And We All Survived...

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930'2, 40'2, 50's, 60's and 70's.

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because.....


WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!


We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound , no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents .

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Potty Training

All by Myself


Big Girl Panties

I almost fear to type this on the off chance that I may jinx myself... but I think we may be potty trained. After many false starts and lots of accidents, I believe Maya has caught the idea that using the potty is a good thing! And despite all of our efforts and pleas and bribes and praise, she did it simply because she wanted to, and no other reason than that. Now we haven't actually left the house in big girl panties yet...I'm personally not ready for that, but any advice on that particular hurdle would be greatly appreciated from those of you who have already bounded over it. Wish us luck in this new endevour, good bye diaper bag - hello public restrooms!

McConnell's Mills

While I was working at the Fairie Festival, Chad took Maya to McConnell's Mills for the first time. For anyone who hasn't been there it is truely amazing. Huge rocks, white water, one of two covered bridges in Lawrence County, Indian wells and more. It's so easy to spend the day in awe of nature when you are there and it's only 15 minutes form our house! What could be better?

It was a favorite spot to play hooky from school, because you knew no one was ever going to find you there! And on a little romantic side note, Chad and I had a picnic there before senior prom (because I didn't want to be seen in public dressed up!) But looking back now, it's a way cooler story than saying we went out to eat in a limo.

Faerie Festival

My friend Molly is a glass artist (check out her link over on the side panel), and she attended the first annual Fairie Festival at Cooper's Lake this year. Because I live so near by, she asked if I would help her mind the booth. It was a lot of fun, some great costumes to be seen and Molly painted my face with Faerie swirls so I could model for potential customers (she also face paints on the side.) Next year it should be even larger and you might want to check it out!

Mmmm... hostas

Hostas

I love Hostas, they come in all shape size and color combos (of green and white) and they grow in complete shade. What could be better, except maybe the Japanese Painted Ferns next to them.

Grrr...Rain

We spent Friday getting ready for a garage sale bravely dodging rain drops and tarping and un-tarping, and re-tarping. I ran out in the rain no less than three times in the dark pouring rain with a staple gun in an attempt to keep the tarps on the table. Then Saturday dawned lovely and I naively thought it would be a nice day. Only to spot a large dark mass of clouds looming over the horizon. Thus followed an afternoon of tarping and un-tarping, and re-tarping... Let's just say I could have thought of better ways to spend my weekend...but hey at least we made some money! Which is more than I can say for any other rainy weekend this past month.