Harry and the kids took a little walk as I made dinner and he snapped this on his phone; it is almost Summer - hovering around 70 degrees is ALMOST Summer here - I remember when 70 or below required winter coats in So. Cal...

 

Rileyanne was paying this afternoon with her dollies. She was swinging them around and singing to them. I listened close and she was singing the same verse over and over... "Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friends..." Times I will remember I am sure...

 

After getting the boy from school (which we were late to because Riley got dressed in a dress and socks and shoes and no underwear or pants and by the time I got her into nderwear and pats we were late and then there were tears about having to run because I would not let the Dog juststay home on a pretty day...oy....I know I am so pushy, huh?) ANYWAY upon getting the boy child we walked through the forest. On the ground was a fine film of yellow dust. Upon seeing it, Patrick exclaimed, "Look Mommy! Pollen! Do you know what THIS DOES???? It is like magic little seeds - it makes things grow!" and after that we were treated to a rendition of how birds are really farmers, only instead of using tools in soil they just poop seeds from the sky. Nice. Well, cant say he is not paying attention. After he explains the birds "plan" ; "Mommy, tey eat, it goes all the way through their bodies and pfhght they poop it out (that - pfhght -  was a sound effect by the way) and it falls falls falls from the sky andlands in dirt. Then the rain comes and the poop - pfhght - becomes a  - TA DAH - tree or something...amazing right?"

 

To which Riley who had been listening intently while picking dandelions said, "Ew, really? And then we eat it? We eat the bird poop? DISGUSTING!"

 

I ma never get that child to eat a vegetable or fruit again....till she smells strawberries...her weakness to end all weaknesses...ripe strawberris will get that child to do almost anything. As an owner of a big dog I get it, you just need to know what to lead with. For Maddie it is cheese, or meat, or bread - oh face it it is food. For Patrick it is chocolate. Prefeably in the form of a cookie but ic cream will do quite nicely.Rileyanne it is strawberries. For Harry it is microbrew beer or my Enchiladas or potato tacos...ok face it it could be any of my mexican dishes....for me I cannot restrain from spicy chips (I drizzle hot sauce on my chips) or a cinnamon dolce latte - even if I order it funny - on days when I have had my fill of caffeine but still want coffee I order a decaf skinny cinnamon dolce latte - or as I like to say to the barista who knows me, "Can I have a cup of why bother?" and he laughs and makes it for me anyway. Then to make things even sweeter he usually gives my kids a sample of a treat which makes eveything good - quite happy kids, caffinated happy Mommy and a basket full of micro brew for daddy - hapy family...oh shit I forgot the cheese for the ding dong dog....yes you throw that in and the Pierson Household will do jus about anything for you...good to know the weaknesses and how to exploit them, huh?

OK so today is my daughter's tea party. BTW whomever said that "Little parties are less work" is a lying ass and I woud like to slap them into reality...but I digress...I woke up with a migraine. We worked so hard yesterday (and by we I mean my husband sincerely threw himself into helping me it was a fantastic gift and he is my hero!) on the yard and the house for the tea party and then I stayed up late getting all the food chopped and prepped so that the morning would go smooth. Great idea since the headache is a ringer for a migraine. Anyway, I have been VERY loose and hungry. This morning I woke up TIGHT ad could not even get my excedrine migrain pills down without choppng them - coffee will help  hot liquid alwys does and the caffeine will help the headache because it makes the veins larger. Too tght band = CAREFU no eatting or very little eatting for me - Fantastic because the tea will have me too busy to actually eat but I planned the meal around me -tiny sandwiches for the kids cut with cookie cutters in the shapes of stars and tea pots and chicken salad on endives for me...er I mean the adults...See I was right not to get a fill on Friday afterall. The party stress and the stress of my Mom's surgery on Wednesday (shes having her foot, ankle and leg reconstructed and as a heart patient who is over 70 this is no joke) I will wait till the stress passes and see where I am....The fickle part that the and chooses to play always surprises me. It is like living ith a multiple personality - you never know just whom you will be getting....however I have learned that when "she" is open you eat, when "she" is closed to dont or go VERY carefully....got it time to tip toe....

I just got this little ditty in an email from a friend - I LOVE it and had to share - I do not know the author, but enjoy it anyway...

 

So we had originally decided to cancel our date night tonight because Riley's birthday party is Sunday and I am a crazy person with parties and need days/weeksof prep work. BUT after our Anniversary night I am scheduling a do-over. Clarity is best I think and so I directly asked to be taken out and mad a fuss over - I am a girl, get over it we like that sorta thing. I asked Harry to take a minute today and do something small that would not cost $$ and would not interrupt his day too much, an email, a text message, a hand written note - tht sorta thing. My friend will sit with the kids, we will hita diner for fun inexpensive meal out and maybe go to a friend's pub for a drink while we can. That is lovely. It is my mulligan -his too - but it was my way to let the resentment and crap that spilled over the othe day out,. Everyone wins, the kids even are super happy for their play date and pizza night! YAY!

 

That said, I got the doggie off the deck and realized that my St. Bernard is quite literally EATING THE HOUSE! Seriously! She is eating `the siding offth ding dong house! We need a dog run ASAP! I am looking into neighbors and craigs list because, well damn...who eats a house???

 

Part of thedeal for tonight is not to buy anything - so after loosing 85 pounds finding clothes that work for suc events is not easy. I have a few ideas....wish me luck! They all require impossibly high heeled shoes too - I dont know what it is, loosing weight is reminding me how much I LOVED dressig up when I was smaller. I LOVED heels and dressing up to the 9's - you cant do tat as a big person in a tent or mu mu because...well...first off you look like a clown hooker and secondly heels HURT when you are ptting 200+ pounds on them! Now that I am below the 200 mak it is so much easier! It is hard to remember I was 275 when I started - loosing 85 of that I am still a larg girl, but damn, that is a whole person I dont have to carry around! Makes hees SO much easier and fun....Off I go! Lunch and then clean upawait me...then I get ready for the ball...what to wear what to wear....

There is nothing on this planet that cannot be cured with kisses from a 3 year old or a 6 year old or a puppy. NOTHING. You get all three and that is the trifecta of love. Fantastic. So, with some clarity, I head into today armed with my children's kisses, my puppies love and a wam cozy sweater!

 It has been a hard week. I KNOW I have lost weight - it shows in ways I know, even th clothes I held on to saying "If I could just fit in this I would be happy" are falling off me literally. Yet in a family photo session last night I swear I look like I have not lost a single pound. Worse yet, it was my wedding anniversary and while I had been talking about it for weeks with my husband, he knew it was the day, he chose to ignore it making me feel completely worthless. Today my daughter threw a fit on our way to the theatre for her class field trip and because she was so horrific, screaming at me, etc. I stood up and said no more - we wont be going. It just feels like my life is a cycle of being walked on, by food, by people, etc. I have periods of control, and then slip again into being a complete sap. How do you break that cycle? I wanted to eat today and am refusing, I asked my Mom for some help which is rare because I just needed a minute to re-evaluate. Clearly my expectations need some evaluating. I feel healthier, I know clothes fit differently, so why do I feel like a worthless piece of crap stuck on someones shoe being scrapped off? I think my weight loss may be making me healthier but it is not helping my relationships the way I had hoped it would. I might need some extra help, and I hate admitting that. Today pretty much blows.

 Well, my big plan yesterday was  a complete bust. I was running late - hated my silly hair and could not get the ding dong dog to cooperate. We were supposed to be having a family photo, but it was a disaster. The shots looked horrible, Harry was very confrontational with the guys so I could not relax and as a result every picture had me puffed up and looking as fat as ever only with the added bonus of a weird raised eye brow because of stress. It sucked.  When I get the shots I can share, but I am depressed that sometimes I see the weightloss and am excited, and other times I think why did I bother I am as big as I ever was - pictures do not lie, right? Top it off with nothing else special about the day, and well....what a bust. Aren't I a freaking ray of sunshine???

 

Today I am booked solid right through - breakfast after I drop Patrick off, Downtown for a fieldtrip with Riley's school (even though today she would not normally have school) and had to schedule my MOm to get the boy tonight. Must go tonight to a good friend's for a movie night "Pineapple Express" - I need some frivolity! And the rest of the week I will prepare for RIley's party this Sunday - a little tea party with friends surprisingly takes a lot of planning and prep!

 

So, heads down, tail up, gear on get going...

Today marks 9 years of marriage to my brilliant Harry. 11 years together, 9 years married, one son who is 6; one daughter who is almost 4 and lots and lots of love and laughter. We have lived in So. Cal, Redmond, Issaquah and in my dreams. We have travelled to Tahiti, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, the Bahamas, DC, NY and Palm Springs. We have done so much and have so much left to do. I am a VERY lucky woman, a tremendously blessed friend and mother andfull of only hope and happiness to come. I would do it all again today - though I would need a new dress now trhat I am 6 sizes smaller than I was on my wedding day! :)

 

We danced our first dance to a little band called "Everything" and their awesome song "Good Thing" - I could not find the audio but the lyrics still make me sway -

 

Good Thing (St. Luicia)

Everything

Composição: Indisponível

The sang about love to St. Luicia
On the day the Saint was born
They had a parade, they had a party
People staying up 'til the dawn
The people sang loud into the night
The deep blue night and the drums were right
The dancing went on al night long,
Until the orange of the early morning
You got a good thing
Gonna have a good thing
Moving, grooving, Never losing
The things they never lost before
Finding it right until the midnight
Everybody got a little love sick
The Saint was great
'Cause he made chocolate cake
Spread it on the ear
And called it dirt
Spreads like sugar on the mountain top
People like to drink some good pop
You got a good thing
Gonna have a good thing
They sang about love to St. Luicia
On the day the Saint was born
They sang about love in the street,
Gutter-style the throw down
The party went on until the dawn
People clapping hand, that's hand in hand
Feet to feet, the jams were neat
People got along, it was great
You got a good thing,
Gonna have a good thing

So my post below was meant to spark discussion. I KNOW that I placed a disclaimer first, but in case there is any misunderstanding I "Get" that it is completely ridiculous to say any one culture is better than another or that any one people is better than another. There are so many reasons why one list is longer than the other - be it access to education, acceptance of education, access to mainstream development, etc etc etc - I personally do not believe that Jewish people are better than Muslims - or that Christians are better than Jewish people (seeing as I am Catholic) Or that any one culture is better than another. I dont - njot at all - in fact I LOVE that I have friends from everywhere who believe almost everything - I learn, I grow and I believe my children are more tolerant and lovely as a result.

 

Harry said he would not have posted that story, he was saying that even repeating it gave it credence (or facilitated the false credence) that it was remotely worthwhile. Interesting. See it sparked a conversation, like I had hoped - and the whole way to the puppy training we talked about world events, cultural differences, the need for understanding - not about the kids, the bills, the persona events as usual - but about things we cannot affect or be responsible for, but would like to wrap our minds around. I LOVE that.

 

My beautiful and brilliant husband also made an excellent point - I will paraphrase, but here is the essence I believe of what he said, "We cannot degrade ourselves as a people to an 'us vs. them,' mentality - that is the old way of thinking, the Bush way of thinking - and we see how well that did for us all now dont we?"

 

 

I just saw this today - not sure exactly how I feel about it. On the one hand, I have many beloved and wonderful Muslim friends, I am respectful of their culture, their knowledge, their beuty and most of all their peace. Lumping them all in this email type basket bothers me. On the other hand, world events challenge this peaceful view on many levels. SO I will post this with a VERY large grain of salt....knowing full well that there is a LOT of good in bothe cultures and certainly handing my heartfelt hopes that my sincere hopes for peace and love come true. The statement at the end, while offensive in many ways (not to mention somewhat inaccurate - not all Muslims are Arab, and not all Arab's are terrorists - DUH), reminds me of my wish that playground rules (or Mommy rules) would gain more popularity the world over - if we all respected our differences, shared like our mother's were watching and tried to learn from our differences rather than fear them, we would all be SO much better! Peace -

 

I just saw this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8453658

 

And all I can say is WTF? Why are t hese trashy people in any contntion for any publicity at all? I am SO over it....

This story is so sad and tragic. Not much more I can say, but watching bullies in action is SO hard as an adult. I was always quick witted as a child so no on messed much with me or those I hung with because I could shred anyone verbally or with just a look....but having seen m son bullied stories like this make my heart sto...did you know there have been more than a ew suicides as a direct result of bullying this year alone? WTF?

 

 

My heart, my prayers and my deepest sorrow goes out to this boy and his family.