or 4th generation Irish, my "days of despair" are quite diluted and would be more like the American malaise of STRESS.  Just when I was getting ready to crank my own 'pity party' up a decibel or two I read a blog post that corked my bottle of whine! That post pushed my "mood" aside so the joy can come flooding back.

So what was in that blog post? A simple reminder of why I was hooked by the blogging bug. I have gotten 'distracted' of late trying to only post 'interesting' posts.... but that misses the point! This blog is the one true spot where all of the news and milestones of my daughter's lives are recorded. Their lives are not always 'fascinating' for the anonymous reader but they are extremely 'fascinating' to me!  It is also VERY 'fascinating' to them on the days that they decide to click on the older posts link and relive the moments of their past that had faded in their memories. So dear readers, I'm off to download more pictures so I can get back to the business of putting my daughters' memories down on this blog. I hope you will choose to continue on our journey with us ...but will understand if the posts are too boring to keep you on board.

"A longing unutterable fills my heart."

This is the title of a chapter in one of my childhood favorite author's posthumous book of inspirational writing. I wish I was a more accomplished typist so I could transcribe the short sentiment for you to read here. As I watched my mother struggle to survive the train of children who arrived to honor her on this past Mother's Day I was again struck with a melancholy...wondering just how many more Mother's Days we have together. She needed to nap often and our conversations became tangled webs resulting in confusion in a woman who had the sharpest of intellects.

In trying to go through our 'library' today to find a book for a 'bored' Mari I came across my oft read and worn copies of The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I forgot I had also gotten this copy of  Saving Graces, The Inspirational Wrtings of Laura Ingalls Wilder! Many times I am in the same gathering as both my children and my mother and have felt but never had the words for some of the things that Laura puts so perfectly in this tidbit!

"Many of us have the blessed privilege of being at the same time mother and child, able to  let the one interpret the other to us until our understanding of both is full and rich."

"In the light of experience and the test of the years, can you see how your mother might have been more to you, could have guided you better? Then be sure you are making the most of your privileges with the children who are looking to you for love and guidance. For there is, after all, no great difference between the generations; the problems of today and tomorrow must be met in much the same way as those of today.".....OUCH.  This must become my guiding star for the time I have left with my mother! I have so much more to learn...I have so much I need to do differently....I have to be more to my daughters....for they may someday read this and get "a longing unutterable" which fills their hearts.

FFF Mom Humor

So it's Friday. End of another loooooong week. The usual kind of week for a Mom in which we get to juggle work AND home with little to no recognition...let alone support! I'm in a mood. My kids say it like it's some kind of contagious diseases, "Mom has one of her moods agaaaaiiiin!"


Then I run down to the computer to check and see, if by some miracle, that soccer practice was being canceled because of the rain we had earlier today....no such luck! But then I decide to take a quick peak at an e-mail my NOLA friend, Vanessa had 'forwarded' to me......ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Decided some other Mom friends could use a little tonic for the Friday 'mood' so enjoy.........

Tough  Love vs. Spanking -  Good  Argument   Most people think it improper to spank  children,so I have tried  other methods to control my kids when they have one  of 'those moments.'    One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and  talk.. Some say it's the vibration from the car, others say it's the time away from any  distractions such as TV, Video Games,  Computer, IPod, etc. Either way, my kids usually calm down  and stop misbehaving after our car ride  together. Eye to eye contact helps a lot too. I've included a photo below of one of my  sessions with my son, in case you would like  to use the technique.    Sincerely,       Your Friend   P.S. It works for nieces, nephews,  and grandchildren as well!!

Nesting Birds?

Today was just one of those glorious spring days of which poets wax ecstatic! In a future post I will cover the big family Cinco de Mayo dinner party but this post is all about nature.


Before I had even taken the last tortilla from the burner, Andrew and Julia had finished their tacos and were begging to be excused so they could get out in the good weather. Before I had loaded my tortilla, Andrew was running back in hollering for me to come and bring my camera!

Cousin Andrew is teasingly referred to as "half monkey" since he fearlessly climbs anything, 

any where and today was the day he decided he needed an apprentice!

Julia has only ever dabbled in tree climbing before but today she 'took flight' and kept going up....

and up.....

and up!!!!!

 

Mairead and Mari were less than impressed.

Okay, Mairead was only being kept on terra firma by the flip-flops she was wearing...once she borrowed my shoes she was among the branches as well! Mari is not my adventurous child. Feet firm on the ground for her!

Patrick hovered protectively with many protestations but I assured him that I had survived a tree climbing childhood just fine so Julia stayed in her nest as long as she could.

So while they flitted among the branches I went around a caught a few images of the annual signs of spring.....apologies to all my blogging photographer friends as I am deficient in camera skills!!

Finally.....

 

day three and the garden is still 'alive' (: 

Farming ...Take II

Well last year this time I was posting pictures and gushing about how we were going green! After days of weeding with no progress followed by weeks of rain the 'garden' idea was drastically reduced to just a couple of cucumber, wax bean, and tomato plants in Auntie Peggy's flower beds....that she alone tended. 

Grandma's back 40 is simply just too far overgrown for our amateur farming skills but we really want this generation to have some clue as to how/why/where their food is produced! We were very near abandoning the idea all together when one of the politicians in our local St. Patrick's Day parade came along passing out seed packets.....we took it as a sign from a higher power.

So, here we are back at Auntie Peggy's...clearing the 'prairie' just as our pioneer ancestors were required to do in order to have a farm. While Mari struggled with sod removal...

Julia was planting the first of our 'crops'! With the guidance of the only person in the family with any skill at keeping plants alive and thriving!! 

Now, at this point I do feel compelled to give complete disclosure....my husband spent his first 17 years of life working on his family farm. According to all reports [from siblings at family parties] their kitchen plot, which they refer to as the 'haggart' [no idea what so ever as to how it's really spelled or from which Irish word it's derived] was rather sizable! A family of 10, which included 7 boys ate for a year off of the spuds, turnips, peas, and cabbage grown in this garden!!!! I am often entertained with stories of boyhood antics when he was supposed to be weeding or such. Every February since we were married I've heard how it was time to "set the spuds" in Ireland. I've heard explanations of how a potato was 'rated' for human consumption and know that the rest were fed to the livestock...oh, but you have to cut them up for the cows first or they will choke on a spud!! In thirteen years I've heard a LOT about farming....but he is no longer on a farm and has no intention of ever working a "haggart" EVER AGAIN!! We have supermarkets in the US so why on Earth would we want to work so hard for our food is his opinion?!?!?!

So we are on our own in this venture. Two middle aged women raised in the concrete jungle of Chicago leading two suburban princesses....

into the world of farming.....guess it's a good thing she's not still in Guatemala, huh?!?!

Hoping that we can nurture these tiny sprouts of peas and cucumbers...

and peppers...and radishes...and onions....and carrots....and tomatoes ...and darn that's a lot of plants....into a healthy crop of both body and soul!!!!

Two Minute Tradition

Our family is big on 'traditions'!! It gives us all a sense of security and satisfaction to spend our time together when we revive the tradition. Some are weekly, like our Thursday Family Dinner night. Some are annual, like the major holidays while some are situational...like the rodeo! Today's post is about one of the annuals that some (one) person thinks should rate as a MAJOR holiday.


Ahhhh, springtime is upon us and in rolls the first Saturday in May.....roses, silks, buglers, group singing of My Old Kentucky Home AND HORSES! The Kentucky Derby has grown to become one of our sacred holidays after the arrival of a certain Guatemalan preemie who is well noted for her equine fanaticism. Crisis this year!!!!!! The traditional gathering with snacks and homemade betting cards was in jeopardy. The annual ride on the over sized stuffed horse screaming her heart out for the favorite entry was not looking like a go?!?! (Besides the fact that she is now too large for the stuffed mount!) How could we have the traditional gathering without Auntie Peggy?????????? 

That darn hospital she works at just doesn't get the importance of traditions! They went and revised the whole unit into 12 hour shifts and Auntie Peggy was scheduled to work 7A-7P....the gall of them, really!

Traditions are just too important! This years Derby party was just moved to the nurse's lounge at the hospital!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Auntie and niece in their matching scrubs. Julia's is heading to Deirdre today as it was IMPOSSIBLE to get down over her head! Got to find some more racing themed fabric before the Belmont and the Preakness...and then there's the Arlington season coming soon as well!

 

BFF/Cousin Deirdre was an ever so obliging substitute for the toy mount. 

Okay, so maybe I'm a little enthusiastic about this tradition as well!

We'll be working on this whole wagering thing before Arlington is up and running (bad pun sorry!) since for the fourth year in a row Julia has picked the winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She uses a very scientific (aka intuitive) system of the name with a side of looks and a dash of silks to make her picks....no concept of handicapping what so ever....but heck, it seems to work well for her! BTW, she picked the second place winner too! Here I was thinking I had done well with my 3rd and 4th place finishers....trust the horse whisperer I guess!