Be Kinder than Necessary

Today I will:
"Be Kinder than necessary"
James Matthew Berrie

How do you like to show kindness?
I usually try to be kind.
This week I haven't been.
I realized it
when I was pushing my grocery
cart to the car the other day
and a little, old lady almost ran me over.
I scowled at her.
And then I kept my mean face on all thru the store.
As I was unloading the bags an hour later,
I felt sick to my stomach.
I love little old ladies.
I hate scowlers.
And even though I realized that then,
I have just been too busy to be nice this week.
And that makes me sad!
So tomorrow,
I am going to be kinder than necessary.
What is your favorite way to show kindness?

Would you like to participate in this fun writing meme?

Well, let me tell you how!
Just click on the pretty teacher above,
and that will take you to
Mama's Losin' It Blog.
Pick a prompt.
Enter your link.
Badda Bing Badda Boom
You are all set.
How easy is that?

Now Accepting Applications for Ugly Friends! Apply Today!

I have always had pretty friends.
Really pretty friends.
In High School my best friends were:
Susannah who was Tall, Blonde and sophisticated
Jen (You know my best friend Jen, right?)
who was Petite, Exotic and filled with personality!
And Gi Gi who was also Petite,

Very Blonde, and completely a beach girl.

Then I went to college and my pretty friends were:
Gretchen who was The Girl Next Door,

Blonde and so natuarally pretty it would make you cry,
(It did make some of the boys cry if I remember correctly)

Mary who was dark, quiet and contemplative

and had a smile that could light up a room,

And Aimee who was a Jersey girl,

blonde and blue eyed, and a cheerleader : ).
So by now, you might think

I would try to get a few ugly friends.
I mean, for heavens sake,

I have been surrounded by beautiful girls my whole life.

But not me, I still pick the prettiest friends.
Jen is just as gorgeous as ever.
Look at my friend Marsha.
I don’t even need to use words for her, do I?

And last of all,
The person that really inspired me to write this whole post:
My friend Kim. Isn’t she lovely?
So here is my question today.
Are your friends
Prettier than you?
As Pretty?
Or a teeny tiny bit less pretty?
Tell me the truth.
Come on, you know they will never read this post and the comments.
I really want to know!
PS Even my blogging friends are lovely!
Melinda is as pretty as they get!

Have you seen Angie and her dimples?

What about Grandma J and her luscious eyelashes?

Give up the dirt : ).

Makeover Magic

From This

To This

He looks SO grown up!

The moments are flying.
I love him.
With all my heart!
How often do your kids get haircuts?

Reflections

"Friends are the mirror reflecting the truth of who we are."

Author Unknown

Do you have a reflection picture to enter this week?

The bloggers at I Heart Faces are SO nice.

I am not even kidding.

Go say hi to a few of them.

They make my Monday every.single.week : )

to the park, to the park, to the park, park, park

We went to the park last weekend with some

of our besties : ).

Aren't they the cutest kids?

It is going to be 90 in PA this weekend.

How crazy is that?

Will you go to the park?

Check out the other GREAT shots at Lolli's this week!

Happy weekend! XO

Unbelievable Story

I will never forget
The look that the teacher gave me this morning
when I was dropping Kaish off at school.

What was the matter?
Well, let me start by telling you this.
Kaishon’s school hates me.
Really, really hates me.
I can’t divulge ALL of the information here on this blog,
But trust me when I tell you,
they hate me.

Kaishon is the coolest kid.
Sometimes he is naughty though.
I have written posts before about his school issues.
Let’s just say that the troubles have not ceased this year.
They progress.

I think I am a nice Mom to the school.
I was a teacher. I know what Nice Mom’s are like.
But whatever-
this post is not about that.
But rather about what I will never forget.

So Kaish and I were running a wee bit late this morning.
(I totally overslept.)
I was working from home today so that wasn’t problematic for me.
Kaish got dressed quickly and we rushed out to the car.
We rushed over to school which only takes about 3 minutes.
Perfect.
We pull up to the carport.
The waiting Teacher is still there.
That is such a good sign.
Kaish gives me a kiss and gets out of the car.
Everything is going PERFECTLY!

He starts to walk in and I hear the bell.
We just got a LONG letter from the school
about walking your kid in

if the bell is ringing when you drop them off.
So, I roll down my window and smile at the waiting teacher.
I said, “Should I go in and sign him in?”
Normal right?
She gets this HORRENDOUS look on her face!
“Oh no. You do NOT need to do that. Goodbye!”

She sort of waves me off.
I responded by smiling and saying, “Have a great day.”
She wouldn’t make eye contact.

I was thinking this was totally bizarre.
I was also thinking that the Principal probably

told her I was a Psycho Mommy.
Whatever.

We all know I am NOT even a teeny bit psychotic : ).
So I pull away from the curb totally baffled.
And that is when I look down and see the problem!
My BOOB was hanging out of my pajama shirt.
Totally exposed.

I called my best friend Jen laughing hysterically.
She directed me to leave the property quickly
Before the school decided to call the police

for indecent exposure.

You think I am kidding, right?
No school would contact police for their parents, right?
I wish I was.
So this day is something I will NEVER ever forget.
Do you ever leave the house in your pajamas?

Oh, you know how every post needs a picture?
Well, no pictures today : ).
I did my face for I heart Faces on Monday,
But I think a boob might be a little much.

Head over to Mama Kat’s to play along.
She has 5 great prompts every Thursday.

Nephews are Neat

Baby Levi
almost 2

"Nobody else like him, he's unique - - this one.

How fortunate we are that he is our son."

Author Unknown

Big Bad Ben
age 4

A boy is Truth with dirt on it's face,

Beauty with a cut on its finger,

Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair,

and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

Author Unknown

My pretty sister, Betsy, and Ben.

"If I have a monument in this world, it is my son."

Maya Angelou

"A boy's story is the best that is ever told."
Charles Dickens

How about this N for Kaish :
NEEDS a haircut : ).
How many nephews do you have?
I hope they are as delightful as mine!

ABC Wednesday is HERE.

Wordful Wednesday is HERE.

Check them out! Happy Wednesday Blogging friends!

Happy, Happy Wednesday!

To-die-for chocolate

Do you like chocolate?
You do?
Oh good!
Well, this is what I am going to share for
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!

Oh, wait.
Did you think that Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is for recipes and such?
You would be right!
But did you forget?
I am a horrendous cook!
So.........
I have to tell you about this AMAZING chocolate.
I discovered it this weekend.
It's been out for over a year.
I am glad I didn't know about it for a year though-
because if I would have,
well, let's just say I would be larger than I already am!
This chocolate is so dreamy and creamy and amazing.
You gotta try it.
Trust me!
Here is a coupon!
Come back and tell me if you love it as much as I do!
What is your favorite kind of chocolate?

Here is my little niece Kaitlyn. I love her almost as much as Bliss chocolate.

I'm kidding! I'm kidding!

If you love photography-

You will LOVE this giveaway

at MCP Actions Blog.
I saw it at my friend Catherine's blog.
You know Catherine, right?
She is a winner at I Heart Faces ALL the time.
She is AMAZING : ).
She edited this picture for me.

I would LOVE to win this contest because I would love to give this picture to my friend David and his wife. Isn't baby Sophia the prettiest thing? I love her to pieces.

Legal Schmegal Stuff:
I am entering this photo in the MCP Actions/Color Inc. Win a Gallery Wrap Canvas Photo Contest at http://mcpactions.com/blog. I certify that I took this photo and give both parties permission to use this photograph on their blogs/sites.

A Self Portrait with My Kid : )

I Heart Faces is doing self portraits this week.

I LOVE I heart faces.

I LOATHE my own portrait...

But, since I haven't missed even one week so far-

How could I NOT enter?

I can't wait to see all the other CoOl Mommy's : )!
Check them out!

Being a mother means everything to me.

Absolutely everything.

He is my heart.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.

She never existed before.

The woman existed, but the mother, never.

A mother is something absolutely new."

~Rajneesh

like the RoCk StArS we are-

Have you noticed that EVERYBODY and their BROTHER

(or Sister)

is going on FaNtAsTiCaL trips lately?

Mexico? Hawaii? Bermuda...

Blah, Blah, Blah!

Well, we went on a fAnTaStIcAl trip last week ourselves.

Oh, yes we did.

We headed to-

wait for it-

the amazing and world renowned-

New Jersey!

Yep, that's how we roll!

Kaish, Bria, Naji and I piled into the minivan

and headed across the bridge to

Coco Keys in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

It was super, duper fun.

Here is my Shot of the Week:

I will tell you more later.

After the jet lag settles...

Go look at some other fun

Shots of the Week over at Lolli's.

Did you go away for Spring break?

Beloved Phillies announcer Kalas dies

WASHINGTON (AFP) —
Broadcaster Harry Kalas,
whose "Outta here" home run call
was a staple of Philadelphia baseball for almost 40 years,
died after collapsing at a game.
Kalas, 73, collapsed in the broadcast booth
before the World Series champion Phillies' contest
against the Washington Nationals.
"We lost our voice today,"
Phillies president David Montgomery said.
"He has loved our game and made
just a tremendous contribution
to our sport and certainly to our organization."
Kalas, whose baritone voice had kept
long-suffering Phillies fans abreast of their team's news
since 1971,
was beloved by the team's faithful.
He usually called only the middle three innings on radio,
but when the Phillies won their second World Series title last autumn,
Kalas was on the mike for the final out of the clinching game,
and then joined the on-field celebrations.
His colleague Scott Franzke said that
Kalas was always willing to record his trademark "Outta here!"
line for fans who wanted it on their answering machines or,
more recently, voice mail messages.
"Players come and go," Franzke said,
"but 'Outta here!' - that's forever."
There was a moment of silence in Kalas' memory
before the Phillies-Nationals game,
and at other ballparks around the country on Monday.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.


This is what is happening in my neck of the woods right now.
Very sad stuff!
I bet you will find LOTS of interesting things to read about today
over at Mama Kat's page.
Hope on over : ).

Do you like baseball?

What's your team?

Muscles or something like them...

Do you know how much fun it is to have Sabria and Naji visit?

I mean, despite the blood and the broken glass...

It is just one fun moment after another : ).

You are probably wondering why Sabria is wearing a BRA in the pictures.

I wondered myself.

Sabria states this is not a bra, but a bikini.

She wore it all around the house the past week.

I could BARELY convince her to put a shirt on when we went out in public.

She cracks me up!

Do you have any good M pictures for ABC Wednesday?

My friend Danielle started participating and she has the BEST letters ever.

Go check her out!

And then check out all the other GREAT ABC contributors!

It's lots of fun!

Do you have big muscles?

Me?

Not so much!

Animal Jokes from my little animals

A young woman was traveling with her infant son on a train

when a man walking down the aisle

abruptly halted in front of her,

did a double take, and exclaimed,

"That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen."

The woman burst into tears,

and the conductor who heard her crying tried to console her.

"Don't worry about what inconsiderate people have to say;

they're just being uncouth.

Here, here's a banana for your monkey."

Why did Walt Disney's famous rodent have only one girlfriend?

Because Mickey was monogamouse

What do you get if you cross a cocker spaniel, a poodle and a rooster?

Cockerpoodledoo!

A farmer who was bothered by marauding snakes wrote a note to the city zoo:

"Please tell me how I could acquire a pair of mongeese."

The word didn't seem right, so he wrote another note:

"Please tell me how I could acquire a pair of mongooses."

By then, neither word seemed right, so he wrote:

"Please tell me how I could acquire a mongoose

and a second one to keep the first one company."

How do you spell mousetrap in just three letters?

C-A-T!

How many eggs did you find?

The story of Easter is the story

of God's wonderful window

of divine surprise.

~Carl Knudsen

Naji at our church's Easter Egg Hunt.

Do you have a fun Easter picture to enter?

Head over to I Heart Faces and check out

all of the Easter bliss!

An Easter Wish-

Pictures with the Easter Bunny: $5

Candy and plastic eggs for a hunt: $25

Getting your face painted like a wild animal: $3

Knowing the real meaning of Easter;

Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave: Priceless

The resurrection gives my life
meaning and direction
and the opportunity to start over
no matter what my circumstances.
~Robert Flatt

Are you going to church for Easter?
I hope you will.
Easter is SO much more than plastic eggs and candy!
It is so much more than new clothes and Spring.
If you don't have a relationship with God,
I would encourage you to start one.
He can change your life in ways you never expected-
Happy Easter and God bless!

a teeny tiny issue...

I really don't have many words today.
I mean, even though this is a writer's workshop,
I think you will all understand this
UNIVERSAL symbol of my distress!

This, my friends,

This is my word picture for this prompt
at Mama's Losin' It this week:

Describe a moment when you realized you and your spouse were SO different.

There you go.
There is my moment right there.
I RE discover this difference EVERY single morning.
I blindly stumble into the bathroom
(after being pushed and shoved ALL night long-
in our teeny tiny Queen Size bed...)
only to nearly fall into a toliet bowl.
I just look up to the sky
(or ceiling rather)
and thank my lucky stars
to be married to
the greatest man in America.

Does your spouse do any annoying things?
Do tell : )
and then RACE over to Mama Kat's and play along.
It's super duper fun!
I wouldn't lie about something like this!