ah, another lovely morning...

This lovely mug, which holds almost the right amount of coffee, is from Ben and Ashley.(But I also wanted a good pic of the nice things on top of my refrigerator.)

Abandoning my usual routine of throwing in a load of laundry and sweeping and mopping and wiping down counters before I sink into the comfy chair for a little facebook time, news reading, and of course writing on this thing....it's pretty much a give someone will stop in unexpectedly this morning. It's what happens when you slack off.

I will not be a boring details person, but yesterday...phew.

These little sweeties visited us for the day...all three are my sister's grandchildren. Their mamas grew up with my kids, and have their own fond memories of coming here for the day through the years...these little ones, the twins and Davian, bring joy with them. They are so hilarious. They played playdough and dollhouse and StarWars, and on the swingset and in the little playhouses outside, and then in the little pools in the yard. Little sunshines, they are.

Jonathan passed out freezepops...then had a popsicle. They noticed. They took up the chant, and I put them up to the table and gave them popsicles too. But first I took off their shirts:)

Oh cuteness.

I had to bring Margaret to work in the afternoon. Suzanne was my co-pilot. We dropped off library books, then stopped into TJ Maxx, just to browse...for soccer socks, shorts, and...bargains. I found some lovely mason jar type beverage dispensers for Emily's catering business, specifically for a wedding we are catering this summer. Smart phones are wonderful, Suze snap-chatted Em some pictures of the jars..she agreed they are perfect for fruit infused water, and iced tea.

We went to Target to return the ugly dress, and came out with just a few more things. Then to Price Chopper for chicken and spinach and eggs and milk....then home...then quick back to town to pick up the minivan, yay, five hundred bucks, and she's ready to roll again. Poor minivan. Home again, and time to make dinner. Never mind that the older kids all left for a meeting, and that my sister called so I just made plates for the younger three (barbecued chicken thighs and corn, asparagus and spinach), and talked to Cheryl for a bit.

Then Mirielle came for a visit, the kids stayed up too late, then the other kids all came home.

I should have gone to bed, but I had things to do! I had clothes to try on. I have only lost three pounds, but have gotten a tiny bit smaller, and was trying to decide what to wear/bring to Washington D.C. I finally got into bed at midnight, then read for a while. When six o'clock rolled around this morning, ugh.

Anyhow, today is a good day.

My little girls, and Jonathan, are all packed for the trip already. They are so excited, but the pre-trip excitement is part of the fun. That's why we like to have kids around, it reminds us to be happy about life.

In a few days, it will be my mother's birthday again. When the lilacs bloom each year, I miss her terribly. Lilacs were her favorite. My little brother was deathly allergic to bee stings when we were growing up, I guess he still is. My mother always carried his, "bee sting kit" in her purse, and she worried and fretted about Casey Michael. He was the youngest, and could get away with murder, and was the apple of my mother's eye. He wasn't allowed barefeet, because he might step on a bee. My father decided to get rid of all the flowers in they yard, and sawed down my mother's huge lilac bush. (Casey got stung a few times, had horrible reactions, ambulances, ect...it was no joke, and I grew up terrified of bees...I never ever got stung until one time I was pregnant, and one stung me right in the stomach, I thought my life was over, I had a reaction but not terrible. I always thought that would be how I would die, since I never got stung all those years. I still think it might be my ticket to the other side...:)) Anyway. Tangents. Every year for my mother's birthday, I tried to get her some lilacs. Our down the street neighbors had a few bushes, and when they weren't looking...I picked some for her.

I miss her. She enjoyed life. She lived forgiveness, she lived goodness. She never thought of herself, and absolutely loved to give. She always had something for the kids, and for our friends' kids. She was a natural birthday memorizer, and if she didn't gave a gift and ran into a child who had a birthday, she would pull out a five dollar bill. She was no nonsense about manners, the kids learned to say their pleases and thank-yous, but she could while away the hours without ever getting bored. She read them stories, she told them stories, and most of all, she listened to them. She got a kick out of them all, her grandchildren...there are 48 of them.

Ah well. She wouldn't want me to waste days being sad. It's just not fair how life just goes on, the whole world not even realizing that she's not with us anymore. What's worse than thinking about her all the time is when I realize, every now and then, that I haven't thought about her in a while.

Okay, it's bothering me that the house is messy...I have to get up and at least sweep the floors...true to my prediction, my niece stopped in a few minutes ago, while I was typing this. It always happens, let the place go, and people stop in.