Musings on Life and Beauty Archives - Page 142 of 145

Watermelon baby!

June 3, 2009 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

My 17 month old has two favorite foods right now: watermelon and strawberries.
At our Memorial Day barbecue she spotted a plate of watermelon slices on the table, and that was it.

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The feasting began immediately. Her shirt was done for on the first bite.

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This little girl is not very polite about how she eats her watermelon.

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She prefers to really shove it in her mouth so she can use her 4 teeth to eat quickly.

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Just look at those clothes! I’m not sure how much she ate. At least 4 slices, which is a lot of watermelon for an 18 pound baby.

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When she started hugging one piece so she could eat the piece that was falling off, we had to laugh. And check out the juice running down that chubby little right arm!

And I ask, what says summer better than a little girl feasting on watermelon while wearing the perfect picnic pants?

Soon she was literally drenched in watermelon juice and her Dad ran her inside for a quick bath. But what a fun feast it was while it lasted!

Free at last!

May 30, 2009 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

Some mothers dread having their children out of school for the summer.

Not this one.
I didn’t want to send them back after spring break.

Yesterday was our last day of school, and let me just tell you how good it feels to be done.
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I realize that it means lots of noise all day long and nonstop trips to the kitchen for something to eat.
(But, you see, with 3 preschoolers and a kindergartener, I already have that every day.)

What makes me jump for joy is that now I am free to do what is best for US, not what is best for someone else’s schedule, priorities, and so forth.
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Sure, summer brings its own brand of busyness, but it’s the kind that allows us to do what meets our needs, and let everything else go. It means my little ones can nap until they wake up, not until it’s time to get in the car and pick someone up from somewhere.
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It means I can quit accumulating hundreds of new freckles on the left side of my face simply by not being in the car for several hours every afternoon!
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It means we can read until the book ends, play until it’s dark outside, work until the job is done, and generally experience good, old-fashioned childhood for a while.

Worth celebrating? YES!!!!
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And let me tell you, as happy as the kids are, THE MOM IS EVEN HAPPIER!

(P.S. My daughter is wearing a skort, so any questionable views are of the shorts underneath, nothing more. Just so ya know.)

Gratitude: good for the soul

May 28, 2009 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” -G.K. Chesterton I love that quote. It’s one of my favorites.
Earlier this week I was feeling a little bit tired, frustrated, and to be very honest, sorry for myself.
I realized that I needed to move to a higher plane of thought, to remind myself that it’s not about me.

So I sat down and wrote some letters of gratitude to people who have blessed my life lately.
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It felt good. In fact, it was a great cure for the way I was feeling.
It reminded me once again that the choice to be grateful is a powerful one.
It changes our lives because it changes us.
And that’s really all that we can control.

So today, find something or someone to be grateful for and no matter how busy you are, do something about it. Enjoy the lift that will follow your efforts.

Happy day to you!