Love Languages...

Does anyone remember that book written a longgggg time ago called The Five Love Languages? I think it was written back in the 90's or something...Back when I had research papers on birth order and I L.O.V.E.D. taking personality tests (an imposing said "tests" on anyone and everyone in my path...much to the chagrin of many friends and including my then future husband) 

Some people get into all that stuff and some people just think it's a bunch of psycho babble...however, since this is my blog and I get to write whatever I happens to be flitting through my head at the moment, I'm going to "discuss" this little topic with myself you in these wee hours of the night as I"m coughing and have nothing better to do than sit upright and try not to cough up my entire respiratory system.

So...let us begin at the beginning...or at least at a place where I can put some tangible explanations to my thoughts...When Italian Stallion and I got married, you must understand that our "dating" experience was completely long-distance.  Yes, we had been best friends for all the years in the college, but it wasn't until after college that we actually made it "official" that we were dating. 

Let us remember that this was in the time period of no cell phones and neither of us owned a computer.  Therefore our time getting to know one another was on one long distance phone call a week for about an hour on the weekend and WRITTEN letters...with paper and pen...Lord, have mercy I am soooo thrilled for email let me tell you! (you'll understand even more in awhile, but suffice it to say, WORDS get to me!)

I'm a words person...words spoken, written, typed...you name it...I like words...I like to read them, I like to speak them...I'm an all around alphabet guru!  And boy, did my honey build into that for 3 years...I have all those letters saved...wish I could have recorded the telephone conversations...we couldn't see each other so we had got to use words to describe our emotions and thoughts...

For a person like me, you better believe that I felt OVER THE MOON happy about this arrangement (minus the part that I never got to see him...but still, I"m feeling LOVED and that's the point I'll eventually get to I promise) 

The problem arose when we got married and all of a sudden we didnt' need to telephone or write letters to talk to one another...we were in the same room...the same house...and therefore, where this was just relaxing to poor Italian Stallion...I went a little stir crazy.  Now, knowing how much I loved those "word filled" years, I began to try to incorporate it into every day life...to the point that I often disregarded the dishes in the sink...come on now, I was composing a beautiful love note that I"m SURE was going to knock his socks off...

Then he'd get home read said note, say thanks and then hmphhh because the kitchen was a mess. 

I didn't get it...So Saturday would come and he'd scour the bathrooms and clean the kitchen to sparkling and sweep out the garage...and I'd say, "hey, thanks for helping...want to go for a walk and talk" To which he'd reply, "Honey, I'm exhausted now...umm, I think I"ll just sit and watch the TV"

You can see where this is going (I hope) 

The long and short of it...I went back into the recesses of all my stored research about marriage & stuff and managed to pull up something about love or whatever...and I stumbled across my old Love Languages Book...

DUH...The way I feel most cherished and loved is to hear it...to read it...to put words to thoughts and emotions...it's just how I'm wired...To Italian Stallion, his top way of feeling loved is when acts of service are performed with him in mind...thoughtful actions, centered around who he is...a clean kitchen, an organized desk, shoes in a row, a vacuumed car, ironed shirt...

Here we were trying to show love to each other in a way that WE felt it, but it wasn't sinking in for the other person...

Fast forward 12.5 years and we've got 3 girls...each of whom have different love languages as well...One is just like me...craving affirmation and notes and cards and compliments...One feels love most when time is spent...she's the one that is always asking to help in the kitchen when I'm there or help fix a toilet with Daddy or play Wii with someone...she just wants to BE with you for no other reason than to connect in that way, because she feels loved in that...One of them feels most loved and secure through touch...she's my girl that will constantly put her hands on my cheeks and pull me close to her and say, "you are my best mommy!"...she's very tactile and wants to hold hands, sit close (if not on top ofyou) on the couch, she wants to hug...

It's amazing how we are all differently wired... oh my, not only just an honor, but sometimes overwelming to me, my responsibility as a parent to show love to my girls so that they REALLY know DEEP down how much they are cherished...and to figure out what makes them tick and how to tune into those "languages"...to be able to talk with them in the future about it so that they can be aware of tendencies or weaknesses because of their "draw" to a certain way of loving...oh my...sometimes my head just spins with it...

I've been thinking of it more lately...we are fast approaching the no more preschool/toddler days...the time where my girls are going to be facing tougher choices and responsibilities...they are coming into their own...I've been watching them more and talking less (which is a big one for me...believe me)

But oh, what I've learned...

do you know your love language or that of your kiddos?  do you ever struggle, like me to show them love in the way they "feel" it most?  just wondering:)

Have a great day!

Dishwasher Magic

Oh...how I love thee...

Yesterday, in my ADD  and attempting multi-tasking tendencies, as I was trying to fix lunch, clean the kitchen, do a load of laundry, check facebook and talk on the phone...I ended up noticing that our dishwasher was disgusting...

Now, I'm going to spare you the details of the "gross-ness" of the situation...for one thing I don't need you thinking worse of me than you already do where it concerns my housekeeping abilities and secondly, it was just nasty...my beautiful, white, dual water shooting top and bottom rack, awesome dishwasher had changed color before my eyes...it was now a pale shade of orange with large "speckles" of black and guck...gorgeous!

So, I did what every mom does when her children are still not fed and she hasn't even taken her boots off from church or changed her clothes...I just grabbed the first spray bottle of 409 that I could find, found 3 different scrub brushes and climbed into the dishwasher head first and began to attack it with vengence. 

Once the fumes hit me, I realized that perhaps all the scrubbing and multi-drains of the machine just wasn't going to cut it and I took a break...that, and the fact that my girls were complaining that they hadn't eaten since 2011 and I was starving them to death...

In this little reprieve, I "happened" to mention on facebook that I had been "working" on that dishwasher for awhile and didn't see much change...a couple people mentioned Dishwasher Magic...

Because I can't seem to keep on task if my life depended on it...I packed up the kiddos who were now in the middle of making forts outside and headed to the grocery store to find the stuff...

Long story short...found it, bought it, brought it home and used it...

Wala:  clean dish washer!

And so...now I'm happy...and my dishes thank me...and once I figure out which set to keep, I'm sure they will enjoy their "baths" much more than if I hadn't "gotten off task" yesterday:) 

Have a happy Monday!

Randomness

1. I'm on antibiotics just for kicks and giggles...it's not really doing anything with regards to the lovely hacking that keeps me up for about 22 out of 24 hours in day.  I'm frustrated with this for 2 reasons...one being that I'm not getting much sleep which leaves me cranky...and my dear family likes to inform me of this fact over and over and over again throughout the day...the second reason is because I have just learned that a good way to lose weight is to get enough rest...this is not working for me right now...If there is going to be SICK in our house...I'd rather it be the type of sick where you lose your appetite...because really, if you have to rest and can't exercise NOR can you get enough sleep...the least you can do is NOT eat as much...THIS my friends is my dilemma.  I would like to interject that I have been to see 2 different doctors...neither of which were able to locate anything abnormal nor "infectious"...interesting...so, perhaps this lovely cracking, prepubescent teenager voice will be my new normal:(

2. My sister in law told me to watch Once Upon a Time on ABC...that I would like it...so, seeing as the only thing I ever really "watch" are blogs on the computer or the occassional How I Met Your Mother when I need a good laugh...so, I watched the pilot and then got hooked and watched the rest of them on hulu.  I can't say that I endorse the show, but neither am I able to pull my eyes away from it...it's got to be something about prince charmings and happily ever afters...and the fact that Snow White is the sweet aunt from Ramona & Beezus and she reminds me of Peanut with a little pixie hair cut.  It's basically a story about fairytale characters (ones about which I know LOTS coming from a household of princesses myself) that lose their memories and are transported to OUR world where they don't age, but basically go through life "empty" all because of the wicked stepmother queen...To be honest, they could have summed the whole series up in a good 2.5 hour movie...but they're dragging it on for this TV season/year...I'll let you know how I'm fairing come March.

3. I have also discovered the yumminess of Feta cheese (this again could be another reason why randomness #1 is causing me distress) Man, you mix that in with some orzo pasta, corn & peas...good grief, I just ate the whole bowl...bite after cough after bite:)

4. I can't decide on the plates the Italian Stallion bought me for Christmas.  I swore I would never go back to Pfaltzgraf and I have kept my word!  So now we're looking at these:
 
or these:

They are really VERY similar...duh, they're both white...but the bowls are a bit different and the plates have a little bit different feels...Not sure what is best...the top one is from Kohls from the Food Network Buttercream selection...the 2nd picture is from Great Indoors from the Fitz & Floyd Gourmet selection. Any input would be greatly appreciated...or you can just call me crazy and forget about it. I'm only getting new dinner plates, salad plates and the cereal bowls...I couldn't find a picture of JUST those things...

5. I read the book Hunger Games this week...in between scouring every Ceasar Millan book I could get on reserve from the library and try to learn to be a "dog mommy" before the possibility of spring. I don't really know how I feel about the book...some parts were written really well...other parts, I felt like could have been more developed and then other parts, I was so "in the moment" that I had to put the book down for a bit just to recoup.  Ceasar Millan, on the other hand, made me question my ability to be pack leader...and whether I have the gumption to take a dog on a walk twice a day for the rest of her life...UGH...

6. I now think I"m going to take pictures of the two different plate options side by side and post that soon...hmmm.

7. I'm still addicted to Pinterest...but it sometimes makes me feel lazy because, come ON...who has time to do all those crafty things???  I'm MUCH too busy eating because of my NO lack of appetite and requirement to REST...

See you again soon

On some meds again...

sure hope I get to be on some meds again... (sung to the tune of On the Road again)

Before you completely discount and roll your eyes at my lack of humor...consider this:

Somehow I have contracted, yet again, some sort of "larengit-bronchit-cough varient-chest hurt-lose your voice so you sound like an 80 year old smoker, but a starbucks white chocolate mocha with a tad of cinnamon dolche makes it feeel a leeeeetle bit better-ITIS"

Don't know where I got it...girls are healthy...family was semi-stable in the health department over vacation...

who knows...I'm starting to wonder if my super "don't get sick powers" are wearing off...Dad always said it's a mind game and if you don't THINK you are sick, then you aren't...

However, I am starting to think that there might be some faulty reasoning in that conclusion:(

And so...there you have it...I do NOT feel like going to the doctor yet again for something that they'll deem, "well, you're sick and there's really nothing we can give you so just wait a couple weeks and come back if it doesn't go away" 

In other news...we "might" have found a breeder for a new pup come spring time.  Did I mention that we were looking into dogs?  I think we've settled on the Golden doodle or Labradoodle or some such DOODLE variety...

Mainly, because of a few things:  I don't want another purebred dog (just too many medical issues to deal with) I want a dog that has low to non-shedding tendencies (finding dog hair in diapers when Sweetpea was a baby was just a little too much for me, not to mention the constant vacuuming..and we all know my stellar housekeeping skills) However, we LOVE the Labrador/Golden retriever personality...that, "doy-dee-doy", happy go lucky, I want to follow you everywhere you go but if you throw a ball I'll go and get it and never stop loving you!" WaLa- DOODLE...

This breeder has been incredibly kind...she owns 8 dogs...the grandparents, parents and sibling dogs...We were supposed to get one of the pups borns last week, however, it was this dog's first litter and believe it or not, she only had 1 pup (it was already spoken for) And so, now we wait until spring...

In the meantime, I've stocked up on Ceasar Millan books and have begun reading them...cover to cover...hopefully by spring I'll be psyched up enough to think I could actually BE THE PACK LEADER!

I'm already looking forward to the weekend...basketball starts up for Peanut and I get to use my new lens to take some pictures of her in action:)  Hope you are healthy and settling in for the winter months ahead:)

Recap of 2011

I've been a little lax in writing lately...it's not for lack of "material"...rather, just my lack of memory skills in order to recall what I actually "wrote" in my head while I was driving or showering or while trying to pick stickers off the hard wood floor that my 4 year old thought looked "pretty".

I thought I'd do a little recap from the year...and end it with a video montage of the month of December:)  I hope you enjoy!!!

JANUARY

January began with a slam DUNK!  Little Munchkin got the whole potty training under control well before Mommy lost her marbles:)  Many "prizes" were had and we were on our way to a year filled with princess panties:)

FEBRUARY

February was a large travel month for Italian Stallion and thus began more travels than we had originally thought...it is always accompanied by many tears with the girlies and new found grey hairs found on yours truly...but, we managed...and not only managed, but excelled:)  Although, much encouragement was given by my awesome hubby...and in the month of Feb., the form of "you can do it" came in a bouquet of roses and reminder, once again, why I married such an incredible man!

MARCH

I have 2 pictures for March...one is a reminder that we still haven't finished what we started even though we PROMISED ourselves that we wouldn't do that to ourselves again...so much for new year's resolutions...our basement pretty much looks the same as it did when I took this picture only 3 month into the 2011 year.

Secondly, was our crazy medical scare with Peanut and all her breathing issues during cold season...after breathing treatments and x-rays and hospital visits galore...we are now convinced she has a type of cough-variant asthma that is triggered by any virus that attacks her bronchial tubes...basically, she gets a really bad cough and we now have a better understanding of how to control it:)



APRIL

Ahhhhhh April...thus came one of the most fun and relaxing trips Italian Stallion and I have ever managed to take...we were whisked off to Nevis somewhere in some islands down south...we danced, we drank, we sat pool side, we spa-ed, and walked the beach...it was wonderful...

MAY

May was our trip to Williamsburg...the moments where all the girls dressed up in "time-period" clothing and left Daddy out in the cold (not that I think he minded all that much, but we're going to pretend that he WISHED he had a pair of knickers and some nice, high, white socks...and a wig...with a ponytail...)

Anyway, it was also the month that we started to get some "fruits" from our garden...that lettuce was delicious...but, I should have realized then that it wasn't going to last...with the rain and colder weather and my lack of motivation to get out there and actually DO something in the dirt, ummm my busy summer schedule of sunbathing by the pool, yep, and that darn weather...well, it wasn't going to be a good crop season!

JUNE

June brought blueberry picking...pool membership (complete with tennis lessons from daddy) and...did I mention the pool? Although I don't have pictures from the pool...not until later...wanted to at least focus on the fact that my baby turned FOUR this month as well! 

JULY

We were able to re-engage our awesome dogsitting skills and watched another Yorkie again for a bit this summer...my girls fell in love once again (and yes, we will more than likely be getting a dog in the 2012 year...there I said it...)

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

The Patio was finished and ready for Labor Day weekend...this long awaited project was finally completed and we thoroughly enjoyed it...until the cold fall settled in and we headed back indoors to that beautiful unfinished basement...ahhh projects:)

Oh...and school started too:)

OCTOBER

October was SUPER fun with halloween and just the fall weather...we love our neighborhood!

NOVEMBER

November had all kinds of fun stuff...Sweetpea turned double digits, Thanksgiving, a trip to Tennessee with my brother's family...it was an all around FUN month!

DECEMBER

Not to be outdone...in came December...with Advent activities galore and enough sweets to realize that I look nothing like what I ventured out to look like last summer...which is right in time for New Year's resolutions:) 

As I looked through my umpteen pictures from this year and reflect over the fun of CTPhotoMemories and the incredible people I've met and friends that I've made...I'm just in awe again of this beautiful life that I have been given...Thank you Jesus!

My last "photo" is just a little video montage of the entire month of December...I pray that 2012 is just as filled with laughter, happiness, lessons learned and family!

Look what's coming...

Okay...so if you remember a little while back I was all excited about our "lego" tradition and that "need for a buffer"...anyhoo...LOOK what is coming out in January:)  Not only will my girlies LOVE the whole "put it together" idea like they do with puzzles and the like...BUT, they have a PET shop...with little dogs...

The "lego people" are more polly pocket-ish rather than the normal Lego people...but, I'm okay with that:) 

Just thought I'd pass along the good news:) 

I have a black eye:(

So, in my rush to try to make donut snowmen and reindeer, create NorthPole cupcakes and Milano cookie treats...clean my house, make it to the Christmas Sing a long and school parties WITH all the treats...and then change little Munchkin into clean clothes because she managed to get frosting everywhere...

yes...well, in my rush...I FORGOT that I had put the metal chairs that normally sit at our island in the kitchen, into the laundry room.  I did this because the legs broke on one of them and it looked silly to just have one chair...and, I was in a hurry so I dragged them into the laundry room...

I forgot this as I stormed into the dark room and bent over quickly to check the washer to see if any of Little Munchkin's clothes might be ready to switch to the dryer before everyone got to the house...

It was at this time that my eye/head collided with the top, metal ball on the chair back. 

I think I've mentioned before that I have a fairly high tolerance for pain...however, in that moment, I immediately put one hand over my eye and crawled out of the room.  My head was throbbing so badly that to speak caused more pain...so I just calmly whispered to any one of my girls as I leaned up against the pantry door..."Um, Mommy is hurt...she needs help...now...I need help...please someone get me ice...it would be so appreciated."  I said this in such a monotone voice that I think they thought I was kidding...

I'm going to assume this since it took FOREVER for one of them to actually GET what I needed...apparantly, Wild Kratts trumps Mommy, even when she's down for the count...bummer for me!

I finally got that much needed ice and decided to forego the rest of the cleaning and just pass it off to Italian Stallion when he got home...I took my leave on the couch and prayed that my eyeball stayed in it's socket so that I could at least enjoy eating all the many treats I had prepared earlier that day. 

Needless to say (as I'm seeing cleary and am able to type a semi-coherent blog post) my eye is fine...the swelling has gone down and the normal skin-tone coloring has returned to most of the area surrounding my eye.  It is still painful to touch, so I skimped on any makeup today:)

I can't believe Christmas is on Sunday...(good thing I know photoshop:)  But even with my black eye and the burn on my wrist (that's  a whole other story too) I'm still enjoying all the preparations and festivities...hope you are too!