Little Moments...

Most days it's not unusual for me to feel a little overwhelmed by my responsibilities as a stepmom. It's not necessarily hard, it's just overwhelming... because it's different. Very different from mothering your own children. It's not the act of mothering that's overwhelming (that comes very natural to me), it's the fact that you're 'mothering or parenting' on top of someone else's mothering/parenting - and sometimes it seems like it all gets muddied up in the process. (if that makes any sense!)



I sometimes feel guilty that I feel overwhelmed, because I have been blessed with a great relationship with my stepkids, which in a weird sort of way is why I feel overwhelmed - because you see, sometimes I 'forget' they are not my own, and so when they respond, or don't respond, as the case may be in the way I'm expecting them to - it takes me by surprise, and I have to remind myself, "oh, right, they haven't been trained or disciplined since birth to ... " But, I have to say that in another weird sort of way - it makes those 'little moments' much more precious. I love it when they happen, and I love it when I notice them happening. For instance, a few days ago Matthew called me just to tell me he knew what he wanted for his birthday. That seems like a small thing, but it's the kind of thing my kids would do. So the fact that Matthew would call me just to tell me made me feel more like a 'mom.' And last night, I was standing at the sink rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, and Aaron was wiping off the table and telling me about something that happened at school ... again just the way my kids did when they were in high school... and I thought, "wow, I'm honored he shares his stories with me." (Do his 'real' parents know what they are missing?...) Little moments, they make everything else worth it...

Thursday Night Market Night

I don't think I actually blogged about it, but we moved to Redlands last July! I've lived in the communities close to Redlands for years ... San Bernardino, Highland, Grand Terrace, and Loma Linda. I have worked in Redlands for over 17 years, so I've been 'in the neighborhood.' But it's funny how many people have asked, "So, how do you like living in Redlands?" I thought it an odd question, I've never really thought about it. Honestly, I don't feel any different living in Redlands - except now I can't escape the downtown traffic! I have to go right through it to get from the kids' mom's house to our house.

Ron and I have been feeling 'in a rut' recently, feeling we need to do something other than just eat dinner and then watch TV everynight. So, since he was off yesterday for Lincoln's birthday, we could have dinner earlier and have more time to do something. Why not go to Market Night? It seemed like a very 'Redlands Thing' to do. Every Thursday night, they block off downtown and the town folk stroll up and down State Street checking out the offerings from local vendors... there are pony rides for little kids (in fact, my oldest grandson - Bevan had his first pony ride at Market Night 11 years ago!)... there are a couple of other kid rides ... there's lots of food to choose from... fresh flowers, fruits, and veggies... and some of the businesses which line the street stay open late on Thursdays. We asked Aaron if he wanted to go with us... Uh, no. Not with my parents! (I think we would crimp his style with the ladies!) But he said, 'you love-birds have fun!' (That was sweet...) And we did have fun. We spent most of our time in the Redlands Galleria, a consignment antique store filled with all kinds of treasures. The best part was strolling hand-in-hand with my hubby. Sometimes talking, sometimes listening to the sounds around us... it didn't' cost a thing, but the shared time together without the distraction of television, computer, or kids was priceless... Hurray for Market Night!

Project 365

Scrapbookers across the country are involved in Project 365 this year, taking (and scrapbooking) a picture a day to give a realistic snapshot of a year in their life. The project was designed by Becky Higgins, one of my favorite scrapbooking people at Creating Keepsakes. She even designed a complete Project 365 kit. Me? I was a day late in finding out about the project and kit (it completely sold out in 4 hours!). Since I missed it this year, I'm putting my own kit together for next year - 2010! At first, I wasn't sure how I would go about doing that. Even checked ebay for the sold-out kits - they are available, but for hundreds of dollars (much higher than the original $35 kit!). Looks like I'm back to creating my own kit. But, bless Becky Higgins' heart, she posted a sampling of the journaling cards, 'week of' cards, as well as the project title on her blog. I've downloaded the files and have started printing the cards to be ready for next year. I'll need 52 'week of' cards, and 365 journaling cards (one for each day, you know) ... what makes the project doable from my point of view is the page protectors designed for the kit, which hold 6 4x6 photos - so, facing pages would have 12 slots (1 'week of' card; 7 daily photos; the remaining pockets hold the journaling cards for each picture. I could find the album, I have the downloaded sample cards to print, I have an photo-a-day idea list, but the page protectors....Then I logged on to Scrapbook.com, and viola' they had these page protectors coming soon. I was so excited. I signed up for email notification. In yesterday's in-box, there was an email stating the page protectors were back in stock, but with the popularity of Project 365 this year, they anticipated selling out quickly. Not wanting to miss out on this 'second chance,' I placed my order immediately. Whew! ... I'm excited about doing this project next year, and actually glad I have a year to plan ahead - taking a picture a day is pretty aggressive, even for me. I generally take more than 365 photos in a year, but I don't take one everyday! Fortunately, I do journal everyday. I have started my own list of pictures which will help 'tell my story.' I'll keep you posted...

"Free" Tickets ...

Oh, my - what a rainy day it was yesterday! The perfect day to stay in and scrapbook (which I did some, mostly working on the Valentine Day cards for the grandkids). But, I also had to go redeem our Stater Bros. grocery receipts for two 'free' tickets to the Nascar race at Fontana in two weeks. For every $75 you spent on groceries (in a single visit), you got one free ticket. (Not the expensive good seats like I bought in 2006, but tickets to the race nonetheless). Anyway, you had to pick the tickets up at the auto speedway office in Fontana. I called ahead to make sure they still had some before taking off in the pouring down rain... It was really coming down when I left and I thought I had to be crazy to do this, but ... thankfully, when I got to Fontana (about 20 miles away), there was a break in the weather and though it was very cold and windy, there were blue skies overhead. Good thing, too, because I had to stand in line outside for an hour! It was so cold, and the wind just cut right through you - but I had gloves and a hood on my jacket, so it wasn't too bad. The time in line went by pretty quickly because there's this camaraderie with Nascar fans - it's like one big family. Everyone was talking about their favorite driver, and what it was like the last time they were at the track, and who won the pole for the first race next weekend. It was actually fun. The guy behind me had enough receipts to take his three grandchildren. The funny thing is, he said he bought extra laundry soap - $20 bottles of Tide not the less expensive Stater Bros. brand he usually buys, and extra dog food to spend enough to get the receipts for the 'free' tickets. The thing is the tickets are the $55 tickets - he could have just spent the $55 on the ticket and skipped the extra laundry detergent and dog food! (But, people hear the word 'free' and don't really count the cost of 'free.' Too funny!) I told him we have two teenage boys at home, not a problem to spend $150 on groceries, for us it's a matter of can we spend that much today? You had to purchase the tickets between February 4 and February 10, I think. Anyway, I got our tickets and parking pass. So, boogity, boogity, boogity boys - we're going to the races!