The Terribles

This weekends blog post should bring some reality and a little laughter to your day. I think back to when my first born was almost two years old and what they called the Terrible Twos set in. Oh my goodness, what a trying time that was for me.  I took some comfort from the fact that her pediatrician explained that all children go through the same stage. When our second child was almost two I expected the same thing, but her experience was much different than her sister.  She was not quite as bad. One day during a conversation with my mother we were talking about the little girl that I babysit during the day and how she was beginning the stage of the Terrible Twos. During our conversation we talked about how we knew some adults that never grew out of the Terrible Twos.

After hanging up the phone with her, I really got to thinking about that idea. I mean do any of us ever really grow out of the terribles? Sure we become adults, live in the adult world and act like adults for the most part, but do we ever really get out of that I want it now stage?

Some of us live each day the best we can, striving to be the best we can be in all situations. Still when we have worked on and planned something and it doesn't work out. When we have prayed and ask continually for something and it goes the other way, we may find our selves exhibiting The Terribles. Our attitudes get bad, we fuss, sulk and just act like little children.  Should we? Of course not, but I think it is just the way we as humans are. Then after some time for contemplation we realize that things don't always go our way. We get back to our "normal" selves and go on with life.

Of course there are the other types of adults who literally act like children. When things don't go their way they pitch hissy fits and tantrums. They never grow up and insist on making other peoples lives miserable. I mean they have to know what they look and sound like.  I am sure in their minds they have what seems to be a perfectly good reason for what they do, but whatever the reason they have for their actions, it is still ridiculous! Nobody wants to spend time with someone like this and  they only do it if they are the same way or they have no choice.

I know all of us have times when we want to just lay in the floor, kick, scream and just act out, but we can't. I mean what the world be like if everyone reacted to life like a two year old?

So no matter your age or stage of life The Terribles will still be there, you just have to be prepared to make sure they don't get the upper hand.

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"

Why I love weekends!

My weeks are full of early mornings, getting everyone up, ready and out the door.  Even though I am a stay at home mom I still have full days. I strive to get all my errands done and  to accomplish all my housework during the week. Being a stay at home mom allows for me to be able to do these things, leaving my weekends open for what I want to do.  I know some families that have working parents and they use their weekend time for being with each other and spending quality time. That might mean going out to eat, taking the kids someplace fun to play or on a nice day going to the park. I also know some parents that because of work they spend their entire weekend catching up on all the things that did not get done during the week. Our family has a pretty laid back attitude for the weekends. We try to keep them as simple as possible and not overbook ourselves.

It is so easy to do fill your weekends up with stuff to do. To plan things and outings for your children. To create things to fill up their time. I do not have a problem with families that do this type of thing, but I would love to share with you why we love the weekends.

Why we love our Saturdays:
1. I love sleeping in!! I have to wake up so early every week day (5:30 am) that I absolutely love being able to lay in the bed until 9 on Saturdays. Mind you that there are the occasional Saturday mornings that we have to rise early, but for the most part we just get to stay in bed.
2. There are the rare Saturdays my husband is home from work. He works almost every Saturday during the year and having the extra time with him is special to me and the kids.
3. I get extra snuggle time with my girls.  Of course my teenager is normally on the couch with a book, but that is our time. Me and the girls will sometimes all be side by side with our noses stuck in a  book. We are avid readers and love discussing our latest read.
4. It is just good, quiet time. I stay so busy during the week cleaning, washing and running all over the town that being home with nothing to do is an amazing thing.


Why we love our Sundays:
1. It is church day!! We love being able to get up in the mornings, going to Sunday school and Sunday service. It is such a blessing to be able to be in the House of God not just on Sunday mornings, but Sunday nights as well.
2. Every other Sunday we stop by to visit my father-in-law. He just had his 83rd birthday and we love spending time with him. Most of our visit is spent with talking and watching television, but the kids love getting to see their Papa Ellis.
3.I love my Sunday afternoon naps! I try to get me a short nap or just a little rest time every Sunday afternoon. I know y'all are thinking all I do is lay around on the weekends and for the most part that is true. I mean weekends are made for resting, relaxing and being with family and we try to make the most of all three.


I know some people would say that we should be taking our children to all types of events and activities, but our girls enjoy the time at home.

I don't want for y'all to think we don't do anything extra, because we do go out and do extra things. Most times we try to find free or cheap things to do.(That is one of my ways of saving money.) Sometimes we take the girls fishing or get out the four wheeler and ride around. There are times we go to the library to check out books. We watch and study different cultures from around the world and even try our hand at different art techniques. I always try to find something interesting and fun for the kids when we do go out, but they are so busy during the week with school and extra activities that they long for the quiet time on the weekends as much as we do. I am sure my fifteen year old would love to do more, but she understands that everyone needs time to unwind and recharge after a busy week.

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Trip of a Lifetime:Part 7

 

On our last day in Paris we were up and ready for our ride to the airport by 7 am. We made it in plenty of time and waited 2 hours for our plane to be ready. After boarding, I had a window seat, I took one last picture of the French sky (even though it was cloudy) and off we flew heading back to America. 

 Right before leaving Paris

 

The flight was uneventful, we had our meal watched two movies and did a little sleeping. After many hours in the sky our pilot informed us that we were once again over American soil. That piece of information sent a happy thrill through me. I had desperately missed my home!

 

Finally over American soil

 

 Washington DC aerial view

 

When we landed back in Charlotte we had no trouble going through security or costumes. We said goodbye to my sister-in-law as she headed off to catch her flight back to Indy. It was a sad parting for us. We had enjoyed spending the week with her. We made it to our gate and waited about 30 minutes to board. It only took about 45 minutes to make it back to our home airport. It felt like we had barely reached altitude when it was time to land.  Our limo driver was waiting for us, we picked up our luggage and headed home. When we arrived some of our wonderful friends and neighbors had created us a welcome home present. It was such a blessing and made me cry. 

 



Some sweet freinds had left us this sign and....

 

some yellow ribbons when we arrived back home.

 

I have to say Paris was a great place to visit, but I was sure glad to be home. We take so many things for granted. In America. I don't see armed soldiers as we walk the streets, there you do. In America, the dollar is good, there it is almost worthless. In America, the people are very friendly, in Paris, most of the people are unfreindly and think themselves better than us. I don't want to make you think that all people were unfriendly, we did find several people who were very helpful and kind.  I am just so glad to live in America, where I can order food and understand the people I am talking to. It was so difficult to be in a foreign city and only knowing a little bit of their language. Over all our trip was amazing and we are very thankful for the oppurtunity. We are sad that our daughter had to go through cancer,  this was her wish and we are so grateful to the Make-A-Wish foundation and to all those that donate to them, for making so many childrens wishes come true.

 

If you have ever considered donating to Make-A-Wish please do, the work they do for so many families and children is amazing. I know that Grace's cancer changed our lives forever, but so did her wish. We will always look back on it as a way for her and our family to heal after the ordeal that we all went through.



Thanks again Make-A-Wish, y'all are the best!!

 

 

 

 

"Oh the things you can find, if you don't stay behind!" ~Dr. Seuss

 

 

 

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"

The Trip of a Lifetime: Part 6

When we woke up on our sixth day of our trip we knew that it was our final day in Paris. We went down to the hotel resturant for breakfast and then took the Metro over to see Sainte Chapelle church. This church was the place were the Kings and Queens of France would go to worship God.

 

 

 

  The church was amazing, beautiful and the stain glass windows were breathtaking.  The windows tell the story of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You start on the left hand side and read the pictures from bottom to top. I can only imagine the undertaking, time and patience it took to create such a masterpiece.

 

 

Place of honor for the King and Queen
 

 

We then went over to one of the must see attracations (according to articles online), the bookstore Shakespeare and Co.  The bookstore has been open for almost 100 years  and was once a meeting place for great authors, such as Ernest Hemingway. My oldest daughter bought a copy of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and had it stamped with the bookstore stamp. She was very excited about buying a book in Paris.

 

 

We then took a walk through the city, stopped at a pet store and went to get Pizza for lunch then we met my sister-in-law for a bus trip out to the Palace at Versailles. At the meeting place was this amazing statue of Joan of Arc.

 It took about 45 minutes to make the trip and it was a very crowded place.  We had an audio tour of the palace and were able to go room to room and learn about the palace. The palace started out as a hunting lodge and then became the home of the royal family in 1682. King Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, wanted a home away from the city of Paris. He began the expansion of the "hunting lodge" and created this grand palace.  The opulance and granduer of the palace goes a long way in explaining the final revolution of the French people.  As the royals were living in such wealth, the common people were starving without even any bread to eat. The Revolution was a hard and difficult time for the French people.

Hall of Mirrors

 

 

 

 Hall of Mirrors

 

Bed of King Lous XIV

Doorway through which Marie Antoinette

escaped during the French Revolution.

 

Gardens of Versailles

 

 

As we headed back into the city we went through the tunnel in which Princess Diana was killed and then saw the small version of the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

We knew we were going to have to get up early the next morning to make our arrival time at the airport, so we had supper and got all packed up. As I lay there that night I was so excited about getting back to America, but I still felt a small pang of sadness to know we were leaving Paris behind.

 

 

 

To be continued.....



The Trip of a Lifetime: Part 5

On our fifth day in Paris we slept in, all of us had a late night the night before and we were just exhausted.  We finally got up and headed down to breakfast about 9:30 and then headed out to take the Metro for a day full of shopping.

 (My hubby and my sister-in-law)

(The Metro)

We went over to the Champs Elysees.This is a major avenue in Paris that is famous for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops  It is the same street that General Charles de Gaulle came into Paris on when the city was finally liberated from The Nazis in August of 1944.

This is a photo of the day of Paris liberation.

Since I have given you a little history I will tell you that we spent the rest of the day shopping. We went all the way up one side of the avenue passing restaurants, stores, and then stopping at the world famous Laduree pastry shop. We had been told by our flight attendants that we must go there and try some macaroons. It was my one major splurge of the trip. I purchased eight cookies for 18 euros, about $25 American dollars. (Most of them were very good, but one tasted really bad.)

Laduree

We passed by the Louis Vutton store and then made our way up to the Arc de Triumphe. The only way to cross the street was to take the tunnel underneath the Arc. It was pretty neat to be walking under the highway.

Louis Vuitton

 

Walking under the Arc

We then continued on down the opposite side of the road stopping along the way to shop, rest and watch street performers. It was during this day I got to visit my very first Tiffany and Co. boutique.  I can assure you that I didn't buy a thing, that place was way to rich for my blood.

Along with shopping we also did a little sight seeing and ate a crepe from a street vendor, another thing we were told we must do while there. The crepes were delicious and it was amazing to watch them being made right out in the open. 

Winston Churchill

Charles de Gualle

Crepe Street Vendor

Aunt Na enjoyed her caramel crepe

We didn't stay out to awful long, everyone was still tired from the day before and we were all still trying to adjust to French time. We took the Metro back to the hotel, dropped off our packages and headed out for supper. We ate at a steakhouse called Hippopotamus, only after my sister-in-law knew for certain that it was cow we would be eating.  It is not as common as it once was, but some people still eat horse in France.


We made our way back to the hotel and called it an early night. As I lay there in the bed I had mixed emotions. I knew the next day was our last full day in Paris and I was feeling somewhat sad, but the thought of getting home made me very happy.  The next day we got up early, had breakfast and headed out for our last day in the city.

To be continued.....